Brian Roberts

On a freshly cut field in Sarasota, the sun is shining while four or five Orioles take batting practice. Adam Jones punishes room-service fastballs as Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis share a laugh. A new day shimmers as baseball is in the air. Little does this team know, they are the future.

After 12 straight losing seasons, optimism is high in Baltimore that 2010 could be the season the Orioles move back over the .500 mark.

However, considering that they won only 64 games a year ago, even with a plethora of young talent, there is much to be done if the O’s are really going to move to the plus side of the ledger.

This is part two of a three part series about the 2010 Orioles. In part one we looked at keys to the season.

The Baltimore Orioles are looking to make a run in the AL East or at least trying to improve on their past seasons. Last year the Orioles finished dead last in the AL East with a 64-98 record, worse than their 2008 season. Already this season they started off losers by not signing Matt Holliday and letting go long-time third baseman Melvin Mora.

According to Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun , Brain Roberts is being reported as having a “small” herniated disk in his lower back, something he has been dealing with for about a month.

What place will the Baltimore Orioles fall in 2010?  More than 80 wins could be a start. 

Of course there is room for optimism.  Every fan has that in the offseason.  Hoping there club can make the right moves to drive his or her home team to the playoffs.

The reality of the situation is that the Orioles haven’t had a winning record since the late '90s.  This discourages top tier free agents from coming to Baltimore. 

Beware the ides of July.

Before beginning the “Beltway Series” against the Washington Nationals this Memorial Day weekend, the Baltimore Orioles will finish up their disappointing appearance in the new Yankees Stadium (losing game 1 and game 2 of the three game series).  Assuming that the O’s allow for the sweep (because they might), their record will be 16-25 and 10 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East division.

Toronto Blue Jays:

Don't look now but the Toronto Blue Jays are 6-2 and leading the revamped American League Eastern division. My first Bleacher Report article outlined this possibility when upon the re-hiring of former manager Cito Gaston on June 20, 2008 the team proceeded to finish last season on a 51-37 clip.

The general consensus around fantasy circles is that second base is a deep position. To a degree, I understand the sentiment—the top tiers of players are crowded with guys who stuff the stat sheet to the gills. However, when you look at the overall draftable players, the position is almost as thin as the catchers...

THE SECOND BASEMEN