Funny how things turn out sometimes. The arrival of Miguel Tejada four years ago was supposed to signal the dawn of a new era for the Orioles organization. Now, his departure is being cast the same way.
The Houston Astros gave up five players to beef up the middle of their lineup. The Orioles took the first step in a "no pain, no gain" rebuilding process that will either put the organization back on the road to respectability or eventually confirm the worst fears of a fan following that had lost all confidence in Orioles management before the arrival of new president Andy MacPhail.
The only thing certain is that something dynamic had to be done to change this struggling team's destiny, and what could be more dynamic than trading away the most storied player on the roster?
No doubt, there are going to be people who look at those five unfamiliar names and scratch their heads, but this is a corner that had to be turned. The Orioles were going to lose 90 games next year with Tejada or without him. Now, at least, there will be some point to it.
MacPhail was brought in to do this kind of dirty work, and there is more to do. Don't be surprised if pitching ace Erik Bedard is headed to the Los Angeles Dodgers or Seattle Mariners between now and the start of spring training. Don't be surprised if the Orioles give away Melvin Mora and Jay Payton or even pay someone to take them. Don't be entirely surprised if the Orioles pay recently suspended outfielder Jay Gibbons big bucks just to stay away.
Every one of those potential scenarios has been on the street for a while, but they all became much more plausible when the first big domino fell yesterday. For the first time since the Orioles signed Tejada, Javy Lopez and Rafael Palmeiro (for the second time) after the 2003 season, the fans can say, "Here we go!" instead of "Here we go again."
That's why you can't evaluate this deal on just the players who have traded places. The Orioles added some decent young talent, but every young player is a gamble and not everyone in the deal is going to end up as a front-line major league player. In fact, there will almost certainly be moments over the next couple of years when disgruntled fans wonder why the Orioles were stupid enough to trade a potential Hall of Famer for these guys.
