Home runs a plenty!

[BuckMagic]

Love this stat posted by Steve Melewski this morning. We needed some more pop in this lineup and we added just that.

By the way, the career high homer marks for the three new infielders are 46 for Lee, 44 for Mark Reynolds and 26 for J.J. Hardy. The best homer career high for any other O's projected starter is the 27 Luke Scott hit last year.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

I'm expecting a drop off for Luke Scott. Doubt he matches his production from last season. But, he should still be a solid DH. Lee's only topped 30 home runs once in the last 4 seasons so I doubt he comes close to 46. Either way we definitely still added some much needed pop.

[Shorebirdfan]

Hoping to see a big increase for Matt and improvement for AJ this season based on having better hitters around them.

[ShowalterPower]

Hoping to see a big increase for Matt and improvement for AJ this season based on having better hitters around them.

That is really going to be key. The broadcasters talked about how hard it was for Wieters to worry about two swings, the entire pitching staff and his defense. The added hitters hopefully make him just feel more all around comfortable. He needs to settle in. He has the talent!

[2131andBeyond]

Ignoring which young guys do what, the stat brought up here is awesome. Basically saying that the 3 new infielders can all possibly slug at Luke Scott's 2010 level and beyond, which would be epic to see. People thought Luke was hitting so many out, just imagine this trio back on track.

[Don]

Home Runs are an overblown statistic and the real factors are runs scored. In order to be a first place team, you need to have a lineup that can score 800 runs in a season. Teams that hit 200 homers in a season have an easier time making that mark, but there are plenty of ways to skin a cat.

Did the additions of Lee, Reynolds, Hardy, along with bounce back seasons for Markakis, Roberts, Jones, and Wieters add 200 more runs to the lineup? This will be the true test to see how the club performs in 2011.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

Ignoring which young guys do what, the stat brought up here is awesome. Basically saying that the 3 new infielders can all possibly slug at Luke Scott's 2010 level and beyond, which would be epic to see. People thought Luke was hitting so many out, just imagine this trio back on track.

Could see Lee and Reynolds doing that but don't see Hardy coming close.

[Shorebirdfan]

Home Runs are an overblown statistic and the real factors are runs scored. In order to be a first place team, you need to have a lineup that can score 800 runs in a season. Teams that hit 200 homers in a season have an easier time making that mark, but there are plenty of ways to skin a cat.

Did the additions of Lee, Reynolds, Hardy, along with bounce back seasons for Markakis, Roberts, Jones, and Wieters add 200 more runs to the lineup? This will be the true test to see how the club performs in 2011.

Agree they are overblown, but lets face reality here. This team is not ready to overtake Boston or NY unless an awful lot of things go the O's way including significant down years for multiple players on both those clubs. The question is can they compete day to day, be entertaining enough to bring fans back and continue to lay a foundation for the near (hopefully) future. The youngsters must continue to show the development that we all saw in August and September additionally, the top members of the minors (Givens, Macchado) need to make significant strides towards developing into solid major leaguers. Making the team approach respectability in order to be able to attract a solid free agent or two at the key moment and a commitment from the front office to invest at that time will be when we see a return to the top.

[bigboytim28]

Mark Reynolds has not had a season under 60 rbi including his first season where he had 62. Derrek Lee hasnt had less than 60 since 2005 when he only played 50 games and before that hadnt had less than 60 since his 2nd year in the league back in 1999. JJ Hardy has had 3 seasons of 50 plus rbi, not last 2, but with the projected lineup he should get more pportunities. So 60 + 60 + 50 would be 170, pretty close to the 200 runs your looking for. I know this is expecting a lot, but with "better" hitters in the lineup, everyone should get better pitches, just have to take advantage of mistakes.