Quick Chong update

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

November 22, 2011, 12:01pm

Comments

If you're anticipating a press conference Wednesday to announce the signing of Korean pitcher Chong Tae-Hyon, you can stop waiting for it. The holiday week is complicating the process. Though the Orioles are finalizing a deal with Chong, they still need to schedule every examination that's part of the physical and wait for the results. Good luck getting that done by Wednesday, which had been the club's original target date. It's possible that the Orioles could send out a release Wednesday - and there's a better chance that it happens Friday - but a press conference won't be held on either day. I'm also hearing that an announcement isn't imminent. The signing isn't in jeopardy. It's just not a normal week to conduct business. And Chong needs to visit more than one doctor. MyKBO.net posted stats on Chong, which have been difficult to find. You can read them here. The 25 walks this season jumped out at me when placed next to the 39 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings. Chong has surrendered only one home run in each of the last three seasons. Right-handers batted .203 against him in 2011.