Rob Long: Building Hope For The Orioles
Going into the 2015 off-season of the Baltimore Orioles, I wanted this team to go after some pieces that would fortify a team that went 81-81. Part of doing so I felt they had to address, naturally, starting pitching, but they also needed some on base percentage guys who could shake things up in the line up.
I mentioned two players as free agency started. One of those players was Denard Span. I thought Span was a player who could get on and jump start a line up. The O's did not seem as interested in Span as I was and he's now with the San Francisco Giants.
The other player I was very interested in was Dexter Fowler. When you're talking about having a guy who can get on base and steal bases, Fowler might be one of the best in the game right now. His career on base percentage of .363 is even more impressive than Span's .352. Fowler has 114 stolen bases in 166 tries as well which makes he and Manny Machado a potent threat at the top of the order for the Birds.
While Dexter Fowler has started over 800 games in center field over his career, many experts believe the transition to right field will be smooth and even add to an outfield that had questions defensively.
Yes, Yovani Gallard's health concerns have put somewhat of a damper on the start of spring training, but it's obvious that the Orioles have addressed some needs that they had going into the off-season. Many pundits has the team in fourth and even in fifth place, but Buck Showalter and the club has had its share of doubters in route to the best record in the American League East over the past four seasons.
That's why you play the game.
