Since the Ravens loss to the Steelers in January, all  Baltimoreans have been talking about is why Cam Cameron has not left the “The Palace” in Owings Mills, how come in one week we can experience every weather phenomenon, and the Orioles dethroning the Red Sox, Yankees, and the Rays from the AL East this season.

There is a line between sensible optimism and absolute insanity. Baltimore Orioles fans are crossing into the realm of ABSOLUTE INSANITY.

I have heard friends of mine say this is the year and that the good ‘l Birds are heading back to the promise land.

People keep on bringing up the ‘Wall Stree Journal’ article. They said that because of the offseason moves the Orioles made, they should have a +9 win/loss season from last year. Fact: Baltimore Orioles were 66-96 in 2010. According to the Wall Street Journal they will be 75-87.

Folks, this is the MLB and in their postseason, they only have one Wild Card from three divisions in each League.

SO… They would have to beat the Red Sox AND Yankees AND Rays.

(Side Note: The Tampa Bay Rays won the AL East last year too.)

First off let me give some fans a recap of the these four ball clubs and their accomplishments since 1998:

New York Yankees

- Playoff appearance every year except 2008

- 4 World Series (1998, 1999, 2000, 2009)

Boston Red Sox

- 8 Playoff appearances since 1998

- 2 World Series (2004, 2007)

Tampa Bay Rays

- AL East Champions 2008, 2010

- AL Pennent in 2008

Baltimore Orioles

- 0 Playoff appearances

- 13 Consecutive Losing Seasons

Now those are the facts. You can not refute them in any way possible.

As far as the future, the Orioles have hope because if you take a look at the roster and depth chart for all four clubs, the Yankees and Red Sox are considerably older, especially with their core players (as I will show you later) and the Rays lost two of their top offensive threats (Carl Crawford and Carlos  Pena) to free agency in the offseason.

Theo Epstein, the General Manager for Red Sox, heads into his office every off-season and says to himself, “How do we beat the Yankees?” This is the mentality and mind set you must have in order to be successful in this league.

The Yankees have changed in the past 5 years, by that I mean the Front Office. The late George Steinbrenner’s sons, Hal and Hank have been the men in charge, and they are nothing like their father. Their  approach to running the Yankees is like a business, what is best for the organization finacially, whereas “The Boss” would over spend and did whatever it took to win, read about the Dave Winfield saga.

Andy MacPhail, the Orioles General Manager, is trying to topple the three organizations which are standing in his way of a playoff appearance for Baltimore since 1997. His “Buy Bats, Grow Arms” philosophy has yet to be proven, and this is the year to see if his theory is a success. (He bought Derrek Lee, Vladimir Guerrero, and Mark Reynolds. Has been growing Brian Matusz, Zack Britton, Jake Arrieta, and Chris Tillman)

Going around the diamond, we are going to look at each player at each position for the entire AL East, including their minor league systems, coaching staff, and front office. You will see, the Orioles have an uphill battle from the start of opening day, but many folks are optimistic, and in some ways it is necessary.

Monday:

First Base

Second Base

Shortstop

Third Base

Catcher

Tuesday:

Outfield

Designated Hitter

Wednesday:

Starting Rotation

Bullpen

Thursday:

Farm Systems

Friday:

Coaching Staff

Front Office