Starting Pitching Questions

by Ceasaleo on Oct 13, 2009 3:58 PM EDT

I believe next year's starting rotation should be made up of Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, Jeremy Guthrie, and Brad Bergesen. That's what I would think most people believe makes up 4/5th's of the rotation. Here's my question: Who do you think takes that last spot?...

Do we take the free agent route?.. If so, who would you target?

Or do we go with some more home grown talent?.. If that's the way we go, who do you have in mind?

If we look the free agents route, my 1st option would be to get a young veteran that can come in and be a #1 or #2 type pitcher and maybe not cost that much, since I don't MacPhail's gonna break the bank for a pitcher. A couple of names that have caught my eye are : Brandon Webb, Jason Jennings, Shawn Hill, and Jon Garland. A couple others that I would keep my eye on, would be : Erik Bedard, Ben Sheets, Rich Harden, and Mark Prior, if these guys have gotten / can get over their injuries, they could be cheap pieces to plug in. My 2nd option would be to get an older veteran, who can be thrown into the middle / back end of the rotation, to serve as mentor and eat up some innings until the next wave of young arms get called up. Guys like Jason Schmidt, Josh Fogg, Tim Hudson, and John Smoltz.

I really like the idea of signing Smoltz, because he could be the closer or a starter, and provide some leardership to the young staff.

If we go the home grown route, I'd like to see Troy Patton win the spot. His arm should be back to form from surgery and he hope he has spent the whole year in AAA ironing out the kinks.

So what's your opinion... Throw your theory out there

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I think...

…Arrieta is probably the home-grown frontrunner, but I’d rather pick someone up so Jake can start the year in AAA and serve as a fill-in in case of injury.

With that injury thought in mind…I’d vote for Rich Harden. Of all the available guys, he has the most unhittable stuff and he’s going to turn 28 next month. He gets injured alot, but the O’s are going to have enough depth to fill in here and there with Arrieta, Patton, et al.

It would be nice to have a guy with true ‘Ace’ stuff to take some pressure off the kids.

by sabertooth5185 on Oct 13, 2009 4:15 PM EDT reply actions

Jason Jennings is not a starter and is a below-average bullpen guy. He does have some pinch hitting skills but the Os won’t sign him.
I believe that we tried to sign Garland last year, but he appears to be much more comfortable in the NL so it would be doubtful he signs.
Frequently injured players to look at are Shawn Hill, although he would probably ahve to be given a minor league deal with an invite to spring training, and Harden. Ben Sheets will probably be nabbed by another team
Bedard will be recovering from an injury for most of the year so we probably won’t sign him until next year

Troy Patton had a rotten year and probably needs some more time. I believe that Arrieta is probably the frontrunner for the fifth spot.

Basically I see Arrieta and Hill battling in spring training

by OsandRoyals on Oct 13, 2009 4:21 PM EDT reply actions

I was looking at the list of pitchers the other day

And there are a handful that I wouldn’t mind seeing in Baltimore, and wouldn’t be surprised to see in Baltimore:

Bedard, Harden, Hill, Pineiro, or Pavano

The thing is, though, that most of these guys are pretty high injury risks and/or not all that great and/or past their prime. But it seems like it’s been made pretty clear that the Orioles intend to get someone and let Arrieta, Patton, Hill, Johnson, Berken, and Hernandez serve as the backup starters (or maybe relievers).

So if I had to bet (what a strange situation that would be), I’d bet that one of those five guys is in black and orange by Christmas.

"I like baseball, movies, good clothes, whiskey, fast cars ... and you. What else you need to know?"

by Andrew_G on Oct 13, 2009 4:42 PM EDT reply actions

Bedard won't pitch until after ASG, and that's optimistic

He really shouldn’t be in the conversation

"I would approve signing a pitcher that ate kitten tacos if he won 20 games a year." -BPinOK

by duck on Oct 13, 2009 6:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Whither Erik?

I heard that he won’t be back until the first half of 2010 but I also saw this at yahoo, dated today:

Medical Watch:

LHP Erik Bedard (left shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum in August 2009) could be ready when spring training begins.

link.

Librarians are hiding something

by dfa on Oct 14, 2009 12:29 AM EDT up reply actions

That is the first time

I’ve seen any report that he will pitch before July next year. If that’s the case, hell, sign him up. He will be a Class B Free Agent and should be cheap (i.e. under $8M a year for a starter, low years needed). We know he’s not Sandy Koufax 2.0, and we don’t need him to be. Just 25-28 starts of the ol’ Erik for 6.0 or a little more per outing, and we’d be golden. That would be a steal…

"I would approve signing a pitcher that ate kitten tacos if he won 20 games a year." -BPinOK

by duck on Oct 15, 2009 7:27 PM EDT up reply actions

For reason unknown to me

I can’t get the image of jason marquis as an oriole out of my head!

Ray Rice is so agile. He's a whole new breed for agile you need a new word to describe his agility... UBER-AGILITY!

by BaltimoreSportsFan on Oct 13, 2009 5:06 PM EDT reply actions

I wouldn't mind Rich Harden if we pick up anyone...

When healthy (almost a cliche statement at this point) he is an electrifying talent. And why not add another former Cub? : ) My god our pitching will be SO much better next year!

by Tetris on Oct 13, 2009 5:39 PM EDT reply actions

New and better option

from fangraphs and robothal: Tim Hudson.

34 years old, but was as good as ever in terms of FIP when he showed up in Atlanta last year after missing a lot of time with injury. Could be cheaper given the injury history but the risk is probably lower than with Harden or Bedard (or Duchscherer). So that’s my new dream target for the Orioles.

"I like baseball, movies, good clothes, whiskey, fast cars ... and you. What else you need to know?"

by Andrew_G on Oct 13, 2009 6:05 PM EDT reply actions

Now there's a name I could support

"I would approve signing a pitcher that ate kitten tacos if he won 20 games a year." -BPinOK

by duck on Oct 13, 2009 6:46 PM EDT up reply actions

I'd be a fan of that.

Sinkerballers are always attractive for Camden Yards. Plus he’s got badass tattoos.

by O'sFan21 on Oct 13, 2009 8:42 PM EDT up reply actions

I think I read that the Braves will try and keep him

Don't let the sunshine fool ya. - Townes Van Zandt

by BPinOK on Oct 13, 2009 9:39 PM EDT up reply actions

If our check is bigger

I bet he comes here.

"I would approve signing a pitcher that ate kitten tacos if he won 20 games a year." -BPinOK

by duck on Oct 15, 2009 7:28 PM EDT up reply actions

He did say he’d sign with the Braves for less. So it would have to significantly better in my opinion.

Don't let the sunshine fool ya. - Townes Van Zandt

by BPinOK on Oct 16, 2009 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Hey I had his name in the list too

by Ceasaleo on Oct 14, 2009 12:18 AM EDT up reply actions

So you did

I had totally just assumed that anybody with an option would have it picked up, so I guess I just glossed over it. For example, Brandon Webb isn’t going to be a free agent.

"I like baseball, movies, good clothes, whiskey, fast cars ... and you. What else you need to know?"

by Andrew_G on Oct 14, 2009 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Let's stay away from Prior

We dodged a bullet when we almost got him for Miggy and he is so cursed that he even couldnt stay on the Padres!.

Sign Harden and have him and if he stinks bring up Arrieta mid May like Bergensen did last year.

by crabchips on Oct 13, 2009 6:32 PM EDT reply actions

The odds of him stinking are not good.

If he’s healthy he’s pretty awesome.

by O'sFan21 on Oct 13, 2009 8:42 PM EDT up reply actions

He won't be healthy

I guarantee!

"I like baseball, movies, good clothes, whiskey, fast cars ... and you. What else you need to know?"

by Andrew_G on Oct 13, 2009 9:37 PM EDT up reply actions

You can blame that on Dusty Baker...

by mlb32001 on Oct 13, 2009 9:58 PM EDT up reply actions

His mechanics are not conductive either.

The stock market will never recover, our armies will never again be #1, and our children will drink filthy water for the rest of their lives - HST

by the fix is in on Oct 14, 2009 11:17 AM EDT up reply actions

Pior is a disaster. He proably won't pitch in the majors again

Lackey and Hudson are the only pitches mentioned here that I would support. That’s not to say they’ll be signed, just that the rest of that bunch would be best described as a #4 or 5 pitcher, not to mention a move from the NL to the AL East.

Lackey would be the best possible signing as he has playoff experience, might make for a great mentor, and is an ace, despite being missed on many people’s lists of aces. His asking price is going to be high, which is a big hindrance, and I’m sure he’d say something like “I want to play for a contender”. So, he, more then likely, won’t work out.

Hudson, on the other hand, would represent a solid #2 or 3 guy in an AL East rotation. He has experience in the post season and would make for a great mentor for the young guys. The biggest problem, again, will be money and the drive to win. It’s hard to deny that the Os won’t be competing for another year, and that reality is going to drive a lot of the cream to be scooped off quickly by perennial winners.

by Dr Orpheus on Oct 13, 2009 10:07 PM EDT reply actions

Should be interesting to see

My thoughts:

Patton…Patton really faded in the second half of 2009, not too surprising in lieu of his injury. So I look at 2010 as a real test and I think he should make at least 20 starts in Norfolk. Then if goes well, then Baltimore.

Arrieta…I kind of would like to delay the arbitration clock on Arrieta and let him spend a month in AAA working on things.

I like Harden and Bedard the best in the category of “guys who might actually sign with us.” If Bedard was healthy enough to come back in the spring, it would definitely be him.

Rich Hill anyone?

Librarians are hiding something

by dfa on Oct 14, 2009 12:50 AM EDT reply actions

Homegrown talent

I want to see how these guys do in spring training, but if Patton or Arrieta are ready, I would be happy to see them. Rich Hill proved to be a control problem and I don’t think he should be considered as anything but AAA talent until he proves successful, there. If Rich Harden or Ben Sheets were available, I would say great. Nothing to lose but $$$. Bedard won’t be ready by April, so I don’t think he is an option. By the time he might be ready, so will Arrieta. Don’t bother with Bedard.

by fuddnelson on Oct 14, 2009 9:27 AM EDT reply actions