Pete, I think your guess is right, Lou will be with the team for a little while. My guess is that he'll then proceed to out-hit, out-field, and generally out-play Pie and then get screwed once again by the O's and sent back down to Norfolk. Absolutely ridiculous!

I hope the fans give Montanez a standing ovation. He deserves a chance. I'm fine with giving Pie time to see if his "potential" pans out but they've got to get Montanez some at-bats even if it's at the expense of Freel, Scott, and even Wigginton. See what he can do. Actually, we've already seen what he can do last year and in spring training.

Whether the acquisitions of Freel and Pie will work out for the Orioles in the long run or not, it is nice the Orioles have developed a little top-end depth in position players.

My guess is Freel isn't going to be much, and Pie will be streaky good at times.

More importantly, the organization seems to have a direction. It may take longer than advertised but later is better than never.

Hey Peter,

Enjoyed your rolumn today, "Orioles Fall Expected..........." Well said. Yeah, we knew the pitching could get ugly, you just alway hope for the best, anyway. And bringing the young studs in the minors along slowly is definitely the best way to go. But this Felix Pie business really has a lot of O's fans throwing up their hands saying "What the heck!" (cleaned up for print). There's a bunch of us fans at the office who like to talk, and argue, about the O's, and despite the fact that we hardly ever all agree on anything, everyone of us, even the girls, think Pie just isn't ready for prime time. If you're going to have to outscore the opposition on most nights, you can't waste a LEFT FIELD lineup spot on a development project. Freel looks bad too, as you said. All those guys toiling away in the minor leagues need to think they have a shot at the big team one day. What kind of message does that send to them when players like Montanez and Reimold are stuck there, and the team trades for and sticks with guys like Pie and Freel?

I expect position moves such as Montanez and/or Reimold soon if not today.

I also believe that MacPhail/Trembley will tire of our starting pitchers serving up batting practice every day, too.

Just a few thoughts while pondering how the Orioles will find enough pitching to get 4023 outs in the remaining 1341 innings this year.....Last year was the year of the oblique, this year may be the year of the hamstring...Who are the scouts that think Felix Pie is a budding superstar?....Is Ryan Freel really only 33?...he looks 43......How long will it take before Dave Trembley throws a chair at a reporter in the post game briefing?....Do the Orioles take infield practice anymore?...

I think the O's should do what the Tigers did a few years ago where they exposed their young pitchers to the majors early in theri careers. Yes, they lost 100+ games, but the next year they won the world series. Bring up the youngsters and let's see what they have. Besides Koji and Guthrie, we have nothing on our roster worth looking at for the rest of this year. If they've got the talent, then they can develop their game against the best. As a fan, I have lost my patience, 11 years of this stuff has been too much. I need to look at something worthwhile.

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Pete's reply: Slight correction. The Tigers have not won a World Series since 1984. Doesn't change your argument, but they only reached the World Series in 2006.

God I hope you're right. I'm really fed up with Pie. Can't we just face that this experiment failed? I like Reimold and Montanez. And they are tearing it up in the minors - they don't belong there.

That would be great if it happened. I know it's early and he hasn't had much playing time (as he also stated) but I haven't been impressed with Freel thus far. The same goes for Pie. Freel can play all over the place that's good and everything but I am not excited about him or Pie. I am very excited about Montanez and Reimold.

Hey Peter,

I don't give this much validity. But is it true that Montanez is in some kind of dog house with Trembley from the days in the Cubs organization? I hope that's not the case. The reason I asked is because I read something saying Trembley wasn't too happy with Montanez's attitude and actions years ago. I hope that's not the case BUT if true that might explain some things. But that's not true right?

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Pete's reply: No, I believe Trembley wanted to keep Montanez this spring. There was something between them back then, but everything's fine now.

I think Adam Jones will be fine.
As several others here have expressed, I certainly don't want to see Freel permanently injured.
I just want to see him GONE.
That goes for Felix Pie as well.
Delete them and POOF!!! there are your roster spots for Lou and Nolan.
I like what I've seen from Andino and he, together with Wigginton, make Freel expendable.

I think it is time to put Adam Jones on the DL for a couple of weeks. Let Pie play center, just to see if he can actually catch a ball (because he can't in left right now) while Montanez plays left. If Pie and Montanez can hit and play, then they can platoon when Jones get back from the DL. I think A Jones and Nick would like to have a spot day off every 10 days or so.

I never saw the upside of having Freel on the 25 man roster...unless it was to give Montanez playing time at AAA and Pie playing time at Camden Yards.

I finally got to see Pie on Boston television. I was discouraged to see that he can't seem to hit or field, but I was truly surprised to see that he also can't bunt.