Anything has to be better than watching Guthrie continue to give up home runs... His act is getting really old... I thought Stanford guys were supposed to be smart, but he just doesnt seem to be able to figure it out.... All we ever hear about him is about how much he prepares for his starts, and how smart he is... You could have fooled me...

Does Cal have anyone at the Ironbirds ready? Doesn't Cal's son pitch?

Thank you.

I personally do not think its to early myself. I think the way this season is going its all about the young ones getting experience and this is a perfect way to get matusz in bc lets face it we need him in the starting rotation to start next season and this could be a perfect opportunity to take a look. If he gets hit hard ok fine send him back down when bergy'sready. If not leave him up here and send berken down.

Eaton is still out there isnt he?

Here is an idea: Pitch anyone but Guthrie. The guy is crack cocaine for opponents stats. He is so bad right now I would not even put him in the bullpen. I would put him on the 60 day DL with a torn skirt. I have not hated an Oriole this much in years but he gets leads and just blows them. He is killing the young guys' attitude because they know he is going to give up multiple homers every game to erase the hard work they do to get leads.

The answer is obvious.

Place a phone call to Daniel Cabrera.

Then all you have to do is make sure he stands on the rubber correctly, right?

Pete,
What about bringing up David Pauley?
He is not "One of the Big Three" .
We would not be pushing pressing our Future Pitching Prospects.
Let me know your feedback......
Thanks again,
Bill

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Pete's reply: He's a possibility, but he isn't tearing it up down there either.

I have to agree with Andy. No sense in rushing the rest of the prospects. However we do have a couple pitchers with ML experience in Chris Waters and David Pauley. One of them or Brian Bass or Mark Hendrickson could take Bergy's spot until he returns or until September when the rosters expands.

Big Three... LOL this team is sad as hell

Since we obviously don’t give a s*** about this season lets just throw out Brian Bass out there for a few games and take some Ls until Bergy comes back

How about we just resort to more obvious forms of tanking and forfeit games. The team can say they have swine flu or something. That or Chris’s idea of bringing back ol Dcab to come in and take a few for the team just like old times.

Why not bring Waters up for 2 or 3 starts. Sure, he's a quad-A talent, but he was serviceable last year and could dominate if he really had command of his stuff. If someone out there can find his ERA from last year, I'm POSITIVE it is close to what Guthrie's looks like right now.

But who cares who fills in anyway? The season is lost so what's a few more non-quality starts?

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Pete's reply: I think you have to assume Waters and Pauley are possibilities here. I don't like bullpen by committee starts, because they throw you're whole staff out of whack for several days.

Cal does have a kid that pitches he is 15. Eaton is in the Rockies AAA team. Cabrera is still available. I would chose Ryan over Eaton and Cabrera.

I say go with Waters, if you do not want to get one of the big three on a big league mound. Matusz deserves it, give him a start and see how it goes.

Lincecum made his professional debut on July 26, 2006, with the Salem-Keizer and Lincecum was called up to make his first major league start on May 6 , 2007--- less than 9&1/2 months from professional debut to Major league debut.
Personally, I think the reason that the O's are "seasoning" their players is becuase the longer it takes for the "big 3" to get here, the longer the O's can take to actually start producing wins. They are going to milk this "rebuilding" for as long as they can. After all, if the "Big 3" get here and the team doesnt win, ppl might actually start holding the team accountable for this farce they've been perpetrating on the fanbase for all these years. "Potential" is the enemy of production. "Rebuilding" means winning can just come later. No need to hurry or anything--- might as well keep expectations (and payroll) down as long as you can if youre the O's

Tonight I figured it'd be good to try and take in the game without the fan-itude.
No surprises from Guthrie. Continues to make bad pitches to hitters that can hurt you with one swing. Hard to believe he gave up 3 more homers. I thought he used to be able to strike guys out? Alas, the second worst pitching staff in the league continues it's quest to be the worst.
Adam Jones seems to swing at everything. He'll be a better hitter when he learns not to do that.His combined June and July numbers barely surpassed his May numbers. Maybe Reimold's patience will rub off. Maybe not.
Luke Scott. Whew. Gets robbed between some real bad at bats.

The bullpen did a nice job.
Pie and Roberts had excellent at bats in the ninth.

Ok, where's all the DT bashing?

I can't beleive DT Left Guthrie in the game for the 6th, much less the 7th. What the h*** does he thing about? The guy had already thrown too many pitches . He was in line for the W and the BP has been pretty good lately. You can chalk this one up to the skipper. Ands while we're at it, whats with pinch-hittinh Pie against Paplebon? Right handed batters are hitting over >300 against him while lefties only .169!! And that includes some good lefties, not the Pies of the AL.

Whoever was asking about Chris waters, I was looking him up a few days ago last year his MLB #'s were 5.02 era 3-5 W/L right now in AAA hes got a 4something era with 8-4 w/L record. I say Waters makes the most sense for the short term. Remember this kid shutout the blue jays in his complete debut game. it cant hurt to give him another look.

First time blogger who has followed the Orioles for over 30 years. I blog for the other teams I follow in other sports but the Orioles have been so bad for so long it was enough for me to watch the Orioles or read the other bloggers pouring out their frustration without having to blog too. But my frustration has boiled over.
First off, I believe Trembley by far is the worst Orioles manager they have had in sometime and that's saying alot. He seems to have a great talent for mismanaging his pitchers. He takes them out when they are doing great but are near 100 pitches and then he keeps them in when they are struggling and are at or over 100 pitches. He keeps pitchers in the game when they obviously are struggling to suceed early in the game as well as shown by guys earlier in the year giving up 7, 8 or 9 runs. He seems to be oblivious to stats bringing in guys like Walker to pitch to guys like Robinson Cano when Cano had a history of hitting him real well and Cano promptly hits a homerun. He doesn't sacrifice nearly enough to manufacture runs. He gets out managed just about every night and then makes stupid comments afterward. He needs to go.
Some other thoughts. I think MacPhail has generally done well, but I don't think he got enough for Sherril. Sherril ia an All Star and a quality pitcher a resource the Orioles desperately need and he may be an effective pitcher for years to come. MacPhail should have traded Izturis for anything, he is worthless as a hitter and the Orioles can't afford to have him in the lineup. He's not going to get any better. They need to trade him or release him and play Andino who may be his clone but being about 5 years younger at least has the chance to hit better and they could also bring up Jeff Turner who is hitting over 300 at Triple A and have him split at bats with Andino. At this point in the season, Pie needs to be in the lineup every day at the expense of Scott or to rest Nick M. or Adam. The Orioles need to see if they can develop him.
Lastly 2 other points, no point to bringing up Waters or Pauley to pitch they are probably both useless. Perhaps bring up one of the young talented guys just for 2 starts just to get their feet wet. Allow them to start but take them out if they start really getting hit. Guthrie has got to go. I never liked him. He really shouldn't even be on the team next year because the Orioles would be better off with the young kids and perhaps Simon and Uehara.
Pete you do a great job all around. You are always solid and I can't ever remember not seeing the logic in any of your comments. Please keep up the great work.

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Pete's reply: Thanks for chiming in. Hope you'll stick around.

Jason C,

Exactly what angers me the most is that this organization is not even going to attempt to contend this or next season and has sold the fans on waving white flags its crazy. The team refuses to hold anybody accountable while riding this unrealistic “rebuilding” wave while cheating the fans. Speaking of which who is going to buy tickets for next season if guys like Mora are still around and they keep getting broken down starting pitchers as the veterans?

Bibbob,

You would expect a veteran like Guthrie to overcome adversity and continue to pitch in and out of jams. It just hasn't been his year. I don't know whether he is fatigued or what, but he leaves a lot of pitches up in the zone. That WBC was the worst thing that happened to him.

I think the reason DT did not bring the bullpen in earlier was simply to save them from coming early in games. We just lost a bullpen guy, albeit our closer but we lost one nevertheless.

Looking at Pie's at bat, you can't blame DT for putting him in there. I don't think Izturis would have done better. Any manager would have gone for the righty-lefty matchup there regardless of the stats. Geez, can't believe I'm defending DT!

Apart from Guthrie's bad outing, we still had chances to win the game. Lack of timely hitting has been the story of this year's O's. Glad to see Huff come out of the funk he was on, and Luke looked like he was almost there. Funny how Huff came out of the slump right after the trading deadline. Let the conspiracy theory begin!

Great to see Reimold do well hitting second. This guy is going to be an allstar in years to come, but hopefully Rookie of the Year.

As some here have mentioned, Adam will have to be more disciplined at the plate. Considering we've mailed this season in, it doesn't matter. He'll come back more improved next year.

All you people who want these rejects to come up and take bergys spot with just complain when they come up here and suck. Like I said next year we need to be competing and experience is what these kids need to have them ready to go at the START of next season. I mean mausz has been so dominant it makes no sense not to try him out. I mean when he was drafted werent their scouts saying he was the most mlb ready pitcher we had in the minors.

MacFail is in way over his head. He’s basically putting the team on a 2 year vacation while he purges all the ****bags off the roster then expects the team to be ready to compete in 2011 or 2012. No chance long story short he gets fired and we just repeat the same pattern. The funny thing about all this is that we are putting up with a bad plan now because we didn’t take enough time to stick with bad plans in the past.

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Pete's reply: And your plan is?

I don’t understand this whole pitching strategy at all. Is using the famous Orioles farm system that has produced so many great pitchers over the years really the route he should be taking and ignoring having vets as starting pitchers? What are we spending money on that we cant get one normal pitcher that doesn’t have crazy issues? I believe like most teams you have to use a blend on veteran pitchers while training guys in the minors not putting blind faith into a highly complicated game of chance. Is Angelos just pocketing the O’s revenue sharing money??

Pete--I think it's Patton next and then Arrieta.

Watching Guthrie "pitch" is really watching Guthrie throw. He is a good guy, a good teammate, but he is a thrower. He may have the degree from Stanford, but he doesn't work smartly. When he gets in trouble, he muscles up. And that trouble for Guthrie seems to be in his mind, whenever there are two outs.

In his first season with the Birds, Guthrie had amazing pop on his fastball. He challenged guys and fired it right by them. He lost that velocity and his pitches have not compensated by providing much movement. Guthrie throws straight stuff. He hangs a lot of breaking balls. Guthrie cannot dig down and come through with grit when he needs to.

I've likened Guthrie to a college kid firing away at a wall in a stick ball game. And you remember where many of those pitches go, right Pete? Eight stories up onto the roof of the dorm.

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Pete's reply: Unfortunately, I didn't live at college, so they went through the big plate glass window on the back of my house and I got my butt kicked.

Why not bring up all three? The season's over for the O's and 8-10 starts each for Patton, Arrieta, Matusz would be very informative now in advance of deciding what free agents you might need to supplement things in the offseason. 2010 is the 1st year of purported maturity for the McPhail project and I for one would like to know just what the O's really have lined up. Waiting until next season to find things out gurantees failure next year in my book.

Here's why you bring up one of the big 3:

The pressure is set as zero. Winning these days is equally as important as the development of the young players.

Let Kranny take a look at one of the pitchers and offer some advice that they can take back down to AAA when (if) Bergy gets back.

Give the fans another reason to keep coming to the ballpark.

Why not bring up all three? The season's over for the O's and 8-10 starts each for Patton, Arrieta, Matusz would be very informative now in advance of deciding what free agents you might need to supplement things in the offseason. 2010 is the 1st year of purported maturity for the McPhail project and I for one would like to know just what the O's really have lined up. Waiting until next season to find things out guarantees failure next year in my book.

Tito

I don’t think they will bring up all three because if they stink AM looks bad.

He’s gotta milk this GM thing at least another whole season!

Is Waters already up with the Os???

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Pete's reply: No.

Tito I agree whole heartedly with your last post. This season is over and so we need to know what we have pitching wise where our rotation can be set coming into spring training next year.

Bring up Matusz. He has high level college experience and was our #1 pick.
Give the fans something interesting to watch.

Kick the bums out of the starting rotation and plug in the “big 3”!!!

Are they okay with bringing a big gun up knowing that it's just a one-and-out start?

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Pete's reply: No, maybe not, but I think it would be more of a three or four-start situation. Bergesen's going to need some time.

I think sometimes we get too caught up in the concept of "rushed".

I do think it's possible that if a player is raw enough, and is brought up to a high-enough level too soon, it can cause damage to their career. However, I also think that you can't just have a single definition for that.

Taking players step by step is a great general strategy for an organization, but there needs to be flexibility for those players who appear to be able to make that jump. Especially in the somewhat unique situation the Orioles have of a legitimate opening in the rotation and a season that is all about judging players for the future.

I'm not saying the Orioles SHOULD bring up Matusz. I am in no position to make that judgment. I have never watched him pitch, and only know that stats I read and the reports from the eyes of others.

I am saying, though, that the team shouldn't ignore the possibility because it goes against a general strategy. A lack of flexibility in a plan is almost as bad as no plan at all.

gary thorne talked about guthris's release piont sveral times i am also wondering why he can't figure out what he is doing wrong. with all of the films they look at during the season something ought to catch their eye.

Do any of you people actually understand baseball economics? The reason (besides wanting to avoid rushing guys, which has been a major problem in the past) is that the sooner you bring a guy up the sooner he gets paid. The Orioles are already facing the prospect of MW, Hernandez and Tillman in the same arb/FA class, and I doubt they want to add another arm to that group.

Besides, there is something to be said for building slowly. The worst thing that can happen is we finish 10 games further back then we would otherwise. Whoopde doo.

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Pete's reply: Check out my most recent post on the economic impact of bringing up Matusz.

Pete--Wieters has looked so loose and comfortable at the plate in the last two weeks. He is good for 2 hits a game and has been coming through in the clutch.

He was robbed tonight on his shot through the middle that was speared by Okajima before it could land in center and drive in the tying run.

Coupled with Reimold--who is naturally one cool cat--what a special infusion of young, self-confident talent the Orioles have.

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Pete's reply: Still a ways to go, but by next spring this will be a very different team.

Petet,
over/under for you.

Orioles wins versus points USC will score against Washington State.

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Pete's reply: I'll take Orioles wins. Pete Carroll won't run the score up past 67.

Tank the season, get #2 pick, hope the Nats cant sign Strasburg.

Have a "bullpen game." Decide in advance that each of four guys gets 2 innings, with one guy getting one. That shouldn't stress them too much. Granted, this requires the starter the day before to not have a disaster start, but even five innings from him would be enough.

They're carrying 7 relievers these days; might as well use them.

Maybe I alone in this, but I thought Robert Andino, would be playing a lot more. He did a great job plus Cesar, is no Iron Man so why Andino, can't start at least 2 games a week, is crazy. I heard all winter long that the new bench was a godsend, but Headmaster Dave, is still not utilizing his bench save for Wiggy.

I am not in favor of bringing up the big three. Patton is coming off major surgery and Brian, is 15 months out of college. Chris Waters, should be the guy. Is he a star? No. He did pitch some exciting games like his debut against the Angels. I look at the rest of the 09 season, as a way of evaluating guys that are on the bubble like Waters. Let's see what he can do, and is he fails, well he's not part of the future and we move on.

Pete, I was all over the Luke Scott bandwagon, but I was reading that the Tigers expressed a great deal of interest in acquiring him (doesn't shock me, as Luke has owned the Tigers), but for whatever reason, it didn't work. Do you think the O's might be feeling that Luke can put up good #s, but is so streaky that the can't really be counted on, for RBI productivity on a nightly basis? DH is huge in the East and it really does seem like Luke will smash 3 HRs in a week and 14-16 RBI in a 12 game span, but then do nothing for another 3 weeks. There has to be more consistency from our 1B and DH, going into 2010.

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Pete's reply: I wouldn't be surprised if Luke got traded during the winter, but I still think he's a nice veteran presence for a young team who doesn't cost you much and puts up decent numbers.

This whole thing about players needing x amount of time in the minors before you can bring them up is ludicrous, it all depends on the individual.Matuz has been a polished pitcher at least by his last year in college.McPhail has been very open minded about brnging young guys up this year so it wouldn't surprise me if he did call up Matuz instead of the retreads.Of course the O's could always just let Hendrickson start,he hasn't been bad at all in relief.I'm surprised there's even enough people in the front office to have a debate. Wonder if one of them is the girl that answers the phone?

Yes, it simply is too early to bring Matusz up.

I believe they will not bring anyone up the first start he misses. Who knows, Hendrickson , Baez and Bass could go three a piece. This stems back to the winter when the team did very little to sign a front line starter.

Pete: Any word on how Koji is doing?

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Pete's reply: Not much to tell. He'll be out at least one more month.

I think Koji bailed on this train wreck… Don’t blame him though the Japanese probably didn’t understand the epic legacy of failure/Angelos when he signed with us but… They do now and probably are laughing at the O’s like everyone else stateside.

I think people that are so quick to suggest a salary cap in baseball need to look deeper at bad teams like the Nats, Pads, Pirates and Orioles. These poor small market teams everyone cries about are abusing the revenue sharing. All these teams are connected to bad owners that have flawed systems and very questionable intentions. Baseball has more parody then the other sports with caps and small market teams can compete. Bud Selig should do an investigation into how teams spend the revenue sharing because they are not using the money to become better clubs. Even if there was a cap you have to believe it would just be a similar situation to what we are seeing now.

And it was the Dodgers who reeled him in -- without dealing away any prospect who figured in their short-term or middle-term plans. Sherrill is precisely what this bullpen needed.

What's the mystery? Let's consider the obvious before we start thinking this is rocket science. AM came in saying we've got to unload vets and build with young players. Fair enough. But then, AM tipped his hand by saying it will take a few years to be competitive. Sounds like AM is lowering the bar to protect himself. Then the young players start to come around and AM is reluctant to promote them to the bigs preferring to wait until 2010 or later. That will allow him to explain away a few more years of mediocre results. By the time the young players all reach the majors, it will be 2011 or 2012 and AM will have cashed a few more paychecks. Here's the bottom line: AM's devotion to a PLAN which assumes losing is the main reason the PLAYERS LACK FOCUS. If management isn't devoted to winning now, why should they be? Just cash your checks and don't make waves, just like the boss.

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Pete's reply: Don't agree. Lots of the prospects are already here and there are more coming. What do you want him to do, just play the Norfolk team and lose 140 games?

Pete
For the one or two starts that Bergesen may be out....how about we give Andy Mitchell a cup of coffee?...he deserves it for all the years he has been a useful arm in the minors and a good organization guy....yes, he got blown up Thursday night, but his record this year is 9-3 at Norfolk and he has won 21 games in the last two years at Norfolk.
Plus, he is unusual enough as a submariner that for one or two games he might do particularly well since other teams have not seem him pitch.

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Pete's reply: Since he's not on the 40-man, I would doubt it.

Pete,

What makes it too soon to bring up Matusz? Just the time he's been in the minors?

How often do we have to have the "calendar doesn't matter" conversation when it comes to great players?

Every season, there are plenty of young guys playing for other teams with far less experience than many Orioles 'youngsters.' Sometimes holding a guy back for too long can be as big a problem as pushing them forward. If you let them get comfortable, they forget how to adjust and adapt.

This year alone, Rick Porcello, only 20, has been with the Tigers (a legit playoff contender) since day one. And that is after only one season in the minors (at Single-A!).

Compare that... he's two years younger than Matusz, less minor league experience, less college experience... and Matusz's numbers blow Porcello away at a higher level.

Does anyone TRULY believe that if Matusz comes up here and pitches poorly that his confidence will be so ruined he'll never get it back? No. He's the best arm on the farm right now and everything about him says he's ready to go.

Play the kid. Quit dragging us along.

Wow, I'm amazed some of you geniuses on here aren't major league managers or GM, since you obviously know so much more than the people employed in those roles now.

Slugger, what possible conspiracy for Huff starting to hit now that the trading dealine is over? Did you consider that Huff's track record is that this is the time of year he has ALWAYS hit bit throughout his career? Did you consider that the passing of the trade deadline doesn't mean that a player can still be traded if he clears waivers (which Huff almost certainly would)? What was your point?

James, what does Guthrie's being smart have to do with him not physically executing pitches? He can be intelligent enough to know what he wants to do with pitches, but not physically capable of executing said pitches consistently...

Dan- at least use a good supporting argument. Citing Porcello is probably a better argument for patience. He came out of the gates well and has been really struggled (low K's, poor WHIP, has won about a game in 2 months). That said, I think good players or at least elite players stick no matter when you bring them up. Wieters was brought up a little too early IMO but is adjusting well. I agree that Matusz will probably be successful no matter when he is brought up. Tomorrow or next year. There should be some strategy behind it though and not just "because someone ot hurt." We stink right now and having fans get an extra win per week at best doesn't do much this late in the season.

Be honest with yourselves, if you are continuing to follow this organization, you ain't giving up on them now. I think we will all be devastated if these young pitchers flame out, so we need to focus on preparation.

Bring Matusz up. He's got the confidence right now, and he's earned it. Let the other minor league pitchers know that performance counts. Matusz has dominated at each level. Let's give him some starts and he'll be ready to settle into the rotation next year. Also, once Bergy comes back, consider a six man rotation to avoid over extending any of the young guys, since they aren't used to pitching in September.

For me I think it's too early. The main reason I'd err on the conservative side with young pitchers is the chance of injury. Young pitchers pitching in the majors tend to overthrow more often and get extended in innings and raise their chance of injury. It may not show up until a year or two later, but you can do a lot of damage. Just look at all the young rushed pitchers we've had who inexplicably would breakdown by August or September (e.g. Liz, Olson, Guthrie, etc..)

I say bring up Matusz. Is two or three starts taking Bergesens place really going to destroy this kid if he gets roughed up. I doubt it.

As far as Guthrie is concerned, I have to wonder whether he is physically right. Losing velocity and ability to locate pitches is often the first sign of injury. Correct me if I am wrong Pete, but is this off season not his first shot at arbitration and making the big bucks. It would certainly be motivation for him to be keeping his mouth shut about being hurt. He would not be the first player to do that.

Matusz now? What a terrible, shortsighted idea. Joe Nuxhall is the youngest pitcher ever in MLB. In 1944, with the nation's attention and its healthy young men wrapped up in the war, the Cincinnati Redlegs sold a few tickets by bringing in Nuxhall, a 15-year-old pitcher at a local high school, to start a game. He pitched 2/3 of an inning and gave up 5 runs. Then he went to the minors for 8 years, came back up and had a pretty decent career. That's extreme, but it does send a message. Matusz has about 3 months more professional experience than Nuxhall did. Why in the world would any Orioles fan want to see him in Baltimore? (Except that, like 'the old left-hander' Nuxhall, Matusz would bring some short-term excitement and sell some tickets.)

Danny in WV - I don't understand what you are saying. Do you think the reason Nuxhall spent 8 years in the minors was because he pitched 2/3 of an inning at 15? Just because something follows something else does not mean the first thing caused it. Besides, Matusz is not 15, he's 22, not at all too young. There are a dozen pitchers in the league that are 22 or under.

i think we do not need to put hendrickson or Bass in the rotation. they both have settled in to their "role" and are for the most part pretty effective. to me, it should be either Patton or Waters to get a lefty in the mix. hopefully Bergy will miss 2-3 starts max, but we need a lefty in the interim for balance.

I'm in favor of bringing up Matusz. Let the talent rise to the top. I think he is smart enough to learn from the experience if he should fail. I think he learned something during his spring training stay with the Orioles this past spring. Some players such as Weiters, Reimold, and Bergesen have the mental makeup to rise to the challenges on the major league level. I think Matusz is one of them (maybe even Tillman too). David Hernandez took sometime to adjust and now he looks like he ready to excel and advance forward as a MLB quality starting pitcher. The advancement of Matusz will only start pushing out the losing ways of some on this team.

One more point about Matusz. Last year at Bowie, Bergesen put up some pretty strong numbers, and then virtually skipped AAA, (all of 11 innings) to come up to the Os.

What Matusz is doing at Bowie makes the numbers Bergesen put up look rather ordinary by comparison. He has an ERA about half of what Bergesens was. He is giving up just 6 hits per nine innings with an almost 5 to 1 K to BB ratio.

Simply put, Matusz seems way more advanced at the same stage as Bergesen. He is only a year younger than Bergesen and is a year older than Tillman whom the Os think is ready for the big club.

Draft reports uniformly said Matusz was the most likely to be ready for the bigs 1st.

This isn't Matt Riley or Hayden Penn... 24k Arms and $.10 heads... Matusz has a good head on his shoulders, plus 3 options he should never get close to using in his ML career. We are basically a AAA team anyway, it is not like he is being brought up in the middle of a pennant race.

He would face det-tor-LAA.

Bringing up any of the big 3 this year, in a lost season, does nothing but allow them to be lost 1 year earlier to free agency down the road. Let them earn a spot in spring training next year.

side note... thanks for keeping up with the blog. I am much more interested in the Ravens at this point of the year, but the guys over there dont approve posts and there is little conversation going on.

Is it because I like to bash Preston and his hatin'?

thanks.......... GO KING DAVID!

Funny, but very, very sad how this Country has changed in the last 30 years. Let us all just have a liberal, politically correct, touchy- feely pity party for this poor 21 year old, stud, jock, #1 pick pitcher. Let us all be the gaurdian of his fragile psyche. I have read all 40 of these posts so far, and no one has even mentioned the obvious. Ask Matusz if he would like to have a couple starts in the bigs, and if he thinks he is ready, give him a shot. Otherwise do not bring anyone up. What is so wrong with going with a four man rotation, lets stop trying to make girly men out of all these highly paid athlete pitchers, and brainwashing them into thinking their arms will fall off if they pitch every four days. It is not like they pitch complete games anyway, the girlyman Managers will pull them out of the game if the poor babes get over 100 pitches anyway. Maybe pitching every fourth day will even help the likes of he-man Guthrie. The Orioles have not had a starting rotation worth bragging about since the 5 man rotation was introduced. Why don't any Managers have the guts to break the fad of 5 men rotations? On most teams it just results in sending a minor league thrower to the mound every 5 days anyway. Shoot, back in the days when baseball was played by real men, a pitcher would start every 3rd day if needed. Such is life in 21st century feminized America.
Barry, thanks for your post. I agree about Weiters and Reimold, and it is good to see a positive post. Go O's !!!

Bryan: I'm saying that Joe Nuxhall was brought into a game because the fans were losing their enthusiasm and this would give them a thrill. It wasn't a move decided by the real 'baseball people' in the organization, but by the people who measured their success in terms of ticket sales and fan approval. The baseball insiders would have put Nuxhall (who wasn't even a dominant high-school sophomore pitcher) in the minors. And in Baltimore, if the baseball people thought Matusz was nearly ready for MLB. they'd absolutely have him in AAA ball. just hope they are not listening to the fans (definitely including myself), who should never be a factor in roster decisions.

Pete,

I understand the hesitation regarding Matusz, but some players mature faster than others (e.g., Adam Jones). If the kid is ready, he's ready regardless the age.

Don't forget that Tillman was brought up earler than many expected.

And from what I'm seeing in Matusz's dominating starts at Bowie, he's greatly exceeding the already high expectaions the Orioles have had about him.

Keep in mind, too, that we're not talking about a teenager, but someone with three years of Division I college ball under his belt and, oh, by the way, he's over a year older than Tillman!

Bottom line: He's ready, so bring him up. He should give an instant boost to the pitching staff and raise fans' interest level about the team.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/m/brian-matusz.shtml

MacPhail has had a tough enough week with his lousy Sherrill trade. No way on this earth he should make things worse by bringing up Matusz.

The season is shot save for one very important factor - we need to get through the rest of it without a complete collapse. That would speak volumes as to the direction in which we are headed.

Thanks to Dan in WV for the worst analogy of the century.

So now we're comparing Matusz to a 15 yr old HS pitcher from 65 yrs ago ??? LMMFWAO!!

Why not make a more recent comparison? Lincecum made 13 minor league starts. If Matusz is as good as advertised, he should do well. The only reason that you dont bring him up is either becuase you are afraid that he is not as good as adcvertised or the more likely scenario of postponing paying the man in case he does actually flourish--its not about the good of the player--its about making sure it saves the team $$$$$$--any other conclusion is naive

I would go with Bass. Let Matusz simmer a little more in AA. Start next year in AAA and have him on the horn for the first call up in April or May.

With Bass, what is the worse thing that can happen, a loss? If you must dip into the minors I would go with Waters or Pauley. Either has an outside shot at giving you something close to a quality start.

HELLO!!!!! Anyone out there?
The season is OVER. Lets see if Adino and Pie can play and contribute in 2010. As far as pitching is concerned...bring up one guy at a time. If he has a good start then give him another. If he gets his brains knocked out then send him back down.
Dont over think the rest of the season. Bring up some kids, have some fun, and lets see who can play thats down on the farm.
It is so sad to think we are closer to being the Pirates then we are to the Yankees

At this point, throwing Matusz out there might be a good idea. If he throws well, keep him up. If he's overwhelmed, send him back to the minors when Bergesen gets back. Can't disagree more with some of the comments on this board. I think the Orioles are on track to have a special team relatively soon. Remember people, THIS IS A REBUILDING YEAR!! This team reminds me of the Washington Capitals a couple of years ago. Tons of young talent that just needed time to gel and gain experience. Unfortunately, Trembley might have the same fate as Glen Hanlon. A solid coach who kept his team competitive, but wasn't able to take it to the next level. Keep the faith O's fans ... it will turn around soon enough.

2010 #1 pick here we come!!! Can't bring up Matusz, Arrieta, or Patton. Would bring 6 of our promising pitchers up in the same year. Can't do it for future money reasons.
Are we really arguing about who should start for Bergs? Does it matter? Honestly... does it? We are on pace to finish in the bottom 3 in the league... that's another great draft pick next June.
Not competing next year, so let's get 2011 in line.
It flat out stinks that it is this way, but it is what it is.

Jason c;

I would not argue that money is not a consideration. You are right. That would be naive. On the other hand, I think you are being a little overly cynical by implying that it is the only consideration. It certainly does not apply to how the Os brought Markakis along.

On why he left Guthrie in...."He's supposed to be your best guy," Trembley said of Guthrie.

BUT HE IS NOT!!!!

~~What's the mystery? Let's consider the obvious before we start thinking this is rocket science. AM came in saying we've got to unload vets and build with young players.~~

Not saying you are wrong but I dont recall this. Can you provide a link to AM saying he would trade vets and build with kids?

~~Fair enough. But then, AM tipped his hand by saying it will take a few years to be competitive.~~

Apparently you missed the part where most of those kids didnt already exist in the organization. The word he used was rebuild and he didnt mean just the major league team. He meant the whole organization. from the ground up. Did you expect this to all be done in two years?

~~Sounds like AM is lowering the bar to protect himself.~~

Sounds to me like exactly what he said coming in. Not raising or lowering anything. Just rebuilding the organization from the ground up which is precisely what he sold Angelos on and said he would do.

~~Then the young players start to come around and AM is reluctant to promote them to the bigs preferring to wait until 2010 or later.~~

He has brought up a starting left fielder, catcher and three starting pitchers?!? How is that reluctance? He has not been cautious enough for me but so far his timing has worked out in each cas, with Tillman too recent to really judge IMO.

~~That will allow him to explain away a few more years of mediocre results.~~

if they indeed are to come. and he doesnt need any excuses. He is stuck behind teams who will double his payroll. WHo reload, not rebuild. Those are facts of life, not excuses.

~~By the time the young players all reach the majors, it will be 2011 or 2012~~

If he does what he said he would so and rebuilds the entire organization, ALL the kids will never be up as he will have waves of talent always coming up through the minors.

~~and AM will have cashed a few more paychecks.~~

the more the better. One of this organization's biggest problems during the Angelos tenure has been lack of consistency.

~~Here's the bottom line: AM's devotion to a PLAN which assumes losing is the main reason the PLAYERS LACK FOCUS.~~

WhAt a crock. His plan doesnt assume losing. If the players wanted to win he would not trade them because his plan demands losing. His plan targets a point in the future when the young assets mature together and take over from some functional but not exceptional vets. If those vets want to win in the interim, I am sure AM would be tickled pink over it. If it was a focus issue, why did Mora snap out of his funk in the second half last year? Why did Huff have a career year last year? AM's plan was no different in principle or timing last year than it is now.

~~If management isn't devoted to winning now, why should they be?~~

To have a job next year, either with this organization or another?

~~Just cash your checks and don't make waves, just like the boss.~~

and go home and forsake extra years of multi million dollar paydays because you dog it?

I don't like rushing the young talent, let them develop under the professionals who's job it is to develop them. Pauley or Waters as a stopgap makes sense for now.
I agree that Pie needs to see more playing time, perhaps alternating with Scott until Scott hits his way back into a full time role, same for Andino and Isturis.