ESPN’s Keith Law has his take on the newest Oriole pitcher, Koji Uehara.
Uehara tends to work around the plate with good command of average stuff and, like many Japanese pitchers, throws his fastball in the upper half of the zone, which will make him susceptible to the long ball. This combination was the main red flag on Kei Igawa, and Hideki Irabu and Tomo Ohka were also extremely homer-prone in the U.S. Uehara’s advantage is that his command is better than that of any of the other three pitchers, and he does pound the strike zone, issuing just 195 walks in 1,549 career innings in NPB
.
Camden Yards has, over the past few years, played as a good home run park. So it’s a bad fit for Uehara, whose greatest weakness is going to be the long ball. The signing also means Uehara has to face two of the best offenses in baseball, the Yankees’ and Boston’s, eight to 10 times; both lineups are patient and feature plenty of power, and it’s possible that Tampa Bay’s will be in that discussion by the end of the year. The Orioles do need starters, but Uehara will have to be extra-precise to succeed in that environment.
It’s an interesting point that has been made by Law on Uehara. I don’t know that much about him aside from what I have read online and in Youtube videos, but Uehara is definitely worthwhile signing for Baltimore. His numbers look very good at face value, and considering the state of the Baltimore Orioles, I applaud the team for taking this risk.
He could not be any worse than what has been on the mound for Baltimore the past few seasons.
Single Game Tickets on Sale on Jan. 17th
From the Baltimore Sun: The Orioles announced today that single-game tickets for 2009 home games will go on sale at 10 a.m. Jan. 17.
Tickets can be purchased online at orioles.com and by phone at 1-888-848-BIRD.
Fans can also buy tickets at the Camden Yards box office and the official team store in York, Pa. The box office will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 17 and noon-5 p.m. Jan. 18. Beginning Jan. 19, the box office will be open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekdays.
Full and partial season ticket plans are already on sale and can be purchased by calling 1-888-848-BIRD.
