If anything, the O's have better days coming ahead with prospects Rowell, Wieters, Bascom, and more.

Stay strong, Orioles nation. Help is on the way.

Roch,
Glad to see you haven't lost your humor. It must be hard having to report on this team in the fall.

I agree, House looks overmatched. He still looks better than Hernandez these days.

Thank goodness we don't have to play TB again for a few days. Heads up, we will be dead last in no time. At least they may lose to someone else.

Payton (and Trachsel) should be dealt. Let's see Reimold play some left field the rest of the way, along with Redman (I don't think either can muff a fly ball the way Payton did last night, when he stopped going after a catchable ball for no reason and turned it into a double, which naturally was allowed to score. He also has a weak, inaccurate arm, and poor plate discipline. He was not a good signing.)

I'm keeping the faith!!

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Steve Trachsel has been traded to the Cubbies for 2 minor leaguers...no names.

Received the following e-mail from Baseball Digest Daily:

The Chicago Cubs today acquired right-handed pitcher Steve Trachsel from the Baltimore Orioles for right-handed pitcher Rocky Cherry and infielder Scott Moore.

Trachsel, who returns to the organization that originally selected him in the eighth round of the 1991 Draft, is expected to be added to the Cubs' roster this weekend.

Baseball Digest Daily, 124 Bishop Lane, Holbrook, NY 11741, USA

Can you confirm, Roch??

Roch, I was listening to the Tides game last night and Dave Rosenfeld was saying (after a godd scoop at first) that Cervanak has shown good fielding skills at first. I think he was possibly too caught up in the moment. /fyi/: Boomer

If it me or does this seem like a really good trade for the Orioles...

Scott Moore is a pretty decent return for an older ML SP prolly in his last few years...I could see him be a UT guy...he plays primarily 3B but he could be a SS or 1B player too...he has good power in the minors for the last 3 years since he was traded to the Cubs...sort of makes me think like this move makes a lot of sense...Mora isn't getting any younger at 3B...it would be a good move to work in a low cost young 3B to see if he can stick...if not, then at least he can hold the position down until Rowell comes up...

...this strikes me as sort of a stopgap move at 3B except with more upside than what the Os have done in the recent past like signing a 33-35 yr old mediocre ML vet at a position...

O's trade Trachsel to the Cubs!

As far as "Rocky Cherry" it sort of sounds like the answer to a future baseball trivia question...that being said, throwing him in there isn't too bad either...you never know with RPs...but he might be a decent RP eventually...he's pitched pretty well after his TJ surgery...and he has good numbers this year and last...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-trachsel0831,0,4138067.story

Zrebiec confirms Cherry and Moore as the return for Trax.

Shut the MLB team for the season and throw our AAA and AA'ers out there.

Nobody can really tell the difference with how they O's have played lately.

Screw Melvin!! Blaming the fans instead of himself. Yeah, right! He took almost a month off work because he "hurt his foot". Try doing that in the real world Melvin. My family has a 13-game Sunday plan. We travel 4+ hours round trip and we spend over $250 per game to watch these ungrateful, overpaid players suck it up. Hey Melvin - you respect us and we'll respect you!! I'm not renewing my tickets unless they unload players like Mora, Tejada, Hernandez.......

Baltimore Orioles,

Thanks for the great memories! I'll never forget how bad we were!

Peace-I'm out!

ps. Thanks MacPhail for giving me the chance to pitch for a Major League Pen!

There is a lot of potential in our farm system; however, it is unrealistic to expect that those players will make an impact in the majors until 2009. That means that Andy McPhail has to make some hard choices this winter.

• Which person, or group of people, is/are going to have the final say on evaluating talent to bring into the system

• Which players to build around

• Which MARKETABLE players to trade for other needs

• Which players to give up on

• How to get better results from the talent we have in the farm system

• How to keep players in the farm system healthy so they can develop faster

If I were making the decisions I would build around the core of

• Brian Roberts
• Nick Markakis
• Jeremy Guthrie
• Adam Loewen
• Jamie Walker

EVERYONE else would be expendable.

I know that includes Erik Bedard; however, unless he signs an extension this winter he must be considered expendable and he will never have more trade value.

Miguel Tejada needs a fresh start somewhere else. He is still saying all of the right words but you can see in his play that his heart is no longer in playing here. This may be our last chance of getting any form of fair value for him. It pains me to admit it; however, he should have been traded to the Astros last summer. At the time I thought it was a bad trade but I was not aware of how much losing has affected him.

This team needs younger players with an entirely different attitude. Trembley and Mazzone are the right teachers but you have to have students that are willing to learn. I can’t speak for other fans but I am willing to be patient if I see young players trying their best to win. I am not seeing that now.

Hey Roch, maybe Tejada gets dealt to Boston over the weekend, too ... now that the Bosox are starting their late season nose-dive?

Wow,

I'm stunned to say it, but that was a great move by the FO. I'm surprised we were able to get anything for ST at this point, let alone two solid prospects. Can we have more of this please?

While we're on the subject, allow me to give my thoughts on what I would do if I'm Andy MacPhail right now:

1) Chalk all of 2008 to a "rebuilding year."
2) Trade everyone on the big league roster except: Roberts, Markakis, Bedard, Guthrie, Cabrera, Lowen, Olsen, Penn, Liz, Burres, Doyne, Ray (although we can forget about him for a while) and any other good pitching (or hitting/running/fielding) prospects I'm forgetting. The following players should definitely be traded: Tejada, Hernandez, Payton, Huff, Gibbons, Baez, and probably also Millar, Bradford, Walker (we can't trade Mora because of his contract clause).
3) We should be crafty and attain good prospects for all of these players. Let's use some imagination and see what we can get. The new FO braintrust must show some creativity in finding and developing talent.
4) All of 2008 should be a "tryout camp" for various prospects, who will get their chance to show their talent on the big stage.
5) We should sign Texiera when he's a free agent going into 2009.
6) By 2009, we should aim to have a solid team of young, dynamic baseball players at every position, 1-9 in the order, 1-5 in the rotation, and filling the bullpen. Trembley, the great teacher of baseball, should help these kids develop in 2008 but we may want to look for a manager with some fire and big league experience for 2009 and beyond.

I realize all of this sounds crazy, and it is. But let's think about this: we just obtained two solid prospects for Steve Traschel. Think about all of the young talent we could obtain for all the trade block players mentioned above. One of our problems for the last several years is that we've been trying to rebuild and contend at the same time. It's clear by now that this approach doesn't work. By throwing 2008 in the sink and using it to audition young talent, enough things may shake out such that we could be competitive and completely revitalized by 2009. There is no way that we can compete with NY and BoSox by next year anyway.

With all of the great young players in our own organization just mentioned in the previous posts combined with a large influx of new prospects, we may stumble across enough gems like Guthrie to compete for years to come; starting in 2009.

So my motto is, "rebuild completely. If you're over 30 and mediocre, we will trade you for somebody who's under 30 with promise." At least in this way, there's a hope to breakfree from the seemingly endless spiral of poor seasons.

Confirmed by the Baltimore Sun...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-trachsel0831,0,4138067.story

Former 1st round pick Scott Moore, supposed to be the Cubs 7th best prospect...

When I heard the news about Trachsel going to the Cubs, my first reaction was-why get rid of an effective pitcher?
Then I looked at his numbers and realized how far the state of our pitching staff has fallen when a guy with a 6-8 record and 4.60 ERA is considered a big loss! Look up journeyman in the dictionary and there's Steve's picture.
Don't get me wrong, he's battler and a pro and all that but in our glory days, he wouldn't even be on the staff. The reality is that we likely could have used him next year-warts and all. Who knows if the Cub players we got are ever going to make it and if all the projected starters in '08 are going to healthy and/or effective.
Too bad other teams aren't interested in the likes of Payton, Baez or Huff. It would be great to rid ourselves of those non-productive duds. I might give Huff a slight pass only because if we face him, he'll likely kill us, like he is doing to the DRays. On the other hand, we'd only have to see him 18 times per year, instead of 162.
Anyway, I will try to be positive about the rest of the season and look towards '08. I have some advantage living in Canada as the only time the O's are on TV is when they play the Jays so I have been spared last week's horror show to some extent.

Saw Rowell play in Hagerstown this summer and he is definately cocky. He still has a major "varsity" strut, significantly walking on his toes. I'm sure he'll lose that before he hits the bigs.

Good to see Trachsel get an opportunity with a contender. His pitching in April, May, and August has earned him a deserved trip out of this mess. Who knows, maybe one or both of the guys we got will help. Moore should at least get a look at third. Certainly think this suggests that the team is not happy with Melvin's performance at third this year.

Let the Rocky Cherry era begin! I can't wait to get a Cherry jersey

Rocky... this guy will fit right in with our bullpen. Good for Trax. Are either of these minor leaguers legit prospects?

Great. Another pitcher recovering from Tommy John surgery, and an infielder who is a career .260 hitter in the Minors. How does this make sense?

Let's hope Payton goes before midnight as well.

Like the Trachsel trade a lot. With Liz and Olson getting looks, you don't need Trachsel anymore. Any hope of .500 is long gone, so lets see what they can do.

Moore is a nice pick up. Never gonna get a top level prospect, but this guy has some skills and might be a cheaper version of Melvin Mora.

Cherry is useful even if he never really sticks in the majors. Think the O's can't use all the relievers they can get for the next month?

Can you believe it?
Comcast Sports Net has reported that the Orioles have just traded Brian Roberts to the Washington Nationals in exchange for outfielder / designated hitter Ryan Langerhans. The Orioles front office was very postive about the move, saying it gave them some flexibility and will let them add another low average, low power left handed slugger into the outfield mix. Added new GM Andy McFail "With Jay Gibbons injuried we feel good about the fact that Ryan can step right in where Gibby left off!"

What is wrong with being a fan who watches every game on tv rather than going to games? I don't blame anyone for not paying a small fortune to go watch a lousy product. I'd rather watch a lousy product for free (or cheap). And many fans who aren't on student loans or mommy and daddy's spending allowance checks cannot afford to go to games. Are they not real fans?

As for wearing a paper bag over head, its a form of non-verbal speech, and it sends a strong message to anyone who sees it. Its also hilarious. I'd like to see more of them. Let's have some fun with this atrocity that calls itself a major league baseball team.

Roch - small typo - you wrote:

Albany spend a considerable amount of time with Matt Wieters last week. Like many of us, Albany envisions an Orioles lineup that includes Wieters, Nick Markakis, Billy Rowell, Brandon Snyder and Nolan Reimold.

I am sure you meant spent or omitted the modifier "will."

That is why we need spell check - when your mind is working on complex equations and solutions - like how to get Perlozzo in to show Miggy how to play SS again - you don't catch all of the details.

If I were Trembley, I would buy Gene Shallot's old wig and facial hair and pay Perlozzo out of my own pocket to come coach Tejada, but that is just me.

Tejada was an OK SS when he came here. Perlozzo got him fielding like an all star. After Perlozzo got promoted Miggy started to go back to some of his old bad habits....

Lucky Trachsel! Good move for all and he'll be missed as a serviceable SP.

Those two guys we got back for Trachsel sound alright. Rocky Cherry (sounds like a Ben and Jerry ice cream flavor) has a 3.00 ERA in 11 games this season, so he is basically our best reliever. Next years closer, maybe? Moore, a corner infielder, sounds like he's got some pop, and is only 23.

At first glance, looks like a good trade. Now Olson and Liz can stay in the rotation. I liked Trachsel, but I think this was a good move all around.

Let's continue the BoSox slide! Show 'em what you got Lizzy!

This deal could be a good one for the O's - Cherry is a hard thrower with control who was the closer with Chicago's AAA team.

Why isn't he on the roster right now? He looks like he could step into the setup role right now.

Moore is the Cubs # 7 prospect and has 19 HR in AAA. Wonder where he ranks with the O's.

Moore is only the #13 prospect at 3B and is way behind Rowell.

You have to wonder what the O's plans are for him - 1B? Moving Mora and putting him at 3B? Trying to Chris Gomez him and make him a super sub? Or is he seen as an organizational player?

I am guessing the blog is about to blow up about how we could trade Traschel and not get Soriano, Carlos Zambrano and Derrek Lee in return.

I see this as another step forward. Trax has been up and down and is not in the team’s future. If Lowen is 100% and realizing they do not want to move Cabrera, there is no room for him next year. He is also in the way of Olson and Liz.

Moving him when he has maximal value is so unlike the O's.

Moving him and appearing to get something other than an A, AA or washed up prospect in return is also new.

If nothing else this is a hopeful sign.

Happy Birthday, Frank Robinson. I miss those days....

Red Sox announcers saying that Tejada had 5 HRs on our 1-9 homestand, so it's "not his fault" that O's are slumping. Ummm, they clearly didn't watch the games.

Well we knocked out Wakefield in the 4th, if things hold to form his consecutive decision streak will end right about the 8th inning.

Trembley earns his first ejection as manager... Boy, he had a real go at that, a real battle.

That was clearly interference but as always the umpires screw the Orioles on these calls.

We lost the battle but we will win the war!

Bah Tavarez started, thats what I get for looking at the Sun's livecast.

The O's filed their Trax Return and got to claim two new dependents. Not a bad night.
Now we have room to see Olsen and Liz the rest of the season. Maybe Penn too with Bedard hurt.

Looks like a nice trade - one month of Trachsel (depending on whether you'd resign him for $4.75M next year) nets a guy who should be about as good a middle reliever as the Orioles currently have, and a young kid who might be serviceable at 3B/OF. Cherry is 28 and has battled injuries, so it's a risk, but supposedly his stuff is pretty solid and his control has been very good. Worth a shot when you've got Olson, Liz, Loewen, Burres, etc. to start behind Bedard, Guthrie, and Cabrera.

TOM D....I'm sure you were speaking of Gene Shalit not Shallot.........right?

Just for fun,I looked up Bobby Kieltys career after our idiot announcers(Gary Thorne) latest ridiculous comment. I quote "Bobby Kielty is a switch hitter with limited major league expierence, this is his 22nd game. In reality Kielty now has 452 hits and 53 homers in his big league career. Great voice, shit for brains.

Nice post by whomever it was noting the connection between Perlozzo and Tejada's fielding, by the way. Dead on, and I hadn't put the two together before. In 2004 he really was one of the best defensive shortstops in the league. Now he's making Jeter look good, which is really hard to do.

Good news for Trax and the Birds.

Trax could have helped this team at a reasonable price, but the trade strengthened the organization.

Good move MacPhail.

Trax-Thanks for being a pro while you were here.

Tejada can still hit, and can still look silly in the field.

Why were the lard a$$es running from third on grounders to third?

Congrats to Trembley for his first ejection.

It was interference. However the Lard *ss catcher wasn't going anywhere. Too much effort.

I have an idea!!! O's fans attend away games only until we're heard!

Tom D,

It's always hilarious when someone criticizes another person's spelling, then makes a spelling error of their own a few lines later. Hah!

Gene Shalit is the guy to whom you referred. Shallots should be sliced, deep-fried, and used as a condiment in Asian cooking.

Now, let's go back to the game!!

What's up with Youkilis? Did he molest somebody's child or something?

Why is everyone hitting him with a baseball?

Anyone know?

Thank You . . . . Bobby Ballgame!

I missed the first seven innings. Explain to me how the Orioles have only two guys left in the pen when at one point we had a 9-3 lead.

Okay, we won. But how bad was the ninth inning. Explain why with the score 9-6 and one out Kevin Millar is holding the runner at first(even withthe bag)? It was not the go ahead run . . . . It essentially meant nothing. If he's playing off the bag againt Hinske the game may have ended there.

Melvin? We still have an hour for him to agree to waive his no trade.

The doubleplay at the end worked out, but I would have turned Varitek around for the same reason.

Lest we forget "maximal value." Rich, Tom D.!