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.

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.

There was a vacancy in #14 because Lou Montanez switched to #2 as soon as Ryan Freel was booked on a flight to Chicago. This is Lou’s third uniform number since his debut last August (he wore #3 at that time). He’s the 26th Oriole to wear three different numbers. Two others have worn four each, and you can check out the list on the Odds and Ends page.

Oh, and #41 Bob McCrory was put on the swift boat to Norfolk after last night’s game-wrecking performance (FOUR walks?). I can feel my jaw clenching, so we’ll leave it at that.

More to the point: here in April, gone in May. I hope no one got attached to utility player #2 Ryan Freel, who had two hits in fifteen at-bats over nine games before being concussed by an errant pickoff throw in Boston. While he recuperated, Freel let off some steam about his lack of playing time in Baltimore, and when he was ready to return, the Birds dealt him to the Cubs for all-speed, no-anything else outfielder Joey Gathright, who will fill a roster spot at AAA Norfolk. Que sera, sera.

Speaking of injuries, third baseman #6 Melvin Mora returned from a tweaked hamstring at the end of the April. To clear a roster spot, reliever #34 Matt Albers was sent to Norfolk for the second time this year to work out the kinks. Then last week, righthander #45 Dennis Sarfate discovered that a kink in his shoulder was causing numbness in the middle finger of his pitching hand. He’s been shut down for the foreseeable future, so he’s been replaced by #41 Bob McCrory. McCrory debuted last year in #31, but struggled with his command and was quickly shipped out again. When he resurfaced in September, it was in #41. So at least they’re trying to give the kid a sense of stability.

Of course, there could be more changes on the way. #30 Luke Scott appeared to injure his shoulder pretty badly yesterday afternoon, and if he’s out for an extended period of time, either Oscar Salazar or Nolan Reimold should get the call from Norfolk. I might be back sooner rather than later.

As of Monday, the roster limit has expanded from 25 to 40. The Birds’ roster currently stands at 31 *ahem* strong. So how did we get there?

• #19 Oscar Salazar recalled from AAA Norfolk. (Since he was needed on 8/30 after Melvin Mora’s hamstring injury, #62 Radhames Liz was “demoted”, but traveled with the team until rosters expanded anyway.
• #10 Adam Jones activated from the 15-day disabled list. Welcome back, Dr. Jones.
• #18 Garrett Olson recalled from Norfolk, because somebody has to start these games.
• #25 Jim Miller recalled from Norfolk. The reliever is the forty-third Oriole player in 2008, and the eighth to make his major league debut this season. He’s also number twenty-four in the #25 jersey, the most recent being pitcher Kurt Birkins (2006-2007).
• #31 Kam Mickolio recalled from Norfolk. I told you he’d be back!
• #41 Bob McCrory recalled from Norfolk. He’d worn #31 during his cup of coffee in April and May. But with both he and Mickolio getting the call at the same time, something had to give. He’s the twenty-second Oriole to don #41, which was previously the property of the dearly departed Steve Trachsel.
• As previously mentioned, #62 Radhames Liz was recalled, but not really.

Now I’m going to wrap this up before one of the gopher balls that the weary O’s pitching staff keeps tossing lands on my keyboard. It’s gonna be a looooong month, folks.

Well, Chapter 2 of the Steve Trachsel Era in Baltimore has ended with an inglorious thud. The ponderous, junkballing veteran who The Dugout once referred to as the “Worst Tom Glavine Ever” was designated for assignment on Tuesday, two days after proving that even an eight-run lead isn’t safe in the ninth inning in the hands of certain people. So the #41 jersey goes back into mothballs.

In the Trashman’s stead, the O’s promoted infielder Oscar Salazar from AAA Norfolk. The 29-year-old Venezuelan’s entire body of work in the major leagues consists of twenty-one at-bats in 2002 with Detroit. Though the Birds are 0-for-2 in the two games he’s played so far, he does have two hits and an RBI in his first five at-bats for the team. He’s been outfitted in #19, making him just the fifteenth Oriole to don the number that belonged to great lefty Dave McNally for thirteen years. Salazar is the 34th different player to suit up in orange and black in ‘08.