The Orioles have called up their own stud AAA pitcher, Jake Arrieta, to make his major league debut tomorrow against the Yankees. Strasburg gets the Pirates; Arrieta gets the Yankees. If that doesn’t illustrate the gaping difference between the AL East and the NL East then I don’t know what will. The corresponding roster move has not been announced but i bet it will be either Castillo or Albers. The smart money is on Castillo.
Jake has been tearing up the minors all year. The Oriolles 5th round pick from the ’07 draft is sporting a 7-2 record with a 1.85 ERA in the International League this year; he is striking out just under eight batters a game posting 64 K’s in 73 innings pitched.
The Orioles are going to need Arrieta to come up here and generate some sort of buzz around this team. It is a hard thing to do when you are 25 games under .500 in June and your season is virtually over. The Orioles are searching for a permanent manager and the Baltimore Sun reports that former Mets manager Bobby Valentine will interview for the job soon. That is actually very surprising to me; not that Valentine will be interviewed but that it is happening so quickly. It is more than obvious now that Juan Samuel is as interim as they get and he may not be in the captain’s chair for very long.
If Bobby Valentine is interested then dang it lock him up. Valentine brings a bit of instant credibility to the clubhouse and a veteran voice that players would simply have to respect. Valentine also brings a little credibility to a struggling franchise moreso than an Eric Wedge or Bob Melvin would bring.
The Orioles need some compelling storylines this summer and Valentine trying to put this team back together would certainly be one.
After last night’s drubbing from the Yankees (12-7) Kevin Millwood must be in some sort of personal Hell. He must be looking in the mirror and wonder what he did to deserve this? It is June 9th and Millwood sits without a win. He should easily have at least three or four. The Orioles dismal offense is mostly to blame, but that has been talked about enough. Millwood needs to be traded but the Orioles need to get this guy some wins first. Ty Wigginton should be on the block as well, but with Brian Roberts rehab continuing to go poorly I think you need to hold on to hime or risk having a Summer of Julio Lugo or AA filler patrolling second base and no one wants that.
What could Millwood bring in? The Orioles shouldn’t be asking for the moon, but they need to take the opportunity to pick up some positional prospects. You aren’t going to get anyone’s top, ML ready thirdbaseman but you could get a AA second-tier guy or two or a solid AAA guy who is blocked at the ML level. The Orioles should be looking for third, first and second basemen in a potential deal for Millwood.
I wake up everyday expecting this season to be some sort of fevered dream but it is our reality right now. And until the young players step up and start playing to their assumed potentials we will be here for a long time.
