Baez to be tried as starter?

[McNulty]

I'm sorry, having too many pitchers who can start is a bad scenario, when exactly???

And what young guy is he blocking? Burres?? Chris Waters?

I can't believe people are acting this way just because they want to TRY something. Let them TRY for gods sake.

[Sports Guy]

i'm sorry, having too many pitchers who can start is a bad scenario, when exactly???

And what young guy is he blocking? Burres?? Chris waters?

I can't believe people are acting this way just because they want to try something. Let them try for gods sake.

Baez can't start!

He can barely relieve!

[McNulty]

baez can't start!

How do you know??!!?!? Because he had a mid 4 ERA as a rookie? Last time I looked that was an upgrade over Cabrera, Liz and Burres.

You won't even give him a chance.

[Old#5fan]

Because he is horrible.

He should be cut.

I know it doesn't really hurt anything but just the idea of considering it is so poor.

Wow! Stop the presses!! You and I totally agree on something. This idea is beyond stupid. He was horrible in the bullpen so make him a starter? Where the hell is the logic in that? Baez should be cut. Losing him and Daniel Cabrera is addition by subtraction.

[Frobby]

Baez can't start!

He can barely relieve!

You do realize that he had surgery, and we have no idea if he will look better, the same or worse than the last time we saw him?

This guy has been a good pitcher at times. Not recently. I won't take very long to figure out where he stands.

[Sports Guy]

How do you know??!!?!? Because he had a mid 4 ERA as a rookie? Last time I looked that was an upgrade over Cabrera, Liz and Burres.

You won't even give him a chance.

Because he hasn't been good for years.

When we signed him, it was obvious he was going to suck.

Look, if the Orioles say, we want him to get healthy and the best way for him to get healthy is to stretch him out an extra inning or so, fine.

If they do it with the intention, in the back of their minds, that maybe he is a solution for our 5th starter, than that is an awful decision.

[Sports Guy]

You do realize that he had surgery, and we have no idea if he will look better, the same or worse than the last time we saw him?

This guy has been a good pitcher at times. Not recently. I won't take very long to figure out where he stands.

He hasn't been good since 2005...He will be 3.5 years older and coming off major arm surgery heading into the 2009 season since that 2005 season.

Here is an idea...Don't be lazy and fix the rotation problems the right way!

[RFisthaMan]

Taking innings away from younger, better players is certainly a reason.

I'm all for giving a number of players chances to make the rotation- after the disaster that was the end of this past season, the Orioles have three, maybe four spots up for grabs.

If Baez shows any kind of promise as a starter, he should be given a shot. The rotation is an absolute crapshoot at this point and I don't think any option should just be thrown out the window.

I don't see Baez taking so many innings in spring training to figure out if he's for real or not that it would be detriment to the young guys.

[McNulty]

Because he hasn't been good for years.

When we signed him, it was obvious he was going to suck.

Look, if the Orioles say, we want him to get healthy and the best way for him to get healthy is to stretch him out an extra inning or so, fine.

If they do it with the intention, in the back of their minds, that maybe he is a solution for our 5th starter, than that is an awful decision.

I say again, there's no down side to trying. He's not blocking anyone. The good young arms aren't going to make the ballclub this year. He might be much better with an injury free arm after surgery (back to Tampa form perhaps). Its entirely possible that he was terrible in LA and here because he had damage to his arm.

I say again, he's worth more as a serviceable placeholder in the Braden Looper mold then he is pitching in low level situations out of the pen.

I can't believe I'm having to defend this.

[Crazysilver03]

Taking innings away from younger, better players is certainly a reason.

Why not try him as a 5th starter for the first few months. Tillman, Arrieta, Matusz, Hernandez, Bergesen, and Spoone wont be ready to start the year in the rotation most likely, so why not try the guy that is still contractually tied to the organization to get through a month or two.

If he makes it as a starter, there is an extra role he can fill if we can trade him.

I just dont get the point of shooting this down right away.

[ACE]

I'd liked this thread better when it was called.

"Sarfate to be tried as starter?"

and

"Chuck McElroy to be tried as starter?"

and

"Alan Mills to be tried as starter?"

[Hank Scorpio]

He hasn't been good since 2005...He will be 3.5 years older and coming off major arm surgery heading into the 2009 season since that 2005 season.

Here is an idea...Don't be lazy and fix the rotation problems the right way!

Give me a break, you're smarter than this.

This was BAEZ' IDEA. This is not MacPhail being lazy, get a grip.

[Crazysilver03]

Here is an idea...Don't be lazy and fix the rotation problems the right way!

You still need place holders until Arrieta and Tillman are ready.

I would rather try Baez then tread out Burres. Heck, hopefully Waters and Bass are decent options.

[Sports Guy]

I say again, there's no down side to trying. He's not blocking anyone. The good young arms aren't going to make the ballclub this year. He might be much better with an injury free arm after surgery (back to Tampa form perhaps). Its entirely possible that he was terrible in LA and here because he had damage to his arm.

I say again, he's worth more as a serviceable placeholder in the Braden Looper mold then he is pitching in low level situations out of the pen.

I can't believe I'm having to defend this.

Neither can I...I can't believe 1 person on this site thinks this idea is fine.

You guys are right about one thing though...They will look at him quickly, say this idea is a joke and end it.

[McNulty]

Here is an idea...Don't be lazy and fix the rotation problems the right way!

No one is suggesting that they are doing this in lieu of finding more longterm solutions. You try a mixture of everything...waivers, trades, free agency, in house options, etc.

THERE IS NO HARM IN TRYING. NONE. NONE.

seacrest out.