Five Things to Watch in Spring Training

Unlike previous Orioles campaigns, the 2007 season will not feature a lot of position battles. The outfield and infield starters are pretty much set, all that is in question is the amount of PT for each guy. The rotation is set as well as most of the bullpen. What can we watch for in Spring Training? Well, let’s see…

1. The Battle for the Backup Backstop

They signed journeyman Paul Bako but can (minor league) journeyman J.R. House or Rule V draftee Adam Donachie push him out? Right now I’d like to see Donachie but one of these guys is going to have to have a really nice spring to get Bako booted.

2. The Last Two (or three) Bullpen Spots

Barring injury the bullpen will consist of Baez, Bradford, Walker and Ray. The last two (perhaps three) bullpen spots are up for grabs. If Hayden Penn doesn’t find a way to crack the starting rotation, he could end up in the pen as a long reliever. Scott Williamson, if healthy, should have an inside track on a job as his arm is electric and he can be dominant in the strikeout department. Todd Williams could prove to be a second lefty even after a poor showing last year. Also in the mix are young lefties Kurt Birkins, Brian Burres and (a seemingly healthy) John Parrish. Righties Sendy Rleal (probably bound for AAA), Jeremey Guthrie (claimed off waivers from Cleveland and out of minor league options) and top relief prospect James Hoey round out the competition. If the O’s carry 6 relievers instead of 7, look for Scott Williamson and Kurt Birkins to grab the spots.

3. Who Replaces Kris Benson?

Steve Trachsel seemed to be signed just for that role but don’t think that the youngsters won’t be given every opportunity to unseat him. Hayden Penn has proven all he needs to at AAA and a strong spring could change some minds on his role with the big club. Jeremy Guthrie is a dark horse for a rotation spot. Management seems to like him a lot.

4. Where's Jay (Gibbons) Play?

Permanent DH or spot first baseman/left fielder? Defense at first will tell the tale. I am sure Gibbons can play left but I am also fairly sure the team would rather he not given his injury woes. If Jay can pick ‘em at first he’ll see some time there in the Huff/Millar rotation.

5. The Mazzone Effect

Watch carefully the progression (if any) of the young starters Loewen, Penn and Cabrera this spring now that Leo has them all to himself for the entire spring. The O’s hopes this season rest on Mazzone’s shoulders.

Honorable Mention: The last two bench spots. I’ll give Adam Stern and Freddie Bynum the nod as favorites going in to camp.

Snakebit Pitchers?

According to Roch Kubatko's blog in the BaltimoreSun.com site, Hayden Penn crutched his way out to the team picture this morning. OK, he was carrying the crutches. His MRI was negative. he supposedly twisted his ankle while carrying boxes up the stairs(!!!). He is listed as day to day.

For Christ's sake, O's stop doing heavy lifting! Jaret Wright - no ice skating for you. Adam Loewen - no standing on the top rung of the ladder. And Chris Ray, no basejumping until after the season.

Good Article on Rick Dempsey's Nephew...

...AKA Gregg Zaun on Canada.com.

Zaun was traded from the Orioles for Terry Mathews during the 1996 season. I never liked losing Zaun, I thought he was an above average backup catcher, a useful guy off the bench. But we got Terry Mathews for him who was pretty good out of the bullpen in '96 and '97 especially pitching 5 scoreless innings in the '96 playoffs so you could understand the trade.

But you could have had Zaun for nothing in the early 2000's as he bounced from team to team. Geronimo Gil and Brook Fordyce were better options? Oh, well.

Continued good luck to Gregg this year. (except when he faces the O's of course...)

Base Hits: 2/26/2007

Kurt Birkins, James Hoey and Brian Burres have officially arrived as major leaguers; they had they "likenesses scanned" for inclusion in upcoming MLB video games.

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Not that this should be a shock to anybody but there isn't much doing "down on the farm" in terms of hitting. The minor league system is getting better but it will be years before it starts to bear ample fruit.

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Usually, I'm not a fan of expanding the running game but with two very good and, more importantly, very smart basestealers like Brian Roberts and Corey Patterson on your team, I'm all for it. So is Sam Perlozzo it seems.

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J.R. House took grounders at third on Saturday and has played a little first and outfield according to the Washington Post. If House shows some versatility, he has a much better shot at pushing Paul Bako out of the way as the backup catcher.

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Also in the Post, a Thomas Boswell article worth reading, reflecting on the glory days of the Orioles franchise and their prospects to recapture some of that glory starting this season.

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A good article in the Baltimore Sun on Corey Patterson.

At Least He Turned His Head...

Jamie Walker took a Nick Markakis line drive off the back of the head sustaining a mild concussion. The good news is he was able to turn a split second before the ball hit him or he could be having his broken nose set instead and missing considerable playing time. We'll call this a lucky break.

Hey Jamie, how about pitching BP from behind a screen next time?

My Lack of Rick Dempsey Coverage...

...has been noted by the guys at the Roar From 34 blog. And I quote:

"At least we’ll get to see Rick Dempsey doing Birds games. Surprisingly, the new
O’s blog Dempsey’s Army doesn’t offer a take on the catcher’s move to MASN. Come on Dempsey's Army, he’s your namesake!"

Fair enough, I never did make a comment on Rick's move to calling the games versus coaching them. Part of this has to do with the fact that I am in the "Oriole diaspora" as I call it. I'm in the Atlanta suburbs and do not nor will see MASN broadcasts this year. (OK, that may change slightly this year as I plan on subscribing to MLB.tv to keep up with the O's better.) So MASN news is a little bit off my personal radar.

Frankly, I was disappointed that Rick "moved to the booth". I think he was a good and experienced coach and I like to see guys in Baltimore's organization who remember "The Oriole Way".

Still, if it means less airtime for Buck Martinez, I'm all for it! I think he will be good as a color commentator too.

So a belated good luck to Rick at his new gig. And go check out Roar From 34.

Base Hits: 2/23/2007

Wouldn't it be great if it really is this simple? If all it took to fix Daniel Cabrera was to improve his eyesight ala Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn? The Washington Post story on Cabrera's vision correction is here.

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Former Baltimore centerfielder Luis Matos is a very good bet to make the Pirates roster this spring.

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Insight on the backup catcher battle among other things over at Orioles.com. Says Perlozzo:

"If somebody is going to steal it away from Bako, he's going
to have to swing the bat and catch pretty well. Paul's been around a pretty long time. But we'll give them all a shot and see what they got."

Well, it won't take much to outhit Bako. Bako will still need to show diminished defensive skills (which he has) to open the door to House or Donachie.

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Can you sing? The Frederick Keys will be holding National Anthem auditions on March 31st. The Baysox will hold their auditions on the 24th.

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A preview of Minor League Spring Training on the Baysox website, in case you happen to be over in Sarasota.