MVN - Most Valuable Network

On Deck: Colorado PLUS Latest Orioles News

After several rocky games in LA and Seattle, the Orioles were able to pull off a win before leaving the west coast in their dust.  Daniel Cabrera settled down after two rocky innings to pitch 8 innings.  Several of our regulars enjoyed a day off (or at DH for Tejada), but the bench really came through.  Freddie Bynum, Chris Gomez, and Jay Gibbons all contributed to the RBIs and the season high of 16 hits in a game. 

Now that things are finished on the west coast, the Orioles are back in Baltimore for a homestand that begins against the Rockies today.  The 10 game road trip was the longest of the season for the Birds, but those 10 games may be the perfect illustration of what we can expect for 2007.

• The Orioles pulled off a 5-5 road trip, where they dominated the worst team in the league, and managed one win per series against two good teams.  (A team built to reach .500, but unlikely to do much more, check.) 
• They won four, lost five, won one.  (Streakiness, check.) 
• In games they won, it was by three or more runs.  Three of the five loses were one run games.  (Horrible 6-14 record in one run games, check.) 
• Three blown saves by the bullpen.  (Our relievers have a 8-13 record, check.)
• Six quality starts.  (Starter’s ERA 3rd best in the league with a 3.85, and 29 quality starts, check.)
• More complaining about the manager, coaches, players, owner, and front office among fans.  (Any Orioles message board or blog for the last nine years, check.)

Well, you get my point.  The Orioles are going to be streaky and inconsistent.  If .500 and improving the starting pitching were the goals for this year, it looks like we’re heading in the right direction.  This summer and during the off season is the time to stop making baby steps and find creative and innovative ways to push the team from average to playoff contender.

While I’m dreaming of a better Orioles team, the Rockies are coming to Baltimore and bringing with them some ghosts of Orioles past.  Rodrigo Lopez, Jorge Julio, and Latroy Hawkins are all back in Camden Yards, but thankfully playing for the other team.
 
Friday, June 8

Steve Trachsel will be returning to the pitching mound after his shortest outing of the season.  Last weekend, he only pitched three innings and allowed 5 runs in Anaheim.  Hopefully we’ll see him bounce back against the Rockies—a team he has a winning record against in his career (10-6).  Trachsel has also been a much better pitcher in Camden Yards (1.85 ERA vs. 5.00 ERA on the road).

Garrett Atkins, the Rockies third baseman, is a very healthy 5 for 9 with a home run against Trax.  Todd Helton has faced Trachsel more than any other Colorado batter, where he is 7 for 27 with three extra base hits.

Jeff Francis has only pitched against the Orioles once—the last time the Rockies came to Camden Yards in 2005.  He picked up a loss in that game, allowing 3 runs over 6 innings.  There’s not a lot of history between him and our current line up.  Hernandez is 1 for 7 with four walks, Tejada is 1 for 2, and Payton and Patterson are both 1 for 4.

Heathir’s Pick:  O’s win, 6-4.  I think Trachsel bounces back with a good start at home.

Saturday, June 9

Jeremy Guthrie has never faced the Rockies or any one in their line up before.  We all know that Guthrie has done a fantastic job stepping into the rotation since Jaret Wright got injured or ate by wolverines… you know, what ever happened to him.

While I was looking at Guthrie’s splits, I noticed something very interesting.  As Guthrie goes deeper into games, the better he gets.  Batting average, OPS, SLG, and OBP all drop from the opponent’s first plate appearance to second, and then again drops from second plate appearance to third.  Similarly, his numbers almost all fall as his pitch count increases.  (Obviously, it is still a small sample size and includes his numbers as both a reliever and starter.)

Rodrigo Lopez is coming back to Baltimore to face his former team for the first time.  He has only made a handful of starts this season due to being on the DL.  He looked more Rodrigo Lopez-like in his latest start where he gave up three runs and eight hits over 4.1 innings.  Aubrey Huff and Miguel Tejada both have had a lot of success against Lopez.  Huff is 11 for 36 with four extra base hits.  Tejada is 7 for 14 with 3 extra base hits.

Heathir’s Pick:  O’s lose, 3-2.  I’ve seen mediocre former O’s looked like the second coming of Cy Young whenever they faced their former team.

Sunday, June 10

This will be Erik Bedard’s first time facing the Rockies as well.  He has only ever faced catcher Yorvit Torrealba, who is 1-4 with a homer.  In his last start, Bedard didn’t have his best stuff, but battled to keep his team in the game.  He would have earned himself a win if the bullpen wouldn’t have had one of their classic meltdowns.

Jason Hirsh will be another new face for the Orioles.  He has yet to face the O’s or any part of the current team.  Hirsh currently sits at 2-6 with a 4.92 ERA.  While he has had some tough starts (including giving up 8 runs in 4.2 innings against St. Louis two starts ago), he has also lacked much run support.  In eight of his 12 starts, the Rockies scored three or less runs.

Heathir’s Pick:  O’s win, 7-2.  If we were on the road on a Sunday, I’m sure our bullpen would blow this game, but since we’re home, Erik’s win should be safe.

More Orioles News…

The Orioles drafted catcher Matt Wieters in the first round of the draft today.  He was considered to be the best position player available this year, both great with the bat and as a catcher.  He’s been compared to Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins.  As a junior at Georgia Tech, Wieters batted .358 and had a streak of 55 games where he reached base successfully.  The rest of his numbers and accomplishments are impressive, as well.

I am thrilled with the O’s drafting Wieters.  Hopefully they’ll get him signed and assigned to a minor league team soon.  With being a college player, he could easily move through the system fast and be at the majors just in time to relieve Ramon Hernandez behind the plate.

My only complaint about this year’s draft?  The Orioles lost a 2nd round pick when they signed Danys Baez.  Last week, I was preaching about the Orioles need to continue to build a strong minor league system, especially focusing on more position players.  The draft is one thing that the Orioles have seemed to do right the last few years, so it hurts to lose that pick, especially on a guy who is getting over paid to under perform.

In case you didn’t hear, Wieter’s agent is the infamous Scott Boras.  The Orioles were rumored to avoid Boras’ clients because he can be tough to negotiate with.  With the drafting of Wieters and a sighting of Duquette and Boras at an Angels game last, many are speculating that the relationship between the O’s and the agent have improved.

That may not seem like a big issue until you consider that Boras is the agent for Baltimore Boy Wonder Mark Teixeira.  With the Rangers off to a poor start in 2007 and Teixeira’s comments suggesting he’d like to play for his home town team, let the speculation begin!!

First off, I’d love to see Teixeira in an Orioles uniform.  However, I just cannot see trading any major part of the team away for him for a year and a half of Tex.  (Markakis and Bedard have been the names I’ve heard mentioned.)  If the rumors about him and the Orioles both wanting him in Baltimore, wait until he’s a free agent and throw the money and a Baltimore road jersey at him.  The only way I trade for him is if Texas doesn’t ask for the moon (unlikely) and we can sign an extension.

 If you haven’t entered yet, make sure you check out Oriole Magic’s Cal Ripken Jr. DVD Giveaway for your chance to win!

Steve Trachsel photo from www.baltimoresun.com  

Rodrigo Lopez from www.longmontfyi.com 

Matt Wieter’s photo from www.baltimoresun.com

Mark Teixeira baseball card from www.art.allayers.com

This entry was posted on Friday, June 8th, 2007 at 1:24 am and is filed under Series Preview, Oriole Players, Oriole Magic!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.