Bergesen optioned to Triple A

[wickedwitch]

I'm very disappointed with this move. He's clearly one of the best five (three?) starting options, but he's going to AAA in favor of scrap pile pitchers.

[Sports Guy]

Not sure JTrea is deserving all of the crap he is getting but to each his own.

[Miller192]

I'm very disappointed with this move. He's clearly one of the best five (three?) starting options, but he's going to AAA in favor of scrap pile pitchers.

I agree and that's why I think it is a poor move.

I'm confident though he will up shortly. Bellyaching over a couple of months of Bergesen in AAA is probably fair but again, I don't think it will matter much come September.

[Miller192]

Not sure JTrea is deserving all of the crap he is getting but to each his own.

I was thinking the same thing but he has a stigma around here.

[scOtt]

The fact that Bergesen pitched well enough this spring, enough to make Andy and the rest of the braintrust notice him and protect him, should be GOOD news on here. The utter gravy is the fact that sending him down, even for just a couple weeks preserves his 7th year option. Bergesen may turn out to be middle-of-the-rotation fodder, if that. But if he steps up like we hope the rest of the studs will, then we have that advantage. MacPhail keeps every available option open to himself. Now and in 2015 or whatever. "By whatever means necessary."

[Boy Howdy]

Hammer, meet nail!

I would love to see Bergesen up here, and I think he would likely put up better numbers than Eaton or Pauley or whoever else will likely be the 3rd - 5th starters for this team. However, I think if the management of the team feels he'd be better off going to Norfolk to learn a thing or two, I have no problem with it.

This season is going to be a crap shoot, anyway. Let the kid get a couple more months of seasoning, then bring him up.

Indeed. If Bergesen pitches well at Norfolk, he's clearly going to be pitching at Camden Yards and/or wearing one of those spiffy new "Baltimore" road jerseys in 2009. That's what I expect will happen.

On the other hand, if Bergesen gets clobbered by Triple-A hitters, then the people making this out to be some sort of injustice or effort to sabotage the Orioles season by the devious front office itself -- well then, this thread will seem even more reactionary.

We're talking about a 23-year-old who started last season with a losing record as a professional before having a fine 2008. Now's he added a nice Grapefruit League performance to his resume. Good for Brad Bergesen! If he keeps it up, he'll be here before the other half of OH learns to spell his last name.

[Anonymous]

Not sure JTrea is deserving all of the crap he is getting but to each his own.

So what you're saying is that he may be deserving or may not be deserving.

We need to get SG to be a bit more direct in his postings.

[RShack]

We're talking about a 23-year-old who started last season with a losing record as a professional before having a fine 2008. Now's he added a nice Grapefruit League performance to his resume. Good for Brad Bergesen! If he keeps it up, he'll be here before the other half of OH learns to spell his last name.

Mr. Bergesen did himself a lot of good. I hope we can all agree that congratulations to him are in order.

Regardless of anything else, we all wish him continued success, including when he takes the mound down at Eutaw Street.

[crawdad]

Though, in the end it won't matter much in my opinion, I think it was the right move. As I said a week or so back . . . sending him down makes sense. Folks like to make a lot of out Spring Training, but eh it is Spring Training.

Even if he did deserve to start the season with the big league club . . . not sure how this is much of a crime. It isn't like we are challenging for a playoff spot and getting the right guy in there is going to make much of a difference in the standings.

[crowmst3k!]

No surprise here. They're just trying to see what they can get out of their optionless guys with a larger sample size against MLB batters.

Bergesen will be up in late May. Mark my words.

Hello tired bullpen.

[carolinaoriole]

Pot, Kettle. Kettle, Pot.

Maybe whatever fans they supposedly lose aren't real fans to begin with. Once he turns this franchise back into a winning franchise (and he will), then all those "fans" will come back in droves.

Yes those fans will come back in droves but they will still be compaining,that is just how some folks are wired.

Some folks could have a new car everyday and any other thing that they desire and they would still moan and moan and moan.

I am amazed that folks who are not in baseball who believe that they know better than folks who make a living working in baseball.

I have come to believe that these fans are the guys you see compaining all the time.

They complain about every one from the guy that changes the oil in the car to the guy that cleans there teeth, and they complain about everyone else because it makes them seem a little more important to themselves. It is crazy. Man if I was working in baseball or changing oil or cleaning the carpet or baking donuts I hope that these people never claim to be a fan of mine.

[Old Beta]

Just an FYI. A lot of players have jumped from AA to the majors. Eddie Murray comes to mind.

Eddie Murray played 54 games at Rochester (AAA) after starting the season at AA his last year in the minors.

[ChaosLex]

Stupid move.

"For each step forward, we take two steps back"

[Old Beta]

On the other hand, if Bergesen gets clobbered by Triple-A hitters, then the people making this out to be some sort of injustice or effort to sabotage the Orioles season by the devious front office itself -- well then, this thread will seem even more reactionary.

Nah. SOP on message boards for this scenario is that by stupidly sending him down after a good spring, we destroyed his confidence and discouraged him from thinking he could ever advance. Some people still say that about Pickering. Must have been extremely discouraging, considering his subsequent career.

[hoosiers]

Not a surprise move, IMO, and a few good yuks in this thread.

The 3rd rotation spot was for Hill. Our FO was hoping for some from Pauley, Hennessy, Penn, Liz and others to grab the remaining spots. It was only after realizing most or all of these guys were not a viable option did our FO begin looking for a guy like Eaton.

IMO, it would have been quite surprising to see someone's FA clock start this offseason - like BB, Tillman, Arrieta, etc.

What I find interesting is that people are labeling this a stupid move while generally:

- acknowledging happiness with AM's

- claiming to be sick and tired of calling guys up to the majors before they are reasy

- acknowledging they would start the service clock earlier.

I'm not eager to see Eaton pitch for us for a month, but it appears it's in the best long term interest of the organization for that to happen. I also like the FO's insistence on actual performance. Most everyone here would prefer to watch Penn start for a month before Eaton, but Penn is simply not producing.