Catching up with Benson
I had a nice chat last night with former Orioles pitcher Kris Benson, who surprised me with a phone call around 10 p.m. I didn't recognize the number and screened him.
Benson is throwing off a mound today after restricting himself to a long-tossing program, and he'll be showcased for interested teams on Jan. 24 in Scottsdale, AZ. He's looking for an available field and probably will end up at a local high school.
"Whatever it takes to get back," he said.
Benson, who underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in March 2007, ending his spring training and his final season with the Orioles, says the Cardinals and Dodgers have expressed the most interest. Dodgers executive Logan White watched him throw off flat ground last week.
Benson also mentioned the Diamondbacks and Rangers among a handful of clubs that could decide to sign him. He said the Indians showed some interest before signing Carl Pavano.
No mention of the Orioles.
Benson pitched for the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate last year. He's been working with a new trainer to improve his strength and flexibility, and regain his full range of motion, and says his shoulder hasn't felt this good since 2000.
He'll likely have to settle for a minor league deal with a spring training invite.
Benson didn't leave here on great terms. He wanted to undergo surgery right away, but the Orioles insisted that he try rehabbing the shoulder. Some team officials felt that he didn't stick to the program they outlined for him over the winter.
I hope he makes it back. Despite all the crazy things you've heard about him and wife Anna, he's really one of the most decent guys in baseball. He has a good heart. And he deserves another chance to pitch.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
Don't take this the wrong way, but why did he call you? I would figure if you two were pretty close you'd have recognized his number and since the O's aren't showing any interest in him..just curious what made him decide to give you a call.
While I never cared for his wife - not because men drooled over her (I do virtually the same thing over Alex Rodriguez so who am I to judge?) but because she seemed a bit "trailer trash" in her demeanor - I really did like Kris Benson. I know that some people side with the organization and feel that it was Kris' fault, but without knowing all the real facts it's hard to say who was right and who was wrong. It's easy to get mad at a player for not doing what the organization wants, but since there is no real loyalty between players and organizations anymore why should players potentially put their careers in jeopardy just to appease a ballclub that will drop them the minute something better comes along?
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It's a really long story, but he has an old photo of himself and my uncle from his days in Pittsburgh. He was presenting my uncle, who had cerebral palsy, with a Pirates jersey. Kris and Anna later sent a beautiful flower arrangement to the funeral home after he passed away. Kris found the photo and called to get my address so he could mail it to me. He brought it to the winter meetings in case he saw me, but never had the chance to give it to me (I kept chatting with him in the lobby area). That's what I mean by him having a good heart. - Roch
Roch,
With the need for bodies in spring training and even the regular season right now....why not go out and sign Benson to a minor league deal. He could be the steal of the year considering he was once the 1st overall pick and maybe since he has had surgery and is healed he could have a big year. What do you think?
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I'd like to see them take a look. What have they got to lose? - Roch
Roch, You think the O's hold grudges enough that they would not take a look????....the guy was pretty good...and we need all the help we can get in starting pitching....I am still amazed that some of the guys that are out there are still looking for work...$$ talks now days ..Garland...Sheets...Wolf..Oliver Perez...Looper...Byrd...Hernandez brothers...Pedro..Kenny Rogers...Jennings..and a few more older ones..or injured or fragile.....with all the cry for pitching....it seems that teams are scared off....by the issues of each what ever they may be....any thoughts on this? I know you said the O's were not that interested in more starters for now...do you think they are just watching and waiting in case a steal deal comes up or are they really OK with what they have??
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They're waiting for a steal. - Roch
I think most guys here just wanted Benson to come because of Anna. Other than that, I don't think Benson really had an impact other than us seeing John Maine make an impact.
It would be really nice to still have John Maine on our Roster. I don't think we gave him enough of a chance. I agree Benson is a nice guy and I wish him the best of luck.
But a rotation of
Guthrie, Maine, Uehara; looks better pretty good considering our current situation and the idea the we could have had Benson for just Jorge Julio makes it worse.
DEAR BALTIMORE ORIOLES OWNER & FRONT OFFICE / How long are you going to let Brian Roberts sit in limbo ? Everyone wants him to stay, but keeping him on the team unsigned ( allowing him to play out his option ) is NOT in the best interest for our team plans ! If you feel that you are offering him a fair contract & he won't sign, then trade him NOW, while you can still get some decent prospects. Waiting until July 31st get's us NOTHING of any use ! PS. I would consider Not signing Nick this off season as very discourging. If for whatever reason we cannot retain our homegrown players I would have to say we have no rebuilding plan !!!
Roch, Seems the FO is being patient on the market for starters, and there are a few left who could eat up innings and win. Any word on who they are looking at? How about Jon Garland? He would be good for 200 innings and win 12 plus games.Dan
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Garland wanted too much money during the winter meetings. The Orioles were interested. Same with Looper. - Roch
I'll take your word for it on Benson Roch. With a torn rotator or a tearing one, the guy pitched fairly well here. I say Bygones... he didn't "Eddie Murray" the team, town, FO, & fans, etc. Eddie was welcomed back....
What do they have to lose? He isn't that old. Give the guy a 1 yr Minor League deal with loads of incentives.... but make sure it's written in that deal that Anna must attend 1/3 of the home games. potter is missing any easy way to increase attendance!
As to your comment on an invite to Benson, "What do they have to lose?" I believe the GM addressed that in the past days. Concern about getting enough innings for the large number or young arms that will be in camp.
Roch, ya say they are waiting for a steal? That's true, they are trying to steal our $$ with a cheap team!
The O's could never take another chance on Benson, if(when) he his is back on the DL in a week with a sprained vagina the fans would rip the O's front office to pieces. The O's cannot risk that bad press after we "Longoria" Wieter's to AAA to start the season.(smart move) and trade Roberts.
Roch,
Not the 1st time I have heard a story like this about Kris. It is really hard to find someone who has negative things to say about him.
I also had the same thoughts about a possible shot for him but was unaware of the feelings when he left. I wish him the best but you have to think that he would be that calming presence in Norfolk that the young kids could turn to when they have questions.
Any word on Mulder? I do not see him coming here as someone else will take a chance but he is also very intriguing and seems to be flying under the radar.
Ran across this article. Makes me have more patience with Andy and his style. He might not make as many moves as we "fantasize" about, but when he does make a move it is not a mistake. The Miggy trade looks better all of the time.
Many are predicting jail time for Clemens and in Miggy's case even if the jail time doesn't start until after this season he has to be very distracted during the season. I read that if the heat gets too hot for Miggy he might have one of those mystery injuries and just leave the US.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2009/01/13/2009-01-13_grand_jury_may_target_miguel_tejada.html
Kind of curious how much positive talk about Gibbons. He seemed to have at most one talent - hitting HRs and for that era he was on the lower end of that talent.
I just seem to recall him whining about most things, such as not wanting to play 1B, not wanting to DH, etc. It wasn't like he was a decent OF. A player with so limited talent is better off willing to do whatever the team wants, if he wants a long ML career. I think his attitude has a lot to do with him probably never catching on with another ML team. A lot of players are equal to him in talent and have other assets he doesn't.
Alright, Roch. You convinced me. I thought what Benson did a couple seasons back was pretty shady, but maybe he's not such a bad guy.
Let's sign him and Wigginton and get this season started.
Roch,
Sorry I'm to lazy to look it up, but how old is Benson?
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34. - Roch
Hey Roch
When you have the opportunity to interview Uehara, remember to ask your questions of him (in the 1st person) and not of his translator. This was a glaring error made by the U.S. reporters at the press conference and is considered disrespectful by anyone who uses a translator.
Besides that, we are all looking forward to your 1st report!
Hey Roch, it seems to me that having a couple of guys like Benson down in AAA is not a dumb idea. If somebody's arm falls off, you have a cheap replacement waiting in the wings. If he goes to AAA and flops, you throw away his business card. Where is the risk here?
What I remember about Benson when he was with the O's was that he was just getting into a groove and then lo and behold, the wheels fell off.I think it was in Auust or so, so I guess the season coaught up to the shoulder. When the shoulder situation was revealed I was optimistic about a return and then away he went.
I always found the lack of interest by Baltimore to be mysterious to say the least.
BaltJohn and others,
We all are either faithful O's fans or love the O's just given up or lost hope with the ownership.
I know some people think I am always pessimistic, but the truth is, it took 12 years of seeing Ole Peter not do a darn thing for this team except hire FO people who only care about the bottom line.
With that said, there is no "plan" to be competitive. There is a plan in place to sign draft picks, develop and use them for as long as possible, and then when they become arbritration eligible and want market value, claim they are not signable to try and save face with the fans. We couldnt sign Bedard (not that I favored it), Let Moose walk, we are unable to sign Roberts because he sees there is no long term future to sign veterans (unless you call Hendrickson a plan) to mix with young talent, and Markakis has already had two "impassess" this early in his career.
Once fans realize that we (the fans) are being used they no long can insult our intelligence. EVERY decision on this team is based SOLELY on the bottom line. There are no decision based on whether it will make us win more games. The new pitcher Uehara was signed because a) he is the cheaper option, and b) they figure his presence will make them money thru publicity. If there was a plan in place, we would be looking long term to Mora, Scott, Brob and Huff's replacements. Good teams look to win now and make plans to replace the players who are on the down swing.
The long term outlook for this team is grim. With the mentality to sign young college talent for the sheer purpose of developing them and trading them....is very depressing. Sort of reminds you of the Pirates and Royals philosphy. We could go on all day long, but the truth is, until Ole Peter is gone or McFAIL stands up and says this is NOT how you run an Organization to Pete....then the downward spiral will continue.
We shall see
WAY TO GO OLE PETER & McFAIL
Wow- that is a pretty nice gesture. Hope he catches on but the time probably isn't right for the O's (kind of like Millar).
CRB- I think the bullpen to rotation scenarios could work very nicely for this particular version of the Orioles and I do hope they follow what you outlined. Starting off Penn and JJ (and ALbers/Patton who have officially morphed into one being) in the rotation with a chance to earn a rotation spot seems like a great way to ease the transition and provide an incentive for success.
Anyway, I think the O's should grab one more starter- we can't even fill a rotation before the season starts. There will be injuries. Should we have a pool for which one? I say stiffness in the neck will be the most common.
Roch, What news is expected to surface from the baseball owners meetings in Phoenix 13-15 Jan?
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Does news ever come out of those things? - Roch
Roch,
I know it would go counter to the Orioles' current philosophy but is there any chance of Manny being Manny in Baltimore for the next 2 years?
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Zero. - Roch
"They are waiting for a steal." So the truth is that they are trying to find a starter "on the cheap." The old adage says, "you only get what you pay for." A cheap pitcher is a loser or they wouldn't be cheap. Begs the question, do the O's want to win for the long suffering fans, or do they just want to keep the payroll in check so that King Peter adds to his millions? At the end of the year they were dissatified with Cabrera, Olson and Liz. They let Cabrera go, and now because they passed on some pretty good free agent pitchers because they didnt want to spend the money needed to ge quality pitchers, they are now indicating that Olson and Liz are now OK. With that kind of attitude, O's fans have to be resigned to another losing season. They should honor Angelos with a statue in front of the stadium, with the word "LOSER" under it.
Hi Roch,
Steve Melewski mentioned in one of his blogs that Uehara's contract may include 1 or 2 option years. Is this true, and if so, do you have the details? Thanks.
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I'm going to defer to Steve on that one. I hadn't heard that, but that's what he was told earlier. - Roch
P.S. Don't hold me to it, but I think this year's team has the potential to be one of the worst teams in MLB history.
Craig said:
Roch, You think the O's hold grudges enough that they would not take a look????....the guy was pretty good...and we need all the help we can get in starting pitching....I am still amazed that some of the guys that are out there are still looking for work...$$ talks now days ..Garland...Sheets...Wolf..Oliver Perez...Looper...Byrd...Hernandez brothers...Pedro..Kenny Rogers...Jennings..and a few more older ones..or injured or fragile.....with all the cry for pitching....it seems that teams are scared off....by the issues of each what ever they may be....any thoughts on this? I know you said the O's were not that interested in more starters for now...do you think they are just watching and waiting in case a steal deal comes up or are they really OK with what they have??
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They're waiting for a steal. - Roch
January 14, 2009 10:45 AM
Thats the problem with the Orioles they are always waiting.......... The Orioles are the least proactive team in all major sports..... I agree with bring in Benson on a minor league with invite but it's not going to happen......... they will wait till he signs somewhere else and say we tried......the domino effect is about to start falling with a month to pitchers and catchers report and the Orioles are gonna be once again left outside............. It's so painful to be an Orioles fan
Christian said:
P.S. Don't hold me to it, but I think this year's team has the potential to be one of the worst teams in MLB history
You are probablly correct looking at who will be in our rotation we will be lucky to win 25 games.... I guess people in Detriot will be happy to get rid of one of those titles of worst season.....
Why wouldn't the mets sign him? Better then Pedro at this point, I think.
Thanks for sharing that story! It's nice to hear things like that every now and again. I think sometimes fans have a tendency to think of these guys like they are baseball cards and we forget that there are real people and feelings behind the baseball player.
I hate to admit it, but I have to agree with Jack. We keep hearing about 2010 or 2011, but look at 2010. Next year we may have a couple more young pitchers in the mix, and maybe Matt Wieters, but Roberts, Mora, Walker, Sherrill and Huff will be gone. I don't see Pete ponying up the money to replace all those guys with big name FA,s. So the infield will be Freel,isturzs, Scott Moore and Oscar Salazar? I don't see that as very promising. It is getting pretty painful to an Orioles fan! But I guess I'll just sit in front of my TV, and sipp the Kool aid. I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but that seems to be the reality of it. Go Orioles!
I am sorry to see what the birds are doing. I was looking forward to the off seasons move. But they did NOTHING. All the O's are doing are is bringing back old Orioles. I am surprise that the O's have not call Glenn Davis? Same old Orioles. I will never see the Orioles win again. I hope that my kids will.This is not the Oriole way. Look at the teams that we had in the mid 60's and all thru the 70's up yo 83. We had two great years when Davey Johnson was here but look what happen since. Maybe one day they will see what other teams are doing and put some money out.