Base Hits: 3/2/2009

Jury duty has slowed down my blogging but while waiting for my panel to be called, I’ve had plenty of time to read everyone else’s….

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Steve DeClue believes the Orioles should trade Luke Scott.

I disagree. Who’s going to DH? Ty Wigginton? Scott is a legitimate offensive threat, even if he should be platooned from time to time. And I’d like to have a deep bench going into the season for a change. Having Scott on the team gives Dave Trembley a lot of options. On off days, Scott makes an imposing pinch hitter.

DeClue also mentions Lou Montanez and Nolan Reimold….let’s just set all this straight right now.

I like Montanez. Like him. I don’t love him. I would have been fine with him starting the season as the fourth outfielder. But the fact that he probably won’t be makes this team better. He was an average hitter at best and was a poor fielder by almost any measure you want to use. He’s 27 this season. He may get better but not that much better. Like him. Don’t get the fascination some fans have with the guy.

I like Reimold a lot but last season was the first year that he’s been healthy and produced. And it was at AA. I’d like to see him have some success in Norfolk before promoting him to the big club. Hardly a reason to trade Scott right now.

If the O’s decide to move Scott at the trading deadline this season, I’m all for it. But let’s take a look at this lineup as currently constructed before trading every veteran who’s not nailed down.

More Japanese baseball…

Ben Frazier at Oriole Central has more on Koji Uehara and tapped the expertise of the Michael Westbay, a writer for JapaneseBaseball.com. Good stuff.

Melvin Mora is not concerned about his contract status.

General rule: If you see a headline claiming that Mora is not concerned about his contract status, that means he’s very, very concerned about his contract status.

Steroids are wrong but overrated in their impact.

Head over to the Camden Depot blog and scroll down to the Feb. 22^nd entry. He makes a very good case that a change in the ball before the 1993 season has far more to do with the power explosion of the mid to late 1990’s.

SI’s Jon Heyman ranks the teams in terms of their offseason and ranks the Orioles 25 out of the 28 ranked teams.(He counted the Twins and Dodgers as incomplete…) Here’s what he has to say…

25. Orioles: They got Nick Markakis on a long-term deal, but didn't get any new players to make anyone think there's light at the end of the Fort McHenry Tunnel.

That’s it? Really, one of the laziest articles I’ve ever read. At least, throw in that our pitching sucks…give a little insight man!

I would take this opinion with a grain of salt though..he ranked the Phillies first for basically letting Pat Burrell go and replacing him with Raul Ibanez.

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Matthew of Roar from 34 looks back at Spring Training 1989...the dawn of the "Why Not?" Orioles on the 20th anniversary of that season.

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Can you guess which former Oriole Enchanting Sunshine met? I'll give you a hint: It's not Al Bumbry.

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Kevin at Oriole Card "O" the Day highlights a 2009 Topps Brian Roberts card and recounts his frustration with waiting for the new season of baseball cards to arrive at his local store. I can relate as I was quite an avid collector of baseball cards into my early 20's. Sometimes I miss those simple pursuits and sometimes I think I have just regained my sanity! (No offense Kevin!) But on this rare snowy Sunday in Atlanta, It make me want to open my old card binder and see if I can find an old Tim Hulett card.

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I was listening to the Orioles take on the Marlins on Saturday and Joe Angel was interviewing Andy MacPhail. Andy said that Matt Wieters would "have to hit .800 this spring" to break camp with the big club. I think we'll see him in June...

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Wayward O prepares for the "endless mOnth of March"...

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Weaver's Tantrum opines that Matt Albers is probably better suited to relief work based on the fact that he has only two pitches.

I disagree and, oddly for me, I have no empirical data to back up my opinion. Before he got hurt last season, Albers just looked like a starter to me. I thought he was the best candidate to make a Guthrie-like move from the 'pen to starter in '08 and, if healthy, I still think he has the stuff to do it in '09. Somebody's got to, right?

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Anthony reviews MLB Network's "30 Camps in 30 Days" feature on the Baltimore Orioles at the Oriole Post. Good show, catch it if you can in rerun form. It's rare to see the Orioles dealt with in any depth from the national media.

Interview With Patrick Newman, Founder of NPB Tracker

Ever since the Orioles signed Kenji Uehara, I’ve been trying to find out more about him and Japanese baseball in general. I mean, if the Orioles are serious about tapping this resource, why not learn a little more about the Nippon Pro Baseball league?

The blog NPB Tracker has been an invaluable resource for all things regarding Japanese baseball. But I still had some questions, so I talked site founder Patrick Newman into a mini-interview so I could get some clarity on a few subjects. I asked him about Koji Uehara, minor league signee Ryohei Tanaka and Japanese baseball in general. Thanks to Patrick for his time…the interview follows.

Dempsey’s Army: According to the Atlanta papers, Kenshin Kawakami has a contingent of 6 or 7 memebers of the Japanses press following him around Spring Training. Kenji Uehara seems to have at least twice that contingent even though Kawakami was touted as the better pitcher this offseason. What's the draw with Uehara?

Patrick Newman: Koji Uehara pitched for the Yomiuri Giants, who are basically the Yankees of Japan, so he has a national following. He's also been talking openly about pitching in the majors for years, so it's a good story that he's finally getting to do it now. And although Kawakami has been more consistent for the last few seasons, Uehara's peak performance was better, with Sawamura Awards* in 1999 and 2002.

*Japan's award for the best pitcher. It's like the Cy Young, but it actually pre-dates the Cy.

DA: Uehara has been primarily a reliever for the past two seasons. Why was that decision made? Also, are relievers in Japan used in a similiar fashion to the way they are used in the U.S. (i.e. one inning at a time on average...) or do they have longer stints? I am wondering how long it will take Uehara to stretch himself out to a starter again.

PN: Uehara was moved into relief after suffering an injury before the 2007 season. He was dominant in the closer role, and the Giants didn't have any other obvious closer candidates, so they left him there for the duration of the season. After 2007, they signed Marc Kroon to close, and moved Uehara back into the rotation. He struggled in 2008, got demoted, and pitched in middle relief, but got back into the rotation and put together a string of good starts in August and September.

Reliever usage patterns in Japan are similar to MLB -- you have closers, lefty specialists, middle relievers, etc. I think this is one of the reason we've seen a number of NPB relievers come over to America and do well. Starters in Japan tend to throw more pitches per start, but get more time in between starts. This is something that Uehara will have to adjust to. I don't know how long it will take him to adjust, but I would be a little surprised if he throws 200 innings this year.

DA: Outside of having to face some imposing lineups in the American League East, what do you think Uehara's biggest obstacle will be on his road to becoming a successful pitcher in the U.S.?

PN: Uehara has been home run-prone in his NPB career, so he'll have to work on keeping the ball down. Another thing is that he could count on getting the close calls in Japan, because of his reputation and his team. He won't have the benefit of the doubt in American. He seems to be cognizant of both these points though.

Off the field, he'll have to adjust to more travel, different food, a new language, etc.

DA: When he's in a jam, what is Uehara's "out" pitch? Which pitch does he command the best?

PN: In Japan it was his forkball.

DA: "Power pitcher" or "junkball" guy?

PN: "Finesse" guy. He has some good stuff but that doesn't include a power fastball.

DA: The stats for RHP Ryohei Tanaka are not impressive. He struggled during a cup of coffee with the Chiba Lotte Marinesand his minor league stats that you posted on NPB Tracker are not encouraging. He's only 26 but why would the Orioles be so interested in him? Does he have a big arm or was he highly touted (or drafted) out of high school?

PN: I've never seen him so I can't speak to how good his arm is or what he throws. I always take minor league stats with a grain of salt, because he might have been facing rehabbing major leaguers, or had a bad defense behind him, or working on a new pitch. But he rates haven't been good and he didn't improve statistically in his eight years.

The Orioles gave him a tryout and must have seen something they liked. He got a minor league contract paying him something like $40k, so there's no risk involved for the team.

DA: What is the view of NPB as a league about Japanese players having success in America? Is it a source of pride or are they concerned about how much talent if leaving the NPB? How do the fans feel?

PN: The league isn't crazy about the trend -- they were particularly upset about Junichi Tazawa last year and actually enacted a ban on players who skip NPB returning to Japan.The fans are more amenable to it. Guys like Ichiro and Matsuzaka are on the news every time they do anything, and their success is obviously a source of pride among most of the Japanese population. I like seeing those guys succeed, because I'm a fan of NPB and I think their success gives the league credibility.

DA: Before I die, I plan on visiting Japan and attending a professional baseball game while I'm there. Any tips for the average American baseball fan taking in a NPB game for the first time? Also, what is the Japanese version of a hot dog and a beer? Is there a traditional ballpark food in Japan?

PN: Get to Koshien Stadium in Osaka and see a Hanshin Tigers game, if you can. The stadium is a dump but there's no other baseball experience like it. I used to eat yakisoba, edamame, and sometimes dried squid at games in Japan -- I would say those are among the most generic items. All of the six Japanese stadiums I've been to served hot dogs, but I've only ever tried them at Osaka Dome. Osaka Dome also had McDonald's and KFC inside the stadium last time I was there. The Japanese version of beer is beer.