NumerOlogy

I started a new job in September, and the Orioles’ customary late-season snooze didn’t do much to spur me to update the site, but I guess that’s the occupational hazard of the O’s fan/blogger. Still, there are roster moves to belatedly report.

September 8: #10 Adam Jones was placed on the disabled list with a sprained ankle. The second wave of expanded-roster callups included pitchers #55 Chris Lambert, #41 Bob McCrory, and #29 Chris Waters. McCrory and Waters had been in Baltimore before, but Lambert was a first-time Oriole and the tenth player to wear double-fives.

Two other new Birds made team history by becoming the first to wear their respective numbers in a regular season game: catcher #78 Guillermo Rodriguez and infielder #83 Justin Turner. These are exciting times, huh?

The O’s used their extra coaching slot in September to call up Norfolk pitching coach Mike Griffin, who had worn #42 as a pitcher for the club in 1987. This time around, he broke in the #91 jersey.

September 9: Deciding that they were just one marginal reliever away from perfection, the Birds added #53 Sean Henn (pictured) in a trade with the Twins. Henn had been with Minnesota’s AAA club in Rochester, whose season had already concluded. He was shocked to get the call at his Dallas home ordering him to fly to Boston to meet his new teammates! Sean became the tenth Oriole to wear Arthur Rhodes‘ old number.

September 19: Having lost another outfielder (#14 Nolan Reimold) to the disabled list, the club did an about-face and reinstated #2 Lou Montanez from the DL. #31 Kam Mickolio was also shut down in mid-September, but the team mercifully did not replace him with yet another relief arm.

This finally brings the 2009 season and its manifold roster moves to a close. According to the relentless Roch Kubatko, Baltimore used 48 players in these 162 games (27 pitchers, four catchers, nine infielders, eight outfielders). There were 23 first-time Birds, nine of whom made their MLB debuts. The all-time tally of O’s players stands at 871 (counting only those who have played in games). Pity the clubhouse attendant!

So what does 2010 hold? There’s already been word that rookie phenom #52 Brian Matusz wishes to switch to #17, the number worn by his favorite player, former Cubs first baseman Mark Grace.

Until the Hot Stove Season starts, let’s all take some time to decompress…and root against the Yankees, if you’re so inclined. I know that I am.

As of Monday, the roster limit has expanded from 25 to 40. The Birds’ roster currently stands at 31 *ahem* strong. So how did we get there?

• #19 Oscar Salazar recalled from AAA Norfolk. (Since he was needed on 8/30 after Melvin Mora’s hamstring injury, #62 Radhames Liz was “demoted”, but traveled with the team until rosters expanded anyway.
• #10 Adam Jones activated from the 15-day disabled list. Welcome back, Dr. Jones.
• #18 Garrett Olson recalled from Norfolk, because somebody has to start these games.
• #25 Jim Miller recalled from Norfolk. The reliever is the forty-third Oriole player in 2008, and the eighth to make his major league debut this season. He’s also number twenty-four in the #25 jersey, the most recent being pitcher Kurt Birkins (2006-2007).
• #31 Kam Mickolio recalled from Norfolk. I told you he’d be back!
• #41 Bob McCrory recalled from Norfolk. He’d worn #31 during his cup of coffee in April and May. But with both he and Mickolio getting the call at the same time, something had to give. He’s the twenty-second Oriole to don #41, which was previously the property of the dearly departed Steve Trachsel.
• As previously mentioned, #62 Radhames Liz was recalled, but not really.

Now I’m going to wrap this up before one of the gopher balls that the weary O’s pitching staff keeps tossing lands on my keyboard. It’s gonna be a looooong month, folks.

…This guy being the first, of course. The Orioles gave me one heck of a birthday present last night, confounding the Angels, 3-0. The man of the moment was one of the most unlikely heroes you could find, 27-year-old rookie #29 Chris Waters. Waters, a Braves draft pick in 2000, took seven years to make it to AAA. The lefty finally got the call to start for the O’s, who don’t really have a lot of viable options for the rotation. All that he did in his debut was hold the best team in baseball to one hit over eight innings, making him the sixth pitcher in the last 50 years to have such an auspicious introduction to the bigs. He also led the Birds to their fifth straight August 5th victory, which I personally appreciate. Waters took #12 Brandon Fahey’s roster spot, as “Fay-Fay” was optioned to AAA Norfolk once again.

It was a bit of a surprise for me to turn on the game and see Chris wearing Adam Loewen’s number. It was just last month that the young Canadian shut down his pitching career due to his latest elbow injury, and this sort of drove home the fact that he may never wear the O’s uniform again. In the meantime, Chris Waters is the 22nd #29 in team history, and he’s at least got a shot to wear it through his 28th birthday on August 17.

What would the Orioles do for an encore? Get creamed by the Angels, sadly. But there was another excellent first impression in today’s getaway game. Outfielder #3 Lou Montanez became the first Birds position player to hit a home run in his first plate appearance (pitcher #35 Buster Narum did the deed in 1963). Lou is another Y2K draft pick (3rd overall by the Cubs) who waited forever for the call. The circumstances are unfortunate, as his opening came with the placement of emerging rookie center fielder #10 Adam Jones on the disabled list with a broken bone in his foot.

According to MASN reporter Mark Viviano, Montanez had been wearing #21 at AA Bowie, which he was unlikely to wrest from Nick Markakis in Baltimore. The team assigned Lou #3, which he had apparently worn as a high schooler. He’s the 20th Baltimore baseballer to wear this number; the most recent had been alleged shortstop Freddie Bynum.

As the summer wears on, the roster continues to turn over. Waters and Montanez are the 39th and 40th players to suit up in orange and black in 2008, and the third and fourth to to wear recycled numbers. It’s a good thing I’m keeping track of the dates; two players to a number in any year can get confusing!

That’s right, it’s finally here! I’m realistic about the Orioles’ chances this year (as in, they have a chance to win 65-70 games), but they’re starting out even with everyone else at 0-0. There’s something refreshing about the feeling, however small, that anything is possible.

The final roster spot was claimed by Scott Moore, who will see time as a backup at the corners of the infield, and maybe even some second base. This meant that the O’s took another mildly surprising step in the rebuilding process by releasing #31 Jay Gibbons and treating the two years and $11.9 million they owed him as a sunk cost. The move isn’t surprising based on merit: as I stated last week, Gibbons has been chronically injured, has declined as a player in recent years, and is limited defensively. But it is surprising that Peter Angelos gave Andy MacPhail the green light to dump him and to eat all of that money. Although I (and most Baltimore fans) have been rough on Jay recently, this is still a bittersweet moment. He had been the second-longest tenured Oriole behind Melvin Mora, having spent his entire seven-year MLB career in orange and black. He seemed like a nice guy and a good teammate, and he was once a productive power hitter. But there’s just no room for him on this team any more, especially not at his current level of play. Best of luck to Jay wherever he goes from here.

I’ve been eager to update the site for the 2008 season ever since new players and new numbers started trickling into Fort Lauderdale nearly two months ago, and now that the roster is official, that’s just what I’ve done! There are updates to all of the number countdown pages where applicable, and of course the All-Time Roster. Let’s summarize the new guys, as well as a few number switches:

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