I thought I would pass this along...Zach Britton is getting noticed outside of Baltimore. Andrew Schwartz of Midwest Sports Fans provided his thoughts on the young pitcher:
A former 3rd round pick, Britton was previously ranked (in 2010) as a top-30 prospect by Baseball America, so his success shouldn’t come as that great of a surprise. But still, after Britton spent the first three months of the season in the minors and then accumulated an 8.35 ERA through his first 4 starts of 2012 season, he didn’t appear to be the most likely candidate to suddenly turn into a late-career version of Sandy Koufax.
So now, the question is whether Britton’s recent dominance is sustainable or whether it is merely “smoke and mirrors.”
You'll find a very thorough analysis of why Schwartz believes this version of Britton might be for real.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Zach Britton Getting Noticed
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Individual Performances Leading Team Effort on Charge to the Top
On July 18th, the Orioles were 2.5 games out of the AL Wild Card spot and 10 full games back on the Yankees for the AL East title. Today, they started the day in possession one of the wild card spots and a single game behind the Yankees for the division lead going 29-15 over that stretch.
While this has been an improbable team effort, there are some great individual efforts that have sparked this run. Here are the Orioles who helped lead that furious charge. Not surprisingly, most of these guys are pitchers.
Nick Markakis
AVG OBP SLG OPS 2B 3B HR Markakis .331 .390 .489 .879 9 2 5
Nick has been on fire since his return from the DL and is flourishing in his new role as leadoff hitter. He is now the best hitter in the lineup.
Mark Reynolds
AVG OBP SLG OPS 2B 3B HR Reynolds .252 .366 .489 .855 9 0 8
Reynolds has streaked his way to offensive relevance over the past 6 weeks while leading the team in walks, ranks second on the team in ISO and since moving to first base has provided adequate defense. Some of the fans who were clamoring for a playoff spot were also the same ones who were crapping all over Reynolds this season which I always found strange since this team was going to need every bullet in the arsenal to make a run at even a wild card berth. Reynolds has proved to be valuable in that endevour.
Wei-Yin Chen
IP K BB HR ERA Chen 54.2 51 16 7 3.79
In the absence of Jason Hammel, Chen provided some stability and a center to the revolving door of starters entering and exiting the rotation. Not spectacular but always solid.
Chris Tillman
IP K BB HR ERA Tillman 52.0 41 17 8 3.81
Miguel Gonzalez
IP K BB HR ERA Gonzalez 49.0 37 14 8 3.67
Zach Britton
IP K BB HR ERA Britton 41.0 37 15 5 4.39
I lump these three guys together because with the rotation is ruins, these three came in on the Norfolk shuttle to throw some quality innings and settle things down. There were some rough spots for sure but the minor league journeyman, the former prospect whose star had faded and the top prospect who was working his way back from injuries have teamed up to give the pitching staff a huge boost.
Steve Johnson
IP K BB HR ERA Johnson 18.0 37 14 8 3.67
Steve Johnson has come up from AAA to provide some spot starts and long relief for the team. With Tillman's health in question, he will be taking on a larger role in September. Remember when we lost Johnson in the Rule 5 draft a couple of years ago? Thank God we got him back.
Luis Ayala
IP K BB HR ERA Ayala 19.1 11 4 1 2.79
And why wouldn't we see a bunch of guys from bullpen on this list? Ayala is not spectacular and give up his fair share of hits but he is working enough magic to strand enough runners to be very effective.
Pedro Strop
IP K BB HR ERA Strop 18.0 18 8 0 2.50
The big fastball and impressive ground ball rate offset the occasional wildness as Strop continues his breakout season.
Darren O'Day
IP K BB HR ERA O'Day 17.2 18 6 0 0.51
Troy Patton
IP K BB HR ERA Patton 11.0 11 2 0 0.00
The unsung heroes of the 'pen whose praises I keep trying to sing. Even though he is now on the DL, look at what Patton had done before he went down. And O'Day has been dominant. I want Patton back and soon.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Zach Britton and The Art of Tweeting
Late last night, the following tweet went out from Zach Britton's Twitter account:
Then came this:
Covering for a mistake or savviest Tweeter ever? Britton's only been on Twitter for 8 days. If it was a prank, that's a quick learning curve. Just like his big league pitching.
But 512 is a Texas area code. And Arrieta is from Texas. Oops.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The Oriole Rotation Suddenly in Limbo
Brian Matusz was hit by a line drive in today's simulated game and his status for Saturday's start is in jeopardy.
Brad Bergesen was struck in a similar fashion last week, albeit worse, by all reports.
That leaves Jeremy Guthrie, Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta and Zach Britton as the only completely healthy starters just three days from Opening Day.
Justin Duchscherer is not due back until April 21st at the earliest. The situations for Matusz and Bergesen remain more cloudy. It is not known if either will be ready for their respective starts on Saturday and Sunday.
The fates seem to be conspiring to give Chris Tillman a spot in the rotation. Eliminating Zach Britton from the conversation (if Britton is sent to Norfolk, it won't be due to performance), Tillman has the lowest ERA of the spring and a quick calculation of FIP shows he has the second lowest FIP (4.29) behind Bergesen (4.20).
But Tillman, seemingly, wasn't given a real fair shake coming into Spring Training. He was behind Jake Arrieta in the competition for the rotation from the beginning. And even though he outpitched nearly everybody else, the organization was tyring to find any way to send him back to Norfolk. With Bergesen, Matusz and Duchscherer banged up (to varying degrees), Tillman may sneak into the rotation and get his shot after all.
The team does not need a fifth starter until April 10th. But Matusz and Bergesen would both have to be healthy to push Tillman to Norfolk. Tillman's going north. And he'd better take advantage of the situation if he wants to stay there.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Spring Training Updates: Week 2
The end of the second week of spring training games is upon us, so lets see how these position battles are shaking out.
Before the season I listed 5 things to watch:
1. Pie versus Reimold - Felix Pie is hitting .250/.250/.350 still with just the two doubles over 20 plate appearances and, characteristically, no strikeouts or walks. Nolan Reimold is hitting .308/.471/.577 with 2 homers, 7 walks and 5 strikeouts over 33 plate appearances. Reimold is not only outhitting Pie by a large margin, he's getting a longer look this spring. With Derrek Lee's injury, they may both make the Opening Day roster, at least for a while.
2. Chris Tillman versus Jake Arrieta - Arreita has a 3.60 ERA, Tillman has a 7.20 ERA. However, Tillman's peripherals are better (0 HR, 4 K, 1BB) than Arrieta's (1 HR, 2 K, 2 BB) I haven;t seen either of them to see how hard one or the other is getting hit. Zach Britton has been moved up to starter with Tillman working in relief for today's game. A sign of things to come? At the moment, it does not look good for Tillman.
3. Brian Roberts Rebound - Sidelined with neck spasms early, now he is sidelined with back spasms. Not good.
4. The Battle for the Backup Backstop - Craig Tatum got up off the mat and is hitting .300/.333/.350 after last night's game. However, Tatum only has 21 plate appearances. Jake Fox has 30 and has posted a line of .367/.367/.767 with three homers and three doubles. Fox is getting the longer looks this spring and is hitting very well. And he has not embarrassed himself behind the plate. Fox has the edge.
5. Who's the Backup Middle Infielder? - None of the candidates has hit. Cesar Izturis has been hurt but is hitting .250/.250/.357 so far and probably has the job by default at this point.
Further developments: Koji Uehara threw on flat ground yesterday...Some beat writers believe that Ryan Drese has pitched well enough this spring to insert himself into the competition for the 5th starter. Drese has not pitched in the majors since 2006 or in affiliated ball since 2008...I saw Jeremy Accardo for the first time last night. He's getting groundball, throwing strikes and has yet to allow a run this spring. If he pans out, kudos to the Oriole scouting team for rescuing him from the Toronto farm system he has been buried in for the last two seasons...Ryan Adams might be a better prospect than I thought. He has decent power and a good approach at the plate. His fielding needs some work but if he's passable, the bat might play. He should get to (if not starts in) AAA at age 24 this season. I'll be curious to see how he does...Top prospect Zach Britton is coming up on the outside in the rotation competition. He has given up no earned runs and his peripherals and ground ball rates look great...Rule 5 pick Adrian Rosario has been wild and has a 9.00 ERA. The team can arrange a trade for him with the Brewers but he looks like a wasted pick at this point...Meanwhile, RHP Pedro Beato has a 1.80 ERA for the Mets but the peripherals are not so good for him. RHP Pat Egan has a 0.00 ERA but only two appearances for the Brewers. Both may be offered back to Baltimore or in Egan's case, he could be swapped for Adrian Rosario.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Breaking Down the Oriole Prospect Talk
MLB.com and ESPN have released top prospect lists this week so I thought I would sift through them today and filter it through the Oriole prism.
MLB.com put out their Top 50 Prospect list on Tuesday with Norfolk sinkerball pitcher Zach Britton (video) coming in at #19 and 2010 1st Round pick SS Manny Machado (video) ranked #24.
MLB.com's prospect expert Jonathan Mayo did not elaborate much beyond the video scouting reports in his chat, probably due to a lack of Oriole questions submitted, but did say that Manny Machado was one of the players outside of the top 20 that had the biggest upside. I may have to track him down again to remedy that.
ESPN's Keith Law put out a ranking of the Major League farm systems (subscription). The Orioles came in #24:
This group was probably the most surprising ranking to me as I went through the process. The O's have produced a ton of potential impact players who no longer qualify here -- including Brian Matusz, Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold, and Chris Tillman -- but the system at this moment is two Top 30 prospects and no one else I'd put in my Top 150. The lack of international talent in the system stands out.
Law's Top 100 includes, you guessed it, Manny Machado (#26) and Zach Britton (#11). Some comments from Law, first on Britton:
Britton is a true sinker/slider guy -- meaning his fastball actually sinks -- and at 91-94 it's very hard for hitters to elevate successfully. His low-80s slider is very sharp with great tilt and gives him a swing-and-miss weapon, especially against left-handed hitters...
...His command is fair, and he doesn't have a pitch that moves away from right-handed hitters, so he's had some trouble with walks in those situations for which he compensates by getting groundballs.
There's at least strong No. 2 starter potential here, but better command would give him more ceiling than that.
(I love the analysis on Britton from and emotional standpoint, if not a logical one. I don't think Britton's potential is that good but I love to hear other people do...)
And about Machado:
He has strong, quick wrists, good rotation and excellent extension through his swing, clearing a slight bat wrap quickly once he gets his hands started. It's line-drive power now, but he's going to have more power down the road as he gets stronger.
Machado has a 70 arm and good hands at shortstop, but his frame is so big that he might outgrow the position in a few years, although I think he has the raw ability to stay there if his body cooperates.
Law's top ten for Baltimore:
1. Zach Britton, LHP
2. Manny Machado, SS
3. Xavier Avery, CF
4. L.J. Hoes, 2B
5. Dan Klein, RHP
6. Jonathan Schoop, SS
7. Mychal Givens, SS
8. Joe Mahoney, 1B
9. Ryan Berry, RHP
10. Trent Mummey, CF
Quick comment of this list: The Oriole farm system is weak at this point, I'll grant you. But I don't get Joe Mahoney. His numbers at Frederick were nice but the Bowie numbers just seem fluky. Talent wise, I just don't think there is that much to separate him from the likes of Jacob Julius. Not sure why he's considered a prospect based on season's performance anymore than Matt Hobgood losing his status based on one poor season. I want to see more of him at Bowie before I'm a believer.
On the plus side, nice to see some middle infield talent even if most of it is raw a far away from the majors.
One Oriole question in his chat about Machado:
Wade (VA)
Have you seen Manny Machado play? Are the A-Rod comparisons at all viable or too aggressive?
Klaw (1:52 PM)
I have and I may have inadvertently started the A-Rod thing - but I called him "A-Rod Lite" and pointed out that some reasons were demographic rather than baseball. I do like him but he's not A-Rod.
And Law selected one sleeper for the Orioles too:
Curacao native Jonathan Schoop played the 2010 season at age 18, but the shortstop hit well in the advanced Appalachian League and earned a brief call-up to high-A Frederick. He's getting stronger with projected above-average power, a good arm and the feet and hands to play somewhere in the infield, probably third base.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Around the Oriole Blog-O-Sphere: Arbitration Edition
Sully Baseball thinks teams should beware of the Orioles in 2011.
And he's not the only one. NESN's Tony Lee thinks that the AL East will get even tougher as the Orioles and Blue Jays improve.
The Orioles will be scouring the waiver wire for players who are not tendered contracts this weekend. And they may not tender one member of their bullpen. Guess who?
If you've been living in a cave for the past week and haven't seen the Felix Pie meltdown, enjoy.
Steve Giles of the Baltimore Sports Report ponders what it will mean now that top pitching prospect Zach Britton has signed with Scott Boras. Although I think Steve's outlook is a bit of the Pollyanna treatment, Baltimore won't have to worry about Boras vis a vis Britton for a few years anyway.
Call to the Pen takes a look at his Top 100 Prospects list and feels there is a bleak outlook for Baltimore down on the farm. I disagree...a bit. More on that later.
What has 13 straight losing seasons wrought? Some October Refugees. Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times takes a look at the best players of the Wild Card era to never play in the postseason. Baltimore is represented, as you would expect.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Checking In With the Farm Clubs - High Minors
Not as much to look at in the upper levels as there was in the lower levels...but here they are.
Joel Guzman - 1B/3B/OF
Guzman is a former top prospect in the Dodger organization who flamed out and has bounced around for the last three years. However, the 25-year-old Guzman is hitting .272/.336/.535 with 17 homers for Bowie this season.
Eddie Gamboa - RP
I like Eddie. He rose fast last season and has continued to turn in good work in Bowie. He's striking out a batter an inning and while the walk rate is not great, the K/BB ratio is still 2.5 to 1. He's just another reason I think the bullpen can be rebuilt from within.
Jim Hoey - RP
Hoey seems to have worked himself back from injury problems to and is striking out batters like crazy (11.5 K/9). I guess I'll believe it if he starts doing it at AAA again.
Norfolk Tides
Josh Bell - 3B
Bell has been maligned for a couple reasons this season. First, he can't hit lefties and people are demanding that he abandon switch hitting. (I've never really understood that argument. How do we know he can hit lefties better batting lefthanded than righthanded?) Second, he has not hit overall like he was expected to after his promotion to AAA.
The L/R splits are troubling. However, his bat is probably not as bad as it looks right now. First, his offensive numbers have improved each month of the season:
Slash Line BB K HR Apr .238/.256/.405 2 21 3 May .282/.325/.455 7 29 3 June .275/.367/.451 7 12 2
After a horrific April, he has focused on being more selective at the plate and it has paid off. Taking away April, his K/BB ratio is 3 to 1, not terrific but it's respectable and trending the right way.
Furthermore, according to Minor League Splits, if you normalize his numbers for park factor and luck, his .265/.312/.437 line becomes .294/.338/.494.
He's trending well and hitting better than his numbers show. He won't be pushing Miguel Tejada out of town this season liked many had hoped but he's having a productive season for a 23-year-old in AAA.
Brandon Snyder - 1B
Some better trends for Snyder as well, although in a different manner than Bell.
After putting up an OPS's of .615 and .659 in April and May respectively, Snyder is posting a line of .327/.389/.531 in June. He still isn't walking enough but this follows Snyder's development through the minors thus far. He tends to have a long learning curve when he moves up a level but when he gets it, he catches fire. It has taken him 5 months at AAA to come around but this may be the turning point that lands Snyder in the majors in 2011.
I don't think Snyder will ever be a great first baseman but he will be serviceable enough that we won't have to sign the like of Garrett Atkins again. (Not that we needed to in the first place...)
Tim Bascom - SP
Bascom is the starting pitcher who is closest to Baltimore now that Jake Arrieta was promoted. His stuff is marginal and he's a flyball pitcher but he has improved through each level, especially with his control as his walk rate is a minuscule 1.4 BB/9 in Bowie and Norfolk combined. He paints the corners and will have to hope his control and stuff are good enough to work the edges in the majors...but it could work.
Dennis Sarfate - RP
Just a quick note about Sarfate...
Yeah, he's got his velocity back and he's striking out 11.79 per 9 innings. But his walk rate is 5.32 K/9 and that's not going to play at the next level. Get it under control Dennis.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Oriole Arms: The Next Wave
With the debut of Jake Arrieta tonight, the most recent wave of top young arms are all in Baltimore. Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz and Arrieta lead the way and, to a lesser extent, Brad Bergesen and David Hernandez are now in Baltimore to stay.
But there's still more reason to be optimistic about the Orioles rotation of the future. There are still quality arms in the minor leagues and they should be coming to Baltimore as soon as 2011-2013.
Here are some highlights:
Zach Britton - 3rd Rd, 2006
IP K BB HR ERA WHIP Britton AA 67.0 49 23 4 2.96 1.29The 22-year-old lefty is probably the top prospect left in the minors and could be in Baltimore as soon as 2011. He has picked up where he left off in 2009 for Frederick by inducing groundballs at a 65.7% rate in AA Bowie. His K rate has dropped but then so has the walk rate. A lefty sinkerballer in orange and black? We could use him against the Yankees right now.
Tim Bascom - 4th Rd, 2007
IP K BB HR ERA WHIP Bascom - AA 63.0 41 10 6 3.43 1.28
While Arrieta makes his MLB debut, Bascom makes his AAA debut for Norfolk tonight. The 25-year-old righty is kind of a flyball pitcher but the split is not extreme. He has improved his control a lot this season and I suppose that will be the factor that decides how successful he will be going forward. Bascom could force his way to Baltimore in mid-summer 2011.
Cole McCurry - 43rd Rd, 2007
Nathan Nery - 18th Rd, 2006
Richard Zagone - 6th Rd, 2008
IP K BB HR ERA WHIP McCurry - A+ 48.2 48 18 6 3.51 1.29 Nery - A+ 66.1 38 12 8 3.53 1.14 Zagone - A+ 64.1 45 20 4 3.36 1.27
There are an interesting trio of lefties having success in Frederick this season. They are all between 23 and 24 years old, none were high draft picks and none were considered top prospects coming in to this season.
McCurry has the best stuff as he is striking out nearly a batter per inning. Both Nery and Zagone get by with inducing grounders and (especially Nery) limiting the free passes.
At least one of these guys should be up in Bowie pretty soon and you have to think that one of these three emerges as a serious prospect by year's end.
Ryan Berry - 9th Rd, 2009
IP K BB HR ERA WHIP Berry - A/A+ 65.1 57 17 6 3.17 1.27
Berry was on his way to being a first round selection in 2009 when he hurt his shoulder during his senior season at Rice. Berry has dominated the lower levels and looks to move quickly through the organization. Still just 21, I wouldn't be surprised if he's pitching in Bowie by season's end and be in Baltimore by 2013.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Baby Birds Make Yet Another Top Prospect List
Baseball America released their 2010 Top 100 Prospects List and four Orioles made the list. LHP Brian Matusz (5), 3B Josh Bell (37), LHP Zach Britton (63) and RHP Jake Arrieta (99) all made the list.
A couple of notes from Jim Callis' "top tools" column...
Zach Britton (Orioles) doesn't dazzle on the radar gun like Strasburg, Feliz or Chapman, but his 88-92 mph fastball stood out for our panel, who anointed it the best sinker in the minors. It's a heavy pitch with late sink and run, and Britton can carry the life on his sinker into the late innings as a starter. He had a 3.4 groundout/airout ratio last year, when he was the high Class A Carolina League pitcher of the year as a 20-year-old....
The top changeup artists all stand out for their well-rounded repertoires. Brian Matusz (Orioles) has lived up to his billing as the top pitcher in the 2008 draft thanks to his plus-plus changeup—as well as his curveball and slider, both of which drew votes as ranking among the best in the minors, and a low-90s fastball that touches 95.
So the O's have the prospects with the best sinker and the best changeup. There has never been a time in my fandom when the Orioles has had so much nationally acclaimed talent in their system.
So we got that going for us. Which is nice.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Base Hits: Blog-O-Sphere, Prospect Lists and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
Some Christmas gifts from the Blog-O-Sphere...
Ben has risen from the ashes of MVN to revive Oriole Central (or is it Camden Central) on the original Wordpress platform and the Oriole blogosphere is richer because of it.
Similiarly, Crawdaddy, one of my old comrades from the Baltimore Orioles Round Table, has also resurfaced with Camden Depot now on the Blogger platform servicing all your Oriole scouting needs. Crawdaddy has also added a neat feature to his website: the 40-man roster with each player's name color-coded to indicate how many minor league options they have remaining. Very useful and leaves me wondering why I didn't think of it myself.
Other MVN refugee news has Oriole Magic writers Anthony and James writing for Anthony's original blog, Oriole Post.
Everybody's back for the holidays... (sniff)
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Relive Nick Markakis' journey through the minor leagues via this article at MiLB.com. Nick is a gift none of us will return.
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Baseball America finally put out their list of the Top 10 Oriole Prospects. One universal in most of these lists has been the rise of soon-to-be Bowie pitcher Zach Britton who come in at #3 on BA's list:
When talking about elite pitching prospects in the Orioles organization, it's time to add Britton's name to the discussion. He was the pitcher of the year in the Carolina League last season, and his 2.70 ERA ranked second in the league...
Britton seems like the typical sinker/slider pitcher, except that his fastball touches 94 mph. His velocity improved last season, and he usually works in the 88-92 range with his sinker, adding a four-seam fastball to go with it.
It also says he has improved his changeup thanks to tips from Brian Matusz. That's a good thing, first because he improved his changeup and secondly because it says a lot about Matusz that he took the time and had the ability to impart that to a younger pitcher. Matusz gave Britton a gift that will keep on giving through the New Year.
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The Phillies sign Danys Baez.
Who knew that Mr. Reluctant would become a man of mystery so soon after leaving Baltimore.
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Michael Aubrey says he's happy with the moves the Orioles made this season...but he's not really. They add one more veteran corner infield bat and Aubrey is buried in AAA.
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The Orioles have signed 19-year-old LHP Chris Lamb form Australia. Feel free to read the scouting report but it's more improtant evidence that the Orioles are looking overseas for talent.
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Since everybody is posting their Oriole retrospectives of the '00's, I'll link back to mine from earlier this offseason.
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Merry Christmas people.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Base Hits: 100 Losses, Sarasota Awaits and Revisiting Felix Pie
Since 100 losses seems to have reared its ugly head again, (many consider it a foregone conclusion), let's see how bad it would have to get for the O's to reach the century mark.
For the Orioles to lose 100 games, they would have to go 8-20 to close out the season. Their month by month records for 2009:
Record
Mar/April 9-13
May 14-15
June 12-14
July 9-16
August 10-20
Baltimore is already 0-2 in September so it would take an 8-22 record for September and October to reach such lows. Throughout this interminable drought of winning seasons, the Orioles have flirted with that level of futility but only achieved it once: last September when they went 5-20.
There are more games left due to playing into the first week of October but even if the Orioles swept the Rangers this weekend they could go 5-20 to finish the year and lose 100 games.
The Orioles are not going to sweep the Rangers. With Adam Jones and Brad Bergesen shut down for the season and Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz soon to follow...this hopeful fan is losing hope.
It's quite possible at this point that we will see triple digit losses for the first time since 1988. (And we still won't get the first overall pick...the Nationals have 8 games on us.)
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Sarasota sees the last FSL game at Ed Smith Stadium (by the Reds affiliate) of the season and for the foreseeable future as the Baltimore Orioles prepare to move their Spring Training home there in 2010.
The Florida State League is a high A league and while I can't imagine the O's changing affiliations from Frederick to Sarasota, I also can't imagine them doing nothing with Ed Smith Stadium. The GCL Orioles maybe?
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Baseball America has a spotlight article on Oriole prospect and Frederick Key Zach Britton. (subscription only) The key to his success?
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Britton throws a four-seam fastball, changeup and slider. His out pitch has been an exceptional sinker.
"It's not a two-seam grip, its an actual sinker grip which I learned from (Scott McGregor) our pitching coach in (short-season) Aberdeen," Britton said. "I kind of throw it with a type of curveball grip, which gives it a little more sink and gets more ground balls. I throw it about 50 percent of the time when I'm throwing fastballs."
According to MinorLeagueSplits.com, Britton has induced grounders at a 65% rate in 2009. Nothing wrong with a sinkerballer in Camden Yards.
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As you probably know, Adam Jones sprained his ankle during the Yankee series and will likely miss the rest of the season. That sucks.
However, Felix Pie will be a regular in the outfield for the rest of the season. That is awesome.
If you've been reading the blog this season, you know that I have been a strident supporter of Pie remaining the Oriole. I backed him when Lou Montanez outplayed him during Spring Training, I backed him when he struggled to start the season and only relegated him to "the 4th outfielder" when Nolan Reimold was called up and showed he was more deserving of an everyday role. But I still believed in Pie and thought that Dave Trembley wasn't utilizing him enough as a defensive replacement or pinch runner. (Even with his early season struggles in left, Pie has been the best defender in the Baltimore outfield this year.)
So this silver lining to a bad injury, these 28 games of opportunity are Pie's shot. Maybe they keep him in left and move Reimold to first. Maybe they trade Pie (or Reimold(!!!)) in a package for a veteran pitcher or young third baseman. Regardless, I believe Pie will increase his value to the team, either as trade bait or a player in September.
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Off topic.
I love the Baltimore Orioles. No surprise. But I live and die with my beloved Washington Redskins just as much, if not more.
The team under Daniel Snyder has been frustrating. They underachieve, the front office signs aging players, there is a coaching merry-go-round and all of it never seems to gel right. But I'm an Orioles fan. I know how to root for a loser.
The team gouges its fans. Parking, concessions and tickets are ridiculously expensive. They charge admission to training camp. They have a captive, loyal audience that they milk for every dime they can. But I've excused it because pro football is a TV game anyway (in my opinion) and I'm all for a guy making a buck. Football is a business too.
But this may be the last straw...the team is suing fans who default on their (insane) 10 year season ticket contracts. Including 72-year-old grandmothers like Pat Hill:
On Oct. 8, the Redskins sued Hill in Prince George's County Circuit Court for backing out of a 10-year ticket-renewal agreement after the first year. The team sought payment for every season through 2017, plus interest, attorneys' fees and court costs...
Hill is one of 125 season ticket holders who asked to be released from multiyear contracts and were sued by the Redskins in the past five years. The Washington Post interviewed about two dozen of them. Most said that they were victims of the economic downturn, having lost a job or experiencing some other financial hardship.
OK, if someone can't or doesn't pay for their season tickets, the team is well within their rights to revoke the fan's claim on those seats and sell them elsewhere. Redskin season tickets are still a hot commodity; those won't be empty seats for long.
But to sue for the entire value of the ten-year contract? Your biggest fans? And you're the richest team in the NFL?
It's too much. I'm taking a break. I can't root for the Redskins this year. time to find a new team for 2009...and maybe beyond.
Boooo, Mr Snyder! Booooo!
