Hey Jeff, you're getting pretty good at this blogging thing. What are you going to call your own blog -- "Zrebiec As In Wreck?"

How is Albers not a guaranteed bullpen member? He was one of their most important "players" during the time he was not hurt, and I find it to be no coincidence that once he was hurt, the rotation complete fell apart

I think Nolan is ready to platoon with Scott in LF.

Jeff,

With all of the arms now available in the 'pen, are they even considering using Albers and/or Johnson as a starter? Both used to do it and it would seem a natural transition for them, and an upgrade for the rotation.

I dont like it...go w/ Montanez or Reimold. You have to give these kids a shot??? Montanez looked fine to me. The O's just insist on signing washed up vets dont they?? Maybe they will re-sign Jay Payton...

We do need some vet SP's on the other hand. We could barely get through a season last year. We need some guys to help bridge the gap until our young arms are ready. I like Garland, Penny & Oliver Perez.

Also, why not give the young Japanese prospect Tazawa a chance??

Jeff,

I remember hearing about a possible position switch for Montanez to 1B. Has this been talked about anymore?

It makes no sense to me why the Orioles would be shopping for a right-handed hitting platoon left fielder when Nolan Reimold is coming off a great full season at AA and is already 25 years old. Granted he hasn't been consistently healthy during his minor league career but he has nothing left to prove in the minors after 2008.

Many teams use AA as a springboard for promoting position players but not the Orioles. They'd prefer to rush pitchers to the majors rather than look outside the organization but have no problem paying for a position player when a viable solution exists within the organization?

It makes no sense.

Signing an outfielder is stupid, they really should give Reimold or Montanez the chance. Both show promise and we should be about rebuilding. They will do better than an also ran like Brown and let us spend money in more needed areas

Peter. I think you're pretty liberal using the word competition in reference to our dismal 'pen. Clearly, the majority of those candidates mentioned only saw MLB time in '08 because of all the injuries and/or replacing guys that were even more inept.
I think it's safe to say that only Johnson, Sherill and Ray should be seen as a lock. The other 5 jobs should go to the best performers coming out of spring training. I don't care if Baez is making 6-7 mill, if he doesn't produce he's gone. If Safrate and Albers can't throw strikes or Walker andBurres can't miss bats then adios. Most of the rest are shop-worn and are better served filling out AAA rosters or pitching batting practice.
The starting core should be treated as wide-open except for Guthrie. I am wondering if you feel Perez from the Mets is an option or is he another Silva?

If the O's want to build a solid bullpen at Bowie, the names you list might help. Most of them will never be any good at the major-league level.
There's some hope for Albers, Mickolio, Liz and Olson. The rest are nothing more than roster filler, possibly capable of pitching middle relief for a couple months but unlikely to be truly helpful.

I agree with all these posts. What the hell is MacPhail thinking? Forget the outfield this offseason. Work on SP, SP, SP, 1B, SS!!! The Orioles jsut never, ever seem to give their minor league position prospects a chance at the ML level. Not unless they lead the team in hitting by the end of Spring Training.

What bullpen?

The only outfielder we should sign is somebody with a good glove, flexibility, and speed: to be our 4th outfielder, someone who can be a defensive replacement in LF, play the occasional game in CF to spell Jones, and be a good pinch runner when needed. With Scott, Montanez, and Reimold we don't need another LF/DH clogging things up.

Why is everybody clamoring for Oliver Perez? First of all, he's a Boras client, and unless you think Boras will be exhausted with Teixeira negotiations and will just give Perez away, he's not coming here anyway. Perez has an electric arm that has always showed a ton of potential, flashes of dominance, but can never keep the ball in the strike zone, which limits his overall effectiveness and leads to his fair share of blowouts. Sound like anyone else we may know? That's going to be a real nice $12 million problem for some clueless team, and I pray to God it's not us.

Ron -

Good points on Oliver Perez. I agree, he's has shown flashes of brilliance, but they've been just that. So now everyone starts clamouring for a shorter LH version of D-Cab? No thanks! I'll take Paul Byrd any day over that guy, and at half the cost and contract length.

As for the additional outfielder, well folks, competition is a good thing. If it's the right signing, then I could care less if he's a VET! The last time I checked, Reimold had one good season at AA. And that at the age of 25!! Yes I'd like to see the kid make the jump, and I believe the O's should give him his shot, but that being said, I'm not yet of the mind set like some of you that claim the guy has nothing left to prove in the minors. Jury is still out on Nolan.

And as far as Montanez goes, well quite a few scouts are concerned with his defense, and not just the O's organization. He can hit, we've seen that, but I'm not willing to gamble on a guy with suspect defense in the outfield when we are trying to break in young arms. That's not smart baseball!! So give the kid a shot at 1st, and if it doesn't work, let him DH, and place Aubrey there. Then save your Tex dollars and go get some starting pitching, and a SS. Resign B-Rob and Markakis. That's an off season of progress and one I can live with.

Cory Doyne is someone who deserves serious consideration. In 2007 for Norfolk he was 29 of 30 in save opportunities, got a save in the International League's All-Star Game and was named to the International League Postseason All-Star Team. He also was the receipient MinorLeagueBaseball.com's Triple-A Relief Pitcher of the Year Award.

Still not convinced Doyne should get a shot? Then take a look at other key stats from his '07 Tides season: 2.23 ERA; 49 K in 44.1 IP; an excellent 0.88 WHIP. At one point he threw 26.0 consecutive scoreless innings. He had simply one of the best years ever by an O's minor league reliever.

In 2008 he spent most of the season rehabbing after surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. This offseason he's playing in the Venezuela Winter League, where he's having considerable success. In his 'O's on Deck' blog for November 5, the Sun's Dean Jones Jr. reported:

'Cory Doyne, RHP – The 27-year-old relief pitcher has not allowed any runs in 5 1/3 innings for La Guaira in 2008. Doyne has three saves and he’s only given up two hits in five appearances. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound pitcher tossed a perfect inning against Margarita in his last outing on Oct. 30. Doyne had a 3.43 ERA in 17 games while splitting time between the Gulf Coast League Orioles, Aberdeen IronBirds, Frederick Keys and Norfolk Tides in 2008.'

I agree with several of the posts above. There is absolutely no reason to spend money on an established major leaguer to platoon with Scott in left field. The O's (in my mind) have 5 major league ready outfielders in Scott, Jones, Markakis, Reimold, and Montanez. And if the O's ARE thinking about signing a left fielder to platoon with Scott, what are Tike Redman and Chris Roberson even doing in the minor league system? This team is "rebuilding" so for the love of God give the young guys a chance to play. They should learn a lesson from guys like John Maine, Jayson Werth, and Mike Fontenot who were held in the minor leagues and never got a shot to play in the majors with the O's, but then went on to play well in the major leagues for other organizations. Let the guys already in the system take care of the outfield, sign a shortstop at a reasonable price, and break the bank on Teixeira and a starting pitcher. Am I the only person who sees it this way?

Jeff,

There will be a very nice competition in the pen, with the back end pretty solid with Johnson, Ray and Sherrill, the rest is wide open. In fact, if I were king for a day, I would move Olsen out there, start him as a lefty specialist and work him into a long man to build his confidence and possibly get him back to a starter. His confidence was horrid by the end of the year. Our big problem is the other four guys to roll out every fifth day! Hope Peter has his checkbook out!

For God's sakes, let Montanez or Reimold man LF with Scott. It is absurd they'd sign a Paytonesque OFer.

We need SP bad, and a decent SS. What about dealing either Montanez or Reimold to get a top notch one. Maybe we could get Donald from the Phils for Montanez. With Burrell not signed, Montanez would be huge in that park. We could use Donald at SS, and let Reimold platoon with Scott in LF. Or alternatively Montanez for Brandon Wood. I'd prefer Lou go to the NL as he'd probably kill us if we traded him.

As to pitching to me Burnett is even more critical than Tex. Ithin kwe should go after Ben Sheets as well. Our SP is absolutely dreadful. We need four SPers. We have one.

Burnett
Guthrie
(maybe Sheets)

After that it would be D. Cab, Olson, Waters, Burres, Albers, Patton.

We need at least one more SP with Burnett (Sheets?). If not then I guess Byrd or Garland or a trade for a pitcher.

Say NO to another OFer;. At SS, I'd prefer to risk a young guy blacked in the minors or someone young rather than wasting money on Renteria, Furcal and the gang.

If Liz and Olson are being even remotely considered for the rotation then the season is over before it began. These are, at best, AAA pitchers and I doubt they have any kind of MLB future. " Viable Candidates" Oy. As for the pen, Ray, Sherrill, Albers,Sarfate, Johnson, Hoey and Lefties Walker(?) Burres(?)

You for got Doyne. A force. Doyne, remember this guy. He should be lights out, now that he's healthy. Doyne.