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May 28, 2009

Luke's second launch (updated)

That old saying is true. It comes in fast and it goes out fast. Tigers reliever Ryan Perry throws near the century mark, but Luke Scott got around on one of his fastballs and launched it over the center field fence to give George Sherrill a big cushion coming into the ninth inning.

Scott's second homer of the night traveled 402 feet, but it looked like he thought he just missed hitting the ball on the screws. He threw down his bat after the swing, as if he was angry, but the ball carried into the Orioles bullpen for his sixth career multi-homer game.

"I didn't (think it was out),'' Luke said after the game. "I kind of hit it off the end of the bat. Being at night, with the heavy, sticky air, I thought it was a flyout to the warning track. But he's throwing 96 and that helped me."

Interesting unrelated stat: David Hernandez just became the fourth Orioles starting pitcher this year to win his major league debut, joining Koji Uehara, Brad Bergesen and Jason Berken. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it is the first time in the expansion era (1961 to present) that any team has had four rookies do that on the same team.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:44 PM | | Comments (14)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Comments

Who has more home runs this year? Luke or Miguel Tejeda?

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Pete's reply: Luke has eight. Miguel has five, I believe.

I was wondering about the stat on the major league debut winners on the same team. I am not sure, however, whetherto be excited, or disturbed that the O's e had to give 4 pitchers their shot.

Four rookies winning in their debut? I think we will stretch that to 5 before the season is over :) with at least one more call up before the season is over.
We are a record setting team this year!! (Hope it lasts)

This is starting to be fun!

What was the attendance like today, Pete?

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Pete's reply: 11,937. It'll be a little higher tomorrow night.

Luke? Mad?

You mean, Luke, undermined by management, relegated to D. H. duty--after a season in which he became a solid part of the Orioles.

Yes, a youth movement can be hard, but I don't blame Scott for his anger. He earned the right to lose his job in left field, not have it taken away. Yes, Reimold may well be ready, but Scott got the short end of the stick. That's why he is angry.

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Pete's reply: He's not mad about DHing.

Pete,interestingly enough,there well may be several more such occurences before this season is over,given Rich hill's and Koji's propensity for stints on the DL.Amazing the positive energy generated by releasing Eaton,moving Hendrickson to the bullpen and ending the Pie experiment seems to have generatd,with Izturis startingto approach his career batting average and excellent defense and Weiters coming up,this could be a formidable lineup,wil be interestingto see the next two roster moves when Weitrs comes up and Koji comes off the DL.Still prefer Zaun over Moeller but he didn't have a very good game tonight,pitch calling or throwing,or at the plate.If a guy can't catch up with your fast ball and it's 0-2 for Pete's sake don't throw him a breaking ball over the plate,that's never made sense to me.

MLB Network reported that it was the first time in 119 years that four pitchers from the same team have recorded a win in their debut games. Pretty impressive stuff. Who's next???

Not just because of tonite but I've been thinking the past couple od days - What with all the hoopla about Jones, Reimold, Markakis, etc. the O's better do something to get a field position for Luke Scott. He's not going to want to be a career DH. With the outfield pretty well set 1B is the only position left for him to play. They should be working him there during infield and even batting practice and certainly should make him aware that they are going to do all they can to satisfy his needs to be more that a DH. If they don't they may as well trade him since I don't believe he'll stick with the O's when his contract is up. It will be a real shame if we lose that bat. Switch him and Huff next year and the O's will be a better team. He should have the athletic ability to play 1B adequately, don't ypou think?


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Pete's reply: Luke's contract won't be up for awhile and he's hitting better as a DH than he did as a left fielder. I think he's okay where he is for the moment. These things tend to work themselves out.

I guess whatever the O's brass does - some of the naysayers are going to show up....Scott doesn't look or sound unhappy. Give it a rest. Since he's part of the winning - what does he care for now? Just enjoy this ride. It may end as quickly as it started. (Doubt it).

Ok, beyond Friday - who's leaving when Koji makes it back? And do any of the prospects (Arrieta, Matusz, etc) wind up in the Pen later this summer?

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Pete's reply: I'm sorry, but I'm not capable of looking past tonight right now.

I think Luke is a perfect DH. He can play the field when needed, but his biggest strength is his bat. The way he studies each at bat is only going to make him stronger and stronger as a DH.

Pete, I am sure you've been asked this a lot, but what do the O's do with Huff? He has played better at 1B than most of us thought he would and his ability to hit HRs, doubles and knock in runs, has been huge, but do you risk losing him at the end of the season or do you start to throw around #s for an extension? I would think his value would be high so if they don't get a sense they can sign him, trade him since our last two big trades have worked out pretty, pretty, pretty good as Larry David would say if he was an O's fan.

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Pete's reply: I think if he has a good year they try to re-sign him, but it'll be tough because he'll want a big deal.

First base is not as easy to play as many think. Look at the Javy Lopez experiment for example. I say leave Scott at DH and Huff at 1st. Scott can always play the OF once in awhile and I haven't heard that he's complaining about the DH role.

Not to beat this horse to death but, if you were 27 years old and had played baseball as a position player all your playing life, would you want to be relagated to the bench for 90% of the game while your teammates were enjoying playing all nine innings every night. Luke, who is the darling of the O's fans, gets to go out and play baseball before the crowd about 4 times a night for about 10-15 minutes in each 3 hour game. No good young baseball athlete can be satisfied with that. As for making the switch to 1B, it really isn't that difficult for an athletic guy. Plenty of major leaguers have done it successfully. Ask Boog, who played left field for a couple of years before switching to 1B. Ask Yogi who made the switch from catcher to left fielder. Huff was a third baseman off and on while also DH'ing until this year. Its not rocket science. Be forewarned, if Luke, who seems like a genuine team player, doesn't press for it his agent might, knowing that there's more money to be made as a full-time power-hitting first baseman than as a DH. And more money is the food of life for agents. We'll see how this plays out but, at 27, Luke could have at least 6 or 7 good years at 1B while Aubrey, at 32, DH's for at least 2-3 of those years unless he's traded. With his previous experience, Huff could be a wanted man in the American League come July or September of this year.


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Pete's reply: I think they need to do whatever they're doing right now. If Luke swings the bat, he'll get to play LF and maybe some first and DH. He seems to be having the time of his life.

As for Miggy vs Luke, don't put Miggy down. Thursday's paper has him 5th in batting at .348, 3rd in hits w/ 63 and 4th w/ 16 doubles. I'm sure he's in the top 10 in several other categories as well. Not bad at all.

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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.

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