For some players recently taken in the First-Year Player Draft, life can move pretty fast these days.
They were drafted last week, signed quickly and now head to a strange town to meet new teammates and begin life as a pro in their new organizations.
Of the nine 2010 draft picks on the Aberdeen IronBirds roster right now, Jeremy Nowak and Joe Oliveira are the highest drafted picks currently with the team.
Nowak, a switch-hitting outfielder, was taken in Round 13 out of Division II Mount...
So can Jake Arrieta pitch more often than once every five days?
Probably not.
But the 24-year-old rookie right-hander is now 2-0, 2.77 after two Major League starts.
Pitching vs. a Giants team that had won four in a row and had scored 10 runs the night before, Arrieta gave up just three hits and one run over seven innings and one batter on Tuesday night. He walked two, fanned three and threw 95 pitches.
Here is a pretty remarkable stat. O's starting pitchers have just two wins over...
Here are some updates on a couple of players.
Cla Meredith is struggling since he went down to Triple-A. In four games, he is 1-0 with an ERA of 17.18. Today he gave up two runs in one inning vs. Columbus. In 3 2/3 since joining Norfolk, he has allowed nine hits and seven runs with five walks and strikeouts and a .450 batting average against.
Jim Hoey, who pitched for the Orioles in 2006 and 2007, has put together quietly a solid season at Double-A Bowie. Hoey is 0-0, 2.57 after pitching...
So Jake Arrieta has been with the Orioles five days now and he has seen the team win one game and he started that game.
No pressure Jake.
Actually I hope the confidence he exudes is there again tonight and that he does not feel any extra pressure to perform vs. the Giants.
Hope he is not aware of this stat: Over the last 18 games the Orioles have one win by a starter and that was his win Thursday vs. the Yankees.
It's his second Major League start and, on this team, he's already become...
When I interviewed Cameron Coffey in March, he was upbeat and very optimistic about the 2010 season.
But now, outside of taking part at extended spring training, Coffey has not pitched for any O's minor league affiliate and the possibility exists that he won't this year.
Coffey underwent Tommy John surgery in March of last year and his velocity has not returned to an expected level. On Thursday, he'll undergo an MRA, which is similar to an MRI, to see if anything else is wrong with the...
The Orioles fell to 17-47 on the year when they began a six-game interleague road trip with a 10-2 loss at San Francisco Monday night
Another slide: The Orioles have now lost four in a row and have been outscored 29-8 in that stretch. They have lost six of seven, 18 of 21 and are just 5-23 over their last 28 games.
Road woes: The Orioles fall to 6-26 on the road on the season. They have now lost nine straight road games.
For starters: Chris Tillman got rocked in his fourth Major...
For his second act, Jake Arrieta will switch leagues and coasts and still try to win.
After beating the Yankees last week, maybe the Giants won't look too tough when Arrieta takes the mound tonight.
He says he is settling in with the team nicely at this point.
"The first day I was kind of high strung a bit, lot of nerves, lot of tension. I didn't really know what to expect but everything went well. Adrenaline was through the roof. But now I feel a lot more relaxed, kind of laid back. ...
OK, no promises, but for now the plan is to stay up late (or is that early?) and watch tonight's entire Orioles game.
No, I don't need my head examined.
It comes with the job. Plus, I am a late-night and not an early morning person. If the game began at 7 a.m, I'd plan to miss a few innings.
It will hold my interest well into tonight and tomorrow if Chris Tillman pitches well, or the game is close throughout or if the O's offense breaks out (stop laughing).
Plus I know Buster Posey...
Brad Bergesen's next start is set for this Thursday night when Triple-A Norfolk plays at Toledo.
Bergesen, who was 3-4, 6.50 in 12 games, 10 starts for the Orioles, was optioned back to Norfolk on Sunday for the second time this year.
Bergesen got the win in his one other Triple-A start this year, on April 25 vs. Charlotte. In seven innings, he allowed seven hits and two runs in that game, throwing 81 pitches.
"The plan is for Bergesen to make that start on Thursday," John Stockstill,...
Their season-opening roster is not final yet, but as of today, the Aberdeen IronBirds roster features nine players taken last week in the First-Year Player Draft.
Here are the 2010 draft picks on Aberdeen's current roster and the round they were selected in:
OF Jeremy Nowak (13)
C Joe Oliveira (15)
RHP Scott Copeland (21)
RHP Timothy Adleman (24)
C Austin Goolsby (26)
SS Michael Rooney (30)
3B Adam Gaylord (31)
SS Sammy Starr (34)
SS Joseph Donaldson (35)
Aberdeen's season-opening roster...
Kevin Millwood entered his start today coming off back-to-back starts where he allowed six runs each.
But this afternoon against the Mets, it didn't get better for Millwood. It got worse.
He gave up two homers in the first inning and trailed 5-0 after just six hitters.
"Just not throwing the ball where I need to. That's pretty much it. Hopefully, I'll figure something out between now and the next time and get back to where I was before," said Millwood, who is now 0-8 with a 5.16 ERA,...
It can't be easy for a pitcher that was 7-5, 3.43 last year to hear he is going back to the minor leagues.
But Brad Bergesen got that word today after the game for the second time this season. He is heading back to Norfolk in a roster move that will open a spot for Alfredo Simon to be activated off the DL.
Bergesen was asked if he was surprised to get that news after today's game.
"A little bit, but um, you know...I'm sorry, I'm at a loss for words and need to get my thoughts...
Since that Kevin Millwood blog worked out so well...
Here is a story from today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It discusses the Pirates' decision with the second pick in the draft last Monday night. They had to decide whether to take prep pitcher Jameson Taillon or prep shortstop Manny Machado with their top pick.
By now we know they settled on Taillon and the O's got Machado.
Here is that story.
Maybe the lack of run support has started to get him. Maybe he was carrying too heavy of an innings load. Or maybe there is no real explanation.
But on May 8th, Kevin Millwood's ERA was 3.26 and it has been on a steady climb up to 4.64 now.
Millwood recently:
*An ERA of 8.31 over his last three starts.
*An ERA of 6.34 over his last six starts.
Millwood has won at least nine games over the last eight season, but that zero in the win column can't be good for his outlook or confidence. If...
When he was asked after the game last night about the lack of runs the Orioles have been scoring when he pitches, Brian Matusz could only say "you can't control that."
What other answer could he give really without throwing anyone under the bus and, to their credit, no O's starter has even hinted at that this year.
But Matusz has seen the O's score just 11 runs while he has been in the game over his last nine starts. He is working with almost no margin for error. Interim manager Juan...
Here are some notes from the O's latest loss, 3-1 to the New York Mets on Saturday night.
Wins and losses: The Orioles fall to 17-45 on the season, 2-6 on this homestand and 11-20 at home. They have lost the series with the Mets taking the first two games. The Orioles are just 2-17-2 in series on the year.
The Orioles, after going 11-7 last year vs. the National League, are now just 1-4 in Interleague games and 9-15 all time vs. the Mets.
The Orioles have lost four of their last five...
The Orioles Class-A Frederick Keys affiliate tonight lost, but still clinched the first half Northern Division championship in the Carolina League.
Entering tonight with a magic number of one, the Keys lost at home 8-1 to Salem but wrapped up the division when Winston-Salem beat second-place Wilmington, 2-1.
By the way, there is no issue with Keys starting pitcher Rick Zagone, who pitched just two innings tonight. He allowed three runs, none earned and left the game after just the two...
The Orioles wasted yet another decent starting pitching performance tonight.
For the second night in a row, the Orioles scored just once vs. the New York Mets.
Jeff Francoeur and Jose Reyes hit solo homers off Brian Matusz as the Mets posted a 3-1 win over the Orioles in front of 42,248 at Camden Yards. The Orioles fall to 17-45.
The Mets entered Baltimore with a road record of 8-18 but have now won their first road series all year and have back-to-back road wins for the first time since...
Julio Lugo just handed the New York Mets the lead in the top of the sixth inning.
With runners on first and third and one out in a 1-1 tie game, David Wright hit a grounder right back to the mound. Brian Matusz threw to second base for one out and Lugo, who had all the time in the world to make a relay throw for an easy, inning-ending double play, threw high to first base. Ty Wigginton had to leap to catch the throw and landed on the bag the same time as Wright as the go-ahead run...
When a pitcher has a record of 0-9 and ERA of 6.23, it seems it would be hard to find some progress that pitcher is making.
Those are Brandon Erbe's numbers right now for Triple-A Norfolk.
While Erbe has made two starts without giving up a run since May 13th, he has also allowed four runs or more in four of his last five starts.
Despite the numbers, Norfolk pitching coach Mike Griffin remains upbeat about Erbe and his progress.
"Brandon is learning how to pitch at this level. Brandon,...