Tue Apr 22 16:09:18 2008

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Offseason moves already paying off for Orioles

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(Sports Network) - To label the Baltimore Orioles' solid 11-8 start to this season a surprise would be making quite an understatement, considering that the franchise has endured a decade's worth of consecutive losing seasons and traded away its two best players during the offseason to launch a full-scale rebuilding effort.

The jettisoning of ace pitcher Erik Bedard and former American League MVP Miguel Tejada over the winter were clearly made with the intent to improve the Orioles down the road. But considering the early performances of a number of players acquired in those two deals, it's beginning to look more and more like the future is now in Baltimore.

Two obvious keys to the Orioles' April success have been relief pitcher George Sherrill, one of the five guys team president Andy MacPhail snared from Seattle for Bedard, and left fielder Luke Scott, brought in from Houston along with four other players in exchange for the controversial Tejada.

Sherrill has made the most of his first opportunity to close games at the major league level, as the reliable left-hander has converted all six of his save chances thus far and solidified a position that was of the team's biggest problem areas a year ago.

"He is competent -- a strike thrower who will take the ball at any time, will go right at guys," Orioles manager Dave Trembley recently told the team's official site. "I think he's a rare commodity in baseball nowadays, in that he wants to pitch every day."

Scott has helped offset the absence of Tejada's potent bat with a red-hot offensive start for his new club. The left-handed hitter currently ranks third in the AL with a .361 average and has shown very good discipline as well, having drawn nine walks and reaching base better than 44 percent of the time.

Those two aren't the only newcomers making an immediate impact. Pitcher Matt Albers, who came over with Scott from the Astros, has allowed just one run in 13 1/3 innings over six appearances. The versatile right-hander also came through in a spot start against Toronto on April 14, tossing five innings of one-run ball to lead the Birds to a 4-3 victory over their AL East rivals.

Dennis Sarfate, another reliever received in the Tejada trade, also made a quick contribution by posting a pair of wins out of the bullpen during the season's first week. Prized prospect Adam Jones, considered the key piece of the Bedard deal, has displayed impressive defensive skills as the new everyday centerfielder to help compensate for a slow start at the plate.

WHO NEEDS YA?

The head-to-head returns on the trade with Seattle have also favored the Orioles through the season's first three weeks. Brian Burres, who beat out Albers for the rotation spot vacated by Bedard's departure, has gone 2-1 with a 3.86 earned run average in his three 2008 starts. The soft-tossing southpaw's best outing of the year came on Saturday, when Burres delivered 5 2/3 scoreless innings to defeat the dangerous New York Yankees.

In comparison, Bedard has won just once for the Mariners so far and made only two starts before being placed on the disabled list with hip inflammation on April 9.

Burres' eye-opening effort came one day after right-hander Daniel Cabrera limited the Bronx Bombers to two runs over six innings in an 8-2 Orioles' triumph. The talented but erratic Dominican's first win of the season was marked by a noticeable improvement in command, as Cabrera walked just two batters on the evening and threw a respectable 64 of his 108 pitches for strikes.

Cabrera has led the American League in walks in each of the past two seasons and issued 108 free passes during a thoroughly disappointing 9-18 campaign last year.

"We're not going back to the way it was," said Trembley in reference to Cabrera's history of control issues. "There's no reason in the world when this guy pitches (that) he can't give us seven or eight innings and dominate a ballgame."

ROAD TEST

Although Baltimore currently resides in second place in the well-stocked AL East, the club's strong overall record has primarily been built on playing well at home. The Orioles are 9-4 at Camden Yards in the early going but have won just twice in six road games, having dropped two out of three tests in previous series at Texas and Tampa Bay.

Baltimore figures to face its most challenging stretch of the young season this week, as the Orioles will visit Seattle for a three-game set before traveling to Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field for four straight meetings with the White Sox. Chicago presently stands atop the AL Central with an 11-7 record, while the Mariners are coming off an 88-win 2007 season.

WHO'S HOT

Reliever Randor Bierd, a Rule 5 selection from the Detroit organization, has thrown 10 2/3 shutout innings in six appearances to begin his big league career. Bullpen mate Jim Johnson saved Burres' win on Saturday by holding the Yankees scoreless over the final 3 1/3 frames, giving the young right-hander his first save in the majors.

First baseman Kevin Millar has hit safely in five straight games and is batting .316 (6-for-19) with five runs scored over that span.

WHO'S NOT

Second baseman Brian Roberts is mired in a 2-for-24 slump over the Orioles' last six contests, which has dropped the speedy leadoff hitter's season average from .327 to .247.

Starting pitcher Adam Loewen continues to frustrate Baltimore's brass with control problems. The former first-round draft pick has walked 12 batters in 15 2/3 innings over his first three starts and has no wins and a 6.32 ERA so far on the year.

ON DECK

Sherrill and Jones will get a homecoming of sorts when the former Mariners return to Safeco Field with the Orioles for a three-game series that begins Tuesday. Jeremy Guthrie (0-1, 4.38) will start the opener against Seattle phenom Felix Hernandez (2-0, 1.47), with Cabrera (1-0, 5.16) slated to oppose Carlos Silva (3-0, 2.79) on Wednesday. The Mariners are hoping Bedard (1-0, 3.27) will be able to face his ex-team in Thursday's finale, with Loewen (0-1, 6.32) getting the call for Baltimore.