The Orioles? acquisition of right-hander Jaret Wright from the Yankees won?t turn them into contenders. It?s a small, mostly positive step, to improve their pitching staff with little financial risk. True, they?re on the hook for $3 million, but the Yankees will be paying him $4 million, and mediocrity is expensive these days.
Wright has a winning record for his career (68-57), which dates back to 1997. However, as we?ve stated in this space before, a pitcher?s won-lost record is really of very little importance insofar as their actual ability is concerned, particularly in the American League. Pitchers ? particularly those who never swing the bat ? have no control over how many runs are scored for them. If your team scores a couple, and you surrender three, you lose, despite having pitched well. It doesn?t get any simpler.
Wright arrives with a winning record, but a career ERA of 5.07, not exactly Cy Young material. His finest season in the majors came with the Braves in 2004, when he went 15-8, 3.28, a full run under the league ERA that year. On that basis, he got his big-money deal with the Yankees, only to miss significant time due to injury in 2005. He made 27 starts in 2006, going 11-7, 4.49, which would be more than acceptable in Baltimore in 2007.
It?s that 2004 season in Atlanta that made Wright attractive to the Orioles, for the most obvious reason of all: His pitching coach then was Leo Mazzone, now in Orioles? livery. Mazzone?s first season in Baltimore wasn?t one for the résumé; the team ERA of 5.35 was better than only the woeful Kansas City Royals. (By the way, despite nine straight losing seasons, I hesitate to apply the word “woeful” to the Orioles. I?m not swearing an oath to that, however.)
As we wrote some months ago, baseball has a number of pitchers who didtheir best work for Leo and then faltered after leaving his tutelage. Russ Ortiz was one of those guys, and last season?s reunion didn?t work for him. It cost the club next to nothing to try, and it wasn?t like he cost them a shot at the postseason.
Wright?s price tag is higher, but not prohibitive in the grand scheme of things. He should still be in his prime at 30, and he knows what it?s like to play for a winner. Never a bad attribute.
Don?t expect Wright to have many outings beyond six innings in 2007. He has never pitched 200 innings in a single season, and he has exactly two career complete games, both shutouts. It?s a stark contrast to his dad, Clyde Wright, a left-hander who toiled for 10 years in the big leagues. Clyde went 100-111, with an ERA of 3.50, roughly the league average in those days, and he pitched at least 232 innings for five straight years.
Wright gives the O?s an additional veteran presence in their rotation. The price was right, and it?s likely the first of many moves to upgrade the pitching staff, their biggest obstacle to winning in 2006. Emphasis on “likely.”
Phil Wood has covered baseball in the Washington/Baltimore market for more than 30 years. You can reach him at [email protected].
