Some pitching and some hoops

Some pitching and some hoops
Jeremy Guthrie seems to be one pitcher that many fans feel is in for another poor year. Some reporters are questioning his confidence. Some don't even feel he should begin the year in the rotation. I am not in that camp. He showed me enough in 2007 and 2008 and I am not yet overly concerned about his spring performance. Only 15 pitchers in the AL worked more innings than Guthrie last season and that should count for something. His 5.04 ERA came down some in the second half when he...

Plenty of reasons to watch the minors

Plenty of reasons to watch the minors
While the Orioles are closing in on another opening day, so are their four full-season farm teams: the Norfolk Tides, the Bowie Baysox, the Frederick Keys and the Delmarva Shorebirds. With the parent club rebuilding around youth and pitching, there will be plenty of reasons to follow the O's minor leaguers this year. Bowie - Early on, this may be the most interesting team to track. The rotation could feature top pitching prospect Zach Britton along with Steve Johnson, Chorye Spoone and...

Pre-game notes

Pre-game notes
Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail doesn't expect to have an update on Chad Moeller's situation before tomorrow. MacPhail is checking whether any clubs have openings for Moeller on their 25-man roster, but he doesn't sound optimistic that it will happen. Moeller apparently hasn't given an indication whether he'd accept an assignment to Triple- A Norfolk. "First, we both agreed to let the 25-man opportunity play out and then we'd take it from there," MacPhail...

Red Sox lineup

Red Sox lineup
Marco Scutaro SS Dustin Pedroia 2B Victor Martinez C Kevin Youkilis 1B David Ortiz DH J.D. Drew RF Mike Lowell 3B Josh Reddick LF Che-Hsuan Lin CF Jon Lester LHP

Moeller in a holding pattern

Moeller in a holding pattern
Chad Moeller was standing at his locker this morning in a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. No uniform jersey and pants. Nothing that would suggest he'll be working out with the team. Moeller is in a holding pattern of sorts (hence, the title of this entry). He's hoping to find out within the hour whether he'll be moving to another organization or reassigned to the minor league camp. And he wouldn't speculate on his next move if the latter occurs. It's also possible that the wait will...

Orioles lineup

Orioles lineup
Brian Roberts 2B Nolan Reimold LF Nick Markakis RF Miguel Tejada 3B Adam Jones CF Luke Scott DH Matt Wieters C Garrett Atkins 1B Cesar Izturis SS Jason Berken RHP Jon Lester is starting for the Red Sox.
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A few quick answers

A few quick answers
I had to approve the last batch of comments without addressing individual questions. I'll try to knock off a few of them here. * What happens to Jason Berken? He begins the season in long relief for the Orioles. They need a pitcher who's been stretched out, and Berken earned a spot with a strong spring. * Will Nolan Reimold sit for the entire Tampa Bay series? Manager Dave Trembley hasn't given us his lineups. Perhaps Reimold serves as the DH if Trembley wants to keep him off the turf....

Trembley unplugged - Part 3

Trembley unplugged - Part 3
As I wrote earlier, the Orioles want Chad Moeller to stay at Triple-A Norfolk and continue working with young pitchers such as Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, Troy Patton and Brandon Erbe. But they understand his desire to play in the majors and will attempt to work out a deal for him. "We want to see how this unfolds with (Craig) Tatum," manager Dave Trembley said. "This doesn't mean it's etched in stone, but we want to give Tatum a shot. We like the way he throws. We're confident that he...

Trembley unplugged - Part 2

Trembley unplugged - Part 2
How difficult has it been for manager Dave Trembley to make these roster cuts? Let him explain. "That's why I didn't want to meet with you (reporters) at 11 today. I couldn't," he said. "I walked around those back fields all morning, kind of like, 'How am I going to talk to some of these guys?' It was tough for me to tell Brandon Snyder he was going out of camp. I had the kid in instructional league. And (Alberto) Castillo. Do you know his story? A refugee from Cuba played independent...

Trembley unplugged

Trembley unplugged
Manager Dave Trembley met with reporters for about 17 minutes after today's game. That's an unusually long session, and it became emotional as he recounted how he broke the roster news to several disappointed players. Chris Tillman will throw in a minor league game on Thursday to raise his pitch count in the 90-100 range. Then he'll go to Triple- A and try to get back to the majors. "What we're doing is the best thing for the team and for his development," Trembley said. "He was put in...

Getting confirmation

Getting confirmation
Manager Dave Trembley listed his starting rotation as follows: Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Matusz, Brad Bergesen and David Hernandez. Trembley also confirmed the following: * Craig Tatum beat out Chad Moeller for the reserve spot behind Matt Wieters. * Felix Pie will start in left field on Opening Day. * Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, Troy Patton, Brandon Erbe and Alfredo Simon will be the starters at Triple-A Norfolk. * Thursday's game against Tampa Bay in Port Charlotte will be...

Bergy on Bergy (updated twice)

Bergy on Bergy (updated twice)
Mike Gonzalez walked the first batter he faced on four pitches, and Don Kelly smacked a two-run homer to give Detroit the lead. But Robert Andino hit a two-run shot off the batters eye in center in the bottom of the seventh. Orioles 9, Tigers 8. Andino connected off Ryan Perry for his second homer (three if you count the first intrasquad game.) Brad Bergesen said he was "out of whack" today. "That was very evident," he said. "I never really felt like I got in a groove. Just started...

Bergy's done for the day (updated)

Bergy's done for the day (updated)
Brad Bergesen is expected to pitch the opener at Camden Yards on April 9. It would be nice if a different Brad Bergesen showed up. Bergesen was charged with six runs in five innings to raise his ERA to 5.59. He allowed five hits, walked four, struck out three and surrendered three home runs. Bergesen threw 93 pitches, 52 for strikes. I'll go downstairs and talk to Bergesen after he's done running. Maybe he can explain what happened. Bergesen got in a groove for a while, retiring 10 of...

Make that two for Cabrera (updated)

Make that two for Cabrera (updated)
Miguel Cabrera has just destroyed another pitch from Brad Bergesen, this time homering over the batters eye in center field. We're assuming that the ball landed on the other side, but it still might be in the air. Detroit 6, Orioles 4. Cabrera stood at home plate and admired his work in the first inning, but center fielder Adam Jones struck the pose on the second home run. Jones just turned around and watched the flight of the ball. He remained in the same position, with his back to the...

Bergy through three (updated twice)

Bergy through three (updated twice)
Brad Bergesen has retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced. Bergesen allowed a one-out double to Austin Jackson in the second ining, but he struck out Johnny Damon and retired Magglio Ordonez on a sharp grounder to the mound. He threw 16 pitches, 10 for strikes. Miguel Cabrera, who launched a pitch into the parking lot beyond the left field fence in his first at-bat, grounded an 0-2 pitch to short in the third inning. Carlos Guillen struck out and Brandon Inge grounded to...

If you blinked... (updated)

If you blinked... (updated)
...you missed Brad Bergesen giving up four runs without recording an out. Bergesen walked the first two batters. Maggio Ordonez followed with a two-run double to deep center field, and Miguel Cabrera launched a monstrous two-run homer to left. Cabrera posed at home plate before finally breaking into his trot. File that one away for his next at-bat. Pitching coach Rick Kranitz has gone to the mound with the count 2-0 on Carlos Guillen and still nobody out. Bergesen has thrown 21...

Tillman talks about his demotion

Tillman talks about his demotion
The Orioles will announce the full round of roster cuts later today, but Chris Tillman holds the biggest name in a bunch that also includes infielders Justin Turner and Scott Moore. So there's no confusion, some players will remain in the major league camp despite being assigned to the minor league side. Simon, for example, is scheduled to start on Friday against the Yankees. Tillman was expected to be the No. 5 starter, but that assignment goes to David Hernandez. "I could kind of see it...

Cuts coming (updated again)

Cuts coming (updated again)
The Orioles will make more roster cuts after batting practice. Manager Dave Trembley won't be available to the media before the game because he has important business to conduct. The current roster stands at 38 with Joey Gathright's addition. Update: Chris Tillman, Alfredo Simon, Alberto Castillo, Ross Wolf, Jeff Salazar, and Adam Donachie will be included in the cuts. I'll have quotes from Tillman in my next entry.

Catching on

Catching on
We expect to find out about the starting rotation later today, but we're not sure whether manager Dave Trembley will unveil his 25-man roster. He'll probably make us wait a little longer, but it's pretty clear that Craig Tatum has beaten out Chad Moeller for the backup catching job. That was one of the few competitions in camp, and Moeller was the clear favorite when he arrived. So what happened? The Orioles apparently fell in love with Tatum's arm. They already loved Moeller's head -...

Hernandez leaving camp for a few days

Hernandez leaving camp for a few days
David Hernandez was supposed to pitch on Friday, but he's flying to California after tomorrow's workout to attend his grandmother's funeral. He'll follow Brian Matusz to the mound on Saturday. We're expecting to be told later today that Hernandez is the No. 5 starter. And Craig Tatum is looking like the choice as the backup catcher. Make that two surprises this spring. Nolan Reimold met with manager Dave Trembley this morning and was told not to read too much into the Opening Day...