Injury updates
I had the craziest dream last night that Bill Belichick went for it on fourth-and-2 from his own 28-yard line with 2:08 left and his team holding a six-point lead.
Must have been something I ate.
Maybe Belichick needs a bench coach. I hear Dave Jauss is still available.
I exchanged e-mails with Orioles manager Dave Trembley, and not to tease him about Notre Dame. He attended Saturday's Family FanFest in Sarasota, Fla., and had the opportunity to check on Nolan Reimold, Brad Bergesen and Adam Jones.
Here are the updates that he provided:
Reimold - The outfielder is pain-free after undergoing surgery to repair a partially torn Achilles tendon. He's on a "normal schedule" for off-season workouts.
Bergesen - The pitcher, still recovering from that line drive from Billy Butler that slammed off his shin, will begin his running program this week. He told Trembley again that he would be 100 percent for spring training.
Jones - The Gold Glove winner, who missed most of September with a badly sprained ankle, is "raring to go," according to Trembley. Jones will begin his off-season conditioning program Nov. 30 at the Athletes' Performance Institute in Arizona.
 |
Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
Roch,
A little random question but how many players do we have working out at API? I think I remember Roberts goes there too and it sounds like it has been very beneficial for the players that have gone there. Also, probably provides for extra bonding time for the team if a lot of players are spending their offseason working out together. Thanks!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I know Jones, Roberts and Matusz will be there. Will see if I missed anyone. - Roch
Good news all around! Now, let's go get a corner infielder with pop, an innings eating power pitcher with positive numbers, and a re-signing of Chad Moeller. "Ain't the Beer Cold!"
Timmyc811 commented about the facial hair rule, and that Angelos finally got rid of it. Did this happen? I didn't see anything about it.
Just wondering if this did happen, and if it did, that's great news. Let the players have some fun, and at least, just keep the hair trimmed. I think the players need to have some kind of an identity for themselves. We recognize certain players by their facial hair or the way they dress or whatever.
Anyway, did the Orioles actually get rid of the facial hair rule?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not that I'm aware of. - Roch
Great to hear they are recovering. Shore up the corner infield positions, a veteran starting pitcher, and some help in the bull pen. Go CORNHUSKERS!
I'm not doctor (but I play one on tv, nyuk nyuk nyuk) but is there something about Bergesen that the team doesn't talk about? The guy was hit by a line drive in July and he still hasn't starting running yet? Four months is an extraordinary amount of time for someone to recover from a bone bruise. Seems like broken bones heal faster than this injury.
With Miguel Cabrera's name popping up as possibly being available, he'd be a perfect fit. But the O's would have to outbid the Sox and others in a trade. Any idea if AM would be willing to part with a top prospect as part of the package for a hitter like that who is signed long term?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I find it hard to believe that the Tigers would trade him. I don't know MacPhail's thinking on this subject, and he's not going to discuss it, but he still doesn't want to part with the top pitching prospects that the Tigers would probably demand. The money owed Cabrera might also be an issue. - Roch
Roch,
There is a ESPN story on who will be the surprise team next year, and they have the Orioles. The story is in their insiders portion and I am not a member so I couldn't read it all, but I am sure they believe that because of the young talent we have already. Jones, Reimold, Wieters and the young pitching will have a full season and be better, some much better. " The future's so bright, I've gotta wear shades"
ah, odds of making a 4th and 2 (especially with that offense and that defense) are pretty high. Plus Indy still had to go 30 yards, not like it was a gimmie.
Get well, get well soon, we want you to get well... Get well, get well soon, we want you to get well...
The injury report looks very encouraging. Maybe we'll win the World Series now.
From Olney's blog RichD:
Trembley's take
The other day I spoke with an NL GM who is greatly impressed with what the Orioles are putting together.
"They have a chance to be the Rays (of 2008) in 2011," said the GM. "They've got a lot of talent."
I e-mailed Dave Trembley, the Orioles' manager, and asked him about the specific adjustments that players like Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Chris Tillman and others will need to make, going forward. His reply: "I was in Sarasota over the weekend for Orioles' fanfest, which was very well received. Jones, Nolan Reimold and Brad Bergesen were among those who attended.
"All the young pitchers need to command their fastball and locate their pitches, especially when behind in the count. I would expect to see significant improvement in these areas going forward.
"I like the outfield of Markakis, Jones, Reimold and Pie (who really played well the 2nd half of the season). Jones might have gotten somewhat home run conscious, and will get back to using the whole field and letting the pitchers walk him instead of chasing pitches out of the strike zone. He is a tremendous talent.
"I would expect Weiters to show us what he did the last month of the season, at the plate and in the way he threw and handled himself behind the plate. He threw out Carl Crawford in one game on back-to-back attempts, and hit over .300 the last month of the season. I can only imagine how fast the game must have been for him, learning the league, calling a game, working with a young staff and still getting four at-bats every night. He never showed any panic; he is a special player. He will benefit, as did Jones from his first year, and I would expect him to put up some very good offensive numbers next season. He had to learn how to adjust to being pitched to by major league guys night after night."
You know what the worst part of that Jags game was? Having Maurice Jones-Drew on my fantasy team and watching him put down a knee at the 1 yard line instead of walk into the end zone untouched. That was brutal.
off topic, but i saw buster onley projected the o's to be the surprise team of the league with the headline of 08 Rays= '10 O's. i couldnt see the whole article but was wondering if (since he covered the o's for a time) this speculation is legitimately considered among other baseball experts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I believe he's quoting an unnamed executive who compared the Orioles to the Rays. - Roch
Great blog Roch!
I can't believe Bergy is still feeling the effects of that line drive. I really hope he bounces back. He will be key in the O's being relevent next year.
As for Jones and Reimold, I really hope they can put together a full season next year. They are two special players.
What are your thoughts on redesigning the bullpen? Do you see Baez coming back?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't think Baez will be back. I'm still predicting that Uehara is the closer by the end of spring training, with Johnson back in a set-up role. Perhaps a young starter like Hernandez or Berken is used in long relief. - Roch
Here is Buster Olney's ESPN Insider interview with DT and a perspective of how the 2010/2011 Orioles can be like the 2008 Rays:
Trembley's take
The other day I spoke with an NL GM who is greatly impressed with what the Orioles are putting together.
"They have a chance to be the Rays (of 2008) in 2011," said the GM. "They've got a lot of talent."
I e-mailed Dave Trembley, the Orioles' manager, and asked him about the specific adjustments that players like Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Chris Tillman and others will need to make, going forward. His reply: "I was in Sarasota over the weekend for Orioles' fanfest, which was very well received. Jones, Nolan Reimold and Brad Bergesen were among those who attended.
"All the young pitchers need to command their fastball and locate their pitches, especially when behind in the count. I would expect to see significant improvement in these areas going forward.
"I like the outfield of [Nick] Markakis, Jones, Reimold and [Felix] Pie (who really played well the 2nd half of the season). Jones might have gotten somewhat home run conscious, and will get back to using the whole field and letting the pitchers walk him instead of chasing pitches out of the strike zone. He is a tremendous talent.
"I would expect Wieters to show us what he did the last month of the season, at the plate and in the way he threw and handled himself behind the plate. He threw out Carl Crawford in one game on back-to-back attempts, and hit over .300 the last month of the season. I can only imagine how fast the game must have been for him, learning the league, calling a game, working with a young staff and still getting four at-bats every night. He never showed any panic; he is a special player. He will benefit, as did Jones from his first year, and I would expect him to put up some very good offensive numbers next season. He had to learn how to adjust to being pitched to by major league guys night after night."
Since when did the Orioles invite Michel Hernandez to spring training? I don't know if you already mentioned him, but is he actually in the running for the backup catcher spot?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He's a candidate, but I still think it'll be Moeller. Keep in mind that they signed Robby Hammock last winter and we never saw him. - Roch
Matt Albers if your reading this, it might not be a bad idea for you to attend this camp as well.
Allan, thanks for the ESPN Insider post.
Roch and MASN, thanks for not charging us a fee for all the great insider info you provide us on a daily basis :)
btw, Patriots make 4th and 2 75% of the time with Brady. Odds of Colts scoring from 70 yards/30yards out means the math was in favor of going for it. Just because the play didn't work doesn't mean he wasn't playing the percentages.
Ben F - I know what you mean, and I lost my fantasy game 152-150 this week because of it. Man, that hurts!
Interesting article by Olney. I kind of wish he wouldn't print that, so that we could sneak up on people a bit more!
Here is some feedback for the guy who thought Texas didn't get anything in the Texiera trade with Atlanta courtesy of MLBtraderumors. I wish we had trades like that...that's right we did..the bedard deal!
Harrison has been hittable in parts of two major league seasons and he missed the second half of this season with an injury, but he's 24 and just two seasons removed from top prospect status.
Andrus hit .267/.329/.373 as a rookie this year and was one of the best defensive shortstops around, according to UZR. He just turned 21 in August.
Saltalamacchia hit .233/.290/.371 this year before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. He hasn't come close to actualizing the 25 homer potential he had a couple years ago and questions about his defense linger.
Feliz, 21, astounded in his major league debut this summer, striking out 39 and walking just eight in 31 innings. The incredible part? He allowed a mere 13 hits. He's not likely to sustain those rates, of course but he is a top prospect and could crack the team's rotation as soon as next year.
Jones has yet to play in the majors, but the 23-year-old struck out 11 batters per nine innings in the Rangers' system this year.
That's better than a "good haul." Without the Teixeira trade, the Rangers wouldn't have such a highly-regarded farm system and might not be as well-positioned to contend annually. Before the trade, the Rangers offered Teixeira $140MM to sign long-term. Looking back, they must be thrilled he didn't accept.
Aren't we coming up on the date the 40 man rosters have to be set or has that passed already?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's coming up. - Roch
Who cares about the facial hair rule? I rather win. The Yankees have the same rule and I agree with it. All we need and facial hair is not on the top of the Orioles' list. Altough, I still say we will not acquire any one via trade or free agent that ANYONE else wants. We will get the SAME retreads, once more. And the cellar dwellers will be there again! (NO Bays, Lackeys, or Figgins)
I had a very similiar injury to Bergys when I was in my late teens from a motercycle accident. Sever shin bruise! It is still numb there and gives me trouble. I coulda sworn he said the exact same thing like a month ago when we got the last report - "start running next week"!! OH OH!! I got a bad feeling about this. Like the other poster said - STILL unable to run at all - when they originally said "be back pitching the last 3-4 weeks of the season"!! UHH OHH! Let's keep our fingers crossed - I hope for the best but I got a bad feeling about this!!
This is unrelated but,
Hey Roch, did you know you have a page on baseballreference.com sponsored in your honor?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/piefe01.shtml
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the first time I've seen it. Thanks. And thanks to jackdunn'sbaby. I'm humbled...but only for a few seconds :-) - Roch
The Orioles Strength program needs leadership. I continue to hear about a guy in Arizona- who makes players throw harder- run faster and he increases starter endurance. He's apparently rehabbing Dallas MacPherson- and was the reason White Sox Pitcher Randy Williams added 4 mph to his fastball in 2009. I do not know who this is- but apparently he is with the marlins also. Why cant the orioles get a guy like this to come in and set up programs for their players? Why pay a premium for athletes then have nothing to make them better? It makes no sense.