Post #17 by EddieEddieEddie » January 29th, 2012, 3:47 pm
Of course we want Edwin Jackson. He's a better pitcher than what we have.
A lack of quality pitching is was has ailed this franchise for the last 2 decades. Compare the rotations of good past Orioles teams versus the recent teams. Dominant starting pitching wins championships. The starting pitcher is the most important player on the field with the most impact on whether the team wins or loses that day.
The O's stunk last year because of the terrible pitchers they ran out there and the retreads were really thin at the end of the year. Everyone knows this and if the front office and ignores this fact then there is truly no hope for the team or the fans. Our offense scored some runs last year but even the Yankees would have been double digits under 500 with our pitching staff. Talk all you want about whether Betemit is an upgrade over Vlad. I hardly matters compared to an upgrade of Simon or JoJo to Jackson.
Here is what we learn from playing and watching baseball over the years - The keys to success are dominating pitching, consistent defense, ability to get men on base, situational hitting, power and speed. You have to build from the pitching base.
The Edwin Jackson situation is a litmus test of the organization. The fans know how bad the pitching is. The org knows the fans know. What they do tells us about their commitment to the fans. They have a beautiful opportunity to make a statement to the fans and the rest of the team that they are committed to building a winner and winning back a dormant fan base.
Signing this guy is not going to break the bank or even the budget. It's not like signing Fielder or Cole Hamels. But it says the org does have someone smart enough to recognize the true needs of the team and the org has the brains to recognize decent risk/reward odds.
I believe that there is bottled-up enthusiasm for the O's in the region. Look at the way the Ravens are currently supported. This fan base is also the Orioles' fan base. Give that fan base some respect and a glimmer of hope and they will flood back and reverse the downward spiral of support (attendance, sales, revenue). I wonder, how many additional fans/game are needed to pay for Mr. Jackson's contract? I wonder if the O's have even calculated it.
