It’s not the same as being there, but thanks to the availability of televised games on the computer, there is enough information on hand halfway through spring training to form some opinions on the upcoming 2024 season.
The first one that comes to mind is easy — the Orioles are a good team, one that could be on the verge of becoming a REALLY good team.
And the 11-2 record has nothing to do with that assessment. It has everything to do with how the Orioles, and the players involved, have compiled it.
I’m basing the opinion as much on the team’s “travel squad” as much as anything. I would suggest that the Orioles have the best “road” team in either the Grapefruit League in Florida or the Cactus League in Arizona. You might disagree if you’re a Dodgers fan, but we’re not going to split bats over it.
It’s not widely known, but Major League Baseball has an often abused rule that each team presents at least four “regular” players, generally based on the previous year’s roster, for each preseason game. The Orioles are no different than the other 29 MLB teams that generally display a significantly stronger team for home games than road games, which usually results a “home-court advantage” generally associated with the NBA.
The most blatant “violation” of the rule came in a recent game against the Phillies, when the Orioles fielded a team that included only one player who even made last year’s Opening Day roster — Kyle Stowers. Seven starters played a significant part of the season with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides.
Included, of course, was Jackson Holliday, the 20-year old wunderkind who is threatening to make the jump from his back yard to the big leagues in less than 24 months. He was joined by a collection of “top 100” prospects that included Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Coby Mayo, Connor Norby and Stowers, all of whom figure to play in the major leagues sometime this year.
It was the kind of lineup that makes a baseball junkie, the kind of guy who feasts on early observation, salivate on all the advance knowledge. The bottom line is the Orioles’ lineup that day was one spring training fans, especially from Baltimore, would love to see in every spring training game.
The fact the Orioles won the game 3-2 was irrelevant. And the fact that Holliday got three hits and stole a base was also meaningless, even though he’s expected to have many games like that in MLB, whether this year or next.
The bottom line is the Orioles were able to put a road team on the field that constituted a majority collection of “top 100” minor league prospects — and it’s safe to say that was as good a “backup” unit as you could find in baseball today.
If you take a close look at the standings for exhibition play, especially in Florida, most teams are flirting within a couple of games of the .500 mark. In just about every case the record reveals the split between home and away games. The difference for the Orioles is that they have been equally dominant on the road and at Ed Smith Stadium — because of a lineup that doesn’t feature a huge dropoff when lineups are altered.
As I’ve been told often the last few weeks, none of us has a “looking glass,” and injuries always play a major role. But this “traveling squad,” the “road team” if you will, is what separates the Orioles from the other 29 teams, and figures to play a key role down the road. Earl Weaver wishes he saw the day he had this kind of “deep depth.”
It is the best proof you can present to back up the claim the Orioles are a good team. They might not win 101 games as they did last year. In fact, the odds are against that. But don’t be misled by those worried about winning all these games when they don’t count. Winning is never a bad thing.
Forget the record, it’s not all that matters. Pay attention to that “road” team. That’s the reason the O’s are on the verge of becoming a REALLY good team.
It’s only my opinion, buy I’m sticking with it.
Jim Henneman can be reached at JimH@pressboxonline.com
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox