http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/os-add-derrek-lee/

Ah, I Really Miss Jon Miller

Rate the Orioles' broadcasters from the following list: (I skipped the more rare appearances of several others (Viviano, Anderson, Murray) ...
Joe Angel
Fred Manfra
Gary Thorne
Jim Palmer
Mike Flanagan
Jim Hunter
Rick Dempsey
Amber Theoharis
Dave Johnson
Tom Davis

Here's my ranking of my favorite to least favorite:
1. Joe Angel (he's no Jon Miller, but he'll do - what a great era having Miller and Angel together in the late 80s)
2. Jim Palmer (the man flat out knows baseball and actually has a good on-air voice)
3. Thorne (makes some mistakes but has a fantastic play calling voice and a decent sense of humor)
4. Amber Theoharis (enjoy her while she's here - it won't be long til ESPN snatches her up ... smart and sharp on the sidelines, and she ain't hard to look at, either)

Here's where there's a serious drop in the rankings, as I don't care for any of the rest of the bunch ...

5. Jim Hunter (so-so at best)
6. Dave Johnson (bad on-air voice, but he actually makes some good points and is critical of the team when necessary)
7. Tom Davis (he's harmless, but wayyy too much of a homer to even take seriously)
8. Mike Flanagan (I literally cringe hearing his nasally, monotone drone on air. I also happen to think most of his points are obvious and cliche)
9. Rick Dempsey (he's also hard for me to listen to - what can I say? I just don't think he's a very smart man to paraphrase Forrest Gump)
10. Fred Manfra (I don't even know how this guy has had a job for this many years - while he has a nice voice, I've never heard such mistake-prone playcalling. It just seems he has no feel for the game)

A Hole in the 4th Spot

FYI to Juan Samuel:

Ty Wigginton's numbers hitting 4th:
142 AB, .211/1/13
And an absolutely horrendous .275 SLG

When's it going to be obvious that he doesn't belong in the 4 slot?

Shouldn't Jake Fox be getting some starts at first and in the 4th spot with Wiggy hitting so poorly? Or is the team forced to play Wigginton daily to showcase his trade value (or what's left of it)? If so, perhaps he should DH and hit 6th?

I'm also starting to wonder what Jake Fox is doing on this team if Cesar Izturis is left in to hit with 2 outs and the bases jammed down by one run in the 9th.

The Bell Tolls for Thee

Josh Bell is in Baltimore and in the starting lineup tonight. Pretty exciting, even if his AAA numbers weren't great.

To me, this means someone in the infield is likely to be traded soon. Because the team's replacing an outfield/DH guy in Luke Scott (on the DL with a freaky hamstring strain seen here), and Felix Pie is due back on the team soon, you'd figure when Pie gets the call, an infielder is likely to go. But whom? 

The most likely prospect to me is a trade of Ty Wigginton, who is one of only a few O's with real trade value heading into the trade deadline at the end of the month. Tejada could be of value as well. But while Bell is on the team, you'd have to figure Miggy will be the primary DH.

Cheers to Miggy on his decent work at 3rd. Even with his subpar range (although if we knew his real age, we might be more impressed by his play), he's done a decent job transferring to the hot corner.

Looks like Bell's time has come. Hopefully, he's another piece to the puzzle. God knows Andy MacPhail could use some good PR right now, and Bell's positive play would mean more success from the Bedard trade. (For those of you just tuning in, the O's got Josh Bell from the George Sherrill trade to the Dodgers last July, and Sherrill was received as part o the 5-player package for Bedard.)

Best News I've Seen in Some Time

In a rare classy move on the part of the Baltimore Orioles' organization, the World Series winners of 1970 were brought back today for a special 40th anniversary celebration.

As part of a panel, Davey Johnson faced the media.

When asked about the possibility of managing the O's, Davey said, "I have not been contacted, but I will always have interest in Baltimore." He later said, "Anything is possible."

Angelos/MacPhail seem to have zero interest in bringing back the great Davey Johnson and lifting the 13-year curse that befell the team with Davey's forced "resignation," but this offered a small glimmer of hope, right?

Well, maybe not, but let me dream ...

A Grim Reminder

Bobby Valentine's recent comments about the available job as O's skipper were painful to read. Anyone reading between the lines (and you really didn't have to look that carefully) was able to surmise not only that Bobby V. had no interest in accepting the job, but that he thought the Orioles were far from righting the ship.

Once again, the Orioles are in the typical position of not even being able to lure talent to this city. It's a vicious cycle. Top names won't come here till things get better ... and things won't get better till top names start signing here. Look, I'm not saying Bobby Valentine is the answer to any of the team's problems (although he's a clear upgrade on Dave Trembley), but the fact remains that this organization is continually spurned by the best available options. 

Why is Eric Wedge such an interesting choice? He did post some good records in Cleveland, but has a .495 winning percentage in the majors.

Is Davey Johnson primed for a return to Baltimore? Davey Johnson, of course, was the last manager to win in Baltimore, and owns a career .564 winning percentage. And the hire of Davey Johnson would - of course - break the curse that his "resignation" (read "firing") put on this organization.

Still, there are factors working against him. There's his age (he's 67). There's his job with the up-and-coming Nats. But most problematic is his well-known adversarial relationship with Peter Angelos. It's been said they've made amends, but still, Angelos is not the type to make that hire. He's no George Steinbrenner (and how sad is it that this is a BAD thing?). 

But one thing this whole managerial search has once again proved is that the O's are a second-rate organization getting second-rate talent. How depressing.

Typical NY Yankees Self-Aggrandizing

Joe Girardi is "upset" and "frustrated" that Jorge Posada was plunked by Jeremy Guthrie with the first pitch of the second inning yesterday. See here.

What a joke.

Both Posada and Girardi admit they don't think it was purposeful (and why would it have been?). But Girardi claims Guts "hits lots of people," and "[wishes] he had better command."

For the record:
Guthrie 2009: 9 Hit batsmen in 200 IP, 2.7 BB/9
CC Sabathia 2009: 9 Hit batsmen in 230 IP, 2.6 BB/9
Joba Chamberlain 2009: 12 hit batsmen in 157 IP (league leader), 4.3 BB/9
AJ Burnett 2009: 10 hit batsmen in 207 IP, 4.2 BB/9

Think Joe has a problem with his guys "pitching inside?" Think Joe has a problem with CC intimidating batters?

The Yankees always feel that they should be treated to a different standard - by opposing teams, by umpires, by the league. Their star player has no respect for anyone else and only thinks of himself as he's shown many times. Read A-Roid story here.

Bottom line is this: Girardi should apologize for his comments about Guthrie.