Right Off Russell

Sure Brad Bergesen and Luke Scott stole the show from Matt Wieters, but it was still quite a night at Camden Yards.  Tonight was about more than anyone player, though many fans did show up to just see Wieters.  Tonight was about the future.  The future of the Orioles, who seems to be on the cusp of being competitive in the AL East.  Sure there is a ways to go and many things need to break right for the club, including the maturation of many young arms. 

The players believe it can happen and so must the fans.  Tonight the fans were electric and showed that Ravens games are not the only place to be loud and excited.  We fans have suffered much under the current regime, but tonight showed we can put that behind us and get behind this team again.  Way to go O’s and way to go O’s fans.  Exciting times.

With the big day finally here it seems like all anyone in the Baltimore media is writing about is the debut of Matt Wieters tonight.  The National media has chimed in as well and so have many prominent former Orioles.  Like Orioles fans, most pundits have expressed the same unabashed excitement and anticipation about what Wieters brings to the table.  Some have cautioned that we not have too lofty expectations, such that Wieters can only fall short of.  It is hard not to be excited by what the symbol of Matt Wieters represents.  Let’s hope the symbol becomes reality.

Here is a collection of articles about Wieters and his debut:

Tim Kurkjian chimes in here.
Peter Schmuck: Wieters takes O’s fans back to thoughts of McDonald and Ripken.
Ben McDonald on Wieters.
Cal on Wieters.
Rob Neyer on Wieters and the O’s future.
Fantasy Projections for Wieters.
Other notable Orioles Debuts.
Spencer Fordin and MLB.com welcome Wieters.
And I can’t leave of Matt Wieters Facts.

Orioles- Could spring training be in Arizona? [AzStarBiz]
Orioles- Good start in the bigs for Hernandez. Luke kills it [Orioles]
Tides- Livingston make first start for the Tides. They win it in 10 [Tides]
Baysox- Arrieta loses pitchers duel in Altoona [Baysox]
Keys- Britton strong but Wilmington prevails late [Keys]
DC United- Former coach, Nowak, named Philly’s new coach [ESPN]
Ravens- Mason is a Kobe man! [USA Today]
Wildcard!- Colbert gets played off by the keyboard cat [ColbertNation]

The Ravens have invited undrafted free agent OL Robbie Felix into camp.  Felix, who played 4 years at UTEP, joined the Ravens for workouts and tests on Monday.  Both went well and the team asked Felix to stick around.  What is unique about Felix is that he is 6 months removed from having a stroke.  The stroke left him with limited movement on the right side of his body and unable to speak for 6 days.

Felix’s recovery to be in an NFL mini-camp is nothing short of remarkable.  The Ravens see Felix as a guy who would have been drafted, perhaps as high as in the 3rd round, had it not been for his stroke.  It is worth the risk to see if Felix can regain the form that had him in high regard.  The question is whether or not there is a health risk for Felix to pursue an NFL career, the Ravens thing not:

“We didn’t feel like there was any added risk,” said Eric DeCosta, the Ravens’ director of player personnel. “We feel like he has the situation under control. We feel comfortable that he won’t have another [stroke].

“With our comfort level, we think he has a chance to compete and make the team as a backup center.”

You can read more about Felix, who was a teammate of Oniel Cousins at UTEP, in this article from the Sun.

The Ravens have also gotten some encouraging news about their receiving corp recently.  WR Demetius Williams looked better during the passing mini-camp.  According to the Raven’s Insider Williams looked impressive on a couple of plays and John Harbaugh indicated that Williams seems to be putting his injuries behind him:

“I didn’t see him coming back from plays looking like he was favoring [his injury] as much,” coach John Harbaugh said. “It looks to me like he’s putting that out of his mind a little bit and just playing. The thing has been close to 100 percent as far as when he runs. So, we’re starting to see some of his speed come back.”

Also, the news that Derrick Mason should be healthy and available for all of training camp was welcome.  It remains to be seen if Mason’s contract issues will prevent him from fully participating in camp, but at least he is getting healthy.

A week ago the Orioles were about to be swept out of the new Yankee Stadium.  Now the orioles, winners of 5 of 6, have life and are fun to watch again.  And the recent winning is not the only fun part.  The master plan is playing out right in front of our eyes.  Sure some of the players being called up maybe here sooner than Andy McPhail planned, but they are in Baltimore now and making contributions.  Not only that more are on the way, including the big fish: Matt Wieters.  What a difference a week makes.

The Orioles are still in last place int he AL East at 21-26 and 6 games out of first place.  But they have made up significant ground on Tampa (4th) and Toronto (3rd).  The O’s offense is clicking pretty well right now and should continue to improve.  The pitching has also been improved.  Part of that is a result of playing a couple of bad offensive teams in the Nats and Jays, but the starters have kept the team in more games and the ‘pen is more settled and consistent. Read more »

So it has been announced that Bobby Livingston will be moving up to AAA Norfolk from AA Bowie. Livingston is 5-1 with a 3.80 ERA in nine games for the Baysox this season.

This is fascinating. I thought for sure it would be Patton or Arrieta. Livingston spent last year in AAA Louisville and has MLB experience. I guess the O’s are trying not to rush these younger guys. I am thinking that seeing Matusz called up to AA Bowie at this point in the season is highly likely.

The following is a press release from the Keys organization. I thought it was fun to read through the list of all the players that have made it up to the big leagues over the past 21 years. Enjoy!

*******************************************************************

HERNANDEZ IS 100^TH KEY TO MAJOR LEAGUES

2007 Keys Starting Pitcher to Make Debut Tonight in Baltimore

Frederick, MD - When he steps to the hill at Camden Yards tonight, former Keys RHP David Hernandez will become the 100^th player in the 21-year history of Frederick Keys baseball to reach the big leagues. Read more »

Orioles- So maybe it isn’t Sarasota in the Spring [Herald Tribune]
Orioles- It looked good, then bad, then good, then bad, then amazing [Orioles]
Tides- INF Pickney pitches a scoreless inning as Tides get hammered [Tides]
Baysox- After being shutout for 6 innings, Costanzo leads huge rally [Baysox]
Keys- Beato strong as Frederick pulls to .500 [Keys]
Ravens- Ngata, Reed and McGahee miss voluntary workout [The Sun]

Now that Matt Wieters has gotten the call, a move that certainly will upgrade the Oriole offense, what will the line-up card look like when Dave Trembley fills it out for Friday night’s game?  I do not see any changes to the top 5 spots in the order, but I am curious about where Wieters bats and how Trembley shuffles the other 3 of the bottom 4 spots.  I am sure some adjustments will be made based on pitching match-ups, but this is how I see things playing out.

Like I said the top 5 of Roberts, Jones, Markakis, Huff and Mora is unlikely to change.  Although, if Mora continues to struggle with power numbers and either Reimold or Wieters steps up we could see one of them step into the 5th spot.  Read more »