Steve Davis: Orioles Counting On Bounce Backs
Clearly, the off-season hasn't gone the way the Orioles planned.
The main objective was to improve the rotation, and right now, the rotation is worse than last year, which was pretty bad. They said they wanted to retain Chris Davis, but did anyone think they would, especially when it meant 7 years-$161 million? No one thought Wieters would take the qualifying offer, but he did and he's back. I doubt anyone believed they'd go 4 years and $31 million for O'Day, but they did. That means they retained 3 players that have been All-Stars. Plus, they added Mark Trumbo, who could be a 35 homer guy. Hyun Soo Kim is a big question mark. It seems like they are putting their eggs in the "bounce back."
If they are going to be any good, then they have to get better starting pitching.That means Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzales must have bounce back years. They were both excellent in 2014. For that matter, they were really good in 2012 and 2013, so it's reasonable to assume that they can return to their 3 year track record rather than one bad year last year. Even Gausman can point to 2014 for some good memories. He was very young and didn't pitch that much, but he was in better in '14 than '15, and the Orioles are counting on him being that guy.
Am I drinking the orange Kool-Aid a little? Maybe. But that's what you what you do when you're thirsty for a playoff team.
