Penn might be out of the rotation race
by SC on Mar 28, 2009 4:52 AM EDT
in Spring Training
22 comments
After Hayden Penn's latest bad spring outing, it doesn't sound good for the 24-year old righty:
Penn, one of five candidates for three rotation spots, is forcing the Orioles to make a difficult decision. He is out of options, meaning the Orioles would need him to pass through waivers to get him to Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles aren't confident Penn will make it through waivers, as a number of teams, including the pitcher's hometown and pitching-desperate San Diego Padres, have expressed interest in him in the past.
Ol' Hayden just isn't getting it done out there, which he acknowledges (in those words even):
"Actually, I felt pretty good out there," said Penn, who needed 62 pitches to get eight outs. "Obviously, the line is bad and I didn't get it done, but I felt pretty good. I really did. That's probably the best I felt physically all spring. ... I felt I was making some quality pitches. That's the way it goes. That's baseball."
At what point when you're Hayden Penn does "Well, that's baseball" start driving you plum effing crazy, though? This is a guy that was about to get another call to the show last year before being impaled by a bat. He has had some ridiculously awful luck. Trembley talked about him having a sharp curveball the other day. His control was bad, too, and let's not discount that, but Penn's out there feelin' it and his curve is working and he still stinks, and he has the resolve to go, "Well, hey, you know, that's baseball. Am I right fellas?"
I imagine him saying this again a dozen more times when spoken to after rough outings and finally just losing it and going on some weird tangent like Michael Richards in UHF.
The thing is, Hayden Penn was basically handed a golden opportunity this spring to right his own ship. There were FOUR open rotation spots before Koji Uehara was signed, and three after. He wasn't being asked to beat out the brightest stars in the galaxy, either. But it looks like he's going to lose this shot to the likes of Adam Eaton, Mark Hendrickson and probably Alfredo Simon. I'm not the biggest Penn backer in the world or close to it, but I was relatively sure he'd make it out of camp with a rotation spot. I thought there was a good shot he wouldn't keep it very long (perhaps after being attacked by a giant squid), but I really thought he'd win a spot. Doesn't look good now, though.
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Can we give the giant squid a tryout?
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
by zknower on Mar 28, 2009 5:51 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Only if it's lefthanded, apparently
"Any guitar solos you hear on the record where it sounds like one note, sounds like Meg White playing guitar -- that's me. Any real guitar solo where a guitar comes in and you go, 'F--k, that sounds awesome!' -- that's not me." - Josh Freese
by duck on Mar 30, 2009 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
A giant crab would be nice
Especially in Baltimore.
by Fred Sanford on Mar 28, 2009 8:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I guess
just throw him in the bullpen and save him for later. No sense in cutting him and losing him altogether with no compensation. We will need as many arms as possible this year, so I say let him suffer and take his lumps like the unlucky man that he is.
And I have to agree with the post here in that Hayden really was handed the best possible scenario this Spring. Open rotation competition against a bunch of old scrubs with no real pressure to perform great…and still he floundered!
Mood about O's rotation: Depressed : (
by sickuvitall on Mar 28, 2009 9:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Penn
He didn’t get the best chance, but he got a good one. Penn should’ve been starting all the games that Baez was starting to give a real indication of how he is shaping up. Until yesterday, he had only come in relief, but he wasn’t doing awful (not particularly good either). It is hard to judge his numbers since yesterday was the first time he really faced Major League hitters compared to the minor league guys he had been facing.
Either way, he should be in the pen, and the Orioles should put Bass through waivers. If the O’s brass really think he is going to shape up to this valuable commodity (and I heard they really like him), then I will simply point to Brian Burres and say “you have said this before.”
by PWubbs on Mar 28, 2009 10:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If I had my druthers this would all be solved by throwing Penn and Bass into the bullpen and telling Danys Baez to go take a flying leap.
"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 SC on Mar 28, 2009 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
yesterday was his first start?
that’s ridiculous. that is just plain ridiculous. that’s not a fair shake at all.
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
by zknower on Mar 28, 2009 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I have my doubts there’s any difference. When he comes in in relief he knows exactly when he’s coming in well ahead of time.
"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 SC on Mar 28, 2009 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Regardless
of when he was coming in, he just simply didn’t do well enough to convince me. Of course, neither did anyone else. Especially Baez…who’s dumbass idea was that?! I mean c’mon, EVERYBODY knew that he wasn’t going to work out as a starter. Nor will he be good as a reliever. Those innings should have just gone to someone who at least has a chance to succeed.
Mood about O's rotation: Depressed : (
by sickuvitall on Mar 28, 2009 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
well, yeah...
if you can’t even make yourself look good in comparison to baez, eaton and hendrickson, uhhh…
"If they pitch to you, make them pay."
--Diamond Dave to the Phenom
by j.q. higgins on Mar 28, 2009 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Baez is sadly being paid millions of dollars. It’s a business. The Orioles want a return. They’ve already given him money for one horrible year and one year he helped tremendously by not playing.
"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 SC on Mar 28, 2009 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
So many pitchers, so many open slots, so few real choices.
Not enough innings to go around for guys like Penn who need more than a couple of relief appearances and a start or two. Despite this cattle call I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Trachsel-like signing to fill one of the rotation slots.
(Note to Warehouse: I said “Trachsel-like”. Please dont call Steve himself)
by typozzz on Mar 28, 2009 8:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
we already made it with Eaton
"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 SC on Mar 29, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Either they make him the 5th starter
or they’ll put him in for long relief. Either way, he’ll get plenty more chances to prove himself.
I can’t see them trying to sneak him through waivers, since he’ll get picked up in a heartbeat. SD is salivating over him (since they never got Olson).
I think he’s still got a shot at the last rotation spot. Nobody has earned it, so might as well chuck him out there and see what we get. We know we’re going to have to rely on offense for wins this year.
AndHedges: soo... when do I get to throw a couple of pitches and complain about "tightness?"
by CoachOfEarl on Mar 28, 2009 10:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
+1 for the UHF reference
“What’s the matter, George?”
“Oh Stanley…you don’t want to know.”
“Oh. Then why did I ask?”
"The United States is the New York Yankees of countries...powerful and respected until the year 2000." - Homer J. Simpson
by Brotz13 on Mar 29, 2009 8:42 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
My favorite...
Raul Hernandez: Badgers? Badgers? We don’t need no stinking badgers!
OR….
Crazy Ernie: If nobody comes down here and buys a car in the next hour, I’m gonna club this baby seal. That’s right! I’m gonna club this seal to make a better deal. You know I’ll do it, too, cause I’m crazy.
OR….
George Newman: Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs – -all next week on Town Talk.
OR….
Stanley Spadowski: I’m thinkin’ of something orange. Something orange. Give up? It’s an orange.
That movie is just full of classic lines.
"Any guitar solos you hear on the record where it sounds like one note, sounds like Meg White playing guitar -- that's me. Any real guitar solo where a guitar comes in and you go, 'F--k, that sounds awesome!' -- that's not me." - Josh Freese
by duck on Mar 30, 2009 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Put him in the rotation
And tell him he is in it all year no matter how bad he starts. It worked for Markakis and Roberts. I t worked for Brady Anderson. He might be just one of those guys who doesnt work well when he is worried about his job.
by WilmingtonNC on Mar 30, 2009 9:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Is putting him on the ML roster really neccesary?
If they send him down, is anyone really going to claim him at this point? A team would have to keep him on their 25 man roster, wouldn’t they?
I think he’s been so bad this spring, that it may no longer be an issue.
"Hey Yankees... you can take your apology and your trophy and shove 'em straight up your ass!" --Tanner Boyle
by BirdFanInPhilly on Mar 30, 2009 1:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
he'll get claimed
the Padres are gonna be so bad they can afford to keep him around. Hell, the Mets might give him a shot, too, given their recent success with guys the O’s more or less gave up on.
and yeah, a team would have to keep him on the roster or expose him to waivers again, but I’d guess he’s more likely to be claimed than not.
by pipkin on Mar 30, 2009 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
he'd get claimed
The Padres want him for sure and there are several other teams that can afford to stash him or even just roll the dice and start him.
"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 SC on Mar 30, 2009 5:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Once again
the O’s missed another opportunity to trade a zero of a pitcher in the past that now we’d get bupkis for at this point. See Rocky Coppinger, Daniel Cabrera, and a long list of others…
Rexx
by Rexx on Mar 30, 2009 5:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I can't fault the O's on this one
I’d probably have had a bigger problem with them trading away their best pitching prospect at the time, than keeping him. Sure, in hindsight they should have, but can’t fault them for not predicting the future.
"Hey Yankees... you can take your apology and your trophy and shove 'em straight up your ass!" --Tanner Boyle
by BirdFanInPhilly on Mar 30, 2009 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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