Alfredo Simon might be in the rotation chase
by Scott Christ on Mar 20, 2009 3:18 AM EDT
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He's number 58, you probably don't know much about him, and you probably didn't think you'd ever have to care.
But with four scoreless innings against the Nats, Alfredo Simon might be in the rotation chase. He's got six scoreless innings overall this spring.
"He's a horse. He's a big guy and he keeps going right at you," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said of Simon. "He had a nice outing."
Simon has now thrown six scoreless innings in two spring games, forcing himself into a rotation scrum that includes at least eight others vying for three slots.
"I don't know what they are going to do," Simon said. "But I have to show what I've got and put in the best [effort ] and they'll decide what they are going to do."
Usually I'd say we shouldn't be wasting time considering Alfredo Simon, but that's sort of the spirit of the rotation battle. I still like the David Pauley pickup, but heaven knows he's not doing worth a damn this spring. Guthrie and Uehara are the only guys set for the rotation. Simon should be given every chance the other guys are being given. Who knows? Maybe some nice sleeper action. Maybe he stinks. Who does it hurt if he earns his way in over another guy who might be a sleeper and might stink?
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All I remember
is he was the guy many wanted to kick off the 40 man roster for the Rule V draft opportunities and then he is late to camp….
If he earns his shot let him pitch. Not like he is holding anyone back. I do think Andy is going to regret not adding one more free agent starter when the opportunities were there. The O’s starters as a collective may currently be the worst in baseball. That is going to expose the bullpen to the same problems as before and losing Johnson is not going to help.
The only “upside” on Pauley so far (a move I liked very much) is he has been so bad he might sneak through if we send him to Triple A.
I have to think the O’s will put a claim in for Shawn Hill but I bet SD grabs him first.
The O’s starters as a collective may currently be the worst in baseball.
There’s no “may be” about it. Look, I say this trying to be positive: When Jeremy Guthrie and Koij Uehara are set in stone as your 1-2, there are some serious f-ing problems.
"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler
by Scott Christ on Mar 20, 2009 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions
I bought mlb '09 the show
and if that’s any indication it’s gonna be a LONG year. I finally just outrighted hendrickson
Always trust your cape. -Guy Clark
speaking of the show
i’m playing the road to the show, and i finally got called up as a starting pitcher, and brian roberts plays for the yankees.. man i’m so glad we signed him long term.
What up?
by snakethejake on Mar 20, 2009 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Let's see...
Uehara hurt, Guthrie out of shape, Hill rehabbing, Penn sucks, Adam Freakin’ Eaton looking strong, Liz to the ’pen, TheBigThree in minor league camp… bring on Simon!
His stuff is great if he can repeat it consistently. It’s not like anyone else is grabbing the job, so… welcome, Alfredo!
From the Land of Pleasant Living...
I saw his first start
Against the Rays. It was the second game of a doubl header, and he looked great. Went 7 innings and two outs and left with a lead. Jamie Walker came in and allowed 4 batters to score.
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
Why nOt?
I completely agree with SC here that this is after all an ‘open’ competition. If Simon earns a shot, then by God let the man start.
Oh and this thing with having the No.1 and No.2 spots in the rotation locked up…news flash, our No.1 is looking like crap and our No.2 might turn out to be just that. Guthrie (while I do love the guy) has been pitching over his head and his luck may soon run out. Koji seems to have the ability to pitch in the bigs, but does he have the durability? This is gonna suck friends…get ready for another long one.
P.S.-Lou Montanez just keeps on raking.
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Is there some limit to how many people you have in camp?
I realize that in football and basketball the number of contracts/roster spots are limited, therefore that limits “stockpiling” marginal talent to gain an advantage… does baseball have any limits like that in spring training? (I know there is a 40 man roster and a 25 man roster during the season)
How could he be doing his job when he didn't throw me out of the game after the things I called him?
On arguing with ump Russ Goetz.
Mark Henry Belanger
by Birdland in NC on Mar 20, 2009 10:18 AM EDT reply actions
i don't think there are any limits.
the only thing is, if you bring 100 pitchers into camp, then each of them is only going to get 2/3 of an inning of work all Spring….so you have to draw the line somewhere….
It's 4 in the morning. Too much to drink. All the girls look hot. So, the Nationals are Jennifer Lopez to me. —Julian Tavarez
Personally, I would love us finding some sleeper ...
… who turns out to be a bonafide big league starter. (By which I mean he wins more games than he loses.)
Wouldn’t it be ironic if he turns out to be what every predicted big Daniel C was going to be?
hakkaa päälle !
actually...
he’s even a few months younger than cabrera, listed as the same weight, but a few inches shorter.
"If they pitch to you, make them pay."
--Diamond Dave to the Phenom
by j.q. higgins on Mar 20, 2009 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions
the real question is
does he have the same ability to get rattled and lose his temper?
"We're so bad right now that for us back-to-back home runs means one today and another one tomorrow." - - Earl Weaver
by Gorilla Bird on Mar 20, 2009 11:02 AM EDT up reply actions
“He’s a horse. He’s a big guy and he keeps going right at you,” Orioles manager Dave Trembley said of Simon. “He had a nice outing.”
My first thought upon reading this quote was"
“Oh great, DANNY CABRERA PART II”
It's 4 in the morning. Too much to drink. All the girls look hot. So, the Nationals are Jennifer Lopez to me. —Julian Tavarez
Was your second thought?
I wonder if he wants to be my boyfriend now?
I will not rest until America has universal health care and Derek Jeter is seen for the overrated starfucker he truly is! ~2632
So is this year’s starting rotation actually shaping up to be worse than last year? Better defense at SS and in the OF should help the team ERA, but this pitching is getting ridiculous. You get what you pay for. It’s part of MacPhail’s plan to have a patchwork starting corp this year, and he sure got it.
So is this year’s starting rotation actually shaping up to be worse than last year?
Honestly? Like, from an expectations for runs allowed standpoint? Yes. They figure to be by far the worst pitching staff in baseball. It’s not even close. But at least you can honestly say, “Well, it’s not like the Orioles tried to make it better.” Because they didn’t. Which has its own upsides so long as they can accept how horrible they’re likely to be in 2009.
"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler
by Scott Christ on Mar 20, 2009 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Positives to the negatives
Sucking as badly as we will in 09 will surely bring another top 5 pick. The one thing that MacPhail has excelled at (for us anyway) is the draft. If everyone begins arriving next year and we keep that wave going, eventually we will have to be good…right?
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by sickuvitall on Mar 20, 2009 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions
aaron crow?
"If they pitch to you, make them pay."
--Diamond Dave to the Phenom
by j.q. higgins on Mar 21, 2009 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions
alfredo sauce
Alfredo Simon is soon to be 28. I’m not sure what happened to this guy. Two years ago in the PCL he has a 6.43 ERA pitching in the Giants system. I don’t have any hopes for this guy frankly. It’s also kind of a joke that MacPhail points to him as part of the “international” efforts, imo.
Librarians are hiding something
Some points to consider:
1. All we need for the back of the rotation is the equivalent of Jose Mercedes in 2000. Anything else is gravy.
2. Simon’s good numbers in the minors have come as a starter. He has been shuttled back and forth to the bullpen (for whatever reason), and never done well when that happens.
3. Coaching staffs do sometimes improve pitchers (Jim Johnson), and old dogs do learn new tricks.
4. 6+ ERA is not good anywhere, but it was the PCL…
Another guy
What’s happened to Bobby Livingston? Didn’t the O’s pick him up?
He had good control, which is rare for an Oriole pitcher.
Just beating a dead horse
With the crap that we are trying to scrap together a rotation from, I still don’t get why we so quickly gave up on Matt Albers. He’s a friggin starter, he’s pretty much always been a starter. He was decent last year. He’s been doing well in ST. WTF am I missing here? I’m not saying that Matt Albers is the next Greg Maddux, but in case nobody has noticed, Greg Maddux circa 1995 isn’t in camp. Heck, outside of Guthrie, Greg Maddux circa 2008 isn’t in camp.
I know he’s coming off an injury, but is there a pitcher in camp that hasn’t had an MRI in the last 6 months?
"Hey Yankees... you can take your apology and your trophy and shove 'em straight up your ass!" --Tanner Boyle
by BirdFanInPhilly on Mar 20, 2009 3:12 PM EDT reply actions
Albers
I think they are afraid to heap the workload of an MLB starter on him without allowing him to first get back to full arm strength. His injury was rather serious. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the rotation at or near the break if he does well in a bullpen role.
Facial hair adds character...support Birds for Beards!
He’s not even totally “off” the injury. There’s still a lot of “let’s see how his arm holds up” to be done. I’d agree with sickuvitall (which by the way is how I always said Sick of it All’s name) — they’re probably just worried about the workload that comes with throwing starter innings and then resting the arm for days.
"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler
by Scott Christ on Mar 20, 2009 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Sick of it All
I heard somewhere that they were making another album due for release in 09…not sure how many of the originals are left though. I can’t say that they were the inspiration for my screen name though…that would go to a Public Enemy album insert.
Facial hair adds character...support Birds for Beards!
I saw SoiA in Chicago a couple years ago opening for Rancid. Fun show. They’re firmly aware how old they are.
"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler
by Scott Christ on Mar 20, 2009 10:00 PM EDT up reply actions
"Starting the season on DL, half the Os rotation"
At this point the rotation is firming up:
Guthrie
Uehara (Baez if Koji’s hurt)
Hill (Pauley if Hill’s hurt)
Bergesen
Bass/Simon
MASN
Between the Orioles and Nationals MASN is going to be a real showcase for pitching talent this year.
by Joltin Joe Orsulak on Mar 20, 2009 10:14 PM EDT reply actions
actually...
nats starters, i’d think, will be a lot more watchable. lannan, balester, jordan zimmerman and ross detwiler + plus cabrera or whoever is much, much stronger than guts and koji plus whoever. koji is, in all probablility, not going to end well, but i SO want him to succeed!
"If they pitch to you, make them pay."
--Diamond Dave to the Phenom
by j.q. higgins on Mar 21, 2009 12:14 AM EDT up reply actions
Maybe
I think Guthrie is better than anyone in the Nats rotation (thought Zimmermann maybe has a shot — apparently he’s just now having his first bad start of the spring — 4 hits, 3 R in 1 IP so far; 2Ks though). The Nats have more upside right now, since a lot of these guys are guys who should be part of their future, but we’ve seen how that can work out in the short term with Liz, Olson, Penn, Cabrera, et al.
by Joltin Joe Orsulak on Mar 21, 2009 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Liz Olson Penn vs Tillman Matusz Arrieta
You have to like the chances of the new breed more than what we could have ever expected from the now-fizzled old three. I listed them in the order that I did to try to draw comparison with somewhat similar pitchers (and I stress somewhat). Tillman already looks light years ahead of where Liz was at age 20. Matusz has a lot more to work with from the left side than Olson ever did. Arrieta has the luxury of time and the ability to avoid freak injuries…neither of which Penn had.
I fully expect that one of the Big 3 will fail. Then again, I would not be terribly surprised if the one that ‘fails’ still turns out to be somewhat serviceable in the bigs. This sucking can’t last forever, so we suffer for another year or so. At least we can say we were there for the whole thing…there will be those who try to come back to the Oriole Way. We will accept them, although deep down inside fully knowing that they were part of the problem and we were the solution!
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Definitely
The new big three are much more for real than the previous group — the combination of stuff and polish is much better. And they’re certainly better as a group than the Nats’ group. (I think only Zimmermann is really a strong bet to have a good big league career as a starter.) The Nats’ rotation that j.q. higgins describes has more upside than the Orioles’ current starting rotation, but I’d take the Orioles’ system in a heartbeat.
by Joltin Joe Orsulak on Mar 21, 2009 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions
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