Opening day is tomorrow and the only thing I really know about the 2009 Orioles is that it’s not the 2008 Orioles.

Yes it still has Brian Roberts leading off and playing second base. And the best player on the team is most probably Nick Markakis. And even with Melvin Mora and Aubrey Hoff, now the old timers, the team in many ways is much different than 2008.

And the biggest place where you see the changes is with the pitching staff.

One thing for sure, when I turn on the game Monday afternoon, I’m sure I’m going to need a score card. Although with Jeremy Guthrie starting and a line up that has many of the same people as last year’s it might not be too bad on the first outing.

But from there? Pitchers and bench players are much different.

How good will they be? Just like any year they will only be as good as their pitchers take them.

So far this year I’ve only seem them play once, last night against the Nationals. Other than a poor first inning for Simon, their pitching wasn’t too bad. But then again the Nationals lineup more than likely isn’t a pennant contender.

So what kind of predictions will I make?
This team will not lose 100 games. Nor do I think they will lose over 90. I’m not sure they are a 500 team. But I sure would like to be proved wrong.

Where will they end in the standings?
I’m not sure that they can move out of last in the East. That is unless the Ble Jays aren’t as good as I think they might be. That’s the only East team that I think could lose more than them.

Who wins the division?
I think that the Rays sneaked up on people last year and had a wild run in 2008. While they will be a good team for years to come, I don’t think they repeat as division winner. Although they may still win enough for the playoffs.

Even though the Yankees spend millions during the off season, I’m not sure the are an improved team. But they will be in the running. But I think that the red Sox will take the division by a very slim margin. It may only be a few games that separate 1st from 3rd.

Anyway for now, like many others I’m just waiting until the first pitch is thrown tomorrow and a win by the Orioles on Opening Day 2009,