Trembley on Hendrickson
Orioles manager Dave Trembley is glad to have left-hander Mark Hendrickson back in his bullpen.
Trembley talked about Hendrickson's value as the 2009 season closed, and his opinion hasn't changed. This is a signing that he endorsed from the beginning - one that will become official later this week.
"Glad to have Hendrickson," Trembley wrote in an e-mail. "He did well last year as a left-handed guy out of the bullpen. He can pitch in long relief or late in the game as a situational type. I would expect him to be a long man at this point heading into spring training, but he has versatility and that helps our entire pitching staff. Very positive influence in the clubhouse and will be another veteran presence for the team."
The Orioles could have a lefty-righty long relief combo. David Hernandez and Jason Berken are candidates for the bullpen after making up part of the rotation last season.
Switching topics, The Babe Ruth Museum has announced that University of Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen, former World Figure Skating Champion Kimmie Meissner and United States Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long will be among the special guests for "Babe's Birthday Bash" on Feb. 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards.
In addition to celebrating Ruth's birthday, the museum will present Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis and his wife, Christina, with the 2010 Babe Ruth Museum Community Service Award for their work with "The Right Side Foundation."
Tickets to the event are $45 each for museum members, $55 each for the general public and $60 each at the door on the night of the event. They're available by calling 410-727-1539 or visiting www.BabeRuthMuseum.com
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
Glad to hear Trembley learned to work the internet machine
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He's good at it. Just don't ask him to text. - Roch
Roch,
Had lunch today @ the Glory Day's near Marley Station Mall and who was sitting at the bar non other than Eric Milton.. He did not hide the fact that Camden Yards was his favorite ballpark and is holding out hope that the Orioles will give him an invite to Spring Training.. I would assume there is a connection as McPhail was present in Minnesota when he was there. He most likely traded for Milton from the Yankees for Knoblauch, Correct?? What do you think??
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You recognized Eric Milton? Unless he's already heard from the Orioles, he probably shouldn't get his hopes up. I didn't even know he was healthy enough to pitch. But he went to the Univ. of Md., so I wish him well. - Roch
Andy Said.....
"I think we are satisfied that we filled in the spots where we felt we needed help," MacPhail said. "We are happy with how it has played out."
Look at how the other teams in the AL East offseason went...and look at ours. This my friends is why we are perennial losers. But Andy is happy with how it played out....AMAZING!
Roch,
He said he has been working out this off season with several players from the Baysox. He also said Philly was an option. He was the honorary team captain at last weekends Terps vs. State game @ Comcast. Go Ridgeway!! I was there with you..
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It saddens me to drive past Ridgeway, since it's a different building that's closer to 170 than the old one. Wish I had gotten a brick when they tore down the original. - Roch
Look at how the other teams in the AL East offseason went...and look at ours. This my friends is why we are perennial losers.
Please, let's look. The Yankees have to replace an outstanding year from Johnny Damon, and a very good year from Matsui. They got Granderson - a very nice trade for them - and Nick Johnson, a huge injury question mark. Melky Cabrera is now gone, so Brett Gardner is a full-time player. The other point to consider is that up and down that lineup, just about everybody had a better year than could be expected (seriously, Posada, Matsui, Arod, all returning from significant injuries, all perform very well for full seasons?). In all, the Yankees offense will be worse in 2010. Vazquez was another nice pickup, but do you expect the aging Andy Pettitte to repeat his 2009? How about A.J. Burnett? Don't get me wrong, they are still the team to beat but I'm certain we will finish closer to the Yankees in 2010 than we did in 2009.
The Sox? They lost Jason Bay, and replaced him with Cameron. Scutaro will provide more offense than their 2009 collective, but he had a career year in 2009 and won't be as good in 2010. Lackey does bolster an excellent rotation. On balance, I think they've improved but not by much.
What about the Rays and Jays? Did they improve greatly?
I'm admittedly lukewarm on our position player moves. I see them as treading water. But we'll be better thanks to improving young talent like Wieters, Jones, Reimold, and Pie, and established talent like Markakis and Roberts. Millwood was a nice pick-up, not too far different than Vazquez or Lackey. I think we probably overpaid Gonzalez, but I like the move: lefty, good results, demonstrated ability both setting up and closing.
I hope when the Orioles perform well as MANY of us here expect, I hope the negative naysayers just disappear. Maybe you can go find a team and become GM so we can see how it's done. I only hear comparison to the money teams and not the majority of teams that are like us.
Roch-
Leslie Anderson anyone? Its not like we are totally stacked with 1b on the farm. In fact, as far as our farm has come, we are still very very thin at position prospects. Anyone who hit 381, and is being called a RICH mans Alexei Ramirez, has to be good for the O's.
I also, just don't see how Brian Matusz could POSSIBLY be ranked lower than Dustin Ackley on the top 100 espn list.
To me, that 1 mistake makes the whole list suspect.
I get Heyward, and I even get Strassburg despite him not pitching yet.
But, how in the world can Ackley, who hasnt played be ahead of Matusz who went from minor to major in 1 seasons, winning his last what 4 decisions?
What a joke.
I also don't see how Arietta, dominating for the most part of 2 seasons, could be way down at what 81, behind so many players who haven't even put on a uniform yet.
Has Paul given up on masking the fact that he's clearly Jack? Has Roch given up on caring?
If both of the above are true, why haven't I given up yet? I suppose it's about time.
Paul,
Please tell me how the off season went for the other AL East teams. Please enlighten us. Granderson is not as good as Adam Jones, Reimold is better than Winn. Boston has Hermedia for Left, Reimold is better. Our outfield is one of the best in the AL period. If you don't see that.... well, being Nestor, or his lackey, you hate everything Orioles.
Paul,
I personally think that the O's had a pretty good offseason. Let's be honest, this team will go as far as the starters take them, but we have plenty of young talent to be excited about. This offseason was about supplementing the young guys with veterans such as Millwood, Tejada, Atkins and Gonzales.
Just who exactly should the O's have picked up that a. wanted to play here or b. made financial sense? As many other O's fans, Im excited to see how young starters like Bergeson, Matusz and Tillman perform, as well as as the progress of future stars such as Jones, Weiters, Reimold.
I, among others...meaning National baseball writers think we have done pretty good this offseason. So tell me again Paul how you plan to NOT get banned this time around? Idiot.
Good Ole' Eric Milton, now that would seriously be an interesting minor league contract.
Roch, I know how you love that Amstel commercial but if you lived in Baltimore City you would be treated to these gems. Your guaranteed to see these at least twice during each game. Check'em out. Hysterical.
http://barryglazer.com/commercial.htm
These are awesome!!!
Paul..........................c'mon.........REALLY???
So the Yankees lost Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera, & Xavier Nady.
» H Matsui: .344 vs. BOS, .373 vs. TOR, .289 vs. TAM in 2009
» Damon: Clutch Career... .296 with w/ RISP, 7 playoff appearances this DECADE.
» Cabrera: .298 RISP in '09, .304 career BA vs. Red Sox & he was 25 yrs old, played with a BIG TIME fire, he made opponents know it's over when he was up in the high leverage situations (.307 career BA in High Leverage).
» Nady does work when healthy. .305 BA, 169 H, 25HR, 97 RBI, .867 OPS in 2008
It's hard to believe the Yankees are going to be the same team they were last year in my mind. A lot of their fans are starting to want what we've got. Young talent - and loads of it. Go look on the NYY.com forum, they're preparing for 3rd place or worse after losing Damon, Matsui, & Melky.
PAUL YOUR OUTTA YOUR MIND CHILD; OPEN YOUR EYES & LESSEN YOUR JAWBONE:
Orioles Lost: Danys Baez, Radhames Liz, Chris Ray, Bob McCrory, Chris Waters, Jamie Walker, Sean Henn
O's Got: Tejada, Atkins, Gonzalez, Millwood, soon to be Bedard
Yankees lost: J Damon, H Matsui, M Cabrera, X Nady, B Bruney, I Kennedy, P Coke, C Ransom
Yankees Got: J Vazquez, C. Granderson, Nick Johnson, Randy Winn - That's horrible ask any Yankee fan.
Red Sox lost: Jason Bay, Billy Wagner, Alex Gonzalez, Takashi Saito...GONE, GONE, GONE & GONE
Red Sox got: John Lackey, Mike Cameron(37), Marco Scutaro
Blue Jays lost: ROY HALLADAY - NO LONGER IN THE AL EAST, Marco Scutaro, Brandon League, Joe Inglett
Blue Jays got: Alex Gonzalez & former O's pitcher Sean Henn
Rays Lost: Akinori Iwamura (I average just 178 hits/635 AB), Gregg Zaun too
Rays Got: Kelly Shoppach, Rafael Soriano, Gabe Kapler (HUGE IMPROVEMENTS, not.)
If you still cannot see the distinctions, YOU are the only one to blame.
This my friend is why YOU are a perennial loser. Your drowning in your pathetic negativity & everyone truly thinks you're a schizophrenic. Brummie/Jack/Paul PLEASE get some counseling, b/c I am actually concerned about your mental Illness....Omazing.
Email me at ExpertVisual@gmail.com.
Hi Roch - Back from some great skiing in Colorado. Wow two signings while I was in the hinderlands. Pleasanty surprised about Tejada being resigned. Expected Hendrickson a month ago. Just caught up reading all your posts of the past week. So Bedard next?
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Not anytime soon. - Roch
Roch,
I've always liked seeing players with a local connection on the Os. Maybe Milton will get a chance to play here. I would have liked to see Brian Jordan play here, too late now.
Baldy
They could always bring Milton on for batting practice. I was wondering did the Orioles already concede a spot for Mark Hendrickson? They had to let Denis Sarfate go when Miguel Tejada was brought back, does someone else have to leave now that Hendrickson is back?
And IF that be the case any chance that AM has a trade in mind where he would send a 2 for 1 or something of that nature or is the team pretty much set?
Because I really believe the Twins are anxious to get Joe Mauer inked up long term but them being a small market team they MIGHT have to move Justin Morneau in order to do so, and IF Im the Os and AM Id be more than tuned into that development.
OFF TOPIC: Did you hear about Vito Frabizio? What do you think of him?
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Only know him from Steve Melewski's blog entry. - Roch
McPhail has actually made some good moves this off season,alot better than last year's anyway. Spring training should be a lot more organized with the new bench coach running it.The lineup 1-8 seems pretty potent if they live up to expectations. Whatever the rotation winds up being,should be better than last years.I think both Tillman and Matuz are a stretch to make the OD rotation because both needs some more seasoning and working on pitch counts.You couls ruin these guys mentally if they're sent back down after a month.
Even with the roster improvement,the big question with me is can they overcome the culture of losing of the past ten years. if they don't show signs of shaking that and finding a way to win instead of losing,then Trembley should have a short rope. The payroll has to be around $80 million so you can't blame the lack of spending by McPhail/Angelos.This is still going to be a fairly old team despite all the hype about the kids.
Trembley has to start showing some fire on winning. Making out the lineup card and sitting on the bench isn't enough.Who's the number one key player in turning things around this year? There's a lot of players to choose from including Miggy,Millwood,Adkins,jones etc. but to me it's matt weiters. His signs of improvement in Sept. showed some level of adjusting..If we can get 80 RBI's out of the catching spot we can make a huge jump in the standings.The O's were actually winning the first month or so last year with the 3 stooges batting 7-8-9.
I like who we picked up, just can't understand those walk up ticket prices. It's unfair.
Paul said:
Andy Said.....
"I think we are satisfied that we filled in the spots where we felt we needed help," MacPhail said. "We are happy with how it has played out."
Look at how the other teams in the AL East offseason went...and look at ours. This my friends is why we are perennial losers. But Andy is happy with how it played out....AMAZING!
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I am amazed at how many people are so green that they actually parse PR statements as if they meant something. I bet Paul thinks Obama really wants a bipartisan approach to healthcare to just because he said so. Or that Hendrickson is just thrilled to take a paycut to come back to Baltimore. Or that Miggy truly believes he can't play short any more and is just peachy about moving to third. Maybe Paul thinks Miggy would have said "I cant believe coming back here is my only option, moving to third sucks but hey . . . $7M is $7M" if that is how he really feels. uh huh, sure he would. Maybe Paul thinks bipartisan approach to healthcare doesn't really mean "Shut up and vote for my bill"? And no doubt Hendrickson really meant "it was an easy decision to turn down more money from a team that is a good shot to win the world series because of the easy commute to camden yards". Uh huh . . .
How can the nattering nabobs of negativity hear overhyping of prospects where it doesn't exist but not read between the lines of a PR statement?
I was not impressed by the signing of Mark Hendrickson last year, but I wanted him to come back as he showed he can be a useful part of our bullpen.
This team appears to be better than last year and I am pretty sure this will translate into more wins as the young players continue to get more experience and get better. I don't know whether we will be above .500, but we will definitely give it a shot.
I am going to Seattle in April to watch the series against the Mariners and I hope I will also visit Baltimore at some point in the summer for a home series. I guess Orange Kool Aid is our favourite drink here in London!
Paul: I could not agree more.
Other teams made POSITIVE offseason moves.
The O's signed a .226 hitter and a convicted criminal and then took 3 months to resign a guy who WANTED to be back here.
Sure seems like Andy's plan is looking a lot like the dark years in Cubland.
But Andy is satisfied with the off season, so it must have been a success.
"nattering nabobs of negativity "
Wow, a Ted Agnew reference! I liked him. He sat behind my family at the
Colts games up until he became Governor.
Sheets, good job outlining the offseasons of the members of the AL East. I think the O’s could’ve done better, but relative to the rest of the division, they did a decent job. The moves were largely unglamorous, but they did actually address some short-term needs.
Now, here’s where I make predictions that often turn out to be grossly wrong (but I’m still going to do it). Javier Vazquez will have a season more like 2008 than 2009; he’s a true workhorse giving 200+ innings, but it’s not going to be as pretty as it was last year in Atlanta. If Damon goes elsewhere, the Yankees will regret it, and they’re likely to regret losing Matsui and Melky Cabrera (but getting Granderson should soothe that a bit). Burnett is bound to miss some time this season. The Yankees on paper appear to be not as good as just a few months ago, but they’re still likely one of the two best teams in the division and at any point could make a deal to get whatever player they want.
The Red Sox did okay with Lackey, I think (why do I feel this could be a bust in the making?), but they downgraded with Cameron over Bay. The Jays dealt away Halladay, the best pitcher in the division. Did the Rays do anything?
In terms of moving up into the top half of the division in 2010, the O’s still appear to be short. They had a chasm to make up, of course. The team should be better this year, and we can probably expect a mixed bag with the young players, with some of them improving and others unfortunately taking a step back. My early prediction based on what I see so far in terms of roster is a 75-87 record. Improvement over recent years, but still a long way to go.
Like Baldy I too always wanted to see locals,( Baltimore,Washington and Delaware ) do well and at some point play for the O's but always rooted for Eric Milton especially, and having him available to us for spring training is great. The guy had talent and good physical ability sure, but not the kind that gets you through a career as long as his. He seemed to me to be one of the most coachable, and eager to learn players to ever come through our area. Add to that the fact he came through each bit of injury and adversity playing as good or better than before and you get the picture of a huge sponge thats been soaking up valuable life and baseball lessons for close to twenty years. Even if he no longer has the stuff to pitch on the big club the O's should jump at the opportunity to bring him to camp and show the kids how a true competitor goes about his business. His biggest value to the organization may be as a player/coach at Bowie, Delmarva or Aberdeen where we could squeeze some of the lessons he's learned over the Neo-Phenoms we've recently signed and he sounds like the perfect mentor for this Frabizio kid Steve wrote about. Hey! Mr. MacPhail one thing I've learned in life is that when things fall into place like this you should take the time to look at them, besides what do you lose if it doesn't work out. Get him before my Blue Crabs do.