Matusz might be coming soon.

[Mike B]

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

Thanks, Waters/Pauley are sort of the same thing. Liz would be a real popular choice here.

[wickedwitch]

I saw the baby pitchers at Bowie last season. Matusz blows them all away. He's ready.

[geschinger]

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.

Matusz isn't a Boras client... I wouldn't worry too much about service time with him... I don't consider it a foregone conclusion that he's going to ignore all overtures towards an extension and work towards being a FA as early as possible like I do with Wieters.

If he's as good as advertised I would sign him to an extension well before he's FA eligible.

[Arthur_Bryant]

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.

If he pitches well in Baltimore this year and has a good spring, I don't think there's any way they demote him to start 2010. They'll deal with it when the time comes, try to extend him, whatever.

[Austin]

The future is coming awfully fast, isn't it?

[BowieMike]

Here are some quotes from Dave Trembley for Friday's game at Camden Yards.

On what minor league staffers have told him:

"From what people have told me; people have told me he can handle it."

On whether or not a Double-A pitcher can skip Triple-A for the big leagues and have success:

"I think it depends on what his secondary pitches are. You gotta have secondary pitches in the big leagues. I think a lot of guys learn that once they get to Triple-A because there are a lot of veteran pitchers."

On whether or not the club would bring Matusz up for only a couple spot starts rather an extended look:

"What does it do to the big picture for whoever the guy is you bring up here? What does it do for him? It’s a tough call. It’s an interesting call and everybody will be anxiously awaiting the decision"

On if it would be fair to assume that Matusz is the guy if he is pulled from today's start after only a few innings:

"I think it would be fair to assume that he was being considered."

[Mike B]

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.

Yep, which means he has only about 6 to 8 starts in him.

[Austin]

BTW Roch implied in his blog that the severity of Bergy's injury may have something to do with it, in that they don't want Matusz making the spot start and being sent down.

I agree it's not good to yo-yo him but they can always move Berken to the pen or send Berken down when Bergy comes back. Matusz gets the nod over Berken even though Berken has been here longer. Berken is unlikely to be a part of our rotation long-term.

Berken should be on the bubble anyway. If Matusz is ready to pitch at the Major League level, I know who I'm sending down.

[Crazysilver03]

Yep, which means he has only about 6 to 8 starts in him.

There are a maximum of 10 starts left in the season, so that would be fine. If we went to a 6 man rotation, then it is down to 8-9 starts left.

[Oriolidae85]

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?

Go ahead and do it. You can post your findings right here.

Erik Bedard did it before getting hurt (was in the bigs before his injury recovery sent him to AAA)

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/B/erik-bedard.shtml

The fact that he got hurt is an other concern, though one I think the O's FO will factor in their decision making on how long he goes this year

Jake Peavy (out of HS)

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/P/Jake-Peavy.shtml

CC Sabathia

Josh Beckett

AJ Burnett (was at AAA after already pitching in the bigs...looks like a rehab assignment)

Just to name a few

looks like someone already beat me to it...kudos

[Crazysilver03]

Do they think they can compete next season? We need 6 years of Matusz contributing to competitive teams. If they want to swap 2016 with 2010 as car as contending, then cool. But if they are still waiting until 2011, then I'm not sure it's smart to use over 25% of his years when they aren't doing anything, just because fans are excited and he's on a roll right now.

I think things are moving a lot faster than they anticipated.

Simon getting injured was a blessing in disguise as Bergesen has should he can handle the major leagues.

Hernandez, Berken, and Tillman all earned their chances this year. Matusz has definitely showed why he was a first round pick.

Snyder wasn't supposed to make Norfolk until next year but he already has a month of experience there.

With players getting their feet wet this season, we might not necessarily compete next season but will probably play close to .500 or better ball and we need a winning culture first before we can compete. 2011 might be a realistic time to compete deep into the playoffs, but we need to get the players up here and ready for that.

With the farm system, we really shouldnt worry about 2015 or 2016 for a few years. Plus, if we can get back to winning we can attract good free agents.

It is all about getting better the fastest and if the players are ready, lets do this thing.

[scOtt]

BTW Roch implied in his blog that the severity of Bergy's injury may have something to do with it, in that they don't want Matusz making the spot start and being sent down.

I agree it's not good to yo-yo him but they can always move Berken to the pen or send Berken down when Bergy comes back. Matusz gets the nod over Berken even though Berken has been here longer. Berken is unlikely to be a part of our rotation long-term.

That's kinda why I'm against Matusz being called up. We have some very interesting pieces already here. I think it's a better move to stretch out Berken and Hernandez, Tillman, see what they have, than to prematurely call up another hot prospect. Matusz' time will definitely come, we need the ML innings this year, to see what the fringe guys can add to our future.

[AgentOrange]

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/B/A.J.-Burnett.shtml

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/P/Jake-Peavy.shtml

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/B/Josh-Beckett.shtml

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/C.C.-Sabathia.shtml

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/B/Erik-Bedard.shtml

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/Johan-Santana.shtml

To name a few.

It happens.

Erik Bedard did it before getting hurt (was in the bigs before his injury recovery sent him to AAA)

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/B/erik-bedard.shtml

The fact that he got hurt is an other concern, though one I think the O's FO will factor in their decision making on how long he goes this year

Jake Peavy (out of HS)

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/P/Jake-Peavy.shtml

CC Sabathia

Josh Beckett

AJ Burnett (was at AAA after already pitching in the bigs...looks like a rehab assignment)

Just to name a few

looks like someone already beat me to it...kudos

Did you just copy what I wrote and write it as yours?

[Crazysilver03]

That's kinda why I'm against Matusz being called up. We have some very interesting pieces already here. I think it's a better move to stretch out Berken and Hernandez, Tillman, see what they have, than to prematurely call up another hot prospect. Matusz' time will definitely come, we need the ML innings this year, to see what the fringe guys can add to our future.

I am not 100% sure what you mean by stretching them out.

Berken is the only fringe guy on this list. His future is not in the rotation and will be in the bullpen. If Matusz is ready, he replaces Berken.

If we get the rotation situated with Matusz, Bergesen, Tillman, Hernandez, and Guthrie, that means we have the following options in the bullpen in 2010:

-Jim Johnson (closer)

-Chris Ray

-Koji Uehara

-Jason Berken

-Kam Mickolio

-Brian Bass

-Dennis Sarfate

-Josh Perrault

-Josh Marrioti

-Tim Bascom

-Jake Arrieta

The sooner we figure out the rotation, the sooner we can figure out the bullpen.

[AgentOrange]

That's kinda why I'm against Matusz being called up. We have some very interesting pieces already here. I think it's a better move to stretch out Berken and Hernandez, Tillman, see what they have, than to prematurely call up another hot prospect. Matusz' time will definitely come, we need the ML innings this year, to see what the fringe guys can add to our future.

Not sure about your rationale here Scott. I don't think it would be premature based on the conversation that has been going on for a while and it should be about the prospect as well.

I think Berken has always been viewed as a BP arm that could possibly start. He has shown that he can make spot starts at this point and may be able to do more than that, but it is looking more on the unlikely side.

Bergy is going to be a ML starter, IMO.

There are plenty of starts for our "Fringe players" even with Matusz up here.

If they think bringing up Matusz is good for the long term plan for Matusz, then they should bring him up.