Spring Training Round-up 03/01

Good morning! Been fairly busy the past couple days, but I managed to take in as much of the Orioles as I could. The first two games against the Fish were everything you could expect from two young teams playing their first games of the year. A good amount of sloppy play and plenty of mistakes, but hey, it's spring training. Let's get into the performances.

First thing, hats off to Steve Trachsel and 2 shutout innings. Tractor took advantage of the rusty Marlins throwing everything he had at the kids. I'm just hoping he doesn't peak too early. Actually, I was pulling to sign Steve Trachsel again this off-season when we were going to sign a veteran starter. I didn't want the O's pulling in some veteran on his last leg who felt he deserved a 2 or 3 year deal. Tractor will eat innings and hopefully play just well enough to be traded before the deadline. I can't see him staying with the team all year.

Brian Roberts is apparently really annoying to pitchers. He has his own friend, Mark Hendrickson, cutting him down in the media for stealing bases during a baseball game and giving them a chance to win. I know, what was he thinking. Roberts is off to a great start, and I think we should really enjoy it while it is here because the Cubs scouts are going to be calling their bosses saying "give them what they want." He's a hard nosed player who has always played hard, and I will miss him when he's traded for a bag load of cubbies.

Our bullpen has been horrendous so far. Jamie Walker got tagged for 5, Lance Cormier got tagged for 3, and Esteban Yan was tagged for 4. Luckily, only Walker will actually be on the roster come opening day. I don't read anything into Walker's performance; he's a veteran and we know he's possibly the most reliable option in our pen. He'll be ready. Matt Albers and Randor Bierd both gave up 2 runs in their outtings.

Adam Jones drew two walks in his spring training debut, and I couldn't be happier. He did get caught leaning, but everyone gets picked off now and then. Patience is going to be a great thing if we learned anything from Markakis. Nick sat back and watched pitches go buy and didn't get anxious. Even when he was slumping and batting under .200, the team was happy with how he was handling himself in the box and knew it was a matter of time before he put it together. The more patience Adam Jones has the better hitter he is going to become this year. I'll take this as a good sign.

The last name of the entry will go to my favorite new comer in Scott Moore. Thanks to Roch on this news piece. Scott Moore scored on a single by Eider Torres. Apparently, Scott didn't know Juan Samuel was a guide for him to use on the basepaths, or he is just a rogue looking to create a stir. Moore ran through a full on stop sign to score on the play. According to Roch, Moore got the stare down all the way to the bench. Well, I think Juan should stare at him, and he should wonder why he ever doubted the speed of Scott Moore to begin with. Kudos Scott for playing hard.

As before, feel free to comment because I'm always up for anyone's opinion.