30 Teams in 30 Days: Baltimore Orioles

30 Teams in 30 Days is a preseason feature to highlight the significant changes to each of the major league teams. It's meant to get everyone up to speed before our pre-season predictions in mid-March.

Baltimore lost 90 games for the third straight year in 2008, and finished next to last in team ERA. The only decent starter the team had was Jeremy Guthrie, and the rest of the starters had an ERA over five. The team does have two good young outfielders in Adam Jones and Nick Markakis.

C-Gregg Zaun (Matt Wieters will be up in May after he dominates AAA)

1B-Aubrey Huff

2B-Brian Roberts

SS-Cesar Izturis

3B-Melvin Mora

LF-Felix Pie

CF-Adam Jones

RF-Nick Markakis

DH-Luke Scott

SP-Jeremy Guthrie

SP-Mark Hendrickson

SP-Radhames Liz (good arm)

SP-Matt Albers

SP-Danys Baez

CL-George Sherill

The Orioles will be terrible again, and will probably lose 90 games again in the AL east. The only thing Orioles fans have to look forward to this summer is Markakis, Jones, and the arrival of Wieters.

WBC Provisional Rosters Announced

With the announcement of the World Baseball Classic rosters, MLB fans everyone collectively begin to hold their breath. the WBC, ostensibly, serves to spread the appeal of baseball more globally in a format as close to soccer as they can make it without making it unwatchable. So the best baseball players in the world will represent their respective countries in a tournament to decide the answer to an age old question: Are the best baseball players those that learned to play with aluminum bats and overpriced tee ball gloves, or with balled up socks and broken fence posts?

The best part of the Classic, though, is the injury roulette that every team plays.

Its sounds unfair and irresponsible for players to compete in exhibition games when their respective teams pay millions of dollars for their services, but they're fighting for their countries! Eat that, NFL, we have dozens of Pat Tillmans! Oh, the heroism. It is fair though, when one thinks about it. The more good players a team has, the better chance they have that they could lose money and games because of an injury during an exhibition game. So, sure, your team has seven future hall of famers. That's one hell of a treat. It's only right, by my estimation, that you should have more to worry about. It's the only situation where fans of the Baltimore Nick Markakises have an advantage.

Get To Know A Prospect: Matt Wieters

Get To Know A Prospect is an ongoing feature highlighting top prospects from teams around the league. Players discussed are generally close to breaking into the big leagues and tend to have been bad ass mother fuckers in the minors.

When the Baltimore Orioles traded away Ramon Hernandez earlier this winter I just attributed that to the Orioles typically not having any fucking clue what they are doing. Little did I realize that they have the second coming of Joe Mauer in their minor league system.

Matt Wieters is a 22 year-old, 6 foot 5, switch hitting catcher. In one season of advanced Single A and Double A ball he batted a ridiculous combined .355 with 27 homers and 91 rbi's. He attended Georgia Tech where he was a two time First Team All-American.

With the departure of Hernandez, Wieters has been put on the fast track to the majors. With any luck he will be tagging American League East pitching on opening day.

And for your viewing pleasure...

Felix Pie Traded

The Cubs just traded another one of their overhyped prospect busts. Chicago sent Felix Pie to Baltimore for pitchers Garrett Olson and Henry Williamson. Pie is the latest in a long line of overyhyped, disappointing Cubs prospects that includes Mark Prior, Hee-Seop Choi, Angel Guzman, and Corey Patterson.

Markakis Signs 6 Year, 66 Million Dollar Extension

Reports have it that 25 year old Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis has signed a 66 million dollar extension to remain on a last place team for another six seasons.

Coming off a year where Markakis hit .306 with 20 homers, 87 rbi's and 99 walks it is money wisely spent by the Orioles.

The long-term deal is part of a growing trend of teams locking up their young players for substantial but not overwhelming money. With teams often grossly over-paying marquee free agents it's nice to see teams making sound economic investments in their young stars. Not sure the trend is a good idea?

Just look at the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays. Damn, that still sounds weird.