Last words of the day
I wanted to pass along pitching coach Rick Kranitz's opinion of Hayden Penn's performance today in Jupiter.
In case you need a reminder, Penn allowed two hits and struck out three in two scoreless innings.
"Hayden threw the ball real well," Kranitz said. "His breaking ball was very good. His fastball, I don't know what his velocity was, but that's good. He's on the right track. That was good. Very encouraging."
Felix Pie had a full day in his first start in center field. He struck out in his first at-bat, walked his next time up and was thrown out trying to steal, and singled in the fifth inning. He also cut down a runner at the plate.
That's a lot for a guy who was supposed to be the designated hitter.
Jake Arrieta is looking like a man among boys, and I say this because he's constantly referred to as "a man" in camp despite his youth and inexperience. He retired all three batters he faced on two grounders and a strikeout. He's impressing everyone, but he's not making the jump from the Carolina League to Camden Yards. That goes against everything the Orioles have been preaching.
They don't want to rush any of the prospects, but if a young pitcher forces them to re-think their position, it will be Brad Bergesen, who is regarded as a little more advanced. And he's still an incredible long-shot.
Arrieta likely will be assigned to Double-A Bowie. And I'll be shocked if he isn't in Baltimore by September. He's moving quickly.
You can play against everyone or create your own league - and it's Free!
 |
Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
With all these guys supposedly coming up after the all star break and particularly in september, some of these new pitching acquisitions (Pauley, Hendrickson, and the like) are basically going to be out of a job, if Pauley even gets one to begin with. Here's oping Hill and Penn get it this year and we have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball in 2010 when Tillman, Matusz, Arrieta and Bergeson force MacPhail's hand. But that will be a good thing. Walker, Hendrickson, and Baez will be gone after this season, so that's a good thing.
Hopefully Huff continues to have success and either the O's get a good return in a trade or re-sign him to a good deal. And Pie doesn't overrun too many balls in left field...j/k, i doubt he will, he just got excited today probably
The best thing about the O's so far is that they seem to be cutting down on the walks. I hope they can keep that up.
I was just looking at the all-time O's roster on the team website. (I used to have a life.) I noticed that they're including St. Louis Browns players.
How long has that been going on? And why? Does the St. Louis Browns Fan Club know?
I always liked Ned Garver. Ned is a friendly name.
But Satchel Paige on the all-time O's roster?
Roch,
What's going on with Dennis Safarti, I haven't heard much about him. When might we see him pitch?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sarfate looked good in his bullpen sessions. I'll check the pitching schedule. - Roch
Yet the Brownie's records do not show up in the O's individual records listings on the O's team site.
More from the Browns Fan Club Blog:
Browns Players Still Hold Team Records After 55 Years
Team records for the Baltimore Orioles are mostly held by players from its earlier history as the St. Louis Browns. Here's a quick rundown on some key areas.
Single Season Records
Home Runs: Brady Anderson 50, 1996
Runs Batted In: Ken Williams 155, 1922 (Browns)
Batting Average: George Sisler .420, 1922 (Browns)
Hits: George Sisler 257, 1920 (Browns)
Runs: Harlond Clift 145, 1936 (Browns)
Doubles: Beau Bell 51, 1937 (Browns)
Triples: Heinie Manush 20, 1928 (Browns)
Stolen Bases: Luis Aparicio 57, 1964
Hitting Streak:
Walks: Lu Blue 126, 1929 (Browns)
Wins: Urban Shocker 27, 1921 (Browns)
Saves: Randy Myers 45, 1997
Strikeouts: [[Rube Waddell 232, 1908 (Browns)
Earned Run Average: Barney Pelty 1.59, 1906 (Browns)
Arrieta, Tillman, Matusz, Bergesen, and Hernandez--good stuff for the Orioles' future.
But the question is if Arrieta and Bergesen are in the O's rotation by September, who gets kicked out? And what about Tillman, Hernandez, Penn, etc.?
I constantly hear that Bergesen's stuff just wont translate to the majors. Mainly because of a low K/IP rate. You seeing anything down there that makes you think he could be a decent number 3-4 starter. Or do you just see a number 5/long relief type?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Orioles are hoping that he won't be needed as a 3 once Tillman, Arrieta and Matusz are ready (plus still having Guthrie in the rotation). But he throws strikes and fields his position. He has a shot to be in the rotation somewhere. It's just way too soon to start projecting. He hasn't pitched about Double-A. - Roch
Roch, When do we start learning some Japanese words? I haven't seen any in this School Of Roch since Koji was signed. Wasn't that what our teacher said we'd be doing? .....sayonara.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I submitted 5-6 of them in a recent entry. - Roch
Very much a day of praise for the young guys..nice to hear..especially Penn...guy needs a break...Pie will probably be like Jones as the year goes along...just gets better...and Arrieta...gotta love that for the future.
Dog gone it. I guess I fell asleep in class again. Sorry teach, I'll try and pay more attention. Glad were not being tested in here. ...arigatou gozaimasu.
Is the Orioles philosophy about not bringing young pitchers up a confidence thing? I understand it to a certain degree, but doesn't Arrieta pitching in Beijing count at least as AA or AAA experience?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think it's more about not rushing them and making sure they're ready. - Roch
Wow! it's not unusual to have new hope in Spring, but it is unusual to have so many options among starting pitching and the outfield.
Some of this is wishful thinling. For example, Rich Hill becomes a solid starter and Felix Pie establishes himself in left field. However, we have legitimate options at the major league and minor league levels. Wow, it's been a long time since we could say that. We also have a considerable number of options at DH, both now and down the road. We could do a lot worse that to have Brandon Snyder hitting out of the DH.
I am actually worried about what we will do with all of those young pitchers come up. Again, Guthrie and Uthera are the real deal. Hill finds his control, Matusz, last year's Double A boys, and Arietta. barring injury the Inn will be full.
What a nice problem to have.