Gregg Zaun is back in Baltimore, where he started. Melvin Mora has been in Birdland a long time. Danys Baez is trying to restart his career.
None will be in an Orioles uniform next year. They're just waiting for the next wave of guys to overtake them. For the first time in a very, very long time, that's good news for Orioles fans.
Help is on the way. A crop of excellent young players, particularly a group of quality pitchers and superstud catcher Matt Wieters, will be ready to make the Orioles contenders by 2011. But, for now, things at the big league level remain less rosy.
Strengths: The Orioles have a lot of left-handed power, particularly in the form of cornerstone Nick Markakis, Aubrey Huff (.304, 32 HR, 108 RBI in 2008) and Luke Scott. They also have possibly the best defensive outfield in baseball with Markakis, emerging star Adam Jones and Felix Pie. Their bench, with Ty Wiggington and Ryan Freel, is as good as any in the AL. Their bullpen, anchored by former closer Chris Ray and current stopper George Sherrill (don't be surprised if they flip-flop during the season) is strong, from long man Matt Albers on up.
Weaknesses: Their pitching staff remains a tragedy, at least for the time being. Jeremy Guthrie is a solid starter, but wouldn't be an ace on most staffs; he'd be the #2 guy. Koji Uehara will probably get off to a good start because he's a strike-thrower and Japanese pitchers always do get off to nice starts, but how long until the league catches up with him? From there, it's a total crap shoot. Rich Hill, who the O's got from the Cubs, is likely the #3 guy. Adam Eaton, he of the 6-plus ERA with the Phillies, will probably be the #4. After that, who knows?
The Orioles also have a lack of right-handed power. Adding the switch-hitting Wieters will help in May or so, but until then, Jones and Mora are about it.
It's a good season if: The Orioles can stitch together a rotation that keeps Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta and Brian Matuz out of the conversation for another year. If the likes of Radhames Liz and Hayden Penn aren't expected to do anything, because they won't. If Scott, the ultimate streak hitter, gets hot and stays that way for a year. If Jones continues to progress. If nobody, especially shortstop Cesar Izturis, gets hurt. Then the Orioles can stay around .500.
It's a mess if: Guthrie struggles, Scott slumps, Huff comes back to earth and has no trade value, Mora gets old and there are any injuries. Then the rumbles for the kids will get louder.
Pitching:
Rotation--Jeremey Guthrie, Koji Uehara, Rich Hill, Adam Eaton, Brad Begesen OR Mark Hendrickson OR Danys Baez OR David Pauley
Bullpen--Mark Hendrickson, Matt Albers, Dennis Sarfate, Jamie Walker, Jim Johnson, Chris Ray, George Sherrill
Lineup:
Brian Roberts, 2B
Adam Jones, CF
Nick Markakis, RF
Aubrey Huff, 1B
Luke Scott, DH
Melvin Mora, 3B
Gregg Zaun, C/Matt Wieters come May-ish
Felix Pie, LF
Cesar Izturis, SS
Bench:
Ty Wiggington, IF/OF
Ryan Freel IF/OF
Chad Moeller, C
Chris Gomez, IF
Prediction: 2009 will probably not be that great a season for the Birds. But they could be good again, for the first time in a long time, shortly. But getting a core to help the young kids and staying at .500 should be a starting point for this year.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Astros sign former 20-game winner. Astros fans disgusted.
Yes! The Astros have scrapped the bottom of the barrel again!Randy Wolf is still out there (even though he really screwed up turning down a 3-year, $28 million deal earlier this offseason).
So is Ben Sheets.
So is Jon Garland.
Heck, so is Andy Pettitte.
So what do the Houston Astros, who were one more halfway decent starter away from a playoff spot, do in a market with rapidly declining prices?
They signed a 20-game winner. Problem is, he won 20 in 2003. And his name is Russ Ortiz.
Yeah, that Russ Ortiz. The guy who was 7-22 in his last three big league seasons and didn't even pitch an inning last year because he had Tommy John surgery.
Why did the Astros sign him? Because he's cheap. Plain and simple. Just like the team's owner.
Drayton McLane, for those of you who don't know, is a trucking magnate. He is a billionaire. He's also always been unwilling to take that final step to take the Astros from a competitor to a winner. He wouldn't invest in scouting and the farm system (because that SOB Gary Hunsicker had the nerve to suggest it) and would only shell out the big bucks for Pettitte and Roger Clemens because they were local guys (and, by extension, would draw bigger crowds and allow him to raise ticket prices).
McLane has been largely insulated by the mega-recession because the Houston area has been largely unaffected and his company has a close relationship with Wal-Mart. Yet, he's the most public screamer of poverty since the market headed south. It has been pathetic.
Ty Wiggington, the guy who almost carried the Astros into the postseason, is gone because he's too expensive. Instead, he's been replaced by the combination of Geoff Blum and Aaron Frigging Boone. Combined, they hit 20 homers and drove in 71 RBI. Wiggy hit 23 homers by himself (though he only drove in 58). But Blum/Boone are cheaper! Joy!
The Astros desperately needed help at catcher, as J.R. Towles and Humberto Quintero are a giant offensive hole (kind of like Brad Ausmus was). The Astros signed Toby Hall to a minor league deal.
All the pitchers mentioned above are still out there. The Astros signed Russ Ortiz and closed down shop. And, with a rotation of Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Brian Moehler, Mike Hampton and Brandon Backe/Ortiz/who knows, they have sceeded any chance at a playoff spot in 2009.
McLane seems to think that he'll cry poverty and Astros fans will simply sit around, nod and understand. They won't. Their level of disgust has been high for several years and the whining about how poor he is won't fly. Houston is the fourth-largest city in the nation and the Astros have a new ballpark. They also have an owner who spends like he's a mid-market franchise. People will probably show their displeasure this spring, when they don't show up at Minute Maid Park.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Martinez the Marlin? Does not compute.
Pedro Martinez makes no sense in MiamiPedro Martinez is 37 years old. He's coming off a subpar season, surgery and he's lost a couple of feet off his fastball, but he's still...well, Pedro Martinez. If healthy, he could make a difference for a contending team. He could also add some wins to his hall of fame resume.
That's why the idea of Pedro to the Marlins makes no sense whatsoever. They're not contenders and there's probably not as many wins on the table there for Pedro as there may be elsewhere.
There has been some speculation that the Marlins would like to add Pedro as a veteran presence to help Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Chris Volstad, Andrew Miller and Anibal Sanchez, the other possible starters. But there's no indication in Pedro's past history that he's interested in playing the role of elder statesman like a Gregg Maddux. If the Marlins are expecting for Pedro to be the Pedro of 2002...well, there's no way in the world they're expecting that.
Maybe the Fish think they can get Pedro for real cheap and he'll want to be there because he has a house in the area. But if they think he'll be the difference between contender and prentender while he plays Yoda to the youngsters, they'd probably be disappointed. He'd also be taking innings away from those same youngsters, who need seasoning in order to make them eventual contenders.
This is one deal that makes zero sense for either side. Which is why it'll probably happen.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Tale of two cities, starring John Smoltz
John Smoltz in a Red Sox uniform may be painful to Atlanta for a lot of reasons.For nearly two decades, there has been one mainstay in Atlanta baseball: John Smoltz. The Cy Young Award-winner, dominating closer, nails in the postseason. And now, he'll end his career as a member of the Boston Red Sox.
For the Sox, Smoltz's signing is a luxury, much like Bartolo Colon's acquisition was last year. They've got a quality starter coming off a serious injury who, if healthy, can come in as a fresh arm and help carry the team during the summer and stretch run. If not, who cares? They should be fine with Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Brad Penny and Tim Wakefield.
It's a different story for the Braves.
The loss of Smoltz doesn't help a pitching staff in flux. Whether he'd be ready for the start of the season is a huge question mark, but he would add stability to a rotation that, right now, includes Javier Vasquez, Jair Jurrjens and Kenshin Kawakami (9-5, 2.30 with the Chunichi Dragons in 2008). There is no ace on the staff and, really, nobody you'd look to to help mentor Jurrjens, Charlie Morton, JoJo Reyes or Jorge Campillo (and, even if they sign Derek Lowe, they still won't).
But, more importantly, this is a PR hit the Braves really can't afford to take right now. The Braves didn't draw tremendously when they were winning the NL East every year, and that was when they were playing with the deep pockets of Ted Turner. They don't have that luxury anymore and the Atlanta area hasn't fared overly well with the recent economic downturn. Dumping the closest thing to an Atlanta sports institution certainly won't help the Braves in the eyes of the paying public.
Ok, to say the Braves "dumped" Smoltz is unfair. But General Manager Frank Wren really ought to know when to keep his mouth shut and wish someone the best of luck. Instead, he came off a little less classy than he could have with this comment to the AP: "We were willing to pay John as much or more than the Red Sox to pitch. We just weren't willing to pay him as much as the Red Sox not to pitch."
The Red Sox offered Smoltz $5.5 million whether or not he throws a pitch this year. The Braves wouldn't come close to that, which is understandable. But there may be a little more to the story than that, as stories have indicated Bobby Cox saw Smoltz throw on Dec. 5 and gave him a firm thumbs-up; Wren, on the other hand, was unimpressed. Insinuating that Smoltz is damaged goods and won't pitch this year is one way to avoid saying you didn't want to pay a 42-year-old pitcher a lot of green--it's just not the best way to do it when you're dealing with a local legend.
The Smoltz situation may prove to be a double-whammy, as Tom Glavine is still out there recovering from a surgery of his own. Glavine had said he'd only pitch for the Braves, but after seeing Smoltz walk away, he's re-evaluating his options (read: talking to other teams). Having both Smoltz and Glavine end their careers elsewhere would be a public relations debacle for the Braves.
This doesn't even touch the situation surrounding Bobby Cox, who may be more than a little irritated to that one (and maybe two) of his longtime horses may be getting the gate without the honorable exit they probably deserve.
For the Sox, Smoltz's signing is a luxury, much like Bartolo Colon's acquisition was last year. They've got a quality starter coming off a serious injury who, if healthy, can come in as a fresh arm and help carry the team during the summer and stretch run. If not, who cares? They should be fine with Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Brad Penny and Tim Wakefield.
It's a different story for the Braves.
The loss of Smoltz doesn't help a pitching staff in flux. Whether he'd be ready for the start of the season is a huge question mark, but he would add stability to a rotation that, right now, includes Javier Vasquez, Jair Jurrjens and Kenshin Kawakami (9-5, 2.30 with the Chunichi Dragons in 2008). There is no ace on the staff and, really, nobody you'd look to to help mentor Jurrjens, Charlie Morton, JoJo Reyes or Jorge Campillo (and, even if they sign Derek Lowe, they still won't).
But, more importantly, this is a PR hit the Braves really can't afford to take right now. The Braves didn't draw tremendously when they were winning the NL East every year, and that was when they were playing with the deep pockets of Ted Turner. They don't have that luxury anymore and the Atlanta area hasn't fared overly well with the recent economic downturn. Dumping the closest thing to an Atlanta sports institution certainly won't help the Braves in the eyes of the paying public.
Ok, to say the Braves "dumped" Smoltz is unfair. But General Manager Frank Wren really ought to know when to keep his mouth shut and wish someone the best of luck. Instead, he came off a little less classy than he could have with this comment to the AP: "We were willing to pay John as much or more than the Red Sox to pitch. We just weren't willing to pay him as much as the Red Sox not to pitch."
The Red Sox offered Smoltz $5.5 million whether or not he throws a pitch this year. The Braves wouldn't come close to that, which is understandable. But there may be a little more to the story than that, as stories have indicated Bobby Cox saw Smoltz throw on Dec. 5 and gave him a firm thumbs-up; Wren, on the other hand, was unimpressed. Insinuating that Smoltz is damaged goods and won't pitch this year is one way to avoid saying you didn't want to pay a 42-year-old pitcher a lot of green--it's just not the best way to do it when you're dealing with a local legend.
The Smoltz situation may prove to be a double-whammy, as Tom Glavine is still out there recovering from a surgery of his own. Glavine had said he'd only pitch for the Braves, but after seeing Smoltz walk away, he's re-evaluating his options (read: talking to other teams). Having both Smoltz and Glavine end their careers elsewhere would be a public relations debacle for the Braves.
This doesn't even touch the situation surrounding Bobby Cox, who may be more than a little irritated to that one (and maybe two) of his longtime horses may be getting the gate without the honorable exit they probably deserve.
Redding signing likely to be a Queens-sized bust for Mets
Tim Redding has a career record of 34-51 with a 4.92 ERA. He also has a $2.25 million deal with the Mets.Back in the early part of this decade, I had the pleasure of watching the best team in all of Minor League Baseball, the Round Rock Express. The Express, then the AA-affiliate of the Astros, won a lot of games while developing some serious talent, including Roy Oswalt and Brad Lidge. But the best pitcher I saw at Round Rock wasn't Oswalt (who was great) or Lidge (who was astounding, but a frequently injured starter), it was Tim Redding. Redding was, for lack of a better word, incredible.
Redding dominated AA competition, regularly firing 95-mph fastballs on the corners past hitters. His stuff was so filthy that the combination of pitching coach Mike Maddux and manager Jackie Moore (now both with the Texas Rangers) frequently had him rein it in.
If he looked better than Oswalt, it made sense that he'd follow the same progression to the majors. And make he did, getting to the bigs in 2001 for a good part of the season. He was 3-1 with a 5.50 ERA in 13 appearances (9 starts), and it made sense to think those numbers would only get better.
They didn't. In fact, Redding's numbers weren't very good (with the exception of a respectable 2003) at all. It wasn't that his stuff wasn't good enough to beat big league hitters; the problem was between his ears.
Redding was a very good pitcher between no strikes and two strikes and nobody on base. As soon as he got to a point where he had to put a hitter away or make a big pitch to get out of an inning, he couldn't do it. You could take one look at him and see that he simply didn't believe in his ability to make pitch he needed to. Astros players and front office personnel quickly figured out that Redding couldn't handle the pressure of the big time, even in the laid-back environment of Houston.
It didn't help that his attitude and lack of interest in instruction alienated the tight Astros locker room.
In 2003, there was hope that he was going to be a cog in a strong young rotation (with Oswalt and Carlos Hernandez). By 2005, he was gone, traded to San Diego for Humberto Quintero. He didn't even last a season with the Padres, booted to the Yankees in July. Redding, who had crumbled as the Astros made a run at the wildcard in 2004, found himself playing in the biggest pressure cooker of them all: Yankee Stadium in the middle of a pennant race.
He lasted all of one inning in pinstripes, getting sent down with an ERA of 54. He didn't pitch in the bigs in 2006, finally making in back with the Washington Nationals in 2007. He pitched respectably for the way-out-of-it Nats, posting a 3.64 ERA and a 3-6 record. Last year, he pitched well in the first half for another horrible Nationals team, but finished badly to compile a 10-11 record and an ERA of 4.95 (pretty in line with his career numbers).
The second-half collapse and that same attitude got him non-tendered by the pitching-starved Nats, but oddly enough Redding found himself in demand. The Orioles, Rockies and Mets all tried to gain his services, with the Mets winning out with a one-year, $2.25 million deal.
Maybe, at the age of 31, Redding's got it figured out. It's much more likely that the Mets will wonder what the hell they were thinking before the All-Star break. The Mets are expecting to contend for the NL East title this year and have a manager in Jerry Manuel who likes players to police themselves. This is a recipie for disaster for Redding, who likely won't handle the pressure of a pennant chase while irritating his teammates.
The Mets (who really don't seem interested in re-signing Pedro Martinez) are investing a lot of hope in a guy who hasn't proven he's capable of living up to expectations. That's a crying shame; it may also be the difference in the Mets being in the postseason or at home next fall.
Redding dominated AA competition, regularly firing 95-mph fastballs on the corners past hitters. His stuff was so filthy that the combination of pitching coach Mike Maddux and manager Jackie Moore (now both with the Texas Rangers) frequently had him rein it in.
If he looked better than Oswalt, it made sense that he'd follow the same progression to the majors. And make he did, getting to the bigs in 2001 for a good part of the season. He was 3-1 with a 5.50 ERA in 13 appearances (9 starts), and it made sense to think those numbers would only get better.
They didn't. In fact, Redding's numbers weren't very good (with the exception of a respectable 2003) at all. It wasn't that his stuff wasn't good enough to beat big league hitters; the problem was between his ears.
Redding was a very good pitcher between no strikes and two strikes and nobody on base. As soon as he got to a point where he had to put a hitter away or make a big pitch to get out of an inning, he couldn't do it. You could take one look at him and see that he simply didn't believe in his ability to make pitch he needed to. Astros players and front office personnel quickly figured out that Redding couldn't handle the pressure of the big time, even in the laid-back environment of Houston.
It didn't help that his attitude and lack of interest in instruction alienated the tight Astros locker room.
In 2003, there was hope that he was going to be a cog in a strong young rotation (with Oswalt and Carlos Hernandez). By 2005, he was gone, traded to San Diego for Humberto Quintero. He didn't even last a season with the Padres, booted to the Yankees in July. Redding, who had crumbled as the Astros made a run at the wildcard in 2004, found himself playing in the biggest pressure cooker of them all: Yankee Stadium in the middle of a pennant race.
He lasted all of one inning in pinstripes, getting sent down with an ERA of 54. He didn't pitch in the bigs in 2006, finally making in back with the Washington Nationals in 2007. He pitched respectably for the way-out-of-it Nats, posting a 3.64 ERA and a 3-6 record. Last year, he pitched well in the first half for another horrible Nationals team, but finished badly to compile a 10-11 record and an ERA of 4.95 (pretty in line with his career numbers).
The second-half collapse and that same attitude got him non-tendered by the pitching-starved Nats, but oddly enough Redding found himself in demand. The Orioles, Rockies and Mets all tried to gain his services, with the Mets winning out with a one-year, $2.25 million deal.
Maybe, at the age of 31, Redding's got it figured out. It's much more likely that the Mets will wonder what the hell they were thinking before the All-Star break. The Mets are expecting to contend for the NL East title this year and have a manager in Jerry Manuel who likes players to police themselves. This is a recipie for disaster for Redding, who likely won't handle the pressure of a pennant chase while irritating his teammates.
The Mets (who really don't seem interested in re-signing Pedro Martinez) are investing a lot of hope in a guy who hasn't proven he's capable of living up to expectations. That's a crying shame; it may also be the difference in the Mets being in the postseason or at home next fall.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Welcome to Ueckerville
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Ueckerville, one of hundreds of baseball-related blogs on the vaunted Interwebs. Hopefully, in time it will become known as one of the better ones.
The primary contributor to Ueckerville will be Mark Passwaters, a six-time Associated Press award winning writer. He has covered the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves and has written for the Associated Press, Kansas City Star, Orlando Sentinel and New Orleans Times-Picayune, among others.
But that's not what you came here to read. You came here to read about baseball. So we'll shut up now and let you do just that. Enjoy your stay.
The primary contributor to Ueckerville will be Mark Passwaters, a six-time Associated Press award winning writer. He has covered the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves and has written for the Associated Press, Kansas City Star, Orlando Sentinel and New Orleans Times-Picayune, among others.
But that's not what you came here to read. You came here to read about baseball. So we'll shut up now and let you do just that. Enjoy your stay.
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