The Orioles Acquire Taylor Teagarden

In what feels like about the twentieth Orioles-Rangers trade in the past year, multiple news sources are reporting that the Orioles acquired catcher Taylor Teagarden from the Rangers today in return for minor league pitcher Randy Henry and a player to be named later, which many times means that money will change hands at some point down the road.

Teagarden was the Rangers' 3rd round pick in the 2005 draft and has represented the United States in the 2004 & '08 Olympics. He has played sparingly for the Rangers over the past four seasons, totaling 118 games, and has a .220 average with a .703 OPS to date. He hit a home run in his first MLB at-bat in 2008; even better, it was in the sixth inning and broke up a no-hitter by the Twins' Scott Baker in a game the Rangers went on to win 1-0. That's a pretty awesome way to debut, but unfortunately Taylor hasn't been able to live up to the high expectations that surrounded him early in his career.

I'm still pretty excited about the trade, because Teagarden represents an upgrade to me over the Craig Tatums and Chad Moellers that have filled the O's backup catcher role over the past few seasons. He's still relatively young and I feel like there is some unexplored offensive potential to boot. Matt Wieters, coming off his Gold Glove winning 2011 season, is beyond the point of needing a tutor, and I think it's worth a roll of the dice to see what Taylor can do. I still expect the Orioles to sign another catcher, possibly a minor league free agent, to compete with him, but as of today, I'm a fan of the trade.

Since I don't have an autograph of Teagarden (yet) here is my autograph of Randy Henry, who the O's had to give up to swing the trade.

Randy was the O's 4th round pick in the 2009 draft and has spent the past two seasons with the O's three class A level teams, the short season Aberdeen Ironbirds, lo-A Delmarva Shorebirds, and hi-A Frederick Keys. My first meeting with Henry came during Spring Training this past year at the O's minor league complex in Sarasota. At the time, I wrote:

"Randy Henry was probably the nicest player I've ever come across during my 'graphing exploits. He was talkative and personable and spoke with me like I was his friend, not just some random person getting autographs. He told me how his Spring Training was going and that he had only pitched one inning to that point, but was happy with how it went. I think I have a new favorite O's Minor Leaguer. Good luck this year Randy!"


Thanks to Randy for that memory, and good luck in the Rangers' organization!

To make room on the 40 man roster for Teagarden, the O's designated Pedro Viola for assignment. I can't say that I'm too surprised, as I considered Pedro to be about the 39th/40th player on the 40 man. He pitched very sparingly with the O's over the past two seasons and the results weren't pretty; he had a 10.80 ERA over six games pitched.

Pedro spent most of the past two seasons with the AA Bowie Baysox and he was nice enough to sign a number of autographs for me over his time in Bowie, including my favorite autograph of the 2011 season. I gave him a small stack of these Orioles cards in return and he really seemed to enjoy them. Good luck with your future Pedro.

My Favorite Autograph of 2011

 
Pedro Viola, who has appeared in a grand total of six games for the Orioles over the past two seasons, provided me with my favorite autograph obtained in 2011. 

He spent the majority of the season with the AA Bowie Baysox, who play only about 20 miles from my house, so I made it to about 10 of their games this season. Pedro wasn't always the most accessible signer, but when he started signing, he would typically do so for everyone who wanted his signature.

He was with the Orioles during 2011 Spring Training, so was included in the major league section of the Orioles Yearbook. The minor leaguers are also included in the yearbook so I brought it along to a few late season Baysox games.

And that's when this happened...

You see, Pedro speaks very little English, so there is a communication barrier with him at times. I like to think that I can speak Spanish, but realistically I can throw a few nouns into a sentence, and have problems with my verb usage. So I probably come off sounding like a little kid who is still working on how to use full sentences.

I asked Pedro to sign his yearbook page, and he obviously obliged. I'm not sure if he asked me where to sign and I said anywhere (or maybe everywhere), but it's certainly a uniquely signed item. I almost started to pull it away after the first signature, but he just kept going.

He was also kind enough to sign his 2011 Baysox card, which will likely be his only cardboard issue in the Orioles organization, so it's heading for my collection as well.

Thank you Pedro for the great memories, and signatures too!

2011 Orioles Autograph Year in Review

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm going to do my review a bit differently this year. Here is the list of all fifty players who appeared in a game for the Orioles this year, and the number of times I either got their autograph or saw them signing at a game. I'll then give some thoughts and opinions on my observations.

(The very random selection of autographs are scans of my 2011 O's autos that hadn't yet been on the blog)

Jeremy Accardo 1
Ryan Adams 2
Robert Andino 2
Matt Angle 0
Jake Arrieta 2

 

Mitch Atkins (3 in minors)
Josh Bell 2

 

 Brad Bergesen 1
Jason Berken
Zach Britton 4 (1 additional at minor rehab)
Blake Davis
Chris Davis (1 at minor rehab)
Willie Eyre 1
Pedro Florimon (3 at minors)
Jake Fox 4

 

Mike Gonzalez 2
Kevin Gregg 1
Vladimir Guerrero 3
Jeremy Guthrie 3
JJ Hardy 3
Mark Hendrickson 0
Kyle Hudson (1 at minors)
Tommy Hunter 1
Cesar Izturis 0

 

Chris Jakubauskas 3
Jim Johnson 1
Adam Jones 3
Derrek Lee 2
Nick Markakis 0

Brian Matusz 1
Troy Patton 1

 

Zach Phillips 1
Felix Pie 0
Clay Rapada 1
Nolan Reimold 1
Jo-Jo Reyes 0
Mark Reynolds 2
Brian Roberts 1

 

Josh Rupe 1

 

Luke Scott 2 (1 at minor rehab)

 

Alfredo Simon 2
Brandon Snyder 2
Pedro Strop 2
Craig Tatum 0
Chris Tillman 3
Koji Uehara 1
Rick Vanden Hurk 0

Pedro Viola (5 at minors)
Matt Wieters 2

 

Mark Worrell 1


There are some things to keep in mind while looking at this list. For example, Izturis has been a great signer in past seasons, but was only with the team for a few weeks this year, so I had very few chances to get his autograph. The small sample size also applies for the late season call-ups, spot starters and others who only spent a few games on the roster. 

However, here are a few observations I am comfortable making after tracking all of my successes for the season.

Nick Markakis and Craig Tatum are the worst signers on the team. They both spent the entire season with the O's and I never saw either sign a single card. Of course, they theoretically could have signed at every single game I did not attend, but based on their track records, I highly doubt it. It seemed as though Jo-Jo Reyes wasn't a huge fan of signing, but I had a smaller sample size to form that opinion.

The best signers seem to be Zach Britton and Jake Fox, who were consistent signers throughout the year. Jeremy Guthrie, JJ Hardy, Chris Jakubauskas, Adam Jones, and Chris Tillman were also good signers. From what I understand from talking to other graphers, I must have been at the only three games that Vlad signed at, so I'm hesitant to call him a good signer, but I will say the future hall-of-famer signed more than I thought he would.

If any of you would like me to give additional thoughts/opinions about the signing habits of the 2011 O's, leave a comment and I'll try to answer everything by tomorrow.

The Last of My Spring Training Successes

Just over two weeks after I got back from my spring training trip, here are the last of the autographs I got in Sarasota. I got these all signed at the Twin Lakes Minor League complex, but two of these guys have appeared in a few games for the O's.

 

Like Pedro Viola and Troy Patton. 

Viola was a pretty tough autograph to get at Camden Yards, but is much easier when he is forced to walk right past you. I just read that he will be back with AA Bowie this season, and since this is my last card of his, I guess I need to buy a few more "blanks" to get signed.  

That is probably the sloppiest signature I've ever seen from Patton. His T.P. initials seem to have swallowed one another.

 

I was excited to finally come across the O's 2009 1st Round Draft Pick, Matt Hobgood. At this point, I don't know what to expect from him, but I was happy to add his signature to my collection. His Matt is pretty good but his last name is pretty hard to make out.

I was also pleased to add 2010 3rd Rounder, Dan Klein, to my collection. He was included in the Ironbirds' update set that I received for Christmas (thanks Kalina), so I obviously didn't have this card when I saw the Ironbirds play in September. Klein has a cool autograph, and I especially like the D. 

 

 

Randy Henry was probably the nicest player I've ever come across during my 'graphing exploits. He was talkative and personable and spoke with me like I was his friend, not just some random person getting autographs. He told me how his Spring Training was going and that he had only pitched one inning to that point, but was happy with how it went. I think I have a new favorite O's Minor Leaguer. Good luck this year Randy!

 

 

 

 

Atkins & Houser were non-roster Spring Training invites, so I don't know if they will even pitch in the O's system this year, but I was happy to add them to my collection regardless.

Atkins didn't seem very excited to sign, but begrudgingly stopped for a minute. The reverse j loops on his M & A are certainly unique.

Houser's signature is pretty interesting and stylized. You can tell that he takes pride in it.

 

 

 

 

You know I like my orange uni autographs, especially from the O's 2010 Minor League Player of the Year (Mahoney) and a new player for my collection (Ohlman). 

 

I'm not entirely sure how Cowan was chosen to be included in the Bowman Chrome set since he's not a top level prospect, but I'm always happy to get an "Orioles" card signed. 

 

 

Johnson & Erbe are veterans on my blog, and I don't have much new to say about them. I'm still hoping that they can both turn a corner and make a push to the O's roster one of these years.

 

Raul has always been a willing signer and is very polite. His signature is pretty smooth too and the O at the end is something you don't see too often.

 

I don't have too much to say about Anderson or Moore, besides that Anderson is a huge guy, probably 6'7'' 275. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

Now that I'm done with my Spring Training autographs, I will start taking a look at the O's 2011 roster. Thanks for sticking with me through this one.

You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

On Tuesday, the Orioles announced that righty reliever Jim Hoey was added to their 40 man roster, presumably to protect him from the Rule V draft. Jim pitched for the O's in parts of the 2006-07 seasons and has been fighting his way through various injuries since then. I would certainly expect that there will be more additions and subtractions to the O's 40 man over the coming weeks and my guess is that Matt Albers, Armando Gabino, Chorye Spoone, Pedro Viola, Pedro Florimon and Rhyne Hughes are the most likely to be removed, but time will tell. 

The O's also allowed a number of players to become Minor League free agents, including...

 Mike Hinckley

 Chris George

 Joel Guzman

 Scott Moore

and Dennis Sarfate.

Hinckley, George, and Guzman were all signed as Minor League free agents before the 2010 season and never made it to Baltimore.  

Moore and Sarfate both played for the Orioles at times over the past three seasons.  

None of these moves surprised me besides letting Sarfate go. The O's have a pretty deep bullpen and he didn't crack the 2010 Major League roster but he saved 20 games and had a 2.73 ERA for the AAA Tides. 

Orioles Autograph Year in Review- The I-Don't-Think-They're-Good-Signers

After taking the weekend off from my it, I'm back to reviewing the signing habits of everyone who played for the O's this past season.

Today, I'm going to cover the players who I might have seen signing on occasion, but they didn't seem to sign often during their time in Baltimore.

B-Rob had an injury-plagued 2010 season and was away from the team for most of the year, but in the 59 games he played with the O's, I think I only saw him sign one time. 

The only time I got his autograph all year was way back in Spring Training when he participated in a book signing to promote his dad's book on basestealing. 

Brian also fell in this category last season.

JJ signed for me twice this season, but one of those times was at FanFest, so I don't really count that since it's a signing that's more of a contractual obligation than an act of goodwill. As I've said before, most relievers sign on Sundays, but Jim wasn't one that normally took the time for the fans.

I also ranked JJ in this category last year. 

Scott signed cards on two occasions for me this season, one in Spring Training and the other at an early July game in Baltimore, and I remember seeing him sign at least one other time in Baltimore, so I almost listed him as a hit or miss signer. But I couldn't quite do it. Signing three times just didn't cut it for me.

He's now a minor league free agent, so his time with the O's is likely over.   

Troy was a great signer during the time he spent with the AA Bowie Baysox in 2009, but his signing habits didn't seem to translate to Baltimore. He only made it into a single game for the O's this season, but he spent most of a month as a member of the 25 man roster and I don't think I saw him sign once. He really could have been placed in the bad signer category, but I think I have a bit of a bias since he was so good to the Baysox fans. 

Last year, I ranked Felix in the hit or miss category as he seemed to sign at a few consecutive games, but then not again for two months.  This season, I can't recall if I saw him signing at all in Baltimore, but I got his autograph in Spring Training, at FanFest, and on a rehab assignment in Bowie.  So he's included here because of those times he signed. 

Pedro spent the final three weeks of the season in Baltimore after pitching for the Tides and the Baysox for the majority of the season. He appeared in two games and I got his autograph once, which doesn't seem bad on paper. However, Pedro ignored me and some other fans on a couple occasions. I guess no one has told him that it's not nice to "big league" the fans when you've only pitched in 11 MLB games and have a 6.48 ERA. But at least he signs on occasion I guess. 

Wiggy was a prototypical don't-think-he's-a-good-signer this year.  He is almost always willing to sign if there's only a small group of fans, but he rarely to never signs if a bunch of people are around.  I got him a couple times this year, so I was lucky.  Last year, I ranked him in the hit or miss category. 

Oriole #886- Pedro Viola

Pedro was the second player to make his Orioles debut this week (after Brandon Snyder, see the previous post for that write up), but this wasn't Pedro's Major League debut.  He pitched in 9 games with the Reds last September and had a 5.14 ERA over 7 innings.  Some eagle-eyed readers might notice that I included this card in last Wednesday's Adios Baysox post.  The O's claimed Pedro off waivers from the Reds on April 21, 2010 and he started the season with the AAA Tides where he "pitched" in 11 games to the tune of 17+ ERA before being demoted to the AA Baysox for the remainder of their season. 

I wasn't really sure how Pedro belonged on the Orioles 40 man roster for the duration of the season, but he somehow survived various roster cuts and releases to be called up to the Baltimore on September 7.  He appeared in his first game with the Orioles last night and it looks like my confusion was justified, at least in a small sample size.  Pedro was brought in to the game with a runner on and two outs in the bottom of the 8th inning with the O's leading the Blue Jays 9-0. He promptly walked the free-swinging Lyle Overbay and then gave up a home run to the light-hitting Aaron Hill before finally striking out Adam Lind to get out of the inning.

My prediction is that Pedro will not make any additional appearances for the remainder of the season, unless the Orioles are winning or losing by more than 9 runs.  The man has a 54.00 ERA and cannot be trusted in close (Orioles lead/deficit < 9 runs) games. I don't mean to be hard on the guy, but I just don't like what I see; he reminds me too much of Daniel Cabrera, which is not a good thing.

Before I wrap this up, I also want to mention that I got this card signed at one of the Baysox meet-the-team days.  Pedro signed it with one of the markers on the table, not my preferred sharpie, but at least I have his autograph, which is good because I didn't see him sign before the games at all.  He wasn't included in the Baysox or Tides team sets, so I'm not aware of any Orioles' affiliates cards that he could have, so this will stay in my collection for now.

Adios Baysox

The Bowie Baysox, the AA O's affiliate located somewhat near my house, were unfortunately eliminated from the Eastern League playoff contention on Monday, the final day of their regular season.  They had battled for weeks with the Harrisburg Senators, the Nats AA affiliate, for the second (and last) spot in the Western Division standings, and could have forced a one game play-in game if they had one and the Senators had lost on Monday.  Neither of those things happened and the Senators clinched their playoff spot, so the Baysox season was over.  It's too bad because we only made it to one or two of their games over the past couple months and didn't one last night of fun in at Prince George's County Stadium. 

Well, as a proper send off to the team, here are some of the Baysox autographs I got over the season.  Caleb Joseph up top was my favorite player this season, so I took the time to separate his card. 

This is what their 2010 team set looks like; the Aberdeen Ironbirds set looks very similar.  I really like how many of the cards show the players in their orange uni's!  The Tucker card is an All-Star insert card from 2010 Topps Debut.  Waring led the E.L. with 179 K's, Henson was 2nd with 156.  None of these guys have very nice autographs... 

This is Tanaka & Johnson's first O's affiliate cards.  Car-los Ro-jas! McCrory pitched for the O's in 2008 & 09, but spent most of the season with the Baysox.  Chad's card isn't very flattering.  Cooney didn't like how his little pinkie is up on his '09 Shorebirds card.  Gamboa is a great guy, very friendly, another one of my favorites.  

Joel was one of the hardest autographs to get on the team.  I got all of these signed at one of the meet-the-team days, but did get his Baysox card signed at our last game of the season.  He led the Eastern League with 33 homers, 264 total bases, and was second with 98 RBI.  He's had stints with the Dodgers and Devil Rays in the Majors, but won't be coming to Baltimore this September.

Viola had awful numbers with the AAA Norfolk Tides at the start of the season but his numbers over 23 appearances with the Baysox were good enough for him to get a September call-up with the O's.  I think that Komminsk is probably sick of me getting his autograph, and since I don't have anything left for him to sign, I'll stop now.