Goodbye Guthrie?

Today I read a MASN article written by Stacey Long, a main contributor on Camden Chat and guest blogger for MASN. It was an article discussing the possibility of the Orioles dealing Jeremy Guthrie at some point this year for some younger talent, her general consensus is that if a good enough offer is laid on the table, the Orioles should take it. As much as it pains me to say this, I agree with her, I would hate to see Guthrie go, I think it would be best for a young building organization.

Guthrie is 32 going on 33, so he is definitely getting up there in years, there's no doubt about that. He could still be productive into his mid-thirties, but I think Guthrie has hit is ceiling, which was basically what you saw if you watched Tuesday night's 3-2 loss to Seattle, which was a complete game loss in which Guthrie looked phenomenal. I would hope that MacPhail could at least get an arm with some potential that can make it to the majors in a year or two. Guthrie is a truly underrated pitcher who would make a great addition to any team looking to contend that needs some pitching help, so the interest will definitely be there come July, and the Orioles need to take advantage of it.

I can't say enough about Guthrie's attitude and work ethic and how much he has contributed to the Orioles, and what a good clubhouse presence he is,  but in my opinion, if anyone is going to go at the trading deadline it would be Guthrie, Guerrero, or Scott, and I would feel indifferently about losing the latter two.

Without Guthrie the rotation would definitely take a hit, and that has to be taken into consideration, but it would still be a solid five man rotation headed by Matusz and Britton. As Stacey points out, the Orioles need to build, and they can't be sentimental when making these decisions, unfortunately this may mean saying goodbye to Jeremy Guthrie.

PTY Clothing

Are you tired of the four or five generic jerseys and shirts you can buy outside the gate and in the park? Are you looking for some really creative great Orioles gear at a good price? Well look no further than Protect This Yard Clothing. I learned of PTY from Camden Chat and was instantly a fan, they carry a wide variety of shirts, all unique, that you won't be able to find anywhere else. Right now I'd have to say my favorite shirt is the Matt Wieters "DON'T. RUN. EVER." shirt seen below, which I purchased today. 

 The website is really user-friendly and I'll definitely be sporting this shirt at my next Orioles game, that is unless a Nolan Reimold shirt gets designed between now and then. 

So head on over to PTY, the link can be found on the side of the page, and you can also hit them up on Facebook, they're very personable and friendly.

-Andrew.

The New Adventures of the Old Nolan Reimold

I know, another long writing hiatus, but what can I say? Sometimes you just get busy. That however, is neither here nor there. I won't give you a recap of the Orioles' 2-1 win over Seattle, because I would simply be re-stating what Jeff Zreibic will say tomorrow, only in a more amateur manner.

What I want to do today is take a look at a player who was poised for a breakout last season, but faced some setbacks, Nolan Reimold. Let me start off by saying I'm a big Reimold fan, but I'll try not to let that eminate into the piece.

In 2009, Reimold made a good run at the American League Rookie of the Year, posting some impressive stats. In 104 games Reimold hit 15 homeruns, drove in 45, stole 8 bases, and had a batting average of .279. Fairly impressive for a rookie outfielder, unfortunately his season ended early with him going on the DL to repair his achille's tendon. Reimold was back in 2010, however, his game was not. In 39 games he hit only 3 homeruns and barely batted over the Mendoza Line (.200) at .207.

I attribute Reimold's struggles to a number of different detractors. Primarily I think he was rushed back from the injury that took him out in 2009, and he really just didn't have enough time to get his form back. Also, he dealt with some personal issues off the field, out of respect for Nolan I won't speculate on that matter, but it definitely hurt his game. As a result of his abysmal play he was sent to Norfolk to try and find his swing, where he stayed for the remainder of the seaon.

Fast forward to Spring Training 2011 and Nolan Reimold was locked in a struggle with Felix Pie for a roster spot as a fourth outfielder. While his play was impressive and he seemed to have rebounded from 2010, he was still sent back to Norfolk to start the season.

Earlier this month when Derek Lee went on the Disabled List Reimold was called up from Norfolk. I had always liked Nolan and I was hoping he would re-establish himself as the left fielder of the future hitting for power and average. Well, he did. While the current sample size is limited to 9 games it is still impressive nonetheless. In 9 games he's hit as many homeruns as he did all of last season, has driven in seven runs, and is batting an impressive .360. Moving away from statistics, I believe that Reimold has a great deal of potential, he has a nice mix of power, speed, and a good approach at the plate.

My hope is that he can finish the season something like 18 homeruns, 72 RBI, and a .282 batting average, which all seem like realistic numbers at this point. One thing is a little unclear though, when Derek Lee comes off the DL what does that mean for Nolan Reimold? Right now Luke Scott is playing first base and Reimold is in left field, the position formerly occupied by Scott. Personally I feel like Scott will be dealt at the trading deadline to a contending team that could use some left handed power, maybe someone like Tampa Bay. I don't know how much The Orioles could get for Scott, but at least it would give Reimold everyday play.

This raises some questions for 2012, as trading Scott would mean in 2012 the Orioles are missing Scott, Lee, and Guerrero, as I doubt either of the latter two will be re-signed, but that's another post for another day. In closing, let's hope this year's Nolan Reimold is Nolan Reimod circa 2009.

Notes and Recap

The Orioles won tonight's game, a close match, with the final score being 3-2. Jake Arrieta had an impressive outing, only giving up one run, a homerun in the first inning to Jeff Franceour, his eighth of the season. Arrieta was able to get his game under control and held the Royals scoreless for six innings.

This was a big step for Arrieta, who has struggled some this season with control, not only did he show his full potential tonight, he squashed concerns about the soreness in his hip. One of the most impressive aspects of Arrieta's game was the eight strikeouts he recorded. Arrieta could potentially develop into an impressive #2 or #3 pitcher, and improving his K/9 ratio would only increase his value as a pitcher.

As for the bats, Roberts started off the game hot with a double, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Derek Lee. Nick Markakis finally broke out of a slump with a solo shot to give some cushion to the bullpen, which they needed. Kevin Gregg closed out the game successfully, that being said, I'm still slightly putting Gregg in in the 9th inning when the score is 3-2.

Chris Tillman should go tomorrow, I'm expecting a good game from Tillman, he should have regained his movement and some of his speed, so as long as he is provided some run support, we should see good results. I think the offense is primed for a rebound, especially with Markakis' homerun tonight, hopefully the leadoff spots will be back to packing a 1-2 punch.

Down on the farm, Manny Machado is tearing up the South Atlantic League, he leads the Delmarva Shorebirds in runs (20), homeruns (5), RBI (21), walks (18), OBP (.445), and slugging (.611). Pretty impressive for an eighteen year old kid right? Machado was named the Orioles' minor league player of the month and the SAL's player of the week. If Machado keeps his production at this pace, he should see a promotion to Frederick shortly, this kid obviously has a bright future ahead of him, and he probably won't be rushed through the system. Machado is performing so well, that he is overshadowing the impressive performances of some of his teammates, like Johnathan Schoop, who makes up the other side of the left infield. 

5/03 - Update

Yeah, I know its been a while since I've written anything, but its not like anyone ever reads this site anyway. Nonetheless, I wanted to give an update on how the season was going, in my opinion at least.

The season started off fast and furiously, with the Orioles winning their first four games in a row, including the season opener against Ray's ace David Price. The injury bug hit hard and early, with J.J. Hardy going on the 15 day DL with an oblique strain, joining Brian Matusz who went down with an intercostal strain.

While the season started with much hope, as you know, we hit a lengthy eight game losing streak; which was difficult to watch, but even more difficult to see Itzturis floundering at the plate with the bat.

However dark the night was, eventually the sun rose again, and the Orioles started to win. Since the end of the losing streak, the Orioles have gone 6-4, with the bullpen blowing at least one of those games. My recap is going to touch on some of the good things and bad things (there were lots), that I've seen since my last post.

The Good

1. The bats are swinging- The offense is by no means stellar, or to the point it should be, but they are making definite progress. They played an impressive game tonight against the White Sox in which they had a four run rally late in the game, which showed the ability to at least mount a rally. Roberts has hit quite well as of late and its encouraging to see Wieters develop more offensively, I think he may finally develop into the power threat catcher he was hyped up to be; or at least come close.

2. The Baby Birds- The young Orioles rotation has pitched quite well over this past stretch, the most impressive being Zach Britton. While Tillman certainly had his struggles, especially against the Yankees, he pitched well tonight, only allowing one run and walking two over five innings. There has been some concern over his drop in velocity, but he seems to have worked through the kinks in his mechanics, so hopefully he remains stable for the rest of the season. I could go on and on about Zach Britton, but I'll just say that this kid is one to watch, he's 5-1 so far... and he has yet to pitch in the month of May, not too shabby. Jake Arrieta has thrown pretty well in my opinion, after six starts he's 3-1 with 25 K's, his ERA and WHIP are both inflated, but given the proper run support, Arrieta has been a solid starter and still posessses alot of untapped talent.

3. Robert Andino- I know it seems like a menial point, but Andino has served as a pretty good fill-in for the injured Hardy, I still prefer Hardy, but Andino has come a long way from where he was at the beginning of Spring Training. He seems to be hitting fairly well, with a .343 BA over the past two weeks it will be interesting to see if he keeps that up. He's not much of a power hitter, with only two out of his twelve hits being extra base hits, but he does make solid contact, and with his solid BB/K ratio, he seems to get on base at least once per game. While his defense is nothing to write home about, his bat is far superior than the alternative (the worst hitter in baseball in 2010), and he is continually making improvements under the guidance of Buck Showalter.

The Bad

1. The Bullpen- I shouldn't have to say more here, Kevin Gregg and Michael Gonzalez have a habit of making any relief situation very scary, very fast. Sometimes they come through, Gonzalez had a nice outing Saturday, but he as a long way to go to make his salary worth-while, which isn't likely. Koji Uehara seems to be back to full strength, and it looks like most of his appearances will come in close situations where there isn't room for Kevin Gregg to give up a run.

2. Inconsistency- While the bats have been coming alive recently, and run production is up, it still tends to be inconsistent, which is a definite area of improvement.

3. Plate Discipline- This is an area that has improved since the losing skid, but there is still a fair amount of first pitch swinging, which usually results in an out, again small point, but room for improvement.

Well that was my update, from here on out, I will try to make my postings more frequent, let's hope the Orioles are prepared to face the Royals tonight in the first of a three game series!

3-0 Home Opener!

With less than an hour until Earl Weaver throws the opening day pitch at Camden Yards, the excitement amongst Orioles' fans is certainly higher than its been in a long time, I look forward to the home opener every year, but am usually disappointed. However, I feel this year is special, this is the year the Baltimore Orioles become a serious team in major league baseball. The pressure is on Jake Arrieta, who will be throwing against the 1-2 Detroit Tigers, who lost their opening series to the Yankees. It will be a tough game, as Detroit has some heavy hitters in Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez, who the Orioles failed to sign this offseason. I'm expecting a solid performance out of Jake Arrieta, but he will definitely need the run support. I'm also fairly confident that the Orioles bats will deliver today against Rick Porcello, who went 10-12 last year with a 4.92 ERA, the bats shouldn't be outmatched, but at this point I just hope for a well played game from everyone. Let's cherish this image and keep racking up the W's! Let's go O's!

Baltimore Orioles 2011 Preview- Great Expectations

Like almost all aspiring writers, I'm sitting in a coffee shop with my laptop between classes working on what I hope will be a decent article. What I bring today is a preview of the 2011 Baltimore Orioles, and what I expect out of them, but you probably already knew that. At this point most of us have tried to forget the aberration that was the 2010 season, and have moved on to dreams of a .500 2011 season. With opening day upon us I hope this preview is a good introduction to the 2011 for any latent Orioles fan.

New Faces

Mark Reynolds 3B

 
The Orioles acquired Reynolds in a trade with the Diamondbacks in exchange for two relief pitchers, Kam Mickolicko and David Hernandez. I really like this offseason acquisition, not only because Reynolds is a fellow Virginian, but he brings much needed power to the Orioles lineup. Over three and a half years in the National League with the Diamondbacks, Reynolds averaged 35 homeruns with 100 RBI, while those stats are impressive, his 221 strikeouts give one cause to worry, especially with the caliber of pitching in the AL East. That being said, I think Reynolds will adjust well to Camden Yards and have a rebound year, maybe 37 homeruns, 95 RBI, and an average of around .230-40.

J.J. Hardy SS

  

J.J. Hardy was acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Twins in exchange for two relievers, Hardy was acquired to be the Orioles full time shortstop this season. Hardy should hit fairly well, he had two standout seasons in Milwaukee in 2007 and 2008, but fell victim to injuries in 2009 and 2010 and saw his numbers decline. At only 28 years old, Hardy is prime for a rebound season, I expect for him to hit 15 possibly 20 homeruns, 60 RBI, and hit for an average of .255-65.

Kevin Gregg RHP

The Orioles signed Kevin Gregg to a two-year $10 million dollar deal. Gregg was the closer for the Toronto Blue Jays last year, and compiled 37 saves while keeping his ERA at a stable 3.51. It's not clear whether he will be the definite closer, but I do expect Buck to hand him the ball a lot in the eighth and ninth and maybe accumulate 25 saves throughout the season.

 

 Derek Lee 1B

The Orioles signed Derek Lee to a 7.25 million dollar contract for one year this offseason, Lee will man first base, a position that was platooned by a variety of players last year. Lee spent most of Spring Training on the DL, but hopefully he will stay healthy throughout the 2011 season. Lee saw a drop in power in 2010, and I expect him to hit around 20 homeruns, with 75-80 RBI, and a solid .270 average.

Vladimir Guerrero DH

The Orioles signed Vlad to a one year $8 million contract, their final big ticket signing of the offseason. Guerrero hit well in Texas, slamming 29 homeruns and 115 RBI, not bad for a 35 year old. Guerrero will be 36 this season, but this guy is one of the most gifted hitters in the game, and I expect him to hit 25 homeruns, with 85-90 RBI and hit .290, possibly .300.

The Regulars

Brian Roberts 2B- The key to a successful lineup is a healthy Brian Roberts, if Roberts returns to 2009 form, which I expect he will, that fat contract he got might start to look worthwhile.

Matt Wieters C- Matt Wieters fell victim to the hype he was given before the 2010 season, and produced a lackluster .249 with 11 homeruns and 55 RBI, but for a 24 year old, thats not awful. Matt Wieters still has an incredible amount of potential, and the new lineup will help him develop even more as a hitter. He may never hit 30 homeruns, but 25 isn't out of reach, I'm sitll a Wieters believer.

Nick Markakis RF- Many analysts criticized the drop in Markakis' power numbers in the 2010 season, I fully expect his numbers to rebound, as the drop was a result of Markakis batting in the 3 slot rather than his normal 2 slot. I expect him to hit around .300 and coming close to 20 homeruns/100 RBI. 

Adam Jones CF- At only 25 years old I still feel that Jones has yet to reach his full potential, this may not be his breakout season, but I think this year as he continues to develop, he could possibly reach a new power ceiling as opposed to his former high of 19 homeruns.

 Luke Scott LF- Luke Scott is known for being a streaky and inconsistent hitter, but 2010 was his best season to date, reaching highs in both homeruns (27) and average (.284). The question is whether Scott can repeat his performance as an everyday left fielder. I predict Scot regresses slightly, and depending on the performance of Nolan Reimold at AAA, could be shipped off to a contender in need of a power bat off the bench at the trade deadline.