It’s a Great Day to Be an Orioles Fan
The past two weeks have seen a bloodless revolution.
Gone is Adam Eaton, the biggest of Andy MacPhail‘s mistakes so far. Gone from the rotation is Mark Hendrickson, whose job is now what it always should have been — long relief.
Over is the Felix Pie experiment, because young Nolan Reimold stepped in and forced everybody’s hand with outstanding play from the jump.
Up are Bergesen, Berken, and Hernandez, the first wave of reinforcements from a minor league pitching system that is finally holding its own.
And on his way, debuting tomorrow, is the number one prospect in all of baseball, Matt Wieters.
If you’re reading this site then there’s a good chance you’re a die hard. A good chance you never stopped going to games. Good chance you bought a jersey or a t-shirt with “Baltimore” proudly emblazoned across the front.
A good chance you’ve been waiting one hell of a long time for this day.
We’d be wise to remember that there’s a long road still ahead, but we’d also be wise to savor this. It is the brightest and most salient Birdland moment since 1997. This team is legitimately interesting. Legitimately exciting.
Remember to enjoy it. You have, after all, earned that much.
It’s gonna be an exciting 2d half+ as these young guns, both pitchers and position players, bring some excitement and some winning baseball back to the O’s.
I believe this season will be marked by a 2d half surge v. swoon.
For my 14th birthday, my Dad took me to this game:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL199710150.shtml
On friday, I might finally be able to get over it.
@Drew – Oh, man. I feel for you.
Here’s to brighter days.
The only thing, and I really don’t want to be a downer, is that this era of bad baseball in Baltimore isn’t over (necessarily). Wieters isn’t going to be an All-Star right out of the gate, we haven’t yet seen the real pitching prospects (everytime I’ve heard someone mention BB or Berken or Hernandez as “the cavalry” I’ve choked on whatever was in my mouth. These guys are second tier. Tillreittusz is the cavalry. We’re still waiting out the storm for the cavalry).
The way I see it the Orioles aren’t exciting yet, but they are incredibly interesting again. I literally can’t wait to get home and watch what happens with Hernandez – a feeling entirely opposite of watching the birds’ lackluster efforts against the Yankees last week. Adam Jones’ at-bats are Exciting, and Nolan Reimold and Matt Wieters will be Exciting all season, but the Orioles as a team will have to settle for mighty interesting (in my book) until those pitchers arrive.
To better days!
@Drew – Hah! In 2007, I took my gf to a double header. This was game one: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL200708221.shtml
Maybe on Friday, I might finally be able to keep a meal down. (Game two wasn’t any better. Yes I stayed for game two.)
Thanks Neal, for intelligent comments from a fellow Koolaid drinker. Let’s Go O’s!
@Dan H – I had completely blocked Rob Bell and Paul Shuey out of my mind.
ugh i remember that cleveland game like it was yesterday. tony fucking fernandez. armando fucking benitez.
i didn’t think a home run could crush me more than the maier home run did but that one succeeded.
(i should say the tarasco catch not the maier home run.)
ugh why why why are we remembering these games that made my lay face down on the carpet?
@Random Dude – Those two names, which I had also completely forgotten, are exactly why the O’s are so much more interesting now. And only 2 years later, too!
So far, our two young starters haven’t struggled terribly a la Olson/Penn/Liz. Bergesen has had some 4 or 5 runs games, but otherwise he’s been about as solid as you might have hoped. Will Hernandez be the first to really struggle? Hopefully he doesn’t get all jacked up and try to strike everybody out. Then he’s no better than a Liz or an early D-Cab. Just throw strikes and trust your D, kid.
I am so hard-wired to expect implosions after an inning like Hernandez’s first inning tonight. But then he turns it around and settles down. Who’da thunk?! He’s looking alright so far. Too many pitches, but he’s retired 7 straight after that rough first inning.
Also, welcome back Luke.
It will remain to be seen if these “tier 2″ pitching prospects can get past the 5th inning consistently at this level. I’ll take 1 run in 5 innings from Hernandez for now, though.
So this Reimold kid can hit a little, huh?
Nolan does it again! Hey, maybe it paid off that he’s an older prospect. Dude is major league ready, straight up.
Well, gee, what the hell happens when Koji gets off the DL? Nice work, Dave!
@dan the man – It’s a good problem to have for once!
@Tomás – No doubt about it. I don’t remember the last time we had depth like this. In fact, I’m pretty sure I would have been too young to really remember.
Anyone going to the game tomorrow, by the way? I’ll be there.. hopefully the weather holds up.
Wow what a tight game this is. Zaun yelling for Hernandez to throw to 3rd on that bunt might have been the play of the game so far. Albers and JJ getting it done. 2-1 O’s in the 7th.
The stats aren’t pretty, but the results are. Hernandez gave us pretty much everything we asked for (except 6 full innings).
The line: 108 pitches, 63 strikes, 5 hits, 1 run (earned), 4 walks, 3 K.
Not exactly great, but I’m impressed by his ability to do two things: work out of jams and pitch fearless. The kid never got rattled and never stopped attacking. That, more so than the numbers themselves, is the story of this start.
He’s got decent stuff, too. He hit 94 pretty regularly and seemed to have good movement.
It’ll definitely be interesting to see who goes down when Koji comes back. Regardless of how that goes, all three “second tier” guys have shown me something so far.
@dan the man – I’m thinking about it. I have to get up ass early on Saturday to go do the radio show, so I’m kind of leaning towards watching it on TV and soaking up the details. The lure of the game itself, though, is hard to resist.
Come on, JJ, don’t let that error rattle you… sheesh.
Double play! Whew boy.
LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE!
Remember when Luke Scott said he didn’t like playing DH because he couldn’t produce?
Yeah, me neither.
Hahaha LUUUUUUUUKE pick your head up boy, you hit it out! That was funny. Wow is he hot right now.
4 straight, 6 out of 7 wins. Hernandez gets the win in his ML debut.
Who said there’s no such thing as mOmentum?
Andrew, that’s who. lol
Man! Third “pie” in the face game in a row!
Can’t wait to see Wieters wearing the white at the end of tomorrow’s game!
@Tomás – I wonder if that’s ever happened before? It’s so damn awesome.
Remember when “prospects” would come up in the past and we all knew in the back of our minds that it wouldn’t amount to much? Well, some of these guys (both here and on their way) might still not amount to much, but the feeling is 180 degrees from what it was. And I fucking love it.
@neal s – Absolutely.
Even the “second tier” pitchers up (Bergeson, Berken, Hernandez) have one thing in common so far: they don’t get rattled easily and throw strikes. Not great, but they get the job done. They’ve obviously put in their time and are legitimately READY for The Show.
Worlds away from the rushed and easily frustrated DC Cab.
To say nothing of Sean Douglass, Matt Riley, John Stephens…and the six or seven other names I’m forgetting right now.
With those guys, it was always “let’s hope they can put it together up here.” With the three guys we have now, it’s “they’ve had success and earned a shot, and should be able to at least hold their own.”
Then the next wave is all about “any team would be happy to have these guys.”
That’s progress.
By the way and while we’re on the subject, I really do value Andrew’s breakdowns of the stats. I think I know what he’s going to say about Hernandez and I recognize the value in it.
I love the interplay between that and the more qualitative approach. I think if you put the two together you pretty much can’t get better analysis.
And one more point on that, here’s a really efficient breakdown of the main differences between qualitative and quantitative research. Nice primer that can be applied in a lot of ways to the different approaches to understanding what happens in sports.
Damn it, I’m commenting an awful lot tonight but…Matt Wieters.
This week is the culmination of two years of an Andy MacPhail regime finally coming to the end of the tunnel. If you aren’t excited about five rookies on the team, you should be. I don’t ultimately think Bergesen or Berken will be here for the long term, but it is nice to have more wins in one week than losses… for once.
@neal s – Comment away, man – I love it when excitement spurs our comments rather than frustration.
Couldn’t agree more on Andrew’s analysis. God knows I suck at breaking down any stats past OBP and WHIP. No offense should be taken by my comment – I just find the “I don’t believe in streaks, momentum, or chemistry” thing funny. And his viewpoints create great discussion.
The team is so energized right now playing behind these rookies. It’s beyond that, though. I feel like the return of an effective Matt Albers really gave this team a boost. JJ and Sherrill suddenly turned it around. We haven’t complained about the defense in about 2 weeks. The team is more interested without playing behind Hendrickson and Eaton. With them in the rotation, it was hard to see the progress. But the whole scene changes with kids in there and you can feel the energy. Or maybe that’s just what it feels like when you win some ballgames. Either way.
Luke has sweet adidas cleats with orange stripes. I can’t stop watching highlights.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
My power actually went off so I only saw the horrifying first inning. If only someone had written down what Hernandez did to keep track of his performance for me.
Oh they did? Wow! What do they call these wonderful little tracking measurements of performance? “Stats”? Sounds German (it is – look it up) and therefore Anti-Semitic. I am against them!
In all seriousness, I only caught the first, seventh, eighth, and ninth innings because of a huge thunderstorm in the greater Rochester area, so I really don’t know much about things like Hernandez’s control and effort and mound presence. But here’s what it looks like: a major league debut against a really good offense. Incredibly lucky to give up just one run on 9 baserunners and just 3 strikeouts, but his stats reflect basically what I thought of him before (too many pitches, too many walks).
My guess is when Koji comes back whoever is doing best of Berken and Hernandez heads back to Norfolk. I know, really stretching to make a prediction there. It probably ought to be Berken, but time will tell.
And as for the stats thing…let me tell you all, I’m as far away from offended as a guy could be. I may have also called Jim Johnson “the clutchiest clutch clutch that ever clutched” tonight. But rest assured, there is no such thing as clutch, momentum in baseball, or a key at-bat in the first inning (that note is for Rick Stucliffe…he knows what he did).
It should also be noted that Reimold’s home run was the deciding run in this game.
Looks like scattered thunderstorms tomorrow night, but it goes down to about 30% chance around 7 and 8, so hopefully the game gets played. Or like 40,000 people will be disappointed. I’ll be there, though. And then when I get home, I’ll watch it again. Man I hope it’s a good one, but even if we get blown out, the man himself is up.
Roberts
Jones
Markakis
Huff
Mora
Scott
Reimold
Wieters
Izturis
Little scared of Dontrelle, to be honest. Just watched the highlights of his first couple of starts… seems like he fixed whatever he was doing wrong because his stuff was naaaasty. Maybe he’ll pull a Rich Hill and fall off, but it’s going to be a tough game for Wieters and Reimold against the D-Train.
7-15 road record should be the next focus of Improvement
but it is admittedly hard to “not” be excited about these birds lately
I wanted to throw water on you guys this morning (you’ll thank me later) and that’s all I could find – a lousy road record
Happy Matt Wieters day!
Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters Matt Wieters
Roberts
Jones
Markakis
Huff
Mora
Scott
Wieters
Reimold
Izturis
That’s a balanced (predicted) lineup. I want Mora and Wieters/Reimold to switch, but it’s hard to argue with your great new left fielder hitting 8th.
I’m not sure Wieters should bat ahead of Reimold at this point – he hasn’t proven anything. Either way, the 7 and 8 will be awesome. I think you’ll see Wigginton rather than Scott, even though Scott is crazy hot, because Wigginton mashes Dontrelle. As does Izturis, according to Roch. But as soon as Dontrelle is chased and there’s a righty on the hill, no doubt we’ll see Luke.
I’m going to the game tonight with my girlfriend and one of my friends, neither of whom have any idea about Matt Wieters or what is going on right now with Orioles baseball. It’s going to be a tough one trying to contain my uber-O’s-nerd-dom and/or explain exactly why I’m so pumped to see a guy that’s never played in the big leagues before.
“So he’s a minor leaguer? Doesn’t that mean he isn’t that good?”
sigh
Let me take you all back, and explain the real significance of today…
It’s August 14, 2007 here at The Loss Column:
Andy MacPhail was hired by Peter Angelos to destroy Flannquette and their second-tier free agency strategies (they acquired, to varying success Jamie Walker, Chadford, Danys Baez, Aubrey Huff, Miguel Tejada, Rafael Palmeiro, Javy Lopez, Eric Brynes, Sammy Sosa, Ramon Hernandez, Kris Benson, Kevin Millar, and Corey Patterson) only 2 months ago, and he hasn’t done anything but be a pretty face.
Word is leaking that nobody is confident that Wieters will sign by tomorrow’s midnight deadline. Neal writes:
I say “it’s getting harder and harder to say to myself ‘this is still ok, we’re still ok’. We aren’t ok if Wieters doesn’t get signed”. To be blunt, things look fucking grim.
Hiliraiously, Drew chimes in with this GEM:
So close, Drew. So close…
It is now August 15, 2007. Midnight is approaching…
Dan makes a surprisingly relevant (to today) point about the Tigers and Rick Porcello (who will destroy the draft slotting system forever).
We give up. Wieters isn’t ours.
But then word leaks that Angelos and MacPhail made a last-ditch effort to sign the kid and everything is fine and Wieters is ours from the jaws of defeat!
The point of all of this is that something happened to the Orioles that finally began to pay off that night where they started to be run like a goddamn baseball franchise again. It was, in all, a small story – a blip really – that nobody outside of Baltimore even noticed. It would have made complete sense for the Orioles to not sign the top positional talent in the draft in 2007. But they did, with record setting money. It was that night that the Orioles very quietly yelled out “This WILL NOT last forever”.
Whatever the reason for the change in philosophy that led to the hiring of Andy MacPhail (who should not get much credit for Wieters) and the increase in spending on the draft (which, of course, netted us Jake Arrieta in another overslot signability drafting) we get to see the fruits of it starting tonight.
That’s right: Tonight represents the first night that the Orioles decided to be the Orioles again. It started out as a small yell noticed by few and now it is a crescendoing drumbeat. How loud it gets is anyone’s guess at this point.
I’m going to enjoy this.
I would love it if Dan took a sign that read my favorite Matt Wieters Fact:
“Matt Wieters adopted Mark Texeira’s parents because he felt they needed a son to be proud of”.
I’d do it if I were going, Dan…
@Andrew – That is a damn fine fact. But you know what – fuck even mentioning Tex. We’ve got our own Tex and he’s like 7 years younger, hits from both sides of the plate, and doesn’t cost us $25 million a year.
I’ll comment on that night in August in Neal’s new post..
great post.
nice start to wieters era!
@the Wayward O – O’s back! I missed you O! I’m sorry I’m the one that drove you off, I really am.