Orioles Designate Bell For Assignment

A piece of the Orioles future that hasn't panned out, will now have to await word on his new destination.  In a move to clear a roster spot for newly acquired Luis Exposito, the Birds designated 3B Josh Bell for assignment.  Bell has not produced like the Orioles hoped.  As his statistics show, he currently has a slash line of .094/.256/.250.  That comes out to three hits in thirty-two at bats for the 25 year old.  

Exposito is a catcher who has spent his entire career in the Boston Red Sox organization.  He has yet to debut in the majors, but has exhibited some power hitting ability.  While Exposito will not crack the big league roster, it is good to have depth in the minors.  The Orioles start Matt Wieters six out of every seven days, with Paulino handling backup duties.  Taylor Teagarden is also in the organization, currently on the shelf with an injury.  

The coming days will reveal what the Orioles plans are with Bell moving forward.  They can place him on waivers, trade him, or release him.  This just goes to show that in baseball, anything can happen.  A once can't miss prospect is on the verge of being out of a job.  Whichever course of action the Orioles choose to take, I hope it benefits both parties in the future.  

Orioles Comeback In GRAND Fashion Against The White Sox

The Orioles had a comeback win last night against the Chicago White Sox to propel them into sole possession of 1st place in the AL East!  With six runs in the top of the 10th inning, capped off by a Matt Wieters grand slam, the Orioles improved their record to 6-4 on the young season.  Wieters came to play last night, as the switch hitter blasted two home runs with five runs batted in.

It was also the second great start for  young ace, Jake Arrieta, who only gave up two runs while striking out seven.  Matt Lindstrom and Pedro Strop both came in and neither allowed any earned runs.  The Orioles are also coming off a good series in Toronto, where they took two out of three from the Blue Jays.  Nolan Reimold has caught fire at the right  time.  We are showing good power early on in the year, with a balanced offensive output.  Our pitching, Matusz aside, has been quite good as well, keeping us in ballgames.

It feels good to be an Orioles fan right now, especially when we are STILL above those pesky Yankees in the standings.  Hopefully, the Birds can keep this good run going.  Best of luck to them and keep supporting and watching our team!

Is Wieters' Future With The Orioles?

I know it's early, but let me pose a question for you all.  Who has been the MVP so far this season?  Take a moment, think about it.  My vote of course, is backstop, Matt Wieters.  Yes, I realize we now are a whole 4 games into the 2012 season.  This topic came to me and got me thinking; we seem to be witnessing another season in the maturation of our young catcher.

Wieters is playing his age 26 season in 2012.  A quick glance at his career numbers, courtesy of Baseball Reference, indicate that his offensive capabilities are beginning to be realized at the major league level.  In 2011, Wieters hit 22 homeruns, which was good enough for the fifth highest total for a catcher that year.  The Orioles backstop also received a Gold Glove, awarded for defensive excellence over all other AL catchers.

Over the years, as Wieters was set to debut, I heard from analysts on TV, that he profiled as a "Mauer with power."  While that comparison was ridiculous at the time, if we revisit the conversation now, I think they compare favorably.  While Mauer is certainly the better overall athlete and pure hitter, Wieters holds the edge in power, durability, age, and is approaching Mauer defensively.

Another story that made me consider this topic was that of current St. Louis Cardinals catcher, Yadier Molina.  As many of you may have heard,  Molina signed an extension to stay in St. Louis (reaction to losing Pujols), which amounted to 5 years and $75 million.  You may ask, what does this have to do with Wieters?  The answer is that while Yadier Molina is currently better than Matt defensively, he has not shown the same power potential throughout his career.  Once the ink is dry on one contract, that contract effectively sets the market for that position.

The earliest that Matt Wieters can become a free agent is 2016.  If Wieters keeps improving his game and becomes a star, will the Orioles be able to resign him?  Wieters' agent is Scott Boras, notoriously known for pushing his players to test the free agent market.  I think the Orioles have no choice but to start exploratory talks to lock up their catcher now, before he effectively prices himself out of their range.  As of now, Molina set the bar at $15 million a year.  That number will probably only increase, given that Mike Napoli and Brian McCann (two other star catchers) are set to hit the market soon.

It would ABSOLUTELY be in the Orioles best interests to try and lock Wieters up now.  He can be a building block for our organization for years to come.  He handles the staff well, can throw out baserunners, holds his own offensively, and is a good clubhouse guy.  If Dan Duquette is listening or reading this, DO NOT let Wieters get away!! There would be NO worse feeling than seeing a homegrown guy flourish in another uniform!

Orioles Lose First Game to Yankees, 6-2 Final

Well it's official.  The Orioles are no longer undefeated.  The Yankees handed it to us tonight.  It was nice while it lasted.  It was evident tonight that Brian Matusz did not have his best stuff.  His pitch count was high, he wasn't getting first pitch strikes, too many walks, and overall inconsistency plagued him tonight.

The offense was held in check by Ivan Nova, other than a solo HR by Matt Wieters.  Wieters did have a 4 for 4 day at the plate which was the one bright spot.  The Orioles totaled five pitchers in todays game, with Matusz getting hit the hardest.  His four free passes certainly did not help things.  When you face the Yankees, having 13 hits but only 2 runs is unacceptable.  You CANNOT expect to win a game with two runs against them.

With all that said, tomorrow is a new day.  Wei-Yin Chen will take the mound in his MLB debut.  The Orioles may have that as an advantage since none of their players have faced the Taiwanese import.  All we can hope for is that the Orioles learned from today's mistakes and are able to salvage what is left of this big series with the Bronx Bombers.