Pete - first off, sorry to hear about the Sun editor who prematurely had his life ended tragically on Monday. I'm sure you knew him as he used to be involved in the sports area. My condolences to his family.

On the subject at hand, Brian deserved an A. Other than that one month span when he was very sick and still played through it, he had a superb year.

One player that Jeff left out (probably because of # of games) was Chad Moeller. I thinked he deserved a solid B for effort after Zaun left.

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Pete's reply: Thanks for the kind thoughts. I agree on Moeller, but they limited the position grades to players with at least 100 at-bats.

Grades huh - HMMMM Let's see...... Andy Mcphail A Trembley - C- Peter Schmuck B+ Posters C- too much whining and ranting. Future of the O's kids - B+ esp Wieters and Riemhold and Matusz! We got sumpin to work with there. Mora - F for flunked team concept and got old fast!

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Pete's reply: I think you inflated my grade. I never got better than a B in anything in school.

Huff D
Roberts A- Needed .290 BA for an A
Isturez D I am being generous here
Mora D enough said
Wiggs D Decent hitter not enough power
Pie D Showed flashes
Reimold B Not enough run production for corner outfielder
Jones B- Major slump
Markakis B Good, not great.
Matt W B- Has promise
J Guth D ERA over 5.00
Berken F- Stunk the place up
Bergensen B 13 for 19 in quality starts
Tillman D- numbers don't lie
Hernandez D- see above
Matusz C Hard to say, was babied along
Hendrickson C- ok if 4.50 era is good enough for you
Every other member of the bullpen gets an F. No one who was still on roster at the end was consistant enough to do better than an F.

Roberts-B Gotta have a better OBP than .356 for a leadoff man and he strikes out too much. Jeter was at .406 OBP. I don't know what the deal is when it looks like he's not running hard on a grounder or hustling to 1st on a dropped 3rd strike. Its discouraging because the Yankees and Red SOX, for the most part, hustle all the time. Overall, a real solid year from B-Rob, but would like to see more of the hustle obvious.

Peter, Usually you give a prediction at the beginning of the season about the Orioles fortunes. I would be interested in you giving a prediction on this offseason! Who comes, who goes, etc. And I say free crab cakes for the person who writes in (you included) that comes closest to the O's actual offseason moves.

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Pete's reply: MIght have to define your terms somewhat, since they'll sign eight or nine minor league and marginal free agents to beef up the organizational depth. I assume you're talking moves for players who would start the season on the 25-man roster. I'll think about that. Not an easy question.

Macphail B for Bulls*** which if it was music he would be a brass band

Trembley F for Freaking lucky to still have a job

Jim Hunter H for Homer

Tom Davis G for goofy

Greg Bader A for arrogant

Peter Angelos A as in absent

MASN L for loser network...200 losses

Gil D for dumb enough to renew season tickets

Liked Gil's assessment; Love crab cakes but who knows what's up there sleeve for the off season. No one wants to play here; Brian is no Jeter but I agree he needs a better obp. I'll cut him some slack on the hustle. I mean he does so much for this team that it probably wore him down with all the losing. I wonder what birdfanman's assessment of Cla is. I think we gotta keep him. What choice do we have? By the way they say we are going to spend alot of money in off season. On who? Again, who would want to play here that is any good. We'd have to overpay him so much.

One more thing to throw out there. Which Adam Jones do you think we will get next year? 1st half Adam or 2nd half Adam? And will he ever make it to 500 ABs. I'm really questioning his durability. Great athlete but I'm thinking .275 hitter with less than .800 OPS is all he'll ever be offensively. If healthy.

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Pete's reply: I think the durability questions are fair, but I think he'll be fine. I'm guessing he thinks things through this winter and comes back to have a big year.

I think Jeff is way off on Baez. His ERA was just over 4.00. He was about the only reliable arm coming down the stretch. He gets a solid B in my rankings. I could also quibble with Jeff's rankings for Scott, Meredith, and Johnson, but to a lesser degree than Baez.

I didn't know where to post this but thought other fans might like to see a story about Brooksie. The older fans here wouldn't be surprised to see such warmth and graciousness from one of the classiest ballplayers ever, but the younger fans might get a glimpse here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111404645

He is pretty much on. I would give Brian Roberts a B or B- though. He lacked leadership until he started reading the blogs. He wasn't focused and didn't have his head in the game on numerous occasions (like when he and Nick looked at each other when a pop fly dropped between them or he forgot how many outs there were). He is capable of stealing more bases than 30. So our leadoff hitter steals 1 base per week?

The other one is Mora. D. Terrible year. Sad, but true.

I guess it's easy to favor the popular guys and give them extra slack. Heck the refs do it for Tom Brady .

Gil,

Terrific post!

I can particularly relate to the D, as I renewed as well. I always do, which directly speaks to my sanity.

The entire grading process is ridiculous. I know it's done in every sport, in every city now, but seriously......some reporter gets to print grades next to these pro players? Dumb!

Although I won't grade him, Markakis needs to step up next year. Yes, he's still very young, but he's also getting paid alot for a young pre free agent player.

In this city, he's over hyped. His overall numbers are very average though. 101 rbi's are a product of batting 3rd, and having guys on base in front of him. The (just ok) average, lack of hr's and lack of speed make him far from being an elite player. If not for his terrific fielding, he would be a concern for the money he now makes.

But he's young and should improve! He has to, especially since this town has crowned him a cornerstone.

I'd give Roberts a B, also. The ability is obviously there - the effort, at times, not so much. Considering the contract he just signed, he should have stepped up and set the example for the rookies. He's a fine player - it's just frustrating knowing that he's capable of even more.

He and Mora were the holdovers from the "I'm a vet, so you better ask me first if you want to sit me" era. Mora is a good player - he's just reaching the end of his career. But his and Roberts' attitudes and lack of focus, at times, did more harm than their abilities did good, in my opinion.

The few that jumped out at me:

First off, I don't see how Itzuris gets merely a B-. He was a great part of this club, strengthening us up the middle tremendously and thus giving our young starters the opportunity to throw with less fear. I would actually give him an A.

As for Chris Ray, sure, I think the F is warranted, but the statement "Perhaps it was too much, too soon for him after '07 Tommy John surgery" seems a bit apologetic. The statement should be instead, "Perhaps the guy simply has never known how to pitch."

I have to say, I am surprised Albers got anything but an F. going into the year he was expected to step it up and the only step I see that he took was back.
His demeanor and dedication remind me of Curt Schilling his first year here.
Too bad there aren't any bullpen veterans willing to take him to the woodshed, He could be good, but has no respect for himself, the fans, or the game.

I think Brian Is close to Jeff's A- . I would have given him maybe a B+. My only problem with Brian is his lack of hustle at times such as when running out routine grounders. He seemed at times to not have his head in the game like his forgetting it was 1 out when he ran home from second. But I think the fact that he plays for a perenial loser has worn him down. I think if and when he evers plays on a winner he will show the same hustle he did when he first came up.

Pete, There have been some outlandish comments regarding the grade for Baez. I thought my c- was very generous. Is there a statistic on how many runs Baez gave up that were charged to others? I remember way too many times he came in and gave up hits that scored those on base. These runs of course would not show up in his era but sure did on the scoreboard.

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Pete's reply: I don't have that number, but he certainly gave up his share of inherited runs.

I won't argue much with Jeff's grades. I think I'll join many here in giving Roberts a B because he did show a lack of hustle too many times this season though he did have a good season overall. He needs to get on base more and steal more.
Nick M. was a disappointment, his numbers were respectable, but for what he gets paid, "respectable" is a bit weak, hopefully he will improve.
It's hard to say a lot of good things about the pitchers. Not many really impressed positively. Bergesen looked very good, Tillman and Mautusz okay, Berken, Guthrie, Koji, were all disappointing but not horrible.
There were definitely some positives to take away from the season, but the Orioles have a very long way to go before they can realistically compete in the AL East.. If MacPhail works some great deals this winter, and all the rookies show some improvement, the O's have a shot at a .500 season next year, but not much more. A .500 season is good enough for me, it will show they are finally moving in the right direction, but I am not yet confident they can even do that.

Wayne,

I honestly don't think that Macphail will aquire what is needed during the offseason to make the team competitive. Part of the reason is that the free agent pool is thin, and part of it is that it is just not in his chemistry to overpay for free agents.

He will go through the motions but at the end of the day any additons that he makes will be of the Huff, Wigginton class, and not an impact player. Carl Crawford is a free agent, let's see if he goes after him.

I think he will continue to work the plan and try to buy time.

Even though attendance was down, considering the end of year payroll, Angelos will put a lot of money in the bank, and I don't think he wants to spend it on John lackey who will likely end up in Boston.

I'm only doing guys who have a decent chance at being contributors next year

Guthrie, C-, at least he went out there every 5 days and got 200 innings
Hernandez, D, get your fat a$$ into shape this winter or get ready for the bullpen
Berken, D+, at least he wouldn't wear down in the 4th like Hernandez, but can't see him in the rotation long term
Tillman, C+, needs to strike out more guys and be more consistent from start to start
Matusz, B, good year considering it was his first year as a pro
Bergesen, B+, looked like he was the real deal before he got hurt, interested to see what'll happen in his second year now that the league has seen him once
Hendrickson, B, hopefully they bring him back he can be used in alot of different ways
Ray, F, maybe whoever wrote too much too soon in the other day was right, next year will be make or break for him
Albers, F, needs to be cut immediately if he doesn't show up in better shape next year
Koji, D, has to be moved to the bullpen asap
Johnson, B-, obviously isn't a closer but is still a good reliever
Meredith, C-, why not keep him with the team, seems like he can hold his own
Mickolio, B-, like his mean streak, can't wait to see him for a whole year
Bass, C-, seemed to wear down since half the starters were coming out in the 4th and 5th innings this year
Wieters, B+, hopefully he keeps hitting for power next year, but he just kept getting better and better on offense and behind the plate, needs keep learning how to call a game though
Moeller, C-, would be an automatic F based on his on field performance, but i think he brings value in dealing with Wieters and the young pitchers
Roberts, B+, good year, i'm with birdmanfan though get the average up, but if i were him i'd probably have been swinging for homeruns too in August and September the way they were playing at that point
Wigginton, D, don't think he got his at bats regularly enough to blame it all on him
Izturis, B-, even though he can't hit at all having him out there in the field was important
Andino, C-, don't really know what else a team like the Os could get as a back up infielder besides a guy like him
Aubrey, C, why not give him a shot at 1st next year, its not like we're gonna be any good anyway plus he can play defense
Scott, C, too streaky to ever be a consistent contributor
Markakis, B+, needs to hit for more power but needs some protection in the lineup too, needs to run more on the bases
Jones, B-, good 1st half terrible 2nd half, which one are we gonna get next year now that the league seems to have a decent scouting report on him, also needs to run more
Reimold, B-, need more RBIs but looks like he is gonna be a solid everyday player
Pie, C, streaky but seemed to have figured out how to be a competent major league player after working with Crow, like Andino, i don't think we're gonna get anything better as a 4th outfielder

So I will copy Zrebiec's format to an extent...

Roberts is by far the best. Does not quite deserve an A, due to issues in mid-season, but is clearly the best we have. Izturis is a sold B and played about as well as we can expect. Andino looked like he could have been a B, but just did not deliver after filling in for Izturis. The rest was basically a disaster.

C Robert Andino
D Aubrey Huff
B Cesar Izturis
C- Melvin Mora
B+ Brian Roberts
D Ty Wigginton

Reimold get the highest marks in the outfield, partially due to consistency and partially because of hustle/attitude. Jone and Markakis were solid, but not exceptional this year, and Pie show great improvement after starting the season very poorly. Scott just did not deliver and was only this high due to first half numbers. We could have 4 B+ or better outfielders next year and that is very positive.

B Adam Jones
B Nick Markakis
B Felix Pie
B+ Nolan Reimold
C Luke Scott

Catching in the end was solid. Wieters late season burst propelled him to a B+ in my book (though just barley). If he can keep that type of average, bump up the power and continue to work the pitching staff, this guy is going to be an A. Zaun did a fine job in his role andwas really starting to come through at the plate before the trade so I moved him to a B- from my original C/C+ thought. I added Moeller as I thought he did very well after coming back from AAA. Would not mind having him as a backup next year if he can be productive as a backup like he was in the 2nd half.

B+ Matt Wieters
B- Gregg Zaun
B- Chad Moeller

Starting rotation is tough. Bergesen and Matusz end up being my top picks in the end, but neither were quite A material...yet. Berken was lower, but started some some improvement in the last month so I gave him a C-. Still think he needs a little more work at AAA, but I believe he can be an end of the rotation starter. So there is really no such thing as an F-, but Eaton was worthless, One of the moves I knew was going to be made when he was released in the spring, but IMHO, one of McPhail's few mistakes -- and a big one. Guthrie and Hernandez gave up to many HR's to and cannot be considered any better then barely average this year. Hill was almost as bad as Eaton, thought might have something if his issues are really
injury related. Koji just could not finish off and the injury did not help his value. As many have stated, this guy looks like he will be a better pitcher out the pen...I still like the idea of trying him as closer with his control. Tillman has potential and is young, but still has some things to learn and did not perform well enough to merit a better grade at this time.

B+ Brad Bergesen
C- Jason Berken
F- Adam Eaton
C Jeremy Guthrie
C- David Hernandez
D- Rich Hill
B+ Brian Matusz
C+ Chris Tillman
C- Koji Uehara

The bullpen ended up being a disaster, but I still blame part of that of the starting pitcher's not going deep. Regardless, there are very few bright spots here. Hendrickson was one of them, and even showed some really nice stuff as a spot starter in September -- probably should be in the pen again next year. Baez started hot and end so-so. Albers and Bass look like mop up guys at best...can't see keeping them around. Johnson's late season numbers were horrible -- don't care if it was in a different role. The setup role is not much different and we could not have used him in that role the was he pitched late. Sherrill was good while he was here -- better then last year -- but still a little wild. Trade hurt the pen, but probably will be good for the team in the end. Ray -- can't figure him out. Untouchable in Spring Training, unworkable in the 1st half. Comes back from AAA and goes on very bad streaks and very good streaks. Deserves another chance to see if his elbow / mechanics were the issue, but his window of opportunity will be very small. Lot of work to be done for next year, But with Kam's performance and better work out of the starters next year, will be manageable.

D Matt Albers
C Danys Baez
D Brian Bass
B+ Mark Hendrickson
C Jim Johnson
C Cla Meredith
D Chris Ray
B+ George Sherrill

Finally, I really do not believe Trembley did things very well this year. After seeing the comments with his extension, I wonder if he has some restrictions from the FO on how he could manage this year. I believe he neither had the discipline needed, nor the decision making to help the team succeed to it's best ability. On the other hand, he also was not given a lot to work with from the FO. McPhail did some things okay this year, but I believe he was a little less effective. I liked the Pie deal from the beginning and it appears to have worked out okay, the Sherrill/Bell trade could end up be very good for the Orioles, but none of the other deals this year had very much impact and did little to help the team do much going forward. We need at least one difference making deal this winter (two of three would be better, but unlikely).

C- Trembly
C+ McPhail

I give the team an "F". The Orioles have no one hitting above .300. Only one player hit 100+ RBIs, one hitter with over 20 homeruns, one starting pitcher with an ERA under 4.00 and he only started 19 games, seven pitchers throwing double digit homerun balls, and of course Guthrie leading the majors in that category.

On top of all this they have no real power hitter, no 1st and 2nd legitimate starting pitchers. No first baseman and no third baseman. They also have a manger no one else in the major leagues would have hired and an owner that hasn't a clue or maybe doesn't really care. Other than that I would have given them "D".

If you can support a truly terrible organization then you get what you deserve, just as in the addage "we get the governmnet we deserve."

Grade the O's...MLB's D student.

D's across the board.

McPhail - D for failing to act. We are rebuilding yet we dont trade veteran chips for young talent. BRob should not have been resigned. We need bodies, not a former juicer creampuff 2b.
Also, McPhail failed to sign Sano. But the team w/ far less money who we are supposedly modeling sign him for a few mill. I not doubt the true commitment of doing what it takes. This org is a cash cow, nothing more. Revenue rules the Yard.

Trembley - D. He is a nice guy. Nice guys finish last. Stop trying to be a father figure to these young rich brats & kick them in the arse.

Angelos - F Need I say more?

The players all get a D for being a bunch of lifeless spoiled brats. None of the players are willing to accept a leadership role. BRob is part of the old Gibbons crew & fails to set any example at all. But hey he looks good when he pops his collar. He's the owners favorite player so he will be here until he's 43. Kakes is paid & seems content. Jones seems to have some fire but he's always hurt.

I think he was a bit stingy on Markakis. Let's try to remember that Nick had next to no protection in the lineup for a good bit of the year and still knocked in 101 runs. Also I don't think that flopping him between the 2 and 3 holes helped him that much. I don't see him as ever hitting much more than 20-25 homers, and I think the criticism about his lack of homers got him trying to hit them and that rarely succeeds (unless you're Babe Ruth or Barroids Bonds). Note to Matt Albers: whether you're here next year (unlikely) or not, lay off the extra large double quarter pounder with cheese value meals. It might help you command the great stuff you have but rarely show.

I honestly think MacPhail is a politician at heart or has a passive-aggressive disorder. He said that Trembley would be judged on on the O's did in September and that a decision would NOT be made until after the season. Then after a 13 game losing streak he picks up Trembley's option. In 2008 it was "we will have growing pains in 2009 but should be ready to compete by 2010". Now I'm hearing talk of 2011 or 2012 before the O's get respectable.
Now there is no denying that Andy has made some solid trades and seems to recognize potential talent but doesn't do as well at gathering established talent, (Wigginton, Eaton etc.) and personally I'm not sure of his selection of field management as he seems to prefer YES men over men who produce results.
Then again Andy tried to say the drop in attendance was because of the economy not the overall dismal play of the team.

The Team itself I'd give a C or maybe a C- as the results were basically what we expected or maybe a little worst.
Field management I'd give them a D as they showed little in motivation and leadership.
PA got a F long ago and Andy the jury is still out in my opinion. Let see if he can really make any big moves this winter that he has referred to.

Gil,

Agreed!

I'm not clear as to why many fans were down on Izturis this season. What were they expecting to see out of him when MacPhail signed him? He is what he is. A good fielding, career .250 hitting shortstop. Rollins he ain't. But the guy can play some defense, unlike the stiffs playing the ss position in 2008.

Funny I see all these high grades for a team that lost 98 games. Are we comparing them to last years Orioles team or a middle of the road MLB team?

Really great effort by some of the posters well organized by O's fan in Nebraska, really giving C's means average, so if the average ERA was 4.00 per game in the MLB and a guy has a 6+ per game ERA, how can you give a C out? Grading Nolan higher than Nick?

Guthrie=D+ He did make every start and that is something to relish with the 2009 staff
Eaton=F Did anyone expect more out of him
Hill=F How do you say at the end your arm is hurt, should have said that when it happened. I will not be as kind as Jeff
Hendrickson=C showed a lot this year in the second half
Simon= incomplete
Tillman= C- not ready for prime time, should be kept at Norfolk
Bergesen=A- Showed he knows how to pitch
Berken=D really it is not his fault he was thrown into the rotation, and he learned
Hernandez=C- Needs to learn to locate and should be put in middle relief and spot starting
Matuusz= B Matusz and Bergesen should be automatics in the rotation
Koji= C got to give him credit for coming here to the Orioles from Japan
Baez= C- Seems to pitch well when the game is not on the line
Bass= C- ate innings that the Orioles needed
Sherrill=A Too bad he is gone
Albers= E Has good stuff, but leaves it in the heart of the plate. Has anyone ever told him if you get ahead and have two strikes on a hitter you do not have to throw a strike? stop helping hitters and his future will be bright
Merideth= D+ Interesting thing is I do not see much of a fit for him here, San Diego saw the same
Johnson= C If he was not put in the closers role July 30, he probably would have a B
Ray= D- The only reason why is he had major surgery

Catchers
Wieters= C+ he came on very strong offensively and defensively at the end of the year
Zaun=C It would have been nice if we could have kept him the whole year, good for him though that he got to a winner like Sherrill

Infield
Huff =D+ Would have given a D- if it was not for the fact he did a formidable job every day at first base.
Roberts=A Really would have given him an A+ if he hit .20 points higher
Mora= C- Really good at defense but compare him to other 3rd basemans not much offensively
Ixturis= B- Fantastic defense and that is what he was acquired for. One of the nice moves by MacPhail. Remember there was many posting they want Khalil Greene?
Wigginton= D Really has no discipline at the plate, early in the year it seemed he was always looking to take the first pitch over the fence. Did get better and that is why he does not have an E
Andino= D+ did a good job filling in for Izturis while he was out. Too be honest, he should have been used more as a pinch runner. One of the nice moves by Andy getting a slick fielding utility fielder for Penn

Outfield
Nick Markakis= A-. His slump at the end was partly due to the fact he was moved to the cleanup spot and that is clearly not his comfort zone. But his steady glove, great arm and hitting ability is really a staple to this team and to think he is younger than Reimold.
Adam Jones= C+- Great first half with sub par second half, hurt him and then his injury, but still should be happy with his progress.
Nolan Reimold= C+ really nice job coming up this year. Hope his foot heals well, and he is out there everyday next year
Felix Pie= D+ He came on strong at the end before his injury but still makes way too many mistakes to be considered anything more than a bench role player at this point. Yes Jeff you are correct but when you are rock bottom, you have no where else to go but up.
Luke Scott= C- I think Jerry Reed wrote his song When you're hot you're hot,when you're not you're not thinking about players like Scott. If he ever got consistent he would be a hitting machine.

MacPhail= C for this year. Really would have given him a B, but I hated the Sherrill deal.
Trembley= C+ Amazing job he had to do this year, again not enough arms for him that are qualified MLB pitchers, and he handled it well.
Crowley= B It seems his job was to be the personnel hitting coach for Pie this entire season, and it payed off, but due to that, did he have enough time for the other hitters?
Kranitz= D You are only as good as your staff when you are a pitching coach
Shelby= C You cannot blame Shelby for the fact that Wigginton and some others tried to stretch singles into doubles, unless he had a secret trip wire laid out right were you round second and forgot to pull it.
Samuel= D- No matter how bad your team runs the bases, you do not call out your team and talk to the media, the manager does, at every level. Please fire him and move on.
Jauss= A Did an awesome job at introducing all the new players to each other each week.

Finally our fearless leader Peter Angelos gets a silent standing applause for letting MacPhail do his job and not interfering, and letting John head to South Beach during the season.I seem to remember someone actually complained about that?

Roberts gets an A.Real player who does a lot in the community.
Markakis.A same as Roberts.
McPhail A for holding on to plan
and not bowing to media.
Mora gets a wave bye bye and thank you for 10 years.
Trembley gets an I-Incomplete until we hear what coaching changes for 2010 he is making AND his explanation for pinch
hitting for Mora on Sunday. We came to see Mora's last game and
really could care less if Os lost 98 or 99 games. Turner's time will come.But Sunday was for Melvin.

Markakis grade dependent on expectations. For those with rose colored glasses who see him as a 3-4-5 hitter, he's no better than a C. Look back at O's 3-4-5 hitters when we were winning - Brooks, Frank, Boog, Murray, May, Singleton, Ripken - he doesn't match up to any of these guys. Watch the playoffs and, other than the Twins, figure where Markakis hits in their lineups and it isn't 3-4-5. Now if you want to grade him for what he is - an overpaid 2 or 6, you can give him a B+.

It's amazing that everone the players what they do and theam LOST 98 games. Team grade - D

Wayne;

Markakis is a very average hitter!!! You're kidding right. He's a career 298 hitter with an 840 OPS. If you think that is average, you need to spend a little quality time with a good stats book.

Bealzy;

You say that you think Jones will only ever be a 275 hitter with an 800 OPS as if there is something wrong with that. FYI, Tori Hunter is a career 274 hitter with an 802 OPS. BTW, Jones is signifigantly ahead of Hunter at the same age.

Andy McPhail A
Dave Trembley C
Rick Kranitz B
Terry Crowley B
Juan Samuel C+
John Shelby C+

Player: Offense: Defense:
Michael Aubrey B+ A
Brian Roberts A A
Cesar Izturis C A
Melvin Mora C- A
Ty Wigginton C B
Robert Andino D A
Justin Turner B B
Luke Scott B- C+
Felix Pie C+ B
Adam Jones B- B
Nick Markakis B+ A
Nolan Reimold B B
Jeff Fiorentino B- B-
Lou Montanez D B
Matt Weiters B B
Chad Moeller C+ A
Guill. Rodriguez C+ B
Aubrey Huff C B
Gregg Zaun C+ B
Ryan Freel F D

Pitcher:
Jeremy Guthrie C+
Brad Bergesen B
Brian Matusz B
Chris Tillman C
David Hernandez C-
Jason Berken D
Chris Waters C
Mark Hendrickson C+
Matt Albers D
Brian Bass C-
Koji Uehara C+
Kam Micholio C+
Dennis Sarfate B
Chris Ray F
Jim Johnson C
Sean Henn F
Cla Merideth C+
Alberto Castillo B-
Danys Baez B-
Alfredo Simon D
Adam Eaton F
Rich Hill D
Jamie Walker F

Birdfanman too dumb to rate

oriole fans d-

Correction
It's amazing that everone grades the players they way they do and theam LOST 98 games. Team grade - D

Bob,

I agree, Wayne has been inflected with the deadly virus MOD (Mad Oriole Disease). Give me a break, Markakis is far better than the average hitter.

Great article in the Post about Dan Snyder and it could have been about Angelos.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/06/AR2009100603125.html

"Compare that with Snyder's (or Angelos in our case) bunker mentality in his dealing with the local and national media, not to mention his team's own loyal followers, for so many recent years.

This is a guy who once made his fortune with a company called Snyder Communications (Angelos made his as a lawyer in high profile cases), and yet about the only time he meaningfully communicates with the people who passionately live and die with his team comes during photo ops, when he holds up the jersey of another high-priced superstar he's just signed in the offseason (In Angleos' case a photo op at a political fund raiser).

... Instead of showing his own face, he trots out his lawyers, his team executives and his head coach (MacPhail) to take responsibility for the sorry state of this once-proud franchise."

Almost a parallel existance separated by 30 miles and 40 years.

Bob W;

As far as your belief that Markakis as a 3,4 or 5 hitter doesn't measure up to Brooks, Frank, Boog, Murray, May, Singleton, Ripken, I went back and looked up the numbers and only Frank Robinson had better career numbers than what Nick has put up so far in his career.

Numbers don't lie. Look them up yourself at MLB.com's historical stat page. You've been watching a very good player over the last 4 years and didn't even realize it.

When a team finishes 40 games out, there are no A's or B's. As for B Rob, he is the straw that stirs this drink, even though it's a pretty weak drink. No one or two people are to blame. It's a lack of talent at 1st and 3rd, no bench at all, inexperience of the starters, relief pitching was almost non existant and a manager with no clue of how to use a pitching staff except whatever "the book" says. If they, at least don't pick up two longknockers, next year will be like the previous 11 or is it 12, I forgot

How in the world can Baez and Johnson rate anything better than a D (at best)?

CB Coach;

Mad Oriole Disease. I like that. Thanks for the smile.

NormO's

Sure there can be A's and B's every team has them. This is not a team grade, it is individual grade.Roberts was third in the league in runs, first in doubles and eighth in stolen bases. Markakis was 11th in the league in RBI seventh in hits, and 6th in doubles. Look at Bergesen's numbers if he did not get hit, he could have finished the year in the top 5 to 10 in ERA. Sherrill has been an A player this year.

Look at the Royals, Nationals they have players that deserve A's it is just not as many as the Yankees or Redsox.

Andy McPhail (B+ Prospects)(D- Free Agents)
Dave Trembley (B+ Rookies, Managing to develop) (F Veterans, Bullpen, Fundementals, Managing to win)Rick Kranitz C
Terry Crowley C
Juan Samuel (F Base running) B
John Shelby (F Base running) B

Player: Offense: Defense:
Michael Aubrey B+ A
Brian Roberts B+ B+
Cesar Izturis C A
Melvin Mora D+ A-
Ty Wigginton C- D
Robert Andino D B+
Justin Turner C B
Luke Scott C- C+
Felix Pie C C+
Adam Jones B B+
Nick Markakis B+ A+
Nolan Reimold B C
Jeff Fiorentino B- B
Lou Montanez D B
Matt Weiters B+ B+
Chad Moeller C A
Guill. Rodriguez D B
Aubrey Huff D+ C+
Gregg Zaun C C
Ryan Freel F D

Pitcher:
Jeremy Guthrie D-
Brad Bergesen B
Brian Matusz B
Chris Tillman C+
David Hernandez C-
Jason Berken D
Chris Waters C
Mark Hendrickson (D+ Starter)(B Reliever)
Matt Albers D
Brian Bass D+
Koji Uehara (C- Starter)
Kam Micholio D+
Dennis Sarfate D
Chris Ray F
Jim Johnson (D Closer) (C+ set up)
Sean Henn F
Cla Merideth C-
Alberto Castillo D+
Danys Baez B-
Alfredo Simon F (injury)
Adam Eaton F
Rich Hill D-
Jamie Walker F

Dear Pete:

I think that Roberts had a nice year, but remember I was incensed over the size of his contract and would have preferred picking up Orlando Hudson for a quarter of the money and trading Roberts. Looking at the year Hudson had, I still think I was right.

We could do some interesting things over the winter if we don't get too hung up on the "we gotta get two right handed power hitters" day dream. KC ain't gonna give us Butler and the Nats ain't gonna give us Zimmerman. So lets get real. First, we could use a power hitter. Matsui just happens to be a FA this year. Yeah - he is a DH only. But he does have a good bat, hits both lefties and righties, and would love to bat in the 4 hole (stuff like that counts in Japan). Nice productive 2 year pick up. Second, we need a closer. Billy Wagner is just waiting out their. He wants to be closer. He looks like he's got plenty left in the tank. Get him. Third, we need a veteran starter. This gets more difficult as it involves a trade. Atlanta has excess starters now that Hudson is back. Vazquez looks like the high priced excess baggage they will want to move. Atlanta also always needs outfielders. Start our trade package with Pie. We probably would have to add a Johnson or Hernandez to this, but his guy is worth it. He can pitch. We may also want to explore trades for guys with upside who seem to be blocked in their organizations. Milwaukee has Gamel and Chicago has Fields. Both are corner infielder who have been surpassed by other young players. Both can hit for power. We can at least talk about them (added positive - they fit in the "plan"). Finally, we might want to talk with LAA about Kendricks (if they resign Figgins). They have another preference for second base but Kendricks looks like he can hit with enough authority to play third.
Finally, I am a believer in the addage "five year plans beget more five year plans." Get the best team on the field every year and you might surprise yourself.

Hey Schmuck, I have posted here some , but usually reside at Roch's blog. Anyway, this one was deemed to hot to touch there. The Emperor doesn't like it when you notice he has no clothes on. I thought the Sun might have less censorship of events than MASN. :-) Having seen you go after the team some, I thought you might like this.
The topic was who would you ,or have you, booed on the O's. That made me recall the wonderful moment that PA got razzed during an on field ceremony a few years back. You may recall the moment.
I was watching on TV. AM , being the true megalomaniac that he is, was droning on with a long windbag speech. The ceremony was to honor Cal I think? Anyway, the fans got restless & started booing & yelling at PA to shut up & sit down. He barely seemed to notice, being so in love with his own voice & wanting the attention, until a flunky stepped up & whispered something in his ear. His facial expression was priceless. I would have loved to have heard how the flunky worded that news of what was happening to PA. He quickly finished & sat down. I think I heard applause then.
Anyway, the moment of recognition & anger on PA's face reminded me of the scene in "Animal House" when the preppie frat boy whispered to Dean Wermer what the Deltas were saying/coughing during his speech in the mock trial scene....
I considered that the best or most deserved booing in team history, even more apt than the one Huff got for dissing Bal'mer night life.

I won't beat a dead horse any deader, the range of opinions is interesting and I suspect that if they were averaged would approximate raality. Never thought a 98L season would have a silver lining but the talent brought up look like keepers for the foreseeable future. Need a lot help at the corners, the bullpen is shambles but the org appears to be turning the corner. So the only grade I am going to volunteer is for the organization as a whole, a solid F for the estrangement between the O's and Brooks Robinson.

The Brooks situation is borderline criminal

Peter Angelos and his front office stooge F- Nestor Aparicio A+

Nestor sure knows how to make Peter the Terrible make himself look bad.

Here's the situation. The O's are starving for fans to come to the park, buy hyper-inflated hot dogs, beer and pizza, and make Camden Yard a festive place. They offer $1 tickets! The catch: They will only sell 500 tickets at that price.

Nestor, being the true Baltimore fan he is agrees to pay Peter $500, and on top of that give $500 to Nick Markakis' charitable foundation.

How does Peter respond? Like the legal hellion he is, he threatens Nestor with legal action.

Why? Because Nestor wanted to put 500 true-blue Oriole fans in the stands to buy spend plenty of concession dollars.

The truth is, this glorified ambulance chaser has made so much money on the damaged lungs of ailing Marylanders that he doesn't need the goodwill of a fellow Baltimorean.

Peter Angelos is far worse than Robert Irsay. At least Irsay was from Skoki, Illinois and not a local boy who raped his hometown.

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Pete's reply: Now, Nasty, you could at least write me under your own name.

Robert Shotzberger

Interesting and well thought out theories. Could use more examples to back up your arguments.

D-

Hang in there, you will get the hang of it.

Don't want to get into too much detail, but will say the following:

The bulk of the players earned "C's", which amounts to what the Orioles were this year: a last place team.

Two players earned an "A": Brad Bergeson and Brian Matusz

The flat-out "F's" were: Chris Ray, Adam Eaton, Bob McCrory. Dennis Sarfate barely squeaked by in the end.

Ty Wigginton got some rough treatment, but I am convinced that if he could time-travel to the Weaver Orioles of the 1970s-1980s, he would be remembered the same way as other role-playing heroes such as John Lowenstein, Joe Nolan, or Benny Ayala.

Jim Johnson is in the process of having his career sidetracked by being placed too quickly into a key role. The Orioles need to study the way the Minnesota Twins treat their young pitching (which, incidentally, is quite similar to the way the Orioles nurtured their young pitching back then...)

I generally agree with Jeff's grades, with a few exceptions:
Izturis - D; Did all the little things that LOST ballgames.
Mora - F; Biggest mistake he made was whine about playing time. He also murdered more potential scoring rallies than any other major leaguer.
Roberts - D; Also did all the little things that LOST ballgames. His record-setting doubles were worthless for the A.L.'s worst ballclub.
Wigginton - D; Advertised as capable of playing many positions. Ended up being useless at first base.
Pie - C; He hasn't proven anything substantial yet.
Berken - C; The effort was there. What he needs is more work.
Guthrie - F; Pitched like a eunuch when it counted. A wasted season.
Hill - F; Has absolutely no business being on the Orioles.
Baez - F; See Hill above.
Bass - F; See Hill above.

Yeah, Raveonjo, I'm sure it has nothing to do with him organizing a walkout at the ballpark and ripping the team and its ownership every 20 seconds on the air, and walking around the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium while the Orioles were there in his Free the Birds T-shirt, and lying about how nobody at his station is given a credential even though Drew spent about 1 week in the press box blogging before deciding it was too much work. Nah, that can't be it.

Andy McPhail FF (He assembled the team)
Trembley FF (The stupidest manager in the Major Leagues)
Rick Kranitz F (Our pitchers were the worst)
Terry Crowley F (Not one .300 hitter)
Juan Samuel F
John Shelby F

Player:
Michael Aubrey B
Brian Roberts B-
Cesar Izturis D
Melvin Mora F
Ty Wigginton F
Robert Andino D
Justin Turner F
Luke Scott C-
Felix Pie D
Adam Jones C
Nick Markakis B- (regressed; late season collapse)
Nolan Reimold B (good hustle; not so hot at asjusting after the league scouted him)
Jeff Fiorentino F
Lou Montanez D
Matt Weiters C
Chad Moeller D
Guill. Rodriguez F
Aubrey Huff D
Gregg Zaun D
Ryan Freel F

Pitcher:
Jeremy Guthrie F
Brad Bergesen A-(The only starter who seemed to know how to pitch)
Brian Matusz C (seemed to catch on at the end)
Chris Tillman F (over hyped)
David Hernandez F (Don't hold your breath)
Jason Berken F
Chris Waters C
Mark Hendrickson D+
Matt Albers F
Brian Bass F
Koji Uehara C-
Kam Micholio C+
Dennis Sarfate F
Chris Ray F (will never be consistently good)
Jim Johnson F
Sean Henn F
Cla Merideth D-
Alberto Castillo D+
Danys Baez D
Alfredo Simon I (injury)
Adam Eaton F
Rich Hill D- (why couldn't the coaches tell is was injured? And why didn't he tell them?)
Jamie Walker F

Well this thing is all over the board. Cannot believe that some gave a higher grade to Aubrey than Scott, after Scott had career highs in home runs and RBI. So be it.

John, First thing is Hernandez is not fat, he is a very good athlete, I can assure you of that, but you are correct when you throw 30 pitches in back to back innings you will not make it out of the 4th inning. But the rest you said was pretty straight, and I do not believe all the sit ups and crunches will help Albers not throw the third strike down the middle of the plate. That is from that thing that sits between his shoulders, if he ever got that straight he could dominate.

Also Peter Angelos, like or hate him, believes you should never talk negatively about your company, and the Orioles are a company, and that is not a bad thing. If you worked at a company and always talked negatively about the company that signs your checks, you would be let go eventually once management caught wind. Like it or not that is real life.

How about those Dodgers bullpen was awesome! Pitching Pitching and more Pitching! If the Yankees role through the playoffs to the World Series I just hope the Dodgers do the same and take down the Yankees in four straight!

Coach,

I don't disagree with you about whether Hernandez is a great athlete or not, he is at the highest level of his chosen field, but he isn't in good pitching shape. I'm sure he is quite the physical specimen but until he gets his legs into pitching shape he'll never be more then a reliever. Ditto for Albers, although rather be moved to the pen he is gonna be moved to the waiver wire.

Hernandez has the same problem a lot of the young pitchers have, you have to get ahead and stay ahead in the count. You cannot have any success when you throw 40 pitches in an inning. Has nothing to do with him being in physical shape, it is the mental approach, and knowing how to pitch. Fact is they all struggled with this, except Matusz and Bergesen. Albers has the same problem.

Grades

Huff D
Roberts A-
Izturis C
Mora D-
Weiters B-
Zaun C
Wigginton D
Reimold B+
Jones B
Markakis B+
Scott C+
Eaton F-
Hendrickson C+
Guthrie D
Uehara INC
Hill INC
Bergesen A-
Tillman C+
Matusz B+
Jim Johnson C+
Baez C
D.Hernandez C-
Berken D-
Freel F-
Pie B-
Montanez INC
Andino C

Overall you can see that some of the young guys did settle in and do a good job in spurts so I believe there is room for optimisum. 2010=1989 maybe, maybe not. We need Mickey Tettleton and some frootloops.

I noticed Tejada had a strong season and way outperformed our SS. Granted, we got some building blocks for him, but if Angelos won't spend for a 1B, 3B, a starter and maybe a shortstop, why would anyone watch this garbage in '10?

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: There was a lot more to the Tejada deal than just who the O's got back. Remember, that deal was made the day before the release of the Mitchell Report.

The biggest difference I saw between the O's pitchers and their opposing staffs was the ability to put the ball where it's supposed to be. Maybe the coaching is where the change needs to be made. Same as real estate...location, location, location...and changing speeds. Several of these guys have some good stuff, they just need to learn how to pitch. That's an instruction issue.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: It's also a talent issue.

Well the last four pitching coaches we had were supposed to be the best. Who do you want to come in and coach? A pitching coach cannot stand behind the pitcher during the game and say, hey throw a slider low and away, and keep it out of the zone. That is something the pitcher needs to come to terms with.

For Leo, it was a real hard job being a pitching coach for a team that had Glavin, Maddux, Smoltz and others.

Kranitz was the 2006 Baseball America Coach of the year.

Fact is they have some young talent, whoever the pitching coach is 2 years from now will get full credit if three of these young guys pan out.

As I said before a pitching coach is only as good as the talent he works with.

Same as a hitting coach really, how would you have liked to been the hitting coach on the 2009 Yankees, 1997 Orioles or the 1975 Reds? That would have been great, but really you have to have that talent. You cannot make a guy that is a career .200 hitter and turn him into Joe Mauer.

How many people today want AM to make a big play for Matt Holliday this offseason.

Pete,

Since baseball is a team sport, I give the O's an F-. From the failure to obtain decent starting pitchers before the season and for the horrible job of DT through out the season. Several guys had nice years but with 98 losses, and just a terrible fundamentaless team that needs 2-3 bats and at least a front end starter, we are AT LEAST 2011 to respectability (ie....500 record).

A pathetic season that looks to repeat itself with Captain Kirk in the dugout in 2010!