Hoes ....in DC...wanting too much $$$.... this is news?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
By my estimation, I'll stop laughing at that comment around 4 p.m. today. - Roch

Now for the really important stuff: I’m told his last name is pronounced “Mat-us.” Earlier, I was told “Ma-toose,” which I actually prefer and might stick with anyway.
------------------
Roch--Who is telling you this stuff? Tony Dorsett?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well played! - Roch

As a UVA baseball fan, I can tell you Miclat is definitely athletic. He's kind of the equivalent of Brian Roberts before Roberts added the home run power. Not bad for a fifth round pick if he develops.

In all honesty, I really don't have the same warm, fuzzy feeling about this draft class as I did last year.

I think normally we'd be happy with a big left handed power pitcher as the #1 pick...but I think after watching the O's so far this season we're comfortable with where the pitching is going, but it's the offense that we're hoping to see some improvement in the works. Now, if the Birds manage to sign Teixiera in the offseason passing on Smoak won't seem to matter as much.

I could not resist Roch...that one was way too easy. I am glad you enjoyed it.

I too thought of the McDonald comparison. Scary, I hope we don't have deja vu.....

I thought this was worth reposting here...my timing was off earlier on posting...

I have to agree, the picks after #1 seem to have..."issues" from wanting huge $$ (potter won't give guys drfated below #1 big bucks) to wanting to play other sports in college. Sure, if you throw a King's ransome at Avery & Hoes they MIGHT $ign but we know potter is gun shy on throwing MASN & MLB $$ around to draft picks outside of round 1.
We can only hope that Jordan did his homework & knows something we don't about getting these guys $igned.
I saw Miclat play this year, 3 or 4 times. He was probably the 2nd or 3rd best position player on a top 25 team. He is alot like Roberts I suppose, but I am surprised to see him go in the 5th round? I didn't see him play & think..."boy, I hope the O's can draft this guy..." Perhaps that "deep" draft thinned out quicker than expected.
Anyway, some curious early picks by the O's IMHO , considering $igning issues & the possibility some of them may prefer to play in college if not overwhelmed by $$$$... that's not exactly potter's strong suit either.

Looks like Orioles wanted to play it safe with Matsz rather than pick a high-risk, high-ceiling franchise type of a player. And who could blame them for that considering the fact that Rowell and Snyder are not living upto their earlier hype.

I agree Roch. Can't have too much pitching, period. Good pick, although having Smoak AND Hoes in your minor league system could have given us a million jokes for the next 3-4 years.......lol. Early talk out of UGA is that they may try to make Avery a receiver or slot back. With Knowshawn Moreno and Caleb King, Avery will not see much time at running back the next 3 years, so baseball may be a better alternative for him.

As long as Matusz isn't pronounced Maht-ose I am good with it.

Matusz is a solid pick. This doesn't sound like a particularly talent-laden year and Matusz is universally considered one of the two top pitching prospects, as well as the most complete of all pitchers. Maybe he won't work out -- the draft is inherently unpredictable -- but we'll never be able to fault the O's for it. I like the aggressive nature of the next 2 picks too.

The one thing that doesn't make sense in baseball the same way it does in other sports is drafting for need.

Even ignoring the notion that we need as much pitching as we can get, the idea that a drafted 1b can come in and have an impact in the next 2 or 3 years is ridiculous.

From the 2004 Draft, yes 4 years ago, there are only 7 players from that draft in the majors right now. Does that mean that Smoak won't make the majors...not necessarily, but it does mean that developing talent in the MLB is much harder than other sports.

Try not to be too critical of the Front Office. They have a plan, and about 100 more draft picks to go. Seriously though, who isn't happy with a big power left handed pitcher. Really...you're not OK with a 4 pitch pticher, that throws in the 90's and led the NCAA in K's last year.

Get Oscar up in the BIGS!!! He has shown what he can do in the minors... call him up!

I can live with Matusz over Smoak because all the thinking heads say he's the best pitcher in the draft. What confuses me is drafting more outfielders and pitchers. Why not draft a few infielders or someone with some pop in their bat?

This is the first time McPhail has me scratching my head wondering what he's doing.

"n" is for no more damn pitchers and outfielders

I think the pick says more about Andy MacPhail and the new direction of the Orioles.

I have heard AM say many times that he does not think you should give big money to FA pitchers. Pitching needs to be developed in your farm system.

Brian Matusz seems like the guy that meets the profile of what we are trying to do. Load the organization with pitching. And once we throw a ton of money at Texiera this off-season, Smoak will be a distant memory.

GO O'S

Matusz's frame and delivery looks a lot like Cole Hamels of the Phillies. If he pitches anything like Cole, he will be good. If he stays healthy. Cole, I believe, is likely to be injury prone, so the O's need to bring Brian along carefully.

No comment yet on the Rays-Sox brawl? Or is Kevin Eck going to cover that on the Ring Posts blog?

Through round 12 we are still picking a lot of pitchers... Andy I hope you know what you are doing buddy... soon enough we will run out of minor league teams for them to pitch in.

Bill Ordine has the following about what Mariners GM Bavasi told a Seattle newspaper about Eric Bedard. When you read it, you'll swear you're reading about D-Cab in The Sun in 2007:

"He cannot seem to get his feet on the ground. He cannot get his arms around it yet. You see a brilliant outing, and then you see an awful outing. Right now, I wish his wheels didn't come off so easily."

Sorry I can't hear you laughing over the high volume of the irony.

Roch,

What is the process if the team decided to bring Salazar up. Does not look like he is on the 40-man roster at the moment, which would mean cutting someone correct? Is so, there do not appear to be a lot of names on that list that you would cut -- maybe Deza, Fahey or Trachsel -- thoughts?

Bill Ordine has the following about what Mariners GM Bavasi told a Seattle newspaper about Eric Bedard. When you read it, you'll swear you're reading about D-Cab in The Sun in 2007:

"He cannot seem to get his feet on the ground. He cannot get his arms around it yet. You see a brilliant outing, and then you see an awful outing. Right now, I wish his wheels didn't come off so easily."

Sorry I can't hear you laughing over the high volume of the irony.

I was not surprised when Ramirez & Youkulis fought in the dugout. For some reason, I see those 2 characters as different as oil & water. Also, that bs could not happen to a better team outside of NY.
Roch any chance you can find out what started it?
The Rays-Suxs dust up has it roots in ST. There is bad blood there. Gomes must just sit there waiting for things to start. I doubt any of the Suxs are eager to take him on either.
Crisp saying he did that because he jammed a thumb sliding into a blocked bag by the SS's leg is his own damn fault & bs. That's the risk you take sliding in head first. That was a head's up move by the SS IMHO. You see a head first slide, then you put a leg in front of the base to block him off it. Next time, you go in feet first, that leg won't be there.... I doubt the SS put his leg in front of the bag with the intention of hurting Crisp, Crisp just needed some lame excuse for purposely sliding in hard into a player in a rundown.... now THAT was intent to hurt someone.

Roch,

You always discuss having your pic changed on the Sun website. Well, no offense buddy, but the still shot of you on the video player isn't doing you any favors either. They really need to give you more say in your imaging. Ha ha.

Keep up the great work, man. Awesome blog.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I pointed that out to someone in charge of our site and he promised to change it. That was early this morning. I'm still waiting...and cringing. - Roch

Brian Matusz is a great pick...and maybe a timely one, too. The Braves just lost furture Hall of Famer John Smoltz for the rest of the year with season-ending (and possibly career-ending) injury, so they desperately need pitching to stay in the pennant race (Chipper can't do everything, you know!).

So here's where the Matusz pick is potentially huge. He has ace written all over him and is going to be on the fast track to the majors, so should the Orioles asap put together a package of players to offer Atlanta for Mark Teixeira?

I'm not necessarily advocating this (okay, maybe just a little), but think it makes sense for a number of reasons:

1. There is no absolute guarantee that Teixeira will sign with the O's after the season, much as we would like to think. Getting him now, when he can play most of the season with the team, get acclimated to new teammates and OPCY, spend time off with family and friends, and sleep in his own bed is a good way to soften him up for a contract extension.

2. Adding Matusz deepens already solid pitching throughout the organization, so the Orioles can afford to deal now and speed up the rebuilding process.

3. The O's can insist on unloading a high priced veteran or two, which they intend to do anyway.

4. Assuming the O's pitching can continue to do well, inserting Teixeira in the middle of the lineup can give the extra little bit of run support the starting pitchers need to start winning more. And who knows what sort of season the team could have with that combination.

If Oscar Salazar is a hitting machine, and we really need offense, why don't they promote him and release Traschel for the interleague games?

No comment yet on the Rays-Sox brawl? Or is Kevin Eck going to cover that on the Ring Posts blog?

Posted by: JD | June 6, 2008 12:08 PM

Seriously! No comment at all! That was the beat down of the year! How many guys were on top of Coco Crisp? AT first I felt bad for him, but then I remembered he was a Red Sox player and I found myself screaming "Jab him in the side!!!!"

Honestly, I think the Red Sox are just dirty. One, Coco's (I can't even type that name without picturing a stripper haha) slide was wrong. Sure he could have slid up and hit him by accident, but he made it a point to nail that Tampa player in the balls. I'm not a guy, but come on..... that's just wrong! You don't do that.

So has anyone kept tabs on the BoSox and how many players are injured/going to be suspended????

"I have heard AM say many times that he does not think you should give big money to FA pitchers. Pitching needs to be developed in your farm system."

Combining this comment from Clint with the fact that it would be a hard sell to convince a premiere FA pitcher to pitch for the O's anyway, against the AL East (tallying up less W's & a higher ERA), makes the Matusz pick even better. It's a lot easier to convince a premiere FA hitter to play in a "hitter friendly" park like Camden Yards - as long as we can show that we have a chance to win. If we develop great pitching - we'll have a chance to win.

I may be looking at the wrong sites, but CBS Sports shows our fifth round pick as Jacob Arrieta - that was last year's draft! So until I read your blog, I completely missed on the Miclet pick. They also did not have anything on the O's picking Zagone in the 6th. I'm going to the source from now on.

From reading local GA papers it is assumed our second rounder will sign to play baseball

As for our third rounder, he said he wants 1st to 3rd round money. He was drafted at top of third round. Why do we see this as a problem. He was drafted in 3rd. Presumably we will pay him as a 3rd rounder. 3rd round money is a subset of the larger set 1st to 3rd round money. Where is the problem?

What am I missing? Hoes is the O's 3rd round pick, the guy says he wants 1st - 3rd round money, and now he's gonna be tough to sign? Why on Earth would a 3rd rounder not get 3rd-round money? Is it tough for these O's to pay a 3rd round pick 3rd round money? Or are we thinking the front office to continue its stingy ways a la Nick Markakis?

All this talk about drafts has been good, but I hope all of you thought about this date today & what it means..... 64 years ago about 3000 Americans no longer were around to talk baseball..... any veterans here? If so, I just want to say thank you.

Jennifer. Most baseball 'brawls' are group hugs, maybe a cheap shot or two but nothing much. If you want to see some real serious scraps, watch a bench-clearing hockey brawl-these guys usually mean business!
I had to laugh at Bill Ordine's blig today which featured an interview with Coco in which he labelled the Rays a bunch of girls..This coming form a 'guy' who hardly epitimizes a tough guy with his ridiculous corn rows and squeaky voice.
The Rays Jonny Gomes always seems to be in the middle of these things, handing out cheap shots. I'm no fan of the RedSux but would have liked to have seen someone deck Jonny but they all are probably afraid of the guy.

"I have to agree, the picks after #1 seem to have..."issues" from wanting huge $$ (potter won't give guys drfated below #1 big bucks)"

Really???????

I could have sworn the O's went well above slot (1 million bucks) to sign Arrieta last year. Wasn't he drafted in the fifth round?

As for Avery, as I posted last night word from his father this winter was if he is drafted in the first or early in the second round he would probably sign to play baseball.

Jennifer- Coco was justified for the hard slide, earlier in the game on a steal attempt a Ray's fielder dropped his knee to block the bag, thats a big no-no where first and second base is concerned, Coco had to make sure it didn't happen again.

Take a look at the kid they picked up in the 18th round:

Keith Landers

6'7" 225 HS out of Mass
Raw left hander hits the low 90's with a decent slurve.

Raw and inconsistent he may be but that still looks like a very worthy flier for a pick in the 500's.

Good one Brian! I also agree with your thoughts on rounds 2-6. It sounds like there may be a chance Avery plays bball but it is quite a risk and he still looks raw. Solid pick if he signs. Head scratcher if neither he nor Hoes end up in the organization. The rest seem like typical 4-6 picks. Can't wait for 7-60! Does Tommy Lasorda have any more nephews?

Does anyone know anything about the lost Bundy who we drafted in the 7th? I guess his lack of acting talent which kept him off the show with siblings Kelly and Bud translated into baseball skills which may benefit the O's!

Miclat was a great 5th round pick. I work with the University of Maryland baseball team and got to see him play at UVA over the past 3 years. He's got plus speed and above average bat control. Pretty good defensively and think he will grow into his body as he develops through the farm system.

This is Andy MacPhail's first Os draft. He showed up after last years draft but was responsible for the signing of Weiters. Since it is his first draft it is much to early (like 4 years) to judge his ability to find the diamonds in the mud. My advice, relax and trust his stuff.

30 picks and 8 LHP's. Anyone see a trend here?

31 picks & 9 LHP's now. Someone has a fixation on southpaws.

Brian Matusz-Send him to Bowie, team him up with Wieters!

Bobby Bundy, RHP
Sperry, Okla. (Sperry)
6'2"

Looks like the O's picked up a bargain in the 8th round.

http://www.coachesaid.com/story.asp?story=-5&t=stories/2008/D_07mlbdraft.txt

Let's wait till we're 16 games out, then bring up Sal. Or maby just give him to the Mets. I tauted Jones here 1st.last winter. Big deal. Glad the kid didn't let me down.I also did the same for Hoey, Doyne, J. Miller, Terrero and Andy Tracey. One out of seven is bad. I love the 7 horse tomorrow.

Buster Posey is a "utility player" now?

No. He is a starting quality SS. Or 3B. Or 2B. Or 1B. Or OF. Or C. And if he doesn't pan out as a hitter, he can be your closer, the role he assumed for the Seminoles last season.

Just because he CAN play every position doesn't mean he has to. In what alternate universe are you coming from where it is a weakness to be such a talented athlete a team can have you play any position they want?

Matusz' slower velocity this year is a concern too. Perhaps a harbinger of arm trouble? Jordan blew it on this draft. I doubt if any of these mules make it out of Bowie.

If last year's draft is an A this one is an F. Jordan should be fired if after this summer they all struggle as most of their statistics indicate they will.

I doubt Aberdeen nor Bluefield field a .400 team with these spectacular duds.

chollie eckman--Wow, what a downer. You don't sound a thing like the Charlie Eckman I used to love hanging with at the 16th pole at Pimlico, who like Dutrow Jr, had a penchant for calling you "Babe," and was one, terrific, upbeat guy.

God Bless You, Charlie!

With the one thousand one hundred fifty-eighth pick in the draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks select Jesse Orosco, a pitcher from Grossmont Retirement Home in California.

Gee chollie eckman -- didn't realize you were a scouting genius. Now I know why you've never posted here before. Since all the other clubs must constantly subscribe to your services, prior to any draft, you must not have any time to display your utter moronic nonsense. Have you ever even witnessed the sport? Where do some of you folks get this crap from?

Again, the old adage is pitching & defense wins titles. Yes the draft is a crapshoot. However, I'll take my chances on a college pitcher with 4 different pitches, and ranked # 2 player in draft by Baseball America. High school hitters and even some college hitters still need to prove they can make the adjustment to wood bats. Despite what some here may think, Joe Jordan is a very respected as a talent evaluator within the industry.

As for additional ammunition for the trade deadline this year, that a tough call since most of the top picks typically don't sign until August. In the meantime enjoy a team that's starting to display a semblance of good young starting pitching and some solid bullpen arms. Got to admit this year is a lot more fun than last year.

Go O's!

Posted by: Jeff K | June 6, 2008 4:08 PM

"Bobby Bundy, RHP
Sperry, Okla. (Sperry)
6'2"

Looks like the O's picked up a bargain in the 8th round."

Don't be too sure about that, Jeff. Al Bundy once scored 4 TDs in a game at Polk High, but what did he do after that???

Completely off topic, but Sidney Ponson was DFA's by the Rangers:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080606&content_id=2853351&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

The article says he was designated "because of off-field issues that have arisen in the past few weeks. General manager Jon Daniels said the problem that led to the decision was Ponson's lack of respect toward teammates and staff."

Let's see...he was 4-1 with a 3.88ERA...must've been pretty interesting stuff for the Rangers to release someone with that kind of numbers...

http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/06/texas-rangers-cut-ties-with-sidney-ponso.html

The Rangers have designated Sidney Ponson for assignment for "disrespectful and adverse reactions to situations unbecoming of teammates."

Someone needs to teach Bynum how to use his hands and angles when sliding into 2B on a steal. He could've been safe if he didn't touch the bag with his left hand while his right had already passed the base without touching it.

He looks so much like that little guy on South Park from Africa.

What a great win tonight! And here's a fun tidbit that I just saw on ESPN - "Sydney Ponson designated for assignment for being 'disrespectful to teammates & club personnel.'"

Wow. The names of Keith Reed and Darnell McDonald, neither of which I had read in years, have been invoked. For curiosity's sake, I looked them up. Neither one is 30 years old yet. Amazing. They've been residing in the "Where Are They Now?" file longer than Spinal Tap.

WOW TX. Baseball America is ALWAYS right. Aren't they? Check out the top five from last year and get back to us. How do you like your crow? Raw like your gullibility I'd bet?

Baseball America has got some real estate to sell you in Brooklyn. It's top 5 too.

Chollie eckman...sorry but I have to agree with TX O's fan on this one. You really don't have a clue what your talking about and if we went with your predictions, we might as well just pack our bags this year. I have a feeling your a Yankee fan in a Orioles blog. Maybe you should go praise the Yankees or the Red Sox in there blog, stay out of ours.

kinda crazy, but the O's are hitting more HRs this year than last...with 65 through 60 games, they are on pace to hit a whopping 175, and currently reside 4th in the AL behind the Red Sox, White Sox and Rangers.

However, if we wave goodbye to Huff and Millar at midseason, there's no way the O's come close to 175...not with Costanzo and other power inept players at AAA

but who knows, maybe macphail will go for the contender trades and bring in a bat? wonder what a Miggy-Manny trade would look like now if it had happened two years ago. O's might be a little different with a great outfield and much better lineup

Hey Brian, I thought I'd reply to your D-Day reference, since no one else has. Both of my pop-pops fought in the war, one ran bombing raids over Italy while the other was in the infantry during D-Day. I regret that I never got to pick stories out of either of them: my mom's dad died when I was 3, my dad's more recently, but he was always hesitant to share his stories. Even though I don't have any specific stories, I agree that it's of utmost importance to remember the sacrifices that were made by our servicemen in that conflict, as well others, so that we could enjoy our freedom to gripe about our most beloved O's without fear of punishment or censure (although being an O's fan for the last 25 years has been torment enough! but I wouldn't have it any other way - that's what being a fan is all about - being able to stick it through the good and the bad and cling to the hope that some day, we'll have our day.).

You have to feel bad for the Rangers. Ponson proves he's still a great pitcher in the majors, then turns around and proves that he's one of the worst teammates.
Too bad, Sidney had a nice run in a short time. Things must be tough when he's 4-1 with a 3.88 era and you have to can the guy. I don't think this is his last game though.
In other news, Coco Crisp went all out to take a weak swing at James Shields, then get clobbered by the Rays players.
If MLB is going to suspend players though, make it stick. No way Crisp should be playing for a week when he's handed a seven game suspension. And to suspend a starting pitcher for five days is stupid when they usually get four or five days rest in between starts.
I saw the video and it looks like a bunch of cry babies out there. It was a battle royal, but players could have gotten seriously hurt. The "basebrawl" mentality looks like a bunch of spoiled brats.
Next time just take your base and stop the retaliation from the pitchers.
Remember Pete Rose with the Phils after he was hit by a pitch in 1980 I think. He sprinted to first and set up a comeback. There's your retaliation.

Just found this on Ballbug.com:

Texas Rangers cut ties with Sidney Ponson — The latest from Evan Grant: — The Texas Rangers have cut ties with Sidney Ponson for what GM Jon Daniels called “disrespectful and adverse reactions to situations unbecoming of teammates.” He has officially been designated for assignment.

Chollie Eckman - Steak dinner says that both Aberdeen and Bluefield finish over .400. I'll offer this to you knowing that chances are very good that Matusz will not see time at either of those affiliates.

As to Baseball America and the top five in last year's draft, I wouldn't be too quick to judge player's after just a few months in pro ball.

That could be said about guys who are getting their first extended look at the majors as well. In recent weeks many here have suggested that Adam Jones should be in the minors. If the Orioles brass had felt the same chances are we would have three fewer wins this week.

OK Ray, out of Moustakas, Vitters and Moskos. Who you got? Thought so.

Aberdeen and Bluefield should sue the O's for the crap they're forced to put on the field this year. There has to be a reason for such blatant ignorance on behalf of Jordan and staff this year? Out of 80% of the picks I could probably show you someone who was better on this respective team.

I mean drafting guys with ERAs in the 5's and losing records? On a junior college team? And we're expected to believe they're "projected" to be BETTER against better competition? I can probably guess how you vote. (insert rolleyes emoticon)

Mark my words. I wish someone would grill Jordan on some of those duds. I HOPE they drafted some of those guys so they didn't have to sign them.

OK chollie Eckman -

Yeah you really got me on that last response. Top five from last years draft? Have you ever heard of a guy named Weiters? Drafted # 5? No? You can't really be this unintelligent! Rich D is probably right, your reference to Brooklyn gives you away Yank fan! Do you even know who Eckman was? Were you even alive then?? It's amazing what Google can do for you. Again, go watch the game a few times, and lay off the sauce.

Last night's win was awesome. Checked the score on my blackberry going into the 8th down 4-0, at my son's basketball tournament, then check for an update and we are up 6-5!!! Bird's even had a couple of Ranger fans next to me taking notice of this team. Keep pushing em
Dave!!!

No Tex, it's Brooklyn Md. FYI.

BTW, those guys taken in the top 5 last were supposed to be the best 5 in the draft. Do you actually think they'll go there if there was a do over tomorrow?

Time will tell about this draft. Who knows maybe Matusz becomes a decent pitcher, but after round 5 the cornucopia of duds is overflowing in abundance.

You'll see. Hopefully some of last years picks stick around and fill out the rosters. That's probably the reason. At least I hope it is.