The Orioles dropped a 9-5 decision to Detroit yesterday, with Kevin Millwood getting roughed-up in his initial outing. Of course that result did not matter, but you would have hoped to get Millwood a couple of innings of work under his belt.
Game 4 March 6th Takeaways:
1) Matt Albers went 2.1 innings of scoreless ball yesterday, allowing just 1 hit. He also pitched a scoreless inning on the 3rd. We have detailed several times previously how perhaps just 1 spot in the bullpen is up for grabs, so this is a positive early statement Albers is making.
2) Meredith also added another scoreless inning to his spring resume (also pitched the 3rd).
3) Some people have suggested that Wigginton could be traded this spring, but I think that would be a poor decision. Being able to team Wigginton, with Pie off the bench is a strength for the team. That gives the team a capable right-handed, and left-handed options in-reserve.
The biggest disappointment about Wigginton in 2009 was his struggles against left-handed pitching. In 2007, Wigginton had a .935 OPS against Lefties. In 2008, Wigginton had a 1.055 OPS against Lefties. In 2009, Wigginton’s OPS against Lefties fell to .650 in a comparable amount of at-bats.
4) Snyder had another 0 for 2, making him still hit-less in his first five or six at-bats. You would like to see him get that first hit, and then string together a couple of positive weeks. Obviously is not going to make the team out of camp, but you want to leave a positive impression on the big-club.
4a) Norfolk figures to have Snyder, Hughes, and Aubrey all on the roster. Snyder will be playing everyday at 1st, so it will be interesting to see how the team finds at-bats for Hughes/Aubrey, when the other is at DH.
Hughes hit his 3rd homer of Spring, and the 26-year old lefty has only ever played 1st-base in the Minor Leagues.
In 2009, Hughes had stops at AA Montgomery, AAA Durham, and AAA Norfolk where he combined for 25 homers, and 35 doubles over 512 at-bats.
At one point this Winter, I thought Aubrey might grab the last-spot on the bench. Seems pretty apparent that will not happen at this point. Aubrey is probably the best defensive 1st baseman of the bunch between Snyder/Hughes and himself – but the O’s will want Snyder working at 1st everyday, and improving there.
So that means him, and Hughes are looking for at-bats elsewhere. Similar to Hughes, Aubrey has basically only ever played 1st in the Minors. Last year, he received 3 games in LF, and 1 game in RF – so maybe he is the most likely to be moved from DH. Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com reported the other-day that the O’s have asked Hughes to start taking reps in LF as-well. Both would be well served by showing an ability to be versatile.
Hughes, and Aubrey are the classic AAAA type-guy, but both represent good organizational depth. They will produce for Norfolk, and could help the end of the O’s bench at some-point during 2010 if called on.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.