Bolstering bullpen nothing new to Orioles

Teams are placing greater emphasis on their bullpens as the offseason moves into the next round of holidays. They grasp the importance of providing quality insurance for their rotations, of spending less to upgrade a pitching staff or spending more to lock down leads in the ninth inning.

They're just not being original.

Have we already forgotten about the 2007 Orioles and the rash of reliever signings that didn't satisfy their itch? If so, it may be intentional. Better to block it out and find your happy place.

Former Orioles vice president Jim Duquette shuddered at the memory when I brought it up Saturday on "Wall to Wall Baseball" on MASN. We all shared a good laugh over it, but the humor is found only with the proper distance.

The Orioles spent $41.5 million in less than two weeks during the 2006 offseason, all of it funneled into the bullpen. They signed left-hander Jamie Walker for $12 million over three years, Danys Baez for $19 million over three years, submariner Chad Bradford for $10.5 million over three years and Scott Williamson for $900,000 for one year.

Each deal, in that order, was finalized between Nov. 21-30 and drew various levels of criticism in the industry. Some understanding, as well, since the club's bullpen needed a drastic makeover, but the cost was deemed excessive. Not one closer in the bunch, with Baez and Bradford ticketed for setup duties ahead of Chris Ray and Walker viewed mostly as a specialist.

The 2006 Orioles carried a bullpen that went 19-25 with a 1.55 WHIP and a 5.27 ERA that ranked next-to-last in the majors. The group surrendered the most home runs in baseball with 86 and contributed to the Orioles losing 18 games after leading or being tied through the sixth inning.

"We were a little short," said manager Sam Perlozzo. "We were hoping for better things. A lot of guys didn't get the job done. Overall, it was difficult."

"The bullpen, let's face it, was a mess," said pitching coach Leo Mazzone.

Baez, Bradford, Walker and Williamson were supposed to fix it. Joe Borowski and Justin Speier also were courted. Paul Shuey signed a minor league deal on Feb. 6, 2007. The front office wasn't fooling around.

"What they've done," Mazzone said, "is bring in quality guys that have been through the wars and still have a lot of ability not only for now, but in the future, instead of running out guys that have not pitched above Double-A. I'd say that's a pretty big difference."

As it turned out, the moves didn't make much of a difference. The 2007 bullpen went 24-35 with a 1.61 WHIP and a 5.75 ERA that ... wait for it ... ranked next-to-last in the majors.

Perlozzo was fired in June and replaced by Dave Trembley with the Orioles at 29-40, and they finished in fourth place with a 69-93 record.

Duquette said starters Kris Benson and Daniel Cabrera called to thank him for the offseason signings, but the positive vibes disappeared as the Orioles again fell out of contention.

Can't blame a team for trying.

Baez was the biggest bust. He went 0-6 with a 6.44 ERA and 1.570 WHIP in 53 appearances in 2007 (averaging 5.2 walks and strikeouts per nine innings), missed the 2008 season after undergoing elbow surgery, and was 4-6 with a 4.02 ERA and 1.130 WHIP in 59 appearances in 2009. He signed with the Phillies as a free agent and spent two more seasons in the majors.

Bradford went 7-10 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.343 WHIP in parts of two seasons. The Orioles traded him to the Rays on Aug. 7, 2008, receiving cash in the exchange - not a player to be named, though it's still a running joke here.

Jamie Walker posted a 3.23 ERA in 81 appearances in his first season, but it rose to 6.87 in 59 games the following year. The Orioles released him on June 5, 2009 with his ERA at 5.11 in 22 appearances, and he was done.

Left-handers hit .216 against Walker in 2007 and .304 in 2008, the year that right-handers hit .352. It was hard to watch, but easy to hear how fans felt about him.

Walker's blunt assessments of his outings made him a media favorite. He served up a career-high 12 home runs in 38 innings in 2008 and five in 12 1/3 before his release, and he'd often describe them in colorful terms.

Williamson wasn't healthy or effective, lasting only 16 games before his release, allowing seven earned runs (eight total) and walking eight batters in 14 1/3 innings. He never made it back to the majors.

The Yankees signed Williamson on July 22, 2007 and released him two weeks later. The Giants signed him on Feb. 11, 2008 and released him a month later. The Braves signed him on April 25 and released him two months later. The Mariners signed him on June 15 and released him two weeks later. The Tigers signed him on Jan. 22, 2009 and released him three months later. The Marlins signed him on June 26 and released him three weeks later.

Williamson finally reached the end of the road. He took the same number of wrong turns as me after leaving a holiday party.

Shuey appeared in 25 games with the Orioles after they purchased his contract, going 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA and 2.104 WHIP in 25 2/3 innings. The 21 walks also were an issue.

The Orioles released Shuey in September after calling up pitcher Rob Bell - no confirmation on whether they used the word "shoo" in the meeting - and he settled into retirement.

The Orioles weren't trying to kill Shuey in Game 1 of an Aug. 22 doubleheader against the Rangers. It only looked that way after he was forced to throw 68 pitches in two innings while surrendering nine runs in a 30-3 loss to the Rangers.

He wasn't responsible for the field goal.

Shuey made his last appearance four days later against the Twins and allowed two runs in the seventh inning. By that point, the grounds crew used his right arm to drag the infield.

The Orioles have tweaked their bullpen approach over the years. They're more inclined to convert starters into relievers. Mychal Givens was drafted as a shortstop. Brad Brach was acquired from the Padres for Double-A pitcher Devin Jones, a trade that barely got noticed in the industry. Darren O'Day was claimed off waivers and had to earn a spot on the team.

The money spent now mostly goes toward keeping the group intact.