Missing the Boat on Mark Teixeira: What's Next for the Baltimore Orioles?

Now it's clear. The Orioles 2009 lineup will not be anchored by one, Mark Teixeira. Their rotation will not include one A.J. Burnett. And as such, their win total should probably not be expected to exceed the 69 of 2008.

This offseason has not gone entirely like the Orioles had hoped. As soon as the season ended they made it clear that they would put forth competitive offers for both Burnett and Tex. Less than two months later we now know that no such offer existed for A.J. and that their offer of Tex had no real shot of bringing him home. So what's next for the Orioles?

The Orioles did make a splash, well actually, more of a trickle Sunday, with news surfacing that they are close to an agreement with lefty Mark Hendrickson, formerly of the Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. The 34 year old has a career record of 50-63, meaning HE, and not Jeremy Guthrie, now holds the title of "staff veteran."

I guarantee you this is not what Andy MacPhail envisioned when he said he wanted to bring in some veteran arms.

Granted, Ryan Freel is a welcomed addition who will add some heart, courage and fire to this ballclub. However, he won't add anything to the O's starting rotation, which is more of a dire situation than a fourth outfielder/super utility guy. If I am not mistaken that is what good old Andy said the focus was going to be on this offseason.

I, for one, am not looking forward to a 2009 season with a rotation of Guthrie, Hendrickson, Garrett Olson, Radhames Liz, and Brian Bass/Chris Waters/Hayden Penn/etc. Believe it or not, I would actually welcome Daniel Cabrera back right about now.

Some are speculating that the Orioles may be players for free agent OF Adam Dunn, but sources claim that neither side is in love with the other, so I don't see that as a legitimate possibility. Brad Penny looks like he might be headed to Boston. Manny Ramirez has about as much chance of landing in Baltimore as he does ending up back in Boston. Who does that leave?

Well, they can always look to the scrap heap, and to whoever was sitting next to Mark Hendrickson. I hear Tony Armas is looking for work. He had a 7.56 ERA last year. Oh wait! No! Pick Matt Belisle. He did Armas one better with his 7.28 ERA. Of course, Josh Fogg and his 7.58 ERA are still out there too. And don't forget about the O's old pal Jason Johnson, proud owner of a 5.22 ERA in 2008.

As you can see, the options that exist outside of a trade are very bleak, at best. O's fans can only hope that catcher of the future Matt Wieters can prove every bit as capable at handling the Orioles pitching staff as he did with both the single A Frederick and double A Bowie squads.