"I'm going to allow myself to go home on Monday afternoon," said Trembley of the season's endgame. "And I'm going to allow myself an opportunity to unpack and put some closure on this season, to think about what may be areas that could be improved and what I can do to make it better. Then I'm going to talk to [executive Andy MacPhail] about it and I'm going to call each and every coach individually and tell them what their status will be for next year."
Trembley said he has already spoken to MacPhail, the team's president of baseball operations, about his coaching staff. And to illustrate his point, Trembley told an anecdote about a recent organizational meeting and a conversation he had with MacPhail.
"We had a meeting in Tampa with all the coaching staff and Andy MacPhail and other front office personnel," said Trembley setting the stage for his comment. "That night in Tampa, Andy said, 'What do you think? I thought the meeting went really well.' I said, 'Well, I'm going to tell you something about the coaches that you have here: They have passion. Everybody has passion about the players, especially the guys they work with in their areas.' "
-- Spencer Fordin
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The Orioles have seen Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie all go out with season-ending injuries in the last few weeks. The roster crunch has gotten so bad that the team had to activate Lou Montanez from the 60-day disabled list before they wanted to do so, and September callup Jeff Fiorentino has seen more action than expected.
Wigginton spent the second half of 2008 as an outfielder but had yet to play there in '09 before Wednesday night. The veteran reserve has played at all the infield positions this season, and manager Dave Trembley had said he'd like to avoid spotting him in the outfield.
]]>"I haven't gotten results back yet on McCrory's arthrogram," said Trembley. "I would say McCrory is in the same boat. I would say that's highly doubtful as well."
]]>Roberts also had a chance at a double in the early innings but was thrown out at second. Baltimore's second baseman extends his franchise record with every double he nets and is one of four players alltime who have had three 50-double seasons. The only others in that group are Hall-of-Famers Paul Waner, Tris Speaker and Stan Musial.
-- Spencer Fordin
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Baltimore's cleanup hitter has played in every game this season, and he's started all but one. Trembley attempted to give Markakis a day off back in June but had to use him as a late replacement. Markakis played in 161 games in 2007 and 157 games last season.
]]>Mora, who has played in 796 games at third for the Orioles, would have to play 150 games for the next 14 seasons to catch the Hall-of-Famer. Robinson played in 2,870 games at third base for the Orioles, winning 16 Gold Gloves and playing in four World Series.
-- Spencer Fordin
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Brandon Waring, who had previously been given the Carolina League Most Valuable Player award for his exploits at Class A Frederick, was named the Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year on Wednesday. Waring, acquired as a piece in last winter's Ramon Hernandez trade, batted .274 with 38 doubles and 27 home runs for the Keys.
Brian Matusz, who has been with the Orioles for the last six weeks, was named the Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year on the strength of a combined 11-2 record and 1.92 ERA between Frederick and Double-A Bowie. Matusz continued his success upon his promotion to the Major Leagues but was shut down early to protect his arm.
Baltimore also recognized Caleb Joseph for the Elrod Hendricks Minor League Community Service Award and Triple-A Norfolk pitching coach Mike Griffin for the Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development Award. Scout Jim Howard was named the Jim Russo Scout of the Year.
-- Spencer Fordin
http://spencerfordin.mlblogs.com/
]]>
Matusz, the fourth overall selection in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, made it all the way to the Majors less than a year after signing his first professional contract. The 22-year-old southpaw started slow but racked up a 3-0 record and a 2.42 ERA in his final four starts.
]]>"We're hoping to avoid that," he said of adding another outfielder. "We've got a couple of lefties here so it won't become as pronounced of a need until we get to the right-handers, which will be on Tuesday. So I think that determination will be made on Tuesday."
If Pie isn't ready to play by Tuesday, the Orioles may dip down to the Minor Leagues and bring up Lou Montanez early from an injury rehabilitation stint. Montanez has missed most of the year with a thumb injury and hasn't faced big-league pitching since May.
As it stands, Jeff Fiorentino is the team's lone outfield reserve. Baltimore could also use Robert Andino and Ty Wigginton out there if the situation calls for it.
"[Pie] is better today," said Baltimore manager Dave Trembley. "I would say tomorrow we're hoping to get him out and see if he can swing or whatever. But we're kind of shooting for Tuesday for him to be back in the lineup. That's probably what we're shooting for."
-- Spencer Fordin
http://spencerfordin.mlblogs.com/
Manager Dave Trembley said he has broached the topic with Andy MacPhail, the team's president of baseball operations, and that help may be on the way. In that case, Lou Montanez, who's missed most of the year with a thumb injury, would be the best option.
"I did talk to Andy about that. We probably will discuss that," said Trembley of his roster's weak spot. "The possibility does exist that we could add an outfielder."
-- Spencer Fordin
http://spencerfordin.mlblogs.com/
Manager Dave Trembley said he has broached the topic with Andy MacPhail, the team's president of baseball operations, and that help may be on the way. In that case, Lou Montanez, who's missed most of the year with a thumb injury, would be the best option.
"I did talk to Andy about that. We probably will discuss that," said Trembley of his roster's weak spot. "The possibility does exist that we could add an outfielder."
-- Spencer Fordin
http://spencerfordin.mlblogs.com/
Still, despite the forgotten nature of his hit, Turner was glad to have done it.
"I'm still never going to forget it for the rest of my life. Nobody can ever take it away from me," he said. "It's always good to get the first one out of the way. You don't have to worry about it."
Baltimore manager Dave Trembley said that Turner -- who was acquired from Cincinatti last winter as part of the Ramon Hernandez trade -- will mostly play second in the Majors. Trembley also said that it was good to see Turner get a hit in a hostile atmosphere.
"It's something he'll remember, getting it at Yankee Stadium on a night like that," he said. "I don't know which day they're going to put it on -- the 11th or the 12th -- because it was after midnight. ...I was glad we could put him in there and glad we could get it out of the way."
-- Spencer Fordin
http://spencerfordin.mlblogs.com/
"Mickolio will not be available for this series. He went back to Baltimore," said Orioles manager Dave Trembley of his wayward reliever. "Right now, we're just saying that he has some inflammation in the biceps area. He'll rejoin us when we get back on Monday."
]]>Meredith, incidentally, said it was the same glove he's worn all season, but Baltimore manager Dave Trembley said that second-base umpire Joe West got the call right.