Adios Luke

Yesterday, free agent DH/LF Luke Scott signed a one year deal, with an option for 2013, with the Tampa Bay Rays.

After a disappointing 2011 that included season-ending shoulder surgery in July, the Orioles declined to offer him salary arbitration. I was on board with that decision since the arbitration process would've netted him a raise from $6.4 million he made in 2011. And I don't think Luke's health and track record should have earned him something in the $8 million range in 2012. 

From what I understood, it seemed like the Orioles and Luke were going try to work out a deal to bring him back to Baltimore at a reduced salary, but it seems like those talks never got very far. 

I was slightly disappointed to hear that Luke had signed with another team. When Luke was good, he was really good, as proven by his 2010 MVO (Most Valuable Oriole) season. And his relationship with Felix Pie was entertaining to watch over the past three seasons. 

LUUUUKE had also been one of the best, most consistent signers on the Orioles over the past four years, as evidenced by this glut of Luke autographs I obtained over his time in Baltimore. It actually got to the point where I no longer pursued his autograph, since I didn't want to get in the way of other fans getting something signed. It is very rare for me to turn down an autograph, so this is really a testament to his signing regularity. 

However, Luke was a controversial figure at times and gave a few inflammatory interviews to national news sites during his time in Baltimore. He was a very opinionated guy, especially regarding gun rights and religion, and wasn't afraid to share his beliefs with anyone that would listen.

Here is Luke telling the Topps photographer about his beliefs...

Luke certainly had his ups and downs in Baltimore, but since I'm an autograph collector, one of the chief ways I judge a player is how often he signs for the fans. And I don't honestly think that I saw anyone sign more than Luke over the past four seasons. Heck, I'm still waiting to see Markakis voluntarily sign once at Camden Yards.

Good luck in Tampa, Luke. I know that your bilingual skills will serve you well in Florida. I'd just prefer you be on one of your cold streaks the 18 times you play the O's.

Orioles Minor Moves

So far this off-season, the Orioles have signed a handful of minor league free agents and had a few of their former minor leaguers sign with other teams. I use BaseballAmerica's amazing minor league free agent tracker to keep up on all the O's transactions. Here's a quick rundown of those moves so far. I'll start with the players that the O's have signed and/or re-signed.

They inked outfielder Scott Beerer to a deal on November 13. Scott has an interesting back story; he pitched in the Rockies farm system from 2000-06 before walking away from the game in 2007-08 and then returned to the Rox system as an outfielder in 2009. He split the 2011 season between AA and AAA and hit .372 over 41 games in the first AAA action of his career.

On November 22, they signed right-handed relief pitcher Miguel Socolovich, who has spent the past four seasons in the White Sox farm system and also split the 2011 season between AA and AAA.

That same day, the team also signed shortstop Steve Tolleson. He played in the Twins farm system from 2005-09 and has spent the past two seasons in the Padres and A's systems. He played 25 games for the A's in 2010 and hit .286 with 1 homer and 4 RBI over 49 at-bats.

The O's re-signed right-handed starter Brandon Erbe on December 5th. He is a local kid and was the team's third round draft pick in 2005. Prior to the 2010 season, the O's placed Erbe on the 40 man roster to protect him for the Rule 5 draft, but he proceeded to go 0-10 at AAA Norfolk in 2010 and has faced multiple injuries as well so his stock has majorly dropped. He was removed from the 40-man late in 2011 but I hope Brandon can get his career back on track in 2012.

Now for the subtractions from the team...

Jake Fox signed with the Pirates

 Chris Jakubauskas signed with the Diamondbacks (and I finally learned how to spell his name)

Felix Pie signed with the Indians

Steve Lerud signed with the Phillies

Chorye Spoone (another local guy) signed with the Red Sox

I'm not sure who all is interested in hearing about these updates but I will probably write another update or two about the O's minor league transactions throughout this off-season.

The 2011 Orioles Walk-Up Song Project

So I don't know about any of you, but I've always been interested to hear what walk-up songs different players have when they come up to the plate or enter the game. I feel like it can tell you something about the player or at least gives the fans some insight into what music the player likes. I've also heard that some players just have a member of the team staff select their walk-up/entrance songs, but I like to think those guys are a minority.

My goal is to figure out all of the walk-up songs for the Orioles' hitters and entrance songs for all O's pitchers.
I've done this to some extent in the past just for fun, but this year I'm being assisted by my iPhone's Shazam app, which "listens" to any music that is being played and tells you what the song is and who performed it.

Here's what I have so far, with YouTube links to the songs if available. As you might guess, some links might contain explicit lyrics, you can probably figure out whether you want to click them or not.


Nick Markakis- Deliverance Bubba Sparxx
Vladimir Guerrero- Calabria  Enur ft. Natasja
Adam Jones- I'm Illy T.I.
Robert Andino- Black N Orange Dboi Da Dome, E' From Da Wic, Jay Luv

Jeremy Guthrie- Never Say Never Justin Bieber ft. Jaden Smith (this one hurts, Gut)
Jake Arrieta- Bad Company Five Finger Death Punch
Jason Berken- Right Now Van Halen


I'm not positive about these, but the songs have been played for the players at least once

Brian Roberts- Kick It Manafest or Don't Waste Your Life Lecrae ft. Cam & Dwayne Tryumf
JJ Hardy- Driven to Tears The Police
Felix Pie- Hasta Abajo Don Omar

Zach Britton- Seven Nation Army The Oak Ridge Boys


I plan to keep updating this throughout the season and will add more songs as I figure out who uses what songs.

Spring Training Excitement

I've been reading all of the news about Orioles Spring Training and I'm really jacked up. Apparently Mark Reynolds was crushing the ball during BP today, I just hope that power translates to Camden Yards.

Since our wedding is in a few months, Kalina and I weren't going to Spring Training this year, but the anticipation for some first hand Orioles action was too much and we booked our flights yesterday. Since her family lives near Sarasota, we have a free place to spend our nights, so it's hard not to just get on the plane and go.

I tried to find some cards that showed some palm trees and/or some sort of Spring Training scene, and I came up with a pretty solid list that appear to show Orioles players from over the years preparing for the season in Florida. I'm going to show the cards two or three at a time in some sort of order that ties them together. Today's them is current members of the O's with the ST background.

All of those ads in the background definitely make me think about Spring Training. I can't wait to see what Ed Smith Stadium looks like after all of the renovations that have been done since last year!

 

It sounds like Jake Fox reported to Sarasota along with the catchers, but brought like nine gloves with him since he can play all over the field. However, he's mainly known for his bat, and it looks like he is taking a pretty comfortable trot around the bases during his time with the Cubbies.

Woo Spring Training!

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. 

One Bell of a Debut- Oriole #882

Highly touted third base prospect Josh Bell made his MLB debut for the Orioles last night. I know that the title of the post is a bit of a stretch, since he went 1-4 with a single, strikeout and an error while playing third base, but it was the Orioles' first debut of a big-time position prospect since the Wieters Era began last May 29.



As you might be able to read in this picture, Josh was acquired from the Dodgers, along with RHP Steve Johnson, for George Sherrill just before the 2009 trading deadline. I had the chance to see Josh play for the AA Baysox for the last month of the '09 season and also saw him in Sarasota this spring. He has been playing for the AAA Tides this season; after a slow start to the season, he found his stroke over the past month and had 10 HR and 44 RBI prior to his call up. I don't think the Orioles intend to keep him up for the rest of the season, but were forced to call him up after Luke Scott's HR injury yesterday and since Felix Pie isn't quite ready to come off his rehab assignment.



Here's a picture of Josh's first Major League hit. He smacked a 91 mph sinker from Trevor Cahill into left field in the bottom of the 7th inning. The Orioles lineup only mustered 4 hits off Cahill in 7 innings, so it was nice to see Josh contribute.

I also had the pleasure and luck to run into the U.S. Men's Soccer team manager, Bob Bradley, who was at the game to throw out the first pitch. He was a very nice guy and it was awesome to talk to him for just a minute after watching the U.S. team's run in this year's World Cup. He said that he obviously wishes that he was still there, but enjoyed his time there while it lasted.

2010 Orioles Fanfest Recap

Good evening everyone, I hope that all of you Orioles fans out there had a great time at FanFest today. I know that I did! I have to thank my parents and my fiance for helping me to get all of these autographs.

First off, for the Bearded Orioles fan that had to work today, I present to you some crazy pictures of Nick Markakis.


It was like Peter Griffin's beard from that episode of Family Guy. Some sparrows were nesting in it.



I was able to finally get my first in-person Markakis autos too. It's about time!


I also got my first autographs from Kevin Millwood & Garrett Atkins. I got them both to sign a baseball card, from the Rangers and Rockies respectively, as well as an O's player card to add to my collection. That's the best I can do until they have Orioles cards, probably in the late 2010 sets.





Atkins didn't exactly look thrilled to be there. I mean, I understand that signing autographs for hundreds of fans isn't exactly thrilling but this was his first impression to O's fans. Step it up buddy!



Nolan Reimold signed his first official Orioles cards for us too. Kalina kind of liked getting to see him and got her Reimold jersey signed too.



Dino also signed his first O's card to add to my collection.

For some reason, he thought that signing this card in silver sharpie would make the autograph "stick" to the card better. I wiped all my cards down so it wouldn't have mattered in my case but I get where he's going and respect that he noticed something like that.


JJ mentioned that every time he sees the card on the right that he wants to add a mustache to it. I said, go ahead and do it but I think he thought I was kidding so he didn't. Maybe I will try again at Spring Training.


I really like the Topps 206 for autographs. So I got Pie to sign both his base card and the Piedmont mini.


The last time we saw Lou was in Frederick at the game on my birthday while he was on his rehab assignment.


I really wish that Sarfate had more than two Orioles cards. I have gotten this card signed a number of times now.


Erbe was the only prospect that I got a signature from. I hope that he moves up to AAA this year so he can pitch for the O's soon.



Frohwirth is the only O's alumni autograph that I got and I believe this card is my first in-person auto from him. You know I like those submarining pitchers!

I picked up a flex plan of tickets to Frederick Keys games that netted me this sweet new Matusz bobblehead, too.


All in all, things at FanFest were a little wild and unorganized but now that I've had a few hours away from the lines and crowds, I had a great haul of autos, cards, and goodies.

Thanks again to my Mom, Dad and Kalina. You guys are great for helping me out with my autograph collection (obsession). Oh, and Mom thanks for the Andino autograph (haha).

Orioles Autograph Year in Review: Hit or Miss Signers

These players seemed to be very streaky in regards to their signing habits. I saw a few of them sign multiple times one week but then not at all again for months. It could have something to do with how their performance on the field was going, or what was occurring in their personal lives; but whatever the case, they signed much better at some times than others.



Melmo was the ultimate streaky signer this season. I'm sure that a lot of it had to do with his slipping performance at the plate since I remember him being a better signer in years past. But I didn't get his autograph all season until my trip in early August to see the O's play in Canada.

Later that same week, I was able to get his autograph at Camden Yards. But those were the only two times I got him all year. I did see him sign at the last Saturday game of the year but missed out on him that time.


I'm not sure if Felix was a streaky signer as much as he seemed to prefer signing on the road. He signed at all three Blue Jays games that I went to in Toronto, but I only saw him sign once or twice in Baltimore. And I can't really count the Orioles Store signing he did in York that Kalina went to for me as it wasn't his choice to be there. But I appreciate her effort to further my collection!




I was going to categorize David as a bad signer or at least an I don't think he's a good signer until the last series of the season in which he signed at all three of the games. So I guess that upgraded him to a streaky signer. To that point, I only got his autograph one time (on the above card) including the '08 season while he was with the Baysox.

But then I got this card signed at the last Saturday game of the season. It's his first Orioles card and I really wanted to get it signed even though it's a chrome card. I tried to wipe the card down and it at least somewhat worked. I don't think he had seen the card yet since he flipped it over the check out the back before he threw it back my way. I would have offered him an extra if I had one even though these cards aren't cheap.




I'm not sure that calling Ty's signing habits streaky is accurate. He fell somewhere on the spectrum between streaky and I don't think he signs much. I got this card signed in Toronto too and I was really happy since it was my first card of him in an O's uniform. It's an interesting shot as Ty is between the netting and the camera but I like it since it's unique.


Ty signed this card for me earlier in the season. I lucked out and was the only person he signed for since the usher had just gone through to clear all of the non-ticket holding, seat-jumping autograph hounds out of the area by the dugout. But I was sneaky and stayed a few minutes longer, hoping for some luck. Ty walked to the dugout steps near the camera well and I asked if he would sign for me. He said yes, so I hopped the ropes and got my card signed before the usher could shoo me away. Too bad that I chose a card that spelled his last name wrong! I somehow had never noticed that and Ty pointed it out to me but at least he still signed it.