The 2012 Orioles Winter Thread

Honestly i never say what anyone saw in Eveland or Strop. Strop sort of just showed up and everyone penciled him into the bullpen and i just don't see him as an improvement over anyone we had. The same thing with Eveland. When Britton came up sore his name got put in as the 5th starter over Simon, Bergeson, and everyone else we had with starting experience.

Also who were all you on here that were insisting all off season that JJ was going to get a chance to start? I told you that was no the case but some insisted they knew best because they read a lot.

And last, where is Wada? he hasn't pitched an inning. I really didn't have much time to hang out around the field when I was there, and didn't think about him much because I didn't hear his name mentioned too much, but I am not sure I ever even saw him. I saw Chen and he looked very professional, and I remember thinking he looked younger than I though he was.

Anyway a long way to go yet but so far so good I say. Now if we could just start scoring a few runs that would be very nice.

Incidentally so far Simon has pitched twice, 5 innings, 5 SO, .167 BAA, 0.00 ERA

It's still early but do not sleep on this guy. I am still saying he pitches his way onto this team. Probably taking the Eveland spot in the rotation.

Incidentally so far Simon has pitched twice, 5 innings, 5 SO, .167 BAA, 0.00 ERA

Pretty nice numbers.

Wouldn't it be something if a year after the meltdown we go out and get all these middling starters, and then our guys do this year what we expected out of them last year. That would be something.

We can only hope.  Last year, many of us including me, felt that there was a lot of competition in ST, and that maybe the young ones would step up to the challenge.  But if we really look at it, they were pretty much handed the job last year.  This year, they will have to fight for their job, and even a strong ST may not be enough to give them a spot in the draft.

I dont think I can express this enough, but these young pitchers have probably never experienced failure.  They were the best in little league, they were the best in high school, and they were the best in college.  Now, they get to the majors, and its a different story.  They cant just role out of bed like they were use to and throw 7 scoreless innings.  We just need to hope they have realized that, and will put in the work the needs to be done in order to be successful in the league. 

If you get time Skeeter, check out and do a mock draft with yahoo and tell me what you think of it. What I normally play is head to head. And its head to head for a week starting Monday and ending on Sunday. You get points based off of categories. I think there is 15 total. 8 hitting and 7 pitching.

H,R,2b,HR,RBI,AVG, CS, SO     -   W, L, SV, BS, ERA, K, WHIP

You draft your 25 man roster and set up your lineup. But I find Yahoo to be the most fun and fair.

And I agree completely about the young pitching. They have no idea how to fail, because they never had at any level. SO failing or what was perceived failing so far is something new to them and they will just have to adjust.

Whats unreal to me about what Im reading, hearing and seeing from the pitching is how all of these guys are hitting in the mid 90s with just one offseason with Brady Anderson and with this new technology from the new pitching advisor.

Chris Tillman was hitting 95 today something he had NEVER hit before in his career.
Brian Matusz hit 94 the other day something EVERYONE feared he would never hit again.
Jake Arrieta was at 98 the other day, the fastest he has ever been.

And thats just the starters. Some of the relievers like Alfredo Simon are throwing hard in the late 90s. Pedro Strop easily throws in the mid to late 90s. The reliever they got from the Rockies hits mid 90s. Jim Johnson hits in the mid 90s.

And unlike the Daniel Cabrera days, these guys actually have other pitches and have much better command. SO there is reason for optimismn. The biggest knock against the Orioles is the division in which they play. Its not ever gonna get any easier, it is what it is, the toughest division in sports.

Anyone else real impressed with Zach Phillps? Getting work done so far and just comng right at hitters with strikes. Hoping the O's found a diamond in the rough here. Pitched great last year and I think he makes this bullpen this year as well.

Rick peterson is the real deal. We have not had good minor league pitching coaches for a very long time. At the major league level it has been hit or miss, but by the time they get here they should already be trained and conditioned. Our prospects might as well have cone straight to Baltimore from college or HS because all they did in the monors was get by on natural ability. Guess what? The ML hitters have natural ability too! Rick will tuen them from throwers into pitchers and hone the mental aspect of their game even more. I was very excited when we hired him and I am even more pleased now, but again, it is only a few games into spring training so let's see what happens the last week of ST at least before we say they have turned a corner. Stil the velocity is promising as Devil points out. I am not sure how much or how many of the pitchers actually workid with Brady. I know Matusz did and Jake did not. I don't think Simon was even in the country, and of course the Asian invasion was not here yet. I think his presence will be felt later in the year if he has the chance to get their legs in shape. 

I can remeber as a kid watching all the pitchers running around the field. Completely absent from our pitchers in recent years. The legs are the anchor and keep you from having to overthrow with your shoulder and elbow. Hopefully it pays off in good health as the year goes on. 

i don't know abou you guys but nothing would please me more than having the starting rotation we thought would be effective last year, this year with Chen and Hunter replacing Guthrie and whoever we were throwing out there 5th.  

My typing is getting worse and worse. LOL