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.
All of a sudden, Birdland is a much more interesting place to be. Recapping the latest load of roster moves and uni news, and those yet to come:
The bruiser pictured at left is rookie outfielder Nolan Reimold, who is making his major league debut tonight in #14. He is the second player this year to wear the number, and the 25th all-time. Let’s hope he’s more Lee May than Chito Martinez. If his early-season performance at Norfolk is any indicator (.1.228 OPS, 9 HR, 27 RBI), Nolan might turn some heads.
Two weeks into the season, the Birds have already made five roster changes. The latest pair of moves came yesterday and paid immediate dividends. First, the outgoing O’s. Gone back to Norfolk is unstable pitcher #62 Radhames Liz, who thus far seems like an even worse reliever than he was a starter. He retired 4 out of 16 batters in two disastrous appearances on the recent road trip. Outfielder #2 Ryan Freel seems to be wearing out his welcome mighty quick. Given his early grumbling about playing time, and his sub-par performance in his rare starts, the club seemed almost eager to dump him onto the disabled list when he got pegged in the head with a pickoff throw on Monday.
Lots more player news to discuss. The first especially significant move of the Orioles offseason came earlier this week, when the club finalized a two-year deal with 34-year-old Japanese righthanded pitcher Koji Uehara (oo-eh-ara). In the short term, he’s a much-needed veteran arm with excellent control. Though he’s struggled with injuries the past few years, he still has a good chance to be a top starter for the Birds. Admittedly, that’s not saying much, but he’s still preferable to having to swallow Tim Redding or Paul Byrd as any kind of improvement over what we had. More importantly in the long-term, the O’s are finally players on the international market. If baseball is not going to subject foreign players to any kind of draft, Baltimore has to get their name out there. According to Uehara, the only thing that the Japanese know about the Orioles is Cal Ripken, Jr. It’s about time we did something about it. As you can see, Koji was given a #19 jersey at the press conference, which was his number for the Yomiuri Giants. It’s not surprising that it was available here, as last year’s #19, Oscar Salazar, is a long shot to make the club. Fingers crossed that Koji has some of the same good fortune in #19 that Dave McNally (and to a lesser extent Scott Erickson) did!
I’ve gotten away from a hectic couple of weeks at work long enough to update the latest transactions in Birdland. Last Friday, #51 Randor Bierd had to be placed on the disabled list with a sore shoulder, and up from Norfolk to replace him is reliever Lance Cormier. Lance was given #54. He’s just the second Oriole player to ever wear the number, following in the footsteps of righthander John Habyan. Of course, former bullpen catcher Sam Snider practically owned five-four for the better part of two decades before pitching coach Leo Mazzone claimed it in 2006. I miss Sammy…I understand he’s coaching for Von Hayes‘ independent-league Lancaster Barnstormers now.
To the left is Garrett Olson, one of a group of O’s who have been on the move in the past week. It started when #29 Adam Loewen went on the disabled list last Friday with elbow pain. He was replaced on the roster by infielder #14 Eider Torres, who made his major league debut over the weekend and became the twenty-third Birds player to wear one-four. The most recent had been another infielder (Chris Gomez).