Everyone can start wetting themselves now.  I am super excited, but I want him to put up those big numbers in MLB before I anoint him king.

We have plenty of reasons to believe, but hopefully he'll give us one more reason to believe and forget about our awful starting rotation.

Via MLB Trade Rumours

He's finally coming...multiple readers have emailed that Orioles president Andy MacPhail said on MASN that top prospect Matt Wieters will debut Friday in Baltimore against Dontrelle Willis and the Tigers. Wieters, 23, posted a .285/.367/.482 line in Triple A. He slugged .552 in May.

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Wow, I haven't been here in about a week, but there is some absolutely amazing shit going on here.

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I know, it's Wednesday night -- I am with you there.  I don't like staying out past 10 during the week any longer, but it's part of the job.

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This is so great -- I am making a fanpost.  I am so glad that they are called "fanposts" now because that speaks to me as a sports fan.  I always felt, for the lack of a better word, gay, when I used to post diaries.  It made me feel like I was opening my heart up to everyone, and as a male sports fan, I grunt a lot, eat pizza, drink Coors Light and spend a lot of time VENTING.

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Bobby Cook & the Sleepers.

From London.

What it sounds like: Bruce Springsteen meets The Arcade Fire.

LIsten to the song "Secrets" if you really want to be floored.

My other favorite from is "Deja Vu," which is not on his Myspace.It's on Youtube though. http://www.myspace.com/bobbycookmusic

"Deja Vu"

Read me gush about him on my blog: Bobby Cook

I am really psyched to see him next month.  If this is not enough words, then SB Nation can eat shit.

What are you listening to?  Vampire Weekend is overrated (Yeasayer is better) and Band of Horses is the "Memento" of indie bands.

It's at Union Pool, it will be amazing.

Lightspeed Champion

I'll be the one with the '66 O's hat.

Also, I am doing a monthly club night at the Midway, the next one is 03/19 featuring the likes of The Go Station, Neimo (from Paris) and Saints & Lovers.  It's only three dollars.

Read more here.

Read it here.

ould it finally be the beginning of a turnaround for the Orioles? The team hired Andy MacPhail as president of baseball operations in June, effectively making him the team's new general manager. MacPhail came from the Cubs, where he was team president from 1994-2006, and before that he had been GM of the Twins since August 1985.

MacPhail, who knows Orioles owner Peter Angelos from major league labor negotiations in 2002 and '06, may finally be the executive who can isolate the Angelos family from the daily functions of the baseball operation. He got assurances to that effect when he took the job, and when asked at his introductory press conference if Angelos had promised not to interfere, MacPhail said: "If I didn't feel that way, I wouldn't be here. It's just that simple."

MacPhail's first major step, other than replacing manager Sam Perlozzo, was signing off on two huge draft deals. The first was catcher Matt Wieters, the fifth overall pick who signed for a draft-record $6 million in up-front bonus money. Baltimore also signed fifth-rounder Jake Arrieta for $1.1 million, making up for the team's lack of a second- or third-round pick. Wieters and Arrieta were the first Scott Boras clients ever signed by the Oriole during Angelos' tenure. They also continued a trend of stronger drafts under scouting director Joe Jordan, who was overseeing his third draft for Baltimore.

After another dismal regular season ended, MacPhail began work on remaking the roster. The first major step was unloading Miguel Tejada to the Astros for five players, most notably young arms Matt Albers and Troy Patton, who will compete for big league rotation spots in spring training. MacPhail was also shopping his other valuable commodities, most notably staff ace Erik Bedard, in an effort to make over a roster that had few difference-makers.

He also hired Rick Kranitz as the team's new pitching coach, ending a failed two years under Leo Mazzone, who couldn't work the same magic he did with the Braves. Kranitz has much less of a major league track record but quickly gained respect with the Marlins, and he was Baseball America's 2006 Major League Coach of the Year.

Those are small steps but hopeful signs for Orioles fans who have grown weary of watching a string of 10 straight losing seasons following the team's last playoff appearance in 1997. Baltimore won the American League East that year but has finished fourth in every year since except 2003--when it finished third.

Years of poor decisions have led to the smallest crowds ever at Camden Yards, an organization that has fallen far behind the Red Sox and Yankees in the AL East and the demise of the Oriole Way. MacPhail appreciates the history of the franchise because his father Lee, a Hall of Famer, was GM of the Orioles from 1959-65.

"The Orioles (of the past) had their Oriole Way and we need to find ours," MacPhail said. "You have to do what you have to do to get this franchise, not just to have an over .500 season, but to get them into position to get them to the postseason and get them to the World Series. I don't have a goal of getting over .500. We shouldn't be here for that. No team should be here for that."

But it wouldn't be a bad place to start.

1. Matt Wieters, c
2. Radhames Liz, rhp
3. Troy Patton, lhp
4. Nolan Reimold, of
5. Bill Rowell, 3b
6. Brandon Snyder, 1b/3b
7. Jake Arrieta, rhp
8. Chorye Spoone, rhp
9. Pedro Beato, rhp
10. Brandon Erbe, rhp

I am looking specifically for player t-shirts.  The more obscure, the better.  Spots with a large selection are a plus.  

Thanks!!

One-line diaries are not prohibited on Camden Chat. Give your diary a bit more thought (eat shit), then give it another shot (of HGH like Barry and Giambi). If you have nothing to add to your proposed diary, then it probably belongs as a comment under another appropriate thread (re: the AN subcommitee).
The minimum is shut the fuck up characters.

Talk about a great combo.  Seriously!  Trax pitching at Coors?  You might as well place a tee on home plate instead of him.

From Rotoworld:
The Rockies are trying to finalize a contract for Steve Trachsel and are close to re-signing Mark Redman.
Trachsel is Coors sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. He's not even striking out a batter every other inning these days, and his career ERA is 6.44 in nine starts at the park. A veteran alternative to Franklin Morales in the fifth spot in the rotation is a good idea, but Trachsel is far from the best option.

Link: Rocky Mountain News

I read MLB Trade Rumors a lot, obvi.

Miguel Tejada (Angels)
Link:
Hey, you can never have too much pitching right?  Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times reports that Johan Santana is on the Angels' list.  They're still all about Miguel Cabrera as Plan A and Miguel Tejada as Plan B, but they've inquired on Santana as well.

DiGiovanna says the Twins would ask for a third baseman, center fielder, and pitcher for Santana.  Brandon Wood, Reggie Willits, and Nick Adenhart - is that too much?  Another hurdle might be getting Santana to approve a trade to the West Coast.

DiGiovanna adds that the Twins have interest in Gary Matthews Jr.  Could this be the mystery CF the Twins are close to acquiring?  Maybe not, since Matthews is expensive, old, and mediocre.

Erik Bedard (Mets)
Link:
From Ken "Pinhead" Rosenthal
Back at the GM meetings, the Mets inquired on Erik Bedard.  The O's are waiting to see what happens with Miguel Cabrera since they covet many of the prospects being discussed there.

If we can't sign Bedard to an extension, I'd get behind this.  Do you think we could get Pelfrey, Mulvey and Gomez out of them?

Melvin Mora (Phillies)
Link:
Melvin Mora doesn't figure to be a hot commodity on the trade market. He's got name recognition because of two very good seasons in from 2003-04. But he turns 36 in February and will earn $17MM over the next two years. He also has a no-trade clause, but he'd probably waive it to go to a competitor.

The Phillies are interested in Mora for their third base vacancy, according to Steve King. I don't think the Phils would have to give up much in the way of prospects to get him; they could probably send over a bag of baseballs if they're willing to take on the entire contract.

What a stupid idea.  Read the comments.  I agree with every one of them.

Via MLB Trade Rumors:

According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, the Royals and Orioles are the frontrunners to sign free agent outfielder Jose Guillen.  That link is in Spanish so feel free to correct me if my translation is off.  The article was published on November 18th.

Rojas reports that eight teams have shown interest in signing Guillen to a multiyear deal.  We knew the Royals were dead set on Guillen; the Orioles part is new to me.  The O's already have Nick Markakis in right, so perhaps Guillen would be used in left.  Sounds like he's pretty popular despite the steroid revelations.  Maybe he'll get that three-year, $30MM deal after all.

There have been some reports floating around that a contract with the Royals was imminent, but that does not appear to be accurate based on the conversations I've had.  Nonetheless the Royals figure to win this thing; Guillen is their top priority now that Torii Hunter is off the board.

Please KC, sign this guy.

Guillen's stats at Baseball Reference.

He's on the wrong side of 30.  His bday is a day before mine, but I am on the right side of 30.  Maybe the O's should sign me.

[EDIT: read about it in The Sun. The O's are not interested in Guillen]

Via MLB Trade Rumors:

Orioles To Attempt To Extend Bedard
It looks like Erik Bedard is Andy MacPhail's top priority right now.  He's already gauged the trade interest for his ace, and is now exploring the idea of a contract extension.

Jeff Zrebiec says the Mets, Yankees, Angels, and Dodgers expressed interest in the southpaw starter.  Interesting to see the Halos in the mix.  The Dodgers are pushing the hardest for him.  Two years of Bedard is expected to cost a team three MLB-ready players.  The names mentioned for the Dodgers are Jonathan Broxton, Matt Kemp, and Clayton Kershaw.  While Kershaw's not MLB-ready, I doubt the Orioles would mind.  Zrebiec says the problem with the Dodgers is that Kemp and Kershaw would be part of a Miguel Cabrera package.

What would a contract extension cost?  I'm thinking it would require something like four years, $65MM to cover the two team-controlled years and two years of free agency.

Zrebiec also mentions that the Mets inquired on Ramon Hernandez, but found the price of a high-end prospect prohibitive.

One of the commets:
i heard bedard is a bit of a tool, especially when it comes to media attention, but i dont think he is any idiot. with some crappy players pulling off pay checks that end in 8 zeros, i think he will pass on an offer from the orioles unless they offer 5-6 100 million, 6 or 7 other major league teams would offer that to him right now if they could

C.C. Sabathia claimed the AL Cy Young Award on Tuesday, receiving 19 of the 28 first-place votes.
As it should have been. Sabathia came in second on eight of the remaining nine ballots. One writer obviously didn't take his or her responsibility seriously and left him off the ballot entirely. Josh Beckett, who pitched as well as Sabathia but did so in 40 fewer innings, finished second with eight first-place votes and 86 points, 33 back of Sabatahia. AL ERA leader John Lackey claimed the remaining first-place vote and ranked third with 36 points. Also receiving votes were Fausto Carmona (7 points), Erik Bedard (1), Roy Halladay (1), Johan Santana (1) and Justin Verlander (1).

Next year, Erik.

From Rotoworld.

I know some of you out there are bloggers.  Anyone going to the Blogworld Expo this week in Vegas?  If so, we should get together for a beer.  I'll be on a panel (1:30 on Thursday, Blogs & Popular Culture), but besides that I'll otherwise be free.

I've never been to Vegas, so it should be fun.  I am not much of a gambler, so I'll be looking for other types of fun.

From Rotoworld:

Orioles named Dave Jauss bench coach.
Jauss, who interviewed for Pittsburgh's managerial opening, wasn't going to be invited back as the Dodgers' bench coach with Joe Torre in town. He'll take over as Dave Trembley's right-hand man in Baltimore.

Also, Sammy P ends up in Seattle.
Mariners named Sam Perlozzo third-base coach.
Larry Bowa was offered the job and was expected to take it before following Joe Torre to Los Angeles. Perlozzo, who was fired as the Orioles' manager in June, spent three years as the Mariners' third-base coach from 1993-95.

I live and work in Boston.  I am not from Boston.  I hate this shithole, one horse town.

Anyway.

The crew arrives in this morning and everyone is like "Did you watch the game last night?  It was so boring!  I turned it off after the 5th inning."

It's like come on, fuck you.  Your team is in the World Series and winning!  Be excited!  Be happy!

According to Rotoworld:

Jeremy Guthrie is expected to start Thursday following his successful bullpen session Saturday.
Guthrie has missed two weeks because of a strained oblique.

One-line diaries are prohibited on Camden Chat. Give your diary a bit more thought, then give it another shot. If you have nothing to add to your proposed diary, then it probably belongs as a comment under another appropriate thread.
The minimum is 300 characters.

One thing that has become clear the past few weeks is that the Rockies were serious about moving reliever Brian Fuentes at the trading deadline. The Rockies studied Boston's prospects at the end of the July trying to locate a match. With Fuentes hurt, the Red Sox turned their attention to Eric Gagne. It's possible the teams could find a fit this offseason. Another potential trade partner is Philadelphia, which privately has interest in both Fuentes and Garrett Atkins

Entire article here.

Could Fuentes be a good fit for the O's?  What would we have to offer the Rockies?  We have worked well with them before.  Is Brian related to Daisy?

This is a good area for speculation.

Santos (Orioles) vs. Marcum (BJs)

Check out the Yahoo preview here.

Let's take this series, ok?  OK!

Orioles
B. Roberts 2b     
T. Redman cf    
N. Markakis rf    
M. Tejada ss    
K. Millar 1b
Huff dh   
M. Mora 3b        
R. Hernandez c        
J. Payton lf

BJs
R. Johnson rf          
M. Stairs 1b        
A. Rios cf        
F. Thomas dh         
A. Hill 2b        
A. Lind lf         
R. Adams 3b        
C. Thigpen c         
J. McDonald ss

I don't know why, but this term gets under my skin and makes me so very upset.  Being an Orioles fan in Boston is hard enough [hell, liking any team in Boston that's NOT the Red Sox can be tough], but hearing shit like this just pisses me off.  I flew down to Balmer Saturday morning and I heard some woman refer to Camden Yards as "Fenway South" and it took a lot for me to not turn and say anything.

Over the course of the weekend, I lost track at how many times I heard douchebags say this, and the reason that it pisses me off might be because it is so disrespectful.  It's like these conquering hoards of ingrate Red Sox fans are coming to my stadium, dropping their "r's" and making that annoying fucking sound when Youkilis bats, and on top of that, they putting their flag in the sand and changing the name of the stadium.

It might be better if more O's fans came out, but that's what ten years of losing will do.  It would also help if these chumps from Towson would root for their hometown team and not the Red Sox because "Big Papi" looks so exciting on Sp;orts Center.

Dear Red Sox fans -- you're guests in Camden Yards, so please show some respect.

Another moment that really annoyed me happened today when Markakis hit his home run [some kid was hit by it, but he walked off ok after a bit] and tied the score.  Everyone is sections 86 & 84 started yelling for the ball to be thrown back.  Are you fucking kidding me?  Do you know how completely rude and disrespectful that is?  You don't throw the home team's HR ball back, no matter who you are rooting for.  I wouldn't go into Fenway and throw one of the Sawk's balls back -- it just reeks of someone without any class.

Let's win some games in '08.

I'll be in Baltimore checking out the Saturday and Sunday games against the Red Sox (SAWKKKKSSS!!!!) next weekend.  If anyone wants to bro down and laugh at my Larry David-isms, I am game.  I want to get drunk on Yuengling because I am from PA.

The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.The minimum is 300 characters.

Sounds like a good idea to me!

Orioles activated IF Freddie Bynum from the 15-day disabled list.
Bynum has been sidelined since July 6, first with a strained hamstring and then with a hand injury that was suffered during his minor league rehab assignment.

Orioles optioned infielder Brandon Fahey to Triple-A Norfolk.
The Orioles kept J.R. House over Fahey, who hit .231/.268/.308 in 39 at-bats. He'll be back in September.

Source: Rotoworld

I was reading through the other thread and there seems to be a lot of people interested in helping to get the word out about the September 8th game.

Since there is an interest, it would make sense if we were organized about this and come up with some kind of plan since this game is less than a month away.

I have media contacts, both radio and press, and I can draft some sort of press release to get out to the media.  If anyone has any input, I'd love to hear it.  Those who are interested should indicate what they can do to help.  

For one, I live in Boston, so I'd need to help of some Balmer peeps to do local stuff, like flyering.  I suck ass at graphic design stuff, but I know duck and dayz (sp?) are really good with that.  

If anyone has any questions, post below or e-mail me at dany AT planetarygroup.com

It does seem like the last minute to get this going, but seriously, I am fired up and I want Orioles fans out at the park supporting the team, not obnoxious Red Sox fans.  I deal with them here, and when I am down in Baltimore for the weekend, it would be nice to hang out with O's fans.

If we only get an extra 10 O's fans out, then this will be a success.  I love my team and I want the local fans out to support them!

I am visiting your wonderful city on Sept. 8, 9 & 10.  For what you ask?  Two Orioles games of course!  I think they are playing the toolshed Red Sox, but whatever, it will be fun times.  If anyone is going to be at the game, or wants to hang out around time and heckle the away team/Gibbons/Huff, let me know.

SC's mention of Mr. 3000 got me thinking -- I'd like to sit down soon and watch some good baseball movies.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  I love Bull Durham, The Sandlot is great and I've seen Mr. Baseball [I think that's the Tom Selleck classic, right?], but I'd love to check out some more.  Oh, I've seen The Natural, too.

According to Rotoworld:

Yankees purchased the contract of RHP Jim Brower from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
Joba Chamberlain's call-up will apparently have to wait. The Yankees cleared room for Brower on the roster by designating Mike Myers for assignment.

Hahah

One-line diaries are prohibited on Camden Chat. Give your diary a bit more thought, then give it another shot. If you have nothing to add to your proposed diary, then it probably belongs as a comment under another appropriate thread.
The minimum is 300 characters.