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My Thoughts throughout the School Day

                My day is filled with boring time in which I either throw stuff at the people next to me, or I just stare into space. When I stare into space I like to think. I think about things that simple minded people would not think of. For example, ‘What do I have for lunch?' or ‘what is that smell?' Overall, the thought that run through my mind is about my Baltimore Orioles.

                The time is roughly 8:15. The school day has just begun and I am in science class. I know I will never use this knowledge in my life unless I got on Jeopardy. So I start to think, ‘What will this Orioles season be like? Will this year be another year in which we all will be left in tears? Or with this finally be the year when we maybe just will be over .500 by 1 game?' This next question was the one that I focused my brain on for the rest of the period. ‘What positions did we approve upon this year, and what positions did we lose skill in?'

                With the signing of the new GM, Andy McPhail, the Orioles made some moves this offseason. One included moving ex-MVP Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros. They have also made small signings that could help them down the stretch, that's if there is a stretch.

                First off, at catcher, Ramon Hernandez is still the starter. But at the back-up spot, it is no longer Paul Bako. Guillermo Quiroz will be taking a lot of the pitches on day-after-night games. Guillermo hasn't played much. He only has played in 39 major league games in his career. In his 100 ABs, he has 22 hits. So, therefore, he is hitting .220. .220 is not too shabby for a back-up catcher. At the age of 26, Guillermo may be able to provide a jump start that the Orioles need behind the plate. So, let's review catcher. Age is a huge upside for Guillermo and the Orioles. They did not get that upside with Paul Bako. Batting is also a big upside for Guillermo. Paul Bako batted .205 for the Orioles in 2007. With Guillermo averaging .220 a year, let's look for a higher average at our back-up spot. The downside for Guillermo is his fielding. His career FLD% is .970. Paul Bako's was .990. Overall, I believe that we did upgrade at the catcher position for the future and now. Ramon Hernandez may be able to rub off on the kid.

                I was just able to complete my thought process when the bell rang to change periods. So, I stand up and grab my books slowly and nearly asleep (thanx Night Owls). I walk out the door, cross the hall, and walk into religion class. I take me seat and continue my train of thought.

                First base, a position historically for a power bats, but is an uncertain point for the Baltimore Orioles. The position didn't change much from the previous year. Just like last year, Aubrey Huff and Kevin Millar are campaigning for the job. But, there is one new aspect this off-season that wasn't there for last off-season. Scott Moore is a very skilled player that the Orioles can plug in at first base. He is a young tool that can also be a minor threat in a line-up filled with soft bats. Scott Moore's highlight of his Orioles career was his clutch hit off of Japanese sensation, Diasuke Matsuzaka. He hit a grand slam off of the tricky rookie that tied the game. The Orioles went on to win the game. But that hit really summarized what exactly we can get from this kid. So, with the newly found depth at first, I believe we made an upgrade at the position. But not an over 500 upgrade, but a mild upgrade that could affect our record by 5 games.

                I come back out of my thought towards the end of class. We were all sharing what we would do to improve the school and voting on ideas. Apparently, nobody thinks painting the school orange and black is a good idea. The bell rings and it is time for the third period of the day, social studies.

                                The time is roughly 9:30. In this class, I am the most bored so far. We are watching a United Streaming movie about the Red Barren in WWI. While the person next to me is doing his homework that he didn't do last night, I go back into my thoughts about the birds

                Second Base to me has been a great position. I grew up watching Roberto Alomar and now I get to enjoy watching the magic that is Brian Roberts. But I may not be able to watch that magic for too much longer. The Orioles are shopping Brian very hard, especially to the Cubs. He may not be in an Orioles uniform for that much longer. But for the time being, he is. So, with that being said, our second base position is one of the best in the MLB. Brian Roberts is an all-star at the position and can only get better. He can hit 50 doubles, 120+ hits, 15 HRs, and 60 RBIs per year as a lead-off man. He is also more than capable of keeping up with Carl Crawford stealing bases. He is an all around great player. Freddie Bynum was the back-up last year and is this year. But the difference is that he has playing time and experience. This overall choice is tough since the trade rumors about Roberts and the experience of Bynum. But I will call it a push, Bynum's playing time last year and his overall lack of starting skills made my decision.

                Finally, the bell rings once again. This time to end 3^rd period and begin a little break we get in between 1st-3^rd and 4^th- 6^th. I, once again, tired as ever, grab my things and walk back to my homeroom. After I pack up for the next classes and have a last second cram session with my friends for the English test that is next.

                English class then rolled around. I hastily grabbed my things once again, walk across the hall, pop a squat in my chair, and separate my desk for the test. After about 20 minutes, I finish my test on pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs and begin to ponder once again.

                Shortstop, probably one of the most famous positions in baseball. The Orioles have had quite good ones over the years. But recently, the position has been played well on the field, but off the field it has been put to shame. The Orioles traded that dead weight in the off season and went younger. There is in fact a combination of three young guns that could be playing that position. Luis Hernandez stands out the most to me. He played extremely well on defense and offense when Miguel Tejada broke his wrist. Luis Hernandez is an average defensive SS as well as an average offensive shortstop. Unlike Miguel, Luis does not have the power to bat in the 4^th or 3^rd spot. But he can provide some nice speed and some solid hits for either the bottom or top of the line-up. The next person on the current depth chart is Freddie Bynum. He played in 70 games last year alternating from SS to 2B and even playing some OF. Bynum can be a nice fill in for the Orioles. And lastly there is Brandon Fahey. This kid has some potential and the Orioles obviously see that as well. The Orioles have tried to put him in almost every position possible to see where he fits. They seem to have found is spot in the infield. He has the experience at shortstop to be able to rotate with Bynum and Hernandez. The only real problem with Fahey is he has the stature of a twelve year old. So, as a result, his offensive numbers are not that hot. But, either way, the Orioles downgraded at this position. You cannot upgrade a position when you lose a former MVP who has driven in 100+ RBIs every year.

                Next comes the top period of the day, reading class. I, personally, don't enjoy reading on my spare time but this teacher (mentioned in my last blog about Brian Roberts) makes the class great. But, then again, it is school. So I went back into my Orioles thought mode and began to wonder while slightly paying attention to the reading of Romeo and Juliet.

                Third base now. The most historic position for the Orioles. That spot has been manned by greats. Most noticeable was the great defensive player in Brook Robinson and the durable Cal Ripken, Jr. Now, it has been manned by Melvin Mora. He has been on the hot corner for many years and he can always impress. He can impress by making a Brooks Robinson play or hitting a clutch homerun. He is getting older and that is always a problem for 3^rd basemen. Mora has also been in trade talks and obviously does not like losing. He also has a history of injuries. This is where Scott Moore jumps in. He has a nice glove on the corner. Like I said in the first base section, he also has a good bat. So, overall, this is an upgrade. Melvin Mora is older and unhappy, but Moore is there.

                I jump back out of thought, once again, by a bell. Damn, I really hate bells now. I grab my things and start to walk. On a normal Wednesday I would have lunch after 5^th, but not today. For some reason, that has yet to been revealed to me, we are on assembly schedule which means I have to get through 6^th period. And guess what freakin' 6^th period is. O jeez, yes, its math. I sit down and she begins to hand out algebra quizzes that we took a few days ago. I knew I F'd up, but I didn't know I F'd up that bad. Woh, a 50%. Well, at least I got higher than the Orioles will this season.

                The outfield has seen some recent change due to the acquisition of Luke Scott. Luke Scott filled the role in LF as Jay Payton moved to CF to replace the free agent Corey Patterson. So, LF has seen some improvement with Luke Scott. He is an upgrade from Payton with his bat foremost. Scott can hit 20 HRs any year and drive in 100. The age factor also is a huge up for Scott. So, I believe that is an upgrade. In center it is our former LFer. Jay Payton is sliding over to fill the void left by the now available speedster Corey Patterson. Corey Patterson takes away not only great plays, but numbers from the OF. He leaves with about 12 HRs and 50 SBs that is just stolen from the line-up. Speed is a huge factor in the OF. Don't get me wrong, Jay Payton has good speed, but Corey's speed was blinding. He was able to play in and stop bloops while also being able to run down the deep ball. I believe that this is a downgrade. In RF, Nick Markakis is always hot. He is a better player than he was last year and look forward to him having a huge year in the 4 spot. But we also added Roberson who is a younger player who can jump start the OF. So I give RF am a thumbs up. They upgraded that spot. So, LF and RF are upgraded, but CF has lost some hop.

                The bell once again is rung and it's finally lunch time. I take a break from my thoughts to eat and have a conversation with my friends.

                Next comes the last period of the day, music class. We are going to watch Singing in the Rain and write a small review on it. So I am watching this musical. First thought that pops into my head is that this is really Amaechi. So that makes me think.

                Why are the Yankees always so good?

                Oh. I'm sorry, I got off track there.

                The Orioles pitching has been a disappointment since Mike Mussina left. The only real upside has been Erik Bedard and B.J. Ryan. We let B.J. Ryan slip away and we might be doing the same to Bedard. In our rotation, we didn't really lose much. The rotation as of now is Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera, Jeremy Guthrie, Garrett Olson, and Adam Loewen. The rotation is about the same. The rotation last year was torn apart by injuries. Kris Benson, Adam Loewen, and Erik Bedard all went down with injuries last year. That gave opportunities to young players to come in and show their stuff. We have a lot of options in the rotation. Many players can step in. But this position has not changed much. So I'm going with a push here. There wasn't much improvement or downgrades. In the pen there is always room for improvement. But they haven't signed any well known pitchers. They are all unproven young pitchers. This is a def.  downgrade. There is nothing I see that has made me feel easier about the pen.

                All my periods are now over and only thing that is left is the mystery assembly. So, the entire 8^th grade assembles in the gym. We are told that they have planned an activity in which we must talk to people we don't normally talk to. That blew on ice. So then we played jeopardy which also blew on ice. So, I sat and reviewed my entire day of pondering.

                Behind the plate we upgraded slightly by flip flopping Bako with Quiroz. Quiroz may be able to pan out to be like Ramon. In the infield, first base is upgraded by Scott Moore in the 3^rd string spot. He is able to provide a hitter off the bench. On second, Brian Roberts is being shopped around and the only person there to back him up is Bynum. So that's a downgrade. On short, we loss Tejada but we have young talent behind him. But we still lost a major bat. So that is by far a downgrade. On third, Moore provides relief from Mora that can come in handy. That is viewed as an upgrade to me. In the OF, RF and LF are upgraded but CF has gotten weaker because of the loss of Corey Patterson. The starting pitching is a push since I don't see huge change. In the bullpen it is filled with no names that will most likely struggle. That is a downgrade.

                Sure, the Orioles have upgraded a wee bit, but they are still facing the Sox and Yanks. So it doesn't help. The same sub .500 record should be in place this year.