Mr. Wood regularly appears on MASN and local radio providing his exemplary historical baseball knowledge.
Mr. Wood was kind enough to answer a few questions for Baltimore Sports and Life.
BSL – “Brian Roberts turns 32 in October. You have a great historical knowledge of the game – do you think a 4 year extension for Roberts is a worthwhile investment?”
Phil Wood – “Roberts has never had an issue with conditioning, so I think his age is a secondary consideration. A 4-year contract makes perfect sense, and for an all-star who’s still technically in his prime, it’s going to be pricey. The issue, obviously, is his desire to stay. It’s a tough situation for the Orioles; the economy is an issue, but there’s no heir apparent waiting in the wings either. I doubt anyone else would offer even near his value in a trade – it wouldn’t shock me if he opted for a shorter-term deal.”
BSL – “The Orioles hold Luke Scott’s contract through the 2012 season.Aubrey Huff is a FA after 2009. With that in-mind, would you attempt to make Scott the everyday 1st-baseman for 2009, with Huff as the DH?
That way, in 2010 Reimold could take over the DH role, and you would have Scott with a year of experience at 1st.
It would also enable the Orioles to consider converting Snyder to 3rd-base (where he played in the Hawaiian Winter League in Fall 2007) and be a possible 2010 replacement for Mora.”
Phil Wood – “Aubrey Huff, while no Gold Glover, is still a cut or two above Luke Scott defensively, so I think DH is the right spot for Luke. It’s interesting that so many people are so sold on Reimold as a big leaguer, when the club has had no inquiries on Nolan in trade talks. The scouts see him as a 4A type player, so how he progresses this year will be interesting to see.”
BSL – “I am currently projecting the 2009 pitching staff as:
Guthrie, Uehara, Hendrickson, Liz, Albers
Sherrill, Ray, Johnson, Walker, Sarfate, Penn, Pauley
With Bergesen, Hernandez, Tillman, Berken, Mickolio, Hoey, McCrory, Patton, Arrieta, Matusz all arms that could help the staff at differing times during 2009.
I see Baez being shown to a lot of teams in Spring Training, and if they can not trade him – I believe he will be released.
I think Burres, Hennessey, Waters, Simon, Bass are non-options that should not come close to making the roster.
If the O’s were to obtain either Hill, or Looper, I would imagine that Hendrickson goes to the bullpen and either Walker is traded, or the O’s do in-fact use a 13 man staff.
How do you see the pitching staff being comprised?”
Phil Wood – “I think you’ve got the pitching staff pretty well sorted out. I like Rich Hill, and for essentially nothing, he’s worth a long look. Reuniting him with Kranitz might be just what he needs. I want to see Baez actually pitch before consigning him to the scrap heap. Of your “non-options” I think Bass has a shot. Don’t care much for the others. I’m also on the fence about Albers, more about his ability to stay healthy – I think he’s got a quality arm if he’s sound. I think Arrieta is really the crown jewel amongst those young arms, and I suspect Matusz isn’t far beheind. Don’t be fooled by Bergesen’s numbers last year – he’s pretty ordinary, stuff-wise.”
BSL – “If the O’s keep Wieters in the minors through Mid-April, they will gain an additional year of service-time (similar to Longoria with Tampa last year)… Once that has been achieved, is their a viable reason to keep him in the minors past that point?”
Phil Wood – “If the Orioles are competitive and Zaun/Moeller are doing an acceptable job behind the plate, then keeping Wieters in the minors a tad longer won’t hurt anyone. I’m not bringing up Wieters unless I’m satisfied that he’s ready to play every day.”
BSL – “The O’s defense and athleticism has improved with the additions of Pie, and Izturis. You can expect continued growth from Markakis, and Jones. Wieters figures to be an improvement over Hernandez. The bullpen could be strong. A 4 man bench of Zaun, Freel, Montanez, and Gomez figures to be far superior then the 3 man abomination used for most of 2008… Even if Huff and Mora regress as expected, I have the O’s down for 72-75 wins. Where would you currently forecast this team?”
Phil Wood – “This is still a sub-.500 team, so 76 wins would be the high water mark I’d assign to them pre-spring training. The acid test comes in August and September – can they avoid falling into the hole they seem to find almost every season? I can’t answer that one.”
Owner
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.