NumerOlogy

This is the way things usually go with the upkeep of this site. I get busy and the team makes a minor roster move, like sending one guy to the disabled list and bringing another player off of it. So maybe I let it slide, and before I know it, I go out of town for a couple of days and all hell breaks loose. Of course, I was bright enough to book a vacation right in the middle of the MLB trade deadline, so that’s on me. Here’s a month’s worth of Orioles transactions for you, with all of the corresponding uni number news.

7/10: #3 Cesar Izturis was activated from the DL, and #63 David Hernandez was sent to AA Bowie to get some work during the All-Star Break.

7/19: #26 Oscar Salazar was traded to San Diego for reliever Cla (pronounced “clay”) Meredith. Meredith had worn #43 with the Padres, which belongs to Jim Johnson in Birdland. So Cla became the 19th Oriole to wear #26, making this trade a uni swap as well. It’s been duly noted on the Odds and Ends page.

7/20: #63 David Hernandez actually took Salazar’s roster spot, since Meredith didn’t arrive right away.

7/21: Meredith joined the team, and #31 Kam Mickolio was sent back to AAA Norfolk. This will become a theme.

7/29: The steadily worsening #51 Rich Hill finally took a trip to the DL with a shoulder injury. In a move that had been rumored for some time, prized pitching prospect Chris Tillman made his major league debut in his stead. He became just the third player in team history to wear #54, following pitchers John Habyan and Lance Cormier.

7/30: No sooner had I boarded my flight to Atlanta (the first leg of a trip to San Diego) than the Orioles announced that they were selling high, trading flat-billed closer #52 George Sherrill to the Dodgers for AA pitcher Steven Johnson (son of former #27 Dave Johnson) and AA slugger Josh Bell. The rebuilding isn’t complete just yet, after all.

7/31: After deflecting a line drive off of his shin the previous day, #35 Brad Bergesen was placed on the DL. Coupled with the Sherrill trade, the Birds had two spots to fill. They recalled #31 Kam Mickolio and reinstated #37 Chris Ray from the DL.

8/4: Say it with me: #31 Kam Mickolio sent back to Norfolk to make room for debuting starter (and 2008 first-round draft pick)  Brian Matusz. Brian helped the O’s set a modern major league record, as he was the fifth starter to win his major league debut this season. He did it in #52, which probably still has the outline of the “SHERRILL” lettering on the back. Matusz is the sweet sixteenth Baltimore player in this number. If you’re keeping track, he’s also the 41st different player to suit up in orange and black in ‘09.

Boy, the future arrived in a hurry, didn’t it?

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!

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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