Who are the O's taking in the draft?

by Patts69 on Jun 1, 2006 3:38 PM EDT

The O's have a middle of the round draft pick. Pitching would be good or a power hitting first baseman/outfielder. We could always use some more speed. A solid college pitcher that would be able to move up rapidly would good.

Scout.com listed this about the O's number 9 pick. 9. Baltimore Orioles - Chris Marrero, 3B, R/R, 6'3, 205, Monsignor Pace HS, Opa Locka, FL

Let's play a game. Name the last third baseman the Orioles drafted who became a regular in Baltimore's lineup for consecutive years. Give up? Would you believe it's Cal Ripken, Jr., who was taken in the second round of the 1978 draft? And that really doesn't even count because he wound up at shortstop. Before him you have to go back to 1970 when the Orioles took Doug DeCinces in round three. That's a long 3B drought. This year they may have an answer in Chris Marrero, a gifted athlete with a classic ballplayer's build and the baseball skills to match. On defense, he is quick with good hands and a strong, accurate throwing arm. At the plate he is already a disciplined hitter. He waits for his pitch and isn't afraid of taking a walk. When he gets his pitch he can deposit it anywhere from one foul pole to the other. Before I saw him, I read several reports that compared him to Alex Rodriguez. I never saw A-Rod play as an amateur, but the physical similarities are definitely there. Marrero will be a keeper and a good bet to fill the Orioles' need for a legitimate 3B prospect.

What do you think?

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Baseball draft

I can't really get excited about the MLB draft. More so than any other sport; it's a complete crap shoot. I would love to see the percentage of players drafted in the first two rounds that ever get more than 600 AB's or 300 IP's in the majors. If you eliminated the first 5 picks of the draft; I would suspect it would be in the 15-20% range at best.

by BirdFanInPhilly on Jun 1, 2006 3:47 PM EDT reply actions

Hopefully

not Jefrry Maier. See the following WaPo article.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060101968.html

by birdman on Jun 1, 2006 11:20 PM EDT reply actions

What a stupid article...

Where to start? First of all the idea of "curses" is stupid, but it is especially stupid in regard to the Orioles. Leave that idiocy to Red Sox and Cubs fans, please. Not every team that sucks for an extended period of time needs a "curse." Does anyone think the KC Royals are "cursed"? How about the Devil Rays? Like those teams, the Orioles crap seasons are easily explained without resort to supernatural explanations.

First of all, the very next year the Orioles went wire-to-wire to win the AL East. They lost the ALCS due to poor defense at catcher and because they flat-out got outplayed by the Indians. Lenny Webster wasn't cursed...he just wasn't very good. And the Orioles haven't had a winning season since then because they haven't had enough good players on their team to have a winning season, not because of some voodoo curse.

And as for Jeffery Maier...give me a break. This article makes it sound as if he is the second coming of Babe Ruth. "The all-time hits leader at Wesleyan (Conn.) University." Can anyone tell me whom he passed up for that illustrious honor? I'm guessing it wasn't George Brett. The kid is a marginal prospect, not someone who is going to save a struggling organization.

And as far as the call being "one of the worst umpiring calls in history," sorry but it's not even close. When you watch what happened close-up on video it's easy to see that Maier interfered, and that is reason enough to hate him forever. But I can easily understand how an ump on the field would have missed the interference. It sucked, and I was as pissed about it as anyone, but keep in mind that did not happen in the bottom of the 9th in game seven of the series. The series moved to Baltimore after that game, and the Os folded like a cheap pup tent.

Peter Angelos is not the victim of a curse. He is a horrible owner who has made tons of bad decisions, and chased good baseball talent out of town due to his abrasive personality. And that's pretty much the beginning, middle and end of the story.

by rebop on Jun 2, 2006 8:37 AM EDT up reply actions

That said...

we should draft him and keep him in Bluefield until he's 40. Life in Bluefield, WVa would be punishment enough for a New Yorker.

by rebop on Jun 2, 2006 8:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Maybe not the worst call ever...

But it has to be up there. Especially considering that during the playoffs they have two extra umpires down the lines just to catch things like that. With Tarrasco camped underneath the ball, not sure how any professional umpire could have missed that call.

Not sure if I care whether or not it was the 9th inning. The game went into extra innings, therefore that play did cost the O's the game and a 2-0 lead in the series going back to Baltimore.

And yes, I'm still very bitter.

But you're right, curses are for losers.

by BirdFanInPhilly on Jun 2, 2006 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions

Continuing off topic

The crappiest call with major ramifications had to be Don Dekinger calling George Orta safe at first on a play that would have ended the 1985 World Series. There was absolutely no question he was out. After the blown call, the Royals scored twice to win, and then went on to beat the Cardinals in game seven.

My other favorite crappy call was in the 1970 series. Ken Burkhart was completely out of position, interfered with a play at the plate, and then made a call on a play he never saw. Good stuff, but it didn't turn the Series: Game 1, 1970 Series

by drj on Jun 2, 2006 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions

Disagree

Denkinger? Really? Even though the pinch runner for Orta got thrown out at third and did not score? That play was not the final out; in fact I believe it was the first out, and it wasn't Game 7. They just lost their cool and folded for the rest of the series. I mean, 11-0 in game 7? With Andujar and Whitey getting tossed for arguing with Denkinger's strikezone? That was the Cardinals' game to lose.

by leitch71 on Jun 2, 2006 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Found this link

1985 World Series | Game 6

I was wrong. It would have been the first out of the inning. My memory was playing tricks. But it was game 6, ninth inning. I did not say it was game 7. The Cards could have closed out in game 6, if not for that horrible call and subsequent folding in the ninth.

by drj on Jun 2, 2006 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Move on...

Umps blow calls all the time. The Orioles could still have won that game, and they went in the tank when the series came back to Baltimore. At the risk of stating the obvious, the Yankees won because they were the better team. The '96 Orioles were lucky just to be in the playoffs, and they were lucky to have gotten past Cleveland, who were also a better team. The Orioles have sucked since '97 because they have had bad teams.

by rebop on Jun 2, 2006 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions

You're right.

But I refuse to be rational about this.

Orioles' Rebuilding Plan: Phase 1: Steal Underwear. Phase 3: Win the World Series.

by BrianS on Jun 2, 2006 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Move on???

If I could just move on, I obviously would. If I could just not get so upset when the O's suck (as my girlfriend suggests), I would do that as well. But obviously I can't; clearly I have issues. I'm okay with that.

Whether the O's were lucky to be there or not is irrelevant. They should have had a fair shot at making the series; which I still believe they would have made had that prick been in school or at least kept his dirty little hands off a live friggin ball.

by BirdFanInPhilly on Jun 2, 2006 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah...

I haven't really moved on either. I lived in NYC at the time, and the worse part of the whole thing was the NY media turning the kid into a hero. It was sickening. The kid broke the law, and should have at minimum been ejected from the stadium, instead he was treated like a hero, as if he actually hit the home run or something.

by rebop on Jun 3, 2006 9:17 AM EDT up reply actions

That really is the thing

The actual play was heartbreaking, but ultimately it was the umpire's fault. Maier was just a kid excited to catch a homerun. It was Regis and Letterman and everyone congratulating him on helping the Yankees. That is what made me SICK. It still does. If it had happened in Baltimore and the Orioles got the home run in their favor, it would have been outrageous but eventually chalked up to a good break for the Orioles instead of the national media frenzy that turned a unintentional act of cheating into an act of heroism.

by Stacey on Jun 3, 2006 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions

How does the Scott Erickson quote

not get a mention here?

"Pitcher Scott Erickson, who started the game for the Orioles and was in line to get the win before Armando Benitez served up the fateful pitch in the eighth inning to Jeter, said he hopes Maier makes it to the major leagues, 'just so I can drill him -- I'd like to get one shot at him.'"

Bahhhhhhhhahahahahhaha.

by CStoneNo37 on Jun 2, 2006 9:29 AM EDT reply actions

I was just

going to post that. Now, I'm bitter about it, but I don't think I would cause physical harm to the guy. I think it may be time we get over it.

P.A., P.A., Go Away, come back NO OTHER DAY!!!

by dayzd toe on Jun 2, 2006 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Interesting side notes...

No one on our current team was on that 1996 roster.

We traded "a player to be named" to get Terry Matthews in August. Remember how AWFUL Terry Matthews was? The player to be named was Gregg Zaun...

At the end of August we traded Calvin Maduro and Garrett Stephenson to the Phillies for Pete Incaviglia and Todd Zeile.

Our amateur draftees from 1996:
Brian Falkenborg (2nd round)
Chad Paronto (there you go SC, 8th round)
Luis Matos (10th rd.)
Augie Ojeda (13th rd.)
Ryan Kohlmeier (14th rd.)
Josh Towers (15th rd.)
Gabe Molina (21st rd.)
Mike MacDougal (22nd rd.)
John Parrish (25th rd.)
Ryan Minor (33rd rd.)

by CStoneNo37 on Jun 2, 2006 9:45 AM EDT reply actions

HELL YEAH

PARONTO, BABY

"Occasionally he'll get naked out on the field when nobody's looking, but that actually grosses me out." - Jay Gibbons on Kevin Millar

by Scott Christ on Jun 3, 2006 2:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Augie Ojeda is alive and well...

He is playing for the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines, Iowa.

Great draft choice

by Patts69 on Jun 3, 2006 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions

At the risk of getting jumped on.

I say take him.

Cashman said the Yankees won't "waste a pick to take a novelty..." Well I got news for ya buddy, 95% of all picks in the draft are "wasted."

by CStoneNo37 on Jun 2, 2006 10:21 AM EDT reply actions

I'm with you

if he doen't pan out, we can invoke a double secret contract clause that allows the orioles to put Maier in a cage once a week. "Throw peanut shells at jeffrey maier day" - that's a winning promotion right there.

by Jonny Action on Jun 6, 2006 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions