bright spOts

Wayward O has been perusing O-sphere last couple days. Some people think Team will be fine. Others think world ending. Anyway here is Wayward O's analysis of current state of Team:


Brilliant, Blog Knows.
So yeah. Given all that, we could still make surprise run at .500 right?

tejada hits 4-hOle?

ok so Team gets miguel tejada back, to play third, probably spell cesar izturis a few times at short and maybe dh every now and then.

miguel grounds into a lot of double plays, which is bad, yet he doesn't strike out a lot. only 48 Ks in in 635 at bats last year and comparable numbers going back several years.

optimistically his home run total will tweak back up in camden with its section 80-82 porch, which miguel used to love. even if they don't he's gonna put ball in play and get his doubles.

given fact that luke scott and nicky are, ehm, not to be you know mean but, strikeout machines, maybe tejada hits cleanup.

to put it another way: who else is gonna do it?

if matt wieters turns into force this year perhaps he's in four-hole by august. adam jones, too, has cleanup potential, but he's real wild card at this point: mostly he has to stay healthy.

brian roberts
adam jones
nick markakis
miguel tejada
luke scott
matt wieters
felix pie / nolan reimold
garrett atkins
cesar izturis
incidentally it will be interesting to see if miguel gets pissy about number 10, which jones wears. tejada took that to houston. and since his Oakland uni number [4] is retired in Balto. because Earl wore it he can't take that one either. early test for miguel, be cool about uni number!

oh and not that it was alive really in first place but adrian gonzalez deal is dead and he's not coming to Baltzmo in trade now either. ok well it's still possible but 92% less likely.

if Team signs erik bedard, meanwhile, starting five would look like:

bedard
kevin millwood
jeremy guthrie
brad bergesen
brian matusz
that's wayyyy better than last year's. there's at least a 38.4% chance Team doesn't end up in cellar again.

the lOgjam file -- let felix pleeay!

this balto. bugle story is SO INFORMATIVE!

here is breakdown:

rich hill starting saturday --> koji taking extra day; starting sunday --> hendo going to the pendo --> hill not coming up till saturday so team can keep position players --> but on sat. somebody is going down to minorz

paper says likely candidates for demOtion are nolan reimold, who just came up; lou montanez, who's hanging around; or felix pie, who would have to clear waivers.

here's what you do: you got to let nolan sniff the majors for a little while longer so you put either luke on the DL with the shoulder or jonesie on the DL so he can clear up his lingering hamstring issues.*

and you let the kids run wild in outfield until june 1. then you see where you're at.

perhaps by then if rich hill turns out to be quality you can afford to slim down pitching corps. (hahahahaha i know that's funny).

felix was quite impressive in CF v. royals last night. he sparked team with cubbie-NL-style hustle double that lead to team's comfy cushion of victory. also he played well in field.

and nolan got some good hacks in and got first MLB hit; albeit an infield hit.

* this is no joke btw. anybody who's fought a hammy strain knows it feels fine when you are jogging, stretching but can re-tweak when you try to turn on the speed. and it can get much worse!

SUPERPALOOKA PUDATE: And right on queue ... Luke goes to the DL ... retroactive to earlier in week. Wayward O guesses that means Jones has convinced team hammy really is fine. Also ... lots of speed on bench for next couple of games until at least May 26 when Luke comes back. Wayward O hopes to see PINCH RUNNERS in tight games when ZAUN or Chad Moeller get on base!

checking Out

hello. wayward o is sad that freddy the bee was sent down. surely there was some misunderstanding. or perhaps freebie was simply 'misunderestimated.' anyway ... we'll see us some freddy again soon. probably not long after oscar salazar actually plays short for the first time as a reserve.

after series with cubs team plays nats, rangers, royale, jays and red sox before all star break. that's two really good clubs and four beatable clubs. that means team should be above .500 at all-star break.

wayward o is checking out until june 30 ... flying down to n'awlins to see what that's all about. will be checking box scores on handy telephone that also has the infernets on it. if you know any great spots in big easy, don't keep 'em to yourselves!

the rOster, part 2, pitchers

and, as promised (hey -- it's still not october yet -- padres and rocks are in extras!) here's Wayward O's take on Oriole pitchers. "keep," "get lost," or "neutral."

keep:
rob bell: wayward O liked him, what little he saw. maybe a good last man in 'pen
chad bradford: he done did good this year
brian burres: same. anyway Orioles will need starters once 08 goes off the rails too
daniel cabrera: i guess Orioles gotta give him another year to shine. he really has potential.
jeremy guthrie: he's going to be a good starter. no doubt about it. lucky pick up for Os.
jim hoey: throws hard
radhames liz: maybe he'll be good.
adam loewen: i have a feeling he's going to be a few more years in the making.
jamie walker: yeah. he's a bright spot.

get lost:
kris benson: not with the extension money for a beat-down retread
kurt birkins: mleh. fleh. bleh. whatever.
hayden penn: sorry, but wayward O has seen enough
chris ray: see penn, hayden

neutral:
danys baez: won't be playing till 09 anyway. stupid waste of money
erik bedard: flashes of brilliance. fakes injuries. also has repaired elbow. trade value high.
jon leicester: trade him? or play him? i think he's a mediocre talent.

wow. wayward O shouldn't have done that. that was incredibly depressing. wayward O skipped about four of five doods just because there's no answer for them. no answer at all.

the rOster, part. 1

before wayward O transitions into October mode (still waiting on padres and rockies anyhow) wayward O will take a look at Os roster, sort of -- not going to bother with alberto castillo -- and without getting too involved in where contracts stand, will say whether each position player is a "keep" or a "go away" or a "neutral" for 2008:

keep:
C ramon hernandez: slow. faked an injury. keep him anyway. to split time with wieters.
2B brian roberts: he's a real ballplayer. we need him. does he need us?
CF corey patterson: with tike in LF and nick in RF. works for wayward O
RF nick markakis: this kid is the future of the organization.
1B / DH aubrey huff: young. talented. due for a big year in 2008.
IF chris gomez: please come back!
OF tike redman: tike earns himself a spot on the '08 roster. see scenario above.
SS luis hernandez: he may be the future at SS for orioles.
3B scott moore: showed enough to keep him on roster for next year.
C gustavo molina. fine for 3rd catcher.

go away:
1B kevin millar: if it weren't for aubrey huff i'd say keep him. thanks for playing hard.
3b melvin mora: can we get rid of this guy? doubt it. brightest spots are behind him.
OF jay payton: please please go away. just. go. away.
1B / DH / OF jay gibbons: steroids, can't hit, can't field. can't stay healthy.
C paul bako: stink. no more .205 hitters, period.
IF brandon fahey: i like him on a personal level. but i just don't see it.
C jr house: trade him for a reliever or something.

neutral:
SS miguel tejada: obviously he's a great player. what can we get for him?
IF freddie bynum: freebie is a fine bench player for orioles to keep, or trade.

as you can see, you've got a core of keepers that could make the team fun to watch next year. unlike last year, Orioles just need to re-sign corey and they've got a semi-viable 2008 outfield. not a championship-winning outfield (unlike tike develops as a power hitter, which is possible) but an intriguing, young, speedy, talented group.

however, team also had a garage-ful of junk and spare parts and that will present major challenges for struggling franchise.

Wayward O will look over the pitchers next.