Reimold is going to Norfolk

[olehippi]

I really have to question this move, and whatever convoluted logic is behind it. Obviously, the powers that be honestly think sending Reimold down to Norfolk will make him a better player, and they might be right....who knows?

What has me more baffled is why Montanez is still here? He has looked worse at the plate and in the field than Reimold has. If the Orioles are going to play "musical outfielders" and try to catch lightning in an AAAA player, why not give Jeff Salazar a shot?

Sadly, 2010 is looking more and more like just another lost year.

[NewMarketSean]

vatech come on. He is hitting .310 vs lefties. He is 3 for his last 10. In the next 10 days that he is required to stay in the minors the O's play KC, Cleveland and Texas in one of the best hitting park in the league. That is a perfect time for him to play everyday if that is what they want him to do. Who is ahead of him? Scott? Atkins? Hughes? Montanez? Corey Patterson? Come on.

Yep. I agree with this.

[Sports Guy]

Four of those hits are infield dribblers or pop ups that weren't caught. He isn't hitting the ball with any authority at all. He is doing a good job working the count and getting a good pitch to hit, but he isn't hitting anything squarely. The cum stats are lying in this situation.

I am not going to disagree with any of this....I am also not disagreeing that sending him down could be good for him.

Where I totally disagree is the timing of it.

How many times do you see a player say that a IF single or bloop hit or anything can get them going?

All I am saying is that it is dumb to send him down RIGHT NOW. I would have given him around another weeks worth of games before sending him down.

If he was sucking it up then, fine...hell, I would have been fine if they sent him down 2 weeks ago.

But right now, he is 6-20 with 2 walks, a double and a homer...I would have liked to see if he was building on that.

Waiting another week to find out wouldn't have mattered at all.

As I said, Jones is a better candidate for this...His at bats are much worse.

[Moose Milligan]

Moose,

Look at his last 50 at bats. He isn't hitting ANYTHING even slightly hard. AJ and Luke are hitting the ball much more solidly than Nolan which is kind of a scary thing to say. I'd say that the coaches have been able to detect a loss of confidence so they're trying to head it off before it goes too far.

I see where you're coming from, but SG is bringing up some really good points as well. I see it both ways but lean towards SG's line of thinking of that he's done reasonably well in his last 20 at bats.

[Nigel Tufnel]

I would have said the same thing before the Sunday and Tuesday game. AJ hit the ball hard three times last night. He had decent at bats in both games. Reimold honestly looks lost at the plate right now. It could be transient. I agree with that. The sample size is very small. I'd bet that the coaches can sense the frustration growing and want to nip it in the bud.

Also, if they send Jones down, then Patterson has to play every day, and Patterson sucks. At least with Reimold going down, you can hope that the pu pu platter of Scott, Patterson, and Montanez can somehow do something decent.

[JourneyFan]

On the plus side, at least this'll get him away from Crowley .

[Fuego!]

I hope Montanez doesn't get off the pine at all. I'd rather have Joey Gathright as a 5th outfielder at this point.. Better defense and he provides some pinch runner speed off the bench

[Sports Guy]

We've got to avoid looking at just numbers. He isn't hitting the ball hard AT ALL. I don't know what else to say. I'll just say again that I thought there was no way that it should be Reimold until I watched him on Sunday and Tuesday. He is clearly struggling and looks very frustrated. If his confidence is waning, I'm glad they pulled the trigger quickly. Nobody really knows except those close on that one.

I was all on the AJ bandwagon but he had much better at bats last night and, to a lesser extent, on Sunday.

That was what, 7 or 8 at bats? My god, any player can look dreadfully awful in 6-8 at bats....if you didn't feel he should be sent down on Saturday, i am not sure how you expect anyone to take you seriously when you say you want him sent down 2 games later.

Reimold has been leaps and bounds better at the plate compared to Jonesy this year...2 games doesn't change that.

[Mark Carver]

What is wrong with Reimold going to Norfolk and working with Richie Hebner (hitting coach), who he has had success with?

[fanfan1974]

Scott should have been sent down over Reimold as Reimold is the budding star. Even though it doesn't appear that people take stock in the mental aspect of his game, there has to be something about leaving his former fiance when she was pregnant because of family pressure and then having no contact with her ( I only know this bc my wife and her cousin work together here in town.) Apparently she was with him all last year and part of the year before, then he leaves her, he's not allowed to speak to her and everything goes to pot.

What are your thoughts of mental aspect of game superseding physical aspect of game? No one has really brought this up before and say its because of the foot or typical slump. Surely the O's are aware of his situation so perhaps they are aware that his playing may be affected long term? If a player has substantial personal issues going on in the middle of the season, would that affect their game?

[sbauer]

Also, if they send Jones down, then Patterson has to play every day, and Patterson sucks. At least with Reimold going down, you can hope that the pu pu platter of Scott, Patterson, and Montanez can somehow do something decent.

How's that for a platoon - Scott, Patterson, and Montanez? Yikes.

[Mackus]

It did for me. I don't EVER want to see a young player look mentally overmatched. I saw that from Reimold last night.

Sort of like the start Bergesen had in Seattle before being sent down. He was worse in previous starts, and if he had just gotten shellacked and been mentally ok, he likely wouldn't have been sent down. But it looked like he was going to have a breakdown out there and after the game. Sometimes you need to give a player a mental break as well. I don't think Reimold looked anywhere near as visibly languished as Bergesen did, but if they saw that from him after the game or in the dugout, then sending him down is a good decision.

[1966]

Good Lord folks... Really? Don't you see what this is? They're recharging his batteries so he doesn't have to do it under the microscope. He'll be back in so little time he doesn't use an option if he gets his swing together. Haven't you noticed that he hasn't hit a ball solidly in forever? He works the count, gets a good pitch to hit, and then hits a weak grounder or pop up. He is clearly struggling.

This isn't about the "weaker" player. This is about leaving Montanez as the fifth outfielder, starting Scott in left every day, having Patterson to back up Jones, and getting Reimold on track. Really, I'm surprised you guys don't see this. Montanez is completely immaterial in all this.

Exactly. The fact that this is going over peoples heads here is mind boggling to me.

[Moose Milligan]

We've got to avoid looking at just numbers. He isn't hitting the ball hard AT ALL. I don't know what else to say. I'll just say again that I thought there was no way that it should be Reimold until I watched him on Sunday and Tuesday. He is clearly struggling and looks very frustrated. If his confidence is waning, I'm glad they pulled the trigger quickly. Nobody really knows except those close on that one.

I was all on the AJ bandwagon but he had much better at bats last night and, to a lesser extent, on Sunday.

To be honest, I didn't read this far before replying. You bring up a good point again.

[1966]

Scott should have been sent down over Reimold as Reimold is the budding star.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong - but is it even possible to send Scott down without his permission? My impression was that it isn't.