After a two year absence, Miggi's back. And I'm with the other reporters, bloggers and fans in town that seem to be all-for the addition to the O's infield.
Frankly, I just don't care that he bought and used Performance Enhancing Drugs. I also don't care that he is two years older than we originally thought, making him 35, because his birth certificate was falsified coming out of the Dominican Republic.
Why don't I care? Because lots of ballplayers have used steroids. Maybe all of them. And lots of Dominican ballplayers have come to Major League Baseball with falsified age information. Maybe all of them.
What do I care about, you ask? Production.
Miggi's older and has been stripped of much of his power by age and, presumably, the conclusion of his performance enhanced career. But he hit over .300 last season, had homerun numbers in the teens and drove in over 80 baserunners. When he's right, he's fun to watch and his teammates enjoy hanging around him. Don't believe me? Read what Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts said about the former shortstop's return.
For one year and $6 million, Tejada is the right player at the right price. He'll play average defense at third base and probably can be counted on to provide a little bit of pop in the two or five hole in Dave Trembley's Oriole lineup. He's no longer the spoiled star who requested a trade out of Balmer twice to have a chance with a winning team because he can no longer afford to be.
But regardless of what impact Tejada has on the field this season, the most important part of his signing is that it's got the city buzzing about the O's -- at least a little. With the Ravens' season over and the Indianapolis Colts poised to win their second Super Bowl since leaving Charm City, Baltimorons everywhere need something else to follow in the sporting world. Tejada, combined with the O's previous additions of Kevin Millwood and Garret Atkins, give the team a veteran backbone -- albeit an aging one -- which the younger plays can perhaps be held up with during the rough times.
A slumping slugger in Atkins combined with an aging Millwood and Tejada certainly don't make the O's contenders in 2010. But it does offer a little hope at avoiding another season of 90-plus losses.
A little.
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