I say bring up Liz to go long and give the start to Bass.If Bass bombs then risk losing him and sent him down. If he bombs I doubt he will be claimed anyway, he didn't exactly excel in ST and that way we keep Bergeson down for now and in regular rotation. Pauley would be another possibility altho he has had only 1 start so far and we snuck him by on waivers once already.

Peter,

What's the relief situation for tonight? I have to believe Bass would get the first call when Hendrickson is finished. With Sherrill and Ray having been used so much, does Trembly go to Baez in a save situation tonight?

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Pete's reply: The situation tonight isn't good, no matter what they do. I guess Bass and Albers would be the workhorse relievers if Hendrickson comes up short. Baez also is available for an inning or two and could be the closer. Orioles fans can only hope it gets to that point.

Pete,

Please please please do not put Bass in the starting rotation. We need to dump that guy.

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Pete's reply: It's not up to me.

I'm not wishing ill will on Bass or anything, but he's not going to pitch well in his next outing. It just won't happen. He'll come in for Eaton on Saturday and just stink the whole place up.

He then gets cut, and Bergeson is called up.

You hate to concede a game, but I can't see any of these guys winning a game in Fenway. Give Bass the spot start and use your 13-man pitching staff. You've got more arms than most teams would even consider, use them. Albers, Liz, Bass together amount to one really bad starter, but they don't stunt the growth (and confidence) of a guy like Bergeson.

Give Bergeson another month to get his command in place. He didn't hit the strike zone consistently enough last night.

What is Albers back up already? What a waste of his last option.

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Pete's reply: I don't believe they get charged the option until he's down for a certain number of days.

What Albers is back up already? What a waste of his last option.

If they had signed one decent veteran starter, then this team could actually have finished .500. AJ Burnett might have made them a contender. If they can keep hitting lights out, then maybe go after Sheets in July, or perhaps even a trade for a solid veteran. Don't forget, the goal is not to collect top prospects but to win at the minor league level. I'd love a trade of one of "the big 3" plus some other lesser prospects for Jake Peavy ...

Is there anythig the O's do without the footdragging? What takes them so long to make a simple roster decision. Players get to the game 5 minutes before it starts.Everyting has to massaged down to the last possible detail.No point in Trembley saying who he wants,he'll just be bigfooted by McPhail.

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Pete's reply: They knew what they were going to do last night and got the guys moving this way. They just didn't announce it until today.

We need to get rid of bass...this is why we should have kept Brian Burress....
Bergesen deserves a shot. I say send Bass down, and bring up Bergesan and Liz.

With the pitching situation as it is, the offense and defense can't possibly keep up the pace. It's a mirage. Of the 8 games, 6 wins, How many starters went 6 innings, 5 innings? The bullpen will be done by Memorial Day. Guthrie and pray!

Hey Pete

What is the status of Pedro Martinez? Has he been picked up by anybody yet? With the Red Sux in last place would they go after him? I still think he would be a nice addition to the rotation..

"o" is for...well we all know.... Lets Go O's!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Pete's reply: He's still out there, waiting for someone to give up $5 million plus $4 million in incentives.

let's start bringing up these young pitchers like Brad or David Hernandez or Tilman. Trembley can just tell them, "no pressure, just go out and pitch". i'd love to see the "Baby Birds" approach back like we did with Palmer, McNally etc... they cant be any worse than our 3-5 we have right now...

Pete, is it me or is the pitch count thing getting out of hand. I understand keeping these young guys from blowing out their arms at 28 but 80-90 pitch limits seems ridiculous. Now, 1 week plus+ into the season and the bull pen is already over worked....with an ERA around double digits. I'm terrified to think what the annual September meltdown will look like this year.

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Pete's reply: Sometimes it's over the top, but the first week or so you don't want to blow anybody out.

Lets be optimistic about tonight. Looking solely at tonight's game the Ranges are in just as bad a reliever situation as we are. Keep your heads up Orioles fans.

P.S. Sherrill is 4 out of 4 because of shear luck not skill.

DUMP BASS!!!!! PLEASE!

also, I know its off topic, but i am going to say this until someone listens...

DUMP FREEL!!! why do we have this guy? Andino covers the middle infield. Wig has the corners and Scott and Pie and Wg cover LF... bring up Lou or Nolan

I'd really like to see bergesen get a shot who cares about his K/9 he gets people out

What about Pedro Martinez replacing Alfred?

completely agree on dumping Bass. Over 20 ERA is UNACCEPTABLE. The guy can't get through an inning without giving up multiple runs and someone is considering putting him in the starting rotation? I can only hope that the decision-makers are looking at the same person that I am and not mistaking Brian Bass for someone else.

Out of curiosity's sake, does Albers lose his option by being sent down on Saturday, even if he wasn't used in Norfolk and the O's lost Mora the next day, and now he's been recalled?

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Pete's reply: I don't believe his option has been burned. I think he has to stay down a minimum number of days for it to expire, but I don't know the number.

Why couldn't Hendrickson start Monday? He would have the normal 4 days rest...

\

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Pete's reply: Yes, that's true, but they would still need somebody on Tuesday, since tomorrow's offday pushes Guthrie back. I guess they feel it's better to plug somebody in there instead of moving everybody up.

Pete what gives with Brandon Tripp ? Cal St. Did he give it up? Thanks.

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Pete's reply: That's a great question. I'll have to check around. Doesn't appear to be on anyone's roster.

An option is good for the ENTIRE YEAR! You can send down and bring up the player 1 time, 6 times, 10 times and it still is ONE option year.
Just google it and stop asking so many lazy questions. Especially those of you so critical about stuff that you don't know or care to learn.
Here is one web site.
http://www.insidethemajors.com/?p=451
Phew, I feel better now :)
Rich

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Pete's reply: Thanks for the link, which confirmed that an option is not used unless a player spends a minimum number of days in the minor leagues. The number is 20.

Players who get optioned only use one option per year. They can be shuttled back and forth. That's the reason for the revolving door idea about the 5th rotation/long reliever spot.

Lets not be too pessimistic here, Jordan is right, the Rangers aren't in any better shape than the O's are.
I don't know how long this run can last, 6-2 while giving up as many as you score means more than a touch of luck, but why not enjoy it while it lasts? What the hell, the O's could head into Boston 7-2, wouldn't that be sweet?

It's impossible to satisfy some of you bloggers. We're 6 out of 8 against the best of the east and a hard hitting Texas team, and you're all bitching. Just sort out the pitching as it goes for a while. We have plenty of guys at Norfolk and Bowie to call on if things get out of hand. Meanwhile, we can evaluate what we have. Bass is not as bad as he's looked this spring. He was pretty good for 4 or 5 last fall. We still have Hill coming of DL soon,and Bergesson will be here in a month or so. I might be the optimist but I believe, with our hitting, defense and relief corps, we can overcome the starting problem and make a run at .500 or better this year, provided Tremblay quits trying to be a mastermind by counting every pitch and removing hot relievers for one who is not. He's dodged the bullet so far, but is bound to get hit if he persists. No reason why a hot reliever like Ray, Johnson, or Baez has to be held to 1 or even 2 innings when they are mowing them down.

As far as Bass is concerned, we caught him and now it's time to release!

The Sun's story says that the O's need a starter for Monday's game. Seems to me that Hendrickson could go on Monday with normal 4-days-rest (Thu, Fri, Sat and Sun), and then the O's need a starter for Tuesday's home game. What am I missing?

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Pete's reply: You're not missing anything. It could be Monday or Tuesday, but the club wanted to give some of the starters an extra day because of the offday tomorrow. Dave Trembley might also have reservations about using the left-hander (Hendrickson) on what amounts to 3 1/2 days rest in that weird morning game at Fenway Park on Monday.

Does anybody on this blog know how to read a calendar? It would be completely idiotic for the Orioles to call up Bergesen for a Monday start at Fenway Park. Do you people want his first career start to be the living definition of epic fail?

The Orioles have a day off tomorrow (Thursday). It means that Hendrickson can start Monday's game on regular rest. The day they will need to call somebody up is Tuesday. Not Monday. Look at the schedule. It is very clear.

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Pete's reply: Not as obvious as you make it out to be. You can make a case either way.

Good move by O's to bring up bullpen reinforcements in Liz and Albers . The bad news is who will take Simon's monday gig against Red Sox? This saturday's start by Eaton is another ticking bomb .

The Pedro Option is looking more enticing

I am not a Pedro fan, but if signing him to a one year deal keeps Bergeson in the minor leagues for the year, I say go for it.

What's up with Patton? I would rather see someone with major league experience than Bergeson or Tillman.

I don't have a problem with Bergeson or Tillman, I just would like these guys to log inning in the minors. Josh Towers pitched at AAA and still failed.

watched the tides in charlotte today..bergeson looked good(knights only had 3 hits total) but i got good news and bad news when i got to the 11 o'clockj start, Wieters wasn;t in the lineup and truthfully as an o's fan, thats the main reason i wanted to go to this game. No Wieters even as a PH. He did warm up the pitcher in the 6th or 7th inning. Good news is that this kid showed his class...He hadn't played and must know people are coming to see him play, He did not disappear into dugout after game...he went to the end of the dugout and signed everything for everyone who asked. Polite and available for pics, etc shows me thid kid gets my backing. he didn;t have to do that especially after not playing. He came out ,talked and signed and took pictures. I root for guys like that until the end. he made a 50 yr old feel 12 again when he signed my O's hat!!! A franchise player, stud and a nice guy....good job o's on this guy...NOW GET HIS BATTO BALTIMORE

Why isn't there much discussion about putting Johnson in the rotation? The guy has 3 pitches he can consistently throw for strikes, has great velocity--95+--and he was a starter until they put him in the 'pen. The guy has been great and now that they have Ray, plus Sarfate and Albers, they have a set up guy. Johnson's earned the start (plus Albers and Sarfate were given start opportunities last year; Liz has shown he's not a starter--has 1 maybe 2 pitches and is inconsistent--and Bergesen was great in AA, but needs more time at AAA)

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Pete's reply: Shoulder tendinitis. They can't experiment with him until he's fully healthy and probably wouldn't mess with him in that way unless it was right from the start of spring training.