Os Will Have To Play Their Hand Perfectly To Land Ace Roy Halladay

Let’s assume Orioles owner Peter Angelos was tired of losing and instructed his baseball operations staff to pursue Halladay and turn this franchise around.  Still prudent when it comes to spending, Angelos gives his staff the green light to spend money, but do so within reason.

Now, Halladay—who only wants to pitch for a contender and has control over his future with a no-trade clause-is a reasonable man.

If the Orioles asked the Blue Jays for permission to discuss a long-term deal with Halladay and whispered in his ear CC Sabathia-type money while promising to pursue additional talent to surround the young stars they already have in place, why wouldn’t he consider the O’s as an option?

Assuming Halladay would entertain the thought of becoming an Oriole, now the team would have to find a way to acquire him. 

Options available for the Orioles to send to Toronto in a package could include closer George Sherrill, budding OF Nolan Reimold, young promising pitchers in Brian Bass and Matt Albers, and minor league INF Justin Turner.

So the Blue Jays are interested, but it will cost the Orioles all of the above-mentioned names.  A steep price to pay and the team could possibly be mortgaging their future.  But where are they going now?   What signs of life has this team showed? 

Halladay immediately provides the Orioles with superstar presence they haven’t had since Ripken left.  The fans will start to come back slowly, and free agents are now aware that the O’s want to build a winner now.

This future Hall-of-Famer could have a Greg Maddux-like effect on the team’s entire pitching staff.  Modeling the work ethic and professionalism of a Cy Young Award winner, the young Orioles arms can only improve.

Still, all the pieces aren’t in place to compete with the big boys up north.  During the offseason, the O’s would have to land a replacement at third for the powerless Mora (Hank Blalock), at shortstop (Jack Wilson), and some veteran pitching help. (If Jason Marquis can lead the majors in wins in Colorado, the O’s can find a few inexpensive gems.)

If all these scenarios played out according to plan and the Orioles acquired all the players they needed to improve the team including Halladay, could they compete year after year with the Yankees and Red Sox for the American League East title?  No, they still wouldn’t be good enough!

The Orioles have to hope the Red Sox and Yankees get old simultaneously and invest big money on players who fail to produce.  Meanwhile, they have to continue to build from within and hope the next Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray are in their organization somewhere. 

So, why this long drawn-out article that for a while gave some Orioles fans hope?  I am trying to show readers how far the Orioles are from competing and why they aren’t even trying to at this time.

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