NumerOlogy

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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Five more cuts today, as the Birds’ roster continues to take shape. #19 Ben Davis, #49 Hayden Penn, #71 Bob McCrory, #72 Fredy Deza, and #74 Zach Dillon are all headed to the minor league camp in Sarasota. McCrory’s the only cut that surprises me, as he’s had an impressive Spring. Of course, the new organizational focus seems to involve not rushing folks to the major leagues. Besides, Bob should get his shot in a month or two, when the bullpen is beset by its next round of bomb-outs/elbow injuries. The Orioles still have 45 players in camp, with open competitions at shortstop, utility infielder, backup catcher, fifth starting pitcher, and a handful of bullpen slots.

I’ve got a Friday quickie for you:

• Roch Kubatko confirms that Aubrey Huff has switched from #19 to #17 to honor former Tampa Bay teammate Joe Kennedy, who passed away on November 23 due to heart disease. Joe had worn #17 with the then-Devil Rays in 2002 and 2003.
• New pitching coach Rick Kranitz is sporting #39, last worn by reliever Jim Hoey. Hoey is listed on the roster as #27, which should be free now that Jaret Wright is out to pasture.
• Finally, I wanted to pass along a link to reader Kasey Ignarski’s website, which has year-by-year rosters for the Chicago Cubs dating back to 1932(!) as well as an all-time roster. Kasey’s actually gotten some help from the Cubs in completing his research, which is very cool.

It seems like only yesterday that pitchers and catchers reported to Fort Lauderdale for the Orioles. That’s probably because it was yesterday. As soon as I see more pictures and everyone gets to camp, I’ll try to roll out a Spring Training Roster, so we can keep ourselves occupied with numerical comings and goings from now until the games start to count. We already have one confirmed number change for 2008; Roch Kubatko reports that Daniel Cabrera has switched from #35 to #40. Hopefully we’ll find out why, but considering his recent performance, it couldn’t hurt to change things up. Glancing over the Baltimore Sun’s roster, there are some other items of interest:

• Greg Aquino is listed as #35; he would replace Cabrera in that number.
• Fernando Cabrera might supplant Kris Benson as #34; he wore #23 late in 2007.
• Speaking of #23, that now seems to reside with Rocky Cherry, who was last seen in #38.
• Jon Leicester still claims #52, so it appears that George Sherrill will make do with #51.
• Radhames Liz jumps up to #64, with nonroster invitee Matt Wieters taking Liz’s old #58.
• Steve Trachsel is back in #41, which briefly resided with Victor Zambrano after Trachsel’s trade to the Cubs.
• Among other pitchers who have a good shot at making the team, Troy Patton is assigned #43 and Dennis Sarfate looks to have jumped on Erik Bedard’s new available #45.
• Guillermo Quiroz, the early favorite to back up Ramon Hernandez at catcher, sports a number familiar to O’s backstops - #24.
• Only notable digits among infielders go to Scott Moore, who swaps #43 for #9 (formerly the property of Paul Bako).
• In the outfield, new Orioles Adam Jones (#10) and Luke Scott (#30) will likely keep the numbers they’d most recently worn in Seattle and Houston, respectively.
• Has Aubrey Huff turned over a new leaf? He may have given up #19 in favor of #17.  Aubrey has worn #19 for his entire major league career except for the second half of 2006, when he wore #9 with the Astros.

Of course, for now these numbers should all be taken with a grain of salt. After all, that same roster currently lists Chris Tillman’s age as -1, and several numbers have changed just today.