Some Old Dogs and Two New Kids

Six managers are managing their teams for the first time this year. Four of them are old friends and the other two are getting their first managing shots. The next series of posts will focus on the new jobs for Sam Perlozzo, Jim Leyland, Buddy Bell, Joe Madden, Grady Little and Jim Tracy.

Perlozzo, who had two cups of coffee in the major leagues, finished the year for the Orioles last year after being the bench coach. The dreaded "interim" has been removed from his title. Many of the problems from last year have also been removed.

Gone are Rafael Palmiero, Sammy Sosa and Sidney Ponson. Those kinds of headaches were what probably gave Perlozzo his job. But that doesn't mean that the Orioles are without question marks.

First on the list is Miguel Tejada. His earlier demand to be traded has to leave an uneasiness in Baltimore. Statistics from last year look pretty good for Tejada, but he never seemed like the force he was the year before. If the team starts slowly, will he lose the fire that seems to define his play?

Starting pitching seems questionable. The Orioles picked up Kris Benson, the most acclaimed pitcher who has never done anything. Perhaps Benson will finally grow into his billing. But just as perhaps not.

The other starters are interesting as well. Erik Bedard and Daniel Cabrera could be a real stars. If they can find the strike zone more often, they can sure make batters swing and miss. Rodrigo Lopez is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He can look brilliant and terrible within the same week. Finally, Bruce Chen gives the Orioles solid innings and can win 15 to 17 games.

The Oriole core of hitting is pretty much intact. The familiar names of Mora, Matos, Gibbons and Roberts join Tejada in giving the Orioles some run producting capability.

Javy Lopez was a dissapointment last year and it's possible that his career year in Atlanta was a last hurrah. Lopez is now 36 and nearing the end of his career.

Also joining the Orioles are Corey Patterson and Kevin Millar. Millar, the leader of the "idiots" in Boston became unfunny after his third straight season with declining power numbers there. Likewise, the Cubs gave up on Patterson, who was touted with such promise and has proven an enigma. Perhaps they can revive their careers in Baltimore.

For the last two years, the Orioles showed flashes of outhitting their opposition and flashes of futility. After years of poor pitching, the Orioles have a chance to be respectable in that department this year.

It doesn't seem likely that the Orioles can threaten for the top of the division this year, and though Perlozzo has a chance to put his own stamp on this team, the questions seem to outnumber the possibilities.