With the free agent market this season lacking in big names, aside from a few -- Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, John Lackey and perhaps a few others -- one name who's been getting quite a bit of attention is Aroldis Chapman.
Chapman, a heralded pitcher who defected from Cuba and made a name for himself on the internation stage will be out there for the taking. The Orioles did meet up with Chapman along with his representative this week and while both sides talked, there may be issues signing him.
The ability to sign Chapman come down to price, plus fierce competition from other teams (especially the big market ones).
Stockstill, who watched the highly coveted 21-year-old pitch in the World Baseball Classic in March, said he was impressed by Chapman.
"He's willing and interested to come and visit Baltimore," Stockstill said.
Although the Orioles maintain interest, it's highly doubtful they will be serious bidders if Chapman's reported asking price - between $40 million and $60 million in a long-term deal - is accurate.
Chapman, 6 feet 4 and 179 pounds, defected from Cuba in July and has met with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, among other teams. His fastball has been clocked at more than 100 mph.
As much as I would like to see the Orioles take a risk and sign Chapman, the price will be steep and it may not be in the best interests for the Orioles to spend the resources. One would think that the Yankees, Red Sox, and a few of the other big market teams would jack up the bidding for Chapman so high that it would not make much sense for Baltimore to jump in the fray.
The bidding for Champan -- especially between the Yankees and Red Sox -- could make the whole Jose Contreras drama of several years ago look like a walk in the park.
From what I have read about Chapman, he's a physical specimen who can bring it with his fastball. Also, while he may need to work on his breaking pitches, the consensus is that the hurler could be a pivotal part of any major league rotation.
While the Orioles may have little to no shot in acquiring Chapman, I'd say take the chance, make some waves, and go after him just for the sake of adding more young talent to the fold.
Making an attempt to acquire Chapman would sure make fans of the orange and black happy. I don't envision him ever in a Baltimore uniform, but we can dream -- right?
I've not been following the Arizona Fall League as I probably should, but it's nice to see some Oriole prospects doing fairly well there. The one name that has really grabbed my attention is Josh Bell.
So far in the AFL, the 22-year-old is 13-for-28 with a home run and nine RBIs. "Josh Bell has outstanding power, especially from the left side," Stockstill said. Stockstill also praised Bell's strong throwing arm, but said he'd like to see him improve on his footwork and range at the hot corner -- something he said Bell made strides in this summer -- and added that he could use a little more work as a right-handed hitter.
But Stockstill loves Bell's bat.
"He has light tower-type power -- he has a bat that really explodes on contact," Stockstill said. "Right-handed, he hits the ball all over the field, a little bit less power than he has left-handed. Left-handed, he uses the whole field, but he also hits more gap-to-gap -- left-center to right-center."
But Stockstill isn't jumping the gun on Bell's readiness for the Majors.
"We feel like we took him to the Arizona Fall League to try to put him on a fast track to getting to the Major Leagues as soon as possible," he said. "There are definitely things to work on, and I think it's too early to say that, yes, he'll be ready for next year. You have to let him work, see what he does out there, see what he does in Spring Training, and then make the decision at the proper time."
-- snip --
Snyder, also 22, finished his fifth professional season this summer -- one that included a promotion to Triple-A, along with a collective .289 batting average and 88 RBIs.
Snyder was a shortstop when he was taken as the 13th overall pick by the O's in 2005 but was quickly converted into a catcher. Injuries then removed him from behind the plate to the corner infield spots before assuming a full-time role at first base.
"He's made progress at first base and played well at first base in Double-A and Triple-A this year," Stockstill said. "But his main tool is the bat. He hits gap-to-gap, hits the ball consistently hard. I don't know that he's going to be a big home run hitter, but I believe he'll be a big RBI producer."
Bell has been really making a name for himself down there along with Brandon Snyder. There's no need to rush anyone up at all to the majors and the good news is that the Orioles may not need to sign an elite free agent to fill the team's holes (at least offensively).
Although I would like a solid veteran to fill in some the holes that the Orioles currently have (and may have going to into '11), the team may have two viable pieces for the future. The payoff may not come immediately, but the good news is once both Bell and Snyder reach the majors, Baltimore will have both men while they are relatively young, plus under team control for about six years.
While holes needs to be filled for next season, I'd rather build the Orioles through the farm and trades for young talent than through the free agent market. Obviously, we know how that worked out for Baltimore in the past decade.
The Yankees are losing right now. The Yankees may not win this series - but do not let that fool you. There is absolutely no parity in the MLB. The Commissioner's Office will tell you about seven different champions in the last eight years, none of them the big spending Yankees. They will tell you about revenue sharing and blah blah blah.
Bunk.
Humbug.
Horsesh...!
There is no parity in the MLB especially not in the American League
Let's examine shall we?
Lets look at playoff appearances since 2001. The more I think about it, the more I feel that it has done way more harm than good.
Playoff Appearances/ ALCS Appearances/ World Series Appearances
East
Yankees 8/3/3
Boston 6/4/2
Tampa Bay 1/1/1
Baltimore 0/0/0
Toronto 0/0/0
Central
Minn. 5/1/0
Cleveland 2/1/0
Chicago 2/1/1
Detroit 1/1/1
KC 0/0/0
West
Angels 6/3/1
Oakland 4/1/0
Seattle 0/0/0
Rangers 0/0/0
On Monday night at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Oriole legend and Hall of Famer, Brooks Robinson was honored by his contemporaries - in both sports and the media - at a banquet and presentation in his honor aptly named, 'An Evening With Brooks'.
The charity event was a lovely one to witness in person and while I had seats in the upper tier, it was great to get a glimpse at a legend, plus an even deeper perspective of the ever humble Mr. Robinson.
Furthermore, it gave fans who lived through the glory years of the Orioles another beautiful reminder of the team's illustrious past, while, it gave a younger crowd who perhaps didn't see Brooks ever play in person (like myself) a chance to learn about and honor him.
For whatever reason, there has been some controversy on the wonderful event as WNST's Nestor Aparicio noted that there weren't any current Orioles who attended the event (which he was not too pleased about). As James noted, the event was sponsored by the Orioles, along with the Sports Legend's Museum.
Would I have liked to have seen some current Orioles, notably the prominent faces of the franchise: Adam Jones, Brian Roberts, Matt Wieters, and Nick Markakis in attendance? Most definitely.
However, as much as I'd like to have seen the stars of today attend, the night belonged to Brooks Robinson. Monday night was about his accomplishments along with being an ambassador to Baltimore sports -- not about the Baltimore Orioles.
While, Robinson may be a prominent name to the vast majority of those in Birdland, I don't know if too many of the current Orioles really know who he is or what he stood for.
Again, the event was not for the Orioles -- it was to honor Mr. Robinson, and raise money for charity. Plain and simple.
The problems with the Orioles pr-wise have been beaten like a dead horse; however, Monday's event should not even be included in the debate.
As the day job kicks into a very busy season and the Baltimore fall ushers in a Baltimore winter baseball begins to drift from the city's mind.
Yes Baltimore had baseball on its mind - jerk.
There are a lot of questions circling the Orioles right now, like vultures.
What will the rotation look like?
Will Bergesen come back as good?
Will Hernandez find his strike-out pitches and keep the ball in the park?
Will Matusz continue to progress?
Will Wieters continue his absolutely TORRID last month at the plate?
What about first base and third base?
Melvin Mora is gone, no cheering let's be nice. Melvin was a great player for this team. He will go down as one of the top 10 Orioles infielders ever. The only good thing that came out of the Syd Thrift years. He lived in the area, was one of the only current Orioles to show up to Elrod Hendricks' funeral, he gave back to the community and played a stellar thirdbase for a long time. He will be missed - but who replaces him?
Josh Bell. Bell is the young thirdbaseman the Orioles acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for George Sherill. Why Josh Bell? Let us take a look at his numbers so far this year:
At AA Bell hit to a .917 OPS with a .287 AVG, 9 HR and a SLG over .500. This was all in less than 120 AB.
Bell, along with Snyder, are crushing the ball in the AFL right now.
I am hoping that the the two young corner players play their way on to the team. At this moment I am comfortable going to battle with a young, hungry infield with two bats that could prove to be very large. Frankly, we have got nothing to lose.
The Orioles are in an nearly impossible fight in the AL East - but that is for another post.
2010 is the year that the Orioles need to show solid, quantifiable progression in wins. This does not necessarily mean I expect the Orioles to be a competitive force but the Orioles should jump over the Blue Jays, who are circling the drain in my opinion, and challenge the Rays for a solid season. If the Orioles young pitching staff can be near league-average, as opposed to league-worst, they should finish around 500.
The offense is another story. Jones needs to continue his progression and prove he can keep it up for the entire year. Wieters needs to build off his awesome Fall. Markakis needs to start taking walks again and find his power-swing.
Markakis had a weird season. His average and doubles and RBI were there, but his walks and homers were way down. Thus, his OPS was off the mark. Markakis also had a quietly sub-par year in the field. I am willing to chalk this up to a bad year, it happens to everyone.
Other things:
Brooks Robinson was honored at the Babe Ruth Museum this week and all accounts have it being a wonderful event. It was sponsored by the Orioles, the Babe Ruth Museum. Many former Orioles, current members of the Orioles front office and MASN were in attendance. But no current members of the Orioles team.
This is NOT a big deal - it really isn't. But one member of the local media just will never miss an opportunity to grind his axe. Nestor Aparicio railed against the Orioles calling them every name in the book - no one really cared. Peter Schmuck called Nestor out today for creating a "phony controversy" (which it is). Nestor of course responded in the comments section.
Nestor is a complete jerk with a dying station. Now granted, I'm no Mencken over here, but I do know a blowhard with an axe to grind when I see one. If Peter Schmuck had not mentioned your actions in his blog no one would have heard about it.
When Brian Roberts got his contract extension last year, I thought that the Orioles might pay down the road for giving him a deal – 4 years – that started in 2009.
I thought Brian’s deal might turn into one the team would later regret, sort like what happened this season with Melvin Mora that served as a case of buyer’s remorse.
When everything was said and done, I thought Roberts had been signed for one year too long with a contract that was a tad generous.
Obviously, there’s a good amount of time left on Roberts’ deal before it expires; however, right now, it looks like he’ll stay healthy, and he should post some very strong numbers in the years to come.
However, from what I saw in him last season, Roberts put in one his best efforts at the plate, despite the Orioles’ record. Although there were some fans that questioned his hustle and wondered where his mind was at time, he no doubt delivered time and time again offensively. Even though he’ll be 32 when the 2010 season begins, the man shows no sign of slowing down, based on his doubles record, along with his .283 average, 16 homers, 79 RBIs, a .807 OPS, and 30 stolen bases.
Based on what I saw, extending Brian may have been money well spent. Now, the rebuilding project needs to speed up, and the second baseman needs a stronger supporting case.
He’s always said that his wish was to play ‘meaningful baseball in September’, and let’s hope it happens soon.
Now Sherrill said to the Sun that he didn't want to leave Baltimore, and the fans didn't want to see him go either -- but, hey, it's all business, and sometimes a cruel one.
It's been a few months since he was traded, and even now people in Birdland still don't care for the deal made. Whether the deal pans out in the future or not, who knows, but I think fans here right now just want to see a winner and have hope in the American League East.
Right now, while Josh Bell is in the Arizona Fall League and had a solid stint in Bowie, plus let's not forget about Steve Johnson, looking back, was the trade worth it? Obviously, it is impossible to even determine the result considering both Bell and Johnson have not made the majors, but it looked like the Sherrill trade came at a short-term loss for Baltimore.
After George left, the bullpen was nothing short of terrible in Baltimore. Jim Johnson blew a good number of saves, and the bridge that was built to ending games seemed to be imploded. Now, the Orioles weren't going anywhere, Sherrill was expendable, and how could he have possibly contributed to the Orioles getting better, but a vital link was broken when we was dealt.
It looks like the Orioles have already made personnel changes, and
it looks like coaching staff will not the same when Spring Training
along with the 2010 season comes around.
I guess there were going to be changes come about from a 98-loss season (and a 12th under .500), and there will be more.
Therefore, Trembley will be searching only for a right-hand man, who
also likely will serve as the spring training coordinator. Trembley
said there is no specific timetable for the hiring.
"We'll take
our time, compile a list of potential candidates for the bench coach
position," Trembley said, "And as the offseason progresses, we'll make
a decision."
I'm not sure why Jauss is now out of a job -- whether he was not
asked back or on his own accord -- let's wish him the best of luck.
There's probably a lot that goes on that we fans are obviously not
privy to. Maybe the staff didn't get a long, or he wanted to move on,
who knows...
There's one man on the staff who received a lot of heat for some of
the baserunning gaffes -- Juan Samuel -- who will be back in Baltimore
next season. I know some fans were angry about his work as third base
coach, plus overall lack of base-running fundamentals, but I'd like to
see if things turn around in '10.
I cannot remember anyone complaining about Samuel the year prior;
however, with the losing and what was seen this season, let's hope the
team shows some more discipline.
Yesterday afternoon, a co-worker and I were talking about the Ravens and football in general; however, in the course of out conversation, our sports chat somehow went on another tangent and
migrated towards the Baltimore Orioles. While my co-worker truly
believes that things are getting better with the Orioles, he had some
deep reservations about the fact that Dave Trembley's option as manager of the team was picked up for 2010.
The co-worker said, much like I heard on a multitude of blogs and talk radio, "I like Dave Trembley, but I cannot
believe that he's still manager of the team. He seems to be a great
guy, but the team is so bad. They don't have any fundamentals, they
don't have any pitching, and I just think we needed a change."
Now, he didn't think that Trembley was incompetent or terrible, just that he thought the organization could find a better leader on the field. I asked him who would you replace him with, and he didn't give much of an answer -- he brought up a few names: LaRussa, Leyland 8 Fredi Gonzalez (and he said, "oh, we also could have had Girardi...").
Then again, all the aforementioned names are employed by other organizations -- winning ones.
I was not suprised to hear this, but I told him at this point, it looks like the Orioles are going to give him another shot, and this year is certainly not based on wins and
losses, but to see what they had. Now, I don't think my co-worker was
that impressed with my logic; however, he just wants to see wins rather
than the big picture, and I would not blame him for his opinion.
Then again, I might be in the minority as to how fans feel about Dave Trembley.
It might have been assumed he'd be back
anyway, but of course no one really knew that except the principals --
the front office executives, MacPhail andTrembley.
We don't know what goes on in the clubhouse or in meetings, so I guess
we all have to go on by what we see. Well, James and I met over the weekend -- after the Orioles 162nd game on Sunday, and we came to the conclusion that the decision to bring back Trembley was made well before the announcement. I think the Orioles knew what they had down on the farm, and in hindsight the team was going to struggle in the AL East anyway, and that should really have no bearing on his job status in '10.
I was listening to the radio this weekend, and Tom Davis along with
Dave Johnson felt what we saw in course of the summer was the Orioles
giving young players a chance to prove themselves -- wins and losses
were not really a factor.
However, I have a feeling W's will now have a huge role in Trembley's future. We all want wins, but at this point, this team must be rebuilt properly, and what from what I read, the players appreciate Trembley.
I've got absolutely no idea as to what happens in a Major League
baseball clubhouse, much less the Orioles, but while everyone might
have been frustrated, no one blamed 2009 at the feet of the manager.
I'm glad he's getting another shot, now let's win some games in 2010 and get some talent in Baltimore.
Looking back at 2009, there's a lot to go through, ponder, and look
back in anger about; therefore, I probably will spend a good bit of
time just giving my opinions about the season. There was some good, a
lot of bad, and even ugly; however, I guess my first entry this
offseason will focus on Matt Wieters.
Wieters, as we all know, was touted as the next Johnny Bench -- only
taller and a lot wealthier -- and the expectations on him were so lofty
and outrageous that they seemed ridiculous in my mind. Yes, he started
off slow, and seemingly had his troubles at the plate, but towards the
end of the season, he looked like a new man. Folks, he raked.
His average howevered in the .240-260 range for much of the summer
-- it was not bad for a rookie, but not earth-shattering, but then it
creeped up to the .270 range. Then September came around and Matt
turned it at the plate on to the tune of a .359 average, and moreover,
he showed power and hit the ball with amazing authority to all fields.
He had an outside chance of hitting the .300 barrier with a hot
weekend at the plate, but when Sunday ended, he ended his rookie season
with a .288 average, 9 homers, 43 RBIs, a .340 OBP, and an OPS of .753.
Those numbers are not too shabby for a rookie ballplayer whose major
league career began in June. Furthermore, when the Orioles moved up him
in the order to bat third -- even during the losing streak -- he
managed to shine and deliver. As well, he looked very impressive behind
the plate at times, and also had to deal with one of the youngest
starting rotations in the majors.
It remains to be seen where he'll bat in the order in 2010; however,
one could assume it could be anywhere from the 3-to-6 hole (I don't see
him hitting cleanup, but never say never).
2009 was a job well done by Matt Wieters, and if the past few weeks
are any indication when it comes to the talent level and potential of
the young man, the future could be very bright with the Orioles.
