Published: October 05, 2009 11:50 pm      

Orioles hope experience gained in ’09 helps in ’10

BALTIMORE — An even dozen is quite enough.

The Baltimore Orioles finished in last place and lost an American League-high 98 games in 2009, extending their franchise-record run of losing seasons to 12. Poor relief pitching, spotty base running and a lack of clutch hitting were all factors, as was a starting rotation that contained four rookies and 17-game loser Jeremy Guthrie.

All the negatives — including an AL-high 218 home runs allowed and a 24-50 second half that featured a 13-game losing streak — were the byproduct of a rebuilding process being overseen by president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail. It was painful to watch, but MacPhail says a necessary sacrifice if Baltimore is to ultimately be a force in the AL East.

If MacPhail’s timetable is correct, the Orioles are finally ready to end an embarrassing streak that began after a 1997 season in which Baltimore won 98 games and the AL East title.

“I think we’re out of Phase One, the most destructive and the toughest phase where you’re essentially tearing down (the team) and you’ve got the real construction in front of you,” MacPhail said.

The Orioles still need a power-hitting right-handed bat in the lineup and some help in the bullpen, beginning with a closer to replace the departed George Sherrill. But there are several areas in which Baltimore is already stacked with talent.

The outfield is young, fast and skillful. Nick Markakis drove in 101 runs, Adam Jones made the All-Star team and rookie Nolan Reimold batted .279 with 15 homers and 45 RBIs in only 104 games before an injury ended his season in September.

Switch-hitting rookie catcher Matt Wieters was as good as expected, batting .288 with nine homers and 43 RBIs in 96 games.

The starting rotation, however, is clearly the main reason why the Orioles expect to make a move next year. Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman and Brad Bergesen gained valuable experience after making their debuts in 2009, and rookies David Hernandez and Jason Berken showed enough to put their names in the mix next year.

“It’s going to be fun, it’s going to be interesting,” Markakis said. “I think a lot of our younger pitchers are going in the right direction. They’ve got great stuff; it’s just a matter of being able to pitch up here and learning.”

That’s what this season was about. Bergesen was 7-5 with a 3.43 ERA in 19 games; Matusz was 5-2 in eight starts; Tillman went 2-5 but got 12 starts; and Hernandez and Berken combined for 43 starts and 10 wins.

Because the 2009 Orioles were so young, manager Dave Trembley was forced to show patience and overlook mistakes that rookies make.

Next year, Trembley will be expected to win with what he’s got. So he’s going to “put the hammer down” and ask for more leadership from the veterans.

“I look at it now as if everybody has graduated. I think the guys who have played here before have to step up now,” Trembley said. “They have to say, ’Hey, this is not permissible, this is not acceptable,’ or we’re never going to change what’s existed here the last 12 years.

“You can’t run guys out there with ERAs of 7.00. You can’t make blatant base running mistakes. Guys can’t miss the cutoff man. You can’t keep putting those guys out there without holding them accountable stronger than I did. There’s some guys who want to pitch here next year for me, I would say the first thing they better do is go get in shape this winter. If they don’t, they have no chance.”

The blueprint is in place. The thinking is, if the Tampa Bay Rays could go from worst to first, then so can the Orioles.

“I’m going to expect us to win. I don’t know what expectations other people will have on us, but we have talent,” Wieters said. “I know it’s a tough division, but if everybody works hard and comes back, you never know. Tampa Bay did it last year. If everybody has a great year and works hard and plays well, you never know what can happen.”

The current crop of Orioles made an impression on Toronto manager Cito Gaston, who knows all about going up against Boston and the New York Yankees in the AL East.

“The kid in center field, Jones, I love to watch him play,” Gaston said. “Sometimes I will just compare him to other players in the league, like, ’Jones probably would caught that ball.’ That’s how much I think of him,” Gaston said. “They’ve got some other good looking young kids, like the kid behind the plate. They are on the right track.”

Orioles reliever Jim Johnson said, “I think from where we started, we’re moving in the right direction. It probably doesn’t show up in the win-loss column now, but we have a good core group of guys and I think it’s going to make for an interesting season next year.”