Monthly Archives: July 2010

Ohman Traded To Marlins

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The Orioles traded LHP Will Ohman to the Florida Marlins for RHP Rick VandenHurk. LHP Troy Patton will be recalled from AAA Norfolk.

The Will Ohman signing just before spring training turned out to be pretty good. He impressed everyone in camp and made the club as the left handed specialist. He carried that success over into the regular season and was one of the guys we could count on in our bullpen. In 51 appearances spanning 30 innings Ohman pitched to a 3.30 ERA with 28 strikeouts and 18 walks. To sign him to a minor league contract and then flip him at the trade deadline should be considered a success no matter who we got in return. The guy we do get is Rick VandenHurk, a 25 year old right handed pitcher with some major league experience. Hes been a starter for his professional career except the two appearances he made with Florida this year. He was 8-4 with a 4.68 ERA for AAA New Orleans this season with 87 strikeouts and 40 walks over 98 innings. He had some success with the Marlins last year posting a 3-2 record and 4.30 ERA over 11 starts with 49 strikeouts and 21 walks over 58.2 innings. My guess is we got him to take a spot in AAA Norfolk’s rotation. If the need arises he could take a spot in the rotation or the bullpen. No doubt I think we’ll see him in September. His potential is probably about the same as Jason Berken’s, he could be a solid middle reliever at his best. Its nothing to get excited about but its not a bad move since we’re a million games out of the playoff race. Troy Patton will take Ohman’s spot on the roster. I’m interested to see how he does. I think he could be solid in a Mark Hendrickson type role and could take over that job next season.

Down On The Farm: July 30th

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AAA Norfolk 1, Scranton/WB 2

LHP Chris George – 7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 7 K, L (5-5) (3.88 ERA)
RF Rhyne Hughes – 3-4, double (18) (.275 AVG)
2B Paco Figueroa – 2-2, BB (.263 AVG)

AA Bowie 8, New Britain 5

RHP Steve Johnson – 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (6-6) (5.47 ERA)
3B Ryan Adams – 2-4, R, RBI, double (33), HR (10) (.290 AVG)
RF Tyler Henson – 1-3, R, BB, SB (7) (.292 AVG)
CF Jonathan Tucker – 2-4, R, 3 RBI, triple (1), 2 SB (18) (.247 AVG)
2B Carlos Rojas – 1-3, R, 2 RBI, triple (2) (.255 AVG)

A+ Frederick 8, Potomac 7

RHP Zach Clark - 4.1 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, BB, 4 K (6.10 ERA)
CF Xavier Avery – 1-3, R, RBI, double (23) (.297 AVG)
LF Kyle Hudson – 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI (.255 AVG)
RF Ronnie Welty – 3-4, R, 3 RBI, 2 doubles (18), HR (12) (.286 AVG) – Minor League Player Of The Night
SS Pedro Florimon – 1-2, R, RBI, BB, triple (3) (.280 AVG)

A+ Frederick 2, Potomac 8

RHP Luis Noel – 3.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, L (2-1) (5.95 ERA)
LF Kyle Hudson – 2-4, SB (27) (.257 AVG)
2B LJ Hoes – 1-2, R, BB (.286 AVG)
SS Pedro Florimon – 2-2, R, RBI, BB, double (8) (.294 AVG)

A Delmarva 10, Lexington 5

RHP Bobby Bundy – 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (3.96 ERA)
1B TJ Baxter - 3-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, SB (27) (.245 AVG)
3B Tyler Kelly – 3-5, RBI, double (24) (.265 AVG)
LF Kieron Pope – 3-5, RBI, double (15) (.261 AVG)
2B Omar Casamayor – 2-5, R, double (1) (.194 AVG)
C Justin Dalles – 3-5, 3 R, RBI (.245 AVG)
SS Garabez Rosa – 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 doubles (28) (.249 AVG)

Short A Aberdeen 3, Brooklyn 11

LHP Justin Anderson – 4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, BB, L (3-2) (4.46 ERA)
3B Adam Gaylord – 1-3 (307 AVG)
C Dashenko Ricardo – 2-4, R (.500 AVG)
SS Michael Rooney – 1-3, R, BB (.248 AVG)

Rookie Bluefield 2, Burlington 0

RHP Zachary Petersime – 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, 2 K (4.15 ERA)
1B Corey Thomas – 1-3, R, double (5) (.287 AVG)
DH Joe Velleggia – 3-4, RBI, 2 doubles (3) (.256 AVG)
SS Jonathan Schoop – 1-2, BB (.293 AVG)

GCL Orioles 0, Rays 3

RHP Orlando Alfonso – 6 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K, L (4-1) (1.99 ERA)
RHP Sebastian Vader – 2 IP, H, ER, BB, 3 K (1.59 ERA)
CF Martin Serrata – 3-4, double (4) (.291 AVG)
RF Grolmann Gonzalez – 1-3, double (4) (.351 AVG)

Orioles Comeback Then Lose On Walkoff 7-5

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W – Blake Wood (1-2)     L – Alfredo Simon (2-2)

Jake Arrieta had a rough first inning, giving up three runs, but was able to settle down after that and keep the Royals scoreless for the next 3.1 innings. He struck out 4 batters but walked 5 and gave up 6 hits. Arrieta needs to get his walks down if he wants to be consistently successful in the majors. Jason Berken finished the 5th inning and pitched the 6th as well, giving up one run. Will Ohman pitched a scoreless 7th while Mike Gonzalez and Koji Uehara combined to pitch a scoreless 8th. Going into the 9th the O’s had a 5-4 lead but Alfredo Simon gave up a three run homer to Alex Gordon to give Kansas City a walk off victory. Offensively the top of the lineup did all of the damage. Brian Roberts had a pair of singles. Nick Markakis hit two singles and also had a walk while scoring three runs. Ty Wiggington singled and doubled twice, driving in two runs. Luke Scott had a single and a sacrifice fly. The only other hit was a Cesar Izturis single and Felix Pie hit a sacrifice fly. Adam Jones walked, was hit by a pitch, and stole a base. Brutal loss after the team fought back to take the lead in the 8th inning.

Player of the game: Ty Wiggington – 3-4, R, 2 RBI, 2 doubles (19) (.256 AVG)

The third game of the series is played tonight after the non waiver trade deadline passes. Brad Bergesen (3-9, 6.95) goes against Zack Greinke (6-10, 4.01).

Down On The Farm: July 29th

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AAA Norfolk 1, Scranton/WB 7

RHP Chris Tillman – 4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, L (8-6) (3.40 ERA)
SS Robert Andino – 1-3, BB, SB (13) (.253 AVG)
LF Nolan Reimold – 1-3, R, BB, double (6), SB (3) (.227 AVG)
2B Paco Figueroa – 3-4, RBI (.254 AVG)

AA Bowie 8, New Britain 7

RHP Eddie Gamboa – 5 IP, 5 H, ER, 7 K (2.93 ERA)
SS Greg Miclat – 2-5, R, triple (2) (.252 AVG)
3B Ryan Adams – 2-5, R (.288 AVG)
RF Tyler Henson – 2-5, 2 R, SB (6) (.292 AVG)
DH Joel Guzman – 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (23) (.275 AVG)
LF Joe Mahoney – 2-3, R, 2 BB, double (5) (.418 AVG) – Minor League Player Of The Night
1B Brandon Waring – 2-4, R, RBI, BB (.246 AVG)

A Delmarva 1, Lexington 4

RHP Patrick Kantakevich – 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, L (0-4) (3.98 ERA)
RHP Kevin Landry – 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, K (1.99 ERA)
DH Kieron Pope – 2-4, RBI, double (14) (.254 AVG)
SS Garabez Rosa – 1-3 (.243 AVG)

Short A Aberdeen 2, Brooklyn 4

RHP Bruno Sanchez – 6 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 K (4.31 ERA)
CF Trent Mummey – 2-4, R, BB (.295 AVG)
LF Kipp Schutz – 2-4, RBI (.364 AVG)
3B Adam Gaylord – 1-3, R, double (10) (.307 AVG)

Rookie Bluefield 2, Burlington 11

RHP Angel Cespedes – 5 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, K, L (2-2) (1.80 ERA)
RF Jeremy Shelby – 1-3 (.307 AVG)
SS Javier Santana – 1-3 (.196 AVG)

GCL Orioles 2, Red Sox 7

LHP Yancorix Adrian – 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, L (2-2) (2.51 ERA)
CF Martin Serrata – 3-5 (.274 AVG)
RF Jaynnertt Melenciano – 2-4 (.161 AVG)
2B Pedro Rodriguez – 1-3, R (.296 AVG)

Big Day Ends With 6-5 Extra Inning Win

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W – David Hernandez (5-7)     L – Blake Wood (0-2)     SV – Alfredo Simon (15)

Brian Matusz struggled yet again last night. Fortunately the team was able to overcome it but after coming out of the gate looking good with three scoreless innings Matusz couldn’t get out of the 4th. He walked the lead off batter, gave up a double, and then another walk to load the bases. He walked in a run, gave up another one on a sacrifice fly, and reloaded the bases on a bloop single before getting pulled from the game. Mark Hendrickson came in and gave up back to back singles to add three more runs to Matusz’ line, making it 3.1 IP, 2 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K. Hendrickson finally got out of the inning and would go on to throw two more innings without allowing a run. Matt Albers started the 7th and got two outs but left with two runners on base after a double and a walk. Mike Gonzalez came in and struck out the first batter he faced and also threw a scoreless 8th inning. I saw him hit 96 mph on the radar gun which is a good sign that hes finally fully healthy. David Hernandez threw two scoreless innings in the 9th and 10th striking out three batters in the process. Alfredo Simon gave up two singles in the 11th but got a double play in between and notched his 15th save of the season.

The game started off great as the Orioles got a run in each of the first three innings. Brian Roberts led off the game with a double, moved to third on Nick Markakis’ ground out, and scored on Ty Wiggington’s sacrifice fly. In the 2nd we loaded the bases with a Felix Pie single and back to back walks from Matt Wieters and Corey Patterson. Cesar Izturis almost grounded into a double play but instead was safe at first allowing a run to score. Markakis hit his 7th homerun of the season to lead off the 3rd inning. After the Royals took a 5-3 lead the O’s chipped back into the game. We got a run in the 6th inning on Patterson’s RBI ground out after an error allowed Pie to third after he walked. Patterson struck again in the 8th to tie it up with a solo homerun and sent the game into extra innings. In the 11th Izturis led off with a walk and moved to third on Roberts’ single. Two batters later Wiggington lifted his second sacrifice fly of the game and the Orioles came away with a rare victory on the same day that Miguel Tejada was traded and Buck Showalter was hired to be the next manager. It was a great day all around, aside from another disappointing start from Brian Matusz.

Player of the game: Corey Patterson – 2-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, HR (6), SB (18) (.278 AVG)

Newly acquired Sean O’Sullivan (1-1, 4.00) pitches for the Royals tonight in game two. Jake Arrieta (3-3, 5.40) pitches for the Orioles.

Orioles Hire Showalter

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The Orioles have hired Buck Showalter to be manager through the 2013 season. He will start on Tuesday, August 3rd when the Orioles start their next homestand.

This dragged out but I’m glad its finally official. Showalter gives us some instant credibility. Hes a two time manager of the year and has a career record over .500 (882-833). Hes known as a guy that can rebuild a team and get them on the brink of contention. He managed the Yankees from 1992 to 1995 and New York won the world series in 1996. He then went on to manage the Diamondbacks from 1998 to 2000 and Arizona won the world series in 2001. He went on to manage the Texas Rangers from 2003 to 2006 and has been working as an analyst for ESPN since then. Hes also known as more of a fiery guy than the laid back managers the Orioles have had lately. Ever since Davey Johnson was fired we’ve had guys that didn’t show much energy, for better or worse. Mike Hargrove, Lee Mazzili, Sam Perlozzo, and Dave Trembley were all pretty similar. One thing is for certain, Showalter will demand certain needs be met. He won’t settle for an offseason like the Orioles just had this past year. He’ll bring a different voice to the organization which is desperately needed. No new coaches will be brought in for the remainder of this season but you can bet Buck will clean house in the offseason. For now Juan Samuel goes back to being the third base coach and Gary Allenson returns to manage AAA Norfolk. Today was a big day for the Orioles and I think they took a big step in the right direction.

Tejada Traded To Padres

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The Orioles traded 3B Miguel Tejada and cash to the San Diego Padres for RHP Wynn Pelzer. 3B Josh Bell will be recalled from AAA Norfolk.

I’m surprised the Orioles got this much for Tejada who was hitting .269/.308/.362 with 16 doubles, 7 HR, and 39 RBI with the club before the trade. He hasn’t been hitting for any power, his contact rate is slipping, he doesn’t get on base at a high clip, and his play at third base is a mixed bag since switching from shortstop. The Padres are in contention and must think he’ll hit better once he gets back to the National League where he was with the Houston Astros the prior two years. The Orioles get Pelzer who was 6-9 with a 4.20 ERA, 83 strikeouts, and 56 walks over 94.1 innings with AA San Antonio. He was a closer for South Carolina in college and made the move to the bullpen when he was drafted by San Diego. The 24 year old gets a solid ground ball rate and posted ERAs of 3.39 and 3.94 in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Hes wild and needs some refinement but a move back to the bullpen could speed up his development. The Padres recently put him in the bullpen and in his four appearances since hasn’t given up a run over 6.2 innings. Josh Bell will come back up to Baltimore for the third time but this time its permanent. In the seven games he played since last being sent down hes hit .400 with 5 walks, a double, and 3 homeruns. Hes on fire and now he gets a chance to prove himself in the major leagues. Hopefully he can perform well enough to earn the full time job for next season. Theres still almost 48 hours to go before the trade deadline so this may not be the last trade we make. Ty Wiggington, Will Ohman, Luke Scott, Corey Patterson, Jeremy Guthrie, and Kevin Millwood are all possibilities to varying degrees.

Down On The Farm: July 28th

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AAA Norfolk 8, Scranton/WB 6

LHP Troy Patton – 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (7-9) (4.80 ERA)
CF Matt Angle – 2-5 (.275 AVG)
3B Josh Bell - 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (13) (.278 AVG)
DH Nolan Reimold – 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, double (5), HR (8) (.226 AVG) – Minor League Player Of The Night
RF Rhyne Hughes – 2-5, R, RBI (.272 AVG)
1B Brandon Snyder – 2-5, 2 RBI, double (14) (.261 AVG)

A+ Frederick 8, Lynchburg 7

LHP Oliver Drake – 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (4.50 ERA)
CF Xavier Avery – 3-5, 3 R, double (22) (.296 AVG)
LF Kyle Hudson – 3-4, 2 R, BB, double (14) (.252 AVG)
1B Buck Britton – 1-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, double (14) (.276 AVG)
SS Pedro Florimon – 1-3, RBI, triple (2) (.276 AVG)

Short A Aberdeen 2, Brooklyn 7

RHP Tim Adleman – 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, BB, 6 K, L (1-2) (3.28 ERA)
LF Kipp Schutz - 2-4 (.360 AVG)
3B Adam Gaylord – 2-4, R, double (9) (.306 AVG)
1B David Anderson – 2-4, R (.315 AVG)

Rookie Bluefield 5, Pulaski 4

LHP Jarret Martin – 4 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 6 K (3.97 ERA)
LF Kyle Hoppy – 1-3, R, BB (.202 AVG)
2B Moises Ciriaco – 1-4, 2 Run HR (2) (.267 AVG)
CF Brenden Webb – 1-3, 2 R, BB, triple (6), SB (5) (.270 AVG)
RF Luis Ramirez – 1-3, 2 RBI (.316 AVG)

GCL Orioles 4, Red Sox 2

RHP Douglas Ferguson – 7 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 4 K, W (3-2) (1.50 ERA)
SS Vincent Zazueta – 2-4, RBI (.267 AVG)
RF Grolmann Gonzalez – 2-4, double (3) (.352 AVG)
C Rolando Petit – 1-3, R, RBI, BB (.244 AVG)
LF Jaynnertt Melenciano – 3-4, R, RBI, double (4) (.138 AVG)

Toronto Continues Their Domination 5-0

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W – Brad Mills (1-0)     L – Jeremy Guthrie (4-11)

Just when you didn’t think it couldn’t get any worse the Orioles get shut out by a rookie making his first start of the season. The same guy that had a 14.09 ERA in two starts with the Blue Jays last year kept the O’s off the board for 7 innings. We only had three hits in the game – a double by Ty Wiggington and singles by Brian Roberts and Jake Fox. Nick Markakis walked twice and Wiggington walked once. On the plus side Jeremy Guthrie continued his superb run since the all-star break giving up only an unearned run on 6 hits and a walk over 7 innings with 3 strikeouts. Once he came out of the game the Blue Jays exploded for four runs in the bottom of the 8th to ensure their victory. Koji Uehara got two outs but gave up a double. Will Ohman allowed that runner to score as well as three of his own on Lyle Overbay’s three run homer. The good news in all of this doesn’t even have to do with what happened on the field last night, but that multiple sources are reporting that Buck Showalter will be hired to manage the team on Monday and he will start on Tuesday. Apparently he will be signed through the 2013 season so the players will have a voice in the clubhouse that they know will be here for the long haul.

Player of the game: Jeremy Guthrie – 7 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, BB, 3 K (4.23 ERA)

Brian Matusz (3-11, 5.22) will kick off a four game series in Kansas City tonight against Kyle Davies (5-6, 5.52).

Down On The Farm: July 27th

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AAA Norfolk 2, Scranton/WB 4

LHP Zach Britton – 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (2.28 ERA)
SS Robert Andino – 2-5, solo HR (12) (.252 AVG) – Minor League Player Of The Night
3B Josh Bell – 1-4, BB, solo HR (12) (.270 AVG)
RF Rhyne Hughes – 2-4 (.270 AVG)
1B Brandon Snyder – 1-3, BB (.258 AVG)

AA Bowie 0, Akron 4

LHP Rick Zagone – 7 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, K, L (1-3) (3.83 ERA)
RHP Jose Diaz – IP, H, 0 ER (1.13 ERA)
LF Tyler Henson – 2-4, double (30) (.290 AVG)

A+ Frederick 3, Lynchburg 9

RHP Ryan Berry – 4 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, L (2-2) (3.57 ERA)
LF Xavier Avery – 2-5, R (.292 AVG)
3B Bill Rowell – 2-4, 2 R, RBI, double (17) (.256 AVG)
2B Miguel Abreu – 1-3, BB (.247 AVG)
1B Buck Britton – 1-2, 2 RBI, BB (.276 AVG)

A Delmarva 0, Lakewood 9

RHP Kenny Moreland – 6 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, BB, 2 K, L (6-4) (3.10 ERA)
3B Tyler Kelly – 2-3, BB (.261 AVG)
RF Michael Planeta – 1-3 (.248 AVG)

Rookie Bluefield 1, Pulaski 9

LHP Jacob Petitt – 5 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 11 K, L (2-3) (3.00 ERA)
1B Joe Velleggia – 1-1, solo HR (1) (.229 AVG)
C Michael Ohlman – 1-3 (.247 AVG)
SS Jonathan Schoop – 1-3, double (2) (.297 AVG)

GCL Orioles 5, Twins 3

LHP Enrico Jimenez – 4.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (2.38 ERA)
LHP Cory Ast – 3.1 IP, H, 0 ER, BB, 4 K, W (1-0) (2.31 ERA)
1B Preston Hale – 1-3, R, RBI, double (9) (.310 AVG)
3B Michael Mosby – 2-3, R, double (2) (.222 AVG)
C Xavier Lopez – 3-4, R, RBI (.220 AVG)