[Moriarty9]

Orioles look to soar high
Baltimore optimistic for 2012 season
March 17, 2012

SARASOTA, Fla. — The Baltimore Orioles are working hard this spring to prepare for the upcoming season in hopes they can improve on last year's total of 87 wins.

Dana Eveland is back as Baltimore's ace. The left-hander went 17-10 with a 3.33 ERA in 36 games last season, throwing 221 2/3 innings.

"Dana is a workhorse, that's for sure," said Orioles manager Phil Garner. "We need Dana to do his job for the rest of us to do our jobs."

Though the final roster has not been set, nevermind the starting lineup and rotation, Garner and pitching coach Dan Warthen are looking at a rotation led by Eveland and likely followed by Jeffrey Fisher, Nick Blackburn and lefties Dontrelle Willis and Scott Lewis, though right-hander Karl Porter is a candidate to make the rotation.

Fisher went 9-13 with a 3.82 ERA in 28 starts as a rookie last season and the Orioles believe he can become a quality starter.

Blackburn went 14-12 with a 4.08 ERA in 35 starts after winning 13 games in 2010 and 14 games in 2009. He has been consistent for the most part with Baltimore, winning either 13 or 14 games in each of the last four seasons.

Willis is in camp as a non-roster invitee, signed to a minor league deal this winter. The 30-year-old is hoping to salvage his career and is coming off a season in which he went 10-12 with a 5.27 ERA in 30 starts for the Houston Astros. Willis returns to the American League, where he has spent most of his career. He came up with the Kansas City Royals in 2002 and was with the club until he was traded to the San Diego Padres in July 2010. He was a waiver wire claim for the Astros prior to the 2011 season and owns a career record of 86-95 with a 4.37 ERA. Willis appears likely to make the big league club in Baltimore.

Lewis is a 28-year-old southpaw with just four games of big league experience, but he is a strong candidate to make the back-end of the rotation. He went 0-1 with a 5.32 ERA in four starts with Baltimore last year, struggling with his control. He was 10-9 in the minor leagues last season, 12-4 the year before.

Porter, 25, has no big league experience at all and has not put up overwhelming numbers in the minor leagues but Baltimore coaches are said to be impressed with his stuff.

Joakim Soria returns as Orioles closer, a role in which he excelled last season. In 50 appearances, Soria went 5-2 with 34 saves and a 1.97 ERA, holding opponents to a .191 average and posting a 1.11 WHIP.

"He's one of the best in the business," Garner said of his closer.

If Soria suffers an injury or falters, the Orioles have a backup plan in Eric Gagne. The 36-year-old went 6-2 with 12 saves and a 1.32 ERA in 30 games last season with the Chicago White Sox and has 206 saves in his career. Signed to a two-year deal this winter, Gagne is an excellent insurance policy.

Darren O'Day will be a key setup man for Baltimore. He went 7-5 with one save and a 2.54 ERA in 66 games last season, the best year of his five-year career.

Francisco Cordero, 36, will be working to build off a strong 2011 campaign in which he went 7-2 with two saves and a 3.54 ERA in 57 games for Baltimore. He has struggled in recent years with performance from season-to-season, but the Orioles bullpen appears to have enough depth to cover for Cordero if he is to struggle.

Other relievers potentially on the staff include Doug Waechter (2-3, 5 saves, 3.72 ERA, 51 games with Baltimore last year), 24-year-old Robbie Haley (1-3, 2 saves, 3.61 ERA, 49 games with Baltimore last year), Zach McClellan (0-1, 1 save, 4.27 ERA, 37 games with the Orioles last season), Francis Beltran (1-0, 6.75 ERA, 10 games with Baltimore in 2011), and rookie left-hander Raul Alonso, who has only 7 2/3 innings above the AA level.

Offensively, the Orioles have some pretty good players in Grady Sizemore and Tomoyuki Honda, but there are a lot of inexperienced players fighting for roster spots as well.

Fernando Rodriguez is the front-runner to take over as the full-time catcher in Baltimore. The 24-year-old hit .268 with 11 home runs and 57 RBI in 123 games as a rookie last season, making two errors behind the plate, allowing seven passed balls and throwing out 23.5% of would-be-base-stealers.

Ronny Paulino is most likely to be the back-up catcher, with 561 games played in his eight-year-career with the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore. However, Paulino hit just .190 with two homers and 22 RBI in 76 games. Giving him a run for his money will be Barrett Reed and Melvin Johnston. Reed, 26, has no experience above the AA level while Johnston has no big league experience.

Acquired this winter by a trade with the Florida Marlins, Joey Votto will be the firstbaseman for Baltimore this year. Votto hit .258 with 15 home runs and 54 RBI with 66 runs scored in 157 games for the Marlins.

Edgar Gonzalez, who split last season with Baltimore and the Atlanta Braves, will split time between first and second base. In 137 games last year, he hit .271 with 17 homers and 70 RBI. Though not a good fielder, his bat is one the Orioles need to find a way to get into the lineup.

Aaron Miles is the regular second baseman after signing a three-year deal as a free agent. Miles, 35, hit .293 with three home runs, 40 RBI, 57 runs scored, and 17 stolen bases in 132 games with the Colorado Rockies last season. Miles is a career .303 hitter with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Braves, and Rockies.

Orlando Hudson will get some time at second base as well. The 34-year-old switch-hitter hit just .227 with one home run and 29 RBI in 77 games last year, but is owed $6.37 million in 2012.

Third base is a big question mark for the Orioles. Candidates for the starting job include Kory Castro, Pablo Ozuna, and Jeffrey Miller. There is also a possibility that Miles moves to third base to allow Gonzalez to play second base.

Castro struck out in his only big league at bat last season, splitting the year between AA and AAA where hit a combined .227 in 114 minor league games. He has 41 at bats over the last three years in Baltimore.

Ozuna, a free agent acquisition, hit .324 in 17 games with the Chicago Cubs last season. He does have the most experience of any candidate with 743 games with the Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and the Cubs. Ozuna hit .234 with five homers and 37 RBI in 103 games with the 2010 Cubs, the last time he had significant playing time.

Miller is a 26-year-old utility man who split last season between AA and AAA, and has no big league experience. Miller hit .311 with two homers and 11 RBI in 51 games in AAA last season, and has played every position but pitcher and catcher during his minor league career.

At shortstop, the Garner seems certain to use 22-year-old rookie Cristian Sardina this year. The switch-hitter has no big league experience and is a career .294 hitter in 290 minor league games.

Scott Podsednik is slated to be the leadoff hitter and leftfielder for Baltimore in 2012. Podsednik, 36, hit .260 with three home runs, 46 RBI, 56 runs, and 28 stolen bases in 128 games with the Orioles last year.

Sizemore will bat third and star in centerfield. He hit 285 with 23 home runs and 80 RBI, scoring 88 times and stealing 23 bases in 143 games.

Fighting for time in the outfield will be Randy Davis and Alex Bellemare, and, to a lesser degree, Jose Perez.

Davis hit .239 with nine home runs and 27 RBI in 47 games last season with Baltimore while Bellemare hit .252 with nine homers, 39 RBI, 73 runs scored, and 42 stolen bases in 116 games. Perez, a left-handed hitter, hit .313 with one home run and three RBI in 16 at bats with the Orioles.

Honda has spent much of the spring as the club's DH, but is a very capable right fielder. The 24-year-old left-handed slugger hit .346 with 15 home runs and 51 RBI in 76 games.