Post by joshsbix on Jul 25, 2017 23:59:52 GMT -5
The Orioles do not have much time to enjoy their first winning season since 1971 as the team gets ready for an expansion draft, the amateur draft, and one of the teams most important free agency periods in the last decade. With a lot of young talent filling out the core of the roster the Orioles will spend the off season looking for a few key players that can help them close the 11 game gap between them and a playoff birth during the 1977 season.
The Orioles won their last 5 games of the '76 season to ensure a winning campaign much to the surprise of starting pitcher, George Stone, who had in early september already admitted to the Baltimore Sun that he felt dooped into signing an extension in July, with the desire to play for a winning team, only to see the team slowly slide towards a sub .500 season. Stone finished the season on the DL leading some members of the team to question the validity of his injury. Stone has battled injuries over his entire career but said the team's performance over the last two weeks of the season has inspired him to try to shed the leadership rating of, "none at all" in the off season. He plans to attend a leadership seminar with leadership guru Warren Bennis during the off season.
It is clear to anyone that is literate that the biggest improvements for the O's need to come in the form of strong arms that can limit teams from hitting the ball out of the park. The team finished the year 23rd in home runs given up surrendering 213 long balls over the course of the season. Despite the fact that they were in the top 10 in most of the hitting categories, pitching was terrible. However, manager/GM/Owner Joshua Jamieson does not believe that the team needs to look far for new arms. "We have a lot of young arms that grew bigly during the season simply from pitching innings. Granted they were not effective innings, but they were learning opportunities that we hope to take advantage of down the road." He may have a valid point. As the roster stands now, on the eve of the expansion draft, the roster contains 7 pitchers all under 28 years old. Ruhle, McGregor, Halicki, Kravec, and Hassler all have two or fewer years of major league experience and pitched well at different stretches of the year. When asked what the key to next season was going to be Jamieson replied, "It is going to be imperative that veterans like Roggenburk, Weaver, Bunker, and Stone contribute and the pitchers that we believe are going to be core members of our rotation and pen in the coming years take a major step forward if we are going to be successful in 1977."
While pitching is the focus for the Orioles this off season, the team will look to maintain solid hitting numbers with a very good opportunity for a young team to improve on their .266/207 HR/870 Runs Scored season numbers for 1976. If pitching can keep them close the big bats in the O's lineup could likely scrape together enough wins to put them in the wildcard hunt next year. Harrah, Rice, Matthews, Ford, and May are all 28 years old or younger and it is not out of the realm of possibility that each of them hits 30 home runs next year and each of them reaching the 100 RBI plateau. First Baseman Carlos May stated, "That is our goal as we look towards next year, but what does a guy have to do to get another left handed bat in this lineup?"
It is true that fans have suffered through a mediocre beginning to the 1970s. However, as we make the turn for the 80s the Orioles hope to turn their fortunes around and that hope lies in the arms and bats of a roster full of young players that now look to step into the spotlight of major league glory.
ITS A WINNING RECORD!
The Orioles won their last 5 games of the '76 season to ensure a winning campaign much to the surprise of starting pitcher, George Stone, who had in early september already admitted to the Baltimore Sun that he felt dooped into signing an extension in July, with the desire to play for a winning team, only to see the team slowly slide towards a sub .500 season. Stone finished the season on the DL leading some members of the team to question the validity of his injury. Stone has battled injuries over his entire career but said the team's performance over the last two weeks of the season has inspired him to try to shed the leadership rating of, "none at all" in the off season. He plans to attend a leadership seminar with leadership guru Warren Bennis during the off season.
It is clear to anyone that is literate that the biggest improvements for the O's need to come in the form of strong arms that can limit teams from hitting the ball out of the park. The team finished the year 23rd in home runs given up surrendering 213 long balls over the course of the season. Despite the fact that they were in the top 10 in most of the hitting categories, pitching was terrible. However, manager/GM/Owner Joshua Jamieson does not believe that the team needs to look far for new arms. "We have a lot of young arms that grew bigly during the season simply from pitching innings. Granted they were not effective innings, but they were learning opportunities that we hope to take advantage of down the road." He may have a valid point. As the roster stands now, on the eve of the expansion draft, the roster contains 7 pitchers all under 28 years old. Ruhle, McGregor, Halicki, Kravec, and Hassler all have two or fewer years of major league experience and pitched well at different stretches of the year. When asked what the key to next season was going to be Jamieson replied, "It is going to be imperative that veterans like Roggenburk, Weaver, Bunker, and Stone contribute and the pitchers that we believe are going to be core members of our rotation and pen in the coming years take a major step forward if we are going to be successful in 1977."
While pitching is the focus for the Orioles this off season, the team will look to maintain solid hitting numbers with a very good opportunity for a young team to improve on their .266/207 HR/870 Runs Scored season numbers for 1976. If pitching can keep them close the big bats in the O's lineup could likely scrape together enough wins to put them in the wildcard hunt next year. Harrah, Rice, Matthews, Ford, and May are all 28 years old or younger and it is not out of the realm of possibility that each of them hits 30 home runs next year and each of them reaching the 100 RBI plateau. First Baseman Carlos May stated, "That is our goal as we look towards next year, but what does a guy have to do to get another left handed bat in this lineup?"
It is true that fans have suffered through a mediocre beginning to the 1970s. However, as we make the turn for the 80s the Orioles hope to turn their fortunes around and that hope lies in the arms and bats of a roster full of young players that now look to step into the spotlight of major league glory.
ITS A WINNING RECORD!
