Roch...whats your take on the hawk attack in Fenway? The hawk attacked a girl named Alexa Rodriquez. It's all over the news here in Japan.

Not good on Penn,hope he's just working the rust off.

Where is Tyler Henson? I was hping to have hime in Frederick this year? Speaking of, that roster is the one that is stacked with a good bit of prosects.... Wieters, Rowell, and Snyder in the middle of that order should be fun to watch!

Played third base for Delmarva last night. 1-for-7 w/ 3 Ks.

So the Hawk in Fenway attacked ARod? the wrong ARod? When I first read that there was a Hawk attack in Fenway, I thought Ken Harrelson was still doing their broadcasts, but no that's for the White Sox. Oh well, hope for some other Bird attacks at Fenway this year.

I gotta tell you...Penn's line does not surprise me. People need to realize that he just doesn't have it.

I just looked at the Fredrick Keys schedule last night and see that their playing the Wilmington (DE) Blue Rocks (Royals) on April 30th at 11:05 am. I hope to see our prospects and getting to learn more of our minor league guys below AAA. The Blue Rocks games, just off I-95, is a relaxing ballpark to watch a game with that nostalgia atmosphere.

Cubs have moved Soriano to the leadoff spot. I suggest that should their pitching hold up and run support becomes an issue...the pressure on Hendry shall increase.

Roch,

Weather in Tidewater last night was terrible. Windy and rainy - not baseball conditions for Penn whose I think is from CA. I'd give him a 'pass' on last night and see what he has when the conditions are more typical.

Boomer.

I would think Ben Davis has rightfully earned the nickname "Crash" by now.

Thanks for the updates Roch. Shame about Penn's bad outing, I am hoping for so much more out of him.
I hope you can keep giving regular minor league updates all season, that's where the O's future lies.

Ray, first of all, I am not telling you or anyone else who to boo or not boo. I was saying, that if anyone should be booed , it should be a guy who wanted out, didn't care about the ramifications for "our" team, etc, not the guy still playing here & trying to help "our" team win. I say back the guys here, support them, at least in the first week of the 162 game season, whereas the ones gone or who wanted out, why cut them a break instead, that's all.
As for booing in general, I doubt many of the ones booing have ever tried to play this game on any level. It is a difficult game where being successful 30% of the time, as a hitter for instance, can get you all star status, be a league leader possibly. Failure happens much more often than success & booing a guy over his social opinions just seems... um to steal one clowns word... immature.
I other thing Ray, where do you get "my beloved Tejada" from? I never said anything close to that at all.

Look out ESPN! Roch, I just saw your video piece on the Sun website, nice job. The blow the blonde bimbos out of the water.

Roch, thanks for the Minor League updates. Frankly, I think that is where our delight, our focus will be this summer. That is the future, hopefully, for the team.
Reimold has an opportunity here, I hope he doesn't pout at Bowie, but rather tears up AA, stays healthy, then heads for Va Beach...
I am a little surprised that Davis accepted an assignment to Bowie. It goes against the image that has been portrayed of the guy. Good for him.

MC: You raise a good point I’ve always had trouble with in the opening series. I understand the need for Opening Day to go off as a big production, and it wouldn’t be fair for the second game to become the Opening Day. But why not make tickets for the first three games say something like Game One, Game Two, Game Three, and not have specified dates (something like how postseason tickets are labeled)? So, if Monday would’ve been rained out, the game that would’ve been scheduled for Tuesday in this scenario becomes Game One/Opening Day, and the next day’s game becomes Game Two, and so on for the first series (and Game Three, if it doesn’t get played, can be exchanged for a ticket later in the season or used in the makeup if there is one—the game numbering system would end with the first series).

Roch, it’s not good that there are no outfield prospects currently in AAA. As we can see, while there have been strides in improving the O’s farm system (we seem to be headed in the right direction, at least), there is still more work to be done. Obviously, it takes time—you can’t just snap your fingers and be full up on top-notch young outfielders (or other position players). The Penn start is discouraging, though of course it’s still early. We’re all just waiting for him to seize the opportunity. A good run of starts and he could be up here. A spot would be his for the taking.

The hawk attack can only mean one thing: the Yankees will win the World Series and the Red Sox are again cursed. The hawk attacked a girl with a similar name to A-Rod’s. While Red Sox fans will see this as some sort of sign directed against A-Rod, a hated Yankee, the opposite will hold true. The baseball gods will not be amused. Fifty years from now, Red Sox fans will cry as the Yankees win their 46th title, and they haven’t won one since the infamous hawk attack of 2008. I kid, I kid.

Roch,

I'm glad you mentioned Reimold as part of the plan in th OF. We've seen so many prospects perform up to and at the Double A level, then they fizzle and never amount to anything, a la Calvin Pickering, Ryan Minor and Val Majewski (though injuries contributed there). Is Reimold legit, or are we just closing our eyes and crossing our fingers?

John Galt- purchasing the "Sports Package" will not allow you to see MLB games. It allows you to view programming from all the Regional Sports Networks accross the country, but all pro games are contractually blacked out. If you live outside the Balt metro area the O's games will be blacked out as well. If you want to see all MLB games you need to purchase MLB Extra Innings pacakge. I think it's about $160 for the season as oppossed to the $10/month for the Sports Package.

I think John was refering to the MLB extra innings, but the problem is that all the local games are blacked out by MASN. It doesn't matter which satelite or cabel company you have, all local games are blacked out. These packages are for people living outside of their market area (say an O's fan in Arizona) or for people that just can't get enough baseball from their local teams. If you are only interested in the O's games and you live in the baltimore area, you just wasted a lot of money.

Roch, I was at the Norfolk opening game last night and saw Penn pitch against a solid hitting Buffalo line-up. It was raining , windy and cold. Penn had first and fifth inning rough patches which hurt him. He also had an error with an errant pick-off attempt. However he pitched out of some tight spots and reported to the local press that his arm feels good.
He didn't loose his poise.
Wait and see.

My guy at St Stephens and St Agnes School says that the reason they put Ben Davis at Bowie rather than at Norfolk is that they want him working with the young duds a lot. They want Heintz to catch 120 games or so, and Davis to catch 120 games or so, too. The only way they could do that was to split them up.

Hey Roch, I have to admit it's a lot harder getting into the O's these days as their roster is as ominous as your weather there. I think the O's have 4 teams in the division that could make this a long long season. However, the main reason I am writing is to tell you that you do a great job on tv! I only just noticed the MASN video today and your answers and perspective was terrific!

Any word on where Mike McCoy (Norfolk) came from?

Penn and Olson are down there to become more than 2 pitch pitchers.
Hopefully they'll work on some things and become that.
The thing with both of them-they were brought up to pitch at the major league level when they clearly were not ready. I don't consider them failures if they need to spend time at AAA getting their game in order. They are still young, nice potential, with not a lot of innings on those arms.The fact that they've 'pitched'(and i use that term loosely) at the major league level means little.
The best thing this organization can do over the next couple of years is to establish a 'pitching factory' mentality.Good drafts, and great instruction from the ground on up. Wouldn't it be nice to see players earn their way through the organization instead of the default promotions that have been going on?

has jay gibbons been picked up by anyone?

Roch, did you really just say that Luis Terrero could be a "useful" player off the bench this year for the O's?

hahahahahaha. Thanks for the laugh.

Penn is done.

Responses to yesterday's "Legal and affiliate news" postings:

Brian -- I do remember the "he told me he was done..." game, but wasn't that Sam Perlozzo, not Dave Trembley? But Sam was doing that with all his starters, cross-examining them around the sixth or seventh inning if he thought they might be running on fumes (even when they exhibited no outward signs).

This is something I recall stirred up of quite a number of us posting on this blog, especially when it became apparent to seemingly everyone but Perlozzo that he wasn't doing the team any favors by going to his wretched bullpen too often and when the situation didn't seem to warrant it. (In fairness, while I disagreed--still do--with his mistaken Mothers Day Massacre decision to pull a still-dominant Jeremy Guthrie from the game in the ninth with one out, a runner who'd reached on a dropped popup by the catcher, and a 5-0 lead over the Red Sox, he wasn't wrong to expect that the 'pen would be able to close that game out.)

Let's look at Bedard from another angle, and that is quality starts (below I've linked his 2007 Game Log from FoxSports.com). For those unfamiliar with the term, "quality start" is defined as a game in which the starting pitcher completes at least six innings and permits no more than three earned runs. In other words, it's one where he's given his team a good chance to win, and at the very least he keeps his team in the game and helps his manager refrain from overworking the bullpen.

http://nmsn.foxsports.com/mlb/playerGameLog?categoryId=104483&selectedSeason=2007

Last year Erik started 28 games, and 21 of them were quality starts. He averaged 6.5 innings pitched overall, but if you throw out April, which was his worst month (including two games in which he couldn't get out of the fifth inning and another where he worked only 5.2), then his innings pitched were not just good, but pretty phenomenal.

His 22 starts beginning in May and running through his last one on August 26, Bedard failed to pitch at least six innings only twice, and the rest of the games broke down like this: 9 IP--1, 8 to 8.2 IP--1, 7 to 7.2 IP--11 games, 6 to 6.2 IP-7.

So more than half of his games during that stretch he was working at a minimum of seven innings a game (he had an unbelievable run of games in July and August where he ran off nine consecutive quality starts).

In a word, Brian, your perception of him as someone who was dogging it, begging out of several games, is a misperception probably based on the incident you cite above. The reality though, is that for most of the season Bedard consistently worked deep into games, and I dare say that his 7+ IP per game over that stretch is well above what average major league pitchers put up at the same time.

So it's both inaccurate and unfair to suggest that Bedard didn't want to pitch or help his team, when his game log says quite the opposite. He was, after all, the Orioles' winningest pitcher with 13 (he had another five quality starts that easily could have upped his wins to 18, had he had decent bullpen help/run support in those games).

[BTW, when I said you must have been referring to someone else with your "Bedolt" play on Erik's name, I was being facetious.]

Chuck from PA--I never said he was a complete game pitcher, but I believe I've shown above beyond question that he is more than a six inning pitcher. Honestly, Chuck, the way the game's played anymore, there aren't too many starters finishing their games.

Everything has become so specialized when you talk about pitching staffs, so not only do you have a closer and a set up man, but a long man and situational relievers, as well. This translates (best case scenario) to someone who works the 7th, the setup guy in the 8th, and the closer in the 9th. Possibly on Wednesday we saw who Trembley would like to have there, when he brought in Chad Bradford for the 7th, Jamie Walker for the 8th, and George Sherrill for the 9th.

The point is that if Bedard can get through six innings (and I've documented his ability to get even through seven consistently), then he's doing what's expected of him.

Yes, Bedard's had injuries in his past, but I don't know if we can necessarily use that as a forecast of what will or won't happen to him down the road. True, some pitchers never seem to be able to avoid them, but, on the other hand, some have had problems early in their careers, but nothing later, so it remains to be seen. I'm pretty sure that had little or nothing to do with the O's decision to trade him; Seattle obviously wasn't too concerned, either.

As for the trade itself, anyone who's a regular reader of this blog knows what a big Erik Bedard fan I am and how much I initially opposed the move. It's going to be painful to watch him pitch in a Mariners' uniform and probably put up better numbers than last year, I won't lie about that.

Yet, ultimately, I've embraced the rebuilding that Andy MacPhail has begun to implement. I'm pretty pleased already with the return he got in the Bedard, and am expecting continued good things out of it. I wouldn't say, however, that the Orioles did the right thing by trading him for the reasons you've enumerated.

TerryP--You made some good points on your reply to Brian. I liked how you summed things up: "I'm pretty sure every MLB team would find a spot for Bedard in their rotation and will take their chances with his lack of heart/guts whatever you want to call it." Good job!

Bedard deserves a standinding ovation, in my opinion. He is one of the few jewels that the Orioles farm system has produced, of late. He never roughed-up a judge or delved into performance enhancing drugs. He was Orioles brightest star, a fighter on the mound, and he didn't ask to be traded.

"Penn is done"??? Yeah, so was John Maine. Thankfully guys like you and Mike Flanagan aren't making the decisions.

Most fans crap on the players who leave as soon as they are gone. Anyone who says Bedard isn't a terrific pitcher--plainly among the top few in the majors--is putting personal animus and "homerism" above reason. If he wasn't, we wouldn't have gotten the five-player haul from the Mariners which included their best position prospect and best pitching prospect, not to mention a top-flight reliever who could plug our closer hole. I also don't understand the view that the trade was anything less than terrific for us. Bedard was gone as soon as he could be gone and we haven't had a rookie with the promise of Adam Jones in ages. Anyone close since Cal Ripken came up in the early 80's?

CRB,

I have this odd feeling that you might be right. If for some reason the Yanks go to the WS, you just know they are going to blame it on something other than themselves, so why not a bird. It would be funny to see though.

Re: The Boo Fight.....

Fans have the right to boo whenever and to whomever they want. That is their call. But there is a difference between booing those who deserve it, like an opposing team like the Yankees or Red Sox, and players who don't deserve it, like Huff and Bedard.

Sure Huff said some crap, blah blah blah, who cares. He's in Baltimore. He plays for Baltimore. He's earned himself a bunch of RBIs in Baltimore. He said he made a mistake. If you still can't forgive him, well you should take a stroll down memory lane and go back to when you said something that you shouldn't have. We've all done it and I'm sure at one point its come back to bite you in the a$$.

As far as Bedard, well you can't hate the guy for playing on another team. That's just baseball. Trades happen. You move on. It sucks he's not in Baltimore any more because he was an Ace and probably will remain an Ace for any team he plays for in the future. He gave us a lot of wins, a lot of strike outs and a lot of good memories. He still has friends here so it's not like he packed up his locker and peaced out, never to be seen again. So when it comes to booing Bedard, there is really no reason. Sure he may come off as an a$$ when being interviewed, but that's his personality. Honestly I wouldn't want a bunch of reporters asking me the same questions every five days. It would get annoying.

So really if you want to boo players just for the satisfaction of doing it, boo the Yankees or Red Sox when their lineups are being announced, then just watch the game and CHEER (not boo) for your home team.

I apologize for the length

Well said terpfan.... on Penn.

I never said Bedolt was a poor pitcher. You guys taking these comments & twisting or bending to continue the rant win.... I give up.
You only have a few more days to remain on your knees guys, Bedard will be in front of you in a few days...

I would say Markakis held the promise of Adam Jones.

In all fairness, Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts would qualify as comparable Ripken-esque players, particularly Nick. He's got what it takes to play a full season, hit for average and has just as much power. Bedard is a gem too. The Orioles are not completely inept at cultivating talent, but in years past they haven't been trading it carefully.

DON'T GET ALL BEDARDED BY BOOING BEDARD

lolz.

c is for chill we're rebuilding remember.

Terpfan-you made good point about O's fans getting negative on players who got traded, released ,cut , etc.

I like to Bedard , Tejada , Maine and other Ex-O's perform well and happy . It shows to other Major League organizations that not all our players are shrubs or busts . If they did , MacPhail wouldnt been able to trade some of our vets .

Penn had a bad night ? Calm down. If Penn has bad night in July , maybe then we all can reach for that PANIC button .

Wonder where Andy Mac and Peter A's attention wlii be tonight? Camden or Fredrick?

Ken Francis. Thanks!
We are both on the same page re: Bedard. It took me a while to accept the deal but it's time to move on! I just hope the guys we received in return pan out so that we can finally put a winning team out there. Then maybe we can assemble our own -home-grown type team so we don't have to wade into the always ominous free-agent pool or trade market.

Hey guys , Bedard is gone because Peter the Great would not pay him top dollar to pitch every five days , that is his philosophy..........try competing with the teams in our division with thinking like that..............get used to it...........

Knowing what we know now, Markakis and Roberts are terriffic home-grown players (as were Bedard and Mussina, and (little did we know) Maine). None had the buzz of an Adam Jones IMHO. I'm just saying it's fun to have a guy whom the baseball world thinks has superstar potential. We haven't had that (and certainly not much of it) in a long, long time.