Crazy Friday!!!

I tried to hold off from writing until things are final, but I just can’t help myself. This Friday has just been too crazy to refrain from commenting on it.

Earlier in the week, the Ravens ended negotiations with center Jason Brown, content to let him go elsewhere. Currently he’s visiting with the Rams, Dolphins and Redskins and doesn’t look to be back in Baltimore.

And I only say "doesn't look to be back" despite the certainty of it because earlier today it was reported that the Jets had signed LB Bart Scott, but according to a Ravens Insider over on Orioles Hangout, the Ravens upped their offer to Scott just as he was putting pen to paper in New York. It at least gives Scott something to think about, if not make him change his mind, since Scott was willing to leave Baltimore for the extra one million dollars that the Jets were offering.

Then there’s Ray Lewis, who wants one more payday before he retires, and who’s told friends and family members that he’s going to Dallas. Only, Dallas doesn’t want to pay him, and the only other team with the cap space to sign Lewis, the Jets, are after Scott.

Apparently, Lewis said he’d rather retire than play for the Ravens again, and is bitter that the Ravens have taken a hard line during negotiations this offseason. I am guessing it’s simply a negotiating tactic, since Lewis has already approved of new defensive coordinator Greg Mattison and should have some loyalty to an organization that has stood by him throughout his career.

Oh yeah, the Ravens also signed cornerback Dominique Foxworth.

Foxworth went to Western Tech in Catonsville, MD (with my sister no less) and then went to the University of Maryland before playing 4 seasons with the Broncos and Falcons. Foxworth is still young, just 25, but isn’t known as a physical corner and is a poor tackler. Word is that the contract was steep, but that said, Foxworth will shore up a secondary that looks to lose Samari Rolle, Chris McAllister and Jim Leonhard in one offseason.


All of that still doesn’t even include players such as Jim Leonhard and Matt Stover, who are free agents, and look to be headed elsewhere themselves.

So stay tuned, because I need to take a breath and things are getting interesting.

I think I might cry!

Someone actually gave the O's some massive props!

From Fangraphs.com:

"You have to really like what MacPhail is doing… JP Ricciardi should be taking notes.

This is the perfect way to run a team in the position that the Orioles are in. Stick to values on free agents and focus on drafting/scouting/player development. They have consistently made moves where they gave up little and acquired young, cost controlled players with upside. Further, they have still been aggressive in finding cheap, nice fits in free agency that will ensure the product on the field is respectable… theyve shown the younger guys they wont accept a culture of losing. Quite a remarkable rebuilding job… has to be considered ahead of schedule. Of course, drafting Matt Wieters and having Chris Tillman and Adam Jones gifted to you sure helps."

Are the Orioles going to the playoffs? Not in 2009 unless the planets align. But if they can stay within 5-8 games of the Wild Card in August and September, they'll force me to stop what I am doing in August and September to watch them play. Maybe even get out to the Yard too, which pretty much doesn't happen for me after June ends.

Of course the 2009 season could turn out like the last couple of seasons, but Andy MacPhail has done his best to see that it doesn't happen.

Has he done enough? If he signs Braden Looper, and he's rumored to be close to a deal, then I think he has.

O's ink Wigginton to 2-year deal...

Andy MacPhail didn’t rest for a minute after completing yesterday’s Rich Hill trade, signing Ty Wigginton to a 2-year deal this morning.

Wigginton has played 7 seasons with the Mets, Pirates, Rays and Astros. He’s a versatile player, having logged most of his time as a 3B, but also has experience at 2B and 1B. He’s got some good pop in his bat, having hit more than 20 home runs in each of the last 3 seasons. He also hits LHP very well. Overall, he’s nothing to write home about (he strikes out too much and doesn’t walk enough) but he’s not a bad option to have for the next 2 years. He’ll be 31 this season.

Unless the O’s pick up Melvin Mora’s option for 2010, the O’s are without a 3B after this season, so this buys 3B prospect Brandon Snyder the entire 2010 season to get ready for the job.

Also, the Wigginton signing could be an indicator that more moves are yet to come, and it wouldn’t surprise me if one of Brian Roberts, Luke Scott, Aubrey Huff or Ryan Freel were on their way out of Baltimore.

The trade rumors surrounding Brian Roberts date back to last offseason. And with Roberts asking for a 4-year extension of at least 10 million per year, it's unlikely that the two sides will come to an agreement before opening day. Second base is Wigginton's second-most-played position, so one doesn't have to be a genius to figure that signing Wigginton could mean that the "Brian Roberts Trade Saga" is nearing completion.

Luke Scott was penciled in as the full-time DH once Felix Pie was acquired, and Scott has said he’s not comfortable in a full-time DH role. Scott is a good guy and a team player and there is little doubt that he’d accept any role he’s given, but you’d like to keep him as happy as possible. But, after signing Wigginton, it gives the O’s the ability to use a Huff/Wigginton platoon at 1B, meaning whoever is not playing 1B can DH. More bad news for Scott -- Wigginton can also play 3B, 2B and the OF -- since Scott is pretty much stuck in LF.

It’s less likely that Huff will be the one sent packing, since there was zippy interest in him at the deadline last year, and that has trickled over to this offseason as well. And Huff, like Wigginton is pretty versatile, having played 3B well enough throughout his career, so if there was a guy to be sent packing between Huff and Scott, my money is on the less-versatile Scott.

Ryan Freel was acquired in the Ramon Hernandez to the Reds trade, and like the other guys mentioned, can play pretty much anywhere except at catcher and SS, so it’s safe to presume that he’s not going anywhere. But, Wigginton makes Freel somewhat expendable, since they can play the same positions, and since Chris Gomez is the only other player on the roster who can play SS, it’s likely that Gomez stays on the roster and Freel is added to the “potential outgoing players” list.

Gomez, despite being 38, appears to be the O’s defensive replacement at SS when Caesar Izturis is removed late in the game for a pinch-hitter. And you can bet your money that the O’s are not going to play the 8th and 9th inning of a close game with a defensive liability at SS. So it’s safe to presume that Gomez is staying until the O’s acquire a younger and better SS alternative.

But the kicker is this. If the O’s go with a 12-man pitching staff, which is something they haven’t done since 2006, they could keep everyone and have a decent bench for once and some great flexibility.

Take a look at this versatility:

Roberts, 2B
Markakis, RF
Mora, 3B, SS, OF
Huff, 1B, 3B, DH
Wigginton, 1B, 3B, OF, DH
Scott, LF, DH
Wieters, C, DH
Jones, LF, CF
Pie LF, CF
Izturis, SS
Freel, IF/OF
Gomez, IF
Zaun, C

One thing is sure, the O’s have plenty of options in 2009. A lot of guys can play here or there, and over a long 162-game season, that makes a difference, as you can rest several players while not suffering through a huge drop-off in on-field talent.

The Orioles were winless on Sundays for most of the 2008 season because they rested their starters and had AAA-fodder playing in their place.

Thankfully, that won’t happen as much in 2009, and Wigginton is just more proof of that.

O's acquire Rich Hill

Andy MacPhail continued his wheeling and dealing 2008-2009 offseason by trading for Cubs LHP Rich Hill.

Even better, he acquired Hill for a Player To Be Named Later and removed Brian Burres from the 40-man roster, which essentially makes it a Burres for Hill trade.

And I can live with that every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Rich Hill was chugging along in his career until 2008. In 48 starts over 2006 and 2007, he was 17-15 with a 4.28 ERA, 273 strikeouts and 102 walks. Nothing amazing, but for the Orioles, he would have been the second best pitcher behind Guthrie over that time.

Then, 2008 happened.

Hill only made 5 starts for the Cubs in ‘08, seemingly forgetting how to throw strikes. He walked more batters than he struck out, and was sent to the minors to work on his control. It only got worse. In 10 starts at single-A Dayton and triple-A Iowa, he struck out 46 batters, walked 39 and had a 6.63 ERA.

Yikes.

So, while Rich Hill instantly becomes the most talented pitcher on the O’s, he also becomes the biggest question mark as well. Can he get back to the success he had in 2006 and 2007 when Rick Kranitz was his pitching coach? Or will his meltdown continue in Baltimore?

In short, designating Brian Burres for assignment was worth finding out.

While Burres looked decent at times during his 3 years in Baltimore, he was horrible most of the time, and like the 2008 version of Rich Hill, couldn’t throw strikes consistently.

So while the O's may be re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic by replacing Burres with Hill, at least one of those chairs could turn out to be pretty dang comfortable.

Dreaming of the O's and Bohs...

So there are still 2 months of winter to suffer through and already I am ready for a trip to Camden Yards for an O’s game.

Yeah, the team doesn’t look to be that competitive – again – but at least Andy MacPhail is making moves that fit into a bigger plan. So at least there’s that.

But the fact remains, regardless of whether the O’s are good or not, Camden Yards is still a great way to spend a summer afternoon or evening.

And even though OP@CY will be celebrating its 17th birthday this season, the stadium still exudes that new feeling. Maybe it’s the new hi-def scoreboards.

Granted, Baltimore’s mass-transit system leaves a lot to be desired, but getting to and from the stadium couldn’t be easier. The Light Rail, completed in 1995, drops you off at the doorstep of the warehouse, and the Metro is located only a few blocks up Howard Street. Remember the days when you’d be on the Light Rail sitting motionless for 5-10 minutes at a time? Since they finally completed double-tracking the entire line a few years ago, there is no more waiting time, unless you head north through downtown from the stadium. Something should really be done to speed up that portion of the Light Rail. But regardless, taking the Light Rail or Metro is the easiest and cheapest way to go.

Want to hang out and get a drink before or after the game? Federal Hill with its seemingly endless amount of bars and restaurants is only a short walk away. Pickle’s Pub has been right across the street from the stadium where Washington Blvd. begins its journey westward since OP@CY opened in ’92. And new(er) establishments like Sliders and Gino’s have opened up to satisfy fans' thirst and hunger before and after games.

My favorite place to go before a game? Heading a few Light Rail stops past Camden Yards to Lexington Market for a Faidley’s crabcake platter and a Natty Boh to wash it down. In my opinion, Faidley's is the best crabcake in Baltimore, second to maybe only G&M. Anyway, after I'm finished the crabcake, I head over to the Berger’s stand to by some fresh Berger’s cookies for desert. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

When I actually get to the stadium, I’ve always been partial to the bleacher seats. They’re the cheapest seats in the house, they’re located close to the exit and it’s the place where most of the “real fans” still sit. I was in the bleachers at a game as recent as 2007, and had a great time heckling Cleveland Indians fans along with dozens of other rowdy O’s fans. More importantly, no one got hurt or thrown out and the O’s won the game. It was like being back in 1996 or 1997.

Another reason the bleachers are great: up until last year, you could buy a Natty Boh can on Eutaw Street for $5. Yeah, it’s still a total rip-off since a 6-pack of cans retails for about $3.50, but in the era of $7 dollar stadium beers, most of them of the “lite” variety, $5 seemed like a bargain. Plus drinking Boh at an O’s game allowed me to connect with the ghosts of fans past. It’s a shame that they stopped selling it at the game. Hopefully they will bring Boh back, and to find out I sent an e-mail to the National Brewing Co. to see if they could give me an answer on that, but 3 days later, my in-box is still empty.

I'm ebarrassed to say I still haven’t had a Boog’s BBQ sandwich. That will change in 2009. My food consumption at the game usually involves peanuts, picked up outside the stadium for about $3. If there’s no Boh, I’ll buy a Yuengling or a Clipper City at one of the “fancy beer” stands. It’s worth the extra dollar.

Now that I think about it, the game itself is usually down on the list of favorite things about going to OP@CY. Sure, I cheer the O’s on, heckle the other team’s players, and have a blast doing it. But the discussions to be had with friends and other fans have become more important than watching Daniel Cabrera try to work out of a bases loaded jam when he walked 2 of those batters himself.

Am I more hopeful going into 2009? A little. The defense looks to be solid and the line-up will be potent again once Matt Wieters arrives in Baltimore. But the starting rotation as it stands on January 23rd looks horrendous. Hopefully MacPhail still has a few tricks left up his sleeve.

Until then, I’ll be dreaming of drinking a $5 Natty Boh in the bleachers and ragging on Eric Hinske – until he hits a home run and shuts me up, like he did on Opening Day, 2008.

Here’s to hoping 2009 winds up differently.

O's trade Bierd for David Pauley

Well, at least you can’t accuse Andy MacPhail of working slow anymore. He capped off a busy weekend in which he traded SP Garrett Olson for OF Felix Pie and neared a deal to extend Nick Markakis by trading relief pitcher Randor Bierd to the Red Sox for SP David Pauley.

To most fans, this trade means little. Hell, most fans probably didn’t even know Bierd was an Oriole in 2008. But he was. And the deal actually has some major implications to the Orioles since Pauley is out of options and will likely be a shoe-in for the 2009 starting rotation.

His MiL numbers are pretty impressive. 3.92 career ERA, 749 K’s to 299 BB’s so at least he throws strikes. And in 2008 he went 14-4 with a 3.55 ERA for AAA Pawtucket. In 2 short stints with the Red Sox he was shelled to the tune of a 9.53 ERA in 5 starts and 28 total innings. The right-handed Pauley is a sinker-baller, but allows more HR’s than he should, and those numbers could continue to increase drastically in Camden Yards.

On the surface, Pauley replaces Garrett Olson. Both are about the same age with similar success in the minors, and little to no MLB success to speak of. Both are likely to be back-end rotation starters.

And only in Baltimore would Pauley be handed a job in the starting rotation. But, the O's need pitching and Pauley is a pitcher while Bierd didn't factor into the club's 2009 plans, so I have no complaints.

O's trade Olson for slice of Pie

The Orioles traded LHP Garrett Olson to the Chicago Cubs for OF Felix Pie over the weekend in a move that had me scratching my head.

The Olson/Pie deal had been a long-gestating one, which at one time involved the San Diego Padres as part of a three-way deal that would have sent Olson to the Padres and Jake Peavy to the Cubs give or take a few more players involved somehow.

But yesterday the O’s and Cubs hooked up the deal alone, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Cubs send Olson to San Diego like originally planned.

Olson was a promising LHP when he joined the O’s last season. His career MiL ERA of 2.96 translated to a mid-rotation guy in the majors who relied on craftiness to get batters out. And while Olson had some success early on after being called up from AAA Norfolk, as the season progressed, Olson regressed and ended the 2008 campaign with a dreadful 6.65 ERA. And that was enough for GM Andy MacPhail.

The O’s get Felix Pie, only 24, who like Olson, was a once-promising MiL player who has never succeeded in his short stints in the majors. In 260 AB’s, Pie has amassed 3 HR, 30 RBI and an OPS of .615. But in the minors, Pie was one of the Cubs’ best OF prospects, with a career-MiL .823 OPS.

Pie may also remind people of another highly-rated prospect the O’s acquired in a trade in Adam Jones. And MacPhail, who was once GM of the Cubs, sees enough in Pie to think that Pie can find that promise he had in the minors as an everyday player.

And this where I start the head-scratching. Pie is a highly-touted prospect, but the O’s also have their share of OF prospects in the minors, starting with Nolan Reimold, who is coming off his best season as a player. In 2008, Reimold totaled 25 HR, 84 RBI and an .868 OPS. Reimold will be 25 in 2009, so if he is ever going to get a shot, now is the chance.

In addition to Reimold, the O’s also have Luis Montanez, who was going for the Eastern Division’s Triple Crown before being called up and having some moderate success for the O’s in 112 AB’s.

So by acquiring Pie, it makes Reimold and Montanez’s once-bright futures as Orioles that much more uncertain.

However, with Pie the O’s OF is set for the next five years, assuming that Pie and Jones keep improving (Nick Markakis is close to an extension with the O's). Pie also allows the O’s flexibility with Luke Scott, who can move into the full-time DH position and keep Aubrey Huff at 1B.

It also allows the O’s to aggressively shop Scott for pitching.

And speaking of pitching, losing Olson further weakens the O’s starting rotation. And while Olson was never a sure thing, he was expected to improve from his miserable 2008 season to become a #4 pitcher. As it stands, anyone beyond Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara are big question marks, and even Uehara, who will be making his debut in the MLB, is far from a sure thing.

Radhames Liz looks to assume his rotation spot in 2009, but his 6.72 ERA in 2008 doesn’t inspire confidence. And while newly signed swing-man Mark Hendrickson looks to be a starter by default with Olson gone, a handful of younger pitching prospects could force their way into the rotation by pitching well in spring training.

But MacPhail will probably play it safe, as he should, and sign or trade for at least one more starter. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see him land two. Safety in numbers isn’t a bad thing in Baltimore, especially after the rotation’s inability to go deep into games wore out the bullpen by the All Star Break.

So while the Olson for Pie deal isn’t a major one, it does represents some positives. First and foremost, it represents MacPhail’s desire to fill the O’s roster with as much young talent as possible. And while Garrett Olson was still viewed as young talent, MacPhail valued Pie higher and made his move.

Nothing wrong with that.