NumerOlogy

Another September has arrived with the Orioles buried deep in the cellar of the American League East. But this month also brings the potential for expanded rosters, which makes it a time of interest as it pertains to this site. The O’s have already called up four players from AAA Norfolk, three of whom have been here before in ‘09: relievers #24 Alberto Castillo, #34 Matt Albers, and #45 Dennis Sarfate. The fourth player has not been seen in Baltimore since 2006. Outfielder Jeff Fiorentino, affectionately known as “Screech” for his resemblance to the nerdy character from “Saved by the Bell”, had worn #16 in previous cups of coffee in 2005 and 2006. However, he has now made history as the first Oriole player to ever wear #70 in the regular season, which he did in replacing Adam Jones during Tuesday night’s loss to the Yankees. Wild stuff.

A little bit of news on the coaching staff, as John Shelby left the team over the weekend due to a death in the family. Minor league instructor Don Werner filled in for him (wearing #58) and will stay with the club until next Tuesday, when minor league pitching coach Mike Griffin will take his place. (All teams are allowed to carry an extra coach this month as well.) The O’s are also expected to add a few more players that day, including an infielder (likely Justin Turner), a catcher, and probably twenty or thirty pitchers. So I’ll be back next week with more updates, and I bet you can’t wait.

From Orioles Card “O” the Day

I think we can safely say that the Orioles have just become the first team in baseball history to replace Aubrey with Aubrey. Monday, the Birds traded #17 Aubrey Huff to the Tigers for minor-league pitcher Brett Jacobson. To fill Huff’s roster spot, they recalled first baseman #9 Michael Aubrey from AAA Norfolk. Michael becomes the 26th Oriole to wear the number, and the 19th player to make his O’s debut in 2009 (per Roch Kubatko).

Of course, #9 was available because Baltimore traded Gregg Zaun to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday 8/7 for minor-league first baseman John “Rhyne” Hughes. That paved the way for #16 Chad Moeller to return from Norfolk and reclaim his place as backup catcher. Easy come, easy go.

One more move from yesterday, as the two most frequently up-and-down members of the roster passed one another in the night. #34 Matt Albers is back to Norfolk for the third time in ‘09, and #31 Kam Mickolio takes his place in the bullpen and on the roster. Kam is in his third stint on the Birds’ roster this season and fifth overall. Both ends of this transaction were well-deserved.

What can you say about the team’s play since the All Star Break? Nothing that doesn’t give me a headache. They’re spoilers – in the sense that they’re doing their best to spoil my summer. C’mon, 2010.

Yes, it’s true. He’s finally here. It was a long two years, wasn’t it?

But first, let’s jump back for a second. Thursday night, David Hernandez became the fourth Orioles starter to earn a win in his major league debut in 2009 (following Koji Uehara, Brad Bergesen, and Jason Berken). Word is that no other team has accomplished this feat since 1900. The really good news? There’s plenty more where that came from. It might have to wait until next year, but Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, and Brian Matusz are the real gems in the organization. Hernandez became the sixth Oriole to ever wear #63, and the first pitcher since Nerio Rodriguez (oof). If he sticks around for a while, will he upgrade like Bergesen did? Time will tell.

The outgoing players this week were #37 Chris Ray, who heads down to AAA Norfolk to try to straighten out his mechanics, and #16 Chad Moeller, who will provide catching insurance for the Tides if he clears waivers.

Of course, the most breathlessly anticipated debut took place on Friday, as Matt Wieters crouched behind the plate at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for the first time.  He did so in #15, which he wore in Spring Training. (Either Jamie Walker wasn’t keen to give up #32 or he wasn’t asked.) He’s the 21st player to wear those digits in Baltimore. There are some good ones mixed in there (Hoyt Wilhelm and Davey Johnson, most notably), but you have to go back a ways. If you want to keep the hype train rolling, you should probably know that Thurman Munson is the only Major League Baseball player to have #15 retired in his honor (by the Yankees, of course). With all due respect to the late New York catcher, I hope Matt has a longer career and a less tragic ending.

I was at Friday night’s game, and it was overwhelming to hear the thunderous cheers for Wieters when he was introduced pre-game, when he threw out Josh Anderson on a bunt attempt at the beginning of the game, and for each of the four times he came up to bat. He might not have gotten a hit, but he collaborated with Brad Bergesen on an excellent game and, most importantly, an Orioles win. May it be the first of many in the Matt Wieters era.

Now that I have some time off for the holidays, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do here. This Hot Stove season hasn’t been an exciting one for the Orioles, but there has still been plenty of movement. Let’s review:

Going

#2 Luis Hernandez (Royals), #3 Freddie Bynum (Nationals), #13 Alex Cintron (free agent), #14 Eider Torres (White Sox), #15 Kevin Millar (free agent), #16 Jay Payton (free agent), #29 Adam Loewen (Blue Jays), #35 Greg Aquino (Indians), #40 Daniel Cabrera (Nationals), #54 Lance Cormier (free agent), #55 Ramon Hernandez (Reds), #57 Rocky Cherry (Mets), #63 Omir Santos (free agent)

Coming

Utility player/reckless nut Ryan Freel is the major league return from Cincinnati in the Ramon Hernandez salary dump. He wore #6 with the Reds, but Melvin Mora has occupied that number since 2000 and isn’t likely to budge. Freel wore #11 in Toronto, but would have to pry it from third base coach Juan Samuel. We’ll wait and see.

Defensively-gifted shortstop Cesar Izturis should be an upgrade from the five-headed monster that the O’s tried at the position in 2008. The free agent acquisition has worn #3 for most of his career; he’ll probably keep it in Baltimore, since Lou Montanez doesn’t exactly have seniority and isn’t a lock to make the team in the Spring.

Yesterday, the Birds reached an agreement with tall, mediocre-at-best lefthanded pitcher Mark Hendrickson, most recently of the Marlins. I understand that we’re desperate for veteran arms, but he seems likely to be the second coming of Steve Trachsel (the 2008 vintage). I’ll reserve total judgment until the rest of Andy MacPhail’s offseason moves shake out, I suppose. Anyway, Mark has worn #30 since 2004 and was in #43 prior to that. Those numbers are currently the property of Luke Scott and Jim Johnson, respectively. It sounds like Hendrickson will also be in the market for a new number.

I’ve updated the site to close the book on all of the outgoing players listed above, and made one correction to a past Oriole. I recently came across a 1996 Upper Deck card of Rick Krivda, which has a photo of him pitching in Camden Yards while wearing #62. Based on my other sources and photographic evidence, it seems that he debuted in #62 before switching to #37 for the remainder of the season.

I’ll be back soon (honestly!) to talk about the other Oriole-centric news items this offseason: the new uniforms and Mike Mussina’s retirement. Happy New Year!