No standing O for Olson
You can mark down Aug. 26 as the date when the Orioles need a fifth starter for their rotation. But enough about Dennis Sarfate.
Now we're going to fret over Garrett Olson, and how he's allowed 15 earned runs (16 total) in his last three starts covering 10 1/3 innings
Olson lasted only 1 2/3 innings today and couldn't hold a 4-0 lead. He allowed five runs and four hits, walked three and struck out four. He threw 63 pitches - only 33 for strikes.
I've said before that he has nothing else to prove in Triple-A, so he's got to get it done here. You could make the argument that he needs to keep pitching every fifth day and hopefully get it figured out so he'll be better in 2009. But having Sarfate and Olson going back-to-back is destroying the bullpen (it can't be doing much for team morale, either). And it's not like Chris Waters is piling up the innings.
Experimenting with one of these guys is fine. Three of them is unworkable. It's also pretty ugly. It's 2 a.m. and the lights are coming up ugly.
I'd obviously keep Jeremy Guthrie and Daniel Cabrera in the rotation. Waters is worth another look. Sarfate needs to return to the bullpen. I think those moves are the no-brainers. But what about Olson?
Sending him down might allow him to get back on a nice roll before September call-ups. I could see the benefit. And it's not like manager Dave Trembley is going to be firmly in his corner after today's game. My guess is he's ready to chew nails right now - the kind that hold dry wall in place.
I'd like to see Radhames Liz stay in Norfolk until September. No sense rushing him back up here again. If Olson goes down, perhaps Brad Bergesen comes up. And once that fifth starter is needed on Aug. 26, Trembley can make his next move.
It couldn't be Olson unless he was replacing an injured pitcher. He'd have to stay down for 10 days.
Maybe Olson goes anyway. Maybe he stays in the rotation and keeps working on his game. Maybe he becomes a much-needed long man in the bullpen.
Trembley has a very interesting and difficult decision to make, one that's sure to spark plenty of debate.
I don't see how outings like this do anything positive for Olson. He needs to leave the rotation until further notice. Whether he's replaced by Bergesen, David Hernandez or even a re-signed Steve Trachsel is up to the Orioles, but this is only getting uglier.
Roch,
Long time fan, first time poster. This entry, like most of yours is spot on. I say keep Olson here. Get his ERA jacked up over 7 (like Liz) It will just be a better reason for Bergeson, Berken, Tillman, Hernandez ect to get their shot next year.
Also saw the pregame show with Tom Davis. MASN's website is getting 7 TIMES the number of hits since you've joined them????? That is NUTZ!! I hope you have some sort of salary escalator in your contract.
-Booze
Olson cannot throw 2 pitches with the same motion.His delivery changes nearly every pitch-hence no consistent control.Watch him-one pitch his back is bent low ,his body in the follow thru,and his arm is just releasing-ball outside.next pitch he is not as low but his arm is way ahead-ball inside low.He has to establish consistent delivery and not open up too soon or drag his arm either.
It is a cardinal sin to walk your lower order hitters to face the meet of your line up and then get behind.He threw 3-0,3-1 all afternoon!Are Olson and Sarfate intimidated?If so ,they don't belong here.
Olson is not getting the job done right now we have three guys in the rotation that when they start we don't no what we are going to get from them if we had more quailty starts we would be in the the playoff hunt right now.
Unlike our offense, Olson has absolutely no confidence in his ability to get the job done. He was talking to himself on the bench after his early ouster today. A Stanford guy, talking to himself. You can say all you want about him having nothing to prove at AAA, but he's killing the ML team right now. It's one thing to give young guys an opportunity, but this is ridiculous. He should have been sent out a month ago. As it is this last month may have permanently scarred him and he may never recover, although I have no confidence he will ever become anything more than a fifth starter, if that.
Roch - Can you update us on the White Sox game on the 25th that must be played to completion. What's the score? Thanks!
When's the last time anyone was as hot as Melvin Mora has been for the last month?
Great job by F. Cab today!
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You mean the Orioles - White Sox game that was suspended after 11 innings with the score tied, 3-3? Was that 2008? Man, it seems such a long time ago. - Roch
How about Fernando Cabrera? 3 IP, 3 H, 3 SO.
maybe it's because I've been on the couch for 2 weeks recovering from a botched vasectomy and my judgement is impaired, but can someone answer me this: if GO cannot throw strikes and is unwilling to challenge hitters, WHY IS HE IN THE BIG LEAGUES????? Loewen was the same way. Watching Olsen today was more painful than my...oh, never mind. Send him down and let him decide whether or not he wants to be a big leaguer, cause the window is closing fast.....honey, can I get another ice bag....?????
as an attempt to sound like everyone who complains about Sarfate, i'd like to ask if it's time to end the Garrett Olson experiment? Looks like a AAAA player. He has really only had a few starts that have been what one would consider "quality." Sorry, but i don't see how he will ever become a good middle of rotation starter.
But he sure can perform well in the minors.
Explain why he should stay and Sarfate--who was a starter his entire life until he came up last year--should lose his spot?
Olson as LHP long man is a no brainer . I have reservations about Waters. The auditions can start now. Sarfate will be better for this exposure. At least it may have calmed him down .
When are they going to even call anybody up?
Do you know if they will, Roch? Mickolio? Bergesen? I think we need to start the call-ups a bit early. Like you said, 3 pitchers doing this is not acceptable.
Dylan - This might do nothing positive for Olson(and I am not sure I agree with you on that) but it is a positive for the team, IMO. While so many think rebuilding means rushing up every Diaper Dandy (apologies to Dickie V)and cutting your vets, I believe it means give up the present for a positive future. This means being safe with your prospects and accepting the losses today to preserve the future. The vets on the roster are there to fill space and time until the kids are ready to replace them. Fans who whine about every loss, reminding us about the last ten years just havent bought into rebuilding, because rebuilding means trading a few wins today for playoff appearances down the road. The question none of us can know for sure is which kids will profit from being rushed and which will have their progress retarded by the pressure. Since we dont know, I believe caution is the better plan. But I cant say it is the only route to a rebuild. I will tell you now that I believe Penn and Olson have been ruined by being rushed up. I am worried Liz might have been hurt by it. I am close to being convinced that every minor league starter should spend a season as a long man in the major leagues before joining the rotation. This way you can control the damage to their psyche of getting crushed. I hate to put it this way but we need to sacrifice Olson anda maybe Penn or Sarfate to keep from making the same mistake with other key young pitchers. Better ugly than dumb IMO. Let's protect our future and not give in to how ugly the present gets.
What's the story with Jason Maxey? Was he really activated from bullpen catcher to the lineup and went 3 for 6? My hero.
If the O's send Olson down to AAA, he will go 5-0 in five starts with a 0.50 ERA. What does that prove? Olson is your typical rookie pitcher -- inconsistency with trouble attacking hitters and constantly getting behind hitters. He has to get this worked out on his own -- that's how he'll get better. And if Olson doesn't show improvement by September, then you sort through your options.
What's wrong with guys building confidence in the bull pen. JJ had done it and now can be moved into the rotation. Olson needs to go to the bull pen and learn how to pitch in the big leagues.
We've seen enough of Olsen. Send him down bring up Bergesen. Hopefully Penn will be ready by Aug 26. What about Jim Johnson. I would like to see him start.
Is there a top of the lineup in the bigs hotter than Roberts-Markakis-Mora-Huff? While they are all handsome men, I'm focusing on their offensive production.
When garrett has his fastball, slider and change-up working he can be a very good pitcher like his start vs. the angels. But usually he only has 2 or like today 1 pitch that works and he can be very poor on the mound. What happened at the end of last season with his walks is starting to creep up on him and he is losing his command very quickly. The greatest pitchers have 4 to 5 pitches that they can always throw for strikes. The very good pitchers have three pitches they can throw for strikes.(what oloson will become) The ok pitchers have two pitches they can throw for strikes. And the pitchers who stay in double or triple A are the ones who can't get more then one pitch over for a strike. Garrett olson is a very hard worker and one day will have 90% of his starts be able to get all three pitches over for a strike
Lest anybody think Jamie Walker is off his game...he comes in and throws 80% strikes with a 10 run lead to finish off a road trip wherein we go 4-3. That's two successive plus .500 road trips. At this stage of the Season ...mid August...I am personally elated with the team. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The glaring hole is starting pitching. Next is a couple of positions ( Catche r/short) but help is on the way and as I say, Belanger was a 220-250 hitter and Castro steals hits from other players. I feel good about the bullpen and I think Sherrill will be the situational lefty setup man , not a closer.Johnson may ahve to move to the rotation next year and think of Liz as 2009 bullpen material. Patten and Albers are huge wild cards and it will be interesting to see how some of the young guns play out .
The key is not to fall into the trap that Seattle and Toronto (and for that matter Detroit)fell into. Forget Free agency unless you are plugging leaks. It is no way to develop the core.
I am joining the bypass Texiera if price is too high group.
Olson just had a bad day. Olson is trying his best out there so give him a break he is only 23. Plus olson has hardly been in the leauge, today was his 28 major leauge start. He will learn from his mistakes and learn how to get the job done for the future when the orioles and the rays battle for 1st place in the future.
"Rotation" is spelled wrong in the first paragraph, Roch.
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Fixed it. Thanks! - Roch
Olson has to go... I don't care if they send him to A-ball he's got to go... He has nop business pitching in the major leagues... We've watched this garbage for 10 years... ENOUGH!!! He had his chance... So did Sarfate... It's time to give the ball to someone... Anyone else!!!
I don't care so much about rotation being misspelled - it's just a misnomer at the moment, that's all.
Did anyone notice Jay Payton's cranial flatulence in the 7th inning? After catching a fly ball for the second out he appeared to be ready to toss the ball out of play, apparently thinking there were 2 outs vice one. Upon returning to reality he threw to second and very nearly doubled up the runner. Had he maintained his situational awareness he could have easily doubled-up the runner. Again, did anyone else see this or are my hallucinations starting to synchronize with the voices in my head? Also, is Castro a graduate of the Ramon Hernandez school of base walking...I mean base running. Seems like he could've beat the throw in the 7th with even marginal effort (that would be a teeny step ahead of Ramon's effort!). Maybe I'm nitpicking, or the voices and visions are. I reckon the bottom line was getting the "W". I'm not touching the seemingly tender moment being shared between B-Rob and Mel-Mo caught on camera very near the end of the game. As we used to say in the military Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
What about giving Andy Mitchell a shot at a start? He's been decent in AAA, and it would be better than rushing someone else up.
Can we please put Garret Olson out of the rotation. Did you notice his face as he sat on the bench during Saturday nights game. Looked like he was awaiting verdict from jury for some past crime. The only crime is his inability to throw strikes. Bring up Hayden Penn..give him 6 weeks to make his case and press on.
Look, I'm certainly not a MLB scout or manager, and I'm sure that someone has to worry about the psyche of these kids, but gosh darn it, we don't have the bodies to spare to keep running these kids up and down. Look, we're rebuilding, and just like a pitcher shouldn't show a hitter all of his pitches in one at bat, neither should we try to run every minor leaguer we have through this rotation. Sarfate, Olson, et al are just gonna have to "sink or swim", and if they continually get bombed, well, then next year is next year, and the O's will proceed without them. They're being given an opportunity that most of us working slobs only dream of, and regardless of how much they've worked to get here, it's "crunch time", and they can do it, or go home. There will be a 2009 and the Birds are on the wing. they can join the formation or be left behind.
Go O's!