Reimold Making Things Difficult by Not Struggling

Today was supposed to be my day of peace and quiet; a day to start some new pieces and finish some old ones. It has been a struggle. Yes, there’s been peace and quiet around the house, but I haven’t been able to make use of it. I started by struggling to find determination; instead of writing I spent a good hour playing Super Bobolz and Spot The Difference on games.com.

(I went to the site just now to verify the names of the games. I was worried that I was going to get sucked back in, restarting this process. Charlie Sheen has Charlie Sheen. I have games.com. Not winning.)

After finally finding my drive to write, AKA getting annoyed by the fact that even though I clicked on the freakin’ difference in Spot The Difference, that damn game wouldn’t accept it, I began to work on a large (secret) article that I have coming up. I struggled again there while trying find an aerodynamicist on Google and everywhere else on God’s green internet. Even the Yellow Pages that just happened to have been delivered today — don’t worry, I checked my calendar to make sure it was still 2011 and I wasn’t in some kind of even-more-awful version of Hot Tub Time Machine — didn’t have any listings for aerodynamicists.

I gave up (temporarily) on the aerodynamicist hunt and turned my attention toward my growling stomach. I even struggled (and still am) to find food.

Nolan Reimold knows all about struggling.

(Yes, I struggled to come up with a transition. Hey, at least I made it to the second paragraph before making a Charlie Sheen reference.)

In 2010, Reimold did nothing but struggle from start to finish. The 2010 Spring Training season saw him start off 0-for-22, making the Opening Day roster by the skin of his teeth.

He only lasted until May 11th with the big club, batting .205 with a .639 OPS, two homeruns, and twenty strikeouts in 83 at bats. He also struggled in the field, but we already knew that given his league leading five errors in 2009 as a left fielder.

Reimold even struggled with triple-A Norfolk, batting only .249 with a .738 OPS, both minor league career lows. He did, however, hit ten homeruns and steal nine bases.

As a September call-up, Reimold still struggled, hitting .212 with a .532 OPS. He had one homerun, and a six-to-one strikeout to walk ratio. He only appeared in ten games in the season’s final month.

Reimold’s entire career was in question. After a monstrous sophomore slump, there were doubts that he would be able to even sit on a major league bench again, especially with Felix Pie playing much better than his reputation.

The Orioles’ offseason didn’t go Reimold’s way either, adding Vladimir Guerrero and forcing Reimold to beat-out both Pie and Luke Scott for a starting role in left.

It was getting easier and easier to leave Reimold off the Opening Day roster.

That is, until the first swing Reimold took of the 2011 Spring Training season. He took the Pirates’ Paul Maholm deep over the left-center field wall.

In all, Reimold is three-for-nine on the season, has a .538 OBP and a 1.000 slugging percentage. He has hit two homeruns, tying him for the team lead with Jake Fox and Nick Markakis. He has driven in four runs, also tied with Fox’s and Markakis’s marks. Reimold’s four walks, however, does lead the squad.

Meanwhile, Felix Pie isn’t getting his name mentioned. Pie is batting .200 in ten at bats. His OBP also sits at .200, his SLG at .400. He hasn’t connected for any homers, but both of his hits are doubles and has driven in a run.

Keep in mind, many decisions in the spring are not made from the game stats, rather from the mechanical point of view. Pie can hit .100 in 20 at bats in the spring but still make the team over a .500 hitting Reimold only because Pie looks better in the field and at the plate – hitting balls hard, just right at fielders.

There simply isn’t room for both Reimold and Pie on the active roster, having five outfielders is pointless. It is hard to give the nod to Reimold after last season’s performance and his lack of defensive abilities. Pie would be on the bench for a late inning defensive replacement of Luke Scott. What would Reimold do off the bench?

But Reimold is making it a tough choice for Buck.

I’m kind of disappointed that Randy Winn has realistically no chance of making the ball club. I was all ready to make my WINNing sign.