interloper Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 I've been thinking a lot about just how bad the rotation has been and how baffling it is that some of these well-regarded-albeit-low-ceiling guys can't seem to be even slightly below average and usable. Then I started thinking about the poster child of disappointing Orioles pitching prospects, Daniel Cabrera. Boy we really kicked him around for a few years huh? Just really blasted this guy. And while yes, he was pretty bad, he would also be a pretty sizeable improvement on the current rotation if his 2004-2008 self was magically transported to this rotation. Some highlights: Never had an ERA above 5.55 as an Oriole, something the majority of our current rotation can't say. I could have sworn he was living in the 6's. His best was a 4.52 in 2005 - something we would now consider totally passable on this club! Never pitched less than 147 innings as an Oriole, and topped out at a whopping 204 in 2007. Obviously this isn't possible in today's game much less after a shortened season, but still. He posted up! His WHIP stayed around 1.55 as an Oriole which, yeah, very bad. But Lopez (a guy who also has at least posted up all season) has a 1.63 WHIP by comparison. Harvey? 1.76! The biggest thing looking back other than all the walks is just that he didn't strike guys out nearly as much as I remembered. He topped out at 9.6 in 2006 which was definitely his best overall year. That's the only year he sat at 9 or above though. When he lost velocity, he went to the 2-seamer to try to be a contact pitcher and the rest is unfortunate history. Anyway, just sitting here pining for a few guys in our rotation to even match the lofty heights of D-Cab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgway22 Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 I was having a fine day. Nice weather, tasty adult beverage. Then I saw.... "Daniel Cabrera" 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OsFanSinceThe80s Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 4 minutes ago, Ridgway22 said: I was having a fine day. Nice weather, tasty adult beverage. Then I saw.... "Daniel Cabrera" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can_of_corn Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 24 minutes ago, Ridgway22 said: I was having a fine day. Nice weather, tasty adult beverage. Then I saw.... "Daniel Cabrera" At least you already had a beverage ready. Some of us weren't that lucky. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yossarian Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 there are probably a bunch of pitchers that came and went through Baltimore when we were looking for those "studs" and we moved along from that would be in the top 2 on this staff. Guys like Jeremy Guthrie (average about 190 innings pitched per year and his worst ERA in Baltimore was 5.04 and best was 3.63), Alfredo Simon, Brad Bergesen, and even Sidney Ponson (he never had an ERA above 5 for Balitmore). We didn't know how good we had it back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChosenOne21 Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 9.6 K/9 was really good for a starting pitcher back then 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jagwar Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 47 minutes ago, ChosenOne21 said: 9.6 K/9 was really good for a starting pitcher back then Unfortunately Cabrera also had a 96 BB/9 rate to go along with that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can_of_corn Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 1 minute ago, Jagwar said: Unfortunately Cabrera also had a 96 BB/9 rate to go along with that Ninety six is a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChosenOne21 Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 I remember one game his line was 5IP 3H 1R 9BB 10K 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jagwar Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 38 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said: Ninety six is a lot. Well to be fair, I might be low balling the number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byrdz Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 Too bad he couldn’t put it all together as he seemed like a good kid. I was thinking he might be the tallest pitcher the Orioles ever had but in searching I found Tyler Wells is also 6’-8”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChosenOne21 Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 Daniel Cabrera didn't grow up playing lots of baseball like a lot of kids did, which may have contributed to his struggles. If I recall, the Orioles actually found him playing basketball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aglets Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 So I wake up this morning and I see threads about Sidney Ponson and Daniel Cabrera. Have to admit I didn't see that coming. Wonder what Steve Trachsel is up to these days...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MouncastleandMcCormick Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 Posted something about him on Twitter earlier this year. He ended up with close to 50 MLB wins and $8M in earnings. I would hope he counts his baseball career as a success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 8 hours ago, byrdz said: Too bad he couldn’t put it all together as he seemed like a good kid. I was thinking he might be the tallest pitcher the Orioles ever had but in searching I found Tyler Wells is also 6’-8”. Mark Hendrickson? Ben McDonald? Miguel Castro was a bit shorter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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