Time to Call Up Reimold

[El Gordo]

But what is "successful"?

I ask again, was Olson hurt by struggling last year like he did?

Olson definitely struggled last year and it would have been a huge mistake to bring him up immediately after ST. He needed to improve his command or he would not have been successful. And as good as he has been so far this season the jury is still out IMO.

[BaltimoreTerp]

It was a retorical question and you already think you know the answer, but I'll answer it anyway. For the most part I defer to management's judgement because I don't feel I am in possession of all the information that they are privy to, and unlike many here I lack their experience and expertise. I haven't seen Trembley or AM make decisions that did not have good reasoning behind them, so I tend to trust their judgement. But I question a number of their choices. I wonder why they have waited so long to release Trax, why LH is still here, why they are reluctant to start Albers, and why they haven't brought up Salazar, e.g. But since they haven't given any reasons for these choices I will give them the benifit of the doubt until they do.

You can give them that benefit, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't question when it seems obvious that certain things should happen.

I know in my case it is frustration from seeing certain guys play well above their level in the minors and 1) only hear very poor and vague excuses from those involved (like the whole All-Star game thing for Wieters) and 2) see old guys struggle in the majors worse then guys with even somewhat-raw talent would.

I want to see this team be good long-term, and if these guys need a little more time in the minors that's fine, but I want to see progress rewarded and regress dealt with.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Olson definitely struggled last year and it would have been a huge mistake to bring him up immediately after ST. He needed to improve his command or he would not have been successful. And as good as he has been so far this season the jury is still out IMO.

The problem with that is he was good in spring training, yet wasn't given any chance. Then he dominated AAA. He apparently improved his command BEFORE AAA this year.

Probably by learning from his mistakes in the offseason.

He has pitched the same number of starts this year. He has pitched an inning more per start, and has halved his walks while keeping his strikeouts around the same.

[Palmer Esque]

Reimold and probably Wieters.

I agree with those two, I would hope the Orioles find a way to move Ramon, especially since he has one more year left on his deal.

I would love Wieters/Quiroz next year, and Reimold/Jones/Kakes. If Reimold starts next year, what do you guys think will happen with Scott and Huff. Mora still has a year left on his deal as well. I did not place Huff at first because I am holding out hope for Tex.

I think Huff will be our most tradeable offensive asset this season. What would you guys expect for him?

[Palmer Esque]

Scott can DH. If Huff is dealt you won't get any blue chip prospects for him. Probably a couple of decent minor leaguers (near the bottom of top ten lists).

Yeah that is along the lines of what I was thinking as well. Even if a team is desparate, Huff is just not the kind of impact player that will demand studs coming back. I do think he can bring back alot better package than what Trax brought back last year....at least I would hope so. He is a second half hitter and has the stats to back it up throughtout his career, so who knows?

[El Gordo]

The problem with that is he was good in spring training, yet wasn't given any chance. Then he dominated AAA. He apparently improved his command BEFORE AAA this year.

Probably by learning from his mistakes in the offseason.

He has pitched the same number of starts this year. He has pitched an inning more per start, and has halved his walks while keeping his strikeouts around the same.

This isn't what I got from ST. I was there and I watched a few of Olson's bullpen sessions. Trembley made it quite clear that he didn't feel that Olson had not solved his command issues and he didn't think he would have a chance to succeed if he didn't. That was why he was sent back to Norfolk.

[glorydays]

This'll be the last time I respond to you since you don't seem to actually be reading my posts before responding. I don't care if the average fan wants to see Millar, Mora and Ramon because they've heard of them and don't know who Reimold is. The very idea that we'll somehow generate so much more revenue by playing Millar instead of Reimold is insane. Our team will be better prepared to compete in 2010 by getting the right young guys experience rather than playing veterans that the average fan has heard of. I get the impression you'd rather stay around .500 with a bunch of veterans past their primes than get a look at young guys and build for the future. It's ridiculous to think that attendance will take a precipitous drop by playing young guys instead of crappy veterans. Anyhow, attendance isn't that high on the list of revenue streams for a major league team. Young guys can develop in the majors (experience against better players) and there is no better place to do that than a team that is rebuilding (just in case you're not sure, that's us).

We just seem to have a bit of a communication problem here and I can see that you have already taken your ball and gone home so I will respond for the rest of the board.

If Andy MacPhail at the beginning of the year would have wiped the board clean and said that Reimold was our starting LF, Weiter our starting catcher and so on, I would have accepted that. AM has more baseball knowledge in his left pinky finger than you, me and the rest of this board combined. He showed me by the moves he made this past winter that he deserves a little respect.

I'm not saying that Millar, Ramon, Mora, etc. are attracting anyone. I think if this team continues to play .500 with the same type of intensity and chemistry that we will see a boost in attendance.

I do not see how you can possibly put Reimold in the same universe as Weiters. Here is what Brad Komminsk - his manager - said about him on May 10th:

“Nolan has got some great power; he throws the ball well from the outfield; he runs well. He has a lot of tools, but he’s another work in progress. He’s been struggling offensively a little bit this year, just trying to find a comfort zone more than anything. He’ll have a good week, but the consistency hasn’t been there quite yet. You’re not going to have success every day, but you need to put up quality at-bats and have a good feel for what you’re doing out there on a day-in-day-out basis. Defensively he needs to be more consistent, too; maybe a little more proactive. But offense is probably the main thing, because that’s going to be his ticket to the big leagues.”

He's just not ready. Perhaps his big month should mean a chance at AAA - but AM must see the same thing that Komminsk sees and therefore he is still in Bowie.

[El Gordo]

You can give them that benefit, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't question when it seems obvious that certain things should happen.

I know in my case it is frustration from seeing certain guys play well above their level in the minors and 1) only hear very poor and vague excuses from those involved (like the whole All-Star game thing for Wieters) and 2) see old guys struggle in the majors worse then guys with even somewhat-raw talent would.

I want to see this team be good long-term, and if these guys need a little more time in the minors that's fine, but I want to see progress rewarded and regress dealt with.

I don't believe I ever said we shouldn't question management. You'll have to point that out to me. I do think we should be able to give good reasons for our questions when we do, if we wish to be taken seriously. It would seem that the two things you want to see happen are Wieters and Reimold being brought up now. How is it obvious that a guy with no prior pro ball experience should be bumped from A ball to ML after 150 AB at A ball? I don't care what his OPS is, that would not be something that one does every day. Wieters is good, but even ARod, which Wieters isn't, went through A, AA and AAA in one season before he got to the ML. Also it doesn't seem obvious to me that a guy who is 24 but with only 374 AB at A ball because of injury, should automatically be promoted to the ML because he is hitting .841 OPS this season as opposed to .930 OPS last season. I'm sorry your frustrated, but that is not what decisions should be based on. You'll have to do a better job of demonstrating why it is so obvious these guys should be brought up before it passes the drivel test IMO.

[glorydays]

When did Komminsk give that quote? I would guess that it was probably a few weeks ago, at least. Offensively, Reimold has been the picture of consistency since mid to late April.

May 10th to Baseball Prospectus. Here is the link. He also talks about Tillman:

“Chris is a young prospect we got in the Eric Bedard trade. For a kid who just turned 20 a couple of weeks ago he’s got really good poise. He has a good fastball and a good breaking ball, and he’ll throw some changeups too. He had a good firm curveball last night, but he also works both sides of the plate with his fastball, which keeps hitters honest. He throws it up there around 93, which is pretty good. Chris is still a work in progress, but he has a chance to be a very good pitcher. I like what I’ve seen from him so far this year.”

[glorydays]

I don't believe I ever said we shouldn't question management. You'll have to point that out to me. I do think we should be able to give good reasons for our questions when we do, if we wish to be taken seriously. It would seem that the two things you want to see happen are Wieters and Reimold being brought up now. How is it obvious that a guy with no prior pro ball experience should be bumped from A ball to ML after 150 AB at A ball? I don't care what his OPS is, that would not be something that one does every day. Wieters is good, but even ARod, which Wieters isn't, went through A, AA and AAA in one season before he got to the ML. Also it doesn't seem obvious to me that a guy who is 24 but with only 374 AB at A ball because of injury, should automatically be promoted to the ML because he is hitting .841 OPS this season as opposed to .930 OPS last season. I'm sorry your frustrated, but that is not what decisions should be based on. You'll have to do a better job of demonstrating why it is so obvious these guys should be brought up before it passes the drivel test IMO.

El Gordo - I have been in complete agreement with everything you has said tonight. If you want to be the Boston's and New York's - you need to start acting like you are at that level. You don't have an international presence - you develop one. You want rest of the league to respect you after spending years laughing at your mismanagement style - you let your players progress through the system before you rush them to the majors.

[El Gordo]

We have a winner! Thats exactly how it works. Make them want to have him, not think they may want to have him; maybe.

Truth be told, Reimold hasnt been anywhere near that player yet. Shack is absolutely right.

I think(AND BELIEVE ME, I HAVE ORANGE AND BLACK COLORED GLASSES) this franchise has had precious few players like that in their system in recent years..especially hitters.

Dont you think the Orioles wouldve had Reimold in Ft. Lauderdale(Weiters was there) if they wanted to really get a close look at him for this year?

Im not saying he aint pretty..all Im saying is he aint ready("A different drum"lyrics by Micheal Nesmith). He's not ready yet. Period. But then, the rest of the offense isnt much to look at either. So......

Ah, thank you Roy. It seems great minds do think a like. But you're a much better singer, and better looking too.:smile11::rofl:

[Hank Scorpio]

The kid's pushing 25 at AA.

There is absolutely zero harm in seeing if Reimold can cut it at the big league level. He certainly couldn't be a worse option than trotting Payton's tired ass out there every other day.

[Sports Guy]

This has been an amusing thread.

Some thoughts:

1) There isn't one legit reason to not have Reimold in AAA, AT LEAST, right now. The Orioles are moving too slow on moving some of these guys up and Reimold is one of them...He is getting too old for AA, has hit very well there and is now staying healthy.

2) Reference the Jones/Reimold comparison....The biggest difference in their games is that Reimold has walked 15 MORE TIMES in 850 LESS MiL AB's than Jones did...Jones' biggest problem is plate discipline....We all know that now and we knew it coming into the season. He will adjust and be fine...But comparing Reimold and Jones is a joke...2 different types of players with distinctively different games. BTW, Reimold has averaged an XBH every 8 at bats and Jones did it every 9.75 at bats.

3) Here is who Reimold would be taking at bats away from:

Millar- age 36..FA to be....707 OPS this year.

Payton- age 35...FA to be...657 OPS this year.

Those are the 2 players most effected by Reimold being up here...Are you telling me he can't beat those numbers and help us more? Is that a joke or something?

And please, don't bring up Fio...Fio wasn't half the player Reimold is...That is ridiculous to even mention.

Reimold has played in a pitchers league and has been a very good hitter...He has greatly cut down on his k's, his BABIP this year is normal so he isn't receiving help from there and he has stayed healthy.

Health and contact were his 2 biggest issues and that has improved this year.

Now, Tony has raised some issues and they need to be corrected...Well, bring him up here with pro coaches and see if they can help him.

[El Gordo]

You really need to stop with comments such as this.

Very little of what gets posted on the OH message boards is "moronic drivel" - particularly in the Orioles Talk section. Maybe if you find it to be so moronic then you shouldn't lower yourself to visiting here.

Most people in this thread appear to be trying to make legitimate arguments. Just because you don't agree with their opinion that doesn't make it "moronic drivel." In fact, you appear to be the one who is trying least to make a valid point.

Just curious, do you think we should bring up Reimold and or Wieters immediately or do you think they would be better served by being moved up a level first. Do you believe it is possible to impede a players development by bringing him up before he is ready to be, as AM has said likely to be "successful"? These are the points I'm trying to make, How are they invalid? Unreasonabele? Reimold has never played above A level because of injury, he is according to his manager at Frederick, still not consistent enough in his AB. Why is it not prudent to wait a bit before rushing him to the ML?

[Palmer Esque]

This has been an amusing thread.

Some thoughts:

1) There isn't one legit reason to not have Reimold in AAA, AT LEAST, right now. The Orioles are moving too slow on moving some of these guys up and Reimold is one of them...He is getting too old for AA, has hit very well there and is now staying healthy.

2) Reference the Jones/Reimold comparison....The biggest difference in their games is that Reimold has walked 15 MORE TIMES in 850 LESS MiL AB's than Jones did...Jones' biggest problem is plate discipline....We all know that now and we knew it coming into the season. He will adjust and be fine...But comparing Reimold and Jones is a joke...2 different types of players with distinctively different games. BTW, Reimold has averaged an XBH every 8 at bats and Jones did it every 9.75 at bats.

3) Here is who Reimold would be taking at bats away from:

Millar- age 36..FA to be....707 OPS this year.

Payton- age 35...FA to be...657 OPS this year.

Those are the 2 players most effected by Reimold being up here...Are you telling me he can't beat those numbers and help us more? Is that a joke or something?

And please, don't bring up Fio...Fio wasn't half the player Reimold is...That is ridiculous to even mention.

Reimold has played in a pitchers league and has been a very good hitter...He has greatly cut down on his k's, his BABIP this year is normal so he isn't receiving help from there and he has stayed healthy.

Health and contact were his 2 biggest issues.

Now, Tony has raised some issues and they need to be corrected...Well, bring him up here with pro coaches and see if they can help him.

The key is that Payton and Millar are free agents to be. I cannot wait to get these guys off the books. Unfortunately, I do not see us releasing them. The best we can hope for is that we can move them somewhere, someway. Then we can give the young guys a shot. Mcphail will do the right thing and give Reimold a shot somehow this year, I just hope it is done right and that he is giving a fair shot at it.