Trembley on Matusz
During his pre-game news briefing, manager Dave Trembley endorsed the organizational decision to shut down rookie Brian Matusz and explained the drill for the next three weeks.
"He won't do any more throwing,'' Trembley said. "He'll stay with the club. There are some things (Rick) Kranitz will want to work on with him.
"It's the right thing to do for Matusz and the right thing for the Baltimore Orioles. He's a big part of our future and he had a tremendous season. We're all real proud of him. I think he has shown not only the ability to pitch at the major league level. He has a real knack for poise."
Trembley designated Mark Hendrickson to assume Matusz's place in the starting rotation, though his next start will likely be a by-committee kind of thing.
"We just feel comfortable with Hendrickson,'' he said. "That doesn't mean when he goes out there he'll throw 90 pitches."
Then came the obvious next question about the rotation: What about Chris Tillman?
"Tillman's got a few more starts,'' Trembley said. "He'll let us know where he's at."
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Comments
Ok, we are loading up for next season by shutting down our young pitching early. I get it.
Now, what are the chances the O's will make a real effort to bring in a legitimate bat and one established pitcher this off-season?
The young talent gives some reason for optimism in 2010...but most would agree we need a couple of vets as well to be competitive.
Posted by: Mike | September 14, 2009 5:35 PM
After the last decade, it's refreshing and still shocking to see the Orioles make decisions for intelligent reasons.
Posted by: section 34 | September 14, 2009 6:21 PM
A smart move with the young Matusz, one of the talented newcomers who give O's fans the first solid reason for optimism in years. This is a much better decision than the Sherrill trade. Now we'll see if they're capable of adding the sorely needed big bat. I doubt it. That's the sort of bold move that only the other four teams in the AL East have been capable of.
Posted by: rockvillejake | September 14, 2009 6:24 PM
how about trembley on hernandez?
i guess someone had to give up Brignac's first homer. Hernandez has turned a promising start into a pretty dismal finish. No hiding the fact that he's been so brutal it's tough to imagine him even pitching relief. I'd say that maybe fly ball pitchers at OPACY
could be an issue, but he is pretty generous wherever he's throwing.
Posted by: jim66 | September 14, 2009 7:59 PM
Matusz was also 11-2 with a 1.91 era in the minors this year. That makes him 16-4 for the year. He deserves a rest.
Posted by: Bruce Breslow | September 14, 2009 8:17 PM