A few notes
I'm told that the official announcement on Mark Hendrickson's one-year deal with the Orioles could come tomorrow. I wouldn't expect to hear anything today.
I guess physicals take longer for guys who are 6 feet 9 or taller.
The Orioles re-signed pitcher Andy Mitchell to a minor league deal, according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy.
Mitchell's name isn't included on the list of spring training invites, which ends one of my favorite baseball traditions - watching him warm up in the ninth in case an exhibition game goes into extra innings.
Mitchell is the ultimate organizational guy, having spent the last five years with the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate after signing with them in 2001 as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech. He's 23-13 over the last two seasons.
As a reader pointed out yesterday, the Colorado Rockies continue to stockpile ex-Orioles by signing left-hander Damian Moss to a minor league deal. And for all the Howie Clark lovers - he re-signed with the Toronto Blue Jays.
If you check out this YouTube video of John Travolta's appearance last night on David Letterman's show, you might hear the name of a certain Hall of Famer come up in conversation:
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
Roch,
Took me a moment to remember Damian Moss and then realized he was one of the pieces of junk we got in the Ponson trade......talk about getting absolutely nothing in a trade. I know we get the occasional whine out of Trading Miggy but compared to the Ponson deal it makes the Miggy trade look like the Bedard trade.
BTW, any chance Mitchell gets a late summer call-up...........j/k.
Wow - Howie Clark, I figured he would be 35 by now and retired, seems like forever ago he was here.
Its always nice to have too many arms as opposed to not enough. But Im not entirely understanding some of these arms the Os are interested in and Mitchell definetly is one of them.
I got done reading that the Adrian Gonzalez agent stated that he doesnt expect the Padres to get a long term deal done with his client and that the president of the Padres echoed that same thought with the feeling that he will be moved at the trading deadline this year, much the way Tex was moved to Atlanta a few years ago at the deadline.
I think that is something for Os fans to stay tuned to and HOPE that this team is competitive heading towards the All Star game which they normally are. The problem comes in towards the second half of the season. I think thats one of the reasons the Orioles have the arms stockpiled and I really think that Morneau, Gonzo or Prince will be traded for between now and the All Star game by Andy Macphail. Im not buying Brandon Snyder ever taking the field for the Orioles ESPECIALLY if Josh Bell hits the field first and can produce. Other GMS will look and say Markakis, Reimold, Wieters, Bergesen, Tillman and Matusz all came up through system and gave this organization something almost instantly and now Bell did, why not try to pick from the tree rather than the barrell. Thats where Snyder comes into play IMO - staying at the tree.
Talking of ex O's got me wondering about Adam Loewen. Any info on him? I'm guessing he is still with the Blue Jays. Any word on if he is developing, or is his career doomed? If only he stayed healthy who knows what this rotation would look like this year.
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He's still in Toronto's organization and played in the AFL. He seemed to be struggling at the plate. That's pretty much it. - Roch
Travolta trying to convince Cal into a 15 minute quiche....Classic.
Roch, The David Letterman bit is gut busting funny. I am in a hospital waiting room and people are staring at me, I was laughing so loud.
Its great to have players like Mitchell in your organization, he is a true Oriole and I hope someday he gets at least one or two starts in the Majors.
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Glad you enjoyed it. And I hope the fact that you're in a hospital waiting room isn't reason for concern. - Roch
Nice attachment - hilarious Roch! BTW, do you own any infomercial products? haha
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I learned to hide my credit card if I'm still watching TV at 3 a.m. - especially if I just walked through the door at 2:45. - Roch
John Travolta is the pits.
Roch,
Thank you very much for your concern. Actually, I am a surgical sales rep for an Ophthalmology company, I am waiting to talk to a doctor about my products. I have to wait till doctor has time for me, patients come first. That is why I have time to read and comment on your post. You make my day go by fast, plus I get my Oriole info that I need during the day and I thank you for that very much.
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Glad to help. And glad to hear it's business and not a loved one who's having a medical issue. - Roch
Brummie. Please send me your mailing address so I can buy you the first sign on this link.
Thanks
CND
http://www.ellf.ru/humor/print:page,1,27246-v-majami-i-nyu-jorke-poyavilis-tainstvennye-znaki.html
Man, I thought that Ponson trade was a heist for Ainsworth alone. Shame he couldn't stay healthy.
Also, I think I would rather hear that Cal Ripken used HGH than hear that he's spending the holidays with John Travolta.
You've gotta feel for the career minor leaguers. It's still a pretty good job compared to most, but there's always that feeling of unfulfillment.
Best of luck to the Andy Mitchells, the Howie Clarks, the Chris Waters, the Terry Tiffees, the Ross Wolfs... Most of these guys got a brief sniff of the majors, but their baseball career will be played out on buses and cheap motels.
It's bittersweet; they're playing baseball for a living, but it's not quite the way they'd dreamed it.
Not a big Travolta guy (it had to be Saturday Night Fever, 'cause I absolutely hated Disco), but that guy has the best frickin' hair pieces I've ever seen!
Funny clip Roch.
Hey, playing baseball for a living for 7 months & getting paid for it sure beats having to get a real job for 12 months that probably pays far less as well. These Org guys that stay at AAA, I would do the same thing if I were them. Don't feel too badly for them....
Steve D.
If I remember correctly we got 3 or 4 players from the Giants in the trade. Ainsworth was supposed to be the "center piece" of the deal but there were I think 2 other pitchers thrown in (Roch do you remember)? All of them ended up having health problems and basically we got nothing out of the deal. Neither did the Giants as Ponson left after the season and came back here lol. I remember being "excited" in college w/ the thoughts of a rotation Ainsworth, Bedard, Dubose (I can't remember the rest anymore). Ah to be young and naive ;)
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I totally forgot about Ryan Hannaman. That one didn't work out. - Roch
Roch, in 15 minutes?!
Too funny...Cal and John Travolta.....bet those 2 could sell anything to anyone....yeah you gotta admire a guy like Andy Mitchell...love of the game is all tnat is and not getting old or giving up your dream....great post Roch
I saw that the Giants just signed Guillermo Mota... Seems like it is getting more probably that Steve Johnson is returned to the O's. What do you think?
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The Orioles certainly think so. - Roch
I can only imagine what kind of haul MacPhail might have gotten for Ponson that year if he had been with the O's.
Oh and I have a Magic Bullet which is fantastic. I can make smoothies and other drinks right in the mug and then just drink them.
So, I'm listening to xm and they're interviewing adam jones and he says 'guys, I gotta go. I'm getting pulled over by the police.' Classic interview. He got pulled over for having too much tint on his windows.
Travolta has a good rug, I'll give him that much.
Man, I surely needed that laugh. Just found out that they are closing my office today and I'll be out of a job by July. I never expected to be able to smile, but that surely made me smile and laugh! Thanks for that Roch.
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I'm sorry to hear that, Tim. I'm sure you'll land on your feet. Stay strong. - Roch
Bill Garnher said:
Ken Francis...I don't view traded Bradford as a misstep. AM wisely traded his contract which was stupidly handed to him by Flanagan, along w/ Walker and Baez who all made alot of money here, but frankly did nothing to help the team improve. If AM could have he would have traded Walker and Baez also for PTBNL just to get rid of paying those stiffs.
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Yes it was a misstep, Bill. Before getting to that, though, I want to step in to defend Flanagan, who you beat up on for signing "stiffs."
If there's anything to fault Flanny on, it would be the length of the contracts, but the three relievers he signed all had good track records. Walker had a very good first year with the Orioles and, in fact, was one of the best guys coming out of the bullpen. The rest of his career apparently was knocked off track with a sore arm.
Baez, on the other hand, was the one of the three who came to the O's with the best reputation and was pencilled in to be the closer and/or set-up man for Ray. It's not Flanny's fault if Baez passes his physical, then proceeds to have an undetected arm injury. Last season Danys did show a little of what he could have been for the O's had he stayed healthy.
So, with two of the three Flanagan was snake-bitten. Only Bradford stayed healthy during his year-and-a-half tenure with Baltimore and he was by far the most consistently effective of the trio and overall one of the bright spots in the O's bullpen. When he was traded to the Rays in '07 he had a team-best ERA of 2.45. (His lifetime ERA is a rock solid 3.26, despite having pitched 11 of his 12 seasons with American League teams.)
Apparently you didn't do your homework, Bill, or you'd never argue that Bradford should have been traded away for essentially a bag of baseballs. Of the three relievers under discussion, he was the most important to the O's in having any kind of continuity in the bullpen. He was someone that more times than not could be brought into a game and get the job done.
My gripe with MacPhail on this isn't so much that he traded Bradford, but that he traded him for virtually nothing. Bradford's a good pitcher and the Orioles deserved more in return than what they got.
Contrary to the totally negative spin many put on Mike Flanagan's deals as Oriole vice president, signing Chad Bradford was a solid signing. Whatever you want to think getting Baez and Walker, you need to keep in mind that while the three signings are forever linked together in people's minds, because they were all relievers signed in the same off season to longterm deals and for decent contracts, each transaction was done separately and each pitcher's record stands alone.
And of those records, Chad Bradford's stands pretty high indeed.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradfch01.shtml?redir
A note for you Roch
Adam Jones was pulled over in the middle of phone interview on XM Home plate this afternoon. It seems the cop had ticketed him with a "Tinted Window" violation. Where ever he was, it must not have been a state that requires hands-free while driving.
Oh please baseball, hurry up and get here, I am sick of NFL and ESPN coverage of it. They shove it down your throat, analize everything. I use to like the NFL, but ESPN has ruined it for me. Even after the NFL season, they report and analyze the past season and what to expect the next season. ESPN should call themselves the NFL and Duke/North Carolina basketball network.
Sorry for the rant, and I know it had nothing to do with the post, sorry!
Out of curiosity, how much do these 'organizational guys' like Mitchell get paid? I hope he's making a better wage than some of these guys in the minors who have to work second jobs to stay afloat... I feel like at this point we owe it to Mitchell. Is he doing alright?
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Depends how long they've been around. Don't know for sure. Maybe around $50,000. I need a minor leaguer to chime in here. - Roch
smz42 said:
Ken Francis:
What the Os saved in shedding Bradford was $$$.
They saved the remaining amount in 2008 (about $1.2 million) and his 2009 salary of about $3.6 million.
His reduced appearances, and poor numbers, in 2009 were due to injuries.
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Sure, I know they saved some money trading him, but so what? He was one of their best relievers and they should have gotten something back in return. It's one thing to say, "Oh, we need to shed this contract" and another to act as though that's sufficient.
Don't forget, the Rays were batting for the AL East and they needed another quality pitcher out of the 'pen. They won the East, in some small part due to Bradford's stellar work for them--1.42 ERA in 21 appearances for Tampa Bay.
In other words, this didn't have to be (and shouldn't have been) the straight salary dump that MacPhail allowed it to be. He could have said, "Well, if you want Bradford he's available, but only for the right price." I'm not saying he could have asked for the moon and gotten it, but at least a decent mid-level prospect wouldn't have been asking too much.
As for ducking the last year of the contract, which, as you put it, was an off year for Bradford due to an injury, but that can't really factor in to the discussion of whether the deal was a sound one, because that's something that just can't be foreseen. Just because the O's lucked out in that regard is irrelevant in terms of an at-the-time-of-the-deal evaluation.
I will say this, however: If the O's had retained him, he continued to pitche at a high level and stayed healthy, he'd have been worth the $3.6M. And if you have trouble believing that, I'd just ask you to look at the sorry state of the O's bullpen last season. His presence there would have easily made it more respectable than it turned out.
Roch...who was dropped from the 40 man roster with the addition of Mark H.?
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Nobody yet, but expected to be Gabino. - Roch
roch
need to tell aj he needs to lightin up . lol
http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92904
Hello:
For all the Travolta haters, true that Sat. Night Fever was not very good, but, Pulp Fiction is one of my all time favorites.
Ann Marie: The Senators have the BEST, and I mean the BEST Hot Dogs in all of baseball. Depending on my work schedule, I come up to the Island to see the Sens play about 10 times per year, especially when the Baysox are in town. Maybe I'll have the pleasure of introducing myself and my wife. (depending, of course, on how she feels) It's great to watch the kids play hard everyday because they must...they're trying to get to "the show." Not bad baseball.
Roch: Just heard that Dennis Sarfate has cleared waivers. I've been checking daily to see if there is any way that the O's would package him in a trade with Luke. Hmmm...then sign Branyon to be DH.
Scott fom E-burg talked about who we got from Giants in Ponson deal. Correct me if I am wrong Roch, but the real killer is that Texas wanted Ponson and they were going to give up some prospect out of their system named Adrian Gonzales for him. Flanny also believed you cannot have too much pitching and he wanted quantity. Well they say about 25% of prospects turn into MLB starters. We got the 75% again. People give AM to much grief. Since 97 our first round picks haven't done to well. I think Nick's about it. I don't know if Roberts was a first rounder. So AM has made some pretty good picks since 2007. So some of the negative people ( you know who I mean ) should lay off Hobgood. I am not crazy about high school pick ups but we have plenty of time to develope these guys especially when our minor league has been ranked 6th. So I think Andy deserves not just some praise but a lot of it.
Ponson to TX for Gonzalez is correct. The reason it never happened was because Angelos didnt want to pick up any of Ponson's salary
Talk about penny smart and dollar dumb
THe GT express thing!! Hillarious...my wife and I are selling ours on ebay!!
Ken Francis...this game is all about results and NOT past performance. When you sign someone to a 3-year deal and they don't perform well for 3 years it IS a bad signing. And once again, AM traded Bradford for about $5 million! Nothing to sneeze at. Who knows, maybe that $5 mil turned into Brian Matusz. Maybe in another trade AM would have gotten a player, but he probably would have had to eat Bradford's salary. Don't forget that when Flanagan signed the Three Stooges everyone in baseball was up in arms about the length and $$ for average middle relievers. And in hindsight, because that's how all GM's are judged, it was stupid and a waste of resources. As for Walker, he was OK for 1 year and really bad for 2. Baez wasn't a closer the year before the O's signed him, because his ERA had jumped nearly 2 runs from the previous year, and that was going from the AL to the NL! I think anyone could see his ERA was going the WRONG way, no matter what the 'physical' says.
Please don't defend Flanagan as a GM...he was clueless.
I don't need to do any homework to know they were all bad signings...I just have to look at the scoreboard.
John Travolta...
Damian Moss? Geez.. talk about resurections...