The O's Have Hoes

The Orioles made a few roster moves today highlighted by their selection of the contract of prospect L.J. Hoes from AAA Norfolk to help fill the outfield void left by Nick Markakis's broken thumb. L.J. would have had to have been added to the 40-man roster anyway during the upcoming off-season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, so the move makes sense, even though he won't be eligible to play in the post-season, if that scenario unfolds.

At just 22 years old, L.J. spent the majority of the 2012 season with the Tides and actually improved on his AA numbers. After playing mostly 2B during his first three and a half seasons in the O's minor league system, the organization moved him to the outfield in mid-2011 and it seems like the move has really paid off.

He was the Orioles 3rd round selection in the 2008 first year player draft and has regularly been ranked amongst the team's top five prospects by Baseball America in the past few years. This is L.J.'s first MLB call-up and he will be making his big league debut when he appears in a game.

In addition to selecting Hoes' contract, the O's are bringing back Endy Chavez to play in the outfield over the next three weeks.

To make room on the 40 man roster for Hoes & Chavez, the O's designated Kevin Gregg and Ryan Adams for assignment.

Kevin was never particularly effective in Baltimore, but he seemed like a decent guy who pitched with a bulldog mentality. However, I never had a good feeling when he was coming in a game, especially when he was the team's closer in the early half of the 2011 season.

Infielder Ryan Adams played for the Orioles over two stints during the 2011 season but had fallen out of favor in the organization. I never heard any specific reasons for it, but it was pretty obvious that he wasn't in the team's plans for the future. There were some rumblings about other teams being interested in him, so hopefully the Orioles can work out some sort of trade to get at least something in return for him.

Upgraded Orioles Spring Training Autographs

As I continue to work my way through the autographs I got during my Spring Training trip last week, I'm trying to figure out some logical ways to group the autographs.

Today's group features players who have already played in a game for the Orioles. And you'll notice that I continued my trend of requesting personalizations, and that everyone was very accommodating.

One of the highlights of my trip was getting Chris Davis to sign his 2012 Topps card, the first card that pictures him as an Oriole.

Since 2012 Topps came out in late January, I had to add Davis and Kyle Hudson to my need list, something that always bothers me with current players. And with Hudson now with the Rangers, I will have to get creative to add his signature to my collection.  

I was also excited to get Hardy's autograph, since I found him to be pretty tough to track down last season.

Jonesy continues to be an above average signer for a star player.

I continue to have luck with Chris Tillman, although a fellow collector mentioned that he seems to be getting harder to get to sign than in past years. 

I seem to go through feast or famine times in terms of getting Troy's signature, and I'm currently stuffed.

One of the more surprising autographs I got was from Brian Roberts, who is around the team, but not playing in games at this time. I snagged him leaving the complex on an off day, and he seemed to be in decent spirits considering all he's gone through in regards to his concussions. 

I specifically enjoy requesting personalizations from players who are also named Ryan. I like to see how their printing compares to their signature. In Adams' case, it's not very similar.

Josh Bell was kind enough to add the rare personalization & double inscription combo. 

Also, this is not a very flattering action shot, as Josh is kind of making a "derpface". 

One of the most unexpected autographs I got on my trip was of Winston Abreu, who made his major league debut with the 2006 Orioles. He was the 793rd player to appear in a game for the O's when he debuted on August 6th; unfortunately, he didn't have much success and had a 10.13 over seven games. This was my first in-person success with Winston.

I was happy to add personalized cards from a few of the Orioles coaches/instructors who were around Sarasota.

Brady has been a tough signer over the years, so it's nice to have him so accessible.

Chris Hoiles is also helping out during Spring Training as a catching instructor.

Alan Mills has returned to the Baltimore organization as he is poised to be the pitching coach for the short season A ball Aberdeen Ironbirds in 2012. 

I didn't recognize Alan at first since he literally looks the same now as he did on this early 1990s' card. It must be nice to age so gracefully.


I try to always be prepared with Orioles cards in case any one-time Birds are playing or coaching for the opposing teams. I lucked out with former O's pitcher and current Braves pitching coach, Roger McDowell, who was shagging fly balls down the right field line during Braves BP.

 Check out the R's in his signature and the personalization of my name. Now those are some similar R's!

Auto(matic) Auto(graph) Sunday

Like I said yesterday, I typically find that Sunday's are the best day to get Orioles' autographs, at least in my experience. So Kalina coined the term, Auto Auto Sunday, and I liked it, and I'm using it for the title of this post.

Here are the autographs I got at the game on Sunday; some of these correspond with the pictures from yesterday.

I'll start with the autographs you are probably expecting to see...

Now I have both the action and posed versions of Zach's 2011 Orioles postcards signed. 

Jaku has one of the less exciting cards from the OPC set. The picture looks like it was taken in deep space. But at least we know he's a ROOKIE.

 

This is the second time I've gotten this card signed, but since it's Gonzo's only Orioles card that uses a picture of him that wasn't photoshopped, maybe somebody else needs a copy.

 

 This is my umpteenth Ryan Adams autograph, but first since he's actually been an Oriole.

OK, that's it for what you might have expected to see. Here's the rest...

For you fellow 'graphers out there, whenever you set out to get signatures at a game or event, do you have a top priority in mind? I almost always do and my top two for Sunday were Clay Rapada and Jeremy Accardo, since I had never got their autographs in person.

 

 

 

 Problem Solved.

I got Rapada almost immediately as I walked in (he had been throwing with Jaku) and added Accardo not long afterwards. Rapada's autograph looks almost nothing like the pre-printed version on his card, though in all fairness, I didn't expect him to sign "Clayton Anthony Rapada". 

And while it's hard to read his name in the signature, I'm a fan of Accardo's stylized autograph, especially the first (two?) J's.

This was the first time I've seen Buck sign since Spring Training and I was thrilled to finally get this epic card signed. If you don't know, Buck seems very professional and business-like, so I can only imagine the conversation that took place to get him to pose like this near that giant cactus.
 

Wayne Kirby always seems like a personable guy, and he is normally joking around with the fans.

Finally, I more or less ran into Boog Powell out on Eutaw Street near his BBQ stand, and he kindly signed my Crown card. He's around for most Orioles home games, but I've got his autograph enough times over the years that I generally don't make the trek out to centerfield to see if he's around.

So I got 10 autographs in under 2 hours inside the stadium. Pretty solid day considering my average is generally more like 1 or 2.

Sunday Pictures

As you may know if you've been following my blog over the years, I feel like Sunday's are the best day for Orioles autographs. If you get in early enough, you have the best access to players with the least amount of competition for autographs. And the relievers, who are generally the toughest guys to come across, typically warm up down the line, so you at least have a chance to get their autographs. Most evening games, the relievers shag fly balls during BP, disappear into the clubhouse and then go directly to the bullpen through a "secret" passage.

Tomorrow, I'll post the autographs I got but  for now, here are some pictures that I took yesterday.

Immediately when I got down on the field, there was Chris Jakubauskas, throwing with Clay Rapada. Jaku is one of my favorite guys on the club since he always seems to enjoy interacting with the fans. I called him over to sign, and then about 10 kids got him to sign as well, so he jokingly said to me "See what you started?"

Zach Britton was also warming up and came over to sign after he was done. 

If you were wondering what Zach looks like from the other side, wonder no more.

Mike Gonzalez was the next guy to come over, and I think he literally signed for everyone down the line

 

 

Although he continues to struggle on the mound, Gonzo continues to be a good signer 

 

 

Ryan Adams was signing at the end of the dugout, so I moved down there to get him

 

 

This was the first time I saw Adams signing in Baltimore; which was nice to see because he didn't seem to enjoy it at times in the minors. 
 

 

Luke Scott came out to talk with some what-I'm-guessing-are veterans. LUUUKE is a big military supporter, and it looked like he had the camo Scott shirts made himself.

Nick Markakis even made a brief appearance. 

Oriole #898- Ryan Adams

On Friday night, Ryan Adams made his MLB and Orioles debut, getting the start at second base against the Nationals. I scored some amazing seats for the game so was able to take a few pictures with my phone. They aren't as clear as I would've liked, but you can sort of tell that they are him.

 

Here he is at second base in the top of the first, technically making his debut

 

That's him on deck in the bottom of the second

 

And here he is on first base, after singling to left in his second AB in the bottom of the fourth

All-in-all, he had a decent debut, going 1-4, scoring a run and helping to turn a double play in the field. Unfortunately, the game was a clunker for the O's who lost by twelve runs to the offensively challenged Nationals. It figures that Friday was the only game I made it to over the weekend, since the O's put the Nats away on Saturday and Sunday to win the series, even though they were still outscored in the series due to Friday's blowout. 

Since Adams has played at every level of the Orioles farm system, I've had the chance to get his autograph a number of times over the past three seasons.

 

 

Along with the Bowman Certified auto at the top of the post, I've gotten these cards of his signed, probably along with a few others that I never scanned. If any of you Orioles collectors would like to trade for one, just let me know. I think I will be adding the bottom Bowman Heritage card to my Orioles autograph binder.

Since it sounds like B-Rob might be out for a little while, I hope that Ryan gets a chance to show what he's got for the O's. Good luck to him.

Continuing with My Spring Training Successes

Wow, what a start to the 2011 Orioles season. The home opener was a bunch of fun and the O's are only the 4th team ever to start a season 4-0 while allowing no more than 1 run per game. Crazy! 

Before I get too wrapped up in the regular season, I want to finish showing off my autographs from Spring Training. 

 

I was happy to get Nolan's Tides orange uniform card signed. Since poor Nolan got demoted to Norfolk yet again, it looks like a road trip is in the books for this summer.

  

Jim Presley is the O's new hitting coach. Here he is pretending to hit off a tee for a craptastic Fleer card. I chose this card to get signed because it's so awesomely bad. 

The next two guys have a chance to appear in a game for the O's at some point this season.

 

While Ballard has a pretty cool and stylized autograph (I especially like the k)...

Jakubauskas relegates his last name to a flying bird shaped squiggle. But I guess I might too with a last name that long.

 

I've been lucky to get Tillman's autograph a few times over the years, but this card looks really nice with the signature and I might have to stash it in the collection.

 

 

I got Adams & Snyder's autographs at Friday's game (actually all of these are from that game) which is good because they were both sent to Minor League camp on Saturday morning. 

This is Snyder's first card showing him playing in a game for the O's and it's probably ticketed for the collection too. 

 

I got this card signed for a fellow SCN member. From what I remember, Guts signs all his non-Orioles cards this way. Pretty cool. I would actually like if he signed his O's cards like this too. 

 

Fox tore up Grapefruit League pitching by smashing ten round-trippers. It's good to see that he still had some time for the fans too. 

 

Josh was nice enough to sign next to the dugout after the game. 

Friday was definitely the better of my two autograph days in Sarasota. I'll wrap everything up tomorrow.