baltimoresun.com

« Ravens hangover | Main | Is D.Cabrera a commodity? »

December 15, 2008

Izturis in town

The Orioles have brought shortstop Cesar Izturis here for a physical, and probably will announce his two-year, $5 million contract tomorrow. Izturis was playing in his native Venezuela when he agreed to terms with the club during the winter meetings, so the deal has been pending the medical report.

I guess it's not a foregone conclusion that the guy will pass -- just ask Xavier Hernandez and Aaron Sele -- but this one is all but done. The club is not expected to hold a news conference for the announcement.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:22 PM | | Comments (10)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Comments

That should sure make the man feel welcome in Baltimore with no news conference...

...............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I hear that was his call. He's kind of shy.

Like the blog Mr Schmuck, keep the updates coming.
Did you read Buster Olney's blog about how the Nat's and O's shouldn't go after Tex? He seems to mix some truth with his New Englander bias. I think he's off but it's worth a read. He really stirred up the hornet's nest with the O's faithful.

Didn't we already have a slick fielding SS with no stick ?

Last athlete that called his own news conference was Sean Avery and look how well that turned out!

150 lb, .250 hitting, slick fielding shortstops aren't really "news conference" material.

That said, solid signing by MacPhail. I bet Dave Trembley's excited to pencil in the same name at short for the entire season.

Hey Peter, Do you know somewhere that carries the O's Jerseys in 3-4-and 5 xl. the Orioles store and most web sites stop at 2x..
I figure...you..have Friends that need 'em. yeah that's it.

Yes, Izturis is not a media hound. He has that quiet intensity about him that will make fans on the field, but off of it people might mistake him for being a jerk.

A lot of people are down on Izturis because he doesn't have power and they think he can't hit. It will change when they see the way he plays and the kinds of plays he can make. With the bat, he puts the ball in play. That's all Trembley wanted out of the rotation of guys they trotted out last season and if you think it is so easy, none of them could do that. Either they couldn't make the plays they should, or they couldn't make any contact, or both.

It'll be interesting to see how Greene does with the Cards because most fans wanted him over Izturis.

The Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Blue Jays must be very nervous. It's good to see that the O's are serious about making big improvements in 2009. All they need now are 4 starting pitchers.

Hey peter what number is izturis and freel gona wear i know montanez is 3 and mora is 6 those are those 2's old numbers?

...............................................................................................Pete's reply: I don't know yet, but they'll likely have to get new ones. Neither has the juice to demand it.

There were what six shortstops last year, any of those numbers should work, or they can wear 0 and 00 for the amount of homeruns they will hit. Not that homeruns mean anything. Green will be available again, so if he has good numbers you never know.

Post a comment

Please enter the letter "f" in the field below:
About Peter Schmuck
Peter Schmuck wants you to know that, contrary to popular belief, he is more than just a bon vivant, raconteur and collector of blousy flowered shirts. He is a semi-respected journalist who has covered virtually every sport -- except luge, of course – and tackled issues that transcend the mere games people play. If that isn’t enough to qualify him to provide witty, wide-ranging commentary on the sports world ... and the rest of the world, for that matter ... he is an avid reader of history, biography and the classics, as well as a charming blowhard who pops off on both sports and politics on WBAL Radio. That means you can expect a little of everything in The Schmuck Stops Here, but the major focus will be keeping you up to the minute on Baltimore’s major sports teams and themes, whether it’s throwing up the Orioles lineup the minute it’s announced or updating you on the latest sprained ankle in Owings Mills. Oh, and by the way, that’s Mr. Schmuck to you.

Schmuck column archive

Upload a photo of yourself or a friend wearing the new Peter Schmuck T-shirt, which is on sale at gotschmuck.com
-- ADVERTISEMENT --

Most Recent Comments
Photo galleries

Search our new database for every home run hit hit by the O's and the opposition — home and away — since 1992.

Buy Sports Tickets from the Baltimore Sun Store

Sign up for FREE Orioles alerts
Get free Sun alerts sent to your mobile phone.*
Get free Baltimore Sun mobile alerts
Sign up for Orioles text alerts

Returning user? Update preferences.
Sign up for more Sun text alerts
*Standard message and data rates apply. Click here for Frequently Asked Questions.
Blog updates
Recent updates to baltimoresun.com sports blogs
 Subscribe to this feed
Stay connected