Wednesday Bird Droppings

All good choices and I personally recommend Little Havana. It’s not listed here but we had some good times after Opening Day at The Nest.

If you’re referring to Little Havana not being listed in the link, it is.

why is a bench player being benched? Lou is useless. Bring up Aubrey who could at least provide a bat late. Not that Aubrey is the answer any of us are looking for, but last year he was at least getting hits, which is more than what Atkins is doing. I wonder if this may be the interleague call-up – has any one heard any rumblings?

I don’t know what to say. Luuuuuuke is HOT. I don’t remember any player in Oriole history who had such disparities in their playing. When Luke is cold, he is just horrilbe. But when he is hot, he shouldn’t be pitched too. It is so frustrating. But while he is hot, like now, I don’t mind at all.

was down here in Norfolk last night taking notes. More useless moves from within the organization to come?

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2010/05/joe_girardi_protests_yankees_7.html

   what are the rules could we option fatkins to aaa? could he refuse to go? i know some players can not sure if that is based on yrs in the lg or what not. i say option and not relase because if we are paying him hell send him down to try and get something for the orginazation out of that 6 m

i just got an interview request for an industrial engineering position at the vitamin shoppe HQ in north bergen. lawlerskates

In 7 games since being called up, Corey Patterson has 2 home runs and has scored 8 runs. In 32 games since Opening Day, Garrett Atkins has 0 home runs and has scored 4 runs. Garrett IS outpacing Corey in RBI, though, 6-2.

If you guys are on Twitter, definitely follow @SI_Vault He posts old photos from from Sports Illustrated every day. He just posted this one:

with the caption, “SI Vault Photo (1979): Doug Stanhouse and Earl Weaver (in a towel) enjoy a postgame beer and cigarette.” So it’s not Doug…but still an awesome photo.

It’s not pretty.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=10918

This was supposed to be a year in which the Orioles stepped forward. Nobody expected them to compete for a post-season birth, but 2010 was supposed to represent the beginning of a turnaround built upon a nucleus of young talent — all of which has disappointed this year. Matt Wieters is still trying to find his big league power swing, Adam Jones has regressed from a talented free swinger to a complete hacker, and Nick Markakis has become a power line-drive hitter with just two home runs.

And sure, the pitching staff is bad, but Brian Matusz has been wonderful at times, with classic youthful inconsistency, and Triple-A starters Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta should be big helps to the rotation, with others like Double-A groundball machine Zach Britton aren’t far behind. So why the despair?

It’s because what the Orioles are left with is an offense currently ranked 13th in the American League in runs, but a system so imbalanced it’s currently is in no position to help.

The top hitting prospect for the O’s is third baseman Josh Bell, who arrived last July from the Dodgers in the George Sherrill deal. Expected to be the club’s third baseman in 2011, Bell’s first showing against Triple-A has exposed some major holes in his game, as his .250/.281/.431 batting line shows how his lack of plate discipline is catching up to him, while concerns about his struggles against left-handers have become larger due to his 2-for-25 (.080) mark against them for Norfolk.

The scary thing for Baltimore is that not only is Bell their top hitting prospect, he might just be their only one. Even giving the young players mulligans for their poor start, the Orioles have some gaping holes in their longterm line-up at several positions, and nobody to fill them. Much like Bell at third base, former first-round pick Brandon Snyder was expected to step into the first-base job next year, even though scouts were concerned that the .300 hitter with average-at-best power didn’t profile well at the position. First base prospects have to be great, not good hitters, and Snyder’s .202/.288/.298 line for Norfolk has few thinking that he’s still the answer. As for shortstop, currently manned by plug-in Cesar Izturis, there’s nobody even to discuss as a potential replacement, even on a short-term level.

Make no mistake, the Orioles are playing well below their ability right now, but even if they were, questions about where their runs are going to come from over the next five years would still be hanging out there.

walking in 12.5% of his PAs. his OBP is .409(?) and he’s hitting in the low .300s, his BABIP is .333

i grant you the small sample set, but the man seems to be seeing the ball very, very well right now.

(as i pointed in the crow thread, as well, his best walk rates and k rates in his career are w/ the o’s)

Love that. I prefer looking at B-R.com for some stats because I’m more familiar with their layout and they have kick ass search functions, but often find myself flipping back and forth from them and Fangraphs on the same player.

They’re using BaseballProjection.com as their source.

One of them is the shaving cream pie. A quote:

Sometimes it feels as if everyone but Felix Pie has been pied.

Maybe now would be a good time for the O’s offense to HARDEN THE F*** UP.