ALCS and more

With the Yankees' loss last night to the Indians, will Steinbrenner make good on his proclamation and fire Joe Torre? Many Yankee fans I come in contact with through other message boards, and at games actually feel the time is right for Mr. Torre to leave the team, saying that he had been to soft on the players, and not pushing them enough.

As for me, I'm not sure yet how I feel. There's a part of me that looks at what the Orioles have done in the past seven years compared to how the Yankees have done - the Yanks have at least tasted the post-season, while the O's have watched from home, wishing, I'm sure, that they could be the ones on that field in October. I'd like to think that Joe Torre's managing style, along with an insane payroll that draws in talent, has contributed to the winning. However, the other side of me is interested to see what would happen with a change. Would the Yankees stay at the top or will they consistently look like they did the first few months of the 2007 season? Only time will tell us what will happen.

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With the matchup of the Cleveland Indians vs the Boston Red Sox, the ALCS should be a interesting series to follow. I'm waiting to see how tired both teams are, as I know the Red Sox were hoping for a Yankees win to prolong the division series and give them more time to rest and be better prepared.

The Red Sox is a team comprised (mainly) of veterans with post-season experiance and success. With the veteran status comes age and health concerns. Look at Curt Shilling, 41 years old and having to change into more of a location and finesse pitcher rather than a fireballer.

The Indians host a roster of younger players, with maybe more stamina and energy to last the entire series. To be honest, I need to do more research on the Indians to be able to say what the strengths and weaknesses of both teams will be, but I welcome anyones opinions - enlighten me.

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Still no new news on the homefront with the Orioles, but expect to be hearing some soon as the organizational meetings progress down in Florida.

The Orioles mailbag has new questions and answers - Will/Should the Orioles sign Markakis long term, the now-old argument of Cabrera as a closer, First base, and a general improvement for 2008.

For the most part, I agree with Spencer Fordin's analysis of the state of the O's, especially concerning long-term signings. This winter the organization really needs to lock in Erik Bedard and try to build with him in the picture. Sadly, our prospect pitchers have looked overmatched in their stints with the big leagues and Bedard has proven himself to be a bonafide staff ace.

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Maryland Orioles Fan has kindly invited me to post on the blog, to provide a different voice on the state of the Orioles. Look for my future posts to deal more with my personal experiences as a fan and some of the more amusing stories I've pulled from games. I will continue to try and analyze things, but the depth of which Maryland Orioles' Fan does it could never be replicated, so don't get too high hopes from that aspect.

I welcome comments and suggestions - so fire away. You can always drop me an email at BMSequestrian@yahoo.com if you want. I'll do my best to respond to everyone.

~B