Camden Chatters of a certain vintage know that Terry Crowley is hardly a fan favorite 'round these parts. I think he's a nice guy, just not much of a hitting coach. He has his defenders, both in fan circles and among players.

In order to convince Felix Pie to listen to him, Terry Crowley dropped some names on the former Cub:

Crowley gave Pie the phone numbers of David Ortiz, Miguel Tejada and Daniel Cabrera, and suggested that the 24-year-old outfielder call his fellow Dominican countrymen, who all know the Orioles' longtime hitting coach well.

"It wasn't so much, 'Ask about Crow as a hitting coach.' It was, 'Ask about Crow as a person. Is he going to stand by you during tough times or is he going to turn his back on you and walk away?'. " Crowley said. "I encouraged him to call those people that know me from different walks of life. I know he's talked to them and now he knows a little bit about Terry Crowley the person."

When Ortiz, Tejada and Cabrera gave Crowley glowing praise, the ol' Crow turned to the young Pie and said, "Whadahtellya, kid? I'm awesome. Now here's the secret to batting success..."

Still, I'm not nit-picking. It's a cute spring training article.

Pie's work ethic has impressed team officials. One day last week, he was in the batting cage by 8:30 a.m. He later took regular batting practice on the back field as Crowley stood behind him and offered encouragement and advice. When he was done, Crowley put his arm around the new Oriole, praised his batting-practice round and reminded him to "have fun" as Pie trotted out to the outfield to shag fly balls.

Source: The Sun

Radhames Liz has been dropped from consideration for the 2009 Opening Day rotation, as the Orioles have decided it's 99.99999% likely that Liz's future is in the bullpen:

"I don't think it's ever for good. You never say never," Kranitz said. "But I think at this particular time with our needs, his quality of pitches, he'll be able to handle that middle part of the game in the sixth and seventh innings. It's not rocket science. He's got to come in and throw the ball over the dish. It will be a lot easier for him in one-inning spurts, where he can kind of let it go."

Dave Trembley said that if Liz doesn't make the 25-man roster (also a possibility), he'll be pitching in relief at Norfolk.

In this year's edition of The Hardball Times season preview, I wrote the following for Liz:

Yet another Orioles arm from the last decade who appears to either be a lot of empty promise or better suited for a bullpen role, Radhames Liz got to take his lumps for 84 innings in Baltimore, and the results weren't pretty. At 25, he still has time, but not a ton of it with the influx of young pitching talent in the system.

Now this hardly makes me a scholar. I've said for three years that Liz was a reliever or bust, and I've been about 96% certain of that. My thoughts were the same ones Kranitz expressed, that if able to really let it fly for an inning or two, he could dominate if he can throw strikes. Stretched out and seeing lineups a few times, he didn't seem to have either the raw stuff or the, um, pitching acumen (?) to really go too far.

That means that with Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara solidified as the 1-2 in the rotation, the three open spots are now down to eight guy: Baez, Bass, Bergesen, Eaton, Hendrickson, Hill, Pauley and Penn. It will be better for everyone on earth if Baez, Hendrickson and Eaton do not play into our rotation this season. That means they weren't good enough to beat out younger guys with far higher ceilings, even if they aren't the greatest young pitchers on the planet.

Chris Waters, says the Sun article, is also destined for relief. I think he's destined for waiver wires and AAA ballparks.

I guess I'll go ahead and throw out my hopeful picks for the final three spots: Hill, Pauley and Penn. I thought Pauley was a shrewd pickup this offseason, I'm still rooting for Penn even though I've been "down" on him, and Rich Hill you gotta root for because of all the guys we're talking about here (including Guts and Koji) he has the best stuff. I'm intrigued by Brad Bergesen but those K-rates will get him annihilated in the majors, I fear.

That would leave us with Guthrie, Koji, Hill, Pauley and Penn, which means we'd only have one lefty starter, but I'm not crazy about all that stuff. I remember the last time the Orioles thought they JUST HAD TO HAVE a left-handed starter and we got freaking Omar Daal because the last one we'd had was Jimmy Key. Just had to have Omar Daal! Omar Daal, Omar Daal!

Those five guys could give us a competent rotation. Chances are we finish last no matter who's in the rotation, but it'd be a lot more damned fun to figure out if some of these guys can play than it would be to fart around with Baez and Hendrickson and Eaton, all of whom I am quite certain cannot. Baez was a bad signing when we made it, and if Hendrickson came off the scrap heap then I don't want to know where in the hell it was they dug up Adam Eaton.

As for Liz himself, do his chances of making it in the majors go up with the role switch? Probably not. He either can pitch or he can't is one way to look at it, but deeper than that is I just don't think he's all that good. He doesn't miss that many bats for a guy whose control kind of stinks. And relievers are volatile by nature anyway. That said, I think this is his best chance to make it long-term. He's not going to become the next Eckersley or anything. He might be the next David Riske or something.

Everybody Wang Chung today. There's baseball all over the TV. The WBC has been a load of fun so far, and Team USA has actually showed up this time for those that are rooting for the Americans. Bruce Chen and the Panamaniacs are already out, though, so I'm sad.

Schedule:

1:10: O's v. Mets in St. Lucie, MLBN and MLB.tv

6:30: Italy v. Canada, MLBN

6:30: Netherlands v. Puerto Rico, MLBN

8:00: Mexico v. South Africa, MLBN

Korea won Pool A this morning by beating Japan, 1-0. Hell of a game. Korea-Japan rules.

The O's and Nats will get together for some sort of "special" spring training game in Fort Lauderdale today with nothing on the line and hopes that nobody gets hurt. But my disdain for caring about spring training games and statistics aside, this baby will be on MASN, MLB Network and MLB.tv at 1pm today, and that's fun. I might even be around to try to muster up some mustard.

One of my favorite things every spring is to see players that moved teams during the offseason in their new garb. We've seen all the new Orioles, of course, including the mini-fever that is Kojimania, but here's a look at some of the rest.

via d.yimg.com

Jason Giambi has returned to Oakland and with it has come his beard, though his old Rock N' Roll Semi-Long Hair hasn't grown back and given that Giambi is 38 years old and has been conditioned to the business class look the last seven seasons, it's probably not going to come back. I always quite liked the Oakland version of Giambi, and I think it's neat when guys return to their roots. Speaking of which...

via d.yimg.com

How right does that look? The Kid back in Seattle. I think with all the hullabaloo about Bonds and steroids and home runs over the years, and the fact that Griffey aged like a normal human being and his production tailed off in his 30s (though he could still hit when healthy), we are not as in awe of Griffey as he deserves. I don't know who did what or when or for how long, but Griffey's name has never been linked to steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs. Of the other modern players in the top 20, only Bonds has more homers (A-Rod will pass Griffey), and here's a comparison.

Has Been Linked: Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro, Rodriguez

Has Not: Griffey, Thome, Ramirez, Thomas

Those last four guys deserve so much by way of props. I can't even think of how to properly express what I'm trying to say, but I'm sure you get it. In largely condemning (or at least ripping) the steroids era, we have lost sight of the fact that there are four guys of this era in the 500-homer club that have never had their names dragged through the muck. Gary Sheffield (499) will join the club this season, and he's on Team Bonds. They're all great players regardless if you ask me; but some of them just have numbers more admirable than the others.

via d.yimg.com

Pat Burrell leaving the World Series champs for the AL champs might not have exactly been his decision, but he should be a nice upgrade to the Rays at DH. He gives them some more right-handed sock. Really, Tampa Bay could finish in third place this season with a team better than the one they fielded last year. The AL East is cruel. Welcome to the pit, Pat.

via d.yimg.com

One of the most overlooked acquisitions of the offseason, I believe, is Bobby Abreu going to Los Angeles. It's also neat to be behind the camera for those stupid press photo shots. Abreu isn't the player he was in Philadelphia, but he's still a contributor and a really good hitter. And talk about your Fantasy Baseball Halls of Fame. This dude should be in there. Every year since 1998 he's had a good average, good-to-great OBP, solid slugging, 20+ steals and decent-to-good power.

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Mark Hendrickson was scratched from his start today, but expected to be back to activity in a couple days. He's the fourth pitcher this spring (after Hennessey, Parrish and Hill) to come up lame, even if short-term.

USA Today believes this "validates" the signing of Adam Eaton, who remarked, "I need to prove myself as an elite pitcher in the league."

Ahahaha, OK, dude. You know what? Go get 'em. If you're going to start being elite, I'd be happy if you did it as an Oriole.

I'm rooting for Hayden Penn. I honestly don't know what to think of him anymore, but I know that I'm rooting for him. Not just because he's an Oriole, but because he, at one point, was regarded as one of the best prospects in the Orioles system. Whether that's a praise of his talent or an indictment of the Orioles system as it was a few years ago, I don't know. I do know that he hasn't been given a fair shake between the normal injuries (shoulder and elbow issues) and ridiculous ones (impaled by a bat shard, appendicitis, tripping while carrying a box down the stairs). I know that despite the fact that he seems like he's been around forever, he's just 24 years old.

Penn is out of options. If he can't prove this spring that he belongs, these might be his last days with the team. He could pass through waivers, but that's certainly not guaranteed. Personally, unless he totally self destructs prior to Opening Day, I'd love to see him on the team. Even if he's not quite as successful as some of the other guys, he is still preferable to Mark Hedrickson or Danys Baez. Those guys have no future with the O's. Hayden Penn could, if he can get it together.

The Orioles and their fans are waiting eagerly for the time when Matusz, Tillman, Arrieta, and the rest of the young pitchers are ready to come up and make a difference. Mark Hendrickson, Adam Eaton, and the other pitchers of that ilk are nothing more than placeholders (thank goodness). But if a younger guy like Hayden Penn can earn a place in the rotation and have any success at all, that is better for the future of this team. Sadly, the odds are that at least one of the big 3 won't pan out and if Penn can be serviceable, even at the back of the rotation, it will only mean good things for the team.

I'm not holding my breath. Penn has never had any success in the majors and his recent minor league statistics are nothing to write home about. So far this spring, Penn has pitched just two official innings and he looked pretty good doing so. I just shook my head when reading that despite pitching three strong innings today in an instrasquad game, he appears to have a blister or fingernail problem. Knowing his luck that'll keep him injured most of the year. Or maybe not. Maybe this is the year he finally stays healthy.

What do you guys think? Does he have a chance? Will he stay healty? Even if he does stay healthy, will he be any good? I know one thing, I believe in Hayden Penn enough that I put $1000 of my hard earned Camden Cash on him starting over 7 games for the Orioles this year.

The game isn't being broadcast by 105.7 today, but if you want to listen and don't have mlb.com's audio package, it'll be broadcast on the Marlins radio network, found here: http://www.790theticket.com/. Sadly I tried to tune in and my work computer doesn't have the right settings.

Koji Uehara makes his Orioles exhibition debut, also secheduled to pitch are Hayden Penn, Mark Hendrickson, Jim Hoey, and Jake Arrieta. It'll be interesting to see how Koji fares his first time out and I always have an interest in Hayden Penn. Jake had a good first outing vs Team Italia that he can hopefully build on.

The Orioles won't get to face Jay Gibbons this series as he's not scheduled to play the next two games. Too bad....haha.

Adam Jones is out with a sore arm so we'll get to get our first look at Felix Pie in the field playing CF. Here's the lineup in its entirety:

Ryan Freel - RF
Felix Pie - CF
Luke Scott - LF
Melvin Mora - 3B
Ty Wigginton - 1B
Matt Wieters - DH
Chris Gomez - 2B
Gregg Zaun - C
Jolbert Cabrera - SS
Koji Uehara - P

In other news, Nick Markakis has left the team to be with his wife as they await the birth of their first child, so we probably won't see him for a few days.

I know SC has professed his impatience with Spring Training but I'm quite the opposite. I love it. By the end I'll be ready for it to be finished, and I wish there were more games on TV, but overall Spring Training is such an exciting time for me.

Play ball!

Sources: Roch and Schmuck