As early morning turns to mid-morning
It's another gorgeous day here in Fort Lauderdale. Players are heading to the back fields for another workout.
As expected, Scott Moore will be getting a look in the outfield. That seems to be the new Oriole Way. Players who are blocked at one position start taking fly balls in left. Happens every spring.
Moore has another option remaining and could get squeezed off the roster. It would help if he could pull a Freddie Bynum and play the outfield.
Esteban Yan said he weighed 225 when he broke into the majors with the Orioles in 1996. Now he's up to 258.
It'll happen to all of us, I suppose, if it hasn't already.
Ramon Hernandez and Matt Wieters sat together at their lockers again this morning. Hernandez seems to enjoy being the veteran who looks after Wieters and offers advice. And the 2008 version of Ramon Hernandez seems to be a much better role model.
Hernandez said he didn't have anyone counseling him when he first came up, and he doesn't want Wieters to feel lost.
More raves for Chris Tillman. People who have watched him throw marvel at his fluid delivery. He seems pretty advanced for 19.
Comments
nobody ever marvelled at my "fluid delivery" but it never stopped me from ordering another round.
did mr. schmuck get in a row with a feral parrot yet?
Posted by: the wayward O | February 17, 2008 10:34 AM
So Ramon is maturing, has a good agent, or is taking his profession seriously. This is a good thing and while one reaction could be --"it's about time" or "how convenient now that it is a contract year", we should probably just be thankful he wants to be a player in this rebuilding effort.
In an odd way, Huff, Hernandez, all of the injuries, and the awful bullpen did us all a favor. We have needed to move in a unified direction for years and the horrible results finally seems to have forced the FO to stop denying the obvious. So if some of these guys end up performing at their expected major-league level, that's a good thing.
Again I think we will end up with 71-74 wins. The sheer number of bad breaks are unlikely to occur in succession like last season. I don't think in the end Tejada's loss will cost us more than a couple of games due to the upgrade in defense. Bedard will hurt a lot but with a minor improvement in Cabrera and the 5 spot it may be a wash in the overall record. We'll see. Record is pretty inconsequential this year. Development is critical. They NEED to have a solid August and September.
Posted by: JPA | February 17, 2008 12:08 PM
JPA. I think we are definitely going to miss Tejada more than you suggest. He is a consistent run producer, who even in an off-year, still put up numbers that project out to 20 plus HR, 100 RBI.
I'm not suggesting there wasn't some merit in trading him but where in the lineup are we going to find that level of production?
The only sure source of power is Marakakis, although maybe Ramon Hernandez can step it up and perhaps Scott can hit with some pop. Jones is largely unknown at this point and unfortunately, we do know that the other spots are filled with mediocre producers at this stage.
I 'll go out on a limb and say we'll have trouble scoring runs and to win 71-74 games as you suggest, we are going to have to get unbelievable pitching. Anything's possible but I'd like to see the offense beefed up somehow.
Posted by: TerryP | February 17, 2008 1:05 PM
Let the chips fall where they may.
Should be interesting to say the least.
Dump J-roid and Huff and I may even shell out a few sheckels and attend a few games.
Then again, maybe not
Posted by: Bud J | February 17, 2008 3:46 PM
The Feral Parrot. Wasn't that one of Hemmingway's hangouts?
Posted by: Ken Francis | February 17, 2008 4:32 PM
When are you people going to learn that winning is not the buzz word this year. Gaining experience is. The O's won't miss either Bedard or Miggy because winning is not on the horizon this year.
Posted by: Leon | February 17, 2008 5:18 PM
I am a season ticket holder for the High Desert Mavericks of the High A California League and I think the O's stole one from the Mariners when they traded for Chris Tillman. Chris tied the Mavericks single game strikeout record of 13 (done twice by Brad Penny) and pitched so well in his 2nd half of 2007 we were amazed at his maturity at age 18. You will also like Chris Tillman the man. He is one great guy. The Mavericks were affiliated with the Orioles in 1995-96, and I used to live in Odenton, MD, so I still have strong feelings for Maryland and the Orioles. I lived in Maryland from 1970 - 1979. --Bob Bowen, Helendale, CA
Posted by: Bob Bowen | February 17, 2008 8:51 PM