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2008 MLB
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2008 Baltimore Orioles Predictions & Season
Preview
Jimmy
Boyd’s 2008 Baltimore
Orioles predictions,
unfortunately, bring more
bad news to Orioles’
faithful. Baltimore has
posted 10 straight losing
seasons, and I can assure
you that number 11 is on the
horizon. Expect to see the
O’s in the AL East gutter
with Tampa Bay leapfrogging
them for that fourth place
spot.
Starting Rotation/Bullpen
By shipping Miguel Tejada
off to the Astros for a
five-player package, the O’s
are looking to rebuild. They
have even listened to offers
for southpaw sensation Erik
Bedard so don’t be surprised
if he is dealt at some
point. But as long as be
stays, the O’s will have a
shot to win every time he
toes the mound. He won 13
games last season and
challenged for the AL lead
in strikeouts before going
down in September with a
strained oblique. Jeremy
Guthrie is the future of the
Baltimore rotation. He is a
former top draft choice of
the Indians and emerged as
one of the best rookies in
the league last season. He
also went down with a
strained oblique last year.
There must be something in
the water in Baltimore. Adam
Loewen, the fourth overall
pick in the 2002 draft,
underwent elbow surgery last
season, but is expected to
be fully recovered this
year. Daniel Cabrera may be
on his last leg with the O's
is he can't show some more
consistency. He has teased
this franchise with flashes
of brilliance, but cannot
sustain it over the course
of a season. Garret Olson
will likely fall into the
fifth spot. As you can see,
the Orioles have a solid
rotation and would probably
benefit from keeping it in
tact, but may have to deal
to Bedard at some point to
get some more offense. The
Bullpen is another story. As
soon as the starters go
down, it’s only going to get
worse when these guys come
in.
Batting Order
As far as the offense goes,
the O’s have a good one in
Brian Roberts, who made his
second All-Star team last
season after tying for the
AL lead with 50 steals. Nick
Markakis was voted Most
Valuable Oriole by the local
media and is a superstar in
the making. He hit 23 bombs
and added 112 RBIs. With
Tejada gone and no
protection in the lineup, I
wonder if teams will even
pitch to him. And how would
you like to be Kevin Millar
known as clean up hitter by
default. Not much else can
be said about this order. If
several guys don’t prove
themselves, it could be a
long year for the O’s.
One key thing to look at
from a betting perspective
is that the Orioles lost 31
one-run games last season
which was the most in the
majors. This is because
their pen needs a lot of
work. So keep in mind that
bad teams often come up
short in close games.
The Orioles are starting
from scratch, so to speak,
and who knows how long this
rebuilding project will take
in one of the toughest
divisions in baseball.
Hopefully, the O’s will stay
away from wasting any money
on high-priced free agents.
They may take a few more
steps back before going
forward, but at least they
appear to know that one
player is not going to make
them a contender.
Jimmy Boyd was the number
one ranked MLB handicapper
in the world last year and
second place wasn't even
close. Make sure you're on
board from opening day until
game seven of the World
Series for the most winning
baseball picks in the
industry.
2008 Baltimore Orioles Odds:
Odds to win AL East:
50/1
Odds to win 2008 AL Pennant:
80/1
Odds to win 2008 World
Series:
150/1
Other Predictions for the 2008 Season:
Updated February 12th, 2008
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