Miggy came in with high expectations and met nearly all of them. He was a breath of fresh air, a leader on and off the field. He did display some shortcomings at shortstop, but overall he was the player O's fans hoped for. He'd be a serious MVP candidate along with Melvin if the Orioles had managed to be in contention. As it is, he'll have to settle for his second-best season. It almost makes you look forward to next year.

Brian was thrust into the starting role at second and performed well most of the time. It helps that second base is not the offensive position it was in the past in comparing him to other players. For whatever reason, he stopped running in the second half, but he started walking more. He and Miggy did not make an effective DP combo.  More power would help, but he is setting a club record for doubles.

There was some concern about Lopez coming in, and many fans still seem to be a bit hostile/indifferent towards him. He played the entire season, and maintained a .300-plus average the entire year. He was workmanlike behind the plate. What was lacking was his power, but he hit some jaw-dropping home runs on occasion, including a huge one in his first Oriole at-bat. Though suffering in comparison with Pudge's season, this overworked vet got the job done.

There's nothing more to say about this quiet heart and soul of this team. He made the transition to third and played well after a rough start. He hit the ball from Day One, and was incredibly consistent. He finished the season with the all time Orioles best batting average, and an OPS hovering around the 1.000 mark. The team struggled mightily when Melvin went on the DL. The bottom line is that he had one of the best Oriole seasons of all time.

Raffy was welcomed back to Baltimore with open arms, but unfortunately was also handed first base as well. He showed that his range had decreased. The added workload of playing the field every day may have taken some toll on his offense as well. He struggled through the middle of the season, actually being benched for a couple of games, but he stayed in the lineup most of the time because there were no real alternatives. His power numbers dropped a great deal, though he did come on stronger at the end of the year.

Expected to have a breakthrough season, Bigbie instead struggled most of the year. The biggest concern about Larry is still his lack of power. He was dinged up part of the year, but most players have to go through that on a regular basis. For what it's worth, of the three promising young outfielders that started the season, he's the only one that didn't hurt the team when he was out there. He did not cement his position with the team in the future, but he's likely to be back in the outfield next year, hopefully to turn promise into production.

David Newhan appeared out of nowhere to first fill in for Melvin Mora when he was on the DL, and then to play all over the field the rest of the year. He showed speed, hustle, versatility, and a decent bat. After a torrid start, he cooled to workmanlike over the last couple of months, but that's good enough. Don't know if he should be a regular or not, but he appears to be a solid guy to have on the bench or filling a super sub role.

Luis did not build on his solid second half of a season ago and even regressed in the field. He took bad angles on balls, especially to balls hit into the right field gap. He still showed flashes of spectacular defense at times. His bat left a lot to be desired, though, as he and Gibbons dwelled in the AL hitting basement most of the season.

If a player ever had an "F Minus" season, it would have been Jay Gibbons' 2004 campaign. He started in a slump, got hurt, continued to struggle, went on the DL, returned, and still struggled. Hopefully a healthy off-season will do him good, but it's not likely he's considered a rock to build around by management. His play in the outfield, already marginal, also took a turn for the worse on this bad defensive team.

Danny came out of nowhere to help bolster the starting staff at a time when Mazzilli was looking for anyone who could give him five innings. Cabrera did so, starting out like a house afire though his peripherals smelled a bit. As the season went along, his results were more erratic and more in line with his numbers. It's hard to see how he can be expected to continue in a starting rotation striking out so few hitters. He does have good stuff and  promise for the future. If he is in the rotation, though, and he pitches like this season, don't be surprised if his ERA is as much as a run higher over his 4.67 for 2004.

Numbers aren't horrible, but they aren't what you want from a closer, either. Embarrassed the club and himself by throwing at a guy's head after being rung up. Still has maturity issues. He's got talent, but he's not a premiere closer, and may never be. Had a simply horrible September, lost closer's job. Mazzilli didn't help by not keeping him sharp.

Signing Mazzilli certainly hasn't turned out to be the coup the front office hoped for. The "big name" free agents went reasonably well, with Miggy playing like an MVP and Javy having a decent season, while Raffy was sub-par and Ponson erratic and out of shape. The smaller ones, though, did not go well. DeJean was a bust as an Oriole, and the bench was horrible all season. Newhan was a great pickup, and Borkowski, Williams, and Chen all helped out the pitching staff. They never managed to find a decent backup catcher. Communication between players and the office was not good at times. Jim Beattie, in particular, seems to have a bit of a mean streak in him. Overall, not a good year.

Came in with a splash but made a lot of mistakes. Not animated on the bench at all...he made Mike Hargrove look like Larry Bowa by comparison. Used Luis Lopez as a DH. Refused to use backup catchers because they couldn't hit. Played Jerry Hairston in the outfield instead of DH'ing him on a couple of occasions when he could have. Didn't back up players in arguments with umpires, and was not ejected all season. Didn't use bullpen well. Julio pitched a number of times on five, six days rest. Doesn't seem to think beyond today's game.  Whispers all around the league that he's ill-prepared and consistently out-managed, in over his head.

Are there worse managers? Probably. Are there better ones? Certainly. If he comes back, he'd better improve. If he doesn't return...well,  worse things could happen.