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.

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!

…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!

Geez, I go to the Ocean for a week and things go topsy-turvy in Camden Yards! Since my last site update, there have been eight changes to the Baltimore roster, with #29 Adam Loewen’s shoulder injury signaling more turnover on the horizon. To sum up:

June 26: #34 Matt Albers placed on DL; #26 Fernando Cabrera recalled from rehab assignment at AAA Norfolk. The righthanded pitcher wore #23 in 2007; that number was occupied until recently by Ryan Bukvich (more on him later). Cabrera is the 36th different player to suit up in orange and black this season and the 17th to wear #26 in team history.

June 27: #19 Oscar Salazar optioned to AAA Norfolk; #12 Brandon Fahey recalled from AAA Norfolk. Why have pop on the bench when you can give Brandon another chance to prove that he’s not a major league shortstop?

June 30: #32 Jamie Walker placed on DL; #29 Adam Loewen activated from DL.Well, that was fun while it lasted.

July 1: #13 Alex Cintron placed on DL; #3 Freddie Bynum recalled from AAA Norfolk. I like Freddie as a person, but I’m really not crazy about him as a baseball player. The four-run error he committed yesterday afternoon sure isn’t helping matters.

July 5: #23 Ryan Bukvich designated for assignment; #35 Greg Aquino recalled from AAA Norfolk. Eesh. Bukvich was pretty terrible, but it’s not like Aquino was any better in his first stint in the O’s bullpen. My only question is: why not Rocky Cherry?

While I was away, I did some eBay shopping and picked up an Orioles team set of 1975 SSPC cards. Included in the set was a player I didn’t recognize, Mike Willis (pictured at left). According to the card back, he was a September callup from AAA Rochester who did not pitch in a single game during his time with the team. He’s listed as wearing #53, so I’ve added him to the roster. You never know what you’ll find when you pick up a stack of baseball cards!