The Orioles addressed a lot of holes in their offense during this past offseason. They added Mark Reynolds and Vladimir Guerrero to provide power to a line-up that has not had a true power hitter in a few seasons. J.J. Hardy was also added as an upgrade at shortstop. He will provide a little power and solid defense to the Orioles 2011 lineup. They also added veteran first baseman Derrek Lee. Lee has been a solid defensive first basemen and provides another quality batter to the lineup. The additions of these veterans to the lineup will continue to further the development of Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and Matt Weiters. If veteran Brian Roberts is able to remain healthy for the entire season, then the Orioles' lineup has the making of a feared lineup.
The Orioles also added some key pitchers to strengthen their pitching staff, which showed improvement as the 2010 season ended. Closer Kevin Gregg was added to finish out games for the Orioles in 2011, which was an adventure in 2010. Justin Duchscherer was added to strengthen the rotation and provide veteran experience to a young group.
If things are able to come together for the Orioles in 2011, then it could be a special year. I look for the Orioles to have a very good year, building on the strong finish to last season. I think if they play as well as they did after Buck Showalter took over, they have a shot at making the playoffs and even contending for a World Series, which would be a fete that has not been accomplished since 1983. It is great to see the optimism back in Baltimore.
- Charlie Rachel
