Base Hits: 3/2/2009

Jury duty has slowed down my blogging but while waiting for my panel to be called, I’ve had plenty of time to read everyone else’s….

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Steve DeClue believes the Orioles should trade Luke Scott.

I disagree. Who’s going to DH? Ty Wigginton? Scott is a legitimate offensive threat, even if he should be platooned from time to time. And I’d like to have a deep bench going into the season for a change. Having Scott on the team gives Dave Trembley a lot of options. On off days, Scott makes an imposing pinch hitter.

DeClue also mentions Lou Montanez and Nolan Reimold….let’s just set all this straight right now.

I like Montanez. Like him. I don’t love him. I would have been fine with him starting the season as the fourth outfielder. But the fact that he probably won’t be makes this team better. He was an average hitter at best and was a poor fielder by almost any measure you want to use. He’s 27 this season. He may get better but not that much better. Like him. Don’t get the fascination some fans have with the guy.

I like Reimold a lot but last season was the first year that he’s been healthy and produced. And it was at AA. I’d like to see him have some success in Norfolk before promoting him to the big club. Hardly a reason to trade Scott right now.

If the O’s decide to move Scott at the trading deadline this season, I’m all for it. But let’s take a look at this lineup as currently constructed before trading every veteran who’s not nailed down.

More Japanese baseball…

Ben Frazier at Oriole Central has more on Koji Uehara and tapped the expertise of the Michael Westbay, a writer for JapaneseBaseball.com. Good stuff.

Melvin Mora is not concerned about his contract status.

General rule: If you see a headline claiming that Mora is not concerned about his contract status, that means he’s very, very concerned about his contract status.

Steroids are wrong but overrated in their impact.

Head over to the Camden Depot blog and scroll down to the Feb. 22^nd entry. He makes a very good case that a change in the ball before the 1993 season has far more to do with the power explosion of the mid to late 1990’s.

SI’s Jon Heyman ranks the teams in terms of their offseason and ranks the Orioles 25 out of the 28 ranked teams.(He counted the Twins and Dodgers as incomplete…) Here’s what he has to say…

25. Orioles: They got Nick Markakis on a long-term deal, but didn't get any new players to make anyone think there's light at the end of the Fort McHenry Tunnel.

That’s it? Really, one of the laziest articles I’ve ever read. At least, throw in that our pitching sucks…give a little insight man!

I would take this opinion with a grain of salt though..he ranked the Phillies first for basically letting Pat Burrell go and replacing him with Raul Ibanez.

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Matthew of Roar from 34 looks back at Spring Training 1989...the dawn of the "Why Not?" Orioles on the 20th anniversary of that season.

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Can you guess which former Oriole Enchanting Sunshine met? I'll give you a hint: It's not Al Bumbry.

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Kevin at Oriole Card "O" the Day highlights a 2009 Topps Brian Roberts card and recounts his frustration with waiting for the new season of baseball cards to arrive at his local store. I can relate as I was quite an avid collector of baseball cards into my early 20's. Sometimes I miss those simple pursuits and sometimes I think I have just regained my sanity! (No offense Kevin!) But on this rare snowy Sunday in Atlanta, It make me want to open my old card binder and see if I can find an old Tim Hulett card.

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I was listening to the Orioles take on the Marlins on Saturday and Joe Angel was interviewing Andy MacPhail. Andy said that Matt Wieters would "have to hit .800 this spring" to break camp with the big club. I think we'll see him in June...

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Wayward O prepares for the "endless mOnth of March"...

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Weaver's Tantrum opines that Matt Albers is probably better suited to relief work based on the fact that he has only two pitches.

I disagree and, oddly for me, I have no empirical data to back up my opinion. Before he got hurt last season, Albers just looked like a starter to me. I thought he was the best candidate to make a Guthrie-like move from the 'pen to starter in '08 and, if healthy, I still think he has the stuff to do it in '09. Somebody's got to, right?

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Anthony reviews MLB Network's "30 Camps in 30 Days" feature on the Baltimore Orioles at the Oriole Post. Good show, catch it if you can in rerun form. It's rare to see the Orioles dealt with in any depth from the national media.