Wigginton said last year that 2b is his most comfortable position, i believe, which surprised me.

I'm not big on watching post game press conferences, but when i did, it seemed to take an inordinate amount of time for DT to process ANY question.

You know...I like Wiggy.. He's that plucky..hustling baseball player that I like and every team needs. He plays multiple positions... He just needs to maximize his opportunities when he gets them...

Is dave going to be subjecting to to another year of his 'scrub' sunday lineups?

Please remind him he doesn't need to start

Moller - Andino - pie & wiggy all on the same day.

I agree Double B! Let's call that entity "Moldinopiggy". For years now the team has phoned it in on Sundays. Everybody knows Moldinopiggy will play, the other regulars treat it as the day to jog around because no one expects them to win. If we win the first two games of the series how about we TRY to win the third on Sunday?

Mix in Moldinopiggy throughout the week in small doses!

Wiggy's about 4 yrs and 25-35 lbs away from being able to play an effective second base. If Roberts goes down, the O's will lose an important bat in the lineup and not have a good alternative to replace it.

Turner's got to be on the team's radar this spring. I'd look for him to get a lot of PT in spring training games so the staff can get a long look at him.

Wiggy's going to have a hardtime carving out 450 at bats unless somebody gets hurt, or Atkins has completely "lost it". Wiggy's a classic National League pinch hitter/bench bat trying to find at bats on a team that appears to have a better option every position.

American League teams don't pinch hit nearly enough to keep a guy like Wiggy happy. I think the O's might try and flip him in a trade and carry Aubry as a B/U at 1B. With Tejada and Atkins, the need for another RH "supposed" power bat has diminished some.

Aubry could be a good alternative to Wiggington on the bench. And could provide insurance if Atkins struggles as well.

Or another unmentioned alternative would to be to look at carrying a third catcher. Having another catcher on the bench would allow Trembley to DH Weiters on off days and keep his potential big bat in the lineup.

If Weiters starts to drive the ball with the power he did in the minors, Trembley will be looking for ways to keep that bat in the lineup the 20-40 games a catcher has to sit out to preserve the knees.

I'd have liked to seen the O's make a move to bring in a solid B/U catcher that had a little pop in his bat. If Weiters matures into a 4-5 hole hitter, carrying a third catcher could make sense for this club.

I keep asking the same question about sitting Roberts - who does Dave hit at leadoff?

Trade Wigginton.

I don't see it as a stupid question at all. Andino has played 124 MLB games -- 95 at SS and 23 at 2B. He is younger than Wiggi (can I go "i" with him, too?) and is better defensively.

However, Andino has done nothing with the bat except keeping the back-up bats in pristine condition. In fact, his bat is almost blemish-free.

The problem is Wiggi is getting worse at the plate as he has gotten older. While his BA with the O's is right around his lifetime numbers (.273 v. .271), every other measurable stat or ratio is down.

Trading Wiggi to a NL club makes plenty of sense. Taking up two roster spots for Andino and Wiggi would be foolish. One should go.

Besides, every team needs a guy like Wiggi. The Orioles need to trade him soon so he can fulfill that need. LOL.

I'd rather trade Wigginton and find some other FA to play backup/PH. Nomar? Why not for 1 year (if he'd want to). AL East, team guy... Trade Wiggy for pitching. He's underused and worth more in trade than on bench.

I agree so very much with Luke Scott's mention the other day about politics in baseball.
The Orioles traded Hayden Penn for Robert Andino.
For years Penn was our Tillman.
Finally we gave up on him and in return got a guy who plays a better-than-average SS and can fill in at other positions as well..... but doesn't hit very well.
Well, he solved the immediate problem we had last spring of not having a guy who could step right in at SS for any length of time, so his weak bat was forgiven, especially when Cesar missed over a month with an apendectomy.
But the fact remains... we gave up a former "can't miss" pitching prospect for him.
Therefore, I think that there is a minimum amount of time he must be allowed by the manager to start hitting before we give up on HIM. That way, no one can accuse the General Manager of not making a good trade.
Trembley knows Andino is never going to hit, so he tells the kid, "Take some fly balls." That will justify any extra time we keep him beyond that which we should.

But why is it OK for a "utility player" to be a weak hitter?
I mean, these guys practically have their own mystique, much the same way as pitchers do.

In my opinion, a guy like Justin Turner can do everything Andino can do and hit besides.
He may not be a slick SS, but most SS's aren't.
And when you've got a one-run ballgame in the late innings and men in scoring position, do you want a .200 hitter coming up or a .275 hitter?
Forget the politics.
Andino has no business on the 25-man roster.
And as long as we have Wigginton, we especially do not need Andino.
A guy who can't hit is a waste of bench space.

I know that I sound like a broken record, but I really feel that Wiggy will be trade to the Cards before the seasons starts. It might have been their intention to let him take over 3B this season like he keeps saying, but the fact they didn't even look at him as a viable option when they were looking for a 1B and 3B says they aren't that enamored with him.

I don't like when the Manager comes out and says this is our guy when talking about a bench player because if Justin Turner has an amazing spring, is he going to the Tides? I feel the same thing happened with Oscar Salazar in that no matter what he did, he was never given a fair shot to stay with the club.

I like Felix and Chad in the backup roles, but I do think the other two spots are up in the air or should be. Andino was highly touted and maybe getting some playing time day in and day out with the Tides would benefit him greatly, but if he does stay and DT is saying he is going to play SS and 2B, I say give the last spot to the guy who actually get some pinch hits whether that's Turner, Aubrey or a free agent.

Fat guys don't play 2nd base!

Bear the Birdfan

I don't think DT agrees with you that Turner is close to being as good as Andino at SS. If he did, keeping Turner would be a no brainer considering how much better a hitter he is.

I wish the O's had better platoon guys, though I like the defense of Andino. I just wish he had some offense but I suppose nothing is lost if he replaces Izzy as he suck at batting also. I don't know what to make of Ty b/c he just looks like a guy who should hit the ball out of the park. If he lost weight this off season, he sould be able to get faster bat speed with that fat off his arms. .277 is not that bad. I just don't like his defense at anything other than first, which is average at best. I really would like for Moore to step it up defensively and make the O's put him in there and I'd like to see Turner for the first time. There is a change that Miggy won't play third well and I'd like to see if Moore can back him up.

Let's say ther are 26 weeks in the season and every starter gets one day off per week. Each regular would start 136 games that way, assuming -- and it's a big assumption -- no injuries. If Wiggy takes the first base, third base and DH starts, that's 78 starts for him this season -- nearly half the games. Similarly, if Pie takes all the outfielders days off, that's 78 starts for him too. Give Andino the SS and 2B days off, that's 52 starts for him -- almost 33% of the 162 total. Give Moller Weiter's day off and that's 26 for him -- not bad. That should keep the reserve players ready rather than rusty and give the starters more than enough rest so they don't wear down late in the year or risk injury due to accumulated physical stress. There's no need to burn out anybody (esp. Weiters) if you're not contending for a pennant, and some of these guys (Miggy and BRob) have age or health issues. IF Markarkis had played less last year, might he had kept up his power numbers? I hope Dave Trembly reads your blog.

Big E...

In theory, your plan would make sense, but it NEVER works out that way. Markakis is not coming out of the lineup, so you can scratch those 26 games out of the equation. Hopefully only one or two regulars goes on the DL at some point (impossible to avoid) and everyone develops on schedule.

Rich, you're right. Real life has a way of messing up a good theory. 1969-71 was my Os heyday, and back then hardly anyone went on the DL (except when Blair was beaned); Brooks and a few other would play almost the whole 162; etc.. We'll probable never see teams like that again.

Earl had an uncanny knack for dropping in a bench sitter every now and then on a hunch, and it seemed that more often than not it would work out. Out of the blue, Earl might have Clay Dalrymple start at catcher, or, years later, have Benny Ayala play the outfield, and those guys would make something happen. I'd like to see DT play some hunches and drop Wiggy or Pie in when he thinks they might match up well against a certain pitcher. It can't hurt.

I am not a big Trembley fan but there is night and day difference between what he has to work with and Weaver. Trembley has one more starter (organizational fault) at five versus four and probably two extra relievers on average (seven versus five).

(Yes, and the quality of those players are different, too.)

Anyway, you have your starting eight position players and at least one back-up catcher, and that leaves Trembley just four guys on the bench versus Weaver having seven.

Weaver now has the advantage over Trembley because he can afford having a Wigginton and an Andino because they each bring something different to the table.

In Weaver's case, it might have been Tom Shopay and Chico Salmon.

Weaver then could use his bench players differently. Weaver could bring in a defensive specialist for a player who had pinch-hitted for a starter. Three players used in a blink of an eye with nothing lost. Or he could let someone else start if one his stars has real crappy stats against that day's starter.

Trembley doesn't have that luxury, and that is not his fault.

Besides my personal gripe against a five-man staff, the whole pitch count thing is a good concept that has somehow been taken to an extreme. Not only do you have guys pitching every sixth day more often than not with open dates and no scheduled double-headers, you got guys eligible for a quality start if they can last six innings.

The 1971 Orioles had over 70 complete games. And that was pre-DH, so pinch-hitting for a pitcher was another way for a pitcher to get yanked even if he was doing well.

I understand six in the bullpen, but not seven. Or eight. Unless the Orioles think they have a legitimate closer -- and they do now -- they should not operate that way. And unless it is the ninth inning, bringing in a lefty to get just one out is overkill. Having a guy on your staff for that reason only is stupid.

Five relievers should be pitchers. Period. They all should be able to get batters out even if they specialize in a particular type of batter. One of those five guys should be a long reliever/spot starter. Ideally, he could be a young guy being groomed to break into the rotation but has fulfilled all he can do at AAA.

The sixth guy can be a closer if that's his credentials. Otherwise, he's the sixth guy.

The Penn-for-Andino trade was made necessary because of the pure lack of middle infielders in the organization should Izturis or Roberts go down.

With the stupid 12- or 13-man staffs being the order of the day, you have to choose between part-timers leaving you a hole where the guy not selected could have filled.

Unfortunately, this is even more unwieldy on a weaker team like 2010 Orioles than it would have been on the 1969-71 teams. And that's not Trembley's fault.

(And maybe, just maybe, that's why Trembley was prickly about the question in the first place.)