Jay continued to provide the Orioles with adequate defense in right field, and some left-handed firepower, as well, until the second half of the season, when he faded badly. For the first half, his raw numbers were .282/.347/.470, but the second half numbers were a much more anemic .270/.307/.439. Those first half numbers kept him in the upper half of right fielders, but the second half swoon (watching him struggle towards the 100 RBI mark was downright painful, almost like watching Bruce Smith trying for the NFL sack record) brought him back down to the lower half.

Sure, he sports a .548 OWP for the season, which looks respectable enough, but he plays an offensive position, so the average for the position of .584 demonstrates that the Orioles have decent output in right, but nothing to write home about.

Still, "decent output" and "The Orioles" together in one player is nothing to sneeze at right now. We'll certainly take it, while pointing out that unless Gibbons can turn around his second half swoons of both his ML seasons, he's someone the Orioles can count on to fill a position until a better player, such as Lee would have been, comes along. The good news for Jay is that the Orioles have so many offensive holes, filling one where the player is managing an over-.500 winning percentage while sticking at only 40 points below the league average is not a priority.

Gibbons might be moved to first base, or to left field, if Vlad Guerrero is signed, or David Segui is injured, the latter more likely than the former. If he does, he'll still be challenged to put up numbers that would truly help the Orioles win in comparison with other clubs.

This will be his "27" year, so now will be the time to see if he really can take another step, or if he's going to be a Randy Milligan type (though Milligan walked a great deal more than Gibbons) and be out of the game at 32.

For whatever reason, he was much less selective this past season, than in his first. He walked only 4 more times than last season while generating 140 more plate appearances. He seemed to catch the same feverish aversion to a base on balls that permeates the Orioles' lineup. His OBP has improved each of his three seasons, but it needs to take another thirty point jump this season to be meaningful.

To Help The Orioles Win Next Season He Must:

(1) Not fade in the second half. It's become a trend. Next season it becomes an albatross.

(2) Pull up that OBP, and not all through a better BA. He needs to walk more, plain and simple.

(3) Show some consistent power. He hit 2 HR and slugged only .333 in September. This just isn't going to cut it.

NOTES: hit only .253 in day games...hit 6 HR and slugged .549 in June...had 7 RBI and 7 BB in 38 plate appearances against the Angels...hit .304 against the Red Sox, and .316 against the Yankees...only hit .269/.303/.377 in nearly 200 AB hitting in the #4 slot.