One of the bright spots for the Orioles in 2009 (and for the decade) has been Brian Roberts. Roberts struck his 46th double in Tampa last night and is well on pace to break his club record of 51. The top seasons for doubles:
2B
Roberts '08 51
Tejada '05 50
Roberts '04 50
Huff '08 48
Markakis '08 48
Ripken '83 47
Roberts '09 46
Ripken '91 46
Roberts '04 45
Markakis '07 43
Something to watch in September besides the standings...
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Sad but true, the Orioles are actually in the running for the Bryce Harper sweepstakes. Follow the standings daily at Raise the Jolly Roger.
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Feel the love.
Aubrey Huff has been absolutely glowing about the Baltimore Orioles since he was traded. Some quotes:
"I've grown close to a lot of staff, and especially a lot of players on this team. It's definitely emotional. I've seen all these young guys come up and I've had a great time with all these young guys....
"I want to thank Andy for the opportunity to come here and play all these years, and the whole staff. Dave's been great, all the players have been awesome, and I'm really going to miss it... I really enjoyed my time here."
Reportedly Andy MacPhail is open to the idea of Huff returning next year and on XM MLB Home Plate yesterday, Huff was again glowing in his praise of his time with Baltimore.
Could Huff be in Baltimore in 2010? If the price was right, I wouldn't be surprised.
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I was browsing through Baseball America and saw some Oriole minor leaguers honored. Here's some of them.
In a survey of Carolina League managers (A+):
Best Pitching Prospect: Brian Matusz
Best Breaking Pitch: Brian MatuszBest Pitching Prospect: Brian Matusz
Best Reliever: Luis Lebron
In a survey of Eastern League managers (AA):
Best Pitching Prospect: Brian Matusz
Best Changeup: Brian MatuszBest Defensive Outfielder: Jonathan Tucker
In a survey of International League managers (AAA):
Best Breaking Pitch: Chris Tillman
Best Reliever: Kam MickolioBest Defensive 1B: Michael Aubrey
Brian Matusz got noticed a bit, huh?
Nice to see Kam Mickolio on the list too.
3 comments:
just saying, people are starting to say ( I mean prospect people) that Harper may not be the top pick.
The #1 picks in baseball have historically not produced great results. The names Brien Taylor and Ben McDonald immediately come to mind. I think this kid has all the talent in the world a la Josh Hamilton, but he is far from a sure thing!
I don't think there's any doubt that Harper will be the top pick. Signability may push him down but not talent.
Ben McDonald did not live up to the hype but was a winning pitcher in the majors. If not for the Orioles rushing him to the majors and injuries ending his career at age 29, he may have had a different career.
Brien Taylor busted his arm in a bar fight. Hard to hang that on talent alone.
#1 picks have produced tons of talent historically. In the last 30 years you have, Darryl Strawberry, Mike Moore, BJ Surhoff, Ken Griffey Jr, Chipper Jones, Alex Rodriguez, Pat Burrell, Josh Hamilton, Adrian Gonzalez, Joe Mauer, Phil Nevin, David Price and Justin Upton. Some others went on to have decent, if not great careers.
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