Camden Chat

Two bits of news: 1) I'm very happy to announce that Matt Taylor, the voice behind Roar From 34,...

2009-11-19T22:05:03Z

Two bits of news:

1) I'm very happy to announce that Matt Taylor, the voice behind Roar From 34, will be joining the Camden Chat team as a part-time contributor. If you've read Matt's work you know that he has a real talent for writing about the Orioles and I look forward to him sharing some of that with us.

2) In more minor site news, you may have noticed a new item on the sidebar titled "Meet The Team." With the recent re-design there was about five miles of white space on the sidebars before getting to the bottom where our contributors names were listed. I thought that was ugly, so created the Meet The Team widget instead. The last link goes to the Who's Who at Camden Chat post. If you're new to the site or never wrote up an intro, click the link and tell us about yourself.

Camden Chat Site News

The Orioles have added six players to their 40-man roster: pitchers Brandon Erbe and Luis Lebron,...

2009-11-18T22:57:38Z

The Orioles have added six players to their 40-man roster: pitchers Brandon Erbe and Luis Lebron, and infielders Josh Bell, Pedro Florimon, Rhyne Hughes and Brandon Snyder. The roster is at its capacity. Teams must submit their rosters to the MLB office by Friday afternoon.

Roch Kubatko - MASNsports.com
That means Steve Johnson is unprotected. Roch has confirmed he is subject to the Rule V Draft in December.

Discovering an Oriole Great: Boog Powell

2009-11-18T20:00:13Z

I'm not going to lie, I just never knew much about Boog Powell. I've known that he's a giant hulking dude, that he played first base, that he opened up Boog's BBQ, and that he's one of the friendliest ex-players I've ever interacted with. I figured he was good, being that he wouldn't have been on the team if he wasn't. But I never really knew anything about him statistically until I did a little research on some of the best Orioles' seasons. SC did name him the #6 Oriole of All Time, though, so maybe if I paid better attention I'd have known of his awesomeness that much sooner (an aside about the top 40 O's...it might need updated as it's over three years old and Brian Roberts is nowhere to be seen).

Did you know that Boog Powell has the 4th highest single season OPS+ of any Oriole? In 1964, at just 22 years old, Powell had an OPS+ or 176, a year when he played LF. The only players to have an OPS+ higher in a season were Frank Robinson (198 in '66, 187 in '67) and Jim Gentile (187 in '61). In fact, in the top 20 OPS+ seasons of the Orioles, Boog Powell's name appears four times, which is tied for most with Eddie Murray and Frank Robinson. Not bad company.

Boog Powell hit over 300 HR as an Oriole and is currently 83rd on the all time HR list in baseball. 5th most games as an Oriole, 5th highest SLG, 5th most hits. Top 5 in most things, top 10 in everything else.

I wonder why I never heard more about Boog growing up? Makes me feel like I'm not a good enough Orioles fan.

Blog Spotlight: The Loss Column

2009-11-18T17:00:15Z

The next installment of Camden Chat's blog spotlight focuses on The Loss Column. I've been a fan of TLC for years as the creator, Neal Shaffer, writes regularly about Baltimore Sports, especially the Ravens and Orioles. With it being football season most of the current articles focus on football, but there's plenty to be found about the O's as well. What's refreshing about Neal's writing is that it's rare you'll the the "woe is me" mentality that can be prevalent among a lot of sports writing that's done by fans. On the "About" page, Neal points to an entry about Mark Teixeira that encapsulates the attitude and philosophy of TLC. I highly suggest giving it a read (and the rest of site as well).

See below the jump for my Q&A with Neal.

Part 1: The Blog

1. Let's set the scene. It's August 2006. The Orioles are stumbling to their 9th consecutive losing season. The Ravens are in pre-season, coming off of a 6-10 season and heading to their 13-3 season with Steve McNair. You decide to start The Loss Column. What was the story behind it getting started?

The Loss Column emerged from conversations. I talk sports with friends like everyone else, and at some point my pal Chris suggested starting a site (he gets credit for the name, too). My background is in writing, and sportswriting had always interested me. I had done a couple of pieces for PressBox by then and I was hungry for more. The idea of having my own site hit me in the right spot.

It's different now from what it was when I started. It took probably a year to really find the voice. And beyond that, it's a living thing. My ideas about what to do with it change and grow all the time. For example, I'm going to start incorporating more content that isn't explicitly sports-related.

There wasn't ever an "a-ha!" moment at the start, and there's no road map for the future now that it's established. It's pretty organic.

2. How would you pitch your blog to someone who knows nothing about it?

It's a place to go to get a nuanced take on sports. A place where yelling and name-calling and blind "your guy sucks, my guy rules" approaches aren't encouraged. A place where multiple viewpoints are welcome and considered. A place where stories tend to matter more than stats.

My approach to sports writing and commentary has been called "NPR-like." I choose to take that as a compliment even though I'm not sure it was always meant that way.

3. The Orioles record since TLC started: 220-309. That means that about 42% of the time you're writing about a loser. Do you ever find it hard to come up with new things to say about this team?

It's not hard to write during the season about what's happening game-to-game, and this past season in particular I think I fell into the trap of doing that too much. It can be fun but it's important to me that the site be about more than just that. So, yeah, it's sometimes very hard to come up with things to say.

Given the fortunes of the team it would be easy to just bitch and moan. In the site's early days, before I found the voice, I was more inclined to indulge frustration. That fizzled pretty quickly. I write something for the site, even if it's something quick, about five times a week. The idea of filling that time with anger and negativity seems insane. Some people have managed to make a living off of doing just that but it's not for me.

That said, I don't think things would be much different if the O's were winning. I think I'd still face the same challenges in trying to come up with quality content and I'd probably still fail and succeed as often as I do now. The judgment on the ratio is, of course, up to the audience.

Part 2: The Orioles

1. Short term - who's going to play third base for the O's in 2010? Is that different from who you think should play 3B for the O's in 2010?

I think we'll end up with a solid veteran on a one or two-year deal, maybe somebody like Joe Crede or Troy Glaus. There's also a chance that Wigginton gets the spot -- we should be prepared for that possibility, even though I don't think it's anyone's first choice (MacPhail included)

The important thing, whoever ends up at that corner, is to not block Josh Bell. He's steadily earning his opportunity and I think that's as it should be. He's the guy eventually. Not to start 2010 and maybe not even in 2010 at all, but he has to get a shot. That's why the trade was made.

On a broader level, what we're really getting at with the third base question is the larger point about MacPhail's massive challenge this offseason: to improve the club without sacrificing the past two years spent amassing prospects and building a stronger organization. I wouldn't want that job.

2. Long term - who ends up the best pitcher of Tillman, Matusz, Arrieta, Britton, Bergesen? Which one ends up a bust?

I don't see any of them ending up a bust. They obviously won't all be #1 or #2 guys, either. History says that if one true star emerges from that group then it's a win. I think that will happen and I think it'll be Matusz. He's very, very impressive. I'm almost tempted to think of him as a left-handed Mussina-type, though it's way too early for that. Great attitude and very coachable as well, from what I hear. I can see him heading the rotation in 2011 or 2012.

I think Bergesen will be a workhorse #3-#4 type, a guy you can count on every five days to give you a damn good chance to win even if he's not typically dominant.

I don't think we know enough about the other three guys to say one way or the other, but all signs point to them being good enough to at least contribute.

3. Do you think there is anything the Orioles can do to legitimately compete in this division over the duration? If not, should we all just pack it in and call it a day?

Hard as it may be to imagine, these things are cyclical. The Yankees and Red Sox figure to be in the mix most years, sure, but it would be going too far to say that nobody can compete with that. And the good news is that the Orioles are in a position to do it. They have a beautiful stadium and they play in a great market (the mid-Atlantic, which is still huge even though they now share it). Winning will bring fans back, and that can/will turn into a revenue stream significant enough to keep them competitive. They have to undo a lot of mistakes and get a little lucky before it can happen, but they seem to be on the right track.

2010 is the year where they have to start showing us just how possible it is. If next season doesn't go down the way we all expect it to -- if we don't see the measurable improvement of which MacPhail spoke -- then I honestly don't know what I'll say. That would be a worst-case scenario. If they lose 90 games, ask me this question again.

Congrats to Zack Greinke, AL Cy Young Winner

2009-11-17T20:15:50Z

More photos » by Ed Zurga - AP

5 months ago: Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Zack Greinke throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, June 17, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Browse more photos »

The BBWAA got it right today as they voted Zack Greinke the 2009 AL Cy Young Award Winner. He seemed a lock for many all year but I never quite trust those guys to vote as they should.

I have a major soft spot for Zack Greinke and the Kansas City Royals (as evidenced by my road trips...we're already discussing where the 3rd Annual Impersonate a Royals Fan weekend should take place in 2010), so even if the numbers were close I'd probably favor him. But the numbers weren't close, not the numbers that counted. Royals Review is celebrating, of that I'm sure.

Well done, Zack. I hope you are second in the voting behind Brian Matusz next year.

The Changing of the O's - Pitching

2009-11-16T21:55:23Z

Every starter for the O's since 2007, with number of starts in parentheses. Only Guthrie has survived. 2010 is the list of starters currently in the O's system who could make the rotation at some point. I didn't include Koji or Hendo as they'll hopefully be in the bullpen the entire year. One thing I'll say for the O's in 2009 is they cut down on the slop (Adam Eaton excepted).

2007 Baltimore Orioles	2008 Baltimore Orioles	2009 Baltimore Orioles	2010 Baltimore Orioles
Daniel Cabrera (34)	Daniel Cabrera (30)	Jeremy Guthrie (33)	Jeremy Guthrie
Erik Bedard (28)	Jeremy Guthrie (30)	Jason Berken (24)	Brian Matusz
Jeremy Guthrie (26)	Garrett Olson (26)	David Hernandez (19)	Brad Bergesen
Steve Traschel (25)	Brian Burres (22)	Brad Bergesen (19)	Chris Tillman
Brian Burres (17)	Radhames Liz (17)	Rich Hill (14)	Jake Arrieta
Garrett Olson (7)	Chris Waters (11)	Chris Tillman (12)	Troy Patton
Adam Loewen (6)	Steve Traschel (8)	Koji Uehara (12)	David Hernandez
Jon Leicester (5)	Brian Bass (4)	Mark Hendrickson (11)	Jason Berken
Radhames Liz (4)	Adam Loewen (4)	Adam Eaton (8)
Jaret Wright (3)	Dennis Sarfate (4)	Brian Matusz (8)
Victor Santos (3)	Matt Albers (3)	Alfredo Simon (2)
Victor Zambrano (2)	Alfredo Simon (1)	Chris Waters (1)
Kurt Birkins (2)	Lance Cormier (1)

The Baltimore Orioles will be featured as part of MLB Network’s "30 Clubs, 30 Recaps" segment d...

2009-11-16T21:43:59Z

The Baltimore Orioles will be featured as part of MLB Network’s "30 Clubs, 30 Recaps" segment during "Hot Stove" tonight, starting at 6:00 p.m. ET. MLB Network’s Matt Vasgersian, Harold Reynolds, Billy Ripken, Jon Heyman and Ken Rosenthal will go back through the Orioles’ 2009 season and discuss the team’s hitting, defense, starting pitching and bullpen.

Each episode of "Hot Stove" during the offseason will feature a new edition of "30 Clubs, 30 Recaps." Tonight’s episode will re-air at 7:00 p.m. ET and at 10:00 p.m. ET. For more information, please go to www.mlbnetwork.com.

Per email I received today....

The Changing of the O's

2009-11-16T20:12:47Z

2007 - Pre-MacPhail. 2010 - Based solely on current players. How much have we improved, really? Discuss. Is it fair to say that the only position where the 2010 Orioles are worse off than the 2007 Orioles is shortstop?

All lineups are based on who played that most games at that position in each year.

2007 Baltimore Orioles	2008 Baltimore Orioles	2009 Baltimore Orioles	2010 Baltimore Orioles
C: Ramon Hernandez	C: Ramon Hernandez	C: Matt Wieters	C: Matt Wieters
1B: Kevin Millar	1B: Kevin Millar	1B: Aubrey Huff	1B: Luke Scott
2B: Brian Roberts	2B: Brian Roberts	2B: Brian Roberts	2B: Brian Roberts
3B: Melvin Mora	3B: Melvin Mora	3B: Melvin Mora	3B: Ty Wigginton
SS: Miguel Tejada	SS: Juan Castro	SS: Cesar Izturis	SS: Cesar Izturis
LF: Jay Payton	LF: Luke Scott	LF: Nolan Reimold	LF: Felix Pie
CF: Corey Patterson	CF: Adam Jones	CF: Adam Jones	CF: Adam Jones
RF: Nick Markakis	RF: Nick Markakis	RF: Nick Markakis	RF: Nick Markakis
DH: Aubrey Huff	DH: Aubrey Huff	DH: Luke Scott	DH: Nolan Reimold

Trading for a True Ace?

2009-11-15T16:09:32Z

For over three years people on this blog have complained that the Orioles have lacked a true ace for years. At some point two seasons ago, many believed that Jeremy Guthrie might be the closest this team has had since the migration of Moose and were rebuffed by a subpar performance this passed season. The reality is this team has two, maybe three, aces in the making in Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz (also, Jake Arrieta), but whose to say they will ever be as good as #2 on a good team.

This leads us to the question that has waved around the FanPost comments since the offseason: Should the Orioles trade for or sign an ace this or next season to solidify their rotation? If so, whom and who would it cost?

The Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, and Houston Astros need financial relief; the Toronto Blue Jays have an ace in the final year of his current contract; the Seattle Mariners might not be able to sign their ace to a contract extension; and the Atlanta Braves need a big bat. Every indication points to a few of these teams trading their aces.

Here is what's been rumored (overall) in the trade market:

1) There's been talk that the Tigers have/will be listening to offers on Curtis Granderson, Edwin Jackson, Gerald Laird, Brandon Inge, and, maybe, (check out this link and this one for a comment from Dave Dombrowski) Justin Verlander,

2) The Reds need to trade one or more of Francsico Cordero, Bronson Arroyo, Brandon Phillips, and Aaron Harang,

3) The the Astros may have to, finally, agree to trade Roy Oswalt,

4) The Jays may, after all the rumors, part with perennial beast of the AL East Roy Halladay,

5) The Mariners may not be able to sign Felix Hernandez to a contract extension,

6) The Braves need a big bat (this has been added for consistency's sake - unless they think Luke Scott is a big bat) and will be trading either Javier Vazquez (being an ace) or Derek Lowe (being a solid #2) to get one this offseason.

There you have it. 6 (maybe 7) pitchers that may very well be on the trade market this off season. "Which one will you chose? Win or lose."

Again, I ask you: Should the Orioles trade for or sign an ace this or next season to solidify their rotation? If so, whom and who would it cost?

My suggestion is a package deal for Brandon Inge and Justin Verlander. Of course this might be a pipe dream, but both players fit a glaring hole. Inge has a power bat from the right side (and who would be under team control for the next two years) whose numbers will be much better after being removed from Comerica's Cavernous Outfield! and player solid 3rd base (also, catcher, center field, and first) and Verlander is an ace. Sure he's not as veteran as Halladay or Sabathia, but there's no one that can deny his ace potential. For them, I'm suggesting Arrieta, Britton, Caleb Joseph/Michael Ohlman, and Matt Angle. Hell, maybe even Eddie Gamboa.
It's just like when those Pinkos traded for Becket and Peppery-Hair...only, I hope the Os don't give up a shortstop named "Hanley".

Why am I suggesting this trade after I already said the Os should go after Dan Uggla? I've heard your pleas that his defense is "bad", and I like playing devil's advocate a lot...and there's a touch of the crazy's...or kimchi.

It wasn't all bad in '09: Best Offensive Performances by the Orioles

2009-11-12T23:11:25Z

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

In 2010 the top 7 offensive performances by an Oriole will all be by Matt Wieters. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Browse more photos »

Baseball-Reference.com just revamped their Play Index tool and I've been messing around with it to learn all the new features. They've added some good stuff, so far my favorite is that you can do a search on how many times a player did something in his career. Last summer when Brian Roberts hit his 50th double, I was really interested to see how many players had more than one 50 double season. This new feature wasn't available so I had to do a search on 50 or more doubles and sort by name. Not anymore!

Anyway, I was doing some searches on the 2009 Orioles and it got me wondering who had the best individual performance at the plate this year. The first thing that came to my mind was the cycle by Felix Pie, followed by Luke Scott's monster day at the plate on Matt Wieters Day. It's obviously subjective, but after doing some searching on B-R.com, I've come up with a short list of finalists.

Luke Scott - July 11th @ Seattle. LUUUKE drove in two runs in the first inning off of Erik Bedard, then socked it to the Mariners bullpen with a two run triple in the 6th and a 3 run homer in the 7th. His final line: 3-4, 3B, HR, 2 R, 7 RBI. GameThread and recap.
Ty Wigginton - June 14th vs Atlanta. Wiggy had three hits including two home runs to lead the O's in an 11-2 butt kicking of the Braves. His line: 3-4, 4 R, 3 RBI, BB, 2 HR. GameThread and recap.
Matt Wieters - September 15th @ TB. Your personal Savior had the best game of his young career on this night. After falling behind the Rays 5-0, the offense staged a comeback led by Wieters who went 3-5 with a HR, a 2B, a BB, 2 R, and 5 RBI. GameThread and recap.
Felix Pie - August 14th vs Los Angeles/Anaheim. You all know the game. Felix hit for the cycle, saving the triple for last. He ended the game with 4 hits, 3 runs, and 4 RBI. He also made Mike Scioscia look like a tool by apologizing for being too excited. GameThread and recap.
Brian Roberts - Sept 12th @ New York. This game is better known as the night Brian Matusz mopped the floor with the Yankees, but Brian Bob had a pretty big night himself. With two runs already scored in the top of the 2nd inning, Roberts launched a grand slam off of A.J. Burnett. He'd add 2 more hits on the night, including his 51st 2B of the year to end the night 3-4 with 1 R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR. GameThread and recap.
Adam Jones - May 12th vs Tampa Bay. Dr. Jones only had two hits on the night but he made them count as he homered in back-to-back innings. The O's won 7-5 with Adam going 2-4 with 2 R, 4 RBI, and 2 HR. GameThread and recap.
Luke Scott - May 29th vs Detroit. I didn't really want to list any players twice but how could I leave this one out? Since coming to the American League, Luke Scott has made the Tigers miserable. On this, Matt Wieters Night, Luke continued his assault with 3 hits, 2 of which were HR (one being a grand slam), 5 RBI, 2 R, and a BB for good measure. GameThread and recap.

There are probably a number of other good individual performances, but the list was getting a little long, and that game where Nicky hit the grand slam was so awful I didn't want to look at the recap. So what do you say? Who of the above had the greatest offensive night of '09 for the O's?

Poll

What was the greatest night for an Orioles hitter?

Blog Spotlight: Right Off Russell

2009-11-12T17:00:36Z

The blog spotlight is back, this time with Right Off Russell, which touches on all local sports but focuses mostly on the Ravens and Orioles. I don't remember how I initially found ROR, but it's become my go-to place for Ravens information (and their Orioles coverage is pretty good too).

ROR mixes news with analysis and during the season featured quite a few interviews with minor leaguers that I thought was just awesome. I linked to some of the interviews when they happened, but if you missed them you should definitely have a listen. Interviewees include Jake Arrieta, Brandon Snyder, Josh Bell, Brandon Waring, Zach Britton, Brandon Erbe, and more.

In all previous blog spotlights I mentioned that I met each of the writers at MASN's Blogger Night last May. I did not meet ROR's writers at MASN's Blogger Night. Rather, I met both Matt and Jeff at the Mobbies Awards party just last month. While Camden Chat won Best Orioles Blog, ROR took home the award for Best Ravens Blog. I had the pleasure of chatting with the ROR guys, along with Ian and Daniel from Matt Wieters Facts at the event. Matt answered a few questions for me about the Orioles and ROR. Check them out below the jump, then check out ROR, especially if you're also a Ravens fan.

1. Can you tell us the background of Right Off Russell? How did it start and who are the writers?

It started because Jeff is a brilliant sports mind, especially when it comes to Baltimore area sports and he needed a venue to showcase his talents. I had been food blogging for years and figured it might be fun to dabble in the sports world a bit. The 2 of us have been friends for over 15 years, and we were constantly talking about sports already so we figured last year was as good as any to get started.

We currently have 3 writers-
Matt (Me)- Most of the stuff you will see me write is commenting on current stories or other people's opinions.
Jeff- He will mostly write editorial pieces. He is a native of the Baltimore area and he is best at bringing perspective.
Mark- He's the true fan of the bunch. He just lays his thoughts out there. They always make sense but there is so much passion behind his words.

2. You have a lot of great minor league coverage, especially the interviews of players and minor league personnel. Who was your favorite interview and why?

I think it was Brandon Snyder- both times. He was our 1st interview and he was extremely gracious to a bunch of hacks who had no idea what we doing at the time. Then when were able to talk with him down in Norfolk later in the year, he remembered us and we talked like old friends. He is such a super guy and we hope he makes it in Baltimore and kills it up there.

3. Right Off Russell started right around the beginning of Spring Training '09, so this will be your first year blogging during the Hot Stove season. What are your hopes for the O's off season?

While the O's have money to spend, they don't have the luxury to be reckless. Any large free agent signing HAS to pan out. A Carl Pavano situation would crush them. All that being said, I could get excited about them going after Matt Holliday. I know outfield is not a huge need, but they are in so much need for a big bat that I think it's worth the risk. I think they need to sign a one or two Ty Wiggington types. I really don't want them to invest too much in the corner infielders because I would like to see Snyder and Bell have their chance later in the season. I wish I could say there was a pitcher that I was excited about getting, but really there isn't.

4. I know it's super early, but what do you see for the Orioles 2010 season? Vast improvement? Disappointment? Maybe a 4th place finish?

I am hoping for a .500 season. That is such a crucial barrier for the O's. They have to believe they can compete. That milestone would be the perfect stepping stone going into 2011 when I think the Birds have their chance to make a name for themselves.

SBN Awards: MVPs go to Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols

2009-11-12T15:00:50Z

More photos » by Ed Zurga - AP

You're the MVP, Joe. High Five. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Browse more photos »

Regardless of what happens with the actual MVP award, SBN baseball writers got it right as Joe Mauer won the MVP in a landslide. Mauer's OPS+ of 170 is the second highest by a catcher in history (Mike Piazza posted an OPS+ of 177 in 1997). Mauer led baseball in Batting Average, On-Base Percentage, and Slugging Percentage. Mauer's WAR was 8.2, best among catchers. Second best? Victor Martinez at 4.9. If you're one who likes to hear about those "clutch" stats, Mauer hit better with 2 outs and RISP than any other time. But let's face it, when your OPS is 1.031 you hit well in every situation.

Mauer's ridiculous batting average of .365 topped Nick Markakis by 72 points. His OBP of .444 was 79 points higher than Nolan Reimold. His .587 SLG was 99 points higher than Luke Scott. Those three were the Orioles leaders in those categories.

Mauer is a free agent after next season and the Twins have said time and again that they want to keep him. I hope that they do, because I'd hate to have to start disliking Mauer because he's a Yankee.

I think that it's a possibility that Derek Jeter is awarded the real MVP despite not even coming first on his team in this contest. There was a very real belief among many that Derek Jeter was robbed of the MVP when Justin Morneau won in 2006. It's possible that he won't be denied again. If that happens this year when Mauer had the year that he had I'll....well it won't shock me at all actually. But I'll be annoyed. It'd be nice for Mauer to enjoy his season as the best catcher in the league since beginning in 2010, Matt Wieters will go on a 25 year run of being the best catcher in ~~the league~~ history of baseball.

Albert Pujols, who I'm pretty sure might be an alien from some other galaxy where everyone has giant thighs and finds baseball to be as easy as a game of Soduku, won for the National League. Because the lists are so much longer this time I put them both below the jump. Click through to see the complete rankings.

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pts
1	Joe Mauer	Minnesota Twins	24	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	371
2	Ben Zobrist	Tampa Bay Rays	-	10	6	2	2	1	-	1	-	-	172
3	Mark Teixeira	New York Yankees	2	3	2	4	3	2	7	1	-	-	158
4	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	1	5	3	4	4	2	1	1	2	1	157
5	Evan Longoria	Tampa Bay Rays	-	2	4	1	2	3	2	3	2	1	106
6	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	2	3	2	1	1	-	2	-	-	-	92
7	Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	-	-	3	1	2	4	-	2	-	5	74
8	Kevin Youkilis	Boston Red Sox	-	2	-	-	1	3	1	8	1	-	69
9	Chone Figgins	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	3	4	1	-	1	3	1	60
10	Jason Bay	Boston Red Sox	-	1	-	4	2	-	-	1	-	2	54
11	Kendry Morales	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	4	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	39
12	Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle Mariners	-	-	1	-	2	-	1	2	2	3	37
13	Franklin Gutierrez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	1	1	1	3	-	1	2	34
14	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	-	-	2	1	1	1	-	1	1	32
15	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	3	2	-	31
16	Jason Bartlett	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	22
17	Alex Rodriguez	New York Yankees	-	-	1	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	18
18	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	-	16
19	Adam Lind	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	4	16
20	Dustin Pedroia	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	4	1	13
21	Bobby Abreu	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	-	12
22	Aaron Hill	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	12
23	Mariano Rivera	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	9
24	Torii Hunter	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
25	Brian Roberts	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	7
26	CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	6
27	Carl Crawford	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	6
28	J.D. Drew	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
29	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
30	Jonathan Papelbon	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
31	Robinson Cano	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
32	Victor Martinez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
33	Michael Cuddyer	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
34	Shin-Soo Choo	Cleveland Indians	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
35	Michael Young	Texas Rangers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	3
36	Jacoby Ellsbury	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
37	Jason Kubel	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
38	Alex Gonzalez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
39	Nick Markakis	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

My votes went like this: 1), Joe Mauer, 2) Zack Greinke, 3) Derek Jeter, 4) Ben Zobrist, 5) Mark Teixeira, 6) Evan Longoria, 7) Franklin Guttierez, 8) Kevin Youkilis, 9) Justin Verlander, 10) Ichiro Suzuki

And duck: 1) Joe Mauer, 2) Mark Teixeira, 3) Ichiro Suzuki, 4) Roy Halladay, 5) Zack Greinke, 6) Derek Jeter, 7) Brian Roberts, 8) Jason Bay, 9) CC Sabathia, 10) Justin Verlander

I thought for sure duck was the one who voted for Nicky, but I was wrong. And Brian Roberts got two votes, one from a non-Orioles blog. Makes me wonder who likes our guys.

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pts
1	Albert Pujols	St. Louis Cardinals	31	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	434
2	Hanley Ramirez	Florida Marlins	-	6	8	11	2	1	2	-	-	-	220
3	Chase Utley	Philadelphia Phillies	-	7	11	2	3	1	-	1	-	1	192
4	Prince Fielder	Milwaukee Brewers	-	5	4	4	7	7	1	-	-	-	186
5	Troy Tulowitzki	Colorado Rockies	-	4	1	5	2	3	3	4	1	2	134
6	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	-	4	1	-	1	2	2	3	1	-	79
7	Ryan Howard	Philadelphia Phillies	-	4	-	1	4	1	-	-	3	1	79
8	Ryan Zimmerman	Washington Nationals	-	-	1	3	3	3	3	1	-	2	79
9	Adrian Gonzalez	San Diego Padres	-	-	1	-	3	3	2	4	3	4	71
10	Pablo Sandoval	San Francisco Giants	-	-	-	1	2	2	2	3	4	3	57
11	Matt Kemp	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	1	1	1	1	5	3	-	1	56
12	Ryan Braun	Milwaukee Brewers	-	-	2	-	-	2	2	1	1	-	39
13	Chris Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	-	2	1	1	-	1	2	25
14	Derrek Lee	Chicago Cubs	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	1	3	2	25
15	Andre Ethier	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	-	-	1	2	2	-	-	-	24
16	Adam Wainwright	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	1	4	1	23
17	Javier Vazquez	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	2	1	16
18	Matt Holliday	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	12
19	Joey Votto	Cincinnati Reds	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	11
20	Mark Reynolds	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	2	10
21	Todd Helton	Colorado Rockies	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	7
22	Jayson Werth	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	6
23	Adam Dunn	Washington Nationals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	3	5
24	Juan Pierre	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
25	Justin Upton	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
26	Raul Ibanez	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
27	Ubaldo Jimenez	Colorado Rockies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
28	Brian McCann	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	4
29	Dan Haren	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	4
30	Michael Bourn	Houston Astros	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3
31	Yadier Molina	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3
32	Nyjer Morgan	Washington Nationals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
33	Yunel Escobar	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

Happy Veterans Day

2009-11-11T16:15:02Z

Pfc. Preston Snook leans back and waits for his pitch during a pick-up baseball game on Camp Fallujah’s sandlot baseball field. Marines from Regimental Combat Team 5 gather weekly to play ball, a way to relieve the stress of being deployed and relive their dreams of one day being a Major League Baseball player. (Photo by: Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva, 1st Marine Division)

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Thanks to all of our veterans and active duty military who have dedicated their lives to the safety of our country. There's really nothing that can be said to appropriately capture your importance, but know that I'm appreciative.

SBN Awards: Cy Youngs go to Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum

2009-11-11T15:00:28Z

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

2 months ago: Fans note Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Zack Greinke's 15th strikeout of the baseball game, during the eighth inning against the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo. Greinke set a new franchise record for most strikeouts in a game. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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As is to be expected, Zack Greinke took home the SBN Cy Young in a landslide. If the results had gone any other way I would have been astounded. The fact that one person gave a first place vote to Roy Halladay is actually annoying me. Here are your complete rankings:

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	28	1	-	143
2	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	17	6	57
3	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	8	9	33
4	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	1	2	11	22
5	CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	1	2	5
6	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	1	1

When I was deciding who to vote for, it all came down to four names. Greinke, Halladay, Felix Hernandez, and Justin Verlander. I ended up giving my first place vote to Greinke, 2nd place to Justin Verlander, and 3rd place to Felix Hernandez. Looking back at the numbers I probably should have voted King Felix with my second place vote. I must have been dazzled by Verlander's K numbers. They didn't glamor duck, though, as his votes went to Greinke, Hernandez, and Halladay.

To get an idea of just how good Greinke and his runners up were in 2009, here are their stats:

Player	WHIP	H/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	HR/9	IP	GS	CG	SHO	ERA	ERA+	HR	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Zack Greinke	1.073	7.65	2.00	9.50	4.75	0.43	229.1	33	6	3	2.16	203	11	.230	.276	.336	.611
Roy Halladay	1.126	8.81	1.32	7.83	5.94	0.83	239.0	32	9	4	2.79	157	22	.256	.285	.382	.667
Felix Hernandez	1.135	7.54	2.68	8.18	3.06	0.57	238.2	34	2	1	2.49	174	15	.227	.287	.318	.605
C.C. Sabathia	1.148	7.71	2.62	7.71	2.94	0.70	230.0	34	2	1	3.37	133	18	.232	.292	.360	.653
Justin Verlander	1.175	8.21	2.36	10.09	4.27	0.75	240.0	35	3	1	3.45	132	20	.243	.295	.369	.665
Jon Lester	1.230	8.23	2.83	9.96	3.52	0.89	203.1	32	2	0	3.41	139	20	.242	.301	.366	.667

Not bad, not bad at all. Greinke's numbers are just sick. SICK. Look at that HR/9. Look at that ERA. Amazing. In 28 of his 33 starts, Greinke gave up 3 earned runs or less. He won 16 games this year, which is very respectable, but if he'd been on a team with a half decent offense his win total could have been staggering. The Royals went just 17-16 in his starts. They managed to lose 8 games when Greinke allowed 2 or less earned runs. And that's why wins as a stat are useless :)

Check out the National League results below the jump. The final award, Most Valuable Player, will be announced tomorrow.

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	18	13	-	129
2	Chris Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	9	4	7	64
3	Adam Wainwright	St. Louis Cardinals	4	4	10	42
4	Javier Vazquez	Atlanta Braves	-	5	7	22
5	Dan Haren	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	3	4	13
6	Ubaldo Jimenez	Colorado Rockies	-	1	1	4
7	Cliff Lee	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	1	1
8	Jair Jurrjens	Atlanta Braves	-	-	1	1

Adam Jones Wins the Gold Glove: First for the O's since '99

2009-11-10T20:58:21Z

More photos » by Gail Burton - AP

This is Jones' first GG, and the first for an Oriole since Mike Mussina won in 1999. The Orioles haven't had a GG in the outfield since Paul Blair in 1975. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

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Congratulations to Adam Jones. It's very exciting to have a Baltimore Oriole recognized for anything positive, especially when the accolades are so few and far between these days. Adam is an exciting young player and I couldn't be happier to have him on my team. According to the Bill James Handbook and Fielding Bible, he had the highest range factor of any center fielder and led in home run saving catches and outfield arm saved runs. Adam Jones is a very good defensive baseball player and I believe he'll only improve. Here are some of his great plays from 2009:

August 29th: Two great catches against the Indians

August 18th: Hauling in Reid Brignac's drive

August 16th: Stealing a Grand Slam from Mike Napoli

July 31st: Throwing out Big Papi

July 29th: Helping out Chris Tillman

July 12th: Robbing Alex Rios

June 29th: Robbing Youk while Gary Thorne makes a fool of himself

May 19th: Not so fast, Robinson Cano

May 7th: Diving catch against Justin Morneau

May 3rd: Blowin' bubbles, making leaping catches, it's what he does

April 28th: Take a seat, Chone

He's amazing, right?

However.

There is a reason the Gold Gloves are considered a joke by a lot of people. Anyone who pays attention to baseball knows that the best outfielder this year was actually Adam Jones' replacement in Seattle, Franklin Gutierrez. He was the best and it wasn't even close. Additionally, Carl Crawford has been one of the best defensive outfielders for years but he's never won a Gold Glove. That guy playing next to Crawford in Tampa Bay, B.J. Upton, is also deserving.

Torii Hunter and Ichiro Suzuki have had the two-thirds of the OF Gold Gloves locked down for years. If Adam had won instead of Hunter I'd feel a lot better about the award. If Crawford or Gutierrez had won instead of Hunter or Ichiro, I'd feel a lot better about Adam Jones winning.

I really hate that I can't feel awesome about this. But I can't. I love Adam Jones and there is no doubt in my mind that one year, probably in the near future, he will play centerfield at such a level that he deserves the GG. But this year isn't it.

Here is your complete list of American League Gold Glove Winners.

C	Joe Mauer
1B	Mark Teixeira
2B	Placido Polanco
3B	Evan Longoria
SS	Derek Jeter
OF	Torii Hunter
OF	Adam Jones
OF	Ichiro Suzuki
P	Mark Buehrle

SBN Awards: Rookie of the Year awarded to Elvis Andrus and Tommy Hanson

2009-11-10T15:00:39Z

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Elvis Andrus, SBN's AL Rookie of the Year. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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Below are the results for Rookie of the Year as voted by the SBN baseball writers. Elvis Andrus, the slick fielding shortstop from Texas, narrowly beat A's pitcher Andrew Bailey in the American League and Braves starting pitcher Tommy Hanson solidly won in the National League.

My votes in this category were as follows: Elvis Andrus, Brad Bergesen (the only one to give our boy a vote!), and Gordon Beckham. duck was even more of a homer than me as his votes were for Nolan Reimold, Matt Wieters, and Elvis Andrus.

Andrus wasn't too mighty with the bat, hitting just .267/.329/.373, but his fielding was so impressive that he ended 2009 with a WAR of 3.0.

My vote for Brad Bergesen was a sentimental one, for sure, but I do think he deserves the recognition. Despite not throwing a pitch after July 30th (thanks a LOT, Billy Butler), Bergesen still ended the season with a WAR of 2.3. There's no doubt in my mind that if 3E1N hadn't gotten in the way of the Butler line drive that he'd be much closer to the top of this list, if not number one.

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Elvis Andrus	Texas Rangers	6	9	6	63
2	Andrew Bailey	Oakland Athletics	11	1	3	61
3	Jeff Niemann	Tampa Bay Rays	3	5	3	33
4	Rick Porcello	Detroit Tigers	2	7	2	33
5	Brett Anderson	Oakland Athletics	5	1	3	31
6	Gordon Beckham	Chicago White Sox	1	2	8	19
7	Nolan Reimold	Baltimore Orioles	1	-	1	6
8	Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	3	6
9	Brad Bergesen	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	-	3
10	Ricky Romero	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3
11	Travis Snider	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3

Check out the National League list below the jump. The results for Cy Young voting will be posted tomorrow.

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

Camden Crazies Projections

2009-11-10T00:42:07Z

Camden Crazies Projections

Head over to Camden Crazies to contribute your 2010 projections for the Orioles. I'm not planning on doing any community projections (all that number compiling makes my head hurt), and the more people who contribute the better the outcome will be.

MLB Trade Rumors Predicts Delgado to the Orioles

2009-11-09T16:27:12Z

More photos » by Henny Ray Abrams - AP

Whatddya say, Carlos? Interested in donning the orange and black? (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

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MLB Trade Rumors has released its list of the top 50 free agents for 2010 along with predictions where each will end up. They give the Orioles one player on the list: Carlos Delgado.

My first instict was, "Thanks, but no thanks." Delgado is old as the hills and he was injured most of last year. After I let it marinate for a few hours, though, I think I may be warming up to it just a bit. Don't get me wrong, it's not a signing that excites me, but it sort of goes along the same lines as signing Jim Thome. If he's healthy, Delgado will probably give you 25-30 HR and an OBP in the mid 300s. He'd be a risk given his injury last year but that might also make him 1) something of a bargain, and 2) willing to come to the Orioles because there isn't much of a market for him. His injury, by the way, was a labrum tear in his hip, similar to the injuries by Alex Rodriguez and Chase Utley, both of whom came back with no further problems (but neither of whom are 38 years old).

An argument against Delgado (and Thome, for that matter) is the fact that the Orioles have been pretty horrendous against left-handed pitching, and he doesn't provide much help in that area. While he has a career OPS of .806 against lefties, in the past few years they look more like this: .769, .752, .704, .789, and .965 (in just 26 games). While those are all higher than the Orioles team OPS of .691 against lefties, it's still not very impressive*. Even so, Delgado would still be an improvement as a 1B/DH.

So what say you? Yay or nay on Carlos Delgado?

*Also, just as aside, it's possible the O's will do better against LHP in 2010 just by virtue of not having Aubrey Huff (.650 OPS against LHP) and Melvin Mora (.690) in the lineup, not to mention possible bouncebacks by Nick Markakis (.682 OPS against LHP in '09, .843 in '08, and .751 career) and Ty Wigginton (.650 in '09, .840 career)

SBN Awards: Mike Scioscia & Jim Tracy win Manager of the Year

2009-11-09T15:00:34Z

More photos » by Jae C. Hong - AP

Manager of the Year? You don't say! (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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The SBN baseball writers have voted on Manager of the Year for the National and American Leagues. The AL award goes to Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the NL award to Jim Tracy of the Colorado Rockies. Each blog was given two ballots for the awards that correspond with the league of the team it writes for. Votes were placed this year by myself and duck for the AL.

Whenever I'm asked about managers I'm never entirely sure the criteria on which I should judge them. I'm always capable of noticing the things I dislike about managers (especially Orioles managers), but it's harder to detect what makes a good manager, especially when the talent on the teams varies so greatly.

When smart people are asked about good managers, Mike Scioscia is usually near the top of the list. Scioscia, as has been noted by several people here, tends to get the best out of his teams. He effectively uses "small ball" and consistently runs fundamentally sound teams.

I didn't vote for him, though. Well, not for first place. I think that Mike Scioscia is a very good manager, don't get me wrong. But it's hard to determine how much of an affect a manager does or doesn't have on his team. The Angels are a well funded team with talented, high-paid players. I don't hold that against Mike Scioscia, certainly, but it does make his job easier. There's no way to know what he'd do with a different team, which is one of the things that makes choosing a MoY so tricky. My heart and head said to vote for a manager who took a team with less than optimal resources kept his team going strong throughout the year and got them to do things they didn't seem capable of. That's why my first place vote when to Rod Gardenhire.

On August 15th the Minnesota Twins were 56-60, in third place, and 6 games behind the first place Tigers. A good offense couldn't keep up with the ineffectiveness and injuries of the starting rotation, and it looked like 2009 wouldn't be the Twins year. But from August 15th to the end of the season the Twins buckled down and went 31-16, including a tie-breaking game against the Detroit Tigers the day before the Division Series started. What did Ron Gardenhire have to do with this? Who knows for sure. But the Twins didn't fade down the stretch and didn't lose their motivation, despite a rotation being filled with rookies, despite losing Justin Morneau on September 12th, when they were still 5.5 games out of first. Without Morneau, their 2nd best hitter, they'd lose just four more games over the final 21 games of the year.

Picking the best manager is hardly a science. The Twins weren't the most talented and they didn't have much luck, and Ron Gardenhire kept them going over 163 games and got them into the postseason. I think there's something to be said for that.

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Mike Scioscia	Los Angeles Angels	9	8	3	72
2	Ron Gardenhire	Minnesota Twins	9	5	1	61
3	Don Wakamatsu	Seattle Mariners	6	3	8	47
4	Joe Girardi	New York Yankees	2	4	2	24
5	Ron Washington	Texas Rangers	1	4	4	21
6	Terry Francona	Boston Red Sox	1	1	3	11
7	Jim Leyland	Detroit Tigers	-	2	4	10
8	Joe Maddon	Tampa Bay Rays	-	1	1	4
9	Ozzie Guillen	Chicago White Sox	-	-	1	1
10	Trey Hillman	Kansas City Royals	-	-	1	1

My second place vote went to Mike Scioscia and my third place vote went to Jim Leyland (although I don't really know why I voted for Leyland). Strangely enough, duck voted exactly the same way. I didn't vote for the NL Manager of the year, but check out the results below the jump. And keep an eye out over the next few days for the SBN Rookie of the Year, MVP, and Cy Young.

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Jim Tracy	Colorado Rockies	24	1	2	125
2	Tony LaRussa	St. Louis Cardinals	3	7	10	46
3	Fredi Gonzalez	Florida Marlins	2	6	5	33
4	Joe Torre	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	9	2	29
5	Charlie Manuel	Philadelphia Phillies	-	3	5	14
6	Bruce Bochy	San Francisco Giants	1	1	1	9
7	Bobby Cox	Atlanta Braves	-	1	4	7
8	Bud Black	San Diego Padres	-	1	1	4
9	John Russell	Pittsburgh Pirates	-	1	-	3

Eddie Murray Video: Amazing

2009-11-09T03:55:57Z

I was just reading through some old stories over at Right Off Russell and found what can only be described as the most amazing commercial in the history of ever. Please enjoy, and thanks to RoR for bringing it into my life.