Won't see Wieters
Matt Wieters continues to work out with short-season Single-A Aberdeen, but he won't play for them. Or any other local affiliate.
The Orioles want their first-round pick to get in game shape before he reports to the Hawaii Winter League on Sept. 25. They don't want to rush him and risk injury. So you'll need to buy a ticket for Hawaii if you want to see him play.
Fifth-rounder Jacob Arrieta also is working out with the IronBirds, but he won't pitch for them. He'll report to the instructional league, and then the Arizona Fall League.
Here's what manager Dave Trembley said about keeping his answers short last night in the post-game media session:
"I think I’ve been, as you guys have been, as accommodating, as open, as forthright, as possible. And I think last night, it was best that I say as little as possible, and that’s the approach I took. I’ve never said 'no' to any guy here, I’ve never criticized any guy here for what they write or say about me or this team, and I never will because I know that’s your job, but there are times when I need a little space, too. I’m a human being, and I’m not afraid to admit that.
"I told (PR director) Bill Stetka last night, I said, ‘Bill, I don’t feel like going in there.’ And I’m not afraid to face the music. I’m not afraid of any of that stuff, because I’ll never be dishonest with anybody here. I told you at the beginning, I’ll never roll anybody under the bus. I’ll never call anybody out. I know about semantics, and I can turn it and say that’s part of the game. I won’t talk through the press about what these guys are doing, their inadequacies. If I’ve got something to say to these guys, I’ll deal with them directly. They’re not going to read it. And last night I had seen enough. I wasn’t going to cross that line and say something I shouldn’t say. There’s only so much self-control we can exhibit, and I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that. It’s been a tough week."
Comments
It would be nice if the O's could hand the bullpen a lead tonight...oh, say around 12 runs. LOL
For those who missed Jeopardy this afternoon -- Category: Baseball around the world for $1000
"Orioles bullpen" translated into Russian.
What is "Chernobyl"?
Correct!
Posted by: Ken Francis | August 30, 2007 8:33 PM
Excellent quote from Trembley on how he approaches interviews. It lets you know how he goes about meeting the press; what to expect, what not to expect.
What he says is really all you can ask from a person in his position, who wants to share his view from the dugout, but at the same time keep the trust of his players. As a fan I respect him for that and I imagine you feel the same as a journalist, Roch.
Posted by: Ken Francis | August 30, 2007 8:41 PM
So the team is imploding, attendence is down and the O's think the best move is to keep the fans from seeing the new kid play?
He is what 22? I think he would be ok DHing a couple games for the folks that support the O's minor league teams.
It boggles the mind it does.
Posted by: Jeff V. | August 30, 2007 9:12 PM
So we get swept by Tampa Bay, and go to Boston, who was just swept by the Yankees. Seriously, does anyone think we have a chance to win 1 game in Boston?
I had to laugh at Millar's quote from last night.....'If we win tonight and then play well in Boston, nobody will even remember our losing streak.' Problem is, Kev, that you guys KNOW that will not happen.
On a related note, does ANYONE in the front office realize the apathy that exists with this team? I am a partial season ticket holder, and can never even get anyone to take my tickets for free. A few wins won't bring back all those sellouts from the mid-90's either. Does Peter Angelos comprehend that he has lost almost 1.5 to 2 million fans per year in attendance??? That is mind-boggling, and it amazes me that he doesn't do something drastic to reverse that trend. Nothing worse than fan apathy....
Posted by: Dave | August 30, 2007 9:53 PM
Oh well, look at the bright side ... no blown save tonight, right?
Baby steps, people. Baby steps.
Posted by: Kevin on Shore | August 30, 2007 10:16 PM
Roch:
What to do?
1. Waive Baez and put Liz in his place. I know Baez makes a lot of $ but he is terrible....Liz could not be worse, he'll get some experience (if we ever have to close again this year) and banishing Baez will keep a few fans happy.
2. Waive Payton--someone will be dumb enough to take him as he is occasionally good. Put Mora in left. Play Tejada at 3rd--it was good enough for another former shortstop and it would help Tejada. Bring up Hernandez to play short.
3. DO NOT trade Traschel--right now he is our best pitcher and it can be argued he has been well above average this year. He might be a good long man next year.
4. Resign Patterson--he has had a good year after a horrible start and no way Tori Hunter will ever come to Baltimore, unless he has to choose between it and a condo in Bagdad.
5. Keep Trembley from killing himself...he has shown he can manage in the big leagues if his pitchers can hold the opposition under 10 runs.
Really, with even average pitching, the homestand would have been 6-4 at least--- we would have been singing a different tune.....this where losing Benson, Lowen etc for the long haul has made a drastic difference---not back in June. Boston should be really fun after they got swept, don't you think?
Posted by: glenn | August 30, 2007 10:43 PM
...I live in NYC and today I was riding the train with my Orioles shirt on...I wear my Os t-shirt with pride...but in NYC, especially today with a lot of BoSox and Yankees fans out in full force all over the city, everyone looks at you like you must have some kind of problem...cus in their minds, there's nothing harder to understand than why someone would be an Orioles fan...
...I grew up with parts of Jim, all of Eddie and Cal, Flanny, McGregor, Martinez, and a ton more...in my mind it goes without question that there's a lot to be proud of...and even today, I still have similar feelings about our farm today that I did when I knew of some kids named Eddie and Cal in the minors...today we have such a ton of starting pitching talent that, even though pitching is the worst odds to develop in the longrun, it's hard to imagine at least 1 or 2 of these guys NOT turning into keepers...and the rest will prolly be productive or servicable to varying degrees...I always argue to Yankee fans to remember the names Markakis, Loewen, Bedard, Guthrie, Olson, Liz, Cabrera, Erbe and others...
Posted by: Eddie | August 30, 2007 10:44 PM
At this point, guys, it's the end of August...part of the typical Os nosedives in August the last several years is due to being so out of it, and then giving a ton of rookies ML service time during the last two months...when you have a mix of vets playing just to finish the year with kids learning on the job, it won't add up to a lot of wins...the way some Sun writers write about it, they paint it as if, the same team fielded in August is the same as the April entry...
...it's not to say that that ain't smart to do...since we do have a new head baseball man, I think it should be a certainty that we see some young players play to make some evaluations and create a developmental plan for each individual young player...the better we do it this last month, the sooner we get back to winning later...
Posted by: Eddie | August 30, 2007 10:52 PM
"3. DO NOT trade Traschel--right now he is our best pitcher and it can be argued he has been well above average this year. He might be a good long man next year."
...my first question is "wuhut?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"...my second question is "whoooowuh?!?!??!?!?!?!"....and finally, "uuuhhhhh, yeeaah-roight!!!!??"
...as a side note, it's nice to see the 80s come back into fashion (perhaps it will be circa 1983 soon?) but let's not bring back the "Smoke Crack" part of it...as another side note, the 80s were the last time Trachsel was blowing away hitters...yes, those hitters were 16-18 year olds CA HS kids at the time but a fact is a fact...
Posted by: Eddie | August 30, 2007 11:50 PM
By the way Roch, that quote of Trembley is tremendous...can anyone here imagine that degree of transparent candor, directness, and honesty from a recent Oriole manager? I think most of the recent Angelos managers have tended to paint such rosy pictures that contrasted sharply with what was going on the field that an average fan and/or reporter couldn't help but feel like something's being covered up and NOT being addressed...I understand that most of those managers would do so to not throw his player right out in the open...but, it just would come off a certain way...
...What I like about Trembley is simple: he speaks honestly about what is going on in the field without pretending things are actually good but we fans just can't see it yet...if they stink for a certain stretch, he says, "We have stunk!"...at the very least that's a big change of pace from Grover/Maz/Perlozzo selling us a used car...
Posted by: Eddie | August 31, 2007 12:05 AM
After reading that quote, I don't think that there is any doubt that the Orioles got the right man for the job. Here's looking forward to watching the kids next month!
Posted by: Nick | August 31, 2007 7:30 AM
Words can not sum up the frustration that I have with the entire organization after this week. First, they are a laughing stock with their blowup bullpen and have been swept by the D-Rays (of all teams). Then, they announce either Thursday night or Friday morning that the Savior (Matt Wieters) will not be playing in any of Aberdeen's games. It's funny how they wait till when the Ironbirds are playing at home with only a few games left to announce that. It makes you wonder if they were just trying to get a couple more fans to attend an O's organization game when the desire to watch is almost dead. Screw the O's. Sorry franchise.
Posted by: Danny | August 31, 2007 7:53 AM
Given the Orioles "issues" with 1st round choices and major moves, I am surprised they do not have him hermetically sealed in a bubble.
While it is easy to fault the O's for some of the moves, that is just a matter of hindsight and armchair general managing.
Given what we knew at the time, anyone who says they would not make the Glenn Davis trade or draft Beau Hale, Jeff Hammonds or Richard Stahl is a pathological liar or daft.
(On the other hand, if you questioned drafting Chris Smith #1 or signing "Joey" Belle you show some indications of being GM material. I am organizing a car pool for those of us in this category to go down to the Warehouse next week so we can make our availability known to the new CEO.)
All of those moves looked golden. Hale and Stahl drew comparisons to Roger Clemens and Schilling at the same stage. Neither had injury problems or any showed any signs of fragility. Davis had played in 97% of his team’s games and had never been on the DL.
All of these moves drew the same response from "us" as the Wieters signing has. Hale was expected to be in an O's uniform by 2003 - 2004.
Yet all of those moved blew up on the O's because of injuries. And maybe a factor in the injuries was that the O's, desperate to make something happen, rushed them up the ladder in the organization.
Add to this Brandon Snyder - the last true blue catching prospect the O's drafted - suffered a freak injury that changed his career and delayed his development.
I don't care if he were the Bionic Man and certified as the fittest man ever, if the O's want to wait to have him get in games I am all for it.
It is more important he gets to Camden Yards as a future HOF player for the O's than when he starts playing.
Posted by: TOM D | August 31, 2007 9:16 AM
II am all in favor of Trembley trying to give Hoey a boost and Hoey did pitch pretty well to get through the 7th, but I would not have brought him out for the 8th inning.
At the same time, I applaud Trembley from staying away from the killer B's. The less we see of Chad "Beat Me" Bradford the better.
I wonder, at this point, if the O's went to hitter by hitter match ups (Bradford for 1 hitter, Baez for 1 hitter, Walker for 1, etc., etc.). It might make things dicey if the O's come back to tie it, but it beats getting 2 outs and then seeing a BB followed by a HR or 2B to allow another run.
PS - when the O's trade Traschel this weekend forget about asking for a prospect. The O's need to get a decent major league reliever in return. Not Mariano Rivera or Scot Shields, but like Tampa Bay did - a reliable guy who can get some outs. Look what it has done for them.
Posted by: TOM D | August 31, 2007 9:32 AM
Glenn - throwing hard is not the only requirement for a closer. It is way over rated.
Getting outs is more important. In fact, this is the ONLY thing that matters.
The 2 best closers in O's history - Olson and Stanhouse - were not "hard throwers." Joe Borowski, the AL save leader (and, sigh, former Oriole prospect) is also not a hard thrower. Trevor Hoffman, Baseball's All-Time save leader, has never been a hard thrower.
Liz has control problems not quite as bad as Daniel Cabrera, but not much better. A couple walks in an inning early in the game may not be a big deal but a couple walks in the 9th inning.....
Posted by: TOM D | August 31, 2007 10:31 AM