Around the Oriole Blog-O-Sphere

I mentioned a concern about top 2009 pick RHP Matt Hobgood's weight and his offseason conditioning. As he often does, Crawdaddy at Camden Depot goes at least one better while breaking down what is an average body fat measurement for a professional athlete. He compares him to other standards as well:

If Hobgood had enlisted, he would have had to have undergone personal counseling to change his habits. He no longer qualifies at those levels anymore. The US Army would consider him fit. The Marine Corps is a bit more stringent and requires for Hobgood's age group to be below 18% and to never exceed 22%.

I won't spoil the ultimate conclusion for you, go to Camden Depot and check it out.

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Still on the theme of "they do it better than me", Camden Crazies tries to decipher why Jeremy Guthrie gave up so many homers is 2009.

As discussed previously, Guthrie’s home run rate went from 1.1 HR/9 in 2008 to 1.6 HR/9 in 2009, mostly due to an increase in flyball rate from 38% to 47% – his HR/FB rate was similar at 10.9% to 10.5% (which are both very reasonable).

Again, I won't spoil the conclusions.

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If you haven't checked out new Oriole beat reporter for MLB.com, Brittany Ghiroli's contributions to the site you should.

Her blog on MLB.com has been updated almost as much as Roch Kubatko's and she has been very active on Twitter, especially tweeting spring training pics. Nice to see an Oriole beat reporter who will be getting the word out on all fronts.

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Eutaw Street Hooligans make some observations about a recent interview that DH Luke Scott did on MLB Home Plate on Sirius/XM radio.

Luke’s comments about the Orioles were much more concerning. Luke made it known once again that he is not happy at all as a primary DH. Luke made similar comments before the start of last season, but this year he seemed much more adamant. Luke also says that last year the Orioles promised him that he would still get half of his at bats as an outfielder. That obviously did not happen and he did not seem very happy about it.

Some interesting observations that I have not seen elsewhere...

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Roar from 34 has been assimilated by the "blanket with sleeves" scourge:

Resistance is futile. Give in to the power of the blanket with sleeves. You can even pick one up at the ballpark, which defies my original cynical logic upon viewing the Snuggie commercial: "Who would wear one of those things at a sporting event?"

So sad, so sad...

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The Wayward O seems to have a strange fascination with new Oriole closer Mike Gonzalez. I'll let that speak for itself.

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Weaver's Tantrum looks at how the Orioles have slowly and quietly assembled more southpaw pitchers for the organization.

These guys slot in at different levels and are useful in different ways. I think the O's made a good effort at fixing the problem. It should be regarded as a successful winter effort at shoring up a weak point.

Have fun at Yellowstone, Dave.