So, How's That Rebuilding Going?

Well let's see, O's fans. Troy Patton, the centerpiece of the Miguel Tejada deal, will miss the entire season with a torn labrum, Daniel Cabrera still can't find the strike zone, Nick Markakis feels like he's not being paid enough, and the Brian-Roberts-to-the-Cubs-deal is going nowhere. Is it 2011 yet?

Miggy On The Block?

Yes, he is. It seems the Baltimore Orioles, after amassing a .447 winning percentage (or .553 losing percentage) over 10 straight losing seasons (the 3rd longest active streak in baseball) are finally coming to grips with the fact that big changes need to be made.

In addition to getting whatever they can for Tejada, which will be significantly less than what they would have received a few years ago when they weren't winning either, I think they should look to deal Brian Roberts and Erik Bedard too. And here's why.

Roberts just turned 30. He's completely healed from that horiffic shoulder injury that ended his 2005 season and he posted a career best 50 steals in 2007. In other words, his best years are right now. There's a good chance he will never be more valuable and he is a free agent after 2009 not 2008, so he wouldn't be a "rent-a-player" in the eyes of suitors. There's no reason to think they wouldn't be able to get 2 or 3 significant prospects for him.

Next to Bedard. This is a tougher pill to swallow because he looked like the best pitcher in baseball from May through mid-August and he'll turn just 29 in spring training. But he's arbitration-eligible after 2008, eligible for free agency after 2009, will cost a boatload to resign, will be looking for a long-term deal, and then you'll have him in his early-to-mid 30's, rather than mid-to-late 20's. I'm inclined to think there aren't many teams out there that wouldn't give up their top prospect to get him. If you were the New York Yankees, would you part ways with Phil Hughes if you could get Erik Bedard? That's an instant upgrade if you're New York, and that's a team that's built to win yesterday, not now. Imagine who else they might be able to get. Justin Upton? Andy LaRoche? Homer Bailey? Yovani Gallardo? I don't think any of those offers would be laughed at.

Add up the prospects you'd be able to acquire for Tejada, Roberts, and Bedard, combine them with Nick Markakis, Matt Weiters, Chris Ray, Adam Loewen, Pedro Beato, Freddy Deza, Hayden Penn, and subtract the fat you'd trim by cutting ties with guys like Melvin Mora, Kevin Millar, Jay Gibbons, and others and you know what you have? A team that can actually compete with the Yankees and Red Sox in 2010. It might not be a popular decision right now. But fans would forget quickly once they start winning.

Trying To Exorcise The Demons

The Devil has been given his walking papers in Tampa. Next year, Florida's American League franchise will be known only as the "Rays."

Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Rays are now the only rhyming team in all of baseball, and of course the reality is, they could call themselves the Tampa Bay Red Sox, the Tampa Bay Canadiens, or the Tampa Bay Silly Nannies (Family Guy reference) but until they get some pitching to compliment Scott Kazmir, they're not going to get any better.

I do see what Tampa is trying to do though, and I must admit, I don't hate it. They're trying to start fresh...trying to reinvent a team that doesn't have much of an identity yet. Will the new hats and jerseys work? Not by themselves they won't. But at least the team isn't content to idle along.

This is the only franchise in baseball with a winning percentage below .400. This is a franchise that in 10 seasons, has lost 95 or more games a total of seven times, has never finished higher than 4th in the division, and has never won 71 games. They can only go up from here.

And there are teams with a more bleak outlook for 2008. In addition to Kazmir, the Rays will return Carl Crawford, promising up-and-comers B.J. Upton and Delmon Young, closer Al Reyes, and likely, newly anointed Silver Slugger winner Carlos Pena. They might not be a playoff team any time soon, but they won't be this bad for too much longer...no matter what you call them.

There's More Than One In The Works

While much has, and no doubt will continue to be made of the New York Mets' historically God-awful collapse (missing the playoffs after being 7 games up with 17 to go) let's not forget they were not the only playoff-bound team crawling on all fours to baseball's finish line. At 7:37 tonight, the San Diego Padres have the opportunity to play "New York Mets" to the Colorado Rockies' Philadelphia Phillies.

Lest we forget on September 20, the Fathers had a 4.5 game lead over Colorado in the Wild Card with just 10 games to go. They went 4-6, while the Rocks went 8-1. Or if you prefer, take it back to September 15, where the Padres were up 4.5 on Colorado with 15 to play. San Diego went a respectable 9-6 after that, while the Rockies played unthinkable .929 baseball, going 13-1.

In that regard, today's one-game playoff seems to be more about Colorado's rocket-propelled season's ending than the Padres' September shortcomings. But consider this. The Mets ran a 43-year-old out to the mound who is clearly in the twilight of a Hall of Fame career, and the opposing team thumped him. That single event, while precipitated by a series of unimaginable occurrences, is not so hard to fathom. The situation with San Diego is different. They have the NL's clear-cut Cy Young winner going tonight. He won pitching's triple crown. Heck, Jake Peavy allowed just one more base runner (12) than he had strikeouts (11) in 2 starts against Colorado this year.

But if the Rockies win...

If the Padres and Peavy are sent packing...

It might be almost as bad as what the Mets did.

Almost.

Boy I'm Getting Sick Of This

Just when you think you've found a truly inspirational story, a really likable guy, someone you can cheer for no matter who your team is, you find out he's been linked to an HGH probe.

Sometimes I really do hate baseball.

Also, more bad news for Baltimore Orioles fans. Not only is your team now 3 losses away from a 10th straight losing season, but as I predicted, Erik Bedard's oblique injury will likely shelve him for the rest of 2007, and with it, any hope he had of winning the Cy Young award. That, too, is a real shame because it would have been a tremendous boost to a team that desperately needs one.

O What A Season

Seven losses from clinching their 10th straight losing season, losers of 10 of their last 11, and 10 days removed from a record-breaking 30-3 loss at home, things couldn't possibly get worse for the Baltimore Orioles, right? How about getting no-hit by a guy making his second big league start ever?!

Clay Buchholz walked 3, struck out 9, and gave up exactly zero hits at home tonight, in a 10-0 laugher. He is just the third pitcher in the modern era to throw a no-no in his first or second career start, and the first to do it since Wilson Alvarez in 1991 against, you guessed it, the Baltimore Orioles.

"It's amazing. That's all I can say," Buchholz beamed after the game.

Orioles fans might not use the exact same word, but I'm sure they're in disbelief as well.

For those of you keeping score, the official Dave Trembley era is off to a 1-10 start. Stay tuned.

O No!

Are you kidding me?

You Are One Pathetic Loser!

Parity is a great thing in professional sports. It's what allows for stories like the '91 worst-to-first World Series and countless others. But while some cellar-dwellers have managed to become competitive again, others remain simply miserable.

So I wondered, which teams have the longest active streak of non-winning seasons? Well, here you go...

0 seasons - Boston, Chicago White Sox, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland, Philadelphia, San Diego, St. Louis, Toronto

1 season - Atlanta, Cleveland, Florida

2 seasons - Chicago Cubs, San Francisco, Texas

3 seasons - Arizona, Seattle, Washington/Montreal

4 seasons - Kansas City

6 seasons - Cincinnati, Colorado

9 seasons - Baltimore

10 seasons - Tampa Bay

14 seasons- Milwaukee, Pittsburgh

Here are some significant findings, first, among the teams that had winning seasons last year. The Red Sox have enjoyed 9 in a row, second only to the Yankees' 14 and both seem poised to add another in 2007. The Tigers, before last year's success, had endured 12 losing seasons in a row. And as I've mentioned before, Oakland is in danger of breaking an 8-year stretch of success.

Now to the losers. Atlanta, Cleveland, the Cubs, and Arizona seem like they'll get back to their winning ways this year, breaking brief droughts. I was definitely surprised Kansas City has only had 4 straight losing seasons, but after this year, they'll likely have had losing seasons in 13 of the last 14 years. And I thought Colorado and Cincinnati had been better, more recently.

Then there's the bottom of the barrel- the O's, Rays, Brewers, and Pirates.

Baltimore has to be good before too long with guys like Bedard, Guthrie, Roberts, Markakis, and Ray poised to enter their primes, if they're not already there. But they need to commit to a youth movement like Cleveland did a few years ago. Their unwillingness to do this keeps them just good enough to be bad. Not trading Miggy at the break was a mistake, and apparently, so was giving up on Gary Matthews Jr.

Tampa Bay is just a joke. In 10 seasons, their franchise record for wins is 70. They've never lost fewer than 90 games and they've had a top-10 pick in the draft each year for the last 8 (including two #1's)! How are they still this bad?!?! Here's why. They still have no pitching. Even though he allows way too many baserunners, Scott Kazmir has tremendous stuff and he's just 23, so they need to build the staff around him. But each year, starters 2 through 5 are a question mark. James Shields has been good but not great this season, and he's struggled mightily in the second half (1-2, 8.44). And Edwin Jackson (2-11, 6.56) may be one of the worst starters in baseball this year. Maybe they're loaded with arms in double and triple-A, because they're sure not in the big leagues.

Conrats Brew crew! Unless you lose 30 of your last 53, you'll break a 14-year streak of .500 or worse. And they're doing it with good, home-grown talent (Fielder, Braun, Hart, Hardy, Gallardo) but they need Sheets back desperately.

Then there's Pittsburgh. They're going to make it 15 in a row this year, and probably 16 in a row in 2008. They have no pop, they don't run, and they're not exciting, but at least they can pitch...a little. Snell has been much better than his 7-9 record, Gorzelanny has been a very nice surprise, and Maholm and Duke are better than they've been. So maybe the Pirates won't be bad for much longer. Then again, they were probably thinking that 12 years ago.