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Baltimore Orioles
This off season doesn’t have nearly the same amount of prized free agents as last year’s. However, one of the bigger names out there this year appears to be John Lackey. Lackey was 11-8 with a 3.83 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 2009. ESPN has called him the biggest free agent pitcher on the market this season. Unfortunately, the franchise to the north that wears pinstripes is also interested, along with various other teams.
With regard to the Yankees, what reason would someone like Lackey have to come to Baltimore as opposed to going to the Yankees? NY certainly has a “win now” mentality, while the Orioles are looking to win down the road. However, I can think of one BIG reason that someone like John Lackey would choose the fair winds of Oriole Park as opposed to the Bronx Zoo: Yankee Stadium. Camden Yards has a reputation as a hitters ballpark itself. But it’s nothing compared to the new Yankee Stadium, which became a running joke over the course of the 2009 season with regard to how may HR’s were hit out of there. Normal pop flies appeared to have a chance to go out. Once the season started and it became obvious that the one character flaw in the new stadium was that balls flew out of there, I told myself that over time there would be pitchers that decided not to play for the Yankees for that reason. This is not to say that Lackey would decide to go to the Orioles (or anyone else) because of this. Unfortunately whenever the Yankees involve themselves with a free agent, that free agent is either going to end up playing for the Yanks, or the team that gets him will do so at a much higher premium.
Obviously, even sports franchises don’t have a bottomless pit of cash. Towards the end of the 2009 season, the Orioles seemed to indicate that they were planning on getting some free agents this winter, and Andy MacPhail’s smart enough to know that he’ll have to pony up some cash in order to do so. Like everyone else, I was upset that we didn’t land the “non-Marylander,” Mark Texeira, last off season. But I wouldn’t have wanted to do it at the price that the Yankees paid, as the O’s made a competitive offer, and at a certain point you have to walk away from the table. In Lackey’s case, he’s a bona fide starter with good stats. He’s also played for a winning organization in Califor-I mean-Anaheim for quite a few years. (They’ll always be the California Angels to me.) Thus he knows how to win, which is an attitude that we could use in our clubhouse.
I’m really just writing all of this using the “shotgun mentality” in the sense that the O’s have really expressed any formal intrest in Lackey. I will say that at 31, he’s already well into the middle of his prime. The Orioles have had a knack for throwing a lot of cash at veteran free agents and effectively overpaying (Albert Belle anyone?). I don’t think that MacPhail would allow that to happen, but it’s something for which to watch out. The Orioles have been talking about getting a solid starter for the rotation, and Lackey would definitely be that (and then some). Personally I’d like to see the O’s make a run at him, but whether that happens only Peter Angelos and Andy MacPhail truly know. At the very least, it would raise the collective moxie of Oriole fans, right?!
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Lackey may not be suited for a hitter’s park, as in the game against the Yankees, I remember he got crushed at the Yankees Stadium. While Lackey would be a great upgrade for the Orioles, and he can get his fair share of strikeouts, come winter he may not produce as much. As a pitcher relying on his curveball, he may falter but this would be a great idea to ponder. I look forward to your posts as I see your point of view as very intresting and hopeful for me.
I figure that you can turn on ESPN or read the paper if you want to hear about how bad the Orioles have been over time, or how they still might not be able to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox. Whether they can compete or not this year is another story, but I try to be an eternal optimist when it comes to sports. Plus, the O’s legitimately have a good team with good young players, so that certainly helps!
The hitters’ nature of Oriole Park is certainly a concern. In fact, it kind of makes you wonder if that’s inhibited them from getting good pitching over the years (poor decisions by upper management didn’t help either). But I would point at the Boston Red Sox as an example as to why that might not be the case. Fenway is more of a hitter’s park than Camden Yards, and they don’t seem to have an issue finding pitching. I think that if Lackey’s going to come to the Orioles, it’s going to be because of two factors: 1) the offer’s right, and 2) he thinks the O’s have a legitimate future. I’ve always thought that players would go to any team that’s willing to throw a legitimate pile of cash their way. But when it comes down to several teams, obvisouly that player’s going to choose the team that has the best chance of winning. As for Lackey’s style of pitching, there’s a chance he might get rocked from time to time pitching at home, but I think that’s the case with everyone. Oriole Park isn’t an easy park in which to pitch. That said, if he’s worried about that he’ll pretty much have to consider anyone not in the AL East (except maybe Toronto). I saw him pitch in Baltimore two years ago, and the Angels won that day 4-2, so that’s the kind of production I would expect from him if he played for us. Thanks for reading!