The General Manager duo of Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan has made four huge moves in their efforts to build a competitive team during the 2003-2004 off season. They have snatched three of the biggest fish in the pond. They also reacquired Sidney Ponson. I don't think these will make this team much better. Read on to find out why....

1.) Signing Miguel Tejada: One of the best shortstops in the majors for the last two years. He is very powerful and talented. He is extremely durable and determined. He has played in 564 consecutive games. He has become the team's first superstar since Cal Ripken retired in 2001. He signed a six year, $72 million contract on December 14. That is the largest contract in team history. He will have a career year as he will see a lot of pitches. Batting in front of Palmeiro and Javy Lopez will give Tejada a lot of protection. He will likely homer 35-40 times, and bat in 120 RBIs. His defense isn't bad either. Two years ago, when the A's were very far from a playoff spot, Miguel stepped up his game and led the A's to the playoffs. His leadership skills have developed a lot since the departure of Jason Giambi from the A's. I think he is a great addition to this ball club.

3.) Getting Rafeal Palmeiro: The O's signed the four time all-star to a one year, $4 million contract. Palmeiro will be a major factor in the O's lineup. His 528 career homer runs rank third among active players, and he has at least 38 homer runs the past 9 seasons. He will likely be the clean-up hitter for Baltimore, batting in between super stars Miguel Tejada and Javy Lopez. He returns to the O's after spending five years with the O's. He led the O's to the playoff in 1996 and '97. Palmeiro has one three Gold Gloves, including in 1999 when he played just 28 games at first. He played 55 games a t first last year. Palmiero will likely play some first and a little DH next season. You can expect another productive season from the future Hall of Famer.

4.) Re-signing Sidney Ponson: Signed a three-year, $22.5 million contract on Wednesday. Ponson gives the O's a reliable No.1 starter, and adds some experience to a young but talented pitching staff. Ponson will be welcomed by Oriole fans as he is a fan favorite. He was signed by the O's when he was 17-years old. He was traded to the Giants last year, hours before the trade deadline. In return, the O's got pitchers Damian Moss, Kurt Ainsworth and Ryan Hannaman. The O's have lost Damian Moss. "After I got traded, I sat down and talked to [general manager] Mike [Flanagan] and I said I was open to coming back to Baltimore," Ponson said recently. "I was looking for a contender, and the Orioles showed they have a good offense and defense, too. I told Barry to keep talking to the Orioles, and here I am. I am back." The decision was made even easier when the O's signed Tejada, Lopez, and Palmeiro. Ponson was 17-12 with a 3.75 ERA last year. You can expect better numbers if he remains focused and manages to keep his emotions contained. He started game 2 of the NLCS against the Marlins last year. He allowed four earned runs in five innings of work.

Pitching Outlook: Baltimore has a young and talented rotation. The departure of Jason Johnson will hurt this rotation greatly as it leaves the O's with no No.2 starter behind Ponson. The O's also let Pat Hentgen walk away. They declined to take the $4 million option on his contract. They tried to re-sign him when he became a free agent, but he chose to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays. Other than Rodrigo Lopez and Ponson, the rotation is made up of No.4 and No.5 starters. Omar Daal will probably be the team's No.3 starter. Kurt Ainsworth, Erik Bedard, Matt Riley will battle for the last two spots. The O's signed right handed reliever Mike DeJean in an effort to improve their bullpen. DeJean was 5-8 with a 4.68 ERA in 2003. He gives the O's another power arm in the bullpen. DeJean will serve as a middle reliever and a possible setup man for closer Jorge Julio next year. The O's lost Kerry Ligtenberg, Hector Carrasco, Willis Roberts who were all members of their bullpen last year.

Starting Rotation:
S. Ponson 
R. Lopez
O. Daal 
K. Ainsworth
M. Riley
Bullpen: 
Closer: J. Julio
Setup Man: B. Ryan 
Setup Man: B. Groom 
Setup Man: M. DeJean
Long Relief: J. Parrish 
Long Relief: R. Bauer 

Hitting Outlook: The O's have added 108 homers and 327 RBIs this off-season. Add in Jay Gibbons who also had 100 RBIs last year. They and the Yankees are the only two teams in the majors to have four hitters who batted in 100 RBIs. The Red Sox are the only other AL team that has three. The additions of Miguel Tejada, Javy Lopez, and Rafeal Palmeiro will add more beef to the heart of the batting order. It also adds experience to a young line-up. They give the O's a lot of postseason experience. Melvin Mora will lead off this dangerous batting order.

Batting Order: 
3B M. Mora 
2B J. Hairston 
SS M. Tejada 
1B R. Palmeiro 
C  J. Lopez 
RF J. Gibbons 
DH D. Segui  
LF L. Bigbie 
CF L. Matos 

General Managers: Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan have done great moves to improve their offence, but will the pitching hold other teams to less than this potent offense will score? We shall see. And the hiring of Lee Mazzilli as manager certainly put the new GMs under scrutiny