More post-game chatter
Manager Dave Trembley hasn't shown a hint of concern over the rotation's inability to reach its innings limit before today, but it had to be satisfying to sit in the dugout and watch Brian Matusz make it through the fifth.
"It sets the tone," he said. "That's what the good ones do, they set the tone, and he did today. In order for us to be successful, we're going to have to have good starting pitching. We're going to have it on a consistent basis."
Matusz held the Phillies' potent lineup to one run. They challenged him with their big guns, and he mostly silenced them.
"Matusz probably loved it, the type of competitor he is," Trembley said. "I'm sure he was up to the test."
Trembley said he isn't surprised by Matusz's results this spring. The left-hander isn't exceeding his expectations.
"He's got room to get better," Trembley said. "He's a young guy. The guy is special. That's the best way to put it. He's special. He's going to be good."
President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail showed some restraint when asked about Matusz, as he usually does when the subject turns to the organization's young talent.
"It's nice to get five innings this early," he said. "Again, we have to take the good with a grain of salt, just like we take the bad with a grain of salt. It was a good thing to see him out there and getting us into the sixth, and we're not even in the middle of march yet, so that's pretty impressive. But again, we'll see how things evolve over time."
MacPhail didn't express any concern over Mike Gonzalez's lower back, which tightened up during yesterday's B-squad game.
"I can only go by what our medical staff says," MacPhail said. "The only guy who's on our radar for being a potential issue for Opening Day is Brian."
Housekeeping item: Ripken Baseball announced that former Orioles center fielder and coach Al Bumbry will headline its annual Ripken Academy Spring Break Camp as an MLB instructor. The camp takes place April 1-3 at the Ripken youth baseball academy in Aberdeen.
Bumbry will take part in the three-day camp, which is an opportunity for players to learn about all aspects of the game of baseball. It includes infield, pitching, outfield, hitting, and team instruction, as well as instructional games each afternoon.
All campers will receive a written evaluation from their instructors at the end of the week.
The camp costs $300 per player for ages 7-8 and $350 per player for ages 9-12. For more information,call 866-RIPKEN1 or register online at www.ripkencamps.com.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
Awfully nice to see a glimpse today of the future. A special pitcher indeed. Question about Nolan Reimold: When the O's shut down Reimold before the end of last season, I thought the idea was to give him ample time to heal (so to speak) by spring training. I imagine in any case it would be a good idea to take some time before going full speed, but is there any sense that this injury is taking longer to fully heal than expected or that Reimold will be limited in how much he can play in the beginning of the season?
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The Orioles don't think so. - Roch
That is the best prsie of a starter by DT that I have heard all spring from you Roch...would be real nice if the other starters followed suit over the next 3 weeks so that we could have a good start to the season of possible. I guess Matusz seems to be as good as the O's thought when they drafted him...hope he keeps it up.
Hey Roch:
Orioles Classic #14 has little Steven Johnson's Birthday party...I forgot about that.
Jeez, Wieters is 2-2 this week. I just realized espn had an article about him in the mag
(i think theirs was better because it focused how he is ready to live up to his hype and that he trained hard this offseason unlike S.I which basically said he was a natrual god and blah blah blah)
Roch-
I saw Reimold last week, and anyone that is concerned about him, he just walks that way. He always has. Well, if he had the ankle injury last year, then he might have just developed a little hitch in his step.
He is fine.
Also, I read today in the San Jose Mercury that Steve Johnson is most likely not going to make that team.
I would assume the O's will buy him back for 25,000. Since that upset some people. They will be able to say they made 25,000 bucks for nothing.
I absolutely love how Matusz can recount every single pitch during every single AB and tell you exactly what was going through his mind. I feel like he is a young Jim Palmer in that, he cares so much about the game and has enough pride in his personal performance that he is going to remember every situation in his career. Listening to Palmer on MASN always amazes me how he can recount most at bats from his career to this day.... and I just have a feeling that Matusz is every bit as special. Hopefully there will be many more comparisons to the HoFer in the years to come.
Love the comment by Jason C. It is a pleasure listening to Matusz detail his performance. He's a very smart guy....clearly. Looking forward to watching him play for us.