So what happens to Pie?
It doesn't appear that Felix Pie is a few days away from hitting the waiver wire.
If only he could hit something.
Judging by hitting coach Terry Crowley's comments to MASN's Amber Theoharis earlier today, the Orioles are inclined to sit Pie more often, rather than play him regularly against right-handers.
"We thought he had the tools in spring training and we've given him a shot here, but any young player, you look at all the good ones we have, it takes a long time to learn at this level," Crowley said. "It's not easy. If we were in instructional league or A ball or Double-A, I could tell him some things and he'd be able to take it right into the game. But pichers at this level don't allow you to get on a roll.
"He's coming around. He's hit some balls good. Unfortunately, they've caught them. That has a way of working on a young guy's mind.
"I'm not so sure he's going to be playing on a regular basis anymore. We might take a step back and let him get his feet on the ground. That's up to Dave (Trembley) and Andy (MacPhail)."
Pie, who's batting.157 with one homer and two RBIs, could wind up as the fourth outfielder if the Orioles bring up Nolan Reimold from Triple-A Norfolk. That way, they wouldn't have to expose him to waivers or force him into the lineup. Lou Montanez could play every day for the Tides, rather than sit on a major league bench.
I'm not rooting for that scenario. I'm just saying it's an option.
If the Orioles decide that Pie isn't suited for that type of role, or that he'd balk at it and become disruptive, they can put him on waivers and try to outright him. And if another team claims him, so be it.
It's not like he's lacked opportunities with the Orioles. They've exhibited a lot of patience. They don't want to pull the plug after a month, but it's time to try something else.
Maybe a view from the dugout is just what Pie needs at the moment.
If not, then maybe it's a different uniform.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
"I'm not so sure he's going to be playing on a regular basis anymore. We might take a step back and let him get his feet on the ground. That's up to Dave (Trembley) and Andy (MacPhail)."
If it's up to Andrew, Pie will be inking a 10 year $100m contract in the next two weeks. Let's hope Dave's words are loud enough to get through to Andrew before he gets replaced by Ryne Sanberg next month.
"If not, then maybe it's a different uniform."
See my previous post. Trade Pie to the Nationals for all their top prospects. They'll think they just saved their season and added 100 runs to their lineup.
Pie to the Nats in 2009. YES WE CAN!
Roch, now that the O's have played everyone in the AL East and the season is a month old, how do you see this division unfolding? And where do you see the O's fitting into the picture?
Is 3rd place a viable option?
I know it's still early but your opinion counts for a lot.
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Boston, Tampa (wild card) and NY are top 3. I think Toronto falls back to the pack. Rotation and bullpen are a mess. That lineup is OK, but it doesn't scare anybody. Nice start for them, but they'll fade. Could end up in last place. - Roch
I know a lot of people are roasting MacPhail for the Pie disaster, but let's take a moment to praise Adam Jones!
I've felt for some time that Pie is a 4th outfielder. It would be tempting to put him on waivers and see if he passes through; I don't envy the person making that call. On the other hand, he's had multiple seasons in the minors. Not so sure what's left for him to prove down there.
I'm glad to see Montanez getting a chance. I think him and Reimold splitting LF/DH duties might be a good projection of our future. I've been really impressed by Lou's outfield defense this year, and while I haven't seen Reimold play, I've heard good things about his defense as well.
Getting Lou playing time everyday has it's merits, but so does having him as the 4th Of'er. Win Win. I think Pie makes it through waivers at this point, maybe not this week, who knows?
AJ deep again, sweet.
Funny that both B_O and jack keep saying Ryne Sanberg instead of Sandberg.
Word for the day - Arrogance.
Brummie - Mortage . . . . is British for???
Part of the Plan was to bring in Adam Jones. How's that working out?
Jack - The team is 9-14. We've played some of the best teams in baseball to start the season. How is that imploding? Also, name one young pitcher, with value, who has been in the minors five years? Four?
I don't know how they could give up so early? we're not playing for anything but next year. Im more interested in who goes Moeller or Zaun? Zaun hanst hit worth anything and when Wieters comes up we only need one of them. I wish we could move an outfielder for some sort of spare arm.
And we were singin', "Bye bye Mr. Felix Pie"
There isn't enough talent at the majors or minors to make this a winning team so I'm not sure why everyone is that upset with the losing streak. This is a 90 loss team, give or take a few.
I do think fans have a right to criticize the Orioles for some stupid decisions. One is from your comments earlier this morning where Stockstill mention that Reimold hasn't played LF much. I think numerous people here (well, ok, at the Sun blog) mentioned last year that it made no sense to have your best (I'm guessing) OF prospect playing the same position as Markakis when there was an obvious hole in LF.
That made no sense whatsoever.
Nolan! Nolan! Nolan!
Nick has got such a gun. Not looking good for Bergs in the 2nd after a tremendous 1st inning.
I don't see what good Pie would be on the bench,a glorified pinch runner or defensive replacment. If Nolan does come up eventually you won't need to replace him the the field in the 9th inning.Then you still have the Freel issue to deal with.O's also have to make a pitching move with Hendrickson at least. Tom Davis and Dave Johnson says Bass as the replacement.I guess while they stall for Hill. Hate to sound like a broken record but I'd rather see Patton after two more starts in the minors.
Pie has not even shown enough to be a good bench player. His base running and defense need improvement as well. I think Terry Crowley made it clear by his comments that Pie needs to be in the minor leagues-AA at best. He should clear waivers because it is unlikely that any other team will want him on their major league roster. He may be out of options but I don't know why the club has to act as if they are out of options when Nolan is playing so well.
Must be an extremely tough decision between putting a competitive team on the field and trying to ready the prospects so they can contribute when they get here. I do not envy McPhail and Trembley. It must be even tougher when you hear and read all the stupid comments from dummass fans who think two weeks is a good yardstick for measuring someones ability. Remember the last couple of years when the O's started off real well? They died in August. I would rather see them start off crappy in April (like the Yankees always do)and come on strong. Love your Blog but am starting to not read the responses from certain know-it-alls.
Any reason the O's haven't put Pie on waivers yet? They can always take him off if some team tries to claim him. And if he clears, he clears! Even if MacPhail was concerned about Pie's psyche, he can't really play much worse, right?
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They can't pull him back if another team claims him. - Roch
So much for the idea that Pie was going to get his 500 ABs just like Jones did. If the goal isn't to look towards the future anymore but to try and be just mediocre enough to lose games competitively, then why is Zaun still here? Obviously Moeller is a significant upgrade offensively. Why is Montanez still here? He's had his 20 at bats and has looked lost at the plate. Why is Wigginton still here? He keeps waddling out there and hitting outs, and can I tell you how glad I'm not watching him play bullfighter with groundballs at 3rd base anymore. Why is Sherrill still here? He has been terrible, and he was terrible last year if anyone cared to notice. Let Baez close. Let Ray close. Let Johnson close. Not that it matters. But if the Orioles are going to screw around with my head again, and go with this "going 71-91 is better for our fans and our organization than going 62-100" mindset, then wake me up next season. I've had my fill over the last 11 seasons of a team and organization that refuses to admit that things aren't working and blow up the team.
I guess Hendry, Piniella and the Cubs aren't so stupid after all. Come on, the Cubs went and got Joey Gathright - the worst CF last year in the league defensively and an horrendous hitter with no power (the worst slugging % for all OFers) and let Pie go. I've stated many times - Pie is a big bust, he is worse than Patterson in all aspects of the game (fielding, hitting, base running, slugging, etal). Nolan Reimold totally outplayed Pie in Spring Training and opened a lot of eyes nationally as well. Lou Montanez outplayed Pie and even in his 20 ABs - he is outhitting him. Crowley states Pie should be in AA - pretty damning for such a "talented" guy.