By Mark Brown, on July 23rd, 2011 There have been a lot of shakeups in recent weeks in the closer role across baseball, and there is plenty more to come with the trade deadline around the corner. For those of you who are in need of saves or will soon be in need of saves after your closer is dealt to another team, here is the current closing situations in baseball, what you can expect in the future, and what would happen if injuries occur.
Arizona Diamondbacks- David Hernandez- Yes the former Oriole David Hernandez that our bullpen would love to have right now. (The Mark Reynolds deal was a good one for the O’s though.) Hernandez is a perfect 7/7 in save opportunities since closer JJ Putz went on the DL. Putz is currently rehabbing and is expected back next week. It’s too late to pick up Hernandez now, and he will only have value if Putz isn’t the same after his injury or gets injured again. Since the D-Backs are in contention Putz isn’t going anywhere.
Atlanta Braves- Craig Kimbrel- He’s been amazing all year. He’s in a three horse race for rookie of the year with teammate Freddie Freeman and Danny Espinosa. Jonny Venters is the best setup man in baseball, but Kimbrel has pitched well enough to hold the closer’s role over him. I do not expect Kimbrel to struggle or to lose that role so you can forget about stashing Venters for later this season.
Baltimore Orioles- Kevin Gregg- In his latest outing he was pulled in the 9th and Michael Gonzalez finished the 9th. The job is still Gregg’s for now (some how) so Gonzalez is not a good option. Even if Gonzalez was the closer he still wouldn’t be a good option since he is the worst relief pitcher in baseball. Koji Uehara obviously should be closing, but may not be with the team after the trade deadline. Here is my big prediction. IF Koji is still with the team after the deadline I believe he moves into the closing role. He is a risky add right now because of the uncertainty of where he will be. If he is traded he surely won’t be a closer elsewhere. If he is still an Oriole on August 1st he is worth adding and taking a chance on if your desperate for a closer.
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By Zach Wilt, on December 17th, 2009 I told you yesterday to be patient with the process and it’s paying off. Now I’ve got to give you one of those “catching up” posts.
- Chris Ray was traded to the Texas Rangers for starting Pitcher Kevin Millwood - Millwood, 34, was 13-10 with a 3.67 ERA last season with the Rangers.
- Birds sign relief pitcher Mike Gonzalez from the Atlanta Braves – Gonzalez, 31, was 10 of 17 in save chances last season with the Braves. Baltimore signed the lefty to a two year 12 million dollar deal. By the way O’s fans, he’s a Scott Boras client.
- Garrett Atkins fills in gap at 3rd - You knew MelMo wasn’t coming back. Today the O’s signed Garrett Atkins to a one year four million dollar deal.
- RUMOR: O’s interested in Matt Holliday? – Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that Baltimore has expressed interested in signing Matt Holliday from the Cardinals. “The Orioles have jumped into the bidding, though both the seriousness of their efforts and Holliday’s desire to play in Baltimore are in question, major-league sources say.”
- RUMOR: Reimold and Tillman for Adrian Gonzalez - Though I haven’t seen it written anywhere. The rumor floating around talk radio is that the Birds are interested in trading Nolan Reimold and Chris Tillman for Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Who knows how true that is, I’d venture to say not very. But, I’m just catching you up.
What do you think of the Birds latest moves and rumors?
By Zach Wilt, on December 9th, 2009 Okay, we were wrong. In this week’s edition of our podcast, Birds On The Wire, we discussed the MLB Winter Meetings and the Orioles roll in trades. We decided that it might be too early for the Birds to make some moves.
Today the Baltimore Orioles announced they would be sending some cash and Chris Ray to the Texas Rangers for starting pitcher Kevin Millwood. Though the deal is not yet official, it could be announced as early as this evening.
Great move for the O’s in my opinion. Millwood is a reliable innings eater at 34 years old and went 13-10with a 3.67 ERA last season. Chris Ray has been injury prone and incredibly inconsistent.
Another great move by Andy MacPhail. Keep ‘em coming.
By Zach Wilt, on September 3rd, 2009 
It was a nightmare series against the hottest team in baseball. The Orioles dropped three against the Yankees and lost by three 3+ runs in every game.
Jeremy Guthrie, Chris Ray, and Kam Mickolio got the losses in each of the games. The Orioles are just 3-12 against the Yankees this year and have lost 10 straight. The Orioles are 3-6 against New York in Baltimore and 0-6 at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees haven’t won ten in a row against the Orioles since 1955.
Last night, Felix Pie went 2 for 3. He’s got a seven game hit streak in which he’s hitting .407 and .382 over his last 18 games.
Baltimore is now 16-34 vs. the AL East and 32-36 in home games and have dropped four of their last five games.
By Zach Wilt, on July 31st, 2009 Looks like I spoke too soon about Brad Bergesen.
Today, the Baltimore Orioles put Bergy on the 15 day disabled list with bruised left shin.
The Orioles have also lost their closer, George Sherrill, in a trade to the Dodgers for two minor leaguers. Jim Johnson will most likely fill the closer’s role.
Baltimore recalled Kam Mickolio and Chris Ray to fill Sherrill and Bergesen’s roster spots.
By Steve Giles, on July 14th, 2009 Being overworked can take a toll on anyone, just ask the O’s bullpen. When your starters can’t get past the sixth inning on a regular basis and your bullpen has to come in and try to hold the lead or prevent further damage, it doesn’t take long to get worn down. The issue isn’t so much that the guys in the bullpen are pitching horribly, it’s just the fact that they are being overworked. The O’s bullpen has pitched 292 innings so far this season, which adds up to over three innings per game. This is way too many innings for any team, but especially for a team who doesn’t have the personnel to blow you away. The Dodgers, who have been one of the best teams in baseball, have also run their bullpen ragged this season by pitching 289.1 innings but have a 3.20 ERA to go along with it. The difference, however, is the Dodgers have guys like Ramon Troncoso and Ronald Belisario, before he went on the DL, who have the ability to shut down the opposing lineup and serve them to closer Jonathan Broxton on a silver platter.
Besides George Sherrill, there isn’t anyone in the bullpen that’s going to blow you away.
The O’s do have some guys that have good stuff, but not good enough to pitch as many innings as they have so far. When there is a call to the bullpen, fans collectively hold their breath, cover their eyes and hope for the best. They don’t have those one or two guys that the team has complete confidence in to come in and do his job night in and night out.
The regular middle relievers include Jim Johnson, Danys Baez, Matt Albers, Brian Bass and Mark Hendrickson with occasional appearances from the oft-injured and ineffective Chris Ray. I’m sorry, but the O’s just need to release Ray. Everytime he enters the game he finds a way to make whatever situation the O’s are in worse. For a guy to pitch 21.1 innings and still have a 9.28 ERA is horrible. He has given up 36 hits and 22 earned runs over those 21.1 innings and his WHIP is a whopping 2.30. The only stat that is working in his favor are his 23 strikeouts.
One guy who may have found his home in the bullpen is Hendrickson. He started off the season in the starting rotation, but was eventually moved to the bullpen to make room for starter Rich Hill. I’m sure Hendrickson’s poor performance as a starter didn’t help his cause to stay in the rotation either. But since moving to the bullpen, his numbers are much better. After posting a 1-4 record and a 4.63 ERA as a starter, he has developed into quite a reliever and has went 3-0 with a 2.89 ERA since the move.
The staple of the O’s bullpen has been none other than Sherrill, even though he gives fans a heart attack almost every time he enters the game. Sometimes I think he actually puts guys on base on purpose just to mess with everyone. Most of the time he gets out of the jam he puts himself in, but every once in a while it doesn’t work out in his favor. He has a 2.55 ERA and 19 saves, which is tied for fifth in the AL. He also has 34 strikeouts in 35 innings to go with just 12 walks.
I wouldn’t say the O’s bullpen is horrible, but it definitely needs some work. But once again, it all goes back to the starting pitching, which only has two complete games so far this season. The starters need to figure out a way to go deeper into games and give the bullpen a rest or it’s just going to get worse in the second half.
Bullpen Grade: C
W: 16
L: 13
ERA: 4.51
IP: 295.1
H: 316
SO: 220
BB: 116
By Zach Wilt, on May 29th, 2009 Last week things just felt like they weren’t clicking for the Orioles, this week it’s the complete opposite.
The O’s sent down relief pitcher Chris Ray so David Hernandez could make his major league debut. Hernandez became the fourth new Oriole to win his first start in the majors. He pitched 5.2 innings and gave up only one earned run.
Matt Albers, Jim Johnson, and George Sherrill kept it together and pitched 3.1 scoreless innings.
Luke Scott is off the DL and hit 2 more homeruns. You’ll remember that Scott hit a bomb off Roy Halladay on Wednesday. He now has 3 homers in 2 days since his return.
Luke isn’t the only one with a hot bat. Nolan Reimold hit another homerun, that’s 3 days in a row. Reimold is now hitting .264 with 5 homers in just 53 at bats this season.
The O’s won their 4th straight and have won 6 of their last 7.
Oh by the way, Happy Matt Wieters’ Day!
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By Zach Wilt, on May 13th, 2009 I don’t know about you, but I’m just not a fan of these two game series. There have been a lot of complaints about them too from fans and commentators.
So what’s the deal with run support for good pitchers? Koji doesn’t get any after a good start, but Hendrickson gets a no decision after he gives up 5 after 2 innings. Brad Bergesen was a victim of poor run support tonight.
In fact the Orioles haven’t won a game without scoring 5 runs this year, well except for that rain shortened game.
There was some really good defense in this game from both teams. Carlos Pena made a ridiculous catch while falling into the Oriole’s dugout and Brian Roberts leaped up to make a grab too.
Baltimore took an early lead with a Ty Wigginton solo homerun in the 2nd, his second homer of the year. Wiggi had a big game going 3 for 5.
Bergesen gave up 4 earned runs through 5 2/3 innings. Chris Ray and Jamie Walker held things through the 7th inning.
In the 9th Bob McCrory walked 3 and scored one on a wild pitch. 5-2 Rays. Then he served it up and handed the win to Tampa with 3 more runs on RBI singles as the Rays batted around. All four runs were needed.
The O’s rallied in the 9th but fell short. Brian Roberts hit a 2-run homer that drove in Cesar Izturis. Then Felix Pie hit one out immediately after B-Rob. Aubrey Huff stretched out a double down the right field line and was later driven in by Melvin Mora. But the O’s fell.
Adam Jones left the game in the 4th inning due to a right hamstring strain. Jones felt pain early and played through it. He was pulled out by manager Dave Trembley after hitting an RBI single in the 4th inning that scored Brian Roberts. Felix Pie replaced Jones in centerfield, Lou Montanez played left, and Luke Scott is still feeling pain from his injury. Lots of questions for Baltimore in the outfield.
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By BSR Staff, on April 19th, 2009 I’m getting tired of losing at Fenway.
Seriously, 7 straight losses, what’s the deal?
Adam Eaton had another bad start. 4 innings pitched, 9 hits, and 6 earned runs. Why can’t we get a starter into the 6th inning?
Kevin Youkilis hit a 3-run shot in the 3rd inning giving Boston a 4-0 lead. Youkilis tore apart the Orioles going 4 for 5 with 4 RBIs.
Josh Becketr shut down the Orioles until the 5th inning. Nick Markakis recorded an RBI on a bases loaded walk. Then, Aubrey Huff hit a two run double scoring Brian Roberts and Adam Jones. Markakis would score on an error during the same play.
Brian Bass, Jamie Walker, Chris Ray, and Jim Johnson combined for 4 innings of work giving up no runs. But Boston’s bullpen did the same.
On another note, umpire Doug Eddings absolutely sucked last night. His zone was huge. When Brian Roberts complains about pitches you know something is wrong. I hate blaming umps or refs (I’m not saying they were responsible for the Orioles’ loss, but it didn’t help).
The Orioles face Boston in game 3 of the 4 game series on Sunday at 1:30 PM.
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By BSR Staff, on April 15th, 2009 The Orioles secured third series win in a row in the young 2009 season against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night. It is the first time since 1998 that the O’s have started with three series wins and they did so in a dramatic 10 inning game.
Image Courtesy of the Associated Press
Alfredo Simon made the start, but he left in the 2nd inning with right elbow discomfort. After giving up 3 earned runs, on separate solo shots from Young, Cruz, and David, Simon was out.
Dennis Sarfate took over for the next 3.1 innings and kept the Rangers from crossing the plate. Despite a collision with Aubrey Huff in the bottom of the third, Sarfate’s stuff was virtually un-hittable and his play kept the O’s in the game.
Chris Ray, Jamie Walker, and Jim Johnson finished the next 4.1 innings and shut down the Rangers through the 9th inning.
It looked as though the high scoring game O’s fans enjoyed on Monday was a thing of the past against the Rangers, but the bats heated up in Arlington later in the game.
Adam Jones picked the perfect time for his first homerun of the year, that came in the 10th inning, a 2 run shot to left field. Then Luke Scott hit a 2 run double to give the O’s a 7-3 lead after 10.
George Sherrill gave up 2 runs in the 10th and with runners on the corners Nelson Cruz hit a deep shot to the warning track, but it wasn’t enough.
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By BSR Staff, on April 12th, 2009 The Baltimore Orioles clinched their second series win today, shutting out the Tampa Bay Rays 6-0 in Camden Yards. It was the Orioles first shutout since April 19, 2008 against the Yankees.
Image Courtesy of the Associate Press
Melvin Mora hit his third career grand slam in the first inning off of the Ray’s rookie pitcher Jeff Niemann.
Jeremy Guthrie retired the first seven batters and pitched six shutout innings as the Orioles’ starter. He got the win and is 2-0 on the young season. The O’s have scored 16 runs in Guthrie’s two starts this season.
Guthrie pitched his way out of jam in the 4th inning. After giving up singles to Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena, Guthrie was able to get Burrell and Joyce to pop out and he struck out Navarro.
Nick Markakis went 2 for 5 with an RBI, his seventh on the year.
Matt Albers, Jamie Walker, and Chris Ray closed the game’s last three innings.
The O’s send Adam Eaton to the mound on Sunday in the final game of the series at 1:35 PM.
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By Zach Wilt, on April 11th, 2009 The first week of the Orioles’ 2009 baseball season has been an exciting one, to say the least. The Birds are now 3-1, as they have defeated the jewels of the American League East, New York and Tampa Bay. These wins did not come easy, though; however, we will take them any way we can. Let’s look back at the first four matchups of the year.
Image Courtesy of the Associated Press
Opening Day: O’s beat Yankees 10-5
What a grand Opening Day it was in Baltimore. The odds were surely against the Birds as the Yankees sent newly acquired ace CC Sabathia to the mound against Jeremy Guthrie, but the O’s shocked the baseball world. The offense looked alive as they murdered Sabathia. He gave up 6 earned runs, 5 walks, and no strikeouts in only 4.2 innings of work, a sickening sign for many Yanks’ fanatics. On the other hand, Guthrie impressed. He went six innings, giving up three earned runs, three walks, and recording three strikeouts as he earned his first “W” of the 2009 season.
The real story in this game, though, was the offense. The top-3 in the O’s lineup was solid, as Roberts had three hits, Jones hit a booming 2-run triple, and Markakis finished with a .500 average. Moving down the lineup, Cesar Izturis drilled a two-run homer in the eighth, followed by a bases loaded double by Aubrey Huff that sealed the deal.
Game 2: O’s beat Yankees 7-5
The long awaited debut of Japanese native Koji Uehara made this game exciting from the start, and the final outcome only made it better. Koji faced off against the Yankees’ Chien-Ming Wang, who went 3.2 innings, giving up seven earned runs and three walks. Uehara proved why he was such a valuable acquisition. The 34-year old went five innings, giving up one earned run and one walk. He would receive his first win of his MLB career.
On another note, the O’s offense broke out for the second game in a row. The top-3 hitters once again shined, going 5-10 with four of the team’s seven RBI. Staying with the top of the lineup, Nick Markakis bombed his first homerun of the ‘09 season, as he drove a towering shot over the right field wall. After two games, Orioles’ starters were 2-0, a stat that was unexpected by many analysts. One concern was the bullpen, as Matt Albers and Dennis Sarfate surrendered four earned runs, yet Danys Baez pitched two scoreless and George Sherrill (A.K.A. “Flat Breezy”) threw in the ninth to record his first save of the year.
Game 3: Yankees beat Orioles 11-2
The fun in Baltimore ended with a “bang”, but not in a good way. Alfredo Simon made his season debut for the Birds, going five innings, surrendering four earned runs, two walks, and recording three strikeouts as he took the loss. The O’s faced off against Baltimore-native A.J. Burnett, who dominated in 5.1 innings of work. He gave up two earned runs, with one walk and six strikeouts. The O’s offense was silenced, with the only production coming off the bat of Luke Scott, who connected for his first homer of the season.
Once again, the bullpen struggled. Brian Bass came in to relieve Simon in the sixth, only to see his chances of staying with the big league club slowly crossing the plate. He gave up three earned runs, and Chris Ray didn’t fare much better. Ray came into the ninth, only to surrender two earned runs. It was a rough day for the Birds, and they needed to rebound against the Rays in the next series.
Game 4: Orioles beat Rays 5-4
Speaking of rebounds, how about the O’s going in against the reigning AL Champions and getting a victory? Mark Hendrickson made his first start with the Orioles, going 5.1 innings, giving up one earned run, two walks, and recording two strikeouts as he picked up his first win of the season. Like in Game 2, Baez came into the game and dominated. He went 1.2 innings and struck out four of the five batters he faced. Jim Johnson relieved him in the eighth, and Evan Longoria took advantage of it. The youngster launched his second homerun of the contest, slicing the O’s lead in half. George Sherrill would come in for the save in the ninth, when he struck out the side, but not before surrendering a one-out homer to catcher Dioner Navarro.
The O’s offense was on and off, scoring runs in both the first and fifth innings. The top-3 were impressive once again, as Roberts and Jones both finished 2-4, and Nick Markakis drove in a run with an RBI single into right field. The main man with the bat was Melvin Mora, who had three RBI on the day. The O’s go into game two of the series on Saturday as Jeremy Guthrie faces off against Rays’ rookie Jeff Niemann.
By Zach Wilt, on March 6th, 2009 It’s March, and somewhere, in the lands of grapefruit and cacti, they are playing actual baseball. We may now officially discuss the 2009 fantasy baseball season.
While it’s currently 11 degrees outside without the wind chill in Baltimore, my mind is drifting to a sunny, breezy April afternoon when the runs will start counting and the teams will stop wearing those lame batting practice caps.
I am hopeful because there is a blank slate, not just for my beloved Orioles, but for a new and promising fantasy season.
Let’s get real for a second: Fantasy baseball is the original of the time-wasting fantasy sports. It set the bar with the pen-and-paper rotisserie leagues of the 1980s, forcing players to pore over box scores daily and tally up their team’s total performance.
However, as times have changed and the NFL has become the most popular team sport in the United States, there seem to be more people wanting to pretend to be Ozzie Newsome as opposed to Andy MacPhail. The advancement of online stat-keeping and web-based league management came along right as fantasy football and the NFL really started to take off in the 1990s. Like most success stories, fantasy football has been the beneficiary of perfect timing.
Fantasy football has a lot going for it, because anyone can basically walk into a draft with a cheat sheet and a prayer and feel like a full participant. (That person even has a better chance of winning than anyone, because in fantasy football, much like NCAA bracket pools, the less you know the better). There is no pressure to check your team every day (even though I do), and you can follow along with the action on Sundays as you’re taking in the real football like a normal human being. It’s a very accessible fantasy sport.
In some ways, the difference between fantasy football and fantasy baseball beautifully illustrate the differences between the sports themselves. Football is egalitarian and highlight-driven. In fantasy football, everyone has the same chance of winning from day one. Almost all leagues use cumulative categories versus averages, because it’s about impact and short-term production in the NFL.
Baseball is the polar opposite. It’s a marathon season requiring research and daily diligence to the hitting trends and probable starters. It requires hard work and math (two things that often confound me, even in a fantasy world). In real baseball, generally the teams that spend the most money are the only ones with a chance at being competitive. In fantasy baseball, the people that do the most homework and stay on top of their stuff every single day are the only ones you’ll find in the top half. Individual performances in single games matter, but in baseball it’s more important to put together an impressive month than an impressive afternoon.
So, you can see why it’s been easy to avoid fantasy baseball and play in two football leagues. But this year will be different. After two years on hiatus, I am throwing myself back into fantasy baseball. I have my online rankings, my Baseball Prospectus 2009, and my surely-misguided gut instincts.
In order to get the lay of the land, I decided to start in my back yard and take a look at which Orioles are fantasy-relevant*.
The Stud
1. Nick Markakis, RF
Markakis is a great fantasy guy because he does a little bit of everything. He’ll hit for power, average, drive in runs, and swipe ten bags or so for good measure. He’s probably a couple years a way from being a Top 20 overall player, but if he goes anywhere past the second round, he’s a steal.
The Second Fiddle
2. Brian Roberts, 2B
If you are in an AL-only league, B-Rob will be in your Top 5 for second basemen. He carries tremendous position value because of how crappy the second-sacker will be if you wait until the later rounds to grab one. The caveat here is that he just got paid and that he is 31 years old.
The Sell High
3. Aubrey Huff, 1B/DH
I have to place a cautionary tag on Huff this season. He popped 32 homers and hit .306 last year as a DH, which will have the non-Oriole fans in your league eager to take him earlier than he would go. This is a question of two things: 1) Does your league have a DH spot. If so, Huff is a great play once you’ve filled your key positions. If not, you can do better as far as everyday first basemen are concerned, especially if you’re playing AL-only. 2) Do you believe that Aubrey Huff will actually hit .300 and hit 30 homeruns again? It feels weird even typing it.
The Keeper Leagues
4. Matt Wieters, C
5. Adam Jones, CF
It is conceivable that we will all be a little grayer and our blood pressure will be a little higher until Wieters delivers on his messianic promise. The expectations that have been heaped on him by the organization, the fans, and any media outlet that ranks prospects are enormous. The fact is that there has been just enough hype to almost make it all tangible. You want to say, “Yes, Wieters is a sure thing. Pencil him in hitting #3 and catching every day for the next 17 years.” However, the kid has yet to swing a major league bat in an official game. That’s a little thin to waste on a high pick for a guy who will most likely be in Norfolk, at least until May. He’s going higher than he should because the buzz is officially on. Still, in a keeper league, this could be your only chance at nabbing him. For Jones, the keys are twofold and very simple: stay healthy and improve plate discipline. It’d be a nice bonus if his speed helped him evolve into 20 steals-a-year guy.
The Bargain Bin
6. Jeremy Guthrie, SP
7. George Sherrill/Chris Ray, RP
8. Melvin Mora, 3B
All value picks. Guthrie will probably help out your Wins and WHIP, but you are sacrificing K’s big time. In Al-only Mora has value as a 3B but his age and his streaky 2008 are concerns. Can you bank on another huge one-month stint for Melvin to get his 20 dingers? As far as the Saves situation is concerned, it’s basically take Sherrill if he falls to you at a decent position, but keep an eye on the waiver wire for Ray. With his disastrous finish last year, big George will no doubt be on a short leash, especially if Ray pitches well as his set-up guy.
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* People will tell you that you should not have players from your team on your fantasy team. If you can evaluate them objectively, I think that you should pick the best players. Period. If you were a hiring manager, would you automatically eliminate people who had the same eye color as you? The truth is you’re going to be dejected if either side (fantasy or reality) doesn’t perform. If you get the double-whammy, so be it. It can’t be any worse than the people who openly (albeit briefly) root against their home team players for fantasy purposes.
By Zach Wilt, on February 23rd, 2009 While we’re hearing freezing our a$ses off in Baltimore the Birds are heating things up down south in Spring Training and getting ready for opening day in April.
With an enormous number of pitchers reporting for the Orioles this season the O’s have tons of question marks. But one of the biggest concerns in who to put in those final innings of the close games. My vote has to be last year’s closer, George Sherrill.
The O’s signed Sherrill last off season from the Mariners and he proved to be incredibly successful. His 31 saves in 49 games sent him to the All Star Game.
The problem is that the Orioles had an injured closer last season and he’s healthy and ready to go. His name is Chris Ray. Ray’s 2007 season was cut short with only 17 saves in 37 games. But in 2006 he had 33 saves.
While Chris Ray has a 3.19 career ERA and Sherrill’s has a 3.96, I still think you have to give the ball to George in save situations. Who knows how Ray will be coming off of elbow surgery? Not to mention if Sherrill has a good spring you absolutely owe that spot to him if you’re Dave Trembley.
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