Rotation Issues Already Forming in Baltimore

It has been a great start for the Birds, winning their first three series, considering the bullpen and rotation issues. However, the Orioles were hoping the "stopgap rotation" would hold a little longer than this, but the injury to Alfredo Simon has already forced the O's to dip into the Tides for some help. While Simon has not yet gone to the DL, recent moves make it seem that he'll be out a little while.

According to the Baltimore Sun and MASN, the Orioles have bringing up Matt Albers and Radhames Liz after Melvin Mora was sent to the DL and Simon will have his shoulder checked. It would not be surprising if Brad Bergeson was brought up as well from the Tides. Bergeson has done a great job in his first two contests in Norfolk, striking out nine and just allowing three earned in 11 innings, but these are his only two starts in triple-A play, and there is no telling if he'll be ready to come up to Baltimore.

We all expected the Orioles rotation to be an issue this season. Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara were seen as the only reliable starters, so the rest of the rotation was up for grabs, which was won by Simon and Mark Hendrickson with Adam Eaton filling the last spot when needed. The Orioles, though feeling it would eventually happen, were hoping to avoid using Norfolk players to fill gaps already. The bullpen has been very scary to the O's, but they have at least been able to hold large leads. The starters have done a good job for now, especially Guthrie.

The overall key to all of this is to protect the potential stars of the rotation. Under no circumstances can the Orioles bring up Chris Tillman because they need to wait until he is ready, and since he is not on the 40-man roster this probably will not be an issue. Players like Bergeson, Liz, Chris Waters, and David Hernandez could be called up sometime this season as stopgaps. This is just the beginning of the season and the Orioles can't risk their big players just because of a nice start. First they need to ready their big pitchers and Matt Wieters. They'll compete as best they can, but don't get too excited about the start. The might of this rotation is about to be tested. But for now and for all the issues, the O's have won their first three series.

(Photo credit: AP)

Déjà Vu

Or, I think I’ve heard this before somewhere… I’m sorry everyone but something very strange is happening. It’s been very uncanny recently, I keep hearing sports stories that I could swear I must have heard somewhere before. Possibly in a dream… (a bad one)

(1) The Orioles desperately need a fourth (and fifth) starter, tempted to bring up a young buck before his time. (2) The Terps, because of his fantastic practices, make the unpopular decision of naming Jordan Steffy their starting quarterback. (3) The Ravens have a tough decision (or indecision, if you choose to look at it that way) at the quarterback position.

Now let’s put them in perspective, and try to lose the angst (not to mention headache) brought on by each strangely familiar story.

Where oh where is the pitching?
The struggles of the O’s pitching staff have certainly been well document. Now that Garrett Olson has been removed from the rotation in what is regrettably a necessary move, the Orioles are left with only three starters. THREE. And the third? Chris Waters. No offense, but that’s a lot of pressure for a rookie who has only had one quality start, albeit against the best team in baseball in his debut. So where do the Orioles go from here? Simply put they need to go to Hayden Penn for- what? He’s injured and most likely shut down for the year? There’s that funny feeling of déjà vu again… isn’t it creepy? In all seriousness, the Orioles are only left with the option of dipping into the farm system, as there are no bullpen arms to insert into the starting staff(Lance is too necessary in the rotation and JJ is now the closer, so there’s that.). The O’s most likely options include Andy Mitchell (not a prospect, more of a stopgap option a la Chris Waters), Radhames Liz, Brian Burres, Bradley Bergesen, and David Hernandez.

O’s management has played their minor leaguers, for the most part, far better than in previous seasons. Despite the struggles of Liz and Olson, both callups were the right move at the time. Olson was dominating AAA and Liz had made significant strides (though again, they had originally wanted to bring up Penn and give Liz more time). For that reason I doubt they go straight to AA for their fourth starter. Andy Mitchell might be a safe move, but I’m leaning toward the organization bringing back up Liz for the fourth starter’s role. For this Friday’s start (when they will need the starter) Liz will be on regular rest, and he’s coming off of a dominating performance at AAA. There is something to be said for momentum, and keep in mind when he originally came up from Norfolk this season while he was on a roll he started exceptionally strong. I can see the O’s bringing up Brad Bergesen as a fifth starter. I wouldn’t agree with this move, as major league hitters will absolutely hammer him if he does not keep the ball down. He does not have room for error; I’ll leave further elaboration on Bergesen to Expatriate, who has a scouting report from Bergesen’s Sunday start. Also shameless plug, you can reference my earlier prospect report for a more detailed breakdown.

Jordan Steffy? But… but why??
College Park is famous for sports riots. But rarely before school has started. Message boards and sports show call-in lines have exploded as of late, as the bulk of Terp fans have conducted a riot of sorts in wake of the announcement of Jordan Steffy as starter. There is no question that Jordan Steffy is a fantastic guy and has had some terrible luck. But last year he was named the starting QB coming into the season over the popular Florida transfer Josh Portis, and disappointed in the regular season. While he took care of the ball effectively, Jordan far too often settled for check downs and was indecisive on taking the ball deep. A common opinion was that while Jordan could manage a game, the team could never be great with him at the helm. After he suffered a concussion, the second of his career, Chris Turner exploded onto the scene and enamored himself with College Park fans.

But consider the flip side; it’s easy to forget that Chris Turner faded badly down the stretch, despite the victories against Rutgers and Boston College. While head coach Ralph Friedgen has not accomplished enough to be beyond reproach, he certainly would not put in a quarterback he didn’t think could win. He would catch very little flak for starting Turner or Portis instead of Steffy and unlike last year there was no unspoken understanding that it was Steffy’s turn to take over. Coach Friedgen repeatedly expressed frustration at Jordan’s inability to take the ball deep in games, and one can only think that he has seen enough to feel that that has changed.

Jordan Steffy has all the tools to be a very good quarterback, and this year represents a fresh slate. Terp fans should give him a chance; after all, it’s about the team winning, not about ‘being right’. Riiiiiiight?

Who’s willing to hang on to the hot potato?
“Hot potato, really? That’s the pun you’re going with?” Yes, I am. Because both times a Ravens quarterback has been given the limelight of starting this preseason they’ve thrown it away, let’s be very honest. As of yet neither Troy Smith nor Kyle Boller has shown that they want this job when the chips are down. There’s no doubt that both of them want it, but it’s about performance. You do have Flacco in the mix, but the coaching staff has made it relatively clear that he will be holding a clipboard to start the season. Kudos to the organization on that, it is possible to learn from mistakes.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Troy Smith must be the starter to begin the season. Yes; Kyle has looked better in practice, and is certainly the better pure thrower. However, this season the team needs a leader they can believe in, and a quarterback who can mask deficiencies in his supporting cast (O-Line anyone?). The team’s confidence in Troy (and lack thereof in Boller) has been the most poorly kept secret in Baltimore. Neither will set the league on fire, but Smith has the versatility and leadership to elevate the team.

Let’s try to keep our heads up and take a deep breath. This time it could be different. Wait, haven’t we heard that be– oh forget it.

(Photo Credit: AP, Nick Wass)

Free Kicks

Well everyone, Free Kicks is coming a day late today; I hope y’all can excuse my absence. Life called, and apparently I am behind on my payments. I had to get something in before the end of the week, so perhaps you can enjoy some bonus weekend coverage on ATH. As the Ravens get ready for tonight’s game, let’s line up for the kick.

Waters Down the Drain?

We didn’t expect Chris Waters to one-hit every team through 8 innings, but we didn’t exactly expect this either after his gem against the Angels. In his last two starts, Waters has allowed a total of 8 runs in 8 2/3 innings against the Tigers and Rangers. Even if we can give him a pass against those electric bats of Texas, it still must give us pause to consider that it took Waters 90 and 98 pitches to get through 4 and 4 2/3 innings. As has been the problem all year, Orioles starters just can’t seem to stay in the game. I am tired of seeing Lance Cormier, the last of the true middle relievers, come out for 2-3 innings every other day. As of now he is still the best available option to Dave Trembley, but that isn’t saying much. The bullpen ERA continues to balloon (4th worst in the AL), and the starters are doing very little to give them any break.

Feeling a Draft

For the second straight year, it took to the final day before the Orioles signed their top pick, though at least this time it didn’t go until 11:50 PM. Around 3 PM, Brian Matusz and the Orioles agreed to a 4-year deal that will be worth at least $3.47 million. Matusz, 21, could see action in Baltimore late next season as he was considered the most major league-ready pitcher in the draft. Our resident prospect guru raves about Matusz, who joins 13 of the other top 15 Orioles draft picks in signing before the deadline. The lone exception was 11th round selection Nathan Moreau. Every time I begin to doubt this staff they put something incredible together and get things done. When was the last time you were excited about the Orioles draft? Yea, I can’t remember either.

Man of Troy

Troy Smith will get the nod tonight for the Ravens against the Vikings, and don’t think it is just to balance out the start Coach Harbaugh gave to Kyle Boller last week. Troy Smith entered training camp as the favorite to win the starting job, and he has somewhat disappointed this month in camp. However, where Smith excels is when plays break down, when he is forced to make split second decisions to save a first down. Behind this inexperienced and, frankly, poor offensive line, Smith’s skills will be far more valuable than Boller’s arm or his experience. With players like Boller and Joe Flacco in camp there will be a natural tendency to dissuade their QBs from running, and the coaching staff needs to be careful to tailor their teaching to each quarterback’s individual skills.

We will see tonight whether Troy Smith can turn in a Heisman-like performance against the Vikings. His attitude has been exceptional, helping him become a popular signal caller with the other players, Bart Scott referring to him as “Willie Beaman,” Jamie Foxx’s character from “Any Given Sunday.” He may be a Buckeye at heart, but if he can win I want him as my quarterback. Flacco might be waiting in the wings, but I’d rather see the Blue Hen on the sidelines.

Angels Drown in Orioles' Waters

Windsor, our resident farm system expert, is off on vacation this week, probably sipping mai tais on the beach and blissfully ignorant that in his absence the O’s blew two leads, blew a comeback with Sherrill, and that Chris Waters- yes, Chris Waters- went 8 shut-out innings against the best team in baseball in the road, throwing 103 pitches in his major league debut. I think I may pay for Windsor to stay on vacation for a bit longer, I’ll ask Falco if we have the budget for that…

Well it seems as though at least for now, Baltimore pitchers have answered Trembley’s call to go deeper into games to spare the bullpen, with Garrett Olson, Jeremy Guthrie, and Chris Waters going 8 or more innings. A common theme: the Orioles are 3-0 in these games. No matter how good your bullpen might be, the starters have to last deep into the game for the team to be successful down the stretch. While Chris Waters wasn’t around for Dave Trembley’s speeches on the subject, it never hurts to give the bullpen a rest before a rubber match against the league’s best team in their home park.

How did we miss Waters? Windsor had briefly considered (and was planning to) write a prospect report on Chris Waters, but he, like the rest of the Orioles community, assumed that either Hayden Penn or Brad Bergesen would be making the start on Tuesday. Penn has struggled to post consecutive quality starts and Bergeson continues to appear promising but unprepared for the big leagues; Waters has appeared at least on paper to be nothing more than a middling minor league pitcher. He might not have even started last night if Penn had not been slightly injured several nights before.

This is incredibly impressive for a player like Waters to come out of nowhere and deliver a performance like this. With how desperate the Orioles are for starting pitchers, suddenly this is not a one-start situation, and Waters could be given the chance to ride out even the rest of the season if he ties together a few decent performances to go with this last outing. First impressions are everything, and this one could keep the lefty in the rotation for the foreseeable future. The Orioles need warm bodies that can eat up innings, and games like this will certainly help the pitching staff sleep at night.

There are significant reasons for caution, however. Waters was 3-6 with an ERA of 5.70 in 90 innings at Norfolk to go with a 1.67 strikeouts to walks ratio. Almost 28 years old, he only reached the Triple-A level this year after a strong performance at Bowie to start the season. Also remember that while we didn’t know what to expect from Waters, neither did the Angels. Their Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City isn’t in the same league as Norfolk and therefore their scouts likely had no first-hand information on Chris Waters. Finally, like the rest of us had probably prepared for Penn after Bergesen went 6 innings in his last start so were just as surprised when Waters flew into L.A. on Tuesday morning.

At his age this is the perfect time for Waters to make his impact- one can’t stay in the minors much longer after 28 and still be considered starter material. As the Dennis Sarfate experiment draws to a close and with a travel day coming up, this could be the best time to work Waters into the rotation and see what comes of it. Unlike some of the other pitching prospects, with Waters the Orioles have nothing to lose. If he keeps giving the Orioles performances like last night’s, they could have everything to gain.