Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles acquire SS Juan Castro from the Rockies

chinmusic — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:46:02 +0000

The Orioles have acquired 35-year old righty swinging shortstop Juan Castro from the Rockies for infielder Mike McCoy. Castro made his debut with the Orioles last night and he whiffed in his only at bat. Castro also played in 7 games for the Rockies this season and he was 0 for 10 with 1 run scored. Castro will be pushing Brandon Fahey for the starting shortstop job on the Orioles but he isn’t much of an upgrade on him as neither of them are good hitters. Castro has now played in 931 games in his major league career and he is 510 for 2,220 (.230 avg, .602 OPS) with 211 runs scored, 33 homers and 195 RBIs.

The Baltimore Orioles place Greg Aquino on the D.L.

chinmusic — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:42:12 +0000

The Baltimore Orioles have placed righty reliever Greg Aquino on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain. Aquino has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) this season for the Orioles and he is 0-0 with a 12.54 ERA and a 2.79 WHIP. The Orioles have activated righty reliever Randon Bierd off the D.L. to replace Aquino in the bullpen. Bierd has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this season and he is 0-1 with a 2.03 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

With the exception of Jeremy Guthrie the Baltimore Orioles’ rotation has been awful

chinmusic — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:17:33 +0000

Jeremy Guthrie has been the only consistent starting pitcher for the Orioles this season. He is 5-7 despite having a 3.49 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP which is pretty darn good. But, either the offense doesn’t score for him or the bullpen blows it for him as he hasn’t had much luck this season. Daniel Cabrera started the season well but he’s back to his old tricks of not throwing strikes. He is 6-5 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP this year. Lefties Brian Burress (7-5, 5.02 ERA) and Garrett Olson (6-4, 5.65 ERA) have both been off more than on this season. Rookie righty Radhames Liz is a lot like Daniel Cabrera as he has great stuff but can’t throw a strike when he needs to. Liz is 3-2 with a 7.57 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP this year for the Orioles. If the rotation doesn’t improve soon the Orioles will have to being in some young pitching in trades for some veteran hitters.

The Baltimore Orioles appear to be playing over their head in 2008

chinmusic — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:58:40 +0000

The Baltimore Orioles are 45-48 this season which has them in last place in the American League East, 10 games behind the Red Sox. They are also 9.5 games behind the Rays for the Wild Card in the American League. Nick Markakis (.299 avg, 14 homers, 50 RBIs) and Brian Roberts (.296 avg, 62 runs scored, 27 stolen bases) have given the Orioles what they expect out of them. But, Aubrey Huff and Adam Jones have both played above expectations so far this season. Huff is known as a slow starter but he is batting .284 with 53 runs scored, 18 homers and 59 RBIs this season. Look for him to post the best numbers of his major league career in 2008 as long as he can just stay healthy. Adam Jones has not displayed the power the Orioles’ were hoping for this season but he’s still hitting the ball well. Jones is hitting .281 this year with 5 homers, 41 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Despite not hitting for good averages Luke Scott (14 homers), Kevin Millar (12 homers), Melvin Mora (11 homers) and Ramon Hernandez (8 homers) have all provided some punch in the lineup. The Orioles have a good enough offense to fight for the playoffs but the pitching will definately hurt them in the end….especially the starters.

Nolan Reimold is on a steady rise for the Baltimore Orioles

chinmusic — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:59:56 +0000

24-year old righty swinging outfielder Nolan Reimold is climbing up the organizational depth chart this season. He was the #4 prospect in the Orioles’ minor league system heading into this season according to Baseball America and he’s showing why now. Reimold has played in 94 games in AA-Ball this season and he is 101 for 348 (.290 avg, .859 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 15 homers, 48 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. If the Orioles continue to slump and trade some outfielders Reimold might get his big chance at the major leagues later this year.

Charles Tillman is pitching well in AA ball for the Baltimore Orioles

chinmusic — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:39:20 +0000

20-year old righty starting pitcher Charles Tillman is pitching very well in AAA for the Orioles. He was one of the keys of the Erik Bedard trade last winter as he was the #3 prospect in the Mariners’ minor league system according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook. Tillman has started 17 games in AA ball this season and he is 7-2 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He has whiffed 83 batters in only 80.2 innings this season which shows what kind of stuff he has. But, he needs to tighten up his control a bit as he has walked 41 batters this year. Tillman is making the Orioles’ front office look really sharp as it appears that they fleeced the Mariners really good over the winter.

The Baltimore Orioles place Adam Loewen on the D.L.

chinmusic — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:02:01 +0000

The Baltimore Orioles place lefty reliever Adam Loewen on the 15-day disabled list as he has re-injured his elbow. He has pitched in 7 games (4 starts) this season for the Orioles and he is 0-2 with a 8.02 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. The Orioles have recalled 32-year old lefty reliever Alberto Castillo-Betancourt from AAA to replace Loewen in the bullpen. Castillo-Betancourt has pitched in 19 games (0 starts) in AAA this season and he is 3-1 with a 2.05 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. He has whiffed 26 batters while only allowing 16 hits in 26.1 innings this season which shows he has decent stuff. It will be interesting to see how well Castillo-Betancourt handles his first shot at the major leagues.

George Sherrill has been solid as the closer of the Baltimore Orioles

chinmusic — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:04:38 +0000

Lefty closer George Sherrill has been everything the Orioles hoped for and more this season as he was part of the very impressive haul from the Mariners for Erik Bedard. Sherrill has pitched in 40 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this season and he is 2-3 with 27 saves, a 3.62 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Sherrill has been a little bit wild walking 20 batters in only 37.1 innings this season but he also has whiffed 38 batters showing that his stuff is good enough to work out of trouble.

The Baltimore Orioles have designated Ryan Bukvich for assignment

chinmusic — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:16:09 +0000

The Orioles have designated righty reliever Ryan Bukvich for assignment. Bukvich didn’t get much of a chance to show that he belonged with the Orioles as he only pitched in 4 games for them and he was 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA and a 2.81 WHIP. The Orioles have recalled righty reliever Greg Aquino to take over in the bullpen for Bukvich. Aquino was awful early this season for the Orioles working in 6 games in which he was 0-0 with a 14.21 ERA and a 2.84 WHIP. Aquino did turn things around in AAA ball after he was sent down which is why he’s getting another opportunity to show what he’s got. Aquino pitched in 23 games (0 starts) in AAA ball this season and he was 2-2 with 9 saves, a 2.45 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He also whiffed 29 batters in only 25.1 innings in AAA which shows that his stuff is still solid.

The Baltimore Orioles place Alex Cintron on the D.L.

chinmusic — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:16:03 +0000

The Orioles have placed shortstop Alex Cintron on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left hamstring. This is horrible timing for Cintron who had just recently been moved into the starting lineup. Cintron has played in 26 games for the Orioles this season and he is 19 for 69 (.275 avg, .667 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. The Orioles have recalled Freddie Bynum from AAA and he will share time at shortstop with Brandon Fahey until Cintron is ready to return. Bynum failed in his first shot this season as a starter for the Orioles. He played in 34 games this season for the Orioles and he was 19 for 99 (.192 avg, .480 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Brandon Fahey is a solid defender at shorstop but he’s never been much of a hitter. Fahey has played in 19 games for the Orioles this season and he is 7 for 32 (.219 avg) with 3 RBIs. The Orioles will miss Cintron’s bat as neither Bynum or Fahey is much of a threat with a piece of lumber in their hands.