Bass is a former Minnesota farmhand, and was a real fan favorite here in Rochester on the Red Wings...he has really good stuff, I guess it's just a question of how well it works against MLB clubs, but I am definitely rooting for him to succeed.

Any news or info about Orioles regulars? It seems like all we have heard about it pitcher injuries, and a bit about who is going to back-up at SS. What about B-Rob, Huff, Scott, Sarfate, etc.? Anything noteworthy?

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Pete's reply: BRob was on base five times last night in the WBC game.

Pete , way off topic , I see that Mark McGwire is back in baseball working with a few big name players . Despite all the controversy I've always liked Mark , going back to his A's dayz. And call me crazy but I still enjoyed the summer of McGwire / Sosa . But then again I've also voiced my unpopular opinions about PED's.
Mark's a good guy that used . Bonds = a jerk that used.
How did I get here from Brian Bass.

Bass is looking good. (That run was on Perez's wildness as much as anything, but Bass put the runner on.)

As for Guthrie, the team is in do-or-die mode now; mightn't Davey Johnson use him for a batter if needed?

Don't mind me if I gloat...just a little bit. I had Bass picked all along as my sleeper pick. I saw a lot of good in him last year...although he hit a wall going into the 4th or 5th inning of games. I hope he makes the rotation...he has good stuff!

Pete,

I'm a fan of keeping Scott Moore on the MLB roster to develop him for a future role at 3B.

With Chris Gomez having a terrible spring, what do you think his chances are at hanging around?

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Pete's reply: I think he'll start at Triple-A. He's already made it through waivers and he wouldn't get any playing time here early in the season.

The starters are surviving 3-4 innings but nobody is dominating or making your eyes pop out of your head. Bass should be a long reliever and an emergency starter not a starter from the get go.Neither should Baez.

Hello Pete. Any idea how many walks the Os pitchers have issued/9 IP this spring? As a group, they seem to be pitching in the strike zone more often. Nothing more frustrating than all the walks the last few years.

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Pete's reply: 2.92

Pete,

On the one hand I understand not rushing the pitchers but at the same time don't you want to have a healthy competition and let the best 5 start? By giving some pitchers preference over others doesn't seem right.
If you are dealing with a veteran staff then spring training doesn't matter much but w/o quality veterans it should be more of an earn your job mentality.
With Weiters if he does well in AAA he should be brought up quickly otherwise just beating up on AAA pitchers isn't going to help his development. He needs to face ML pitchers and go through the inevitable learning curve.

How about B-Rob! Just turned on the WBC and did a double take to see him up at the plate and then got the details from the announcers to be followed by a triple...good for him!

Well it will be interesting. I guess there will be two rotations this year. One for the first 81 games, then another for the second 81. Could be that 3 - 5 in the rotation all change over time. I do not see this working at all.

Pete: Is it fair to say that these are the guys that they are looking to pick from and fill the rotation with on opening day? I am thinking Bergessen, even though he leads the spring O's in innings and strikeouts will not get into the rotation and Hill will open on the DL. Unless Pauley can put together back to back outings that are impressive I believe he is out also.
Guithrie
Koji
Hendrickson
Eaton
Waters
Baez
Bass

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Pete's reply: I think you're pretty close. Might want to move Bass up the list a bit.

Pete,

I find the poll on the starting retation to be quite interesting, and a mind bender.

Obviously Guthrie, Koji are set at the top but the balance of the rotation obviously won't be based on talent alone as all of our young studs got sent down. So three spots remain and I will have to go with Hill (out of options) Eaton, experienced starter and Baez as we have too much $$ tied up in him. I personally believe Bergersen should get a spot but he'll ship off to Norfolk. Hayden Penn will be long in the pen. The real question is Walker or Hendrickson in the Pen. Neither is worth the salt in a salt shaker, but I would go with Hendrickson over Walker as we have seen what he can do first hand!

Brian Roberts made an immediate impression on the World Baseball Classic by going three for three (single,double and triple) and drew two walks against the Dutch pitchers. He'll probably be back with the Orioles by Wednesday. It may be a little longer for Mora and Izturis with Venezuela.

Pete, when you asked everyone about a potential sleeper in the starting rotation, Bass was my pick, but do you think he still has time to be stretched out into a SP this spring? I know last year, his problem was after the 4th so the fact he hasn't been used as a SP till now, I wonder if that will be an issue again?

Dr Schmuck, how is it that Hayden Penn has dropped out of all consideration as a starter? How can Trembley and Kranitz give Baez two spring training starts and none to Penn?
Do you see Penn in the pen, or are they setting up to drop him?

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Pete's reply: I don't think he's out of consideration yet. They can't afford to take him out of consideration the way things stand at the moment.

Good morning Pete,

Rather than NCAA brackets, I think it would be more fun for you to run a "Pick the Starting Rotation" bracket.

Everybody can fill in the first two. After that it will probably be the three pitchers that head North with their throwing arms still attached.

So Pete, give me your entry.