SB Nation User Blog: j.q. higgins

More Fun w/ Miguel Angel Sano...

j.q. higgins — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:19:19 -0000

so, first of all, i had no idea how big this kid is...6'3"? 190? and he's 16? huh. from steve melewski's blog it sounds like dave stockstill is pretty high on him and if his vitals check out (age, identity, etc), the o's should be in the thick of it to ink this kid. i mean, if you're inclined towards conspiracies about courting players just for PR, that's one thing, but i'd have to guess that for the bulk of o's fans and baseball fans, miguel angel sano is a fairly obscure story...i think the professed interest is legit and i have a good feeling about this, but who knows, really?

http://masnsports.com/2009/06/more-sano-talk.html

Grant Who? O's May Step to the Plate for Sano

j.q. higgins — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:50:21 -0000

W/ the Gonzalez fiasco in Washington and even our own mini-mess w/ Tejada, it seems like one must tread lightly when courting Dominican talent. As a quick refresher, Miguel Angel Sano is a (reportedly) teenage shortstop prospect in the D.R. Up until this point, everything I've read has the Pirates going after him anf being willing to part w/ an up to $4 million signing bonus.

According to Zrbiec (http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-short606,0,5429145.story), Sano worked out at the O's academy on Friday, and Stockstill liked what he saw. You have to figure that, given the "fool me twice, shame on me" approach of Angelos, there's got to be a pretty hardcore due diligence procedure in place to verify this [kid]'s identity, age, etc and I feel like there's not really a question that the O's will pay for talent.

What do you guys think?

Poll

If Miguel Angel Sano checks out, would it be worth plunking down $4 million for him?

Yes

42 votes

No

4 votes

Bah...bring on the Brandon Fahey clones!

4 votes

50 votes | Poll has closed

Rosenthal: O's would trade Guts "if wowed"

j.q. higgins — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:59:24 -0000

Rosenthal: O's would trade Guts "if wowed"

To me, the news is that they'd entertain offers, but it seems to me that this seems pretty consistent w/ AMP's philosphy on trading. Especially, trading an established pitcher. I think the language w/ Huff and Sherrill last year was that they were looking fair value, and that seemed to be pretty high, so to be wowed must be a pretty high bar.

AMP on the Draft

j.q. higgins — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:50:52 -0000

AMP on the Draft

Pretty expansive comments on the draft and draft strategy over at MASN. Steve Melewski does a pretty good job on the meat and potatoes stuff.

Quick note on O's youngsters and pitch counts...

j.q. higgins — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:43:38 -0000

fwiw, "the admiral" oliver drake went 7 innings at delmarva last night (i should mention that his full name is oliver gardner drake, which, to me, reaks of 4th generation annapolis, but i digress...), tim bascom went 6 at frederick, patton went 7 at bowie and...does anyone care what chris waters did (he apparently did well, though)?

while we're at it., wtf w/ bascom and beato? their k rates are freakishly low...and beato's, like, a monster. 6'6"? 230? yeesh.

Gettin the band back together...

j.q. higgins — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:26:24 -0000

Much like the O's seem to be a gathering point for Cubbies flotsam, the Marlins seem to have a thing for our pitcher flameouts. Not merely content w/ Hayden Penn (he of the 6.97 ERA and 2.08 WHIP), apparently, the Marlins are also taking a look at Danny Cabs (h/t MLBTR: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/05/marlins-interested-in-daniel-cabrera.html).

As a certain someone once said...

via ecx.images-amazon.com

Nats DFA Daniel Cabrera

j.q. higgins — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:37:55 -0000

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2009/05/cabrera_designated_for_assignm.html?wprss=nationalsjournal

cabs says he will decline to accept a minor league assignment and become a free agent. good luck w/ that, buds. as frustrating as cabrera has/had been, i always feel sort of bad for the guy, for some reason. ah, well.

also, in case you missed my thrilling fanshot, the o's have also released chris vinyard. w/ apologies to jolie holland, i say adieu, false hope.

Adios, Chris Vinyard...

j.q. higgins — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:07:41 -0000

Adios, Chris Vinyard...

Once an intriguing power prospect, Vinyard never seemed to get it after his impressive short season debut. A sobering reminder that you can't pin TOO much on the kids.

(In case you forgot) Reasons why Daniel Cabrera is still a bum

j.q. higgins — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:07:44 -0000

(In case you forgot) Reasons why Daniel Cabrera is still a bum

22 walks
10 k
1.82 WHIP
averaging LESS than 5 innings a start
now has a career ERA OVER 5.

next t shirt tuesday: huff daddy appreciation night.

j.q. higgins — Fri, 08 May 2009 08:24:57 -0000

next t shirt tuesday: huff daddy appreciation night.