What to do with the roster?
I fully expect Luke Scott to go on the disabled list with a left shoulder injury. He'll undergo an MRI later today, the Orioles will get the results Tuesday and we'll know for sure, but it didn't look or sound good after yesterday's loss.
Assuming that the swelling subsides in Lou Montanez's right thumb and he returns to the lineup, the Orioles must decide whether to bring up Nolan Reimold or Oscar Salazar. They seem to be the two logical options at Triple-A Norfolk. And as I wrote yesterday, Salazar might have the edge because the Orioles won't mind him sitting on the bench. They want Reimold playing every day in left.
Could he do it here? Absolutely. But that would limit Montanez's at-bats or make him the regular designated hitter. And I'm still not sure what's happening with Pie. He remains on the roster and he actually looked good yesterday - at the plate, in the field and on the bases. But he wouldn't have started without Montanez's thumb acting up again.
There's one other scenario if Scott goes on the DL: Rich Hill takes his roster spot and the Orioles go back to a 13-man staff.
Anyone else getting a headache?
Maybe Scott's injury turns out to be minor and he's listed as day-to-day, which would keep him on the active roster if Montanez is healthy by Tuesday. The Orioles can't proceed with a two-man bench. But it's more likely that Scott is sidelined for a while.
The rest is a lot harder to predict.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
I think it should be Salazar.
Roch- Quick question. Lets assume that the O's trade Huff at the deadline. Would Snyder skip AAA and take over at 1st? Or, will he probably already be at AAA? They have to see that he has pretty much done nothing but hit, hit, hit, since leading the fall league after the 07 season.
Wouldn't it be great if Rowell finally has figured it out? It would all once again go back to Jordan and Stockstill for switching him to the OF. I still say you have to look at the k/bb ration with hitters to determine the good ones. Rowell needs to work on that.
Anyway, your thoughts?
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I doubt that we see Snyder that quickly. - Roch
Roch- Oh, and about this post. Where it takes probably a good full 1 1/2 seasons before you can tell if a player is going to be MLB caliber, you can still get an idea early on if they are going to be a SPECIAL MLB player. All this switching around in LF is not doing anyone any good. If Reimold is who they think will be the everyday LF of the future, lets get him up here and get this thing moving.
Montanez is much better served as the DH.
That sac fly the other night had me baffled. I don't know if Lou thought Tex was not going to go or what, but that was terrible. Had Markakis been in LF, zaun could have caught the ball, tied his shoe, then stood up and still had time to tag out Tex.
The main reason I think Reimold is the real deal a la Markakis is, for instance look at his line at Norfolk. 1-2 db, 2BB.
17BB to 20Ks on the season. That is the key stat in a minor league hitter if you ask me. Patience. Selective.
One more thing Roch. As I check the results of the Delmarva game 1 yesteday, I wondered as I saw Zag toss 7 1/3 scorless 2 hitter with 8 k's. Will Matusz be the best player in the 2008 Draft for the O's?
Hmmmmm. It's a nice problem to have I suppose.
I'm going to predict that IF Scott does go on the DL, that it is Salazar who gets the nod. I agree that they want to keep Nolan playing everyday (no need to rush him up) and I'm sure they want to give Hill one more start in Norfolk before brining him up (he would replace Hendrickson and he pitches Tuesday). But lets all hope its nothing serious and Luke can be back by the start of the Kansas City series or at least the weekend.
On another subject, I think the Orioles are going to have to bite the bullet at some point and put Pie through waivers. He needs to be playing everyday and Norfolk would be perfect for him, so unless they start playing him they are going to have to bite the bullet and take their chances putting him through waivers. It is hard for Andy to have to think of giving up and possibly losing a player he had such high hopes for and tried to get for the last two years, but its not fair to keep someone on the big club when they are other players who deserve a shot more (Remoild).
Maybe Johnson needs to go back to AAA to re-learn how to get people out. Maybe he should be the one getting the MRI on his shoulder. He's not the guy we had last year. This BP is terrible. We have 7 guys in the bullpen, and I wouldn't trust any of them in a pressure situation, except maybe Beaz. Ray, Johnson, and Sherrill are a crap shoot. You can't win with a pen like that!
We should bring up Hill, move Hendrickson to the pen until another starter is ready. Than we can release Eaton.
Always interesting how the seasons play out. A certain Mr Ryan Freel could have been starting in left with Montanez serving as DH while Luke mends.
Not sure if it was the ADHD that was disclosed during Freel's short time here but looking at it now, we're only 5 weeks into the season. Jay Payton and Kevin Millar had the occasional squauk regarding their playing time over the years they were here but in the end things always seemed to work there way through.
I can't see them bringing up Reimold already.I'd love to see Salazar but still Wiggy will get the DH starts and that sucks.With Luke's injury and the game Pie has yesterday,I see him sticking around for the forseeable future.I can't see activating Hill but they could bring Albers back up.As far as I'm concerned,the O's biggest problem right now is middle relief and protecting leads.No way Johnson should have had to come in in the 7th inning yesterday.
The Ryan Freel saga continues.After not being able to start Friday because of a tight hammy,he sat in the corner of the dugout 4 innings trying to deal with how dissappoined he was. The he gets a pinch hit Sunday and gets picked off of 2nd. He's also getting grilled on his imaginary friend.
Options if Scott goes on DL -
Bring up -
Salazar
Reimold
Wieters
Moore (due to HR's and utility type player)
Hill
Options if Scott stays active -
Wiggington switches to DH, Montanez stays in Left, try to stick with Pie, Moeller and Andino on the bench.
Send McCroy back down to AAA and bring up Salazar for bench relief, however, bullpen would be stretched with only Sherrill, Ray, Johnson, Walker, Bass and Baez.
Roch,
Outstanding job of spelling out all the options before the O's. If the O's are that determined to play Reimold in LF when gets called up, and not DH him, then I guess Salazar is the man. However, I would play Reimold everyday (not caring so much about Nolan getting to play LF everday, just getting his bat up here and seeing he can continue to do what he's been doing at Norfolk) and platoon Pie and Montanez.
Against righties Nolan would DH against Pie would play LF.
Against lefties Nolan would play LF and Lou would DH.
However, going to 13 pitchers is an option, that while I'm not a proponent of, is probably something I hadn't thought of and is something the O's are probably considering. It's looking as though McCrory will get sent down or Eaton will get released when they call up Hill. The O's may not be ready to release Eaton just yet and McCrory is looking as though he is ready to help now.
I don't know. If it was up to me (and, of course, assuming Scott needs to be DL'd), I'd bring up Reimold, let him bat everyday and platoon Pie and Lou. Bring up Hill and Wieters and drop Eaton and Moeller.
my 2 cents.
Only one problem with bringing up Hill to go to a 13 man rotation. It seems that Hendrickson is more than penciled in for tomorrow's game against the Rays. Logically, Hill would start this weekend against the Royals. That means Eaton goes to the bullpen??? Can't see that happening.
Call up Hill and cut ties with Eaton. At this point we may even be able to get something for Eaton, like a Joey Gathright(lol). Also, bring up Reimold. Put him in leftfield almost everyday and let Pie and Lou share the DH duties with Wigginton.
For anyone thinking that Salazar is as good or better choice than Reimold, remember a few things.
This season is supposed to be about building for the future. Salazar is 31 years old(Reimold is 25) and was removed from the 40 man roster this past off-season. He had to clear waivers to be kept in the organization. Despite his numbers, if he had any real future in this organization, we wouldn't have signed Freel and Wigginton during the off-season.
Entering last season the Orioles brass stated that Reimold needed to stay healthy before he was promoted. He played the entire 2008 season and put up good numbers, especially so in the playoffs. He has been healthy in 2009 and his numbers have been even better.
We have many young, up and coming players in the organization. The message to these players should be clear. If you perform, you will be rewarded by being promoted to the big club. Brad Bergesen is a perfect example of such thinking. Though a veteran, Rich Hill has done everything the team has wanted and will likely join the rotation this week. There is no excuse for Nolan Reimold not being rewarded this week as well!
If Scott's replacement isn't Rich Hill, what pitcher gets the axe when Hill is called up this weekend?
Will the bell finally toll for Adam Eaton? You have to think it's either him or Bass and at this juncture, Bass is more valuable to the team.
OK Roch,
Now that the Advil has kicked in and my headache is gone I can start to contemplate some moves! How about this scenario: Luke to DL (which you aptly pointed out), Sweet Lou to the DL (don't like the "recurrence" of the injury and think it is worse than we are led to believe), bring up Nolan play him every day with Pie as the platoon. Hill is on his way. Our bench is the challenge right now.
Bring up Reimold and let Montanez DH. While their at it, bring up Wieters, too. That lineup would be scary! As for the weekend, Trembley was managing not to lose instead of managing to win. He shouldn't have wasted Baez Saturday with a 7 run lead, but he was scared to go with anyone else. Sunday, he had flashbacks of Koji getting hit hard in the 7th at Tampa. C'mon Dave, show some guts - every game is different! Didn't Koji's 1-2-3 sixth on about 8 pitches pass your "eyeball test"?
Without counting, I would say that at least half of the posters to the "Explaining the Koji Decision" blog suggested that Dave Trembley may not be the man for the job. I rarely find my self agreeing with Brummie, but I think he said it best with "Don't let the door hit you on the way out" and "this is how managers lose a team and it has begun".
Unfortunately, I think Dave has begun to lose the team and I believe that Brian Roberts is Exhibit A in the case against him. Take away his single to start the game yesterday and his performance was horrid. Swinging at ball four to start the 7th inning and barely jogging to first on the final out of the game wereless obvious signs than his lack of focus on Cervelli's goundball.
Roch, when asked about the effect that Millar's absence has on the clubhouse recently, you stated that Markakis and Roberts are not rah-rah guys(basically non-verbal). They had not and wouldn't be expected to replace Millar in that sense. I agree, but Brian's performance, or lack thereof is a strong message to everyone on this team. I love the guy and wanted to see him resign, but for $10 million a year we can expect him to run out every groundball and take over some leadership of the team. My conspiracy theory says their may have been a rift between player and manager when a few weeks ago Dave made some comment about the "little talk" he had with Brian. Brian seemed to know nothing about that talk when questioned after the game. His performance has been waning ever since.
Scott to DL, Salazar up.
Then you move Hendrickson to the pen, pitch Bergesen on regular rest Tuesday, Guthrie Wednesday, Eaton Thursday, Koji Friday, and Saturday you send down McCrory for Hill. Hill starts Saturday and you start skipping Eaton's turns on days off.
Book it!
Salazar is my pick, if for no other reason then he would pass through waivers when Reimold or Wieters is called up. A long shot would be Scott Moore if the Scott injury is long term.
A real easy decision. If this year is all about the "PLAN" then you bring up a player who is part of your future. Salazar is not a long term answer to the O's.
Lets see if Andrew has a "Plan"
But shhhhhh the decision is TOP SECRET.
No one can know until he says it is the right time to let the common peasants know.
You know, I find this whole lets send Pie down to the minors a bit rediculious. Yes he is batting like 183 or something, but guess what there is someone else on this team who is supposed to be a solid major leaguer with power who also isnt above the avg of 200. If anything Wiggington should loose playing time. He has shown that he has virtually no hands in the field, he isn't hitting, and he's not young. Sorry thats not a recipe for gaining playing time. He has 101 at bats on the season and thats 5th on the team. Pie has the 10th most amount of at bats at 60. I would love to see Nolan...in September. Let Salazar come up, and be the bench guy. I would just put Pie in the lineup, just let him play 5 of 7 days. Stop screwing around. You really don't know what you've got with him still. In his career he has 317 career at bats. Thats no where close to what you need to tell what someone is or isnt on the baseball field. Pie should not be sent down, and Montanez should be the one to be sent down come time for Nolan to come up. When you've got guys who are much younger coming up and already here, you aren't going to be a factor. Sorry lou, love ya but your future is with a different team, or as the 4th outfielder. Hope he does get better though, he is fun to watch.
Jeff T,
I agree with you on Pie, and not only that but I think it should be obvious to everyone that he looks better now than he did a month ago. When you are only playing 2 games a week, it's hard to make a dent in the numbers but he had 2 hits yesterday, reached base 3 out of 4 times, and in his start against Toronto also had a walk and a nice opposite field double. Yet some people don't even notice. Plus he looks much more comfortable in the field. I was at Thursday's game and two hits dropped right in front of Montanez. I thought to myself, Pie would have had those.
Why Pie is such a polarizing figure I'll never know. He's just the kind of guy most of the people here pull for. We traded for him, so let him play and see what happens.
I would want Reimold. I think Montanez is hurt worse than we are led to believe. Start Reimold in left and let Pie watch a little bit. I would like to see hendrickson demoted to the bullpen before letting eaton go. I don't think we can go with 13 pitchers. Our short bench yesterday came back to bite us in the 9th yesterday against Mariano when we had to bat the bottom of the lineup since Scott got hurt.
Bring up Wieters as the DH for the next two weeks. Have him sitting between Trembley and whichever catcher is not playing that day and observe and absorb. When Scott comes back, drop Moeller.
I don't think you'll see Weiters or Reimold until after the trade deadline.For that matter,Patton,Berken or Hernadez either. McPhail doesn't want to look like he's throwing in the towel already but he's fooling no one with keeping the geezers.The problem is he's going to face a fan revolt if he doesn't shake things up.They had no clue on offseason aquisitions except Koji and Cezar,had no plan for spring training and are dragging thier feet correcting roster flaws they have now.They have 3-4 bullpenners tht are only suited for blowouts and mop up duty.Nobody's claiming Salazar is a prospect but he'd be a better bat off the bench than we have now and give Huff a day off with LH pitching.
If Scott goes on the disabled list, then Reimold should come up and be the everyday LF for two weeks. Pie and Montanez can split the DH spot.
When Hill is ready, then McCrory goes down and Hendrickson goes to the bullpen.
Roch, can anyone on the roster other then Jones and Pie play CF? Can Reimold? If not then regardless of anything else it would seem they have to keep Pie around to back up Jones. Thanks for the good work, you keep those of us who cannot see Orioles baseball (thanks Time Warner!) in the loop.
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Markakis could do it, though the Orioles aren't going to move him. Montanez probably could do it. Reimold has played center. - Roch
What is wrong with Montanez at DH and Reimold in left field? Reimold is a much better fielder that Pie or Montenez. Those two can platoon at DH and Reimold (as you like to say) would be able to play every day in left field, and give the O's some much needed power from the right side of the plate.
Why not Moore to replace Luke's left-handed bat?
I still think we should bring up Salazar for the time being, let him a Ty DH and the bat off the bench. Ty is really killing us with his first pitch hacks. Definitely a good time to bring Oscar up, give him so AB's and give Ty a break to sort his swing out. He's better than this and Oscar, well he's a professional hitter and will fit in good with the team in whatever capacity they need him.
Excited about Rich Hill yesterday, can't wait to see if he can regain that 2007 form with the Birds. Roster crunch time, feels good to have some options and not just shuffling Fahey and Fiorentino back and forth.
it sucks to hear about scott he is a streak hitter and looked like he was in a streak
Bring up Nolan to be the everyday Left Fielder, Lou can slip into the DH spot and Pie can continue to be the 4th outfielder.
I know that we aren't expected to be competing for the playoffs this year and a couple weeks of good play to start the season didn't make me delusional enough to start thinking otherwise. But it would be nice to shake this feeling of feeling like the game is lost before it's even begun on most nights.
Nevermind, Moore's out of options, that doesn't make sense.
If it is Salazar, isn't he out of options & when Scott came back, wouldn't Salazar have to be DFA'ed to get him back to AAA thus possibly losing him? That is if they wanted to send him back.
Too bad about Montanez's thumb. He was hitting the ball hard & looking good.
roch on the orioles telecast hunter mentioned that roberts has been playing with a bad back. can you add anything to that report? if roberts needed some time off to recover, who would be the logical replacement for him?
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Andino is the backup second baseman. Roberts has dealt with back stiffness, and he had ice on his left knee before yesterday's game. But he obviously feels like he's healthy enough to play. - Roch
This injury crap is nuts....If Scott goes away for 15 dasy..I would do the bring up Salazar thing,...and also why wea re at it...scrap Eaton and bring back Hill.....but that won't hapen cause the O's just seem to like Eaton...
Roch- Whats the scoop on this Nate Nery kid?
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18th round pick out of Stetson Univ. in 2006. 7-3 with 3.39 ERA in 15 starts at Delmarva last year. I've never seen him pitch. - Roch
Put Pie on waivers, take that chance, but get him to Norfolk for playing time.
Bring up Reimold and let him sink/swim in LF; he'll swim.
Put Hendrickson in the bullpen for long relief; replace him in the rotation with Hill.
Salazar stunk the joint up last year, so logic would say, bring up Reimold. But according to Andrew, the kids aren't ready just yet. So we'll see Salazar getting one to two at bats per week and maybe used as a late inning substitution.
West Coast: You are right, Andrew did not give up the homeruns. But he decided to spend exactly 0 extra dollars on the bullpen this offseason. When you do not upgrade or fix something, it eventually falls apart.
Ryne Sandberg is going to look strange in the O's colors. But this organisation likes to hire people they are familiar with rather than people who are the best qualified. Pete knew Andrew from the labor talks in 2002 and was comfortable with his "Yes Man" attitude, so he hired him.
Andrew has worked with Sandberg, so I am sure Ryne will be the perfect "Yes Man" for the job.
I shouldn't even respond to the troll's response, but I don't remember Salazar "stinking it up." In fact, he hit .284 with 5 HR in just 81 AB's which is pretty good for a rookie.
I remember being upset when we sent him down. He's also not hitting too much less than Reimold at AAA... I think he's a perfect candidate to come up.
It won't happen but in reality Wigginton should get released or traded. He was a low risk move and like Freel is older and currently redundant if not an obstacle on our rebuilding team. For now bring up Salazar, give him 20 games and then bring up Hill, Reimold, and Weiters in June to give the team another jolt. Adios to Wigginton, Eaton, and Moeller (though I like Moeller). Salazar back down when/if Luke returns. However, given Wigginton's track record and the fact that another player will get hurt in the next two weeks I suppose he will be safe.
Wilfrido Perez has been lights out so far, Patton likewise, and Tillman's K/BB is better than anticipated. THese are good problems to have. I don't think we need to walk on eggshells with these guys. Some say, don't bring up Patton because of the injury. Do you think he is playing softoss at Bowie? A lot of times rehab actually does a better job of strengthening not only the injured areas but the supporting muscles. If he isn't complaining and med staff gives him the go-ahead, he needs to be in Baltimore as well.
Brummie I agree with you totally about the bullpen. We had a few that had "career years" thus Andrew told us nothing had to change instead of tweaking the loose parts.
On another note....
It is rediculous to give time to a career minor leaguer in Salazar over Reimold. Someone explain to me why he is not ready other then Andrew's BS about they need to mature. What can it hurt to bring him up and play him 5 days a week with Lou getting the other two. When Lou is not playing LF he is DH. Wiggy can share time with Huff 1 day a week and Mora 1 day a week and DH 2 days a week. If he dont like it, go join Freel. This is about continuing the process of getting the players ready who will be here 5 years down the road. Wiggy, Mora and maybe Huff wont be. Time to start the train. But who are we. The only opinion that mattes in Birdland is Andrews...and we see what he has done to us in the standings the last two years.
With Trembley, I was a big fan but unfortunately losing breeds turmoil and he will eventually fall to the side because of Andrews indecisivness.
Thanks Andy
Ryne Sandberg? For what position? Is he to lead the search party for the missing Mike Flanagan? Did I miss something this weekend? I was out playing ball, not watching TV...
What's next AM, Ernie Banks or Billy Williams?
Brummie Oriole - Salazar hit 2 PH HR's last year? Do you even watch the games?
Well I just can't wait to see Nolan come up to the show. But if it means he won't play everyday like team wants him to then I guess Salazar is coming up. Hope Luke injury isn't serious at all.
What about Gathright? (spelling?)
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You spelled it correctly. I don't see him as a bat off the bench (like Salazar) or an everyday left fielder (like Reimold). - Roch
BRUMMIE, maybe you should look at stats before you make ignorant accusations.
Salazar did NOT stink up the joint last year. In fact, he had 5 home runs, 15 RBI, batted .286, and walked 13 times in only 81 AB. Learn about baseball before you open your mouth, chump.
Like many others, I don’t get why Koji was removed after 6 innings and just 94 pitches yesterday. At this point of the season, and considering the other pitchers in the rotation, Koji and Guthrie need to go 7 innings (or at least come out to start the 7th) when they’re pitching well or even just average. It’s even more necessary when you have someone like Adam Eaton struggling to get through 5 with a huge lead, which then requires the team to use 3 relievers when they have a sizable lead (which seems wasteful). The two best starters on the team who aren’t young kids should be taking on innings.
I understand the nature of today’s game where starters rarely complete games and the bullpen has become so specialized. The problem is, the more you go to your bullpen, the more likely you are to bring in a pitcher who’s not going to have a good game. If you bring in 3 pitchers, one of them is bound to not have his best stuff. The O’s have some good arms in the pen, but let’s face it, overall, the talent isn’t there to have go-to guys for every game like good teams such as the Red Sox have.
The defensive and base running lapses just seem to be more of the same from previous seasons. It’s frustrating to see the young guys do it but you remain hopeful that they’ll learn. It’s inexcusable to see the veterans do these things on a regular basis. They should be the ones holding things together, particularly when you are and will continue to be banking on younger players for more playing time.
As JPA indicated, the pitching, the defense, and the base running as we’ve seen them thus far will be what sends Trembley packing. It’s not all his fault, of course, and he manages in the most unforgiving division in baseball, but he’ll be the one who ultimately pays the price for it.
Ryan said:
One more thing Roch. As I check the results of the Delmarva game 1 yesteday, I wondered as I saw Zag toss 7 1/3 scorless 2 hitter with 8 k's. Will Matusz be the best player in the 2008 Draft for the O's?
Hmmmmm. It's a nice problem to have I suppose.
Matusz, by being the #4 overall pick, *should* be the best player in the '08 draft for us. That's kind of obvious. However, keep in mind that (1) not all high draft picks work out, and (2) Steve Melewski wrote last week in response to a question of mine that Oliver Drake, a 40-something'th round pick out of Navy, would have been a top 10 pick had he been at a baseball school. We got him so low because the Orioles were one of the few that knew he hadn't officially committed to the Navy (he was a draft-eligible sophomore). He's been pretty dominating himself.
Any thoughts on Walker being traded or removed to make room for Hill? He hasn't shown much the past two season and is "not part of the future." Hendrickson would be the lefty in the pen when Hill comes off the DL. Just a thought...
yes, Oliver Drake was a steal indeed, we really lucked out on him AND we even PAID him like a higher round prospect.
If I recall correctly, the O's currently have 39 players on their 40-man roster. Calling up Salazar (who is not on the 40-man, since he was removed and passed thru waivers this spring) would require putting him back on, thus bringing us to 40 again.
I get the feeling that's the move, for that reason.
~~~A real easy decision. If this year is all about the "PLAN" then you bring up a player who is part of your future. Salazar is not a long term answer to the O's.
Lets see if Andrew has a "Plan"
But shhhhhh the decision is TOP SECRET.
No one can know until he says it is the right time to let the common peasants know.~~~~
Again you prove that you are not a fan, merely a troll saying things for aggravation factor not out of any great store of baeball knowledge. It has been explained to you ad nauseum that the plan is to NOT risk the future by being forced to bring the future up faster than they are ready. You have been told this over and over. Roch has repeatedly told you that Andy never said these things that you think you heard him say. And yet once again you pretend that you arent aware of this and declare that if the team does not do EXACTLY the opposite of their plan, it has no plan. So again you prove you are not the voice of reason, not some baseball savvy svengali, but merely a common every day troll getting perverse sexual pleasure from aggravating real baseball fans.