Chris Salberg
Who?
I understand if that's your reaction.
He was the Orioles' 22nd-round pick in the 2006 amateur draft who appeared in only one game at Aberdeen the following year before being shut down with left elbow inflammation.
So what's the big deal about Chris Salberg? Why am I mentioning him? Because he leads the Hawaii Winter League with four victories, the latest coming last night when he allowed two runs over five innings in West Oahu's 6-5 win over North Shore.
Salberg is 4-0 with a 3.90 ERA in Hawaii - one of the few guys with Orioles ties whose numbers don't make your stomach hurt.
Earlier this year, he went 3-1 with a 2.17 ERA in six starts at Aberdeen and 1-4 with a 4.08 ERA in 10 starts at Delmarva.
Meanwhile, Adam Loewen went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts last night and is batting .207.
Also, Nolan Reimold had a double, RBI and run scored for the Surprise Rafters of the Arizona Fall League. Matt Wieters didn't play.
Pretty sad that the free agent frenzy is going on and the only thing there is to discuss in this town is minor league fall leagues and the new uniforms.
Now I know how a Chicago Cubs fan must feel.
Roch- Did you see that SI column on the O's? It kills me and makes me mad at the same time. Apparently, we are the Raiders of Baseball.
The author laughs at us fans for thinking we will make any signings this winter. We will be at spring training with the same team. Kevin Millar at 1b.
Angelos likes his profit margin exactly where it is at. If he spends 60ish and brings in around 2million fans, he pockets more then if he spends 100 and sells out every game.
I almost cried.
We are a franshise made up of 98% career minor leagers, we sign who everyone else throws away.
Pretty Heavy huh? (Isn't every franchise 98% career minor leaguers?)
Rich --- Thanks for this kind of post on the weekend. Keeps us going!
Good news out of Hawaii. Finally. And fantastic news about Loewen. I really feel like there was an integrity issue there.
Also, Roch, please: your blog here used to be such that when on one post, there was a link to the next and the previous. This going back to the archive page for each post is just bad UI.
Love for you to make it easy for me to spend all my time here.
Thanks.
I've been following both the HWL and AFL from the start and there's prescious little to jump with joy about. Certainly Salberg with the Canefires and Snyder would be my pick from the Rafters. Reimold hasn't exactly turned any heads with his mediocre play and as for Wieters, he's come back to earth in a hurry. Now whether that's from hitting the wall from a long season or coming up against a better class of pitching than what he saw at Bowie, it's hard to tell. I'll leave that for you experts to decide.
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I'm guessing it's a combination of hitting the proverbial wall and the level of competition. He was hot early, so we can't say he had no clue against AFL pitching. But he definitely could use a break. - Roch
I disagree with Ryan UVA that the Orioles' problem was spending too much money in guaranteed contracts in previous years; rather it was to whom they gave the money, and to whom they did not offer even MORE money. Let's face it- the O's half-*ssed it for a decade.
Questionable signings followed by horrendous signings culminating with the Gibbons, Baez, Bradford, Walker and before that such stalwarts as Buddy Groom, Jose Mercedes, Patt Rapp, Jeff Conine (okay on a good team),Pat Hentgen, Willis Roberts, David Segui, Damon Buford, Travis Diskill, Marty Cordova, Eric DuBose, Luis Lopez, Rodrigo Lopez, Howie Clark, Mike Moriarty, Devii Cruz, Omar Daal, Jeff Reboulet, Rick Helling, Hector Carrasco, old BJ, Kerry Lightenberg, Pedro Swann, Robert Machado, Dave Borkowski, Ruben Rivera, Raul Casanova, Javier Lopez, MIGGY!-- the lone good value signing, Mike Dejean, Chad Mottola, Sidney Ponson, David Newhan, Tim Byrdak, Chris Gomez,Sal Fasana, Steve (ugggh) Klein, Chris Stynes, James Baldwin, Steve Reed, Bernie Castro, Eric Byrnes, Ramon Hernandez, Eddy Rodriguez, Kevin Millar, Desi Relaford, Ricky Botallico, Richard Hidalgo, Fernando Tatis, Scott Williamson, Rob Bell, Josh Phelps, Jaret Wright... and much, much more.
Hmmm... I'll never get that time back.
I don't believe the problem was spending too much money but the combination of internal neglect and signings that did not go far enough. For example, why give several mediocre to bad players 7-8 million dollars per year when you can solidify a position for years to come with a 15 million dollar per year contract (e.g., Vlad, Carlos Lee, and now Tex)??? It is all about incremental value. The team continuously missed the boat on that concept. I do believe MacPhail understands that, but I am not sure he will be able to act decisively enough or with enough backing to take care of major needs in free agency.
Btw, I am also not sure that Burnett is where we want to place our resources. BUT, the Orioles are in such a position that they may be saying, "We'll spend money when we are more competitive" for the next two decades. Other teams are drafting well too and spending at the same time. We haven't cornered the market on that.
MacPhail is the ONLY reason why I would argue that we are not quite the Raiders of baseball.
Good to hear about another young arm. If the O's are lucky, he may be trade bait (a la Sean Gallagher one day. Does Loewen's injury prevent him from throwing or what? Is it only the stress of every day pitching that required the surgery? Can he play 1B / Outfield with little to no risk? I though he'd have to have the surgery before playing. I understand that he had to be released, but if he can play next year (in the minors), it's just an additional insult and all the more reason for the O's to pursue Burnett and Zaun - good old fashioned spite. Last, there was a recent post discussing the need for a right handed hitting outfielder to platoon with Lou and/or Luke. What about Rocco Baldelli? He's 27, immensely talented and has something to prove. Before his injury he was one of the top up and coming outfielders in the game. I think he's definitely worth a flyer and could fit into the rebuilding picture long term. A healthy and hitting Baldelli, Jones and Markakis would be a stellar all around outfield. Let Lou, Luke and Reimold battle for DH, SS, 3B or 1B - or package them with Salberg in a year or 2 for an impact player during the stretch drive.