What's up with Bergy?

Is it possible Bergesen never really healed from the freak injury that occurred this past winter while filming a spot for the Orioles (seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCxxd8MVwTA) ? He apparently injured the capsule in his throwing shoulder, one of the all-time weirdest injuries.

He looked OK in the spring, but a closer look at the numbers reveals he was still getting hit pretty hard without his normal control. In 19 innings this spring, he allowed 4 HR and walked 9. In 123 innings last year, he allowed only 11 HR and walked 32.

Ratios:

2009 Regular Season:

1 HR every 11.18 innings

1 BB every 3.84 innings

2010 Spring:

1 HR every 4.75 innings

1 BB every 2.11 innings

This is not including his 2010 regular season, where he has looked completely hittable and has allowed 15 hits and 3 walks while giving up 3 HR in only 7 2/3 innings.

Will we soon get another "sudden" injury from a supposed important part of the 2010 Baltimore Orioles roster? This follows Brian Roberts' herniated disc that never was ok, and Michael Gonzales' apparently sudden shoulder injury, which according to everyone who saw him throw this spring is an injury he had from the get-go.

I think O's fans all have a collective pie in our face right now.

The Morning After

So after a night stewing over the latest, most recent O's disaster, I feel no better. Hard to feel better about this mess with the news I just read on Pete Schmuck's blog http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/schmuck/2010/04/is_gonzalez_hurt.html about Michael Gonzalez now being hurt. Just another dagger.

And I honestly don't care about this because it is such a loss to the team (which theoretically it is when you lose your closer), but because it's just another disastrous free-agent signing that really made no sense to begin with. Gonzo was 10-17 in save situations last year, which is terrible (I believe Jim Johnson was 10-16, I'd have to look that up, and by all accounts was not cut out for the closer role), and yet the O's go and give THIS guy $12 million and the keys to the 9th inning. Was he hurt when he was signed? Seems like something was going on, since as Schmuck pointed out on numerous occasions he seemed to be pitching hurt from day one of spring training.

It's just the continual stories like this that have dogged Baltimore for so many years now. For every small success through free agency or via a trade, you have massive failures in the draft, in free agency and even when signing our own to extensions (which I'm worried might happen with Brian Roberts).

Sad there's no Lefty Closer

Albers is pitching to Carlos Pena with 2 on and none out. For those of you that don't know, Pena is a lefty. Michael Gonzales is a lefty. Too bad he's been exiled from the closer's role. Still thought DT would go to him in this position.