Orioles Looking to Rekindle the Spirit of '83

Luckily, the Orioles have probably assembled enough talent (though barely) and a sufficiently improved clubhouse chemistry (no unhappy Lopezes, Javy and Rodrigo) to improve by the dozen games necessary to reach the sport's bare minimum level for bragging rights -- 82 wins.

"I think we're right there, ready to be a winner again," Flanagan says. "We've rebuilt our bullpen. Last year, it gave up 300 runs."

"And 86 homers. The Tigers bullpen only gave up 39," adds fellow Vice President Jim Duquette. "We had 16 loses when we were tied or ahead after six innings."

Now, for $42 million, the O's have added arms to set up closer Chris Ray. Don't get too excited. Danys Baez, Chad Bradford, Jamie Walker and Scott Williamson aren't the Nasty Boys. They'll limit embarrassment, not thrill the multitudes.

"Our number one goal in the offseason was to improve our pitching depth. We've done it," Flanagan said. "The pitchers who would have been our 10th, 11th or 12th best at this time last year would probably now be our 23rd, 24th and 25th best."

Set-up relievers and pitching depth are nice. But the key to almost any team's season -- and the Orioles' season in particular -- is the quality of its starting rotation. And Manager Sam Perlozzo, glad as he is for new bullpen faces, knows it.

"If your starters give you seven innings, your bullpen always looks great. They're fresh. But if your starters only go five, your bullpen looks bad. They're exhausted," Perlozzo said. "On a good team, there should be two relievers that the fans say, 'Who's he?' because they almost never see 'em. Last year they knew all of our bullpen guys by their first names."

In the power-packed American League, the O's lineup didn't have a single hitter with 25 homers last year. Even if Melvin Mora bounces back, Aubrey Huff adds a little pop and Markakis hits .300, the Orioles will be only adequate by A.L. standards. So, with veteran Kris Benson (11-12) battling rotator cuff miseries, the Orioles probably will be as good as the progress of their two tall talented young pitchers behind Bedard -- Cabrera and Loewen.

Loewen draws raves for his savvy. He went 6-6 with 98 strikeouts in 112 innings and is more promising than many fans might think. Rookies should struggle. Loewen sometimes seemed comfortable. Cabrera, with his 100 mph fastball and precipitous curve, remains the mystery link. "Cabrera's gained another 20 pounds. That's 40 in two years. He doesn't stop growing," Flanagan said. "I think he's 6-foot-9 now. Or he was three days ago. Better go check."

Check back in a year. Despite all of the Orioles' recent failures, there is once again a best-case scenario about which Baltimore can dream. No, it's certainly not a probability, just a possibility. But if Bedard, Cabrera and Loewen can force early-career comparisons with Flanagan, McGregor and Boddicker, then, on some future day, the class of '83 may not be the last Orioles team that ever gets to hold a reunion to celebrate a season worth remembering.