Some on Scott and Jones
Tuesday: O's poised for improvement | Wednesday: Looking at Gonzalez, Bergsen, Guthrie and Wieters | Thursday: Update on Guthrie's contract status | Friday: O's sign a minor leaguer | Saturday: A closer look at Matusz, Johnson | Sunday: More on Tejada's position switch
Monday, February 1:
Roch Kubatko has an update on Luke Scott: "Calling into the Hot Stove Show on Friday, Scott said he stuck to his winter workout routine. You'll find him outdoors chopping wood, not inside a gym walking on a treadmill. And he's still taking his fish oil and cayenne pepper pills. If you own stock in Vitamin World, you owe Scott a dinner.
"I'm 31 years old, but if you put any 18 or 20 year old on a therapy table and check their range of motion of joints, ligaments and all that stuff, they couldn't hold a candle to me because I've invested in my body, I've invested in a personal trainer that's a physical therapist that keeps all my joints and my ligaments in proper working order," he said. "It's something I do on my own because this is my job, it's part of being a professional, it's part of getting the max out of what I can do."
Hitting coach Terry Crowley has speculated that Scott's brutal second-half slump intensified because he began pressing and tried too hard to pull out of it." [masnsports.com]
Steve Melewski writes on Adam Jones: "Jones was asked about his struggles after the All-Star break.
"There's no reason for it, I just didn't get it done the second half. I hit a little wall and got a little tired. For the most part I was seeing the ball good, but results weren't happening. That's why it's a game of adjustments."
He said he noticed pitchers making big adjustments vs. him as the year went on and now he has to learn how to handle that.
But what a start he had. By the end of May, Jones was batting .344-11-36. The O's were averaging 4.9 runs per game at that point, a nearly 800-run full season pace.
With his speed and the ability to do damage on the bases and at the bat, Jones is a huge catalyst in the O's lineup.
Even with his second-half falloff, he was still a dramatically improved player from year one to two with the club and his OPS went from .711 to .792." [masnsports.com]
Hal Bodley examines the O's recent strides: "After two and a half seasons, every indication points to dramatic improvement for 2010. The team manager Dave Trembley takes to Spring Training this month is the best since [Andy] MacPhail came aboard -- at least on paper.
It's probably not good enough to beat the Yankees or Red Sox, but it's better -- maybe even a .500 juggernaut.
MacPhail, president of baseball operations, has wisely rebuilt the Orioles, often making hurting, if not controversial, decisions by trading away premier-level players. Instead, he's focused on the future. That's a tired cliche, but word around the Major Leagues this offseason is that there's light at the end of the tunnel for the Orioles.
"I think our course was pretty clear," MacPhail said. "I was fortunate to come here in late June [of 2007], so I had the opportunity for a couple of months to watch, listen and read. It became clear to me what we had to do to compete in this division.
"We couldn't go along with a band-aid approach. We were going to have to do something more drastic to improve the foundation of talent in our system and build upon it from there. Unfortunately, to do that we had to trade some quality players to add to the base of our talent."
This offseason MacPhail made a deal with Texas to land veteran starting pitcher Kevin Millwood. He signed infielder Garrett Atkins and left-handed closer Mike Gonzalez, both free agents.
Millwood should have a positive impact on Jeremy Guthrie and other young pitchers on the Orioles' staff.
But the move that made headlines and raised eyebrows was bringing back Miguel Tejada for $6 million to play third base. Atkins will play first base." [MLB.com]
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