Baltimore Sports Then and Now

Adam Jones and the Orioles will look to make a move in the American League East in 2010.

With Spring Training starting and the 2010 baseball season only weeks away, it is the time of the year when fans of the Baltimore Orioles can start dreaming that maybe this is the year that their decade long nightmare ends.

The Orioles were not among the most aggressive or highest spending teams in the offseason, but they did make a number of lower-key moves designed to make the team better in 2010.

Considering that they went 64-98 (including a 20-39 record to end the season) in 2009, it shouldn’t take much to illustrate improvement.

In the first of a three part series looking at 2010, we will look at some of the keys for the Orioles if they hope to show significant improvement and perhaps even register their first winning season since 1997.

Make a Statement Immediately that it is a New Era

Even during their decade of despair, the Orioles have often started the season hot. Since 1998, the Orioles have registered a .500 or better April record in seven of 12 seasons, including five of the last seven.  A year ago, Baltimore started the season with a 6-2 record, but quickly cooled off to finish April with a 9-13 record. In 2008 the Orioles started the season with a 16-12 April, which was their best opening month since starting 16-7 in 2005. Read the rest of this entry →