roch, i'm enjoying this april ride so far. i got my tixs to cheer on the 'rays' vs the stl cards in a few weeks. as close to the al east as i'm going to get this year...

a is for a plus olsen

Speaking of rules, did our dynamic duo (Thorne/Palmer) get it right when they mused last night about what would happen if Huff was traded to the White Sox before the resumption of the suspended game from the other night? They said he could not play in the resumed game for the White Sox because he had been thrown out of the game while playing for the Orioles. Seems logical, if not entirely consistent with the notion that someone not on the roster at the time of the original game, but added by the time of the resumption could play (e.g. if Eider Torres were replaced by Alex Cintron, Scott Moore or someone else, the replacement(s) could play). I'm sure this would never happen, but interesting to contemplate the possibilities. Do you know the answer Roch?

Great win for the O's last night. It would have been easy to lose to a hot team and start the spiral below .500. Keep hope alive!

Wow, after reading the comments from last night's blogs (hard to keep up when you're at the games) I am really a little disappointed in some of the fans here getting on the relief pitching!

To start Bierd has had all of two rough outings recently and before that he was one of the savoirs of the bullpen not having allowed a run in over 11 innings. Can we also try to remember for just a minute that he pitched at AA last year...he should have had a lot more downs than ups to this point, but he's pitched remarkably well.

Secondly, Bradford is SUPPOSE to get guys to hit him. He's not a strikeout type pitcher, he's a ground baller. His job is to throw the ball to induce a grounder to the infield somewhere...it's not his fault if it finds the hole between two defenders, that's just the breaks.

I'm hoping it was more emotional over-reacting to the fear that we might suffer a 2007 bullpen-esque meltdown that caused the complaints. Both of those guys have been a huge part to the success of this bullpen through the first month...let's not become Yankee fans and expect our players to be capable of walking on water all the time.

Should be a no brainer for Olson to start again. I'd like to see him pitch with an umpire that wasn't squeezing him.Beird is really begininng to stink,he reminds me of Aquino.

Posted by: John | April 30, 2008 3:15 AM

I'm with you 150%!!! That kid would have had a lot more strikeouts!! Last week we get a strike zone bigger than a car and last night we had a strike zone the size of a dollar bill! MAJOR PROPS TO OLSON!

He pitched a great game. Perhaps we should do a little rearranging to our rotation.

Guthrie, Cabrera, Burres, Olson, Albers????

Where is Luke Scott's power? Lost in his fast start was the fact that he has but one HR. Scott with his normal pop provide another cleanup candidate.

I was thinking last night...if it weren't for the fact that Kevlar really has no wheels to speak of, it would probably benefit the team to swap him and Nick in the order. Kevin does usually have a pretty high OBP and he'd get better pitches to hit with the threat of Markakis behind him. Maybe seeing the situation this year will give the FO all the encouragement they need to seriously get in the Teixiera running this offseason. (I'm not getting overly excited about a VERY big hypothetical...I'm just keeping my options open, lol)

Hard not to like this team. I agree that first place is first place!

I don't really care if the Braves do pick up Aquino. I'm pretty sure I read that he was drafted as a middle infielder by the D-Backs about 12-13 years ago at the age of 16. Even though it looks like he is 17 due to the hat thing, he is actually 30. Sweet.

I was just looking at the entire 2008 schedule. We really need to support this process and get out to support the kids now because post-AS break things could get very ugly. We absolutely need to take advantage of the next couple of months and try like hell to avoid a tailspin in the second half against a number of contenders.

If Krannitz can get Cabrera and Olson to give quality starts each time out and Trembley keeps the team on its toes, there is not much reason to believe we can't play with most teams.

Roch, I agree that we should not make the mistake of blaming Millar for the fact that we don't have a cleanup hitter. He is a professional hitter who is in the 4-spot by default. Remember when we complained about Miggy not being a real cleanup hitter? :)

Olson definitely showed some guts last night by getting out of a couple jams. And two runs over 6.2 vs. Tampa Bay's potent lineup is impressive. But, it would be foolish to think last nights performance was a formula for sustained success. He's not going to be effective in the long term if he walks almost one guy per inning (5 walks over 6.2 innings).

Tracy-- I subscribe to Roch's philosophy on a pitcher's effectiveness as well. A hit is a hit well-placed or not. If Bradford actually hit his spots there would be a better chance that balls would be hit where the infielders are positioned. Not all of the hits have been nubbers. Hitters seem to have adjusted, they don't try to do to much, and have gotten a lot of hits in key situations.

On the other hand, maybe it is just a bunch of "unlucky" bounces that unfortunately have led to many gut-wrenching losses. In that resect, you are right that most of us have an emotional response to him coming in late with a 3-5 run lead.

That said, there is no one I'd rather come in for one batter with a man on first.

I didn't see much of the game, but I saw Aubrey Huff's HR swing. Man, it looked nice, and it looked like it was pretty far. My prediction for Huff: 28HR, .283avg, 89RBI. I agree, put him under the knife every offseason- You heard it here!

you know that the stars are aligning when Daniel Cabrera leads the team with a 4,14 ERA due to the amount of innings pitched

If he keeps it up, he'll get down to a 3.5 by the end of the year with a couple of bad starts mixed in...even the great pitchers have their bad nights

our batting average is pretty low at .250 though...Millar, Mora and Huff need to start hitting...the rest of the team is doing well or is exceeding expectations

Um, I assume Torres has played shortstop in the minors before? Otherwise, what happens if L. Hernandez gets hurt during a game?

WOW, what's with all the Bierd hate? He's been one of our bullpen saviors, he has 2 bad games, and everyone jumps down his back. Geez.....give the kid a break. Tracy is right, you guys are almost as bad as Yankees fans. I guess thats what happened when you're in first place :)

Can someone tell Luke Scott to stop trying to hit a home run every turn at bat. Just hit the ball hard. He is going to work his way out of the line up as Jay Payton works his way in.

Thanks for the videos you loaned me Roch! My left arm is killing me!

Not sure at all about Millar in cleanup.

Right now it's clear that pitchers aren't afraid of him because they are pitching around Markakis. The real down side of all this is that Nick should be starting to put up monster numbers, but the only thing he'll get this way a lot of is walks. And because of this he's now swinging at bad pitches and not producing the way he should.

Put Huff behind him; he's much more of a power threat will do a better job protecting Markakis.

On Millar hitting 4th, I believe Trembley doesn't want back to back lefty hitters in the 3rd and 4th spots so that's why he isn't using Huff. I guess I see the point but wouldn't this only be important in the late innings of a tight game where he'd be forcing the other manager to use more pitchers to get Markakis--Millar--Huff out? Anyway I like the way Millar is playing so perhaps why mess with it?

Congrats to Olson on a great job last night. I didn't see the game but presume he must have matched up well against the lefties in the TB lineup.

Ramon's BA is not good but doesn't he seem to have alot of RBI for someone not hitting that well? He still has some pop.

Roch-just read your story about O's offense , Millar , Hernandez brothers , Huff , Mora are all pressing at the plate , even Scott's hot bat is starting to fizzle down. Compounding that with no one at Norfolk/Bowie hitting clean up either .
Roch- have you ever consider giving Mr McPhail the phone number for Barry Bonds ?

Because if you dont , you might as well tell Coach Samuel to wave everybody to home plate .

Go get em , Albers!

to brian from the other page -

I don't think you can call McCrory "rushed", he's been in the league for 5 years I believe.

Posted by: david s. | April 29, 2008 7:12 PM

David he was DRAFTED in 2003, 5 years ago, BUT he has had limited time at AAA, that was my point, lack of time as a closer/reliever at a high level. They brought up Hoey too soon, I was just thinking out loud that I hoped they haven't done the same to McCrory.

Roch, are they still booing Huff? I would hope NOT! The guy is producing, what more could they ask from him?
Millar at cleanup is purely by default everyone, Kirk has no one else to do it. Watching Millar, you can see he is primarily a guess hitter & just looks for that fastball, middle to inner half, belt high or lower. If he gets the count in his favor & guesses right, he is a threat, otherwise, he is toast. If I am pitching to him, I give him sliders & curves outside corner all night, bust him inside & high with a fastball when the count goes 2 strikes.

Olson has earned that next start & he pitched well from what I read & heard. I am not totally sold on him having changed yet, but hopefully he has.

Maybe the O's can get something for Aquino if the Braves want him. It's a shame he didn't work out here. I still think he is much better than we saw. He was used moronically here. Who can pitch well when they are used every 12 days? His downfall was being used for 3 innings early in the season in one of the blowouts. He pitched OK for 2 innings, then got lit up the 3rd. He is a 1 or 2 inning pitcher, like Bradford. After that outing Kirk buried him.

Roch any word on Bynum? Lord knows he is no savior, but I think he takes Torres place when ready. Maybe he gets a run at SS in 11 days?

I wouldn't take Millar out of the cleanup spot. Why change something that is working. Millar is doing his job and Huff is doing his job just like when he was on Tampa Bay.

JPA - Okay, I'll concede that if Chad was able to always pitch to his defense there would be far less hits against him. It seems to me that the ball right back up the middle is where he's most likely to get burned. That being said, if the long ball is the most likely way to hurt us in any given situation it is Chad, more than any other in our bullpen, that I want to see on the mound.

I'll be honest, I got a bit nervous last night when a 7 run lead got down to a 3 run lead with two men on...but it was still a little shocking to see how badly burnt we've been in the past that so many people were already starting to dog on the bullpen for being worn out (they didn't have an easy go on the road trip) and less than stellar, when we hadn't even given up the lead yet.

For the poster that was wanting to hear about Rocky Cherry: Yahoo Sports list him on the 15 day DL.

The suspended games questions, jds pointed out rule 4.12 yesterday. If you were in the game and were tossed (Huff) you are not eligible to return, even for the other team. If you are traded and had already played (torres) you can play for the other team. So it is conceivable that more than 25 players for both teams will play.

Actually, you CAN have a save credited if you are up by 12. For a three-inning save, all the pitchers has to do if pitch at least three innings and finish the game. The margin at the time he enters the game does not matter.

The O's are in first place Hun. I am now praying for a players strike until the last weekend in Sept.

More on the Suspended game ... sorry Roch:

(3) If suspended on the last scheduled date between the two clubs in that city, transferred and played on the grounds of the opposing club, if possible;
(i) Immediately preceding the next scheduled single game, or
(ii) Immediately preceding the next scheduled doubleheader, if no single game remains on the schedule.
3. A suspended game shall be resumed at the exact point of suspension of the original game. The completion of a suspended game is a continuation of the original game. The lineup and batting order of both teams shall be exactly the same as the lineup and batting order at the moment of suspension, subject to the rules governing substitution. Any player may be replaced by a player who had not been in the game prior to the suspension. No player removed before the suspension may be returned to the lineup.A player who was not with the club when the game was suspended may be used as a substitute, even if he has taken the place of a player no longer with the club who would not have been eligible because he had been removed from the lineup before the game was suspended.

Roch,

I think your mentioning Texiera is timely.

The last couple of days I have been reading about Smoltz and Glavine’s injury issues, and reviewing the Braves record, and beginning to wonder if………..maybe,…………just maybe………..the Braves MIGHT think about trading Tex before they lose him for draft picks. He has not signed an extension and I don’t think that the Braves have the stomach for a Scott Boras bidding war.

I wonder what the Braves would want for him. I also wonder if we could agree to a contract extension for him if we got the 72 hour window.

The Yankees will be looking for a first baseman and will probably offer an amount of money that would be considered obscene in fourteen Baptist counties; however, there is little lost by making an effort. Maybe the money isn’t everything to him.

The Braves are savvy traders so we would have to be careful in dealing with them. Andy Mac Phail has shown he knows how to make a trade that works for us.

Does anyone have a REASONABLE trade proposal? Mine would be two of the quality starters (pitchers) we have at Frederick. They would be a better risk than the supplemental first round pick the Braves would get from us in the draft.

Aubrey Huff

Has anyone considered that all of the controversy surrounding him this winter motivated him to show up ready to play? If so, let’s hope he P Os the fans EVERY winter he is still on the team.

Roch, talk to us about this kid Berken in Bowie.

Once Great ... Still Proud.
Why Not ... Believe.

Hey Roch!

Great job with the blog as usual. Can you find out who will start Sunday in Anaheim? It would be Olson's normal day, but Trachsel will have gone 8 days without a start at that point. Is Trachsel working out of the bullpen these next couple of nights? Thanks!

Ben - I too saw Mora's little affectionate act with Olson. I didn't believe my eyes at first, so I pushed rewind (my wife, God bless her, gave me Tivo for my birthday several years ago.), and watched it again. He clearly laid his cheek on Olson's chest/collarbone area. And he tilted his head a bit too.

I don't know why he chose that gesture, but I think he was just giving Olson a little love. I finally decided, that he was giving him a half-hug, and that his left hand/arm (and glove) were probably completing the half-hug from behind where we couldn't see it from the camera angle. Even so, a surprisingly tender moment in a mostly macho setting.

I suppose if the football players can hold hands in the huddle and wear pantyhose under their uniforms then we need to redefine macho.

Jennifer - did you see it? what was your take?

Totally disagree on the "no choice" but to keep Millar in the cleanup spot. Quality at-bats only matter if you can get on-base at a reasonable clip, which he's not doing with an OBP of sub .300.

If I take your example of Millar moving to #3 and Markakis @ #4 the excuse preventing this from occuring will be the bogged down conventional thinking of lefty-righty line-up distribution. But who's likely to see better pitches to hit as a result? My guess is it will be Millar and Markakis because each of them will have better protection.

We have a #3 hitter tied for 54th and a #4 hitter tied for 45th in RBI. Seems likely that just about any changes can only help improve those totals.

In case anybody missed it, ESPN picked the O's ball boy's "play" in last night's game as the #7 "Play of the Day". It was great!

Nice pitching by Garrett Olson last night. He really seems to have matured. In the postgame show Dave Johnson was harping on his five walks last night, pointing out that Olson can't do that in every start and expect to come out victorious, but Rick Kranitz stated after the win that Olson was missing consistently right around the strike zone. So the walks can be attributed to probably three factors: 1) first start jitters; 2) better eyes by the Rays hitters than those Olson's been facing in the minors, resulting in more taking the pitch; and 3) the strike zone as interpreted by the plate umpire.

As far as the Orioles' hitting, the good news is that many of these players are historically slow starters, so improvement by some of them should be expected as we get deeper in the season. We all know Brian Roberts is going to hit. That's a given. And, batting average aside, Aubrey Huff have been a real clutch hitter. He has a real chance at a 30 home run season, and maybe he should be moved up in the lineup to bat fourth. More good news come from with the realization that as inconsistent as the team hitting's been this year, more often than not someone has been coming through with the timely hit. I'd be interested in knowing the team BA with runners in scoring position; I'd have to say I imagine it is considerably better than the overall average.

Brian -- I'm not so sure Freddie Bynum is necessarily an upgrade over Eider Torres, certainly not as a hitter. Both have terrific skills at stealing bases. Freddie does have the advantage of more big league experience and versatility in the field though, like Eider, he doesn't have many innings at shortstop. I'd prefer the Orioles giving Torres a chance to show what he can do, while letting Freddie get more rehab swings in the minors, and if it doesn't work out the two can be switched later on in the season.

Sorry, Ofahn and others, I just don’t see there being a trade for Teixeira no matter how well the O’s do this season and no matter if they could sign him long term. I think MacPhail, at least for the next year or two, is content with developing players from within and acquiring other players that can be developed or have limited big league experience. I don’t even see him making a push for big money free agents this offseason either.

I see MacPhail playing it steady, not getting too giddy at any shot at contending, and continue doing what he’s been doing. If this team flirts with the postseason this year, it’ll be roughly the team we’re seeing now. There seems to be a plan in place (finally), and I think MacPhail realizes the team has to stick with it regardless of how well (or poorly) the team is doing in the standings.

It’s nice to see Olson come up and pitch a decent game. This is what he (and many others) did not do last year—basically, seize an opportunity at the major league level. He did it and earned another start. This is what you hope your young pitchers can do.

Not only can you get a save when one's team is ahead by 12 runs, you can get one when your team is ahead by 27 runs.

Remember the 30-3 game last year? Texas brought in a reliever who worked the last three innings and came away with a "save" despite the 27(!) run advantage for his team. They must have been glad that he got them out of that jam!

Also, I'd like to add a note of caution to the Teixeira-mania currently sweeping the blog. For those that haven't noticed, Tex is off to another slow start this year. Currently, he's batting .267 with 4 HR, 17 RBI and his SLOB is only .787. Two weeks ago, Tex was hovering around the Mendoza line. By contrast, Aubrey Huff is batting .247 with 5 HR, 18 RBI and a SLOB of .813. Obviously, we expect Tex to wind up with the better numbers when all is said and done. However, based on what they've done through the first month, Huff has been slightly better.

The point, and this comes from someone who watched Teixeira play in high school and would very much love for him to be an Oriole, is that he might not be the right kind of hitter to sign for what will probably be at least six years and over $100 million. He's struggled over the last few years and often has stretches where he hits for low batting average.

The Orioles are in a rebuilding phase, and signing a huge $100 million + deal is a very risky move for us. To trade away pitching prospects to have him for a few months, as one poster suggested, is even a greater risk. There is no quicker way to derail a rebuilding project than to throw all of one's money at a single player who signed for many years to come and who starts underperforming. Just ask Albert Belle. Any time you trade away young pitching talent for an older veteran, you run a big risk too. Just ask John Maine.

There are very few players that are worth shelling out the huge multi-year $100 million+ deals for, and I have some serious doubts that Texiera is one of them, even though he will almost certainly sign for that much since his agent is Boras.

If I were Andy MacPhail, I'd look long and hard at alternative options to the 1B/clean-up hitter condundrum before dishing out $100 M to a single player, hometown hero included.

The O's are in first place Hun. I am now praying for a players strike until the last weekend in Sept.

Posted by: Tom from Millersville | April 30, 2008 11:19 AM

Wow wouldn't it be nice to say in September....

"The O's are still in first place!!!"

Who knows, maybe it'll happen this season...........without the strike. : )

"Actually, you CAN have a save credited if you are up by 12. For a three-inning save, all the pitchers has to do if pitch at least three innings and finish the game. The margin at the time he enters the game does not matter."

For example, when the Rangers beat the Orioles 30-3, the Texas relief pitcher was credited for a save. I think I remember that happening anyway.

"Does anyone have a REASONABLE trade proposal? Mine would be two of the quality starters (pitchers) we have at Frederick."

I say that we shouldn't trade for Teixiera. This is an Orioles club that is not in the business of trading away what we carefully sought after, even for a fix at 1B for several years. I would rather go to free agency with the wallet open for this guy.

The unfortunate thing I see happening with Teixiera is winding up playing for the Yankees. It makes sense for them, they have not had a consistent first baseman in years, and Giambi is on his last legs in baseball. Teixiera is going to get a very large payday at the expense of either the Yanks or Sox, I'm fairly confident in that.

It's nice to think about a real cleanup hitter on the Orioles, but lets face it, in terms of money, age, and goals, Tex and the O's don't cross paths anywhere but home state.

I look at the trends. Mora and Roberts are trending up....this is good. Millar and Markakis are trending down. Scott down. Huff flat. Ramon H is trending up. L Hernandez flat at the Mendoza line.Jones up.

Equals 4 up, 3 down and 2 flat equals improvement . Lets see what the warm weather brings .

Tune in for next weeks episode of "Alias Huff and Jones" when our heroes meet in an extraordinary place...not on the base path.

It would seem that the Yanks have lost a bit of the magic that attracted, along with the fleet of Brinks trucks, so many big-time free agents. In the past they could just about guarantee a FA that he'd be in the playoffs with a great shot at the World Series.

No longer.

If we match or at least come close to what NY offers, why would Tex go to Gotham?

Would Boston go after him, either LA team?

I should have clarified that I meant getting a save in a 12-run game when only pitching the ninth. I'm aware of the rule. But thanks to everyone for being on top of it.

It's the last day of April and the "worst team in baseball" holds 1st place in the AL East. I am so pleased that I refuse to critisize or comment. I'll leave that to the armchair managers out there. Not gonna complain one bit about the lineup or pitching or announcing. Even the whiny fans can't get to me.

We're way past 11-7. We've had more comebacks in one month than all of 2007. Whatever the rest of the season holds, no one can predict. Baseball is supposed to be a diversion from the daily grind. The Orioles are fulfilling this for me.

could someone in the organization maybe suggest to Greg Aquino that he too get Tommy John surgury? couldn't hurt right?