Sorting through my notes
The Japanese media has doubled in size outside the warehouse. I spotted four televison reporters in the north parking lot as I was leaving.
They'll have a long wait. The Orioles don't conduct physicals at Camden Yards.
The club could reach agreement with catcher Gregg Zaun on a one-year deal within the next few days. It's close.
I see there's a lot of interest among fans in Cuban stars Yadel Marti and Yasser Gomez.
Are the Orioles just as interested? Would owner Peter Angelos approve it, given his previous stance against signing players who defect from Cuba?
The Orioles are gathering information on Marti, 29, who is regarded as one of Cuba's top pitchers (he threw 12 2/3 scoreless innings in the 2006 World Baseball Classic), and Gomez, 28, a speedy outfielder and career .331 hitter.
Thus far, Angelos hasn't been approached about either player.
Readers keep asking me about Daric Barton, and whether the Orioles might consider him in their search for a first baseman.
They'd prefer a right-handed hitter. Barton bats from the left side. No need to keep asking.
Aubrey Huff wants to be the regular first baseman. The Orioles don't have a problem with him in the field, but they like the idea of using him as the primary designated hitter, and also giving him starts at first and third base.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
Hey Roch,
What do you think about the Orioles trying to get Gabe Gross?? He figures to be the odd man out after the Rays got Matt Joyce and just signed the other Gabe, Gabe Kapler.??? I know he is a left handed batter, but tell me what you think??
I think we trade for Gabe Gross and trade Luke Scott for pitching.............. very simliar players.... very similar return....
Hoff desivers to be the regular firt baseman,just pick up a dh.
Roch,
If we're going to trade Roberts (notice I said IF, I'd love to keep him but I keep hearing he's going to eventually be traded) would it make some sense to ask if Michael Young would consider moving to second? Or if Izturis would move to second? Buster Olney is saying that in order for Texas to get anything decent in return for him, they'll have to eat salary. If that is indeed the case, it would seem to make sense for us to replace Roberts with a relatively cheap Young. Either a 3 team trade or just deal with Texas. Thoughts?
What does Angelos have against Cuban defectors? I never heard before he opposed having them on the team.
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This goes back to when the Orioles traveled to Cuba for the exhibition game. - Roch
I think Adam Loewen's WBC performance is reason enough to discard any WBC stats as relevant. Kosuke Fukodome is reason No. 2.
Just read that Michael Young is owed 16 million per year for the next five years, and he's 32 now...no way the O's should even be talking to Texas unless that salary comes at a 50% discount.
Huff at 1st and Luke Scott/Montanez rotating for DH/LF is the best solution I have heard yet.
Hey Stubby, forget about picking up a bat. Can your dog pitch?
Didn't Danys Baez defect from Cuba?
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He did, though he didn't go directly to the Orioles. But he's on the roster, so that could be viewed as a sign that it's not as important to Angelos. - Roch
Rafael Palmeiro defected from Cuba as a child but Angelos had no problem signing him. Why does he have a problem with it now?
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I didn't say he did. It's not known whether he'd object to signing anyone who defects from Cuba and immediately signs with the Orioles. Palmeiro played for the Cubs and Rangers first. - Roch
Excellent siging in Zaun. The FO is continuing to impress this off season!
Rob,
Look at what Loewen did in his first 10 starts post WBC. I think he was 5-1 with a sub 3 ERA and then he hurt his (fore)arm! He was really throwing it! And Fukodome, it isnt that easy to adjust! I think we will see very shortly how difficult it is to adapt in your first year in the MLB!
In MacPhail I trust! Go O's!
and don't forget palmeiro, he's a defector also
i like Huff as everyday 1B.....he's gotta get serious about his
leather, though.
I wathced him play 3rd last year, and he just doesn't look that
smooth.
God, Angelos has so many damn rules that hinder the progress of this team.
1. Don't sign Cuban defectors (absurd).
2. Don't trade with Boston, NY, or DC.
3. Don't sign pitchers to long term deals.
4. Be anal-retentive about physicals.
5. Don't deal with Boras (until very recently).
It's like... at a certain point, the stubbornness gets in the way. You're basically saying to your fans, we won't do EVERYthing in our power to get better, we'll just do SOME things because of some ancient-by-now spite. What happened in Cuba anyway?
What do you think about the possibility of a trade to Cleveland for Ryan Garko? Have the O's looked into it? And what may the asking price be? Or would it be a better option in resigning Kevin Millar and hoping that Brandon Snyder can come up and be the future at first base? I've taken a look at 2010 free agents at first base and it looks pretty bleak, so they can't wait until next season to find a first baseman.
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You're right about the unimpressive 2010 class. The Orioles had some early interest in Garko, or at least discussed him as an option if they couldn't sign Teixeira, but I don't think it's progressed to anything serious. The Indians soured on him last year, but concerns over Travis Hafner's health might force them to keep him. A big year at Bowie will make Snyder a viable option in 2010. - Roch
So, Angelos doesn't want to offend a blood-thirsty dictatorship that for decades has been notorious for trampling on basic human rights. I, for one, was disgusted when he took the team to Cuba for what amounted to a great propaganda coup for the degenerates in power.
That was a coup perhaps unequalled until that other "useful idiot" Michael Moore made the film Sicko extolling their "free" healthcare, after gullibly being led around the island's showcase hospitals that Cuban leaders and foreign celebrities use, while never seeing the vile, unsanitary conditions at the clinics set aside for the vast majority of Cubans.
(For those who can stomach looking at them, see the photos on the linked page, smuggled out of that "workers paradise," to find out what socialist healthcare is really all about. If they were in the U.S., these facilities couldn't operate anywhere without getting shut down. http://www.therealcuba.com/Page10.htm )
As for Marti and Gomez, there was more to them leaving Cuba on a raft than just pitching in MLB. As revealed in the linked ESPN article below, a large part of their decision (like that of tens of thousands of Cubans before them who risked everything to flee from there) had to do with living under the oppressive Castro regime.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3826150&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines
Isn't it funny how whenever another team in baseball does something,it's supposedly an opening for the O's to move in in with a deal? No, the O's aren't going to do anything outside the box because that isn't who Mcphail is. He's an i dotter and a T crosser.That's why they call him McSnail.If the O's get any better it'll be because of osmosis not an impact plan drawn up on the warehouse wall.
When the Chicago Trib. says the O's are one of the most improved teams and McPhail is a top 10 GM ,it's time to raid their office to see what they're smoking.