The
Orioles figure to name their pitching coach this week, and it may not take until the end, which was their original goal.
They finished interviewing the four outside candidates on Wednesday, which gave them plenty of time to decide between Rich Dubee, Carl Willis, Andy Hawkins and Dave Wallace.
Let's not forget that a coach can only do so much. It falls upon the pitchers on the staff to make the necessary improvements, whether it's a specific pitch, conditioning, times to home plate, holding runners, etc.
I'm reminded of Leo Mazzone's two-year stint as pitching coach in Baltimore. Didn't go quite as smoothly as his tenure in Atlanta.
Under Mazzone, the Braves led the National League in ERA in 12 of his final 14 seasons. He helped to develop six Cy Young Award winners and had 10 different pitchers named to the All-Star team. But in 2007, the Orioles ranked 29th in the majors with a 5.17 ERA and gave up more walks (696) than any other team. Mazzone was fired with one year remaining on his contract.
The Orioles' pitching staff in 2007 consisted of the following:
Danys Baez
Erik Bedard
Rob Bell
Kurt Birkins
Chad Bradford
Brian Burres
Daniel Cabrera
Fernando Cabrera
Rocky Cherry
Cory Doyne
Jeremy Guthrie
Jim Hoey
Jim Johnson
Jon Leicester
Radhames Liz
Adam Loewen
Garrett Olson
John Parrish
Chris Ray
Victor Santos
Paul Shuey
Steve Trachsel
Jamie Walker
Todd Williams
Scott Williamson
Jaret Wright
Victor Zambrano
If you remember Doyne, move to the head of the class. Then, re-examine your life.
Doyne appeared in five games in 2007 and racked up a 14.73 ERA in 3 2/3 innings. That was the extent of his major league career.
The rest of the names are quite familiar to me, and I'm still debating which of the Victors was my favorite.
There's only room in my heart for one Radhames.
Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz looks like he gets his hair styled at Jiffy Lube. And his fastball couldn't have dented a fender last night in Game 4 of the World Series.
Looks aren't everything.
Buchholz held the Cardinals to an unearned run in four innings. Yes, manager John Farrell would have signed up for it in blood if someone made that offer earlier in the day.
Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera and Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt won the Hank Aaron Award, which has recognized the top offensive player in each league since its inception in 1999.
Chris Davis was the Orioles' nominee after he led the major leagues in home runs (53), RBIs (138) and extra-base hits (96), and finished second in slugging percentage (.634) and OPS (1.004).
Cabrera also could be named the American League's Most Valuable Player, but he's not taking home a Gold Glove.
In my next life, I want to come back as Davis' agent.
Davis, represented by the Boras Corporation, made $488,000 in 2012. The Orioles bumped his salary to $3.3 million in 2013, and MLBTradeRumors projects his 2014 salary at $10 million.
Those are two nice raises. #analysis
Catcher Michael Ohlman is batting .412/.600/.941 with three doubles, two homers, five RBIs, eight walks and seven runs scored in six games with the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League. Outfielder Henry Urrutia is batting .419/.486/.613 with three doubles, one homer, six RBIs and three runs scored in nine games.
Left-hander T.J. McFarland made his first start on Friday for Caribes de Anzoategui of the Venezuelan Winter League, allowing three hits in 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He hasn't permitted a run in two appearances over 7 2/3 innings.