Baltimore Orioles: How Short Is Buck Showalter's Leash This Year?

This is a question that has been in the back of every Baltimore Orioles' fans mind, but no one has really talked about it:

If the Orioles don't play well this season, does that put their manager, Buck Showalter, on the hot seat?

Showalter is entering his second full season as the O's manager. In his previous three stops as a manager, Showalter has drastically improved his team's win-loss record.

New York Yankees

1992: 76-86; fourth place finish.

1993: 88-74; second place finish.

Arizona Diamondbacks

1998: 65-97; fifth place finish.

1999: 100-62; first place finish.

Texas Rangers

2003: 71-91; fourth place finish.

2004: 89-73; third place finish.

And everyone remember what he did to the O's during August and September of the 2010 season.

All of us O's fans would love to see that kind of turnaround with our beloved team this season, but with the way that this past offseason went, we don't exactly have that much hope.

Between each of those first and second seasons, Showalter's team added a key front line pitcher, something the O's haven't seemed to have done. Of course, one of the pitchers the Birds already have could grow into an ace, therefore they'd have "acquired" one, but it still would have been nice to have seen the O's acquire a proven commodity.

So, if the O's don't have some sort of turnaround this year, does that put Showalter's job in jeopardy?

In my opinion, I don't think so. Showalter was given a three-year deal prior to the 2011 season for a reason. The Orioles' front office understands that growing young talent takes time, and not every young player will pan out. If the O's don't do well this season, it will be because the young players don't improve and that's not Showalter's fault.

Or is it? Showalter's job is to nurture and grow this young team into winners. If the front office can directly connect the young players' inability to succeed to Showalter's teachings, then well, that wouldn't be good news for Buck. However, I don't really see that happening.

If there isn't some sort of improvement in the team by the time Showalter's three-year deal is up, he may not have his job as the Orioles' skippered renewed. Buck was brought in to help the team win quickly.

On the flip side, I don't really see him keeping his job as something he needs to worry about. The Orioles' brass has faith in him, as do the fans. He's done it before; he has a proven track record. Constant managerial changes aren't good for young teams.

The best thing for the Orioles to do is to just see what he does the next two seasons and go from there.