Warming up some leftovers
Chris Ray returns to Camden Yards later today, but not to pitch. After tossing a scoreless inning last night at Aberdeen, he'll do some running and throwing - and lots of hand shaking and hugging. Teammates will be happy to see him.
Anticipating that reporters will swarm Ray, manager Dave Trembley said, "Hopefully, you guys will go easy on him."
Ha. Not a chance.
We still don't know whether Ray will be activated next month. That's because the Orioles don't know. They're certainly not going to push him, but they haven't ruled out a return, either.
Before last night's game, I asked Trembley if choosing a closer will be one of the more interesting decisions he'll have to make in spring training. We assume that Ray will be fully recovered from elbow surgery, and that George Sherrill will still be on the team. Jim Johnson's role must be determined - is he a closer, as some people have suggested, a right-handed set-up man or a starter? And if Danys Baez is a full-go, as team officials now seem to be anticipating, could he become the eighth-inning guy and free up Johnson for other duties, or is he more of a seventh-inning reliever in the Chad Bradford mold? Or will he just be collecting mold on someone else's roster or disabled list?
Anyway, here's Trembley's response, in case you missed it. And I'd welcome your opinions on the topic: "There will be some interesting slots to fill in the backend of the bullpen. There are some guys you could mix and match, and there are some guys you can move around. That's a lot of food for thought in the offseason. I think it'll all straighten itself out, but it's certainly nice to have some good arms."
That doesn't exactly clear up the mystery, but at least he agreed that it'll be an intriguing storyline in Fort Lauderdale. And we'll be following it closely.
If Jamie Walker is gone, Sherrill could take over his role. Or maybe that'll be Alberto Castillo's job. Or someone signed as a free agent over the winter.
Down on the farm ...well, I pretty much hit on everything last night, but Single-A Delmarva's Nathan Nery tossed seven shutout innings in a 6-1 victory over Hagerstown.
Making his Shorebirds debut, third baseman Jedidiah Stephen went 0-5 with four strikeouts. But it'll get easier.
Double-A Bowie's Brad Bergesen goes for his 16th win tonight, while the Baysox try to sew up a division title. They've already qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1997.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't see or hear "1997" without thinking "wire-to-wire." I lost track of how many times I typed that phrase to describe the Orioles' season, when they stayed in first place from beginning to end.
They were the best team in baseball in '97. They just don't have a ring to prove it.
In 1997, I delayed the start of a new job so I could watch the playoffs. I had tickets for I think game 2 of the Cleveland series at home, I think. A win. Moved away, brought Pedro to the Sox, got them a few wins too, but no world series until I moved back down to DC.
Hey Roch
We all spend a lot of time on this blog rehashing and crtiquing the performance of others . Without coming across like some sort of suck, I have to say that you were definitely on your game yesterday. My kids are still howling about the 3 am platform guy . You made a 9-4 loss entirely sufferable .
Thanks for that.
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Thanks! And it's my pleasure. I'm happy whenever I can get a laugh, or even a grin, out of somebody, especially during another last-place season. - Roch
I'll regenerate this, because it got buried. Whose call was it that Liz was suddenly ready again for the majors, after looking so lost only a few weeks ago and being sent back down?
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Liz gave up one earned run or fewer in three of his four starts after being optioned. I'm sure Trembley checked with Norfolk pitching coach Larry McCall, perhaps director of player development David Stockstill, as well as team president Andy MacPhail. And they came to a mutual decision. - Roch
Nery looked very good in beating Hagerstown last night. Lots of strikes and only 1 walk. That's always good to see from anyone wearing orange and black.
From what you say, the criteria for judging preparedness was solid enough. It's just that when he gets re-re-promoted and promptly forces Trembley to use 7 pitchers, some part of that process deserves to be re-re-evaluated. Or maybe the process is fine, and Liz's contract deserves re-evaluation. I'm cringing just thinking about D-Cabrera's outing on Sunday.
And speaking of warmed-up leftovers, Atlanta signed Rodrigo Lopez yesterday, no doubt in hopes of making him the next Mike Hampton. I don't remember when the Rockies actually let go of Lopez after his mid-season injury last year, and he doesn't seem to have been doing anything but resting this year; I thought maybe this move was akin to picking up Julio Franco for the nth time during one of his Mexican League intervals, but no such luck.
I'm holding out hope for Ray - but have none for Baez. Maybe he can surprise.
You didn't mention Mickolio and I think he should be given a chance to earn a spot. Don't write him off after one wild pitch, in his 2nd mlb appearance. Sarfate too, especially if he can throw strikes. Guys clearly have difficulty catching up to his fastball, especially when he is throwing his curveball for strikes.
Castillo looks good against lefties - I kind of like him. Lots of choices for next year - but we need guys with the intestinal fortitude to get the tough outs.
That's why I like JJ and Sherrill and think that one or both should be the closer or a part of a two-headed closing monster.
Roch:
Thanks for the minor league updates.
For years the only one in the organization paying attention to it was Jim Hunter. He told us that good players were in the pipeline for years and years and years. He was and is right.
Appropos to nothing here, but . . . does anyone else find it extremely annoying when Joe Angel and Fred Manfra begin so many sentences with "Of course . . ."? That phrase is useful only when the speaker assumes that the audience knows what's coming next based on what's already been said in the conversation. But Joe and Fred use it repeatedly, regardless of the context. It's almost like a verbal tic.
I realize this may sound somewhat petty, since I believe they are basically fine announcers, and I especially like Joe's work. You really appreciate it when you have XM radio and get to listen to the announcers for other teams. Some are just boring, some are annoying (e.g., Suzyn Waldman of the Yankees), some are just bizarre (e.g., Ed Farmer, of the White Sox, who may be in a class by himself), some are too full of themselves, and many don't do their homework with respect to the visiting teams (John Sterling of the Yankees).
But please Joe and Tom, work on eliminating "Of course." I will be most grateful.
Don't forget Hoey if/when he returns
I'm not prepared to anoint Baez anything until I see him pitch. He obviously had some very good years in the past, but last season he was nothing short of putrid. Hopefully it was on account of his injury. If not, we're stuck with 2 more years of aggravation.
Hey Roch,
First off I just want to say that you are one of my favorite sports journalists. I'm a 16 year old and I live in southern Pennsylvania. I'm a huge Orioles, Saints, and Hornets fan and I am hoping to go to college and major in journalism and I was hoping you might be able to give me some tips at how to succeed. Anyway, I think the rotation should be the main concern for the 2009 O's. You're going to have Guthrie and after that it's pretty much up in the air. D-Cab is too unproven and i think he'll be dealt. Waters seems like a couple years away from anything great, does have flashes of an early Bedard. Tillman is the future, but the front office is going to be very cautious with him. Brad Bergesen seems to have great stuff capable of the majors and I have no clue why they won't call him up. Liz is a bullpen arm and that's probably whats best for his confidence.Jim Johnson, Matt Albers, and Troy Patton will all be capable of a great 2nd or 3rd day starter or a good 1st day ace. The last few spots could go to a number of guys ranging from Garrett Olson, Brian Burress, Pedro Beato, Hayden Penn, and a possible offseason aquistion. As for the bullpen they have plenty of age and wisdom with the addition of power arms so they should be in good shape for the season. THANKS