O's update (re: Say it ain't So...sa)

If Ray is happy, I suppose I should be happy too.

The encouraging quote from the above link is:

Maybe I'm putting my foot in my mouth, but if you give me eight runs a game, I'll figure out the rest.

- Ray Miller (Orioles pitching coach/Svengali)

Ray Miller has made a bold statement with regard to his lowly regarded pitching staff for the 2nd time this offseason. I've never heard Ray Miller talk like this. The first statement he made was that if his staff pitches next season like they pitched the 2nd half of last season, the Orioles will win 20 more games. Coincidentally, Ray Miller joined the O's staff just prior to mid-season last year. Last season, the O's won 78 games. This statement from Miller basically translates to If these guys pitch the way I tell 'em to pitch, the Orioles will win 98 games.

I don't know if Ray actually believes this, or if he's just trying to put hinies in the seats. There is evidence to indicate that he believes it. In the 70's and early 80's (Miller's first stint as Orioles pitching coach), the financial disparity between the Orioles franchise and that of the Yankees and Red Sox was the same as it is today. Yet in those days, the Orioles routinely contended for the division title and won their fair share of same. It is reasonable to suspect that 98 victories can win the division.

It does not feel like the old Orioles glory days to me, but maybe it does to Ray Miller. Here's hoping this Rasputin isn't just yanking my chain.