With pitchers and catchers reporting next Wednesday, I figured that I’d better check in with an offseason update before the offseason is actually over! Besides, one of my readers has been nudging me to get in gear for a few months, reminding me how “depressing” it is to pull up the site and find Sean Henn’s sad mug looking back at him.
Naturally, there’s been a lot of player movement since last we met here. I’ve updated the all-time roster to reflect the players who are no longer with the organization. Obviously, the most notable is third baseman #6 Melvin Mora, who leaves Baltimore after a decade in orange and black. He’ll be playing multiple positions with the Rockies, who have not yet assigned him a number. #6 appears to be available, though.
I’ve also made some long-overdue edits and additions to the number biography pages (0-9, 10-19, etc.) to reflect the players who have passed through since the beginning of 2009. Those edits include mention of a few number changes that have been announced since the end of the season:
-Miguel Tejada, returning to Birdland as a free agent, is switching to #9. He wore #10 for the O’s between 2004-2007, but says that he had no attachment to it. Maybe he just didn’t want to pay for the Rolex that current #10 Adam Jones named as his price for the digits. This displaces previous #9 Michael Aubrey, who is now listed on the team roster as #24.
-Blue-chip rookie pitcher Brian Matusz will switch from #52 to #17. The latter number, which belonged to then-O’s and now-Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff when Matusz arrived in August 2009, also happens to be the number of Brian’s favorite childhood player, ex-Cubs first baseman Mark Grace.
-Worldwide sensation and second-year catcher Matt Wieters swaps #15 for #32. Wieters wore #32 at Georgia Tech and throughout the minor leagues, but it belonged to not-long-for-Baltimore reliever Jamie Walker at the time of Matt’s Oriole debut last May. If you spent good money on a #15 WIETERS jersey already, don’t fret. You can just tell people that you were in on the ground floor!
I’ve already mentioned Miggy’s return to Camden Yards, but who are some of the other new faces who could be appearing on Eutaw Street this spring? Funny you should ask:
-The O’s acquired veteran starter Kevin Millwood (pictured at top) from Texas for a package headed by struggling reliever #37 Chris Ray. Though the #33 that Kevin wore with the Rangers has been retired here for Eddie Murray, mlb.com lists Millwood as #34, which he previously wore in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Cleveland. The incumbent #34 (Matt Albers) is listed as #37, for what it’s worth.
-The new first baseman will be ex-Rockie Garrett Atkins, who may find his #27 occupied by returning reliever Mark Hendrickson. Again, consulting mlb.com, Atkins is listed in the now-vacant #25.
-Former Pirates and Braves reliever Mike Gonzalez is expected to fill the closer’s role, and the #51 he’s worn throughout his big league career is available for the taking.
-The only other new acquisition that is considered a “favorite” to make the roster is lefty bullpen arm Will Ohman, a seven-year major league veteran who accepted a minor-league deal with a spring training invite as he seeks to prove that he’s rebounded from an injury-plagued 2009 season. If Ohman makes the cut, two numbers that he’s worn in other stops should be free for him – #13 and #50.
Well, I don’t want to bombard you with too much information after a four-month layoff, so I’ll pull up on the reins here and check back in after camp opens in Sarasota next week. Until then, have fun and stay off the roads if you’re in the path of Snowpocalypse 2010!
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.
Three posts in one week may be a new record for me at NumerOlogy. The Birds aren’t taking it easy on me in one sense. But as a fan, they’ve spared me from further torturous starting assignments by #27 Mark Hendrickson. On Saturday, #51 Rich Hill made his Oriole debut, replacing Hendo in the rotation and earning his first American League win by scattering five hits in five and two-thirds innings and striking out five. Rich wore #51 in the Grapefruit League, but spent the first month and a half of the regular season rehabbing an elbow injury. Now that he’s here, he becomes the 32nd member of the active roster so far in 2009. He’s also the 17th player in Baltimore history to try for success in that uni number. Jamie Moyer is the only player to have any luck in that task, as you can see 
Okay, now that Andy MacPhail seems to have eased up on his whirlwind of deal-making, it’s time for a final offseason update. The book is closed on another handful of 2008 Orioles:
(If the title of this post begs an explanation, watch 
I’ve gotten away from a hectic couple of weeks at work long enough to update the latest transactions in Birdland. Last Friday, #51 Randor Bierd had to be placed on the disabled list with a sore shoulder, and up from Norfolk to replace him is reliever Lance Cormier. Lance was given #54. He’s just the second Oriole player to ever wear the number, following in the footsteps of righthander John Habyan. Of course, former bullpen catcher Sam Snider practically owned five-four for the better part of two decades before pitching coach Leo Mazzone claimed it in 2006. I miss Sammy…I understand he’s coaching for Von Hayes‘ independent-league Lancaster Barnstormers now.
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.
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;