It's a cold, rainy day in Baltimore and the Orioles just got their clocks cleaned in Boston. Dreariness abounds in Birdland. At least there are notable things going on down in Bowie (although, as an aside, let me express my disappointment in the Bowie Baysox webpage. It's way too busy and it took me forever to find the team stats and when I did, they were for 2008. Nothing like the Tides website which is quite lovely).
The Rotation: Bobby Livingston, Troy Patton, Jake Arrieta, Brandon Erbe, Jason Berken.
I have never heard of Bobby Livington, and so far this season he's not giving me a reason to remember him. He's 26 years old and this is his first year in the Orioles organization. So far this year he's pitched 11.2 innings in 3 games (2 starts), giving up 6 runs on 13 hits.
Troy Patton, pitching in AA after having his labrum surgery last season, has been lights out. In 11 innings over 2 starts he has yet to allow a run, giving up just 6 hits while walking 3 and striking out 9. If Patton can continue to stay healthy and pitch well, I'd imagine he'll be in Baltimore sometime this season.
For a couple of days this off season, we had the joy of Jake Arrieta's blog. Before he made it private we learned that he's obsessed with his own body and that Aubrey Huff is obsessed with his body as well. He's very pretty, and he knows it. He's also off to a good start at Bowie, allowing just one run over 9 innings pitched (2 games). Jake has K'd 12 while BB'ing 5.
True story: from the time I started hearing about Brandon Erbe a couple years ago until I saw a picture of him during this off season, I thought he was black. I have no idea why. Funny how that happens. At 21, Brandon is the youngest member of the Bowie Baysox. In two starts he has given up just 1 ER (5 runs overall) while striking out 9 and walking 4.
Rounding out the rotation is Jason Berken. Berken is repeating AA after having a solid year for the Baysox in 2008. I'd imagine his redo of AA is less him not showing the ability to pitch at this level and more a side effect of the depth of pitching at AAA. Jason has gotten off to a slow start in Bowie. He has given up just 4 hits in 8 innings but has walked 6, leading to 5 ER.
Other notable pitchers: Jim Hoey doesn't look good so far, walking 5 and giving up 5 ER in 5.1 IP. Wilfredo Perez has pitched 4 innings in relief without allowing a run, though he has walked 5.
The Lineup: Well. Hm. As all of you probably know, the O's don't really have many highly rated positional prospects in the upper minors, and looking at Bowie's lineup is sort of like looking at a prospect wasteland.
There is of course Brandon Snyder. Brandon is the youngest Baysox hitter and honestly the only one worth mentioning. Thankfully, Brandon is looking good so far in 2009. He is 16 for 40 with 2 HR and 3 2B. If any of you ever watched Beverly Hills 90210, you might remember that Dylan often called Brandon "Brando." This is often what I call Brandon Snyder in my head. I do not call Brandon Erbe this.
Oh for fun, let's check out Jeff Fiorentino, back in the O's system this year. Screech is 2 for 23 with 4 Ks. Oh well.