10 Things You're Thinking About Before the Orioles Season Starts

Perhaps non-Oriole fans aren't asking these questions but we as Oriole nation are asking them. Why 10? We are the tenth man after all. Plus I can't completely rip off MLB Networks Prime 9. These are ten things that should be on the minds of us, the fans of "dem O's". Or as some of us may have affectionately called them the "d' O's" (a play on Homer Simpsons "D'oh!"). So unlike a Tiger Woods press conference, let's get to the questions.

1. Did we really sign Miguel Tejada?

• What is he like 40? Honestly we don't know. All false birth certificates and b-12 injection jokes aside, he is still a decent player. Most of us are familiar with Josh Bell, who the O's acquired in the George Sherrill trade at the deadline last season from the Dodgers. If you aren't, know he is the future at third base. Which is why Mora is now in Colorado and Tejada is just filler at the position until Bell is ready. Bell passed the AA test last season when he belted 20 homers and had a respected .295 avg. This isn't a question about Bell. Tejada was a doubles machine last season when he had 46 of them while batting .313 in 158 games. Yes, the homerun numbers are down but that is not why we got him. We have more then enough power without Tejada. With him we have depth at SS in case of another Izturis injury and a solid veteran in our clubhouse. Hopefully he is in better spirits then a few years ago when he left for a "winning franchise" in Houston. Which he should be, considering he signed here. I mean, what were his other options, the Nationals? More then likely Tejada will split time at third, shortstop and DH.

2. Will the lineup be any good?

• We are the projected fifth best lineup in baseball. So let's go with yes. We have the best outfield in the American League East in my opinion with two gold glove caliber players in Jones and Markakis. Add the young Reimold in the mix and we are solid in the outfield. Where are we going to put Pie? He will get his time as well more then likely in left or in center to give Jones a break. Still our starting lineup will probably look something like this. Roberts(2b), Markakis (RF), Jones (CF), Scott (DH), Reimold (LF), Wieters(C), Tejada(3b), Atkins (1B), Izturis (SS). Listed in batting order of course. If this is how the opening day lineup looks I wouldn't be surprised but Reimold and Jones could flip flop or Wieters could move up. Some people have Jones predicted as hitting seventh in our lineup. We shall see what Spring Training shows in our young players like Wieters and Reimold. If they perform well, Jones batting seventh could be a reality.

3. Will anyone hit 30 homers?

• Yes, Matt Wieters...from both sides of the plate! (That was for you Antoine!) All MattWietersfacts.com-like jokes aside, we didn't have one last year. We may not have one this year. If Scott stays healthy all season he is our best bet unless of course someone from our youth movement shows up. Considering that Markakis is more likely to hit .300 then hit 30 homers, I doubt it.

4. Will Brian Matusz be in our starting rotation on opening day?

• Well, he is the fifth best prospect in baseball and has experience from last year. Still with rookie status so he could be a serious contender for rookie of the year. At this point he has had two bullpen sessions down in Sarasota and is feeling good. Working in curveballs and improving his two seamer to his sessions. Most importantly, looking forward to touring ballparks again with his budding bromance, Chris Tillman. The comradery in this young group of pitchers really stands out, hopefully their performance does as well.

5. Will any pitcher win 15 games?

• My confidence levels are high with this one. While we did have a 17 game loser last year, ironically enough this was also the team leader in wins (10, Guthrie). The last 15 game winner we had was Mr. Personality himself, Erik Bedard back in 2006. Please, someone win 15 so that I never have to say that again. While Bedard was a dominant pitcher, his injuries have seemed to dominate him ever since he left Baltimore. Sorry I couldn't hear the smallest violin playing over Adam Jones and George Sherrill being all stars/awesome. So by playing 6 degrees of separation, Bedard won a gold glove last season for the O's playing centerfield. Way to go!

6. Can we have more than 1 player in the All Star game?

• Nothing against Adam Jones, he deserved to go last year (hello I wrote a blog supporting that!), but it would be nice to see more O's in the game. I know Markakis will never start in the All Star game as long as Ichiro is playing which I am okay with. I would take him being an alternate this season. In all honesty, Matt Wieters might be our best option to make the team in addition to anyone else. Considering how weak the AL is with catchers, as long as he performs he could do it. Especially since he is more widely known then others. Yes, I know Varitek will start no matter his stats, thank you Red Sox nation, but Wieters could be the backup. Considering Joe Girardi (an AL East manager) will be coaching the team and seeing Wieters on a regular. Who knows? I don't see you taking a stab at the All Star guessing game. What is more likely is that Jones will repeat or Markakis will make his first appearance. Since those two were the highest O's on the ballot last season.

7. Who will we trade by the deadline?

• Don't be surprised if it is Miguel Tejada. Expiring contract, decent hitter, plays solid defense and would have no issues being traded to a winning team. I mean, it's not likely that we would trade him within our own division for obvious reasons. With Jeter in New York, Scutaro in Boston and Bartlett in Tampa Bay. Lord knows the Blue Jays aren't going to be buyers in July. So why would they give up talent they recently acquired in the Halladay deal? There are teams in the NL that might look at Tejada seriously, maybe the Cubs.

8. Should I pay my money to watch these guys?

• I know times are hard but if you are a fan of baseball and the O's, get out to the Yard! Without sounding like or better than a PR person for the team, this could be the season they turn it around. If you are one of those fans that wants to see a win, go early in the season as we tail off towards the end the past few years. The young talent is really fun to watch and there is a 90% chance you are going to see someone in our outfield make a spectacular play. If Pie is out there...that lowers the percentage. I'm not saying to just go to Red Sox/Yankee games. No matter how many I tell to come, there is a 100% chance Orioles fans will be outnumbered. Nats games are always fun since you will never hear this from any of them, "Remember how awesome we were when we went to the playoffs/won the World Series?" Or the newly updated "27!" Seriously, we have seen the shirt and look Yankee fans, we know. Blah blah blah dynasty. Remember your best player in history was from Baltimore. So, SUCK ON THAT!

9. Are we going to matter in the AL bEast?

• You know what, we just might. I know the term of "this year's Rays" is being thrown our direction but that is the thing. That was only two years ago. No one was saying that about any team minus people mocking the Devil Rays. Maybe if we change the team name to just O's then life will be simpler. So we can all watch sportscasters and reporters alike say, "how bout them Oriole....er I mean O's!" The biggest concern of every fan is our pitching. While I can't say I am happy to be older then half of the staff, at least for a change I can say I'm not more talented (oooo diss!). Games will be decided by our bullpen due to our staff's youth so right now that is my biggest concern. If our starters can have quality starts and perform like all the experts think they can we may be able to snag a wild card spot.

10. Wait, a wild card spot? Brandan, what are you smoking/drinking?

• Uhm, hope? Luck? Andy MacPhail's spiked punch? Realistically I have us as the third team in the division. Above .500 for the first time in years. The Blue Jays are probably going to take fifth which has to be expected losing the talent they have over the past few years. The Rays are hoping, like us, that their young pitchers can lead them toward another winning season and hopefully the playoffs. I like ours as opposed to theirs. I am bias though. However, major league hitters have seen Price and seem to handle him well. He did not perform well as a starter last year after looking stellar in the playoffs when they went to the World Series. Plus, we have the third best lineup in the division. The only position, offensively that is, where power numbers will not matchup is first and third base. I highly doubt Tejada and Atkins. If Atkins from 2007 or 2008 shows up, then I will stand corrected. Give him some time with Terry Crowley, who has turned a lot of people around in his time. Here is hoping the baseball experts are wrong and Atkins is not past his prime.

So there it is. I am sure there are other questions that people may be asking and if there are any that you guys have feel free to post them in the comments. I will answer them as quickly as I can. Thanks for reading and I look forward to BSing with you in the future. Until next time. GO O's!

10 Random Thoughts

It my shock some of you that I had one thought let alone ten. These are just some things that are on my mind lately or have been for awhile. While sticking to the blogs message of sports and entertainment of course.



In some cases I was going to try to write a blog about these things but they couldn't carry a blog on their own.



1. Terrell Suggs should not be known as T-Sizzles

• There is nothing about Suggs that sizzles for me or any women I know. What sizzles is his play on the field. I get it. However there are better names to have. Suggs will forever be known as "The Suggernaut" in my house. How awesome would it be to hear a commentator whip out a, "Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuggs Got-chaaaaaaaaa!" What if his helmet flies off during a play in which Jamaal Charles from Kansas City bowls him over? "Oh Charles you're messin' with his head! He had that helmet since the fourth grade!" If he pushes a lineman into a QB, the technical term will be that he hit said QB "with his own pimp." If you aren't rolling on the floor laughing by now then you have never seen the My Way Production version of X-Men. I would like to be there if this were to pick up just to hear Suggs tell Tom Brady, "You can't mess with me! I'm the Suggernaut b!t@h!"

2. If you aren't from Indianapolis and you aren't cheering for New Orleans Sunday...

• You have no soul. I don't care if you put all your money on the Colts, the Saints are America's team. Not George Dubya's team, but ever since Katrina the city has always looked to the Saints for uplifting. For the first time in franchise history they made it to the big show and what will follow in New Orleans should they win? One of the biggest drinking binges in history. Look for the state to be shutdown for a week if they win. Biggest state wide hangover...ever. A tiger will be in every body's bathroom down there. Don't worry though, he will be dreaming of Halle Berry in her Catwoman suit in no time.

3. Why is David Letterman's popularity increasing?

• I watched his show a few times just to see how much he would bash NBC/Jay Leno this week (not as much as I thought he would) and it wasn't impressive. The funniest moment was when Bruce Willis donned a Jets jersey, ran all over the studio to celebrate the Jets making the Super Bowl. To then only misspell the infamous Jets spelling chant, "J-E-T-E-S!" Uhm, no Bruce that is wrong. At least he called himself out on it afterwards. Clearly, I don't have a dog in the late night battle. That is until Conan possibly comes back in September, hopefully.

4. Something will rise for Chris Johnson

• It may not be his salary, which probably means he will hold out for a better contract. What will rise is his draft position in next year's fantasy draft. If he isn't your number 1 pick after this year, something is really really wrong with whoever has the first pick. Do I blame the guy for wanting a raise? No. He broke the record for yards from scrimmage. It isn't like that happens every year. When it comes to sports contracts, players are only as good as their last season. When that season was a record setting year, they have to take advantage of it. Just unfortunate that Johnson was in the second year of a five year contract.

5. Why does the NHL screw themselves?

• I don't follow hockey however, the games I think about checking out are always against better stuff. Its like Jay Leno in prime time against, long pause, anything (cue rim shot). Ovechkin against Crosby played each other for the first time a couple weeks ago. Ironically the same night as Lebron vs Kobe. Their next meeting is this Sunday. I forget what is on but it's something super I am sure. Honestly, if this was the NFL, these teams would play on opening night. It is the match up that everyone wants to see so why delay it? Plus most of who you are trying to draw in have already forgotten about the stellar match up in the playoffs won by Crosby and the Penguins last season.

6. Way to wait until Conan couldn't fire back to talk smack Leno

• In an interview with Oprah last week, Jay stayed classy by blasting Conan, saying he was disrespecting the Tonight Show franchise with his low ratings. Jay, you disrespected television with your prime time yuckfest. Big city news markets have you to blame for their ratings dropping by nearly 50%. I know you blame NBC but man up. You chose to stick with the network instead of going somewhere else and starting anew. Entertainment Weekly has The Jay Leno Show ranked number 1 for the worst move in television history. In the words of a fellow NBC employee, "You're fired!"

7. Whatever happened to those Guitar Hero lists I promised

• To be perfectly honest, Guitar Hero 5 came out and had most of the songs I was suggesting. Which led to the demise of the list, that in addition to fantasy football season starting. While I do not own the game, I still know what is on it. Before too long I will get another list on here because there are definitely some creative lists I can come up with that Red Octane might miss. The track list on GH 5 is awesome, one of my suggestions "The Spirit of Radio" by Rush is insane I'm sure. In the words of Wayne Campbell, "it will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine."

8. Everyone is picking the Baltimore Orioles as a sleeper this season

• Is there any other team that they could pick? I mean, the Nationals are still awful. The Indians haven't gotten better. Most top teams are still that, with the Red Sox and Yankees leading the pack as favorites in the AL. The biggest pickup being Lackey for the Sox. Personally, no one really picked true sleepers until the Rays went worst to first. So, now if we suck like usual, we have them to blame. Thanks Rays! I do like how the lineup looks, Antoine Pollard expects Matt Wieters to hit the warehouse and break every window in the process. Having a solid veteran in the rotation will help our young starters. Think Kris Benson a few years back. He taught Bedard how to throw a curveball, Bedard knew how to be a jerk on his own. Millwood is a much better pitcher then Benson so hopefully he can show these young boys some new tricks. The biggest issue is, as it usually is, our bullpen. Let's see what happens. Should I grow out my facial hair between wins? Considering I would barely look like a normal 13 year old with the amount of hair I would get, going to say no on that one.

9. New Super Mario Bros. Wii was the number 1 selling game of the year

• Which is pretty crazy when you think about it. I mean it was only out in mid-November. A new installment of the classic with the awesomeness of multiplayer. In my house it is useless since only a two year old will play it with me. My only beef with the game is more items. While I love the new penguin getup, I crave being able to fly with a racoon tail or cape. The game is still awesome, mostly due to my Wii being up for repairs it remains unbeaten. Only the 9th world remains. Wish me luck in the near future. If you own a Wii, get the game. It's great fun and the reason you own the system.

10. Is Kobe Bryant the best Laker ever?

• This past week, Bryant passed Jerry West as the highest score in Laker history. He passed Mr. Logo in a loss against the Grizzlies. It lead to every NBA analyst giving their top 5 Lakers ever. Kobe made it as high as 2 on Around the Horn with a couple of analysts forgetting about Kareem Abdul-Jabaar. One of which being Bill Plaschke who writes for the Los Angeles Times! Epic fail Bill. No one mentioned Wilt Chamberlain but then again, "the Stilt" had his best years in Philly. Only leading the Lakers to one championship in which he was the finals MVP (1972). Every one's unanimous number one was Magic Johnson, I completely agree. Personally I think it is impossible to find a top 5 that everyone can agree with in any successful franchise. Could anyone really agree with the top 5 Yankees in baseball, Steelers in football or Red Wings in hockey? The best comparison to the magnitude of the Lakers is the Yankees. There would be riots in the streets to determine that top 5. I guarantee.

So there you have it. Just some things that are rambling around this brain of mine. Have any input? Surprised I had a valid thought? Let me hear about it in the comments. I am always open to insults or input. Input would be better though. Thanks for reading and I hope to BS with you again, real soon.