Base Hits: Offseason Moves, Suspensions and Hope for the Season

Erik Bedard went back to Seattle. Now that the best of the remaining "high risk, high reward" pitchers is off the market, one has to wonder if the O's will now bring in a couple guys on minor league deals. The pickings are slim. Todd Wellemeyer. Kip Wells. Livan Hernandez. Jason Jennings. Kris Benson. And more like that. The Orioles have been linked to none of them.

One intriguing possibility would be Noah Lowry if he's truly healthy but for now it appears that the Orioles are satisfied to go to Spring Training with David Hernandez, Jason Berken and Alfredo Simon as backup plans.

(And it's nice lip service and all but I don't believe for a second that Chris Tillman has serious competition for a rotation spot. It's a nice thing for Dave Trembley to say for motivation but Tillman is in the rotation barring injury.)

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Oriole minor league reliever Brian Parker has been suspended for 50 games after violating the Minor League drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Given the level of prospect, I'll label this one "BFD".

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I was listening to the MLB Home Plate channel on Sirius/XM radio last Wednesday when Adam Jones was pulled over while conducting a phone interview with Casey Stern and Kevin Kennedy. "Guy's, you're not going to believe this but I'm getting pulled over." sais Adam, then as he addressed the officer, "Hold on, I'm conducting an interview. Let me get off the phone." He was pulled over and cited for having his windows tinted too darkly (Jones lives in San Diego but was in Arizona for offseason workouts) and when he came back on the show he reported that the officer was a Red Sox fan and like Jacoby Ellsbury. Adam's mother defended him over here.

But here's some other gems from the interview:

Jones doesn't care where he hits in the lineup, he just likes hitting with Brian Roberts on base. If Nick Markakis is on base too, all the better. He just likes to drive in runs.

On Nick Markakis' arm and defensive prowess, ""I yell at him everytime he gets to throw. He has a great arm. I love it. I loive watching him throw."

In addressing a couple of off-beat question from Casey Stern, Jones reports that he is the most likely Oriole to lock his keys in his car and that Nick Markakis is the teammate most in need of a makeover. "He wears the 'Who shot the couch?' coat sometimes."

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In other various roster news, Roch Kubatko thinks that Ty Wigginton may get dealt before the season begins. I have been assuming/hoping that he will since Garret Atkins and Miguel Tejada make him expendable and moving him gives Michael Aubrey or Scott Moore a shot at a bench spot.

Japanese lefthander Hisanori Takahashi,a former team mate of Koji Uehara, has rejected a minor league offer from the Orioles. Not great loss here as he would be providing only depth except for that cool name.

Dennis Sarfate has cleared waivers and will be a non-roster invitee to Spring Training. A little depth never helps.

Cal Ripken, Jr. and Brooks Robinson both believe that Miguel Tejada has the skills to make the transition to third base. The gist is that Tejada still has the "quick twitch" skills and the arm to play third, which is probably true.

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The Wayard O details Nestor's swansong from the WNST airwaves.

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In a variation of the "he's in the best shape of his life" stories you see at this time of year, here's a couple from Steve Melewski on former (and future?) Oriole top prospect Billy Rowell. Part 1 and Part 2. I'd like to get optimistic but...

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I love two things today; DJ Roomba and the latest edition of the Eutaw Street Chronicles.

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Last minute link: Camden Crazies gives us colorful charts showing how various Orioles do with pitches thrown in various zones.

Base Hits: Additions, Departures and Blogging Ethics

Miguel Tejada has indirectly ended Denis Sarfate's Oriole career as he was designated for assignement. Some quotes from his interview with Roch Kubatko:

"Right now, where I'm standing, I hope I get to pitch for another team. Obviously, my goal is to pitch in the big leagues every year. I'm not saying I couldn't make the (Orioles) out of spring training, because if I do go there, I intend to make the team, but obviously I'd be the last in line to get innings. If I get the chance to go to another team, I'd be happy and take it with open arms.



"To me, I'm kind of in shock. I wish I had known earlier and saved two days of my life and not gone to Baltimore for FanFest. I flew cross-country and left my daughter at home..."


Doesn't sound like he's going to accept the demotion...

I would have liked to see if a healthy Sarfate could've turned it around but if we're going to keep a fringy guy who has isues throwing strikes, I'd rather have Matt Albers.

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Nobody is surprised that Mark Hendrickson is back. According to Baseball-Reference.com, Hendrickson had a 3.44 ERA in 42 appearance as a reliever and a 2.64 K/BB ratio. He was effective in the bullpen and can make a spot start in a pinch. For $1.2 million, (less than he made last season) he's a good value.

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Keith Law released his top 100 prospects for 2010 andfour Orioles made the cut. For those of you without ESPN Insider, he're a few quotes:

SP Brian Matusz (#11) - "He's not the prototypical No. 1 starter with a big fastball and an easy delivery, but his ability to miss left- and right-handed bats in different ways gives him a chance to lead a staff, regardless."

SP Zach Britton (#25) - "His control remains below-average and his command of all pitches and feel for the slider need to improve, as well, but he would slot in very nicely as a No. 2 starter behind Brian Matusz, or as an outstanding No. 3 behind Matusz and Chris Tillman."

(I love that Britton is ranked so high. He's a sinkerballer who gets a ton a groundballs...a skill that works very well at OPACY.)

3B Josh Bell (#61) - "He has excellent bat speed from the left side, accelerating his wrists very quickly from the set position, although his swing is a little flat and might be more geared to doubles than home runs. "


SP Jake Arrieta (#90) - "Beyond the significant improvement in his control, he remains what he was: a four-pitch guy with no plus pitch but nothing below-average."

Keith Law's Top Ten Oriole Prospects:

1. Brian Matusz, LHP
2. Zack Britton, LHP
3. Josh Bell, 3B
4. Jake Arrieta, RHP
5. Brandon Snyder, 1B
6. Brandon Erbe, RHP
7. Caleb Joseph, C
8. Brandon Waring, 3B/1B
9. Matt Hobgood, RHP
10. Xavier Avery, OF

By the way, Law has been repeatedly asked if the O's made a mistake by "going cheap" and selecting Matt Hobgood in 2009. Law has consistently said that he would not have picked Hobgood over the college arms but does not consider the pick a "reach " or a bad pick on the face of it.

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I wanted to comment on the Ed Smith Stadium situation (again). TOH to Camden Chat for some of these links.

A week ago, citizen's groups that had put renovation plans for Ed Smith Stadium on hold with a lawsuit, offered to settle out of court with the main condition being a binding referendum on said renovations and bond offerings.

Yesterday, Sarasota County ruled out a referendum and instead will hold another public hearing on the issue.

While this is a bit of a mess, the fact that the plaintiff is offering to settle and the county has refused that offer and is instead manuevering to avoid any perception of violation of state law bodes well for a quick resolution. I don't think the renovations are in jeopardy.

Here are new drawings of the renovation plans for Ed Smith. A few more details than previous sketches but the same idea.

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Forget just talking to Hisanori Takaahashi, according to this article, there's more happening.

The Orioles have extended minor league deals with spring training invitations to former Los Angeles Dodgers Will Ohman and Japanese lefty Hisanori Takahashi. 

The more, the merrier. More arms in Spring Training is a good thing, especially if they come cheap.

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Speaking of Spring Training invites, the Orioles invited 6 more players to major league ST. Here they are:

SS Blake Davis - Spring Training 2008 was good to Davis as his hot bat gained him serious consideration to make the jump from AA to Baltimore. Injuries decimated his 2009 season as he posted a .235/.290/.304 line in 68 games, most with AAA Norfolk.

C Adam Donachie - A Dempey's Army favorite. Donachie is probably just here to spell the catchers who actually have a shot to make the team but one can hope.

C Luis Barnardo - 22-year-old who played in Delmarva in 2009. Seems to be a "not-hit" type.

IF Miguel Abreu and IF/OF Jonathan Tucker - light hitting utility-player types. This is the role they will serve in Sarasota too.

CF Matt Angle - All Matt Angle does is get on base and steal bases. THAT'S ALL HE DOES!!!!

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Without further comment, here's a link to a Camden Crazies post that addresses blogging ethics. Good work, Dan.


OK, one more comment. I am as supportive of the Oriole Blog-O-Sphere community as anyone but this situation is just one reason I will not link to fledgling bloggers until I see the work they are doing. So if you are a new blogger, don't take it personally.

Just my 2 cents.

Base Hits: 5/8/2009

According to Roch Kubatko, Ryan Freel is telling people that he is going to be traded or released before he come off the DL.

Good, good, good. I've said it before but that acquisition of Robert Andino was the last straw in making Freel redundant. I'd much rather see Lou Montanez, Ty Wigginton, Andino and even Felix Pie get the at bats.

It also gives Pie's career new life...at least for a couple weeks. His defense has greatly improved over the past two weeks and maybe they can platoon him with Montanez to get him some playing time.


Update: Looks like Freel has been traded to the Cubs for Joey Gathright.

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Ron Gardenhire is not happy about the Twins rain-shortened loss to the Orioles on Wednesday.

"Once we got going, we tried to play five innings," Gardenhire said. "And Major League Baseball is nine innings. And we didn't get a chance to do that because the weather, from the get-go, showed that we shouldn't be doing this. From the get go!

"Somebody made a mistake here and screwed up. I don't know who is supposed to be accountable for this mess, but my team ends up paying the final price."

Waaaah!

I could see Gardenhire's point if, say, the long reliever he put in there after the second rain delay gave up a three-run homer. But the Orioles scored enough runs off the original starter to win. And if you can't score off of Mark Hendrickson or Brian Bass...well, you really have to look in the mirror, don't you?

O's sweep the 1.5 game series. We'll take it.

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RP Dennis Sarfate will find out soon if his career is in jeopardy from symptoms related to a circulatory problem.

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Grimace of the Week:

Matt Garza looked none too happy as Brian Roberts took him deep.

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The Orioles will have to face a returning Alex Rodriguez but they won't have to face Jorge Posada...nor Jose Molina. O's running wild tonight?

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Song of the Week

How about some old Mary Prankster?

Many Yankee fans are posers, no?

Beat them Yanks!

Base Hits: 5/4/2009

The Orioles have lost six straight and now have a two game series in Tampa squaring off against Scott Kazmir and Matt Garza. Not looking good. But let's see if we can mine for some hope...

Aki Iwamura, Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton have had success versus Adam Eaton in limited action. No one else on the Rays has (including 0-9 for Pat Burrell and 2-9 for Carl Crawford). Could Eaton sneak past the dangerous Rays hitters and defeat a struggling Scott Kazmir (5.40 ERA)? Maybe. Roberts, Markakis and Huff own him.

On the other hand, Matt Garza is 5-0 versus the Orioles. Maybe we can just go for the split.

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Dennis Sarfate goes on the DL with numbness in his hand and the Orioles recall RP Bob McCrory from Norfolk. McCrory was bringing it, hitting 95+ on the radar gun when I saw him in Gwinnett last month. It'll be interesting to see if he has good movement on that fastball.

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Frederick 1B/3B Brandon Waring is OPSing .867 this season. Find out the backstory of this player acquired from the Reds in the Ramon Hernandez deal.

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Danys Baez aka Mr. Reluctant has posted a 2.63 ERA this season and it's no mistake. He's struck out 12 in 13.2 IP and only walked 4 for a WHIP of 0.805. Who saw that coming? On a related note, Jamie Walker has posted a 1.93 ERA in a very LOOGY-type role.

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City commissioners in Sarasota will vote this afternoon and are poised to kill the deal to bring the Baltimore Orioles there for Spring Training. No, this time they really mean it.

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George Sherrill is not guaranteed the closer role going forward. The path forward? Closer by committee. Dave Trembley:

"...I have to take a look at the situation and do what I feel is in the best interest of the team for today. Further than that, I'll probably take it day by day."

Sherrill is none too pleased:

"The thing is, I would like to have the chance to pitch myself out of the opportunity...We do have a lot of guys to do it, but I want to be the guy to do it. I don't really understand it, but when it all gets said and done, wins are what matters.

"Closer-by-committee doesn't work and won't work. We'll have to sit down and talk about it and figure out what to do."

Well, George is right when he says closer-by-committee won't work. It won't work without willing participants.

I love closer by committee. It allows a more flexible use of your 'pen and give the manager more opportunities to put guys in a place to succeed.

Unfortunately, it almost never works. It's the psychological component that fails. Relievers like to have clearly defined roles. Always have.

I guess George Sherrill will move back to lefty specialist now?

Second Guessing the Second Guessers

Some examples from last night's game. People second guessing Dave Trembley for putting in kid pitcher Bob McCrory for his major league debut in a two run game:

hmm..
if you reeeeaaaallllly wanted to win this game… down 3-1 .. perhaps you bring in a tested relief pitcher. maybe try and keep us in the game.. not experiment, you know?
now, if we were down 6-1, i figure maybe try it out. Or if we’re up 6-1, bring him in.
Bad move throwin him out there in a game that was somewhat in reach.
by Y Not

Manager Dave Trembley made an interesting call when he decided to let Bob McCrory start the seventh inning. A pitcher making his major league debut in a two-run game. Not an ideal way to break him in...Trembley has been pushing the right buttons this season, but he's open to a little second-guessing tonight.

- Roch Kubatko

Now, to be fair, the general tone has been more of a "s**t happens" mood than a "s**tty manager" tilt but just so nobody gets any ideas, I thought I'd look at how Dave Trembley throws his young relievers into the deep end of the pool.

Dennis Sarfate - Dennis made his Oriole debut on April 4th. He had been in the majors before but only for a couple mugs of java. He ends April 2008 only 3 innings short of his previous career total.

Sarfate was called upon with the O's leading Seattle 3-2 with two outs and one on in the top of the 6th and squared off against Adrian Beltre. He struck him out.

It was still only a two run game in the top of the 7th when he walked Brad Wilkerson and then struck out Jose Vidro. (Wilkerson was thrown out on a steal attempt...)

Jim Johnson - Johnson had exactly 5 innings of major league work when he was called up a couple of weeks ago. In his first game, he pitched an inning at the end of a 6-2 loss to Tampa.

But the very next day he came in in the 6th with the Orioles holding onto a 3-1 lead against Toronto. He pitched 2.3 scoreless innings.

Randor Bierd - Bierd had never pitched above AA before this season and he only compiled 45 innings at that level.

Bierd made his major league debut on April 2nd. It was the top of the 5th, the Rays led 5-3, there was nobody out and the bases were loaded. Bierd induced a double play ball and a groundout to limit the damage. He then went on to pitch a scoreless 6th and the O's would come from behind to win the game.

What's the difference between these scenarios and last night's debut of Bob McCrory? Last night it didn't work out. It happens.

But more importantly, Trembley has to do it even if he doesn't think it'll work out. Repeat after me: this team is a work in progress. I do not care what the standings say, all these kids need to play and any veteran on this team should be traded if the opportunity arises. It is more important for Trembley to find out what McCrory is made of than worry about winning a game you are already losing by two runs.

Trembley's reasoning for sending McCrory out there, according to Roch:

Manager Dave Trembley explained his decision to use McCrory in the seventh inning by saying it seemed like a good situation, with the Rays sending up the bottom of their order and the Orioles trailing.

Seems logical to me. The kid has to debut sometime. Right? And isn't it nice to have a manager who seems to be thinking before making a move?

This teams Pythagorean Winning Percentage is 13-14 and Trembley has them at 15-12. they were outscored by 6 runs in April, yet have a winning record.

I'll defer to Dave for now...