Tonight we are honored to have Steve Melewski as our guest. You can find Melewski blog over at MASNSports.com. We are expanding our show tonight from half-hour to an hour. With opening day only a little over a month away we will be talking about the line-up situation, injuries, recent intrasquad game, and other O’s news. Tune in tonight at 9:00pm to listen to exclusive Orioles talk. Listeners are also encouraged to call into the show with the number provided below. We also provide a chat room for listeners to discuss O’s news and events during the live show. Be sure to tune in!
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Tonight we are honored to have Steve Melewski as our guest. You can find Melewski blog over at MASNSports.com. We are expanding our show tonight from half-hour to an hour. With opening day only a little over a month away we will be talking about the line-up situation, injuries, recent intrasquad game, and other O’s news. Tune in tonight at 9:00pm to listen to exclusive Orioles talk. Listeners are also encouraged to call into the show with the number provided below. We also provide a chat room for listeners to discuss O’s news and events during the live show. Be sure to tune in!
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A lot of rumors have been swirling around about the Padres willing to trade power-hitter Adrian Gonzalez. A few of the teams that have mentioned are the White Sox, Mariners, and the Orioles. Although a long shot, Gonzalez is just the type of player we need in our lineup.
The problem is, are we willing to part ways with top prospects. Our cavalry is finally starting to break into the majors, and you know that’s who the Padres will be targeting. I have to believe Matusz is one of the players that MacPhail views as untouchable. The Padres will most likely be looking for a deal that includes Tillman, Erbe, and probably Snyder.
The thought of having a power-bat in the middle of the line-up is nice, but not worth it. Gonzalez will be a free agent at the end of the 2011 season, and will be a player the Red Sox and other high paying clubs will target. It’s not worth trading away our future for one player. Hopefully MacPhail will look over this trade unless he gets a bargain deal, which is doubtful. It would be better to hold onto our future players, and wait until a power-hitter hits free agency.
Daniel from CamdenCrazies and also the founder of Matt Wieters Facts will be joining us tonight on our podcast. The crew tonight has a very exciting show planned with a broad range of Orioles topics. With spring training underway, we will also give a scoop of the recent injuries that have been reported. It’s great to finally have baseball season right around the corner. Be sure as always to tune-in at 9:00pm est to listen to everything Orioles baseball. Listeners are also encouraged to call into the show with the number provided below.
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Garrett Atkins was born December 12, 1979, in Orange, California. Atkins was drafted out of High School, but elected to go the college route. He was one of biggest recruited players coming out of California, and ultimately decided to attend UCLA. During his time at UCLA, Atkins achieved many accomplishments, such as a 33-game hitting streak while also becoming the first three-time All-American. While at UCLA, Atkins played both first and third base.
Atkins was drafted in 2000 by the Rockies in the fifth round (137th overall). He broke into the majors three years later during the 2003 season. He appeared in 25 games with a .159 batting average with no home-runs. In 2004 he appeared in 15 games, while playing both third-base and left field. Atkins became the primary third-baseman for the Rockies in 2005. He appeared in 138 games, 13 home runs and finishing up with a .287 batting average.
He had his breakout season in 06 appearing in 157 games, 29 HR, and .329AVG. Following this season, Atkins was considered one of the better hitters in baseball. The following two seasons Atkins statics continually declined in almost every category. By the 09 season, Atkins had a total downfall. He finished the season with a horrible .226 avg and a lousy 9 home-runs. He was later benched for his poor performance.
On December 12, 2009, Atkins was non-tendered by the Rockies officially making him a free-agent. Ten days later the Orioles signed Atkins for 1 year $4 million deal with an $8.5 million club option for 2011. With the signing of Tejada, Atkins will be our starting first-baseman. The Orioles are hoping that he will regain his stroke, and return to a middle of the order guy who can hit around 25 home-runs.
The first four guys in the starting rotation are set with Millwood, Guthrie, Bergesen, and Matusz, which leaves one spot left. Last season Berken and Hernandez were in the rotation, but after their lackluster performance I doubt they will have a spot this season. Although I really like Berken, I don’t see him being anything more than an organizational depth player. Hernandez, did well last season holding guys on base will probably be moved to the pen unless he has a spectacular spring training. This leaves one sensible option for the 5th spot in the rotation, Chris Tillman.
Tillman will not be handed the spot as he will be competing against Troy Patton and Jake Arrieta. I like the upside of Arrieta, but I believe he will benefit from starting the year in Norfolk. Troy Patton will probably be Tillman’s biggest threat, which should become a good battle during spring training.
We acquired Lefty Troy Patton from the Tejada trade with Houston. He hasn’t broken into the majors yet with the Orioles, but he’s had two starts with Houston in 07. During them two starts he posted a 3.55 ERA in 12.2 IP, with a 0-2 record. I believe Patton could be a decent starting pitcher, although, I believe he is destineto become more of a facture in the bullpen. However, I would not be shocked if he broke the major league rotation out of spring training and goes-on to have a solid season with the O’s.
Out of all the players mentioned above, Chris Tillman has the highest upside. Tillman didn’t have the most success last season once he got called up in July, but it did show him a lot. He went started 12 games with the O’s last season and finished with a 5.40 ERA. With the emergence of Bergesen last season, we all set our standards a little high for Tillman when he got called up. We have to remember that Tillman is 3 years younger thanBergesen and is still learning how to pitch.
We do have a lot of young options for the 5th spot, but Tillman makes the most sense to me. He proved he can pitch in the minors, and once he got into August last season with the O’s after a lackluster September his pitching got a lot better. The best thing for Tillman with his age and prior success is to start the season in the majors and have Guthrie and Millwood to learn under.
The Orioles announced that they’ve reached agreement with Jeremy Guthrie on a one-year contract, thus avoiding an arbitration hearing next week and any potential hard feelings.
Guthrie filed for $3.625 million and the Orioles countered with $2.3 million. They agreed to $3 million, the projected figure based on past settlements.
Guthrie earned $650,000 last season while going 10-17 with a 5.04 ERA and a league-high 35 homers allowed in 33 starts covering 200 innings.
We all knew Guts just came off a down year, but we also knew he was due for a raise. Both players and the organization prefer to avoid arbitration hearings if possible, so it’s good to see both sides work out a deal. Guts provides a calming and veteran experience to our young pitching staff. If he’s able to control the long-ball this season which is something he’s always had problems with, we’ll see his ERA drop significantly. Hopefully with the addition of Millwood, he will feel more at ease being second in the rotation and not have the entire burden on his shoulders.
I’m sure most of us are sore after sholving snow all day. Tonight at 9PM be sure to sit back, relax and enjoy O’s talk from Lawrence and Isaac. Also, be sure to call into the show to voice your opinion.
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teams that have mentioned are the White Sox, Mariners, and the Orioles. Although a long shot, Gonzalez is just the type of player we need in our lineup.
go the college route. He was one of biggest recruited players coming out of California, and ultimately decided to attend UCLA. During his time at UCLA, Atkins achieved many accomplishments, such as a 33-game hitting streak while also becoming the first three-time All-American. While at UCLA, Atkins played both first and third base.