By moving Sherrill, I'm sure we would get something solid in return. I'm all for it.

Who settles into the closer role? Baez has been outstanding as long relief, as has Johnson in the setup role. I don't think Trembley would want to shake that up, so he would have to look at someone else, right? But who?

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Johnson would be my guess.

I like the idea of upping Sherrill's save totals to make him a more valuable trade chip, but do you think the front office actually sends (or even discusses) that sort of directive with Trembley? Seems like the on-field stuff might be the sole purview of Trembley and his staff, though, again, I like the idea that the front office and on-field guys are communicating at that level.

Either way, if Sherrill goes, who do you think steps into the role with Ray struggling? I haven't heard much about Johnson getting a shot, but he would seem to make a lot of sense. And has there been any discussion about moving Radhames Liz into the Norfolk bullpen and trying to convert him into a closer? Seems like he isn't going to make it as a starter at the major league level, at least not in this organization (given the depth at the position), although I saw he had a nice start a couple of days ago.

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Do I think the front office dictates that sort of thing to Trembley? Probably not. Does Andy discuss possible future moves with Dave? Sure. I don't know if that was by design, but it could have been.

I agree.

the team has been playing poorly... you have a young pitcher who could accomplish a first..complete game shutout. he's pitching great so to bring someone else in only hurts your chances. nobody on the orioles was going to pitch as well as bergy was pitching last night. you're not going to do better than put zero's on the scoreboard. sherrill comes in gives up a run and had the tying run at the plate. don't you think seattle was happy when bergy didn't come out for 9th. managers over manage sometimes. just because you have a closer doesn't mean you need to use him in every save situation. you at least let bergy come out for the ninth.

...............................................................................................
Pete's reply: But if you have a closer and he's pitched once in the previous week, maybe you need to get him out there so he'll stay sharp. The last thing a manager should think about it is boutique stats, and by boutique stats I mean stats that have nothing to do with you winning or losing. Bergesen goes out there against the heart of the lineup for the fourth time and gets smoked in the ninth, everybody wants the manager's head for that.

You should have let the kid finish the shutout. Bad call taking him out unless he was feeling pain in the arm, he certainly did not look fatigued in the 8th. I think that you have to let him try to finish a beauty like that, so in the future he gets hungry for more.

I hope you're right abut upping Sherrill's trade value before shopping him around. His performance just proved once again that he is not a reliable closer. He can hardly get out of a single game without giving up at least one run. My heart is always in my throat whenever he comes out.

I don't heavily disagree with putting in Sherrill, but a guy is only gonna get so many shots at a complete game shutout in his career. I think he's owed the chance to finish it.

I would have liked to see Bergesen get his first shutout. But, more than that I'd rather see the O's get the win. I don't think that's over-managing as some people have said. It was 3-0. Either way that Trembley handled it was right.

I would love to see the O's cash in on Sherrill's hot start. Althought he's ideally suited to a LOOGY (lefty one out guy) role, he's a solid closer and he seems like a good teammate, but 32-year-old relievers generally aren't a big part of any rebuilding project.

I really like Ryan Berry from Rice in the 9th, but is anyone else a bit bothered by the fact that, in the first 10 rounds, 6 of our draftees were pitchers. This doesn't even include Givens, who was drafted a SS but has a 97 mph fastball and could be a pitcher. The three other position players were a first basemen, a catcher and an outfielder. I'm glad we got Townsend. If he plays well in the minors we could see him in a year or two, but what are we doing drafting college guys at positions we are already set with? Are the infield prospects really that poor in this draft that this is what we're seeing by drafting the best available? Maybe it's only coincidence. Maybe we're trying to create a lot of competition amongst the pitchers, like in Spring Training, in the hopes that some will blossom. Help me out here, what's going on?

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: The more pitchers you draft the more, theoretically, help you down the road. I don't have a problem with that.

Pete: With Reimold hitting as well as he is, how much longer do you think Felix Pie will be on the Major League roster? The worry about getting him through waivers has got to be gone with the production of Reimold right?

...............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I think he's here for the foreseeable future, as the backup.

Ty Kelly, 13th round, listed as a second baseman, was better last season playing at third. That pick seemed like a smart one for the organization, though I question whether this guy is a big league second baseman. Other than that, the O's got a high school catcher and another outfielder, before going for 5 more pitchers in a row. With their nineteenth pick, the fans were awarded with yet another collegiate outfielder, Kipp Schutz, followed by James Brandhorst, junior RHP from Lamar University (if we can sign him, this guy may be a surprise. He put up good numbers - 8.31K/9, BAA .208 - this year as a reliever for a good team in a decent league). Maybe these guys really don't matter (our 11th pick was 326th overall, might never see the big leagues and teams are just riddling off the names of their picks like career waitresses at Shenanigan's sharing daily specials) but what's going on Schmuck? Is there any method to this madness?

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Sure there is, but you're right that the low picks are generally longshots.

Bergesen and the other young pitchers haven't ever pitched anywhere close to 200 innings and you never extend a pitcher more than 30 innings from their previous maximum, which means Bergesen will end up getting shut down in September.

It is great he is going 8. He may be coming out an inning early in most starts, but gets the win and the Os will get another start late in the year.

At 97 pitches over 8 and cruising - the kid earned the shot to close out the game. He also had a two run cushion.

How many groundball outs did Bergesen record?

Upping Sherrill's save totals to make him a more viable trade option seems silly. All any team has to do is look at the scouting and peripherals on him to know exactly what they are getting--a 3rd tier closer or 8th inning or one-out guy.

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: 15 ground ball outs.

Hey Pete,
A little off the subject but... do you see Reimold moving up to the number 5 or 6 hole to replace the clearly over the hill Mora in that RBI spot? He is in a zone right now and he could only benefit by hitting behind Huff and or Scott. No one is afraid of Mora anymore so why not give this kid a chance to really make an impact.

............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I don't believe Melvin is completely done, but I think the lineup will have some wrinkles from time to time depending on how the team performs. Reimold will eventually move up, but what's wrong with leaving a guy alone when he's getting comfortable at this level?

Miller

Pete, I just wanted to see one of our pitchers, any one of them, pitch a complete game shutout for us this year! That is, as you know, the old school method: starters finish what they start (ask JimP about that). It boosts the ego of Bergesen and pumps up the other young starters. This would have been an excellent opportunity to boost BB's self esteem for the future and the future is what it's all about this year, right? Come on, how many pitchers in their rookie year get the opportunity to pitch complete game shutouts? Not many.

On the other hand, Pete, running up Sherrill's saves before the trade deadline is an excellent idea to increase, like you said, the return value on his trade. (but this was not the time for that) Sherrill has been on an awsome roll lately and if we had any consistent offense (another story!), he would have easily have had another 5 saves or more by now.

With the group of pitchers we have in the wings, I think they will trade Sherrill this year and move Johnson into his spot or maybe Ray will be ready by then. (or my kid Perez?!) Imagine,if you will, Johnson, Perez and Ray coming at ya .....

Is Baez still with the team? :)

Personally, I think Dave is doing a great job with the young guns....but it's easy with this group-eh?!

I think the way DT handled it shows a lack of confidence in Bergy and in Sherrill. He didn't show the confidence that Bergy could get out of the 9th without possibly getting into trouble.

And he didn't show confidence that, if Bergy got into trouble, Sherrill could come in and get out of the inning.

Instead, DT sat Bergy when he clearly could have continued on, and brought in George in the easiest situation possible, at the beginning of the inning with a 3 run lead.

I couldn't get thru the other day but

The Orioles are so badddd
They need a twelve game winning streak just be classified as terrible.

The Orioles are so badddd The only reason they are Hot because they have no fans

The Orioles are so bad you get a coupon for grief counselor for every 4 game ticket packet purchase.

The Orioles are so bad they are skipping the farm tean and suiting up the Detroit Lion starting line up. At least these guys no how to lose with some dignity

The Orioles are so baddd that fans are skipping everything after the national anthen until the seven inning stretch Go get a Boog Powells sandwiche and go home

The Orioles are so baddd when the Vice Presidents threw out the openning pitch he was credited with a grand slam home run

The Orioles were so baddd that Coach Trembley was given an error for submitting the starting line up

The Orioles were so badd that Coach Trembley was pick up for an outstanding Failure to appear citation he got for last night game and the first baseman Robert Andino was arrested for impersonating a ball player,

The Orioles are so baddd that the President Obama is thinking about adding them to the Stimulus. They can use the money to patch up the holes in their gloves

The Orioles are so baddd I don't no what is higher the unemployment rate or Jamie Walker ERA (Too soon?)

The Orioles are soo badd the only thing going over the wall is the fans

The Orioles are soo baddd they are recruiting an old DC comic hero Batman and the Kool Aid guy They could use another Bat and a pitcher

You have bee a great audience. I here all week. Try the Veal

Any noise yet on a Jim Miller call-up? He would fit well into that bullpen if Johnson were named the closer in the wake of a Sherrill trade.

...............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Getting a little ahead of ourselves here.

Oh, forgot Pete, thanks for using my comment as the comment of the day....funny, but my wife, after 16 yrs of marriage, has never, to this day, told me that my comments are worthy of ....... well, you get it!! Ha!

The duration of each of the three game that Bergeson pitched with Wieters behind the plate has been 2:12, 2:28 and 2:19. A no-decision sandwiched between a pair of victories. Bergy's pitching like Mark "The Bear" Buehrle at his best. I'M REALLY LOVING THIS! GO ORIOLES!

Did anybody listen to Dave's comments after the game last night? He said that he considered letting Bergesen go back out for the ninth but the determining factors were: 1) he was starting to elevate his pitches in the 8th inning; this is a sign of starting to fatigue. 2) Sherrill was rested, ready, and needed some work to keep sharp. 3) Two of the first three hitters up were lefties. This practically screamed for Sherrill to come in.

Sure, DT could have let Bergey go back out and pitch until someone got on base. But then you are bringing in Sherrill with less margin for error, and he's not exactly Mariano Rivera in his prime, though he's done pretty well lately. So it's not like it's an indefensible move. It saved an inning for Bergesen, got Sherrill some work, and turned out to be a win for the team.

If Sherrill's coming in I would just as soon the O's have a 3 run lead. I've got NO problems with that.

Roy said: "[Sherrill] can hardly get out of a single game without giving up at least one run."

Are you kidding me?! Sherrill has given up runs in only 5 of his 24 outings this season, and last night's run ended a streak of 12 straight scoreless appearances. He last gave up a run on May 2, that's five weeks ago! Yes, he struggled some in April, but since he corrected that mechanical flaw he has been lights out.

For those that have forgotten, the last few Septembers around here have been putrid, mostly because all of the pitching has broken down. So unless we want to see the equivalent of guys like Victor Zambrano up here starting games in September again, I'm all for shaving some innings off the young starters workloads right now when we can. Especially with the Baez-Johnson-Sherrill trio all pitching reasonably well right now.

I do think Sherrill could be a valuable trade piece if he continues to pitch like this. for example, just last week the Phillies lost Lidge and the Mets lost Putz, their main setup guy for Rodriguez. If both of these division rivals are in the market for short relief at the same time and bid against each other, we might be able to haul in a nice return.

if BB was left in and got hit hard, half of the posters would be cryin about that. Maybe in the future someone could develope a system where the fans can ask a few questions at the pregame conference via email.I'd bet DT would rather answer a question or two as opposed to wearing a headset in the middle of an inning on MASN. It's pretty obvious that he has better things to do than chat it up with the commentaters

Bergesen left several balls up in the 8th, and they were hit hard. Sherrill hadn't pitched in several days. The lead was only 3 runs, and it's easier for a pitcher to come on to start an inning.

Trembley's decision was a good one. Sherrill looked good out there (Beltre's double was cheap).

The bottom line is that I am really happy how well Bergesen looked last night, although the Mariners have a pretty weak line-up.

Most contending teams already have a set closer and would be more interested in a pitcher who can be effective entering the game in the middle of the inning to get a tough lefty and also save a game when 9th inning matchups dictate. Trembley said he brought in Sherrill and pulled Bergesen partly because 2 of the next 3 hitters were lefties. So if the Orioles are truly shopping Sherrill, instead of running up save totals, they should start displaying him as a combination matchup 8th inning set-up man/ closer. And if Jim Johnson is the future closer he should start sharing the role based on lineup matchups in the 9th inning instead of just assuming the role once a trade happens. A pitcher's only "role" should be the best matchup for the team to win, not based on managerial nonsense that he's an "8th inning" or "9th inning" guy.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Of course most teams have a set closer, so you're trolling for the team with a closer injury.