I feel Reimold earned a job this Spring. Maybe he doesn't get the call-up now but it will factor in. All it takes is one injury/opportunity, and he has a chance to prove himself. And if he pulls it off, all he does is force management to trade one of their older options (i.e. Luke Scott, Freel, Wigginton, etc). I hope Trembley or MacPhail got a chance to pull him aside and let him know that he got our/their attention.

I know that Felix has been "designated" as the starting LF for this ballclub, but its too bad that guys like Reimold and Montanez, could've played their minds out this spring and still be sent down.

I guess the bright side is that the O's triple A club will be an exciting team to keep an eye on.

Enjoy the Tides Norfolk!

Nice spring for Reimold. Here's his final line: .321/.406/.750 and Pie's line to date is:.233/.273/.333. Oh, here's Montanez's line:.333/.395/.410

From what I saw and heard, Reimold played pretty good defense as well. He had 2 SBs (no CS) and he threw out at least one runner. I guess he just didn't bunt.

It is supposed to be a competitiion right? And yet he gets sent down while Pie still sits there with that huge swing and doesn't produce. Lets hope we won't have to put up with Corey Patterson for two whole years this time around.

Just to play devil's advocate for a moment. Why is it OK for the O's to send Weiters down no matter how well he plays in order to preserve some "service time," but Reimold needs to stick this spring because he had a good spring?

We're not very bright out here in Idaho, but wouldn't the same argument apply? The O's brought in players for spots on their roster with a plan in place. There wasn't a legitimate shot at the left field job coming out of spring training, especially given the need to take 13 pitchers north.

The fact that N-Reim (that doesn't really work, does it) didn't make the team should be cause more for optimism than yet another chance to thump the decision makers. The O's now have sufficient quantities of good, major league quality players that some of them have to be stashed in the minors.

I seem to recall this being a problem for Atlanta right before they went on a decade-long tear of excellent baseball.

Pete, I'm guessing that Wieters is going to be with the team until the final cut, so he can learn as much as possible about his work behind the plate from Zaun, Demper and others before heading to minor league camp. Make sense to you?

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Pete's reply: I think he'll go in the next-to-last cut.

To bad, why this love affair with Pie, I do not understand, hope I am proven wrong. Nolan Reimold beats Pie in every statistical category except how many times he struckout, Pie has struck out more.

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Pete's reply: Partly because baseball people judge young players on potential and tools rather than minor league or spring stats. The stats matter, but so does Pie's defensive advantage and the fact that he is out of options. Reimold will get his chance.

Enough already.
I wish Reimold luck. He had a solid year last year and a nice spring. But one solid minor league season and a good early spring against potential major leaguers does not punch the ticket. Hopefully he will punctuate his pitch by putting together a .290/20plus season while staying healthy in Norfolk. Meanwhile we will stay focused by improving outfield defense, team speed and sort thru our pitching mess. If Nolan can continue his development he has nothing to worry about.
]And Montanez is no more than trade bait. The boy looks lost in the field. He should of picked up an infielders glove and worked all winter at third base. 250 grounders a day. Every Day
But his chances are slim because of age, liabilities and average speed. Period. In previous eras his defensive shortcomings would of stopped him earlier.

Hey Peter,

I appreciate the objectivity you usually have, but could we get a little opinion injected here? I understand what McPhail was trying to do bringing in a solid outfield prospect and spur some competition. It seems to me like maybe he went a little overboard though, given that the left/fourth outfield spot was to be filled by any of:

-Pie
-Scott
-Freel
-Wigginton
-Reimold
-Montanez

Granted some of those guys can also fill a utility role. I'm no Garrett Olson fan, but our rotation is pretty murky right now and having him in the mix couldn't have hurt. The performance of the prospects we already had seem to indicate that they were deserving of the opportunity Pie is going to get. I'd like to hear your thoughts given that you see the team on a daily basis.

Somewhat unrelated: any word on why no offer to Pedro yet?

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Pete's reply: I said something on my show last night that I haven't written lately, but it fits into my opinion on this situation. The front office should be as fair as possible with players, but the object of spring training isn't to give everybody a fair shake. There are plenty of players who have bad stats in spring who get taken over guys with better stats. It's not a straight tryout and it's not about players getting a fair shake. It's about going north with the best possible team in the context of what you're trying to do both short-term and long-term. So Pie gets the first chance because he's got more tools and upside than some of the other guys. He also has no minor league options left, so he either sinks or swims. They then have Reimold and the other guys lined up to fight for that job. This equation might be different if you're playing for the World Series this year, but this is the transition year when you have to find out about a lot of these players.

idaho o's fan:
1- Wieters is a Boras client, they very rarely sign long term deals that cover arbitration and almost never sign long term deals that delay thier entrance in the free agent market. Riemold is not a Boras client.

2- Wieters looks to be an honest to goodness once in a generation type player, one that will command huge arbitration awards and an obscene free agent deal. Riemold looks to be Luke Scott with better speed.

Pete: I agree with you on the no options but the rest I can't see if you are including Reimold in the more tools and upside. Pie's long, loopy swing has not been fixed. He has had significant lapses in the field that I have seen on TV and heard on radio and he regressed big time in his third go round in AAA ball in the PCL, which is a hitters league. Sure, he has great speed, but Reimold has great power, a superior bat, a superior arm, runs well and should be able to play at least avg defense with great power and at least an avg bat. In contrast, Pie can't seem to buy his way on base so he can't use his speed. Defense (although questionable this spring) and speed are the only tools superior over Reimold. Nolan also has superior plate discipline and patience (sometimes too much patience, but, that is easier to fix then too little).

Scott is a proven ML hitter (may have problems with lefties, but with his achilles problem last year, that could have been a reason for the fall-off). Sabermetric analysis of his defense shows Scott to be an above average LF. He has real power. Though not fast, he is not a base clogger and can take that extra base. Sure, he doesn't have upside, because he is pretty much a finished product which is an above average defensive, power hitting LF who may have problems with LH pitchers. If the O's want to trade at the deadline, he is much more valuable as a LF than as the DH.

Montanez is a good hitter with power who has the skills to play all the OF positions. He has average speed and appears from what I've seen, heard and read, to have fixed his throwing accuracy problems (he has a good arm strength wise) and improved his defense. He is a late bloomer, he added power to his game last year and may (though not likely) be able to improve enough to be a regular. That said, he is a good fourth OF and platoon candidate with Scott.

It seems that the O's are missing out on fielding the best team to take north because they don't want to admit a mistake in trading Olson for Pie instead of for Kahlil Greene or keeping Olson. It also appears that they are minimizing Scott's trade value at the June deadline; unless they plan on trading him now for pitching (not a bad idea).

To make my point about Pie's defense, I just heard on the radio that Pie completely misjudged badly a line drive right at him. Apparently he did a 360 and missed the ball and it went by him. Now, he just struck out on three pitches - two swinging strikes that the announcers sound like he was over matched on. This against a MiL RH pitcher (who may make the team).

Pete:

When the O's got Pie-oh-my I told you what they would have. His stats in spring training are just what he has produced in the past when given shots. Let's try this, .233 with no power and no steals won't cut it for a starting left fielder. Okay for a 9th inning defensive specialist. It's like three strikes and your out. Your right, Reimold will be there in June - if McPhail can get over his obsession with tools and starts to appreciate skills.

I can understand that with Riemold to a degree even with his great spring but to me, Montanez is getting past over because of favoritism and Andy's bias towards the players he signed while with the Cubs. There are a lot of players with natural talent (Corey Patterson or DCab as examples) that never make it. Personally I don't think Pie will ever live up to the potential that scouts and the media has credited him with. I hope I'm wrong but I sure haven't seen it so far except for ONE minor league season. Pie's strikeout rates continues to be much higher than his average, so far this spring he has 7 hits and 7 S O's.

Pete, this is just one more reason the Freel and Pie trades were not a good idea. We gave up a pitcher we'll probably need and a better-than-Zaun catcher for outfield depth we didn't need and $2M less in payroll. I think Reimold, Olsen and Hernandez would have left us better off.

This reminds me of the good ole days in the Oriole system. I remember Bobby Grich being sent to the minors even though he had proven himself major league ready. There just wasn't enough room. I know it must be disappointing for the young guys, but their time will come. Bobby Grich had a pretty good career, didn't he??? If nothing else, it shows that the Orioles, under Andy M's leadership, remain on the right path

In the words of Detective John Kimball: "Stop whining!"

Seriously, let these youngsters put in some time in AAA. Who knows, maybe they can learn what it takes to win there. I am fine with this.

Damn ,if only Reimold could bunt.

Pie is supposed to be good at that. He's aso supposed to be a better fielder than Reimold. Coulda fooled me from what we've seen this Spring.

Potential doesn't win ball games unless it's fullfilled.
Tools don't either unless they are used properly!
So far I haven't seen Pie's defensive advantage, just because he's fast doesn't necessarily make him better defensively.
So far he's made THREE big misplays this spring but because the Oriole brass is in love with him they just keep overlooking it and claiming that he's great defensively and the media just follows the corporate line. He couldn't cut it in Chicago and so far he's looked over matched in ST.
Once BA says someone is a top prospect, baseball will run them into the ground before giving up on them. If Pie doesn't have the confidence to full fill that potential then it's just wasted.

Folks,

Relax, based on numbers Wieters should be going no where, but for the long-term sake of the team he will go down to the farm for about 2 months. Well Pie has no options and tremendous potential, to which it appears our FO wants to give at least a little time to develop and that's fair. It is truly unfortunate for Lou and Noland that they will both probably be in Triple A to start the season BUT it is a long season and you will see them again in an O's uniform again this year I'm certain. And maybe, just maybe Pie will show his hype and turn the corner and everyone wins. Patience is a virtue and with the starting pitching we have does 2009 really matter, were playing for the first pick in the draft!

Personally, I think the staring lineup they finish with at the end of the season is far more important at this time than the one that heads north out of spring training.

I doubt Pie or Huff will be on it and I think Reimold will...so will Wieters.