Renamed Wow Simon

[Sports Guy]

The important thing to me is who ends the season in the rotation.

Yea..I have been saying this for a while.

Its all about the August and September rotation to me.

[Fan of Newhan]

I agree with everyone else. Release Eaton.

Guthrie and Uehara are locks.

Simon and Bass look like they can carry the load for at least some of April.

Penn could as well. If Penn doesn't pitch well tomorrow, let Hendrickson take the 5 spot.

Our pen should look like this to start the season.

Hendrickson/Penn (Pick one)

Albers

Safarte

Baez

Walker

Sherrill

JJ

Ray

If we need to go to 12 pitchers, send Albers down for a week or two.

Eliminate Baez, and I like that pen. My preferred (though unlikely) choice would be a rotation of:

RHP Jeremy Guthrie

RHP Koji Uehara

RHP Alfredo Simon

RHP Hayden Penn

RHP Brian Bass

And a bullpen of:

RHP Matt Albers

LHP Mark Hendrickson

RHP Dennis Sarfate

LHP Jamie Walker

RHP Jim Johnson

LHP George Sherrill

RHP Chris Ray

Release Eaton and Baez. Go with 12 pitchers who might not be the most talented in the league but will at least be a bit intriguing to watch.

[YardBirds13]

I've noticed that the two big fads on the OH boards are the words meh and hyperbole. Thanks to whoever started those.

Did you read my thoughts on UVA's coaching hire?

[Mike B]

YEa..I agree with all of that.

Really, I don't have anything against giving Simon a chance...Afterall, he should get the chance over Hendrickson and Eaton and probably Bass.

I personally don't feel he should get the chance over Penn though and that is really my issue.

Agreed, but the time is right now for Penn to show something. I am with you about meaningless ST stats, but as far as spring starts go, the one on Tuesday is a big one. I would give him about a dozen starts to see if he settles in as his arm strength builds. I do not see the Orioles doing that.

[JTrea81]

The important thing to me is who ends the season in the rotation.

None of the Big Three will be in the end rotation IMO. Norfolk will make the playoffs and Matusz, Tillman and Arrieta will all be pitching in the playoffs and then shutdown afterwards like the Bowie guys were last year. Also the Orioles won't want to add Tillman and Arrieta to the 40 man roster.

You'll see Bergesen and Hernandez and maybe Berken but that's it...

In 2010 they will all be in the rotation.

[wildcard]

First, when you're able to provide me some crow (very doubtful) I'll gladly eat it.

Second, this appears to continue the trend of what's been said by sensible people all along. The sensible among us have continually said that Trembley and Kranitz apparently see something from Simon that hasn't necessarily shown up on the stat sheet. The nonsensical, however, have kept spewing crap such as "his minor league record stinks", or "Simon had a 6.00+ERA in the minors", or the woefully pathetic "he pitched 13 innings to a 6.23 ERA in September."

Third, you keep saying Bass doesn't have to change much and keep hanging on his whopping 4.84 ERA in 89.1 IP(!) as if 89 innings is enough to come to a conclusion about a pitcher's true talent level - especially considering that something like 80% of those innings came in relief.

The bottom line in this "competition" for a starter's position is that counting tonight Simon now has started 3 games in an Orioles uniform and has gone 6 IP twice. In other words, twice as often as your boy Bass has been able to do it in six starts. Gee, I wonder why Trembley sees Simon as a starter and Bass as a reliever.

Simon came out of winter ball stretched out. Trembley has yet to give Bass an opportunity to stretch out. You are really spinning this thing.

And Bass is not my boy. He is just a pitcher that has not been give a chance. That is what I have pointed out over and over again.

[Sports Guy]

Do you think Guthrie, Uehara, & Hill are still in the rotation in September?

I don't know.

I could see all 3 of them or none of them.

[Mike B]

None of the Big Three will be in the end rotation IMO. Norfolk will make the playoffs and Matusz, Tillman and Arrieta will all be pitching in the playoffs and then shutdown afterwards like the Bowie guys were last year. Also the Orioles won't want to add them to the 40 man roster.

You'll see Bergesen and Hernandez and maybe Berken but that's it...

Very likely. The one exception may be Arrieta, but they may and probably should decide better to have him expierience the feeling of pitching in a AAA play off enviroment then getting 30 innings in a lost cause of a major league season.

[Sports Guy]

None of the Big Three will be in the end rotation IMO. Norfolk will make the playoffs and Matusz, Tillman and Arrieta will all be pitching in the playoffs and then shutdown afterwards like the Bowie guys were last year. Also the Orioles won't want to add Tillman and Arrieta to the 40 man roster.

You'll see Bergesen and Hernandez and maybe Berken but that's it...

In 2010 they will all be in the rotation.

Good chance this is true if these guys don't get called up before August.

Arrieta is the most likely to be called up.

[Sports Guy]

As an Oriole fan I wouldn't be too upset with this if it means that Guthrie, Uehara, & Hill stayed healthy all year and pitched well. That someone like Simon or Penn stepped up and took hold of a rotation spot. And that Bergesen & Hernandez were brought up to audition for that 5th spot and one of them looked like a keeper. That would be a good scenario for the O's, IMO. The rotation would be in decent shape and we'd still have Tillman, Matusz, & Arrieta knocking on the door.

It will be interesting to see if the Orioles will be "forced" to bring these guys up earlier than they would like to because Uehera and Hill aren't cutting it or if they will still keep them down.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Good chance this is true if these guys don't get called up before August.

Arrieta is the most likely to be called up.

Disagree with this, I think it's Matusz -- I really think, being as polished as he is, that he will dominate this year and quickly advance through the system.

[wildcard]

Do you think Guthrie, Uehara, & Hill are still in the rotation in September?

I have Uehara down for 150 IP and Hill down for 110 IP. Its hard to know when the tired arm and the injuries happen but I can't project either one as 200 inning guys. They may do it but I don't think it is something that can be projected looking at their histories and ST performances.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Some thoughts on Simon. He has a good fastball. There is no doubt about it. He throws hard and the ball has good finish most of the time. However, he threw some absolute meatballs tonight with his fastball. The #2 hitter cranked the ball three straight times on fastballs. He also cut the ball a few times tonight.

That splitter/change is the pitch I saw the other day and couldn't figure out quite what it was. That pitch has a lot of deception. I do like it a lot. If he can control that pitch, he has a shot.

I disagree with the "good curve" comment. I think his curve is too loopy and too big to ever be a good ML pitch. He won't be able to get a called strike on it very often and good hitters will lay off it. He also hung it a few times. This is clearly his third best pitch.

Overall, I was happy with what I saw from Simon tonight, but I didn't particularly feel like the Mets were grinding or that they had prepared much for him. The hit pop flies several times when ahead 2-0 or 2-1 on pitches that weren't particularly good pitches to hit. I'd be surprised if they approached a regular season game in the same way.

Regardless, Simon did what he could do tonight and he should have a rotation spot at this point.

Kind of off-topic, but what are your thoughts on our "big 3"? Who has got the best stuff? Which one do you expect up in Baltimore and around what date?

[Lucky Jim]

Kind of off-topic, but what are your thoughts on our "big 3"? Who has got the best stuff? Which one do you expect up in Baltimore and around what date?

By Big 3 you mean Hendrickson, Pauley and Eaton, right?

[Tony-OH]

Maybe the Orioles can get lucky and Simon gives them what Willis Roberts did in 2001.

If the Orioles can get 5.2 IP and a 5-5.5 ERA out of Simon for a few months, that will be fine.

I was waiting for that comparison and to tell you the truth, Roberts was the first person I thought of when it comes to Simon. Overall, I think it's a pretty good comparison and I hope we can at least get some Roberts/Mercedes value out of him for a season or so.