Our Penn pal
Many jokes have been made at Hayden Penn's expense, and I've dished out a few over the years, but I feel sorry for the kid. And since his 24th birthday doesn't arrive until Oct. 13, I'm going with "kid."
Penn has been his own worst enemy at times, if you listen to some people in the organization who lost patience with him. They questioned his attitude and his commitment. But they also were willing to stick it out with him because of his age and potential.
Penn couldn't be faulted for the emergency appendectomy or the surgery required to remove debris from his right elbow. And he didn't lunge in front of the piece of broken bat that spiraled toward the mound during his next-to-last start at Triple-A Norfolk. This wasn't Penn diving on a live grenade.
Now he's come down with tightness in his right shoulder - another wound that can't be described as self-inflicted. I don't believe he's scared to pitch in the majors. He sounds hungry to get back. But with his luck, that hunger will lead to food poisoning. Something always happens, and it's inexplicable to the people closest to him.
The Orioles placed Penn on the seven-day disabled list yesterday, but he's not coming back that quickly. He might not come back at all this season. It depends on how his shoulder responds to rest. He'll be examined again, but at this point, the best thing to do is absolutely nothing.
Penn was stringing together quality starts - and I'm counting five scoreless innings in his final appearances as a "quality start," even if it doesn't match the definition. That's quality in my book. He deserves to come to spring training next year with another opportunity to make the rotation or serve in a long-relief role. Toss him in the pile and hope nothing breaks.
So how long before we get confirmation that first-round pick Brian Matusz has signed with the Orioles and ended all the speculation and worry? It would be a major upset if the deadline passes without his name being splashed on a contract. There were rumblings that an agreement was reached late last night. And while I didn't expect the Orioles to fork over a major league deal, Matusz is considered far enough along in his progression as a pitcher that it shouldn't become an issue.
I know the same thing was said about Adam Loewen, but Matusz spent three years at the University of San Diego, and the argument can be made that he's more polished and better prepared to jump into the big league fray.
As long as his left shoulder doesn't fray. I'm paranoid about injuries to top pitching prospects.
I was asked about Saturday's starters for Norfolk and Double-A Bowie. Radhames Liz is scheduled to pitch for the Tides, Jason Berken for the Baysox.
If you're attending the Aug. 18 or 19 games at Camden Yards, you could be the 50 millionth fan, which would entitle you to a $50,000 prize, season tickets for the next five seasons and assorted other goodies and perks.
The Orioles are 43,290 fans short of the milestone, and about 10,000 tickets remain for Monday's game against the Boston Red Sox. The promotion could drag into Tuesday, which means you'll want to be at the ballpark as soon as the gates open.
I have a funny feeling the winning fan won't be wearing a Red Sox cap.
Are you assuming that there's an edict from above to "fix" the fan selected as the lucky winner? I sure hope so!!!!
Time to cut Cormier and Castillo and see what McCrory, Miller, and/or Mickolio can do. Early try outs for next year's 'pen. Why wait until Sept. when the above 2 won't be here next year and are just used as mop up anyway?
I'm going to Tuesday's game, and getting there early early. I think I'm leaving Westminster at 4:30.
"It would be a major upset if the deadline passes without his name being splashed on a contract."
Why is that? It seems like MacPhail is savvy enough to know when someone is trying to take him for the proverbial ride. If these prospects are going to start getting so demanding coming out of college and the ownership obliges them, it sets a bad precedent for future years. It's only going to get more ridiculous later on (see top 3 draft picks in NFL).
I'm convinced that if Matusz doesn't end up signing with us, it's because MacPhail feels they were being too demanding, and he'd rather try again next year with the compensatory pick.
I'm sure Matusz will be signing though.
Hey Roch,
Quick Question. What do you think the Os are gonna do if the 50,000,000th is a sox fan?? There will be more of them then us at the game if recent history is any indication, so it would seem more likely like that 5 years of season tickets will be given to a Red Sox fan instead of an Os fan. Do you think if the 50,000,000th fan is a BoSox supporter that the ushers would wait for the next Os fan to walk through the gates before making the announcement?
Thanks Roch.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since there's no way to be 100 percent exact, with people filing into different gates at the same time, I'm sure someone wearing a cartoon bird on their caps will be the winner. - Roch
I'll tell you what ... that was a slick little play Castro made to end the game last night. If that batter gets on, we're only one batter away from allowing the tying run to come to the plate.
Penn threw 40 innings last year, so the soreness in his shoulder should not be surprising. He did well this year all things considered. He had to regain his strength and in some ways, learn to pitch again. It's not easy to come back from what he's had to. A lot of people forget how good he is when he's healthy and that's all this year was about. He was better than Tillman. Next year, Penn deserves as long a look at Olson has gotten, as Bucholz in Boston gets, as Kennedy and Hughes gets. He's that kind of talent. There's no sense rushing him back this year and he will succeed next season in Baltimore.
Wasn't paying to close attention to the guy from the O's organization who was on the Anita Mark's show yesterday, but he did say he would guarantee it would be an Orioles Fan. One thing though, what's to keep a Red Sox fan from paying $10 for an O's hat outside the stadium? $50,000 would be a pretty good return on your money.
Apparently, according to the O's there are 10,000 tickets left. This could be the most late arriving 40 some thousand crowd in history.
Roch,
I really feel good that Matusz will be signed before noon today. I have also heard he is so far along he might start in Bowie...any truth?
I also have not been a big fan of Penn but at this point I feel terrible for the Kid. I havent seen this much bad luck since Glenn Davis....
There is another thought process that was used back a long time ago with young pitchers that I heard Flanagan talk about once. I wonder why we have not started to bring up some of these young starters and put them in the pen for MLB experience. Flanagan once talked about how when you came up in from the minors thats where you started your first year so you could learn and gain the experience. Now I know back when this was happening there was no shortage of quality starters on the O's staff, but still Penn, Bergesen, Hernandez, Liz, Olsen, maybe Tillman. All of these guys could gain some experience out there facing MLB hitters from the pen. It seemed to help JJ gain confidence....Im just saying
PS--SWEET LOU CONGRATS>>>AND SWEET SUIT LAST NIGHT ROCH!! WTF
Hey Roch, you are dead on about Penn. I think the guy pissed off 10 voodoo witch doctors in a previous life. Or maybe he drank Jobu's rum. I hope he can come back healthy next year and win a spot on the team. We are going to need to find out what these guys like Penn, Bergesen, Hernandez & Berken can do before Arrieta, Matusz & Tillman are ready.
On a separate topic, whether or not to trade Huff has been tossed around here lately and there is really only one good reason to keep him. Next years line-up will look something like this:
Roberts, Jones, Markakis, Weiters... having Huff hit 5th to protect Weiters could be huge. It would let the rookie hit a few more fastballs then if a guy like Mora or Scott hit 5th. Having said that, if some team wants to make a bad trade like Seattle did for Bedard then you have to make the deal. I also really hope the O's make a serious push to sign Roberts at the end of this year. He is one of the leaders of this team because he plays hard every night. A guy like that is hard to replace and we don't have any 2B prospects who will be ready for the majors by 2010.
Roch - How backloaded is Huff's contract? ESPN reports that he made $4 mil last year and $8 this year. Is it safe to say that he's due to get $12 mil next year?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$8 mil. - Roch
Assuming he doesn't pitch tonight, Why would you not start Lance Cormier on Saturday instead of Sarfate? Just to change things up. Sarfate has shown very clearly that he's just not suited for a starter's role. In his three starts covering 11 innings he has given up 24 hits and walked 11. In 50 innings as reliever he had only given up 24 hits. That in itself should tell you he should be in the bullpen. If you need more proof compare his ERA as a starter and reliever.
His last relief appearance before becoming a starter he threw three and a third innings of no hit relief. Feeling comfortable on the mound has been an issue for him all season. I'm sure he was very confident after that relief appearance, but why ruin a good thing? I'm afraid we've set his development back significantly with this little experiment.
Let Cormier start Saturday. I don't think he could be any worse than Sarfate. Let Sarfate throw the middle 3-4 innings of the game and then get to Cherry, Walker, Johnson, and Sherrill hopefully in a position to win the game.
You would think it wouldn’t be too hard to find regular time for Montanez on a last place team that also has Jay Payton on its roster. I mean, come on, now. Montanez’s case would be helped tremendously if he were an above average outfielder. But there has to be a way to work his bat into the game even if he’s not on the field past the 7th inning. He might not be a player of the future, but he could be a fourth outfielder of the next year or two. If he can hit and play at least average defense, he’s a better, less expensive alternative to Jay Payton ($400,000 or so per year compared to the $5 million Payton is currently making (but won’t get again)).
So, anyone sweating Matusz? Unlike Wieters at this time last year, I’m optimistic. Of course, I’m optimistic now because Wieters got signed and, with the Tejada and Bedard trades, the current front office seems to know what it’s doing. See, it’s not that hard to restore the faith of some of the fans. Even though there’s still a long way to go, they’ve at least got me (and I’m sure many others) across the optimism line even if I am dangling on the edge. Signing Matusz brings me and other likeminded fans even further in.
And what more can be said about Penn? No one could make this stuff up. Maybe one day the bad fortune ends and he can get up here and pitch..
Penn's shoulder, I would wager, was damaged by continuing to pitch with a bad leg. In my opinion, allowing him to continue pitching was a stupid mistake. Shutting him down for the rest of the year quickly when the mistake became evident is the smart move.
Even if there was some other history or presumed cause for the "tighntess" in the shouldere, having a top prospect (and he is, after all, still a top prospect) pitch with a bad wheel is moronic. Only bad things can happen.
Baseball should be working urgently on banning maple bats, not forcing instant replay on us cuz poor A-rod and the empire lost a home run earlier in the season.
And, while I am at it, I will throw out a few more opinons:
Huff should be kept. No single prospect will be worth what he brings to the offense next year. If we want to dreamabout signing Tex or CC, or anyone decent, we need to have a cridible team into which they fit. Besides, he can play 3rd and 1st and we may move the incumbents there or see one of those 2 decline next year. Huff may not be signed beyond next year, but he will productive for several more years and could be signed - he seems to like it enough here.
Sherrill should have been traded. AM missed an opportunity there. Georgie has teh perfect mental makeup for a closer. But his talent and career performance confirms that he caught lightning in a bottle for half a season, and we should have taken advantage of that at the 7/31 deadline.
Playing Payton makes no sense to me at all. It does not increase his trade value given his career's worth of data for other teams to see. It simply eats precious major league at bats and outfield time that should be used to look at other prospects. If you are scared of Lou in center, let's let Nick play there for 30 games. Not like it will screw him up forever. We have an opportunity to see Lou or some other minor league star get 100 abs in the majors. why simply throw that away?
I cannot believe that Mora is so hot right now. I agree that if there is any team needing a 3b, now is the time to see if we can move him. Moving Mora puts Huff at 3rd and opens the DH spot for general use. But you have to respect Mora for getting it done. Turning around a tough year. 81 rbi? are you kidding me?
Regarding Lou, the Mike Young warning is relevant - let's keep expectations in check. See also Dan Graham and Jim Traber and Larry Sheets. I hope Lou proves to be another Markakis. But let's not pile on too many expectations.
Put Lou Montanez in the lineup every night and see what he can do. What he did at AA is enough to earn a shot and who are we to judge him as a 4th outfielder; let him prove himself or not prove himself. Also, let Sarfate start another game or two. In innings 2,3 and 4 in his last start, he looked under control and obviously has good stuff. He's nervous so he should be given a few starts to get over that and then see how he can pitch. Finally, the guy who penciled Wieters in the 4th slot in the batting order is crazy. He should be hitting 7th or 8th at least until he proves himself as a major league hitter. Also, keep Huff if noone wants him. He's having an awesome year and even at 8 million, he's a lot cheaper than other guys with his stats.
Thanks for answering my question about Huff's salary for next year. If I'm Andy MacPhail there's no way I pay any part of his remaining salary. $8 million for a guy coming off a season where he hit .300 with 100 RBI and 30 some homeruns is cheap. Texeira's stats this year are similar and he's probably going to get $20 mil. I'm also pretty sure that MacPhail will have to be somewhat overwhelmed to move Huff. For instance, if Tampa wants him let's talk about Wade Davis. That's a steep price, but the Rays are in a pennant race.
Peter - Assuming Wieters is the starting catcher next year, there is no way he's batting cleanup. He'll start out in the bottom third of the batting order ala Markakis and Jones. Heck, he didn't even bat cleanup for Bowie until Montanez moved up.
I believe Mora has a no trade clause, so moving him wouldn't really be an option.
Poor Hayden...I'm really starting to worry that he may never be healthy enough, for long enough, to be a major component of this team. It's a shame, because I really do think he has the talent to do it... but talent is only half the battle.
My guess is that the fan who wins will probably be someone who is visually familiar to the ushers/ management. Most likely someone who is already a season ticket holder and attends many games so that they can avoid the PR catastrophe that would happen if they were to be fooled into awarding the whole shebang to a Red Sox fan.
Ray, I have to disagree. Just because Markakis and Jones started out at the bottom of the line-up, it doesn't mean that Wieters will. Even if he doesn't start the year at clean-up, he won't hit further than 6th down. Wieters was made to hit 4th for this team and he will be there by the 2nd month of the season. Having Huff hit 5th would provide good protection and they would both have plenty of RBI opportunities. The only way Wieters isn't hitting clean-up for the O's next year is if Texeira is playing 1st.
I think it was dumb to give a kid out of high school like Loewen an MLB contract. All that did was not allow for him to develop at a normal rate like every other high school draft pick does.
Matusz will likely be similar to Wieters; polished and ready for the big leagues in 2 years anyway. There is no harm in giving an MLB contract to a college junior like Matusz.
Don't compare the results of Loewens contract to Matusz; it isn't fair.
New blog, same as the old blog, and that’s all right w/ me.
I have tickets for Tuesday night. I don’t like my odds. I’ve been to major league and minor league games for 50 some years, and never caught a foul ball or had one hit within reach. What are the odds for me being 50 millionth fan? Say 44,000 fans. Say 60% are Oriole fans? That makes my odds 1 in 26,400…give or take a little.
Wow, I should’ve had a foul ball by now.