The closer I get to you (w/Reimold update)

The Orioles have gone through three closers this season if you count Jim Johnson. All three have come down with injuries - shoulder (Mike Gonzalez), elbow (Johnson) and hamstring (Alfredo Simon). The next guy will probably get appendicitis or a really nasty cold sore. If I'm Will Ohman, I'd be hiding from manager Dave Trembley today. Rip the bullpen phone off the wall after the eighth inning. Ohman actually has told pitching coach Rick Kranitz that he'd like the opportunity to close. He...
Here is a stat that is not good for the Orioles minor leagues. All four O's affiliates lead their respective leagues in errors. Norfolk has made 47 errors, most in the International League. Bowie leads its league with 49; Frederick tops the Carolina League with 58; and Delmarva has committed a whopping 77 errors. That is the most in the Sally League. The shortstop position has become an issue on the O's farm, but the club has taken some steps to fix the problem. Pedro Florimon, a member...
We are at a point and time in sports cyberspace where fans on message boards can be nastier than ever. Sometimes when the home team loses they want to extract a pound or two of flesh. Some just need to vent and bash and the message boards are there for them. If you are part of the Orioles organization, it should come as no surprise that your team is getting crushed on those boards and on our own MASNsports.com blogs as well. No one should be surprised. At 14-31, the Orioles have...
Stephen Strasburg went five innings Monday night for Syracuse in the Chiefs 6-3 win over Toledo. He allowed only one earned run (two runs total) on five hits, no walks and five strikeouts. He threw 52 pitches and 36 for strikes which included four groundouts and four flyouts. He left with the game tied 2-2. Strasburg was happy with the work he got in Monday's no-decision. "I tried to stick the with game plan. If they want to swing early they can get themselves out. We were able to...
Triple-A Norfolk reliever Frank Mata didn't enter tonight's game in a save situation. Armando Gabino handled the last three innings, blanking Rochester along the way, for his first save. The Tides held on for a 2-1 victory. Does this mean that Mata is headed to Baltimore as one of the bullpen replacements? It's certainly fair to speculate, and we do a lot of it around here. Mata, 26, signed in November as a minor league free agent after pitching for Double-A New Britain last year. He's...
Chris Tillman isn't especially sharp tonight at Triple-A Norfolk, but he's limited Rochester to one run over four innings and the Tides hold a 2-1 lead. Tillman has scattered six hits, walked one and struck out five. He's thrown 82 pitches, 54 for strikes. I'd say a complete game is pretty much out of the question, but not a victory. Tillman threw 46 pitches in the first two innings and allowed four of the six hits. Josh Bell has an RBI double. Nolan Reimold, serving as the designated...
No. 1: Everything's still quiet regarding manager Dave Trembley. He won't be fired today. Book it. I just got further confirmation. No. 2: Second baseman Brian Roberts is feeling better after being hospitalized last week with pneumonia, but he doesn't have any immediate plans to fly down to Sarasota and resume baseball-related activities. That idea has been put on hold. No. 3: Triple-A Norfolk first baseman Michael Aubrey has been placed on the seven-day disabled list with a right hip...
Afternoon update: The Orioles are sending Mychal Givens, their second-round draft pick last year, to the Delmarva Shorebirds. Tyler Kolodny has been transferred to Aberdeen's roster. The 20-year-old Givens will join Delmarva on the road in Hickory, North Carolina. Now back to the Brandon Snyder story - It's only four games. But it's four games where the hits have fallen in for Brandon Snyder, the Orioles possible first baseman of the future, who has had a mostly rough 2010 season...
I haven't been given any indication that the Orioles are prepared to make a managerial change today. I had a phone call returned a few minutes ago, and I'm told that nothing is imminent. Would I bet my life on everything staying the same throughout the homestand? No way. Yours? Perhaps. (OK, joking.) Things change, as I'm reminded, and the silence in some quarters always raises suspicions. But I'm fairly convinced that Dave Trembley is safe at home, at least right now. I might even...
Though I spent the weekend in Pennsylvania attending my step-brother's wedding, I did try to follow the games as closely as possible. In fact, I informed our entire table of Pirates fans that Matt Capps had just locked up his 16th save, thanks to my Blackberry addiction. They grumbled quietly. "Capps is on my fantasy team," my father informed the table. "But what should I do about Pudge?" He was referring to MASN's Maximum Access Fantasy Baseball Game. His team is the "pirates"...
I sure could be wrong, but I don't expect any grand announcements today about Dave Trembley. I am guessing, without any inside info, that he will be the manager Tuesday vs. Oakland and losing two of three to Washington should not change anything. But, moving forward, here are some moves I would like to see the Orioles make. Some that can happen sooner and others are more big-picture items. *Move David Hernandez to the bullpen. I think he has a future possibly in late relief but for now...