I blocked out the number but what appeared to happen was the accidental sharing of Jake Arrieta's phone number with the world. Britton intended to send Jake a direct message...but forgot the "D". This is not new...comedian Joe Rogan accidentally tweeted his number to all his followers once.
Then came this:
Covering for a mistake or savviest Tweeter ever? Britton's only been on Twitter for 8 days. If it was a prank, that's a quick learning curve. Just like his big league pitching.
But 512 is a Texas area code. And Arrieta is from Texas. Oops.
If you've been watching the Orioles play so far, you've seen something rare. The Orioles have not gone 4-0 since 1997.
25-year-old RHP Jake Arrieta held the Tiger offense (a lineup that put up 19 runs during their 3 game series with the Yankees) to a single run over 6 innings. Relievers Jason Berken and Koji Uehara held Detroit to one hit over the last 3 innings to lock down the game.
The big offensive blow came, again, from Brian Roberts. Roberts went deep against SP Rick Porcello for yet another 3-run homer to break a 1-1 tie in the 5th and put the Orioles ahead for good.
I liked Arrieta's poise this afternoon. He only struck out 3 and walked 2. He got the ball up in the zone and few times and gave up some hard hits. But he defense let him down on a couple of occasions. Adam Jones broke back instead on in and turned a flyout into a single and Mark Reynolds bobbled a sure double play ball in the middle of a Tiger rally. But Arrieta did not rattle. He kept throwing strikes and although he threw 99 pitches to get through 6 innings, he held the line.
Now the nitpicking...the offense is not hitting well overall. Roberts is not going to keep hitting 3-run bombs. Luke Scott is day-to-day. Vladimir Guerrero can't buy a hit and Jones looks no better as they both flail at everything thrown their way. Nobody but Roberts has hit a home run. The pitching staff has been fairly lucky and been bailed out by great defensive plays early. Signs point to a regression unless performances improve.
But for now, the Orioles are taking care of business. The performances from the young hurlers are extremely encouraging and should give them a bit of confidence moving forward. Scott could play on Wednesday. Roberts, Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters and JJ Hardy are hitting well. The defense, overall, is playing pretty well.
But winning is always better than losing. The Orioles had some really bad luck on their way to a 5-18 April a year ago. I'll certainly take a few good bounces our way. And I can't wait to see the young guys take the mound again.
That leaves Jeremy Guthrie, Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta and Zach Britton as the only completely healthy starters just three days from Opening Day.
Justin Duchscherer is not due back until April 21st at the earliest. The situations for Matusz and Bergesen remain more cloudy. It is not known if either will be ready for their respective starts on Saturday and Sunday.
The fates seem to be conspiring to give Chris Tillman a spot in the rotation. Eliminating Zach Britton from the conversation (if Britton is sent to Norfolk, it won't be due to performance), Tillman has the lowest ERA of the spring and a quick calculation of FIP shows he has the second lowest FIP (4.29) behind Bergesen (4.20).
But Tillman, seemingly, wasn't given a real fair shake coming into Spring Training. He was behind Jake Arrieta in the competition for the rotation from the beginning. And even though he outpitched nearly everybody else, the organization was tyring to find any way to send him back to Norfolk. With Bergesen, Matusz and Duchscherer banged up (to varying degrees), Tillman may sneak into the rotation and get his shot after all.
The team does not need a fifth starter until April 10th. But Matusz and Bergesen would both have to be healthy to push Tillman to Norfolk. Tillman's going north. And he'd better take advantage of the situation if he wants to stay there.
The end of the second week of spring training games is upon us, so lets see how these position battles are shaking out.
Before the season I listed 5 things to watch:
1. Pie versus Reimold - Felix Pie is hitting .250/.250/.350 still with just the two doubles over 20 plate appearances and, characteristically, no strikeouts or walks. Nolan Reimold is hitting .308/.471/.577 with 2 homers, 7 walks and 5 strikeouts over 33 plate appearances. Reimold is not only outhitting Pie by a large margin, he's getting a longer look this spring. With Derrek Lee's injury, they may both make the Opening Day roster, at least for a while.
2. Chris Tillman versus Jake Arrieta - Arreita has a 3.60 ERA, Tillman has a 7.20 ERA. However, Tillman's peripherals are better (0 HR, 4 K, 1BB) than Arrieta's (1 HR, 2 K, 2 BB) I haven;t seen either of them to see how hard one or the other is getting hit. Zach Britton has been moved up to starter with Tillman working in relief for today's game. A sign of things to come? At the moment, it does not look good for Tillman.
3. Brian Roberts Rebound - Sidelined with neck spasms early, now he is sidelined with back spasms. Not good.
4. The Battle for the Backup Backstop - Craig Tatum got up off the mat and is hitting .300/.333/.350 after last night's game. However, Tatum only has 21 plate appearances. Jake Fox has 30 and has posted a line of .367/.367/.767 with three homers and three doubles. Fox is getting the longer looks this spring and is hitting very well. And he has not embarrassed himself behind the plate. Fox has the edge.
5. Who's the Backup Middle Infielder? - None of the candidates has hit. Cesar Izturis has been hurt but is hitting .250/.250/.357 so far and probably has the job by default at this point.
Further developments: Koji Uehara threw on flat ground yesterday...Some beat writers believe that Ryan Drese has pitched well enough this spring to insert himself into the competition for the 5th starter. Drese has not pitched in the majors since 2006 or in affiliated ball since 2008...I saw Jeremy Accardo for the first time last night. He's getting groundball, throwing strikes and has yet to allow a run this spring. If he pans out, kudos to the Oriole scouting team for rescuing him from the Toronto farm system he has been buried in for the last two seasons...Ryan Adams might be a better prospect than I thought. He has decent power and a good approach at the plate. His fielding needs some work but if he's passable, the bat might play. He should get to (if not starts in) AAA at age 24 this season. I'll be curious to see how he does...Top prospect Zach Britton is coming up on the outside in the rotation competition. He has given up no earned runs and his peripherals and ground ball rates look great...Rule 5 pick Adrian Rosario has been wild and has a 9.00 ERA. The team can arrange a trade for him with the Brewers but he looks like a wasted pick at this point...Meanwhile, RHP Pedro Beato has a 1.80 ERA for the Mets but the peripherals are not so good for him. RHP Pat Egan has a 0.00 ERA but only two appearances for the Brewers. Both may be offered back to Baltimore or in Egan's case, he could be swapped for Adrian Rosario.
With the signing of Justin Duchscherer, Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta became linked for Spring Training 2011. With his addition Tillman and Arrieta are the most likely candidates to be sent down to Norfolk. (Although with this news, maybe not so much.)
Jeremy Guthrie, Duchscherer (if healthy) and Brian Matusz are locks for the rotation. Bergesen is probably staying...he's not great but fairly reliable. So Tillman and Arrieta are dueling for one spot.
Some point to Arrieta's September as proof that he has turned a corner and should be the front runner for the final spot in the rotation. But while the numbers are great (2-1, 2.60 ERA, 13 K, 2 BB) but it was only over 17 innings. But over the course of the season, he walked nearly as many as he struck out. Not a good recipe for a young pitcher to make a leap forward.
Speaking of the numbers...
IP K BB HR ERA FIP WHIP Arrieta 100.1 52 48 9 4.66 4.76 1.535 Tillman 53.2 31 31 9 5.87 5.89 1.528
Yeah...still doesn't look great for Tillman here.
But it seems to me that Tillman got more "swings and misses" with his stuff last season. So let's compare with the data from Fangraphs. O-Swing is swings outside the strike zone, Z-Swing is swings in the strike zone. Swing is total swing percentage, F-Strike is first pitch strikes and SWStr is swinging strikes.
I thought Tillman would have had a bit more of an advantage here but they are pretty much even. Which is disappointing. I would have expected a bit more swinging strikes from Tillman's stuff than Arrieta's but up to this point, they are in a dead heat.
If I had to choose, I still like Tillman's upside better than Arrieta's but they are very similar at this point. This spring, I'd watch the strikeouts and walks for both of these guys very carefully. Homers will happen in Florida, ERAs and Wins will fluctuate with the defense but the walks and strikeouts will be the best bellwether for their competition in Sarasota. And it starts tomorrow when Tillman takes the mound against the Phillies.
(Great. Now I have to learn how to spell his name...)
I've always liked Duchscherer. He struck out his fair share and never walked a lot of guys. He gets his fair share of ground balls and doesn't give up a lot of home runs. Basically, he has been a guy who is not spectacular at any one thing but does a lot of things pretty well.
At least he was. Elbow, hip and back injuries, as well as a bout with depression has prevented him from pitching significant innings since 2008. Really, he hasn't had a fully healthy season since 2005.
But he's a depth signing that is low risk and comes with some potential upside. The base salary is reportedly just $700,000 and goes up to $1.1 million if he makes the Opening Day roster. If he's healthy, Duchscherer will only make $4.5 million.
Pitching is volatile. Signing Duchscherer adds a (potential) quality arm at a low price and will hopefully allow the team to not rush Zach Britton to Baltimore due to injury or ineffectiveness in the rotation. It's a good move.
On the flip side, where does this leave Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta? Barring injury, one of them is going to end up back in Norfolk. Is that the right thing for their development? I'm undecided. Arrieta has 28 AAA starts under his belt. Tillman has 39. What else do they have to prove at that level? I suppose it will come down to which pitcher looks better this spring. Which needs more polishing to their game in Norfolk?
All of this could be a moot point come April. After all, it's rare that you start the season with too many healthy starters.
Anyway, a good low cost move by the Orioles. If he's healthy (granted, a big if), Duchscherer could be quite a steal.
IP K BB HR ERA FIP BB/9 K/9 K/BB Arrieta '10 100.1 52 48 9 4.66 4.78 4.66 4.31 1.08
The big problem for Arrieta here is the high number of walks, which until recently, outnumbered the strikeouts. His control is an issue and always has been. (He walked 4.19 per 9 in Norfolk too...) His rate of walks for Baltimore would put him dead last in baseball if it qualified and pitchers don't survive that kind of wildness. That will have to improve if he is to have long term success.
However, putting up an ERA near league average is pretty good and the FIP supports that. He only gave up 9 homers for a .81 HR/9 which is a very good sign. And I think his stuff is such that he can get that K/9 rate up over 7, at least.
And in September, a funny thing happened. Arrieta started throwing strikes.
IP K BB HR ERA FIP BB/9 K/9 K/BB Arrieta Sept. 17.1 13 2 1 2.60 2.86 1.04 6.75 6.50
It was only three starts and it would have been nice to see Arrieta make a couple more starts. (Although, Arrieta was up over 174 innings pitched this season; it's likely he would have been shut down, bone spur or not.) But that's a nice little blip that gives you some hope that Jake is capable of overcoming his wildness and that his stuff can play at the highest level. And if he can do that, he will be a big part of the short and long term success of the Baltimore Orioles.
With the debut of Jake Arrieta tonight, the most recent wave of top young arms are all in Baltimore. Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz and Arrieta lead the way and, to a lesser extent, Brad Bergesen and David Hernandez are now in Baltimore to stay.
But there's still more reason to be optimistic about the Orioles rotation of the future. There are still quality arms in the minor leagues and they should be coming to Baltimore as soon as 2011-2013.
Here are some highlights:
Zach Britton - 3rd Rd, 2006
IP K BB HR ERA WHIP Britton AA 67.0 49 23 4 2.96 1.29
The 22-year-old lefty is probably the top prospect left in the minors and could be in Baltimore as soon as 2011. He has picked up where he left off in 2009 for Frederick by inducing groundballs at a 65.7% rate in AA Bowie. His K rate has dropped but then so has the walk rate. A lefty sinkerballer in orange and black? We could use him against the Yankees right now.
Tim Bascom - 4th Rd, 2007
IP K BB HR ERA WHIP Bascom - AA 63.0 41 10 6 3.43 1.28
While Arrieta makes his MLB debut, Bascom makes his AAA debut for Norfolk tonight. The 25-year-old righty is kind of a flyball pitcher but the split is not extreme. He has improved his control a lot this season and I suppose that will be the factor that decides how successful he will be going forward. Bascom could force his way to Baltimore in mid-summer 2011.
There are an interesting trio of lefties having success in Frederick this season. They are all between 23 and 24 years old, none were high draft picks and none were considered top prospects coming in to this season.
McCurry has the best stuff as he is striking out nearly a batter per inning. Both Nery and Zagone get by with inducing grounders and (especially Nery) limiting the free passes.
At least one of these guys should be up in Bowie pretty soon and you have to think that one of these three emerges as a serious prospect by year's end.
Ryan Berry - 9th Rd, 2009
IP K BB HR ERA WHIP Berry - A/A+ 65.1 57 17 6 3.17 1.27
Berry was on his way to being a first round selection in 2009 when he hurt his shoulder during his senior season at Rice. Berry has dominated the lower levels and looks to move quickly through the organization. Still just 21, I wouldn't be surprised if he's pitching in Bowie by season's end and be in Baltimore by 2013.
According to Jake Arrieta's Facebook, he's starting tomorrow night vs the Yankees. #Orioles
For the rest of the season, this is great news. Giving a bunch of starts to the trio of Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta for the rest of 2010 is the best recipe for the Orioles' long term prospects, especially since 2010 is a lost season.
But against (arguably) the best team in baseball? Wouldn't Saturday against the Mets lineup have made for a better debut for a rookie? Or did Arrieta ask for this?
It was a gorgeous spring evening in Lawrenceville, GA as the Tides took on the Gwinnett Braves. If only the promotion for the evening hadn't been a thunderstix giveaway, the evening would have been perfect. OK, maybe if the Tides had not lost 6-1, it would have been perfect.
Starting pitcher and top pitching prospect Jake Arrieta battled wildness during Thursday night's loss but was still able to turn in a quality start going 6 innings and giving up three earned runs, all on a three-run homer to G-Braves RF Mitch Jones.
Arrieta cruised for the first three innings, retiring 10 of the first 11 batters, surrendering only a walk to G-Braves 1B (and top prospect) Freddie Freeman. In the 4th, he then gave up a blooper to left center, a sharply hit grounder to right and the three-run Jones homer.
Arrieta was working deep into counts most of the night and walked 4 batters on the night but still had the stuff to pitch out of trouble and struck out 4 as well. His fastball sat at 89-91 but he hit 94 several times. He works under control, doesn't overthrow but can reach back for extra when he needs to. He mixed in a slider in the mid-80's and an occasional curveball in the high-70's.
Arrieta was visibly frustrated with his control at times. But really, Arrieta pitched OK. He only gave up two solid hits (the sharp grounder and three-run homer, both in the 4th inning) and was able to pitch around the walks and errors. Even with the loss, Arrieta has only a 1.16 ERA over 5 International League starts.
The offense was another story. G-Braves starter Chris Resop, a journeyman pitcher, was wild as well but managed to strike out 8 Tides batters over his 6 innings of work. The Tides twice loaded the bases on Resop as he walked five and threw a wild pitch but Resop was always able to work out of the jams with minimal damage. Tides 3B Scott Moore's RBI single in the 3rd was the only run allowed by Braves pitching.
More player notes:
SS Robert Andino - Whenever a player is sent back to the minors, you would like to think it won't affect his attitude. In Andino's case, it looks like it has. I am not normally one to jump on players for not trying or not hustling when they are playing poorly but Andino barely looked interested. He failed to run hard on a groundout to short even though he certainly had a fair chance of making it to first safely (if the throw wasn't perfect) and made no effort to throw to first to complete a double-play later in the game. Both those plays were makeable but Andino just didn't make the extra effort. (OF Jeff Salazar, in stark contrast, ran hard on similar groundball to short.) He misplayed a flare that dropped for a hit in the 4th and made a throwing error in the 8th that seem to be extensions of the general lack of focus on defense that he displayed in Spring Training. It's just one game but I don't want to see him back in Baltimore. I'm not sure I even want to see him in Norfolk.
C Adam Donachie - Long time readers know that I have liked Donachie ever since the Orioles picked him in the Rule 5 draft in 2007. He didn't stick with the team that time but was signed by the O's later on. He works hard behind the plate, seems to have a good rapport with the pitchers and, on the rare occasion that he hits the ball, hits it hard. Donachie will never be a good major league starter but I think he could be a very good backup, a defense-first backstop with some power. I don't think he would be any worse than Craig Tatum and Tatum has found major league work.
1B Brandon Snyder - Snyder has not had a great start at Norfolk but it doesn't seem to be making him desperate. His approach is still good, he works the count and drew three walks on Thursday.
OF Corey Patterson - For the first time since the end of 2007, Patterson is back in the Oriole organization. He's not hitting much so far but was playing his signature stellar defense in rightfield last night and made3 a nice play on a foul ball down the rightfield line.
RP Pedro Viola - It's easy to see why the Orioles took a flyer on Pedro Viola and claimed him off waivers from the Reds earlier this month. The lefty reliever's fastball was sitting at 92-94 and hitting 97 on a regular basis. That kind of left arm doesn't grow on trees. Unfortunately, he didn't know where it was going last night as he gave up 2 hits, a walk and a run in just one inning pitched. If they can get him straightened out, he'll be nasty. When that fastball is over the plate, nobody can hit it.
Brad Bergesen makes his first, and perhaps only start for Triple-A Norfolk tomorrow. A quality outing could lead him back to the Orioles and that May 1 start against the Red Sox at Camden Yards. - Roch Kubatko Brad Bergesen wins in his first (maybe only?) start at Triple-A Norfolk. - Baltimore Sun Sports Twitter Account Sunday, (Bergesen) went 7.0 and gave up just 2 ER...He should have May 1 circled on his calendar as his return to the Orioles as a starter and a bus ticket to Baltimore in hand. - Camden Chat Do these guys know something I don't?
And do they remember how horrible Bergesen looked in his three major league starts?
So why would Bergesen go to Norfolk for a single start and come back to Baltimore? One solid start against AAA hitters is not enough for me to regain confidence. If you're going to use his option under the premise that he needed to work on his sinker and control, I sincerely doubt that he put everything together in one start. At least three would be my preference.
Besides, he's not the only option. Jason Berken can make a couple of spot starts (on May 1st and the 6th) or he could even split those two starts with Mark Hendrickson. After that, the Orioles wouldn't need their 5th starter until May 16th. If Bergesen is still mowing down the International League, bring him up then.
Or...give Jake Arrieta the call. Jake's line from AAA this season:
IP K BB HR ERA WHIP Arrieta 25.0 23 10 0 0.36 0.92
In addition, he is inducing a 53.7% groundball rate and has only given up 4 extra base hits this season. (By the way, Bergesen gave up 3 extra base hits, including a home run, for Norfolk on Sunday) Arrieta now has 21 starts in AAA and, even with some initial struggles after his promotion last year, has a 3.16 ERA over those starts. If you're going to pull the trigger and call someone up from Norfolk, Arrieta's the man...and Bergesen's start wasn't as sparkling as it looks in the boxscore.
A couple of notes from Jim Callis' "top tools" column...
Zach Britton (Orioles) doesn't dazzle on the radar gun like Strasburg, Feliz or Chapman, but his 88-92 mph fastball stood out for our panel, who anointed it the best sinker in the minors. It's a heavy pitch with late sink and run, and Britton can carry the life on his sinker into the late innings as a starter. He had a 3.4 groundout/airout ratio last year, when he was the high Class A Carolina League pitcher of the year as a 20-year-old....
The top changeup artists all stand out for their well-rounded repertoires. Brian Matusz (Orioles) has lived up to his billing as the top pitcher in the 2008 draft thanks to his plus-plus changeup—as well as his curveball and slider, both of which drew votes as ranking among the best in the minors, and a low-90s fastball that touches 95.
So the O's have the prospects with the best sinker and the best changeup. There has never been a time in my fandom when the Orioles has had so much nationally acclaimed talent in their system.
Scott Moore: I've been a fan of Moore's for awhile. Moore came over from the Cubs in the Steve Trachsel trade but due to various injuries (most recently his thumb) he only played in 82 games in 2008 and 32 games in 2009. I like giving a healthy Scott Moore a shot to play third for Baltimore in 2010 than signing Joe Crede or Miguel Tejada. The problem is his health and only the Orioles have a good idea if he's healthy enough to compete.
Chris George and Mike Hinckley: George is a former 1998 1st round draft pick of the Royals who hasn't had any success on any level since 2004.
Hinckley is a castoff from the Nationals who walks nearly as many as he strikes out.
Look for these lefties to pitch a lot of meaningless innings.
Jake Arrieta: I cannot imagine Arrieta starting the season in Baltimore but you never know. I expect him to start the year in Norfolk but a torrid spring could change some minds.
Josh Perrault: This righty reliever in the pitcher most likely to go north with the team. Perrault mowed them down in Bowie and Norfolk but is a bit of a flyball pitcher.
Alfredo Simon: NOOOO! NOOOOOOO! Simon shouldn't have made the team last season. I'll repeat my killer Simon stat...Simon has not posted an ERA under 6.00 at any level since 2005.
Frank Mata: A wild reliever who has never pitched above AA. Spring Training roster filler.
Ross Wolf: Wolf had a good, not great season at AAA Norfolk in 2009. It's hard to see him pitching well enough to make the club but he's a groundball specialist and that may serve him well.
Michael Hernandez, Caleb Joseph and Chad Moeller: As regular readers may know, I am always fascinated by the annual competition for backup catcher during Spring Training and spend an inordinate amount of time commenting on it. The job is wide open and along with Craig Tatum, these guys are the leading candidates.
Michel Hernandez is a career minor leaguer with a few cups of coffee in the bigs. He has a decent defensive rep and hits lefty pitching well.
Chad Moeller probably has the inside track given his good work last season. He's all catcher, no hitter.
Craig Tatum (who is on the 40-man roster) has a very good defensive rep and has show flashes of capable hitting in the minors.
Caleb Joseph is a top prospect in the Oriole farm system. He's probably here to get some work in with higher level players but there's always a chance...
Jeff Salazar: Salazar is a light-hitting minor league outfielder. Baltimore already has 5 outfielders. Salazar will be the official "bus rider" for Spring Training playing many games in Jupiter and Port St. Lucie and few in Sarasota.
I was going to save this for the next Oriole Blogosphere post but these interviews with Jake Arrietta and Troy Patton make for good viewing and are a pretty cool "get" for a bunch of bloggers. Well done!
*****
Brady Anderson writes an op-ed piece defending Orioles owner Peter Angelos. Among his defenses:
The article states that....Mr. Angelos began his "notorious meddling" by firing manager Davey Johnson. That is not what happened. Mr. Johnson resigned; he was not fired. The dispute between Mr. Angelos and Mr. Johnson began when Mr. Johnson fined Roberto Alomar, unilaterally, and without the owner's knowledge or consent, for missing a mandatory team function. I was really bothered by the Johnson resignation. I loved playing for Davey and believe the Orioles would have continued to compete for championships had he stayed. I also think that if Davey had really wanted to stay he was more than capable of convincing Mr. Angelos to retain him for many years.
OK, but you could conversely make the argument that Mr. Angelos was capable of convincing Johnson to stay as well.
That point aside, Anderson does make a few good points and seems to genuinely admire and respect Peter Angelos.
I certainly have my issues with Angelos as a manager but hardly think he's the win-draining diabolical monster some paint him to be. Nor do I find him a shrewd manager of his resources and a magnanimous owner who is solely responsible for the Orioles' success in the mid-90's. I imagine, as with most things, the truth lies in the middle.
*****
Spring Training update: Arizona? Arizona? What the hell? I'm fine with Baltimore training anywhere in Florida...but not Arizona.
Meanwhile the Orioles are still in negotiations with Sarasota and Lee counties about moving their Spring Training to Florida's west coast. Some commissioners are worried about how much money the Orioles will want in stadium improvements:
(Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann) is concerned that the Orioles may ask for at least $10 million in upgrades.
"If less, I'll kiss a monkey right out there on the steps," Mann said, gesturing toward the north side of the old county courthouse.
Now that would be an entertaining County Board meeting. Do these guys know how to party or what? If I were John Angelos, I would make primate smooching a prerequisite to move to Lee County.
So, as you probably know, the Orioles have this center fielder who is having a pretty good season. Unless he falls apart in June, there’s a pretty decent chance that Adam Jones will make his first All-Star team this summer at the ripe old age of 23. He’s one of the core pieces of the Orioles rebuilding process, and if the M’s wanted to get him back, they probably couldn’t, even if they offered up the entire farm system and the deed to Mt. Rainier. He’s that valuable. And, but for some really terrible decision making, he could have been ours.
Adam Jones came back to Seattle today with an entourage -- two burly guys standing by his locker in the visiting clubhouse at Safeco Field wearing Orioles' jerseys with "Jones" on the back.
OK, it was his brother and cousin, come up from San Diego to visit Adam -- who actually seems quite unaffected by the giant step into stardom he has taken this season.
"I'm just maturing as a baseball player,'' he said with a shrug. "Figuring out my role and not trying to do too much. Playing the game the way I know how to play it."
Which, as every wistful Mariners' fan is well aware, is good enough to make him one of the game's most exciting young players, almost certainly headed, at age 23, to his first All-Star Game. Jones is the most hilarious deadpan quote dropper ever. When asked about coming "home" to Seattle:
Asked if he feels any special tugs coming back to Seattle, Jones replied, "Nothing. It's just a regular city. We're on the road. Just got to come here and do what our team tries to accomplish on the road."
In fact, he seemed to have more attachment to Tacoma. "I got to know a lot of the fans there, because I was in Tacoma for most of the time,'' he said. "They're great people. They treated me with utmost respect. I'd say last year was good for me, because they (the Orioles) gave me an opportunity, but I'm also glad I had the opportunity to play over there." Hysterical. The Orioles gave me a shot in Baltimore but Seattle gave me a shot in AAA Tacoma. I really got to know the people in Tacoma. Not so much in Seattle. Awesome.
The highlight of Wieters Weekend for me was watching him get challenged by Justin Verlander and getting blown away that first at bat and then coming back the next time and drilling Verlander fastball off the center field wall for a triple and his first major league hit. Nice adjustment and it bodes well...
I've been meaning to get to the recent comments by Leo Mazzone...so here it is.
Leo Mazzone made these comments to the intensely annoying Atlanta Journal Constitution sports columnist Terrance Moore:
“Once I got there and saw how they operated compared to the Braves, I knew I made a mistake the first week of spring training,” he said, before chuckling and adding, “I said to myself, ‘You know what? I done messed up.’
“The lack of organization. The lack of discipline. The lack of overall professionalism. I was shocked, and I couldn’t believe it.”
A couple of observations:
1) He's probably got some very good points. 2) His best buddy, sad-sack #1, Sam Perlozzo, was running things at the time. Is this a swipe at Perlozzo as well as The Warehouse? 3) When his buddy Perlozzo was shown the door, did Leo take the opportunity to liberate himself from his predicament? On the contrary. He practically begged for his job:
"I want to go until I'm 62, and I hope the rest of the way it's in a Baltimore uniform," he said. "I mean this place, it's my home state and this is one of the greatest sports towns in the United States. All we have to do is start winning, and you'll never be able to get a ticket. These fans deserve that. They treat everybody very graciously."
4) When the Orioles showed Leo the door, they gutted the organization. Andy MacPhail cleaned house (by and large) fronm the minors on up to the GM office. His observations are probably less true now than in 2006. 5) Leo's giving his meaculpa to the fans of Atlanta and the Braves front office. He wants to come work for the Atlanta Braves again. And all in all, who can blame him? I don't. But remember: he kept cashing the Oriole checks last season and they made him a very wealthy man.
Scott continued to struggle against left handed pitching last season but still managed to post an OPS of .807 coming from one of the weakest divisions in baseball to the strongest division in baseball. The man we traded him for, Miguel Tejada, only posted a .729 OPS for the Astros last season. Tejada stands to make $13 million next season. Which player would you rather have going into 2009?
Even if that trade had been Scott for Tejada straight up, the Orioles made out like bandits. And we got four other players back!
*****
Paul Sullivan has done a very thorough and entertaining write-up on the Orioles' best home-grown players as well as their best acquired players, put them on opposing teams and imagines who might win head-to-head. If Sullivan isn't a die-hard Orioles fan, he should change his middle name to Rain Man to be able to pull so many details about the various Oriole players he profiles.
Bob (Baltimore, MD): What do you think of playing in Camden Yards? Can you hit the warehouse? Matt Wieters: (4:08 PM ET ) I don't know about that, but I'm definitely looking forward to playing there. It's not going to have all the bells and whistles of the newest parks, but it's beautiful and will be around for a long time.
Doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the newest parks? How old do I feel now? I still think of OPACY as a "new" park. This kid thinks it's Tiger Stadium.
Oh , and he'll have his crabcake broiled, not fried.
Work and family are conspiring against me! Just the normal facts of life but don't expect a lot of posting from me until the middle of September...
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Just wanted to spotlight the great job Jake Arrietta did pitching for team USA against China a couple weeks back. 6 shutout innings while striking out 7? Fantastic!
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Yesterday, the Orioles snapped a 5-game skid and won their 63rd game. It was a foregone conclusion in the minds of many in the media that the Orioles would lose 100 games and be the worst team in baseball. They will not lose 100 and are far from the worst team in baseball. This alone is a small victory for the franchise.
Just for the record, the Detroit Tigers were picked to win close to 100 games and perhaps score 1000 runs in 2008. They have exactly 1 more win than Baltimore.
August has been tough (as I predicted) but Baltimore is only 11-14 for the month which has seen them play some very tough competition. If they could somehow take the Tampa series, you would have to consider August an incredible success.
Speaking of Chris Tillman, ESPN's Keith Law had a scouting report from a recent Baysox game:
Orioles pitching prospect Chris Tillman started last night for AA Bowie at Reading and easily outpitched his somewhat more highly-paid opponent, Adam Eaton..... Tillman started out throwing 87-88 mph, but then gradually increased his velo to the low 90s, topping out at 93. The right-hander has good life with tailing action on his fastball, and sinks it at 87-88. At 92-93, it flattens out but still has the same tailing action. His best pitch is his curveball, a very sharp breaking ball with some two-plane break and great depth. It moves quickly with tight rotation and looks a lot harder than its 74-77 mph velocity. He throws a changeup with good tumbling action, but he doesn't use it often or show much feel for it yet.
Aside from a hook at the start of his delivery, he's pretty clean overall, staying over the rubber well and then driving forward with a long stride, taking advantage of his long legs. He gets good downhill plane on almost everything he throws and keeps his head steady through the delivery. Where Tillman fell short of absolute top-prospect status was in his command. He looks the part, with his clean delivery, but he doesn't locate his fastball welll, not even to a general part of the zone. He misses bats because his curveball is just toxic and because his fastball gets in on hitters quickly, but he needs to be more precise with the latter pitch to succeed in the big leagues.
And a couple comments about Matt Wieters:
Catcher Matt Wieters homered on the first pitch he saw from Eaton last night, an 84 mph nothing-ball on the outer half that Wieters spit on and sent out to left-center (the opposite field, since he was batting left-handed). Wieters, the game's top hitting prospect, has gotten significantly stronger since he was an amateur; at Georgia Tech he was wiry strong, but had room on his frame to add muscle, which he's done fairly quickly. His sheer size, not a lack of skill, might make him a little more questionable behind the plate long-term, but he looks like he's going to hit for 30-plus home run power.
Good news from the farm...
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MelMo batting line for August: .427/.463/.781
That's good for a 1.244 OPS. More on this later but this may be the best month Mora has had in his career....
