Baltimore Orioles: Veterans Are Key Parts of Rebuilding

Too expensive to trade and too old to factor into the team’s rebuilding plans.  Ignored by the team’s publicity department, which is pushing the youth movement.  Considered expendable by many fans.  Constantly subject to trade rumors.  Expected to mentor their eventual replacements. 

Part of a team expected to lose close to 100 games.

Welcome to life as a veteran member of the 2008 Baltimore Orioles. 

This season is supposed to be about seeing glimpses of the future.  Success is not measured by wins, but by every Nick Markakis RBI, Adam Jones homer or Chris Tillman strikeout in AA Bowie. 

After trading SS Miguel Tejada and SP Erik Bedard--the team’s two most accomplished players--the rebuilding process is officially underway in Baltimore.

Not exactly a place most veteran ballplayers want to be. 

In light of their situations, many older Orioles could understandably mail in the 2008 season.  Who could criticize them for merely playing out the string, much like lame-duck politicians?  After all, they have no external motivation to commit themselves to the team’s long-term success.

Interestingly enough, though, many of the O’s veterans are playing critical roles in the team’s rebuilding project that far exceed their contractual obligations.

3B Melvin Mora’s spring training rejuvenation set the tone for the selfless mindset adapted by many of his veteran teammates in 2008. 

Mora has long been known to sulk and suffer from lapses of moodiness.  Yet it was Mora who not only offered to play in a spring training game in Ft. Myers that he was not required to attend, but also to drive young SS Luis Hernandez so the two could talk during the 130-mile ride.   

Nice move by the 36-year-old veteran who doesn’t figure to be around when the Orioles hope to be competitive in 2010 and beyond.

Other veterans such as 37-year-old SP Steve Trachsel and 31-year-old C Ramon Hernandez have also embraced their roles as mentors and take pride in molding the foundations of future Baltimore batteries.

Their professionalism and dedication to detail are traits worth emulating.  For example, Trachsel is meticulous in his preparation for starts and Hernandez showed up to camp this spring in top-notch physical shape. 

Are you paying attention, Chris Tillman and Matt Weiters?

1B/DH Aubrey Huff and 2B Brian Roberts are offering textbook examples of how to atone for mistakes and win back favor with fans.  Huff called Baltimore a “horse----” town on a satellite radio show this offseason while Roberts admitted to dabbling in steroids. 

Huff apologized first with his words and is now making amends with his bat, having smacked a team-leading 11 RBI thus far.  Likewise, Roberts fessed up and is now batting .286 with 5 stolen bases. 

By admitting their faults, apologizing, and quietly winning back fans with their play, Huff and Roberts have shown younger players how to deal with mistakes.

In addition, Roberts hasn’t been distracted by the long-rumored deal sending him to the Cubs.  While many players would gripe to the media or allow the trade talk to affect their play, Roberts has kept his mouth shut and played good baseball.

Veterans 1B/DH Kevin Millar and RP Jamie Walker, perhaps the team’s most outspoken duo, have assumed leadership responsibilities as well.

Millar is the team joker and has maintained his happy-go-lucky attitude despite leaving powerhouse Boston for the downtrodden Orioles.  Millar’s pre-season World Series prediction for the Orioles brought laughs and lightened spirits in the clubhouse.  His ability to ease the tension is especially important on this young team, where nerves of inexperience and pressure no doubt abound.

To see Walker’s impact on the maturity of the team’s young bullpen, one should revisit the Orioles clubhouse following the team’s April 11 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. 

With the O’s up 5-2 in the 7^th Walker gave up a 3-run HR to Carlos Pena.  Young RP Dennis Sarfate, acquired in the Tejada trade, then walked four batters while also surrendering three runs, earning the loss along the way.

After the game Walker took responsibility for his poor performance.

"We all blew up," Walker told The Sun. "I started the fire and it got a little ignited, but I blame myself for that one. I take full blame. If I make a good pitch location, I'm 1-2-3 and we're out. We're winning. We're partying."

Sarfate then followed suit, standing in front of his locker and taking questions from reporters about his meltdown.

"I wouldn't say they beat me. I beat myself," he commented.

Walker’s classy actions following the game clearly served as a template for Sarfate. The importance of modeling professionalism for the baby O’s should not be overlooked.

Walker has also served as a surrogate father figure, berating Sun reporter Dan Connelly a few weeks ago for some negative comments on the O’s in his pieces. 

Whether the outburst was warranted or not is debatable, but with it Walker demonstrated his willingness to stand up for his younger teammates and deflect some of the criticism for the team’s inconsistencies towards himself. 

While the veterans deserve a tremendous amount of credit for taking on the additional burden of selflessly mentoring the younger Orioles, manager Dave Trembley’s old-school style also merits praise.

Trembley, no doubt in response to the tension created by Tejada’s special treatment in the past, established a rigid sense of discipline in spring training.  In a clubhouse void of primo donnas, this leveling of the playing field was well received.

Trembley earned further respect of many of the veterans by letting them know far in advance which spring training games they were expected to play in.  Like any employee, the players appreciated their boss laying out clear expectations for them.

The most notable difference between veteran attitudes on the 2007 and 2008 O’s is the absence of Tejada and Bedard.  Bedard’s surly attitude was not a good example for the young players, nor was Tejada’s constant need for the spotlight.  While the team is clearly weaker on the field, losing the two stars allowed the other veterans to assume larger leadership roles. 

Under the watch of Mora, Millar and the rest of the aging Orioles, one thing is for certain--conventional wisdom will be proven wrong this summer in Baltimore. 

No, the O’s won’t defy expectations and win the division.  Instead, the idea that many of the team’s veterans are expendable as part of the rebuilding project will be proven false.

Patience, O’s fans.  Picture the ALCS in 2012, when Chris Tillman pitches seven shutout innings and Jones and Markakis combine for five RBI in a defeat of the Red Sox.  

Just don’t forget to thank Millar, Mora, Walker, and the rest of the ’08 O’s when that happens.