O's About To Turn The Page

The date that seems most likely is June 9, when the Orioles return from a six-game West Coast road trip to open a homestand against the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves and New York Mets. The Orioles could choose to start him on that road trip instead, but I'm not really sure about the logic of that. The notion that he would be under less pressure playing his first major league game in Seattle might sound reasonable, but I'm guessing that the coast-to-coast travel, time-zone change and hostile environment would offset whatever psychological advantage might be derived from debuting on the road.

And, anyway, he's going to face much the same media and fan interest June 9 regardless of whether he gets a few games in on the road. That date makes sense because it's about the right timing from a developmental standpoint, and it's definitely the right timing for the Orioles to get the maximum marketing value out of the debut of their hottest minor league prospect. The Mariners aren't exactly a big draw in Baltimore, but that home series would get a major boost from the arrival of one of the cornerstones of the team's future.

Wieters has been the elephant in the room since he cut like a knife through two levels of the minor league system last year. He was named Minor League Player of the Year for 2008 by Baseball America and the game's top prospect this year by the same publication. The Orioles could have made a case for handing him the starting job behind the plate out of spring training, but the plan was always to give him a couple of months to strut his stuff at the Triple-A level.

There is no guarantee that Wieters and this new wave of young talent will get the Orioles to the Promised Land, but there is no question that they are on the threshold of a new era.

The wait is almost over.

Listen to Peter Schmuck weeknights at 6 on WBAL (1090 AM) and check out his blog, "The Schmuck Stops Here," at baltimore sun.com/schmuckblog.