A Few Days Late But An Opinion None The Less

So... Aubrey Huff was traded to the Tigers for a pitching prospect. The guy who once called Baltimore a horseshit town has been sent to Detroit. Coincidence? I think not. He's having an awful season and is a pretty terrible fielding first baseman. I don't know who the Orioles have in mind to fill the void, but evidently some young buc is being called up today or tomorrow, and in the meantime Luke Scott has been filling in. The way he's been hitting this season I wouldn't mind seeing him grow into the role.

Obviously, the Orioles traded one of their veteran clubhouse leaders, but Huff just wasn't getting the job done. I'd like to see them sign a veteran big-batted first baseman in the off-season because I think they need a leader, preferably one with a big mouth and energy. Someone is going to have to show all the kids how to play, and hopefully how to start winning.

I'm not sad to see Aubrey Huff go, especially since dissed my hometown. Even if he was right, it's just not a nice thing to say.

Hey Melvin Mora... SHUT UP!

If you're not familiar with the situation, click here and here. I think the first link really sums up this whole enchilada. Melvin Mora sort of sucks, and sort of always has. He had 3 big seasons, from 2003-2005 (ironically when the whole Oriole team was reportedly juicing), and really is a borderline starting 3rd baseman to begin with. He was signed as an amateur free agent in 1991, which makes him no spring chicken, at 38 (might not even be his real age). If you subtract his unusually high batting averages from his 3 best seasons, which in my opinion are suspect, considering the roided up gutter trash he shared a clubhouse with for those 3 years, then his batting average is at least 10 points lower than the .278 career mark he currently carries. I personally wanted him gone at the end of '05, despite the great numbers he was able to post last season. I'm sure there are a lot of O's fans who will disagree with my feelings towards Mora, and I've got no problem with that. The only reason he has looked even remotely decent over the course of the last 10 seasons is because the Orioles system had been so weak for so long that he was about all we had. You put him on a team with a truly deep roster, and he's a 6th or 7th place hitter at best.

I will say in Mora's defense, that he has been loyal to Baltimore through some of it's roughest seasons in recent memory, and has blossomed into a pretty good defensive third baseman in the process. His skills however, are clearly on the decline, and in a way I sort of feel bad for him. The writing has been on the wall for at least 2 seasons now that this is a team going through a bit of a youth movement, and clearly re-building. What makes him think he can bat .256 with 3 home runs and 25 RBIs through 100 games and still be in the starting lineup, batting 5th every day? Get a freaking clue, and shut your damn mouth. Did you not just see the Orioles trade George Sherrill for a 3rd base prospect? How much clearer can we make it Melvin?

Off The Schnides!

The O's notched their first W in more than a week tonight, defeating the Rays 8-4. Reality and fantasy baseball stud Nick Markakis hit a 2 run tater in the first, and Brian Roberts added one of his own later in the game. The Brim Reaper looked pretty shaky again tonight, in a non-save situation, but was at least able to hold it down in the 9th.

The Caps also won tonight, and Ovechkin went for a hat trick. Did anyone see his 3rd goal? It was a thing of beauty!

Raining in Baltimore

For the 3rd day in a row, it's raining. Unfortunately, it's not just raindrops coming down out there, but losses for the Orioles as well. As of this morning, the O's have officially taken over the basement position in the A.L. East, a spot which has become become familiar over the past 2 seasons, with the resurgence of the Blue Jays and the rise of Tampa. So far the O's are 9-15 and have lost something like 12 of their last 15 games.

The 2 main reasons for this are poor pitching, and an inability to score runs after the 5th inning. The bottom 3 of the Orioles lineup has the lowest batting average of ANY team in the majors, including N.L. teams where the pitcher traditionally bats 9th. While some changes have to be made (more on that later), bad luck has been a factor in some players poor starts. Cesar Izturis looks to be turning it up a little bit, and has the highest average of the 3 (.232). Greg Zaun is a fine defensive catcher, and seasoned veteran who has hit a lot of balls hard, they just happen to be right at people. Zaun is an important piece of the puzzle this year, since he will ultimately be the mentor to Matt Wieters when/if he is called up to the show. Currently, he is hitting an anemic .138. This brings us to Felix Pie. There has been a lot of noise from the fans to end the "Felix Pie Experiment" and call up Nolan Reimold, or let Lou Montanez, who is already with the team, take over in left field. Montanez hasn't looked much better than Pie this year in limited action, but personally, I prefer either player to Pie. Pie looks lackadaisical in left, and swings at everything thrown to him at the plate. Offensively, I think Reimold and Wieters need to be called up sooner rather than later. If we're going to be a basement team this year anyway, why not let the kids grow and adjust to Major League pitching? It can't be worse than what's happening now.

This brings us to the pitching staff (UGH!). Lone bright spot Koji Uehara has been hurt by lack of run support, but has looked pretty good in his starts this year. Team "ace" Jeremy Guthrie has been struggling a bit, but is still the only other pitcher aside from Koji that belongs in a Major League rotation. Rounding out the Orioles starting 5 are 2 guys better served as long relievers, Mark Hendrickson who got pounded last night in Toronto, and Adam Eaton. Both of these guys have career ERAs right around 5.00 and are veteran pitchers. The fifth starter at the moment is Brad Bergesen, who was called up on April 21st, and has only made 2 starts, looking very good in one, and very mediocre in the other. At least he'll be fun to watch this year.

If you look at the pitching prospects the O's have stockpiled in the minors right now, one has to wonder why they don't make some moves, and at least get the top guys some experience. Sadly, we probably won't see any of these guys until September, unless someone gets injured, but there are 3 guys that have all the skills, and seem ready for a taste of big league ball.

Jake Arrieta, Troy Patton and Chris Tillman all have at least one season in AA ball or higher under their belts, and would be a hell of a lot more fun to watch then Hendrickson or Eaton. Arrieta and Tillman are 2 of the top 50 prospects in the league, and if Patton hadn't of missed all of last season with an injury, he would most likely be on that list as well.

In some instances, going with established, veteran players is a good thing, and allows the kids to get some reps in the minors. This is not one of those instances. One could argue that the Norfolk Tides have a better rotation then the Orioles do at the moment, and I couldn't argue with that sentiment. Bringing up the young guns would make this team more competitive and a hack of a lot more fun to watch.

It would be easy to blame Orioles manager Dave Trembley for the 9-15 record, but he has been dealt a losing hand by management, and until some moves are made to improve this team, they are going to continue to struggle.

Andy McPhail, if you're reading this (which I know you're not) PLEASE start thinking about 2009 instead of focusing all your energy on 2010.

END OF RANT

Ryan Freel wants to be traded

Good riddance! He's like 1 for 50 at the plate this year as it is, and with Felix Pie already sucking it up in LF, we don't need a second sub-par player blocking our 2 top OF prospects, Nolan Reimold and Lou Montanez. Freel has been on the DL for the past couple of weeks after getting pegged in the head by a throw while stealing a base. He's apparently upset because he was asked to take a post-concussion medical test before being cleared to play, which he apparently failed.

Here's part of what he had to say:

Freel was asked if he wants to stay with the Orioles.

"I think change is good for people. I think the expectations were for me to come here and perform in a different way than I did. I don't think I met the expectations the way I did in spring training. There is nothing wrong with change. I don't think I fit here. I can't control what they do with me. It's putting a damper on my career."

The whole story can be seen here (courtesy of MASN)

Does anyone know much about this guy? I know he was a decent high-energy type player with the Reds, but honestly, he hasn't shown me much in his limited chances.