Around the Orioles Blogsophere - 5/5/09

...but first a quick stop off at Rob Neyer's blog on ESPN.com who make a solid point about patience and the case of Felix Pie:

How many more chances do you give him? I don't know, exactly. What I do know is that in Brady Anderson's first three seasons, his line was .216/.305/.301 in nearly a thousand plate appearances. He was awful in his fourth season, too. And he was significantly older than Pie, without the Triple-A credentials...But the Orioles didn't give up on Brady Anderson when he was 27, and they shouldn't give up on Felix Pie when he's 24. Especially not in a vain pursuit of fourth place.

Correct. Unless there's something going on behind the scenes, you stick with Pie until at least mid-season.

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Along those same lines, Frost King looks back at the month of April and makes some discoveries about Felix Pie and Lou Montanez:

Pie's defense hasn't been as advertised yet (it's only been about average in LF) but his bat hasn't been as bad as it's looked. A .194 BABIP despite a 23% line-drive rate will definitely not continue, and his increased walk rate (from 7.8% to 10.5%) and decreased strike-out rate (from 34.9% to 27.5%) are both good signs. He needs to be given plenty of at bats to work through this....

Maybe Luis shouldn't have talked so much about being over-looked for a spot on the team. Pie has shown the better underlying stats, and has the higher ceiling...

Go to the blog to see more supporting numbers but, again, he's right. Common wisdom is to dump Pie or give him a reduced role. He's performed a bit better than the basic numbers show.

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While not necessarily referring to Felix Pie, Ben at Oriole Central is urging fans with short memories to be patient:

I understand (and want) the O's to win now like everyone else. What I don't understand is the irrationality and impatience like Rick Maese advocates to call up every prospect now to Baltimore and throw them to wolves.This is the exact flawed logic that has screwed up pretty much every viable Oriole prospect for the past decade, Nick Markakis not withstanding. Garrett Olson, Adam Loewen, Hayden Penn, Daniel Cabrera, Radhames Liz, and every other pitching prospect including Erik Bedard (took him awhile didn't it) are examples how this get them up NOW to give us something is a horrible route to take. I don't like seeing Adam Eaton in the rotation either, but I'd rather bite the bullet on what's going to be another lost season and let Chris Tillman work on his control in the minors where he belongs.

He is correct! (I feel like John McLaughlin...)

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Jay Trucker recaps last night's win and looks forward to tonight's matchup:

The Orioles conclude their series against Tampa with an inexplicable 4:08 pm game. They are putting steel-ribbed Koji Uehara on the mound to face the Rays' Matt Garza.

Which gave me an endorsement idea for Koji...he could play the Jimmy Rollins role.




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Roar from 34 gets creative with an Oriole advice column...

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Wayward O also makes a good point about a managing gaffe is last night's win...

and yet Wayward O must this rainy tuesday morning chide manager for not inserting pinch runner for ZAUN when ZAUN hit double in eighth inning...let's say b-rob singles to right instead of going big fly. if pie is pinch running from 2nd there is a 84.57% chance he scores. as the game stood, there was a 13.87% chance of ZAUN scoring in same scenario.

Wayward O is not statistician but single to right scenario is far more likely there than home run.

In retrospect, it was a very odd (non)move...

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Patrick Smith of Bugs and Cranks looks at George Sherrill's closing duties and makes a fantastic Glengarry Glen Ross reference in the process.

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Speaking of Sherrill, Weaver's Tantrum runs down the options in case he is permanently unseated as the Oriole closer.

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Finally, the Toy Department blog at BaltimoreSun.com has a fine article catching up with former Oriole catcher Gus Triandos. Their "Catching Up..." series is riveting stuff to the diehard Oriole fan.