Baltimore

During the 2009 season, Luke Jones will present Nine Orioles Innings every Monday, sharing his thoughts on what’s happening with the Baltimore Orioles. It will feature a mix of serious analysis and the lighter side of Orioles baseball.

1. It’s hard to believe it was only two years ago that Jeremy Guthrie was an unknown heading to Baltimore on Opening Day 2007 as a long man in the Orioles bullpen. The Opening Day starter now represents the only safe bet in a rotation that is still deciding on the three starters to fill the back end.

I miss Bill Veeck...from Larry Doby, to Satchel Paige, to Max Patkin, the shorts, exploding scoreboards, adding the surnames to jerseys, to having Harry Caray sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame", to "Disco Demolition Night"...MLB stole his ideas...but lost sight of the fun that was supposed to accompany it.

"The Yankees have their dynasty. Now, let's make the Orioles a winning dynasty." This statement was made by Orioles owner Peter Angelos at the beginning of his tenure as Orioles owner. I say, "Hey Pete, what winning dynasty?!"

Most Orioles fans today still remember this statement. Nowadays, it has become a complete joke, after 11 straight losing seasons. However, the Baltimore Orioles still remain one of the most-storied franchises in the history of baseball. They had many winning seasons in the '60s, '70s, early '80s, and early-to-mid '90s.

The vast improvement of the Baltimore Orioles’ minor league system brings much hope for an organization trying to break a string of 11-straight losing seasons and return to contention in the cutthroat American League East.

However, two decisions made over the weekend signal a harsh reality of the present, and the need for more patience as the organization waits for its bumper crop of starting pitching to mature in the minor leagues.