Problems at shortstop
If someone had told me before the season that Luis Hernandez would be batting .243 in the second week of May, I would have assumed that the Orioles were thrilled with him - or the person passing along the news had to blow into a tube before starting his car. But Hernandez was a liability at shortstop because he had to play so deep to compensate for his deficiencies and an apparent erosion of confidence in the field. It was costing the Orioles runs, and it became too much for manager Dave Trembley.
If Hernandez had another minor league option remaining, I still believe Eider Torres would have been sent back to Triple-A Norfolk. Though not the second coming of Ozzie Smith, Hernandez is more capable of backing up Freddie Bynum at short.
Cal Ripken is coming back to Camden Yards, but not to play shortstop. He'll be joined Monday by his brother, Bill, the staff of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, youth from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Baltimore and members of area law enforcement to celebrate the final stop of the 2008 Play Ball Tour For Kids. The event will feature a clinic and Quickball demonstration.
Somebody tackle Cal and keep him there so he's more of a presence at Camden Yards. Billy, too. And anybody seen Brooks lately?
Steve Trachsel needs a solid start tonight, and he's facing the right team. He allowed two runs in 16 innings against the Royals last season. If Trachsel is knocked around tonight, it's hard to justify keeping him in the rotation.
Former Oriole Sidney Ponson was fined an undisclosed amount for his actions during last night's bench-clearing incident in Seattle. Richie Sexson has been suspended six games and fined for "violent and aggressive actions" - a phrase that also describes his approach to hitting.
Down on the farm, Luis Montanez and Jeff Nettles hit back-to-back homers last night for Double-A Bowie. Montanez has five homers this season.
Norfolk's Luis Terrero had four more hits yesterday and is batting .360. His 27 RBIs lead all Orioles minor leaguers.
Congratulations to my good friend (and former Orioles PR director) John Maroon, whose firm, Maroon PR, was chosen to represent The Carmelo Anthony Foundation.
The Baltimore-based firm will oversee the growth and public relations outreach surrounding Anthony's Foundation, established in 2005, and philanthropic efforts.
I promised John that I wouldn't ask whether it also comes with a designated driver.
Among the Foundation's activities are Anthony's annual H.O.O.D Movement 3-on-3 Challenge, fundraising events in Denver and Syracuse, and his multi-city rollout of A Very Melo Christmas later this year.
A warning to Anthony: If you play hoops with John, just know that he hacks. I still carry bruises from past spring training pickup games. Make sure he's on your team. That reduces the risk by at least 50 percent.
Comments
In case you were wondering:
SUSSEX SKYHAWKS (CanAm League)-Signed 1B Walter Young.
Posted by: tvdpdx | May 9, 2008 5:53 PM
Is Maroon still handling Ripken's PR?? He's awfully good.
There are definitely some anecdotal examples of deficiency we can point to in Hernandez's play at SS, however according to some of the new fielding metrics his play at shortstop compared Tejeda last year, as well as Jones' play in CF, as helped the O's pitchers a great deal. The team is way up there when it comes to getting outs on balls batted in play. Visual observation can be quite deceptive when it comes to analyzing defense. That said, Bynum is a much superior offensive player and probably offers similar defense. This is the right move.
Posted by: Jeff | May 9, 2008 6:01 PM
I was a fan of Luis last year, but he has definitely played himself out of the starting line-up and maybe off the team. Trachsel is probably starting tonight only because he is facing KC--with an ERA around 8 and a WHIP around 2, he's just taking some young pitcher's spot in the rotation.
Posted by: bill ths85 | May 9, 2008 6:51 PM
Umm who has two thumbs and hates Steve Trachsel???
THIS GIRL!!!
So Trachsel is done. If you like him, you are a fool. Just because he is a "veteran" does not mean he gets special treatment. If you suck at pitching, you suck at pitching. It's that simple.
I know I'm being a bad fan, but I think I'm putting in my Seinfeld DVD's and calling it a night. I'll check the score at 11pm, maybe we'll be in the 4th inning by then. Sorry, but I just can't watch Trachsel pitch anymore.
Posted by: jennifer | May 9, 2008 8:29 PM
Roch if steve has another bad outing tonight , i think it's time to let him go. They should just go to a 4 man rotation with alot of open day's coming up. We have almost played a quarter of the season and you can already see teams releasing players that have not produced , i think it's time the orioles start doing the same.
Posted by: bob lancione | May 9, 2008 8:45 PM
i'm loving Freddy 'drop kick' Bynum so far!
Posted by: Birds Fan in Seattle | May 9, 2008 9:51 PM
Ya gotta love it when a guy hits a three run dinger after an intentional walk--way to make em pay, Huff!
Posted by: bill ths 85 | May 9, 2008 10:00 PM
We now know that Roch doesen't read our blogs. Herb on Huff . That's ok. Millar must go. That's ok. Adam Jones might tear it up. Sealltle is not stupid. Andy Mc. failed to pull the triger on B Rob. Dumb !!!! They begged for him. Dumb!!! Millar and Leo will leave soon and Salazar and Terrero will come up and put some punch in our line up.
Posted by: Herb | May 9, 2008 10:04 PM
Well, it wasn't quite the way I described, but you have to hand it to Trachsel. The blindfold is tied, the cigarette is lit, the guns are raised and...where did he go ? Over the wall.
Talk about a cat landing on it's feet. He lives to pitch again , and Tremblay does the right thing by putting Albers in.
Posted by: BC Mike | May 9, 2008 10:15 PM
ohfan. Have to disagree with you on your suggestion that Cabrera will bring us what Bedard did in a trade. Teams are going to assume that the O's are clueless and offer less than what he's worth. There's also no way DanCab is going to command anywhere near the 100 mill figure you threw out there(presumably in jest?).
Teams are going to learn-from costly mistakes like Zito, Pavano, Morris etc that committing big $$$ to pitchers makes zero sense.
Therefore, keeping Cabrera around is a no-brainer. Using him as a bargaining chip makes us weaker. Yes, it's only been a short stretch but you don't give up on a 26 yr starter who may be finally turning the corner.
I like a rotation that features a good righty/lefty mix, along with the variety of speeds.
Let's try and be positive here, instead of the gloom and doom that he'll revert to his inconsistent ways.
Posted by: TerryP | May 9, 2008 10:23 PM
Stop snitching, Roch.
Posted by: Ron | May 9, 2008 10:50 PM
jennifer--Keep putting in those Seinfeld DVD's when Trachsel pitches.
It works!
Nothing like a 2-run shot from Melvin and a 3-run blast from Aubrey to boost the Birds to a 7-4 victory, their 11th in a row over the Kansas City Royals.
Posted by: Barry | May 10, 2008 12:53 AM
The O's have spent this much time waiting for Cabrera to realize his potential. If he indeed has, do you really think they're going to rush and trade him? Foolishness.
The irony of Cabrera now is that the only way he'll bring any decent return in a trade is if he's pitching well enough for us to want to keep him. That being said, he looks great, and I believe he's turned that corner. The key being that even without his best stuff, he's finding the plate and getting outs.
Anyone who says BRob should be traded now is a fool as well. He's one of the few offensive threats we have and a great all around player and teammate. There's nothing he would bring in a trade that we'd need, unless someone will give us a top tier 1B for him.
Give Trembley one more month to work out the kinks and I believe we'll see the riff-raff gone and more consistency in the lineup/roster.
Posted by: christopher | May 10, 2008 12:53 AM
Roch - do you know what next month is? One Anniversary of Andy McPhail !
And i dont think AM is clueless or foolish !
welcome back Bynum
Posted by: Allan | May 10, 2008 8:55 AM
Congrats to Maroon! The Carmelo foundation controls the stop snitching franchise and that's almost as lucrative as the Girls gone Wild franchise
Posted by: Gene | May 10, 2008 7:13 PM