Nick Markakis at Home at the Top

At long last, Nick Markakis has been made the team's leadoff hitter. I have suggested such a solution several times on this blog but it's hardly a revolutionary idea. Since the collapse of Brian Roberts' performance and body, there is no one else on the team who demonstrates such patience and on base skills as Markakis does. Nolan Reimold was the only player who comes close and he can't stay on the field. But instead, Buck Showalter has favored speed over on base skills and given the majority of leadoff at bats to the like of Endy Chavez and Robert Andino.

Among Oriole leadoff hitters with more than three games in the spot, only Xavier Avery (.309), Nolan Reimold (.328) and Nick Markakis (.411) have OBP's higher than .300.

Let's take a closer look at that .411 mark for Markakis. Splits for Nick based on batting order for 2012:

Split          G GS BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS TB
Batting 1st   12 12  5  1 .353 .411 .451 .862 23
Batting 3rd   50 50 22 37 .256 .333 .452 .786 90

That batting average is aided by a high BABIP (.360) but that's not too much higher than his .321 BABIP for his career. The bottom line is, he just looks more comfortable in a role at the top of the order.

And this is not new. Career splits for Markakis based on batting order:

I         Split   G   BA  OBP  SLG   OPS BAbip
    Batting 1st  12 .353 .411 .451  .862  .360
    Batting 2nd 296 .313 .384 .489  .873  .336
    Batting 3rd 545 .281 .355 .438  .794  .310
    Batting 4th  52 .273 .314 .417  .731  .282
    Batting 8th  22 .456 .538 .588 1.126  .525
    Batting 9th  65 .264 .312 .364  .676  .303

The thing that's important is to look at the split between Markakis when he's batting 1st/2nd versus his numbers when he's batting 3rd/4th. He has been quite a bit better at the top of the lineup than when he is in the heart of the lineup.

I am ususally of the opinion that a player is the hitter he is regardless of where he is in the lineup. Frank Thomas had the approach of a #3 hitter and when he was batting cleanup for Toronto late in his career, he was criticized for walking too much and not swinging more. But he was what he was and that wasn't going to change. If you bat Mark Reynolds leadoff, he will take the same approach he always does.

But I think Nick is a player who does change his approach based on his spot in the lineup. He may feel more pressure to be aggressive at the plate in the 3 or 4 hole to drive in runs. But he does not seem to feel that pressure as a 1 or 2 hitter. And his natural talents (working the count, drawing walks, good baserunning) are well suited to that role.

And while all of this seems obvious, it did not appear to be obvious to Buck Showalter. Markakis as lead off hitter may have come too late to make a difference to the Orioles' fading playoff hopes in 2012.

Oriole Acquire Jim Thome; Is Dan Duquette All In?

The Orioles acquired legendary slugger Jim Thome from the Phillies yesterday for a couple of minor league prospects. My first thought was, "Can he pitch?"

There are lots of ramifications to this trade so let's take them one at a time.

First, let's look at who the Orioles acquired. Unlike the Vladimir Guerrero debacle of 2011, Thome's skills include the ability to get on base and his ISO is still top notch. He's still a legitimate power threat at the plate and a well above average hitter overall. His addition make the Oriole lineup better, you can argue about how much better but there is little doubt that he helps the offense.

Second, Dan Duquette traded away two legitimate prospects to acquire Thome for half a season. Say what you will about the Taylor Teagarden trade but RHP Randy Henry and SS Greg Miclat were not considered top prospects at the time of that trade. In the Oriole farm system, RHP Kyle Simon and C Gabriel Lindo are ranked #18 and #21 respectively by Baseball America. They are at the lowest levels of the organization but these are not spare parts; Simon is a legitimate starting pitcher prospect and Lino is at the very least a great defensive catching prospect. It's a high price to pay for three months of Jim Thome.

Thirdly, how is this going to affect the configuration of the existing lineup? If today's lineup is any indication, Mark Reynolds may have a hard time getting off the bench. Thome will be exclusively a DH which removes a lot of flexibility that Buck Showalter had when filling out his lineup card. With Reynolds utterly unable to play third base, there is now a 3-man rotation of Reynolds, Thome and Chris Davis competing for at bats among DH and first base. And you have to include Wilson Betemit in that mix too. With Reynolds unable to find his power stroke at the mid-point of 2012, he may find playing time sparse. Even today, Showalter is more comfortable putting Davis in right field than starting Reynolds at first. Reynolds has not played third base since early May, look for Robert Andino and Ryan Flaherty to handle most of that duty.

Lastly, to what end have the Orioles added Thome? What's the end game here? Does Dan Duquette believe that Baltimore has a shot to make the playoffs? With this pitching staff? He must or he would not part with two prospects as highly though of as Simon and Lino are. I don't share that belief. I have said often this season that this team could be the one that breaks the 14-season losing streak but I never thought they would make the postseason. But Duquette is signalling that this team will be buyers at the trading deadline.

I don't get it. Maybe Duquette is smelling blood int he water with the massive injuries to the Blue Jay rotation and the Yankee rotation, the general ineffectiveness of the Rays offense and the myriad of issues facing the Red Sox.

But I don't think this team has enough to make the postseason and it's troubling that Duquette does. I wonder what other decisions he'll make in that belief and what the long-term impacts are of those moves.

New Post at MASNSports.com: I Heart Troy Patton

In which I sing the praises of the unsung hero of the Oriole bullpen. Probably my last post for MASNSports for the season. It's been fun.

Random Thoughts About the Atlanta Series

The Orioles were in Atlanta over the weekend and I made it out to all three games as the Orioles took the series. Here are some varied observations:

* I got to watch the Orioles pitching staff throw 20.1 straight scoreless innings this weekend. If you ever get a chance to do that in person, I highly recommend it. It was the funnest.

* This is not a new revelation. I have lived in the Atlanta metro area for more than 8 years now and the Tomahawk Chop has not grown on me. I have not been to all 30 major league parks but I can't imagine there is a sillier tradition in baseball. I am almost embarrassed for the Braves fans every time they start in with it.

* I watched the first three games of Chris Davis' major league outfield career. He did no look completely comfortable but he really didn't do a bad job out there. He played 54 games in the outfield in the minors but for a guy who has been primarily a 1B/DH type for his MLB career, he really did an excellent job. Hit, pitch, field...is there anything Chris Davis can't do?

* I received some very annoyed tweets responding to my very annoyed tweet in which I called Brandon Beachy a "bum" who "routinely walks the park" and vented my frustration that the Orioles went to the plate the first two innings of Saturday night's game "hacking" and making Beachy's night easy. After looking more closely at his stats, I will retract the bum comment. But every time I flip by Peachtree TV and I see Beachy pitching, he is giving out free passes to opposing batters like they  were flyers for a comedy club. Especially down the stretch during the Braves' late season collapse of September 2011. So excuse me if those starts were more memorable to me than his good outings. We'll just call him an inconsistent young arm. But his SIERA and xFIP are in the same neighborhood as Jake Arrieta, a guy who is holding onto his starting job by his fingertips. NL ERA champ? Yes but probably not deserving of that much reverence.

* Speaking of ERA, with the way the Braves defense played this weekend, I am surprised all of their pitchers do not have sub-2.00 ERA's. Friday night's game was a frustrating loss because the Orioles were facing the best pitcher they would see all series in Tommy Hanson and he was not on his game. The Orioles had plenty of chances to tack on runs but didn't and lost by two. But let's give the Atlanta defense some credit. Some bad luck was involved with well-struck balls going right at Brave fielders but, generally, the Braves just made some great plays to kill rallies and keep runs off the scoreboard.

* Speaking of defense, I had never heard of Andrelton Simmons before this weekend. I won't forget his name now. Simmons was called up from AA as the Braves sent down fellow rookie Tyler Pastornicky to AAA Gwinnett who had struggled at the plate and, more importantly, in the field. Simmons was called up on June 1st and I don't think he's going back. He made more than one terrific play in the field this weekend and has shown patience and power at the plate in his short time in Atlanta. Now the Braves are talking about having Pastornicky focus on more of a utility role while in the minors. Simmons should be playing short for the braves for years to come and I am a fan.

* Speaking of being a fan, I certainly admired Wei-Yin Chen's pitching and understood how important his contributions to this team's winning record have been in 2012. But this was the first time I have seen him in person and I loved him. He fields his position so well, better than any Oriole pitcher I've watched since Brad Bergesen, and made some fine plays on Sunday, getting off the mound quickly and making a couple of heads up plays that many pitchers would not have been confident enough to make. Also, he's really quite fast, at least faster than I thought he'd be. When he laid down a sac bunt in the 6th yesterday, he made the play at first far closer than it had any right to be. He is completely cool under pressure and that fastball/changeup combo he has isn't bad either. I am a fan.

* Going to Turner Field with a normal ticket is a fine experience. Buy any of their value added tickets, however, and you may find yourself on a scavenger hunt. You bought the four-pack of tickets that come with dogs, drinks and a program? Ooohh, you can't redeem the food with your game tickets, you need to go two levels down and halfway around the park to the kiosk Sec. 132. Oh, I'm sorry, you have to go to the ticket booth in Sec. 146 , get vouchers for your program and food and come back here to 132. Oh, I'm sorry, you can't redeem your food voucher here and the counter nearest your section is closed. You'll have to go back downstairs, Sec. 217, I think.

Nobody seems to know how any of this works at the park and good luck finding the information on the website. I did eventually track it down but even all of those details were not consistent with how it worked at the park. Seems like that information should be front and center on the website and that the people involved in the process know how it all works. It's one thing that it's convoluted, it's another that it's not consistent.

Nor are the parks' security policies. Open your bags for search and then have to empty the entirety of your pockets one day, next day a cursory glance at the bag and nothing further. Again, I don't mind being inconvenienced or delayed as long as you are consistent. This has gotten worse over the years. Fix it, Braves.

* On a positive note for Turner Field, I like a good park organist and we have a good one in Atlanta. While the Braves all come up to their canned walk-up music, (I really enjoyed Martin Prado's walk-up music, by the way. A Latin ska-tinged number, something that I assume is big in Venezuela. If anyone knows what it is, let me know) the Turner Field organist came up with little ditties for each of the Orioles as they approached the plate. Some are stretches but you can get there is you think about it. Here are a few of my favorites from the weekend, see if you can figure out the connections"

      Jason Hammel - theme from "Star Wars"
      J.J. Hardy - theme from "Good Times"
      Chris Davis - "Kind of Blue"
      Adam Jones - "It's Not Unusual" (or the opening melody to "Pac-Man", which is obvious)
      Steve Pearce - "Round and Round" or "Radar Love"
      Robert Andino - "The Flintstones"
      Wilson Betemit - "The Gambler"

Some of these might be easier to figure out since I gave you the titles but hearing the tune, trying to figure out the tune and then the connection to the batter is a bit of geeky fun for me. Took me all weekend to deduce Steve Pearce.

* I like Steve Pearce. My head tells me he will not be all that useful going forward but  I really like something about how that guy plays.

* I am grateful, as a fan out here in the Oriole diaspora, that I got to see Brian Roberts play, and play well, one more time in person. There were times that I doubted I would ever see it at all and I am happy I got to see it first hand.

* Between innings, the Braves have some sponsored contests or quizzes up on the Braves-vision screen in center field. On Friday, they introduced an elderly gentleman on the screen and informed up that the man, clearly in his eighties had fought in World War II and the Korean War. This brought patriotic cheers and a standing ovation for the man. They brought out a $50 Publix gift card and the announcer said they were going to give it to him....if you can answer this multiple choice question! Jesus, just give the 80-something dual-conflict vet the card. Don't make him dance for it.

* I still hate the wave at a baseball game and, thankfully, most attempts to get it started during this series fizzled badly.

* A great series and a whole bunch of fun for an Oriole fan. My only complaint is that they still should have won Friday and had the sweep. I mean, Hunter was dog-crap that night...

Winning and Attendance: Part 1

I have said for years that the remedy for the poor attendance at Camden Yards is not signing premier free agents, not signing "exciting name players" for marketing purposes, not putting "Baltimore" back on the away jerseys and not a better customer experience at the park. Those things are nice but the factor that was going to move the needle for attendance was always going to be more wins.

Winning was the key. Baltimore is a good baseball town and if you put a competitive club on the field, the people will come.

Now we have a winner and I thought I'd take a look at how we are doing. After 30 home games, the Orioles are 35-26. Through 30 home games last season, the team was 26-31. In 2011, the team had muddled along at a few games under .500 for most of the year. This season, the Orioles came screaming out of the gate and have hovered around first place for most of the season. How's that working out for ticket sales?

Average attendance for 2011 through this point was 19,022 and average attendance for 2012 is 25,325. That is 6,303 more people per game or an increase of 33% over this time last year. It's still a bit early to pinpoint a real trend but that's an impressive jump. We'll keep an eye on this each month and see how all this winning helps things at the turnstile.

New Post On MASNSports.com: 'Pen Versus 'Pen

A post examining the clash of league-leading bullpens and take inventory of the arms in the Pirate bullpen and I predict that Chris Resop gets exposed.

Don't Give Up on Jake Arrieta

With some of his recent struggles, some Oriole fans are questioning if Jake Arrieta needs to be sent back to Norfolk for awhile or at least removed from the Oriole rotation. While his hot start was a bit of a mirage, he has been and continues to be a fairly effective pitcher who has just gone through a rough patch.

From Fangraphs.com, observe stats from the last six starts for Arrieta.

Date         Opp IP HR BB SO K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BABIP GB% HR/FB ERA FIP xFIP
6/3/2012 @TBR 4.2 0 4 3 5.79 7.71 0 0.154 46.20% 0.00% 7.71 4.31 5.84
5/29/2012 @TOR 4.1 0 3 5 10.38 6.23 0 0.4 35.70% 0.00% 12.46 2.8 3.78
5/23/2012 BOS 5.2 1 3 2 3.18 4.76 1.59 0.35 55.00% 25.00% 6.35 6.21 4.91
5/18/2012 @WSN 7 1 1 9 11.57 1.29 1.29 0.333 43.80% 14.30% 1.29 2.74 2.31
5/13/2012 TBR 3.2 0 2 6 14.73 4.91 0 0.667 35.70% 0.00% 17.18 1.39 3.33
5/8/2012 TEX 6.1 3 1 3 4.26 1.42 4.26 0.273 54.20% 42.90% 8.53 8.71 4.13

Pay close attention to the game-by-game FIP, xFIP and ERA numbers. Looking at the FIP and xFIP numbers, you see three pretty good starts, one that was shaky and two that were not good at all. But even though he's having his ups and downs, overall this is not a bad performance overall. It's a 4.81 FIP over those starts, nothing to be particularly proud of but hardly the disaster that his ERA and win-loss record would suggest.

Arrieta is still developing as a pitcher and has made some nice strides this season. His strikeouts are up, his walks are down and so is his WHIP and home run rate. He is making some mistakes, missing in the zone at times and getting hit hard. But there is nothing in his peripheral stats that raise any concerns. His defense is doing him no favors during this stretch either.

Arrieta will be fine over the course of the season. He has made good progress overall and although he will (in my opinion) never be the top of the rotation starter that some thought during his fast start, he is certainly a key piece of the Oriole rotation for 2012 and beyond.

Besides, who else is going to fill his spot in the rotation? The team is desperately looking for someone to take Tommy Hunter's place. Let Jake keep pitching and, eventually, the overall performance will match the underlying numbers.

The Week in Chat: 5/28/12

Dan Szymborski, Fangraphs.com

12:05 Comment From Dauer With Power
Still a lot of deep-engine work left to do to turn the O's into a winning franchise, but Dan Duquette's got a winning team now. What do you want to see him do at the deadline?

12:06 Dan Szymborski:
I expect the O's to be a bit off the pace by that point, hopefully pressure from the brainuntrustworthy upstairs won't make them go all-in now.

12:29 Comment From sds
Dan, if Dylan Bundy could replicate his early-season single-A performances (3 IP, 0 hits, 5 Ks) at the MLB level every five days, how valuable would that be? More than a LAIM like Bruce Chen?

12:30 Dan Szymborski:
That could be useful in very creative hands, but baseball's thinking doesn't usually allow that kind of experimentation. Also, you usually get creative with a guy with a more limited skillset - the O's probably aren't going to have Bundy in the majors until they think he's ready for a full workload

12:55 Comment From The Oriole Bird
Someone in the Orioles' front office was reading your last chat. I asked about Xavier Avery, and they called him up. He has not disappointed. Do you think he'll actually try to steal a base this year?

12:55 Dan Szymborski:
Hasn't he already? Didn't he have one over the weekend?

1:02 Comment From The Oriole Bird
Over/ under on Orioles' true-talent win percentage, if you include soon to return players, like Reynolds and Reimold: .440?

1:02 Dan Szymborski:
81. Lower if we're including injuries here.

1:22 Comment From STiVo
Machado's development seems on track. How will the O's screw this up?

1:23 Dan Szymborski:
They could always decide he's too tall to be in the middle infield or something and move him to 3rd

1:31 Comment From Steve
Wouldn't the Orioles want Youkilis? What could they trade for him?

1:32 Dan Szymborski:
They probably wouldn't trade much. At least he can field 3B.

2:15 Comment From Dan Szymborski
Jason Hammel and Jake Arrieta. Both underrated?

2:15 Dan Szymborski:
I think they're both about rated now.

Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com

Aaron (Baltimore, MD)
The Orioles are going to throw the money at Adam Jones right?.....RIGHT?

Jerry Crasnick (2:00 PM)
Aaron, I have to think they'll try. There aren't many center fielders that young with an all-around skill set like Jones has. But Matt Kemp set the standard with an eight-year, $160 million deal, so Jones isn't going to come cheaply.

Jack Moore, Fangraphs.com

12:42 Comment From Clark Griswold
Adam Jones- Over/Under 32 home runs?

12:42 Jack Moore:
Push? Right around there, over if you put a gun to my head.

Jim Callis, Baseball America

Kyle (Dallas):
If the 2012 Milb POY was picked today, who would get your vote?

Jim Callis:
Dylan Bundy. Would probably rank him No. 1 on my overall prospects list as well.

Richard Z (North Brunswick, NJ):
All of the mock drafts I've seen so far have the Orioles taking a college pitcher (Gausman or Zimmer). Is that the general feeling?

Jim Callis:
Yes. Can't see them taking Zunino with Wieters on hand. Correa would be tempting, but they have Machado. I think a college arm will be the top guy on their board at No. 4.

Tyler (Harrodsburg, Ky):
Does Jurickson Profar or Trevor Bauer have any say in that #1 prospect ranking (currently) or do you think Bundy is clearly above everyone else in the minors?

Jim Callis:
Sure they do. As of today, I'd take Bundy. Profar would be No. 2 on my list.

Doug Thorburn, Baseball Prospectus

dianagram (VORGville):
Best "non-pitcher" pitching performance you've ever seen? Chris Davis?

Doug Thorburn:
Best? That's a tough call, but Davis' changeup was filthy, and you rarely see that kind of secondary stuff from a non-pitcher. The most comical position player to take the mound had to be Jose Canseco

Sky (The Roc, NY):
Have you noticed anything qualitatively different with Adam Jones this year? New approach, new mechanics, better at anything?

Doug Thorburn:
The glaring statistical difference is in the HR/FB rate. His other rates are relatively close to career marks, but more of his flies are finding the seats. He is also swinging at fewer pitches overall, which suggest a change of approach. He could be sitting dead-red on certain pitches early in the count and laying off anything that does not fit a certain profile until he gets two strikes, and perhaps he has picked up no a particular trend that pitchers had established against him. This is another area where batters who do their homework can reap an advantage.

As Crash Davis said, "If this guy starts me off with the breaking ball ... I'm taking him downtown"

Ben Badler, Baseball America

@Jaypers413 (IL):
Do you believe the Orioles made the right decision to promote Bundy by one level up instead of two?

Ben Badler:
I don't think it's going to make much of a difference, but I usually do believe in a one level at a time schedule.

Matt (VA):
Dylan Bundy is facing his first real stiff test Saturay vs Salem. How much attention should we pay attention to it?

Ben Badler:
Just enjoy the ride. I can't imagine a guy with his combination of stuff and polish running into much difficulty.

Kyle (Indianapolis):
I know everyone has raved about the polish of Dylan Bundy, but shouldn't that be somewhat expected given the fact that he was a fairly old high schooler. Bundy turns 20 in November in comparison to someone like Mike Trout (I know comparing a pitcher and hitter) who turns 21 in August. They are only 16 months apart, but Trout has experienced 2+ years in the minors. Shouldn't Bundy be more polished or mature than any other high schooler in last year's class.

Ben Badler:
He was old for his grade, but the guy has been about as flawless as you can get and is doing it with arguably the best pure stuff in the minors. He's the best pitching prospect in baseball and he might even be the best prospect overall, although Jurickson Profar has a pretty compelling argument.

Keith Law, ESPN.com

Jon V. (Cleveland, OH)
How do Profar, Machado and Lindor compare? How would you rank the three in each of the 5 major scouting categories?

Klaw (1:30 PM)
Profar and Lindor are no-doubt shortstops, both better runners than Machado. Machado is much bigger and I think he'll produce a lot more offense, but there's a non-negligible probability he moves to third base.

Studebaker (NJ)
Would you have skipped Bundy to AA? Does he need a challenge, or is there no rush?

Klaw (1:38 PM)
I would have started him in AA. Throttling his innings AND starting him at a level for which he was overqualified made - and still makes - no sense.

Scotty D (Rochester, NY)
Given O's pitching coach Rick Peterson's reputation for mishandling young pitchers, what are the chances that Bundy can overcome this coach's tutoring and emerge as a #1 starter by 2014?

Klaw (1:40 PM)
Does he have that reputation? I don't think I've ever heard that.

Shoshana (Boston)
Hey Keith any thoughts on X. Avery? Was always known as a tools guy, but really improved his BB% in Az and has carried it through to this year. SSS obviously but he's been fun to watch in Bal

Klaw (2:03 PM)
At bats in Arizona were pretty poor. I'm inclined to say still an extra outfielder, but there's at least cause for optimism.

Chris (AZ)
Will Gausman be gone by the time the Royals pick? How about Zimmer?

Klaw (2:24 PM)
Baltimore is the only team ahead of KC who might take Gausman.

Jay (Florida)
How do you project Jonathan Schoop? All-star/starter/bench guy?

Klaw (2:26 PM)
Above-average regular. Not a SS, though.

Matt Klaasen, Fangraphs.com

12:20 Comment From Andrew
Can Matusz keep it up?

12:21 Matt Klaassen:
You mean keep up being okay? Sure... Not that excited about him being average, but I guess it's an improvement.

12:43 Comment From Andrew
Are you bullish on Matusz?

12:44 Matt Klaassen:
which animal stands for apathy?

1:09 Comment From inquiringmindswanttoknow
Who wins AL East?

1:09 Matt Klaassen:
Rays. Except that I've jinxed them now...

Adam Jones is Staying

The Baltimore Orioles will officially announce the reported 6 year, $85.5 million deal today at 11:30 and Adam Jones will be patrolling the outfield at Camden Yards until 2018.

Keeping a talent like Adam Jones in the organization is a good thing but the immediate questions you have when your team announces the largest free agent deal in their history is a) will Jones be worth the $14.25 million average salary he will receive and b) how will this affect the team if they choose to sign extensions with other young talent in the coming years.

Regarding the first question, I think Jones is likely to be worth every penny or at least he will be for most of the contract. According to Fangraphs.com's player valuations, Jones was worth $10.5 and $13.0 million during 2010 and 2011 respectively and will be worth far more than that this season. I think even if he regresses a bit, he will at least approach his average annual salary in value.  Fangraphs.com's Dave Cameron seems to think so too which is more than good enough for me.

Regarding the second question, even if Jones' career goes horribly, horribly wrong, this is not the kind of contract that will cripple a franchise. You are buying out one of his arbitration years where he was likely to make $9-10 million in 2013 anyway.  The Orioles have Mark Reynolds' salary ($7.83 mil) and Kevin Gregg's salary ($5.8 mil) come off the books after this season. Brian Roberts' $10 mil salary comes off the books after 2013. Having $14 mil locked up in one player is not going to kill the team, even if Jones pulls a Vernon Wells on us. We have young, relatively cheap talent coming through the system led by Dylan Bundy and Manny Machado and even less heralded players like Xavier Avery have shown that they can contribute at the major league level. This is still a team that can contend without huge escalations in payroll.

Some fans do not believe in Adam Jones. They will not be happy with this deal. But I am a big believer in Jones' power potential and I think this season we are seeing him come into his own as an elite slugger. Multiple 30 homer seasons are in his future and between that and his "hit tool", I am not concerned about his lack of walks or his free-swinging ways. And by the time he gets to the age that I would be worried about it, he will no longer be playing under this contract.

The future looks bright for these Orioles, for the first time in 15 years, and Jones will be leading the way.

Oriole Farm System Sporting Six-Man Rotations

According to MASNSports.com's Steve Melewski, the Orioles are implementing six-man rotations in their farm system from AA down:

The Orioles seem to really like the fact that their starters can get two bullpen or side sessions between starts in a six-man and feel that is a good way right now for some of their young hurlers to get their work in and make improvements to their game.


Two side sessions between starts and not one like pitchers throw in the more traditional five-man rotation, the O's feel, gives those pitchers the best chance to make those improvements.

I have often quoted Branch Rickey on this blog and I will do it again.

"There is quality in quantity."

Six-man rotations give more young pitchers more opportunities to start and, in theory, gives them more time in between starts to work on their weaknesses. The more guys you give opportunities to start, the more likely you are to find diamonds in the rough. Starters are more valuable than relievers, so the more potential starters in the system, the better.

Now, how will this impact a young pitcher's ability to take on a regular MLB workload? I don't know. Will that transisiton from a six-man to a five-man rotation lead to increased risks of injury? I don't know. But aside from that concern, this looks to be nothing but positive for the Oriole farm system.

Adam Jones and Robert Andino Put Birds on Things

I am not sure what any of this means but I was amused watching Adam Jones and Robert Andino vandalize various structures (and people) in NYC.

New Post on MASNSports.com: Andy MacPhail's Fingerprints

A new post on the Orioles Buzz blog on MASNSports.com about how Andy MacPhail's trades have brought players into the Oriole system who are big contributors to this winning team.

Enjoy.

This Week in Chat: 5/21/2012

Where we filter all the week's chats down to their Oriole essence...

Mike Axisa, Fangraphs.com

12:34 Comment From The Oriole Bird
ESPN has the Orioles at a 42% chance of making the playoffs. That seems... optimistic. What are your thoughts on their chances?

12:35 Mike A.: Do not like. I think they have a much better chance of being this year's Indians/Pirates than winning a wildcard spot. But these wins are in the bank though, no taking them away.

1:11 Comment From Guest
Speaking of change of scenery, is Chris Davis for real in Baltimore?

1:11 Mike A.: I think he'll settle in around 110-115 wRC+, which is basically where he is right now. Going to strike out a ton, will mash some taters.

Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com

Matt (Baltimore)
The Orioles are reaching the end of a brutal stretch against NY, Bos, Tex and TB and they and 8-5. You ready to buy into the magic yet, Jerry?

Jerry Crasnick (1:27 PM)
Matt, I talked to a scout today who said, "They're not going away." I just don't see enough starting pitching to buy into the magic. But how many teams in the AL really have great rotations from 1 through 5? Boston, the Yankees, the Angels, the Tigers ... they've all struggled at times with starting pitching. That might help the O's hand around until the All-Star break. I still think they fade in the second half.

Tarek (NYC)
Orioles this year remind me of Cleveland and Pitt from last year. But Oriole fans should just enjoy the ride and hope to be in the race Aug 1st.

Jerry Crasnick (1:32 PM)
Tarek, Yeah, I can buy that.

 Jayson Stark, ESPN.com

Justin (Baltimore)
What is your take on the Orioles? I am really concerned about the number of innings that the bullpen is throwing because it will catch up to you every single time...

Jayson Stark (12:09 PM)
I'm with you, Justin. What really made this start possible was how well the rotation pitched early on. But it was hard to look at the track records of those starters and expect that to continue. And that's the biggest reason it's tough to believe in that team right now. But they've definitely upgraded the stuff and depth of that bullpen. And they'll need all of it to hang in there in the AL East.

Keith Law, ESPN.com 

Camden (Newark, DE)
What would carry more weight to you, a 19 year old SS holding their own in AA or dominating at a lower level? (Think Manny Machado). Thanks.

Klaw (2:08 PM)
The former, actually. Someone asked me on Twitter why Machado was so hyped since his stats aren't any good. Age matters.

Ryan (Hanover, PA)
Starting to buy the Orioles yet?

Klaw (2:15 PM) No, of course not.

Dave (Dallas)
Profar or Machado? Does it depend if Machado can stay at SS

Klaw (2:31 PM) I
f you think Machado is a SS, he's the call. I happen to think he is. But you wouldn't regret choosing Profar.

Ryan (Hanover, PA)
If the O's had pick #1 in this draft, who would they select?

Klaw (2:34 PM)
My guess would be Buxton. They are absolutely taking BPA. He's on top of most scouts' boards.

Robert (Owasso)
Do you see Dylan Bundy making 2013 rotation for Baltimore. Ive seen him pitch several times, is an incredible kid with superstar potential. Where do you see Brian Ragira in 2013 draft?

Klaw (2:37 PM)
I think he should make their rotation next year, but I don't know if they'll allow it. Ragira doesn't profile for me - plays 1b now, might be fine in LF/RF, but doesn't have the power for any of those positions.

Bob (Corbin,Ky.)
First of all,really appreciate the hard work you put in so we can all enjoy what you do.Do you think that the reason why the Orioles are being slow with Bundy is because of what has happened to their other prized pitching prospects(Matusz,Tillman,etc.)Or are they just being foolish?

Klaw (3:04 PM)
That wouldn't surprise me. But Matusz didn't flop because he was rushed - he flopped because his velocity disappeared, perhaps because he got hurt.

Marcus (DC)
Keith, Can you explain to me why Yu Darvis is getting so much publicity/hype and Wei-Yin Chen is getting none? If you compare the numbers, Chen is actually has a better ERA and WHP, while walking less batters and is 4-0. The only thing Darvis is doing better is strikeouts.

Klaw (3:07 PM)
Well, strikeouts are pretty important. But Chen has been very good, absolutely.

Mike Newman, Fangraphs.com 

5:30 Comment From TMT
who is your most surprising prospect so far this season 5:31

Mike Newman:
Gabriel Lino. I had never even heard of him before he crushed the baseball in Asheville. I was very impressed by that Delmarva team overall.

Is It 2005 All Over Again?

Tuesday, Rany Jazayerli wrote an article for Grantland wondering if the Orioles are finally a winner in 2012. He has his doubts and begins by listing the multiple "teases" the O's have given their fans in the 21st century. Most of those comparisions are not really teases, at least not like the ride the Birds have taken us on this year. Most of examples Jazayerli points out arejust hot Aprils or, even worse, a hot 12 game stretch to start the season. Others are years where the team has hovered around .500 until the end of June and then tanked during the dog days of summer. This season is a different story. The Orioles are 11 games over .500 on May 18th. There is only one season in recent memory that compares to this one: 2005.

In fact some of the similarities are kind of scary. Let's compare and contrast.

The Same Record

On the morning of May 18th, 2005, the Orioles had just beaten the Royals in Kansas City and were in first place with a record of 25-13.

On the morning of May 18th, 2012, the Orioles have just beaten the Royals in Kansas City and are in first place with a record of 25-14.

But the similarities kind of end there. That 2005 club came out of the gates red-hot and went 16-7 in April. But by May 18th, they were just 9-6 for the month of May and would finish May with a 15-13 record. It would be their last winning month until May of 2007.

This year's version of the Orange & Black is a slightly different story as they went 14-9 in April (.609) and have imprived on that in May winning 11 of 16 (.687).

Their Best Pitcher is a Lefty Named Chen

The morning of May 18th, 2005, a 28-year old lefty named Chen led the team with 4 wins, a 3.38 ERA with 30 strikeouts and 11 walks in 45 innings pitched.

On the morning of May 18th, 2012, a 26-year old lefty named Chen is tied for the lead in team wins with 4, has a 2.45 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 14 walks in 44 innings pitched.

Wei-Yin is pitching a bit better than Bruce up to this point but Bruce was indeed the best hurler for that 2005 club and Wei-Yin could well turn out to be the best starter on this one. Of course, Bruce did not have a Jason Hammel (2.68 ERA) on his team to help out...he had Erik Bedard (2.35 ERA on May 18th, 2005). But Bedard got hurt after his start on May 21st which coincided with Baltimore's June slide and by the time he started again in mid-July, it was far too late. Like that team, this team could also be undone by an injury to the wrong guy. They'll need to stay reasonably healthy to keep this up.

They Have New Closers

Coming into 2005, 29-year old B.J. Ryan had little experience closing games with only 2 single inning saves in September 2004. In Spring Training, he won the job away from incumbent Jorge Julio and became one of baseball's top closers. By May 18th, he had racked up a (near) league-leading 11 saves with a dominant 1.64 ERA.*

Coming into 2012, 29-year old Jim Johnson had little experience closing games with only 7 single inning saves in September 2011. In Spring Training, he won the job away from incumbent Kevin Gregg and became one of baseball's top closers. By May 18th, he has a league-leading 14 saves with a dominant 0.48 ERA.

Ryan's season may have not helped the Orioles win but it did make him a very rich man by season's end when he jumped to the Blue Jays for a $47 million contract. The Orioles will have no fear of losing Johnson so quickly as he still has one more season until he can become a free agent. If there is one major failing of the Andy MacPhail regime, it was spending $22 mil on free agent closers when they had one under their nose the whole time.

*Francisco Cordero had 12 saves. Sue me.

They Have a Breakout Star

That day in May, Brian Roberts had broken out in a big way, hitting .376/.453/.669 with a team leading 11 home runs. While he had shown progress in previous seasons, Roberts had never even had an .800 OPS before 2005 when he finished with an OPS of .903 (139 OPS+).

This day in May, Adam Jones had broken out in a big way, hitting .296/.345/.604 with a team leading 13 home runs. While he had shown progress in previous seasons, Jones has never even had an .800 OPS season before 2012 and he currently has an OPS of .949 (157 OPS+).

Miguel Tejada is in the Organization

OK, now I'm stretching. In 2005, Tejada was one of the top offensive shortstops in baseball. Now, he is down in extended spring training trying to get in baseball shape so he can go play in Norfolk.

There are other similarities too. Our first baseman was playing in Texas last season (in 2005, it was Rafael Palmiero). We are relying heavily on some young pitching to lend a hand. (In 2005, it was Bedard and Daniel Cabrera, now it's Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz). And like that 2005 team, this year's team is not deep enough to absorb key injuries and keep winning.

But that 2005 team featured one of the worst outfields in recent memory (Larry Bigbie, Luis Matos and Sammy Sosa), did not have a second emerging star like this team has in Matt Wieters and had far less depth in the bullpen.

Can this team hang all season with the like of the Rays and Yankees? I still think that is unlikely. But you really have to like their chances to win. And if they don't, this team will go down as the biggest tease during this seemingly interminable era of loss.

New Post on MASNSPorts.com: Mark Reynolds Could Be Worse

A new post up at MASNSports.com in which I mount a tepid defense of Mark Reynolds' performance thus far.

If you don't see posts going up here, I will have a post up at the Orioles Buzz blog over at MASNSports.com every Tuesday morning.

Miguel Tejada Coming Back to Baltimore, I Try to Figure Out Why

Reports started late yesterday afternoon, first through a Twitter account that is billed as the official twitter feed of Miguel Tejada and then through various media outlets (although I believe Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com was the first) that Tejada was reporting to Sarasota for a workout and a physical with Baltimore.

However, Tejada started talking. First, he went on Z101 in the Dominican Republic to talk about the signing, then ne spoke to the AP and ESPN Desportes. I ran a few of his quotes through Google Translate and here's a  compilation:

"It's a Major League contract, on Monday the team will give the details of the contract...I'm super happy for this opportunity to return to the majors, that's what matters most to me...I report Monday to Sarasota, then I will have a physical and after a few days I will report to the big team."


So from Tejada's mouth, we learn that, pending a physical, the Orioles have offered him a major league deal (Tejada has hinted that he believes it will be for more than the MLB minimum) and that he expects to be in Baltimore a few days after he passes the physical.

So where does he fit on this roster?

I suppose the easy answer is that C Luis Exposito is sent back down to Norfolk to make room for Tejada but that would give the Orioles 8 infielders which is an odd configuration. Wilson Betemit could slide over as a fourth outfielder but to say he's played the outfield sparingly during his career would be a huge understatement. Ryan Flaherty was playing out in left yesterday so maybe the Orioles have no set infielder/outfielder roles anymore? I mean, I guess if Chris Davis can pitch, all barriers are down.

One would assume this signing is in response to Mark Reynolds' abysmal fielding. But Tejada is going to have to field at Gold Glove levels to make up for the difference in offense. Miguel Tejada is the definition of washed up. No projection system has him slugging even .400 and on the most optimistic have his OPS over .700. His fielding at third, if you recall 2010, was not so great. If fact, Reynolds' UZR numbers are waaaaayyyyy better than last season, at least so far. He has a -10.8 UZR/150, right in line with his career averages (his errors have been really bad, his range has been respectable). Tejada's UZR/150 at third base for 2010? -9.9.

It's a puzzling move all around. If you were going to pick up someone to play third, why not grab Brandon Inge who was waived a couple of weeks back?

Hopefully, I'm wrong. But this signing looks like a colossal waste of time and resources.

New Post at MASNSports.com: Nolan Reimold and Other Delights

Hello all.

I am writing a weekly post for MASNSports.com again this year. This post is about Nolan Reimold (shocker!) and the benefits of giving him playing time. Enjoy!

5 Things I'm Watching During Spring Training

The wins and losses are meaningless, so are most of the stats. But there is plenty to watch every year in Spring Training. A little late with this but since we are a week into the exhibition season, I wanted to outline the 5 things I am watching for while the O's tune up in Sarasota.

1. Ryan Flaherty and Matt Antonelli

The former was the Orioles' Rule 5 pick, the latter a minor league free agent signed to a major league deal. With Brian Roberts doubtful ever to play for Baltimore again, it is possible that both of these infielders make the team. but they are both something of unknown commodities and I am curious to see what they can do and how they can do it. Both are low cost gambles and it would be nice if they could pay off.

2. The Asian Imports

Speaking of unknown commodities, one never knows exactly how NPB players will fare when faced with MLB competition. Pitchers Wei-Yin Chen and Tsuyoshi Wada are no different. So even though spring training stats have to be taken with a grain of salt,  it will be fascinating to see how they fare against MLB hitters and, for Wada anyway, whether he will pitch in the rotation or out of the bullpen.

3. The Young Guns

Unlike previous years, I am not looking to see progress in Baltimore's crop of young starters, I am just looking for signs of life. Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Chris Tillman, Zach Britton and Brad Bergesen are all coming of seasons of inconsistency, injury, general ineffectiveness or some combination of the three. Who will break camp with the big club? Who will be able to contribute beyond 2012? Are any of these guys nuggets still?

4. Dirty Jim...Finally the Closer?

Jim Johnson has watched the team spend big money on "proven closers" before the past two seasons and probably wondered why he wasn't given a shot instead. Since 2008, Johnson has posted an ERA+ of  144, by far the best among any Oriole reliever who pitched in more than 100 games. (Koji Uehara had similar effectiveness but in fewer games.) It will be interesting to see how Johnson is used as Spring Training moves forward. I would imagine Buck will want him to get used to pitching in the 9th.

5. Jai Miller

Since I started writing this blog, every spring there was a question about who would be the backup catcher.Not this year. Barring injury, Taylor Teagarden will be backing up Matt Wieters.

The outfield would seem to be settled but RF Nick Markakis is coming back from injury and LF Nolan Reimold was struck in the face with a pitch this yesterday. That could give some playing time early in the season to 27-year old Jai Miller.

Miller OPS'ed .976 for Sacramento in the (admittedly) offense friendly Pacific Coast League but that developing bat and his ability to play anywhere in the outfield (he has primarily played centerfield during his minor league career, including last season) make him an intriguing option as a fourth outfielder.  Endy Chavez is likely to fill that role but I'd have more fun watching Miller patrol Camden Yards this summer.

If You Can't Hit, Jorge Arangure Doesn't Care About Your Injuries

Oriole left fielder Nolan Reimold took a fastball to the face in the first inning of today's exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Rays and from all accounts, it was pretty nasty.

Three innings later, we learned that IF Ryan Flaherty, the club's Rule 5 pick, took a pitch in the shoulder via Roch Kubatko on Twitter. Jorge Arangure replied to that tweet:

Forget, for a moment, that his comment is kind of a cheap dig at the Orioles and, for their fans, kind of rubbing their faces in 14 straight seasons of losing. I'm making that leap butI suppose it's not fair to expect Mr. Arangure to understand the psyche of the modern Oriole fan. (But considering he spent years covering the O's for the Washington Post, maybe it is a fair expectation.)

But so close on the heels of a scary injury to Reimold, one that had him laid out for several minutes and taken directly to a local hospital, this comment seemed a bit callous, to say the least.

I retweeted his statement with comment which started a small back and forth:

That is indeed the cold, hard reality. But the timing of that comment really was poor. As you will see later, that timing may have been related to a misunderstanding but while Mr. Arangure may not "enjoy" seeing players get hurt, it doesn't seem to concern him much. At least if they're not any good.

And this is true. It was a reply to the Flaherty tweet from Roch Kubatko.

But he never said that he did not know that Reimold had been injured. Roch referenced it ever so obliquely with "And so it continues." in that initial tweet. I mentioned a player getting hit in the face, not the shoulder, and it did not seem to give him pause. And assuming that an injury is serious enough to keep a bad player out of a lineup, thus making his production easier to replace than a good one, it would seem the assumption is that the injury was bad enough to keep the player out of a lineup. As he says, a guy who gets hit in the shoulder is not a catastrophic event. Getting hit in the face with a fast ball typically is.

So I will take him at his word that he was referring the the Flaherty injury and that he was ignorant of the more serious Reimold injury, even if that seems a bit suspect.

But doesn't Ryan Flaherty deserve a bit of human sympathy anyway? If you prick him, does he not bleed? By all accounts, Flaherty was in visible pain when he was struck. If he was to miss any time, should it be trivialized just because he is much more likely to hit .220 than .320?  You would think that Mr. Arangure has spent enough time around ball players to be a little less flippant about injuries. But Ryan Flaherty going on the DL is not nearly the story that an Alex Rodriguez injury would be. And to many baseball writers, if it's not a big story, it's not worth being concerned about. On any level.

Spring Training: Ed Smith Stadium Guide

I have finally come to terms with the fact that I will not be attending Oriole Spring Training 2012 and I have not been since the inaugural training in Sarasota in 2010. (sigh....)

Since I cannot accurately update my Unofficial Guide to Oriole Spring Training, I instead point you to Spring Training Connection's review of Ed Smith Stadium. It is very thorough and a great resource if you are still heading down to Sarasota in March. Check it out!

As a supplement, here's the link to last year's Unofficial Baltimore Orioles Spring Training Visitor's Guide. Some of the information will still be relevant.