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Matusz might be coming soon.


Gurgi

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Guest JChav

Slightly OT...

My father works at USD, he's a huge Orioles fan and was obviously elated when we drafted Matusz. And, according to him, he pronounces his last name ma-TOOZ.

This is second hand info, so, there's a chance I'm not right I suppose. I've heard ma-TOOZ maybe 2 times on sports talk over the last year.

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I don't buy - and never have bought - the "delicate ego" argument when it comes to young pitchers.

When it comes to Matusz, what does he need at this stage that only time in AAA can provide?

I say bring him up and let him use his remaining 2009 innings getting a taste of major league competition. If necessary, he can spend the first part of next season in AAA working on whatever weaknesses got exposed from the experience.

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The blind fan in me would love to see Mr. Matusz this season, but I'm worried about his ability to leap from AA to the Orioles and perform effectively. I'm for moving slowly with the primary members of the cavalry, as the Orioles are going absolutely nowhere in 2009 and there's little reason to rush those who haven't pitched at all in AAA.

The plan this far seems to be to pass the cavalry through each level of the minors, so why deviate from that plan at this point? There are others who can take Bergy's starts--perhaps a so-called organizational guy can be given an opportunity. One such pitcher that comes to mind--as Dave Johnson mentioned today--is Andy Mitchell. He may not have set the world on fire, but he could handle a start or two and see what happens. Waters, Pauley, or even Bass could take the starts, too. :noidea:

I just can't shake the thought that calling up Matusz is managing from the bleachers, and that's the worst possible thing to do; soon enough, such people who do that are usually sitting in the bleachers not long after such poor decisions implode upon them.

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I'm not sure what his IP is at for the year but they might just shut him down after Bergy comes back or I guess they could move him to the BP just he can keep learning against MLB hitters

He has thrown 112 innings at 2 levels and he threw 143 innings in college, tourney, and US national team last year. My guess is he has about 50innings left in the tank. I look for a 6 man staff in September, so it would be reasonable to keep him under that plus 35 level. All that said I would pitch Pauley, to play it safe.

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Hey, I hope my concerns are dead wrong, and Matusz proves that he does belong. But what happens if he comes up and gets rocked? And instead of having a confident pitcher heading into AAA ball or the ML at the start of next year, we end up with Hayden Penn or Garrett Olsen instead? Just saying....is it worth the risk just to satisfy a disgruntled fan base?

What I'm sure they have some kind of grasp of is his makeup. If he was a mental midget who whose confidence was fragile that getting rocked could set him back I doubt he'd even be considered without a lot more seasoning. If the coaching staff believes he has the mental makeup that getting rocked wouldn't derail his development what would do you think would be the harm with giving him a few starts?

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He has thrown 112 innings at 2 levels and he threw 143 innings in college, tourney, and US national team last year. My guess is he has about 50innings left in the tank. I look for a 6 man staff in September, so it would be reasonable to keep him under that plus 35 level. All that said I would pitch Pauley, to play it safe.

According to Trembley, the only AAA starter being considered right now is Waters, not Pauley nor Liz.

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This is exciting. I'm going to go ahead and trust Andy MacPhail on this one since that's what I've done so far. Risky but extremely exciting. If Andy's people are saying "hey this kid is legit, we're serious", then the organization thinks he's ready.

My above post aside... I agree with this. If AM is convinced, then... In AM We Trust.

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I'm kind of torn on this the more I think about it. If they are going to bring him up and if he pitches good, keep him up for good and put him on the OD roster, then I am OK with it.

OTOH, I don't want this to be a one and done, and don't want this to actually cause him to stay down longer to start the year next season.

Say it is only one or two starts... He gets a taste of what it takes to get MLB hitters out and it reinforces the areas where he needs to improve. Why would that cause him to stay down longer next year?

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After watching interviews and seeing Matusz pitch in person I think this is a non argument. He has the confidence and intestinal fortitude to handle this. A few bad starts won't bother him. It will motivate him.

If he has bad starts, which I doubt.

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Say it is only one or two starts... He gets a taste of what it takes to get MLB hitters out and it reinforces the areas where he needs to improve. Why would that cause him to stay down longer next year?

What about service time. I know most people think it isn't important to worry about that issue with pitchers but from an organization perspective it is an issue. So if we bring him up for a couple starts then we might have to keep him down for a couple more next year. Just a thought.

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He has thrown 112 innings at 2 levels and he threw 143 innings in college, tourney, and US national team last year. My guess is he has about 50innings left in the tank. I look for a 6 man staff in September, so it would be reasonable to keep him under that plus 35 level. All that said I would pitch Pauley, to play it safe.

Thanks for that. I saw only the 105 he pitched for USD last season. That makes sense considering that he threw 123 as a soph..

If he threw 140-plus last year then they will probably let him go to at least 150-160 this season.

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What about service time. I know most people think it isn't important to worry about that issue with pitchers but from an organization perspective it is an issue. So if we bring him up for a couple starts then we might have to keep him down for a couple more next year. Just a thought.

That is if he is kept down at all next year.

If he is ready to go, he should be on the OD roster.

We need to get this to a winning team sooner than later, so if he can acclimate in August and make the rotation out of ST I would be ready for it.

It would also help make moves this winter. If we know Bergesen, Hernandez, Tillman, and Matusz can pitch in the majors, we could look to move Guthrie or begin preparations on Mariotti, Bascom, possibly Arrieta, and others for relief spots.

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