The starting pitching predicament
The Orioles could be in quite a jam for the Tampa series. Dave Trembley said he's going to piece together rotations series by series for the rest of the year. That's how dire the starting pitching situation has gotten.
If Daniel Cabrera is not healthy, the situation gets even worse. Cabrera had an MRI on his throwing elbow today, and it was negative. There is no structural damage. Still, Cabrera is feeling soreness in the forearm muscle near the top of his elbow.
It's clear Cabrera has taken major steps backward since the All-Star break. He gave up seven earned runs in just 3.2IP in his last start. A loss in velocity triggered reporters to start asking questions as to whether or not he was healthy.
Cabrera is expected to throw tomorrow or Friday to test his arm; then a decision will be made as to whether he can make his scheduled start on Saturday in Tampa against the Rays.
Trembley said he might have to give Cabrera an extra day's rest. If that's the case, or if he has to skip Daniel altogether, the question is: Who will be his replacement?
Brad Bergeson is still an option to get the call-up from AA Bowie. He's had an impressive year. Also, they can always recall Garrett Olson from AAA Norfolk, but that might be counterproductive. The O's might want to get a look at somebody new. They already have a good feel for what Olson can do.
The most infuriating aspect to me goes like this. In the offseason, he got a $300,000 raise in arbitration, off a 9-18 season. I would give anything to have that much, or to make that much as a salary, and I'm better at my job than he is at his. And this year, other than being solid for about a month, he has been as bad or worse since June than he wss last year. What's it going to take to get the braintrust to make some kind of move with him?
Amber: There's a decent case to be made for Daniel Cabrera as the worst pitcher in AL history. He has the highest ERA of any pitcher with 140 or more starts in the AL. This sounds like an exaggeration, but it's true.
--RBD