Trembley on Harris

I finally made it home around 10:30 p.m. after my flight was delayed an hour. Something about a mechanical issue with the plane, which is always nice when it's discovered before we take off. I'll be driving my daughter and her friend to school and crawling back into bed for a few hours, the images of the Titans' "meaningless" touchdown last night with no time left on the clock still dancing in my head. Meaningless...unless you took the Colts -3. Like I didn't see that coming with Tennessee in possession of the ball and down by 9 in the final minute. The NFL has become way too predictable - always out to hose me. Anyway, I spoke over the phone with Brady Anderson a day after the Orioles-Rays trade fell through that would have sent Nolan Reimold to The Trop. Reimold has been working out with Anderson, and was preparing to hit for the first time. Anderson had some interesting observations - and very encouraging ones if you're hoping for a bounce-back year from Reimold - which I'll pass along in my next entry. In the meantime, I wanted to share an e-mail I received last night from former Orioles manager Dave Trembley concerning newly acquired utility infielder Brendan Harris. Trembley managed Harris in the minors during their days in the Cubs organization and tried repeatedly to get the Orioles to trade for him. Here's what he wrote: You will love this guy. Excellent makeup. Can play all infield positions, strong arm, will play his heart out, run hard all the time. Excellent fastball hitter. High school basketball standout. Went to William and Mary. Always came over to talk with me. Appreciative, as I was hard on him in minor leagues. Tried to get him 3 times when I was manager of the Orioles and one time when I was at Ottawa and he was at Louisville with the Reds. Give him my best. Orioles will be a better team with him. Otherwise, Trembley isn't too fond of him. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail didn't rule out re-signing Cesar Izturis to compete for a utility job, and more talks were scheduled yesterday, but that seems unlikely with Harris in the fold. There doesn't seem to be room for both players on the roster, and Harris can play all four infield positions and the outfield if needed. What does this mean for Robert Andino? Well, he's out of minor league options and will have a tough time making the club. Perhaps the Orioles can move him this winter, or just let him compete for a job and figure it out later. He cleared waivers once and was outrighted to Triple-A. It could happen again. Harris will earn $1.75 million next season. A little pricey for a utility guy. It's interesting, at least to me, that Harris went from the Rays to the Twins in the Jason Bartlett deal. The Orioles tried hard to acquire Bartlett at the meetings before pulling off the J.J. Hardy trade. During his conference call with reporters yesterday, Harris said he was "ecstatic" about the trade. He's a Virginia guy and looks forward to playing closer to home, as he did with the Nationals. See, some players do want to come here.