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I hope that a deal get done.

Is there an RSS feed available direct to your blog like the Sun had?

Nice-- a fan savvy, business savvy kid who happened to be the best left-handed pitcher (and widely viewed as the most ML ready) in the draft joining legit minor league pitching prospects Arrieta, Tillman, Liz, and Patton. Plus, he can talk about his SD summers with Adam Jones in the dugout... it's got to get done.

Both sides have some pressure though. He'd be crazy not to sign, but the O's aren't in a position to let him take that chance. I think everyone would rather it not come sown to a game of chicken, but that game of chicken could land one side an extra million or so. Not exactly the kind of money you find under seat cushions.

I'm starting not to care which player makes the start and gets shelled on Tuesday. My vote was for Bergeson but that won't happen. And they don't seem to want to convert JJ so we'll just have to deal with Waters or Cormier give up 5 in 5. See if you can get the odds on a potential Montanez call-up. I get a sense AA offensive player of the year without eventually playing in the MLs is a bit hollow.

"remember personal info" still not working...

Sign him and get him assigned. If Matusz is as polished as all of the scouts say he could be a solution to the current rotation problems. Next year that is.

On another note, and maybe I'm the only one that notices these things, again yesterday the O's are hit with a bad call and Trembley goes out and talks to the Ump like they are making dinner plans. Reminds me of Gene Mauch and you know how many WS titles he won.

I am talking about the Ibanez double that was obviously foul and the day before when Markakis was called out on that pickoff when he was obviously safe.

I'm not saying Trembley should go ballistic like the minor league manager launching grenades, but if the Ump's don't respect you and know you will back up your players they will continue to give you the short end of calls. I think he needs a little more fire in his approach.

Hope Adam Jones year isn't over, he has really progressed this year.

Come on September, want to see the call ups. Montanez, Salazar, etc. Time to get this team younger. Well, maybe Salazar doesn't help in that regard.

Starters have been pretty good the last few days. Bullpen should be rested by now.

Still think JJ should get the start. Can't do much more to prove you deserve it.

Matusz signs before Jordan gets back to B-more.

Ofahn - I almost included Matusz in my three, but until he signs . . . . Granted Tillman and Arrieta have not gone deep in many games. Is that their fault or the organizations? Keep in mind Tillman is only 19 or 20 and this is Arrieta's first year in pro ball.

I also agree that it would be nice to have a vet to build around on our pitching staff, but if you give up your three best young pitchers to get that guy . . . Who are you building with?

We keep hearing Roch that Aaron Crow at #9 is the holdup. He's asking the Nats for the moon and everyone in front is waiting to see if he gets it. Are you hearing the same?
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I'm hearing that Matusz's numbers have been on the table for a while and they're just waiting for the Orioles to respond. And that, since they're not "Boras people," it isn't unreasonable. We'll see. - Roch

Yeah, let's go get Matusz working on the field, and then see if we can plug him into our rotation in the future. We really need people to replace Olson, Cabrera, Liz, etc. I've had enough of these guys not knowing how to pitch. Matusz to me, seems like he certainly knows how to pitch, and is a command pitcher. We need more of that kind.

Hi Rock nw that you have a better job now you can buy a better car ha ha Ron in PA

Well if his family reads this, then they know I am one of the more astute bloggers... :-)
I say, get fair market value, what you are worth with the current market, but let's not sweat the other side out, either them or the O's, over just a few more $$. I mean, how much $$ is enough? How much do the O's really save playing hardball either. There will be much more later for Matusz if he is half as good as advertised.
Also, don't take lightly what insisting on a ML contract in short order may have done to Mr Loewen's career. He might not have been so rushed otherwise. Ask him if he wouldn't trade the huge $igning bonus he got for a still active pitching career at 24....
Anyway, I am one fan looking forward to him $igning here. He will love Frederick in August...

I hope he signs. We need more first class arms in the organization. Can he hit in case his arm gives out??

And not to do any "sucking up" on this end either, but I'm impressed with draft picks and their families that do their diligent research on all aspects of a team during the signing process. A high-end prospect who understands that there is more to Baltimore than just the legacy of Cal Ripken and Earl Weaver will win over hearts a lot more quickly.

I think Joe Jordan doesn't get anywhere near the praise that he deserves. He's made some pretty good picks since he got here...and it's evident that he cares about the players he scouts as well as the team he scouts them for.

Roch

Any chance the O's might just release most of their players and move everyone up from Bowie. Bowie is awesonme, scored in double figures in last three games. Has a triple crown candidate in the outfield not to mention a cather hitting over 370 and a very promising young pitching staff.

Roch...I'm a little behind but congrats on the new gig. I'll certainly be on checking in on your O's updates...speaking of which what are the odds of the O's making any trades before the end of the year?

Just out of curiosity, what would happen if they couldn't sign him? Would he be open then to all teams and the highest bidder?

Actually Luis Montanez will not make this team much younger either. He just turned 28 and in the context of some prospects we have that is pretty old. Just my opinion don't rush them. Let them win a championship in Bowie. That team certainly has the offense and the rotation. And then when they are done make them all September call-ups. I think that a deal will get done because Crow in a statement released through Boras said that the Nationals have not meet his numbers and it is doubtful that he will sign. I've heard the number they are trying to get for Crow exceeds that of the number 1 pick in the entire draft. I think that major league baseball needs to fix up its slotting system so that it does not support all of the big market teams like it does now. The MLB Draft is one of the worst of any sport. All the talent falls to the big market teams because they are able to fork over the money. The Red Sox and the Yankees each got expected top ten picks because nobody else was willing to pay. Just my opinion. Sorry if I went overboard.

Roch,

What do you know about his agent? I can't find anything on Marc Agar online. Does have other clients? Could this be the delay, he doesn't understand baseball negotiations?
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Gotta admit, never heard of him before Matusz was drafted. But I'm sure he has other clients. - Roch

Ray,

This might have slipped your mind but Matusz couldn’t be traded until draft day, next year. Call it the Pete Incaviglia rule.

I absolutely agree that we need to build with young players but if it only takes three maybes for a sure thing, I’ll take the sure thing.

It's nice having guys like AMac and Kevin Pritchard guiding my two favorites. They know talent and avoid jerks.
All I need now is Terry Reardon.

To the poster who asked in a previous post: by my count, 8 times this year, the O’s have won at least the first 2 games of a series only to lose the last game. One of those series was a 4 game series where they won the first 3 games. Just think if this team had just 5 more Sunday wins—they’d be 58-52. That won’t get you to the playoffs in the AL, but just how ecstatic would we be with that?

The O’s were able to get the Wieters deal done last year when it was looking bad, so I have confidence they’ll get the Matusz deal done before 8/15. The kid sounds reasonable and a deal should be relatively easy. Um, O’s front office?

OFahn - Is Weiters a maybe or a sure thing?

This is to answer JRM - If for some reason the O's do not sign Matusz, they will get a compensation pick one spot after this year's spot (which would be 5th next year, assuming everyone ahead of them signs). But that will not happen. The kid is wisely holding out to make sure that none of the other college pitchers selected after him gets an obscenely over-slot deal. Once 8/15 rolls around, he will sign the contract, report to the instructional league in Florida, and then probably head to one of the fall prospect leagues, Hawaii or Arizona. Very similar path to what Weiters took last season.

CRB - From those 8 series, we going 8 games in the standing. We would could have won those 8 it would have meant an additional 16 games in the standings. That's the difference between good and great.

"You know what the difference Is between hitting .250 and hitting .300? 1 got it figured out. Twenty-five hits a year in 500 at
bats is 50 points. Okay? There's 6 months in a season, that's about
25 weeks--you get one extra flare a week--just one--a gork, a ground
ball with eyes, a dying quail-- just one more dying quail a week and you're in Yankee Stadium!" -- Crash Davis, Durham Bulls

CRB - From those 8 series, we go up 8 games in the standing. If we would have swept those 8 series, it would have meant an additional 16 games in the standings. That's the difference between good and great.

"You know what the difference Is between hitting .250 and hitting .300? 1 got it figured out. Twenty-five hits a year in 500 at
bats is 50 points. Okay? There's 6 months in a season, that's about
25 weeks--you get one extra flare a week--just one--a gork, a ground
ball with eyes, a dying quail-- just one more dying quail a week and you're in Yankee Stadium!" -- Crash Davis, Durham Bulls

No chance we trade away ANY of our young arms for a veteran. As bad as the staff has been over the past few months, the rotation may actually be Baltimore's greatest strength moving forward. Within a year or two, most of our top arms will be ready or very close and it's generally believed to be one of the top four or five pitching crops in the minors.

Obviously, Guthrie has developed into a legit front-line starter; a No. 2 (though our de facto 'ace') for nearly any team in the league. While he's no spring chicken, he IS under team control through 2012 or '13...on the cheap. Furthermore, his contract gives the club leverage in a trade, should some of the kids develop quickly enough to replace him in the rotation; a No. 2 at nearly the league minimum would likely fetch a few very nice prospects. As is, he's the veteran presence some of you are complaining we need to acquire; the sort, in short, we CAN build around (whether we SHOULD is another story- I'm of the belief we should deal him if the price is right; you don't build around 29/30 year olds).

Cabrera is as frustrating a pitcher as you'll find, but we risk little in giving him another year to demonstrate whether the baby steps he's taken this year might be the better-late-than-never blossoming of an immense talent. His durability alone makes him valuable to a team whose starters rarely get out of the fifth and it's doubtful he'd bring anything of value in return, were we to trade him.

Olson has shown considerable growth recently, and could develop into a legitimate middle-of-the-rotation southpaw. His stuff is better than scouts give him credit for (which is why he was a supplemental first rounder to begin with), and once he begins to use his fierce intelligence as an asset- rather than his worst enemy (he overthinks himself into trouble sometimes), I have no doubt he'll begin posting numbers more in line with his stellar minor league stats.

Liz has an enormous amount of work to do with regard to his control/command, but on pure stuff, his arm is among the most electric in the minors. I think many unfairly equate Liz with Cabrera, and while the comp isn't so far off, it's a bit premature to write him off just yet. After all, Liz has struggled with each promotion on his way up the organizational ladder, only to dominate in his second stint. I'm not suggesting that will happen in this case- not without a major overhaul to his mechanics and a quick lesson in maturity. Still, I see similarities between Liz and Edinson Volquez, who also struggled mightily with his control before emerging this year as a Cy Young front runner. The team should treat Liz similarly; taking putative measure if/when Liz fails to throw first pitch strikes to a certain percentage of the batters he faces or to utilize his secondary pitches X amount of the time. Like Volquez, stick him back in A ball and let him know that he won't get back to Baltimore until he hits his benchmarks. Granted, it's a risk- pitchers tend to have fragile egos- but it could pay off in spades.

Among the others...well, the O's have an embarrassment of riches. Who knows whether Patton can return to full strength- labrum injuries are rough to come back from...particularly with regard to velocity and control- but prior to the tear, he was regarded as a Top 100 prospect and a safe-bet mid-rotation lefty. Matusz has front-line potential; with excellent command of three plus pitches and a fourth that's average. Tillman was, until recently, dominant as the youngest pitcher at Double A; one of the top five pitching prospects in the game and a legit No. 1/2 starter. Arrieta's first pro year has been downright ridiculous- from All Star, to Futures Gamer, to Olympian- and while it remains to be seen whether he'll be able to handle a front-half role, he should certainly become a solid major league starting pitcher with his plus velocity and solid secondary pitches. Erbe, when he's on, is as dominant as any pitcher in the organization and the strides he's made, control-wise, have been impressive. Once he figures out how to pitch without his best stuff and work with runners on-base, he'll be filthy. Bergeson has quietly gone from possible middle reliever to legit back of the rotation stud- if that isn't too much of an oxymoron- and his sinker and control should allow him to continue his impressive ascent. David Hernandez doesn't get the props he deserves, but his K rates have remained shockingly good from one stop to the next, even as he's passed more celebrated prospects like Erbe and Pedro Beato on his way to Double A. At this point I can't imagine he's anything less than a No. 3/4 down the road. His deceptive deliver, lively fastball, and average secondaries should play up further if he's able to improve his command. Then there's Zach Britton, who, in his first year of full season ball, has turned the Sally League into his personal playground. Consider, in his last 10 starts, the 20 year old southpaw has given up more than 2 runs exactly...once. Over that stretch, he has 8 quality starts, a 2.16 ERA, and a WHIP that's almost incalculably small. Take out the one bad start and it's even crazier. I'd argue that Britton has frontline potential, himself, though he has a ways to go to fulfill such lofty expectations. Even Spoone and Beato- two of the club's top 10 prospects (according to Baseball America) coming into the year- while failing to demonstrate the growth the organization hoped to see in '08, remain tantalizing talents with considerable upside. Spoone's difficulties, in large part, can be attributed to injury, and while his numbers aren't pretty, a big bounce back year in '09 would hardly surprise me. Beato, for his part, is still raw, but at just 21 years of age and with pure stuff that compares with any pitcher in the organization, it's far too soon to give up on his promise. Did I mention Sean Gleason. Take a gander at his numbers in Low A. Sure, he's a bit old for the level, but with stats like those, you gotta give the guy his due. Luis Noel has shown flashes as well. And Jason Berken. And Rick Zagone. And keep an eye out if we ever sign Bobby Bundy, Keith Landers, and/or Jarrett Martin.

The point of this long winded rant? There's no need to go mortgaging the future for some pricey vet. As frustrated as some fans may be, there's help on the way. In a few short years, the 'problem'- if you can call it that- could be finding starts for all the talented major league ready arms! Hyperbole? Maybe a little, but after 11 straight losing seasons, you'll forgive me if I take my glass half full for a change.