Baltimore Orioles' Midseason Report: Youth Movement Requires Patience

The Orioles enter the month of July in a familiar position, buried deep in the AL East and staring up at .500 like it's the Berlin Wall. And yet, O’s fans are feeling a very unfamiliar sense of excitement and optimism as the All-Star break approaches. An influx of exciting young prospects – left fielder Nolan Reimold, catcher Matt Wieters and pitcher Brad Bergesen, to name a few – have energized a franchise that’s been in a decade-long limbo between rebuilding and contending. At last, it’s fun again to be an O’s fan. Of course, “fun” is a relative term -- the Birds are likely heading towards their 12th straight losing season. But the excitement of potentially being one year away, and having new prospects unveiled almost on a weekly basis, brings a sort of satisfaction that “The Nation” or “The Evil Empire” just wouldn’t understand. Here is my mid-season assessment of the 2009 Orioles. (link)