Here’s a press release I just received from the Orioles…
ORIOLES RELEASE JAY GIBBONS
Team announces 2008 Opening Day roster
The Orioles today announced that they have released OF JAY GIBBONS. Selected from the Toronto Blue Jays in the Rule 5 Draft on December 11, 2000, Gibbons hit .260 with 121 home runs and 405 RBI in 779 games over seven seasons for the Orioles.
Gibbons hit .230 with 6 home runs and 28 RBI in 84 games last season before undergoing surgery on his left shoulder on August 14 and missing the remainder of the year. It was the 4th time in seven seasons injuries prevented him from appearing in 100 games.
Last December Gibbons was suspended for the first 15 days of the 2008 season for use of a banned substance under MLB’s drug policy. On Friday, Major League Baseball and the Players Association agreed to stay the discipline for 10 days to allow for further negotiations over revisions to the Joint Drug Agreement.
ORIOLES 2008 OPENING DAY ROSTER
NO. PITCHERS (12) B/T HT WT BIRTHDATE BIRTHPLACE RESIDENCE
34 Albers, Matt L/R 6-0 205 01-20-83 Houston, TX Sugar Land, TX
35 Aquino, Greg R/R 6-1 190 01-11-78 Palenque, DR Santo Domingo, DR
51 Bierd, Randor R/R 6-4 190 03-14-84 Santo Domingo, DR Santo Domingo, DR
53 Bradford, Chad R/R 6-5 205 09-14-74 Jackson, MS Raymond, MS
56 Burres, Brian L/L 6-1 180 04-08-81 Oregon City, OR Clackamas, OR
40 Cabrera, Daniel R/R 6-9 270 05-28-81 S. Pedro de Macoris, DR S. Pedro de Macoris, DR
46 Guthrie, Jeremy R/R 6-1 196 04-08-79 Roseburg, OR Las Vegas, NV
29 Loewen, Adam L/L 6-6 235 04-09-84 Surrey, BC, Canada Surrey, BC, Canada
45 Sarfate, Dennis R/R 6-4 225 04-09-81 Queens, NY Chandler, AZ
52 Sherrill, George L/L 6-0 230 04-19-77 Memphis, TN Memphis, TN
41 Trachsel, Steve R/R 6-4 205 10-31-70 Oxnard, CA San Diego, CA
32 Walker, Jamie L/L 6-2 194 07-01-71 McMinnville, TN Overland Park, KS
NO. CATCHERS (2) B/T HT WT BIRTHDATE BIRTHPLACE RESIDENCE
55 Hernandez, Ramon R/R 6-0 235 05-20-76 Caracas, Venezuela Aragua, Venezuela
24 Quiroz, Guillermo R/R 6-1 200 11-29-81 Maracaibo, Venezuela Maracaibo, Venezuela
NO. INFIELDERS (7) B/T HT WT BIRTHDATE BIRTHPLACE RESIDENCE
12 Fahey, Brandon L/R 6-2 170 01-18-81 Dallas, TX Dallas, TX
2 Hernandez, Luis S/R 5-10 182 06-26-84 Quibor, Venezuela Sunrise, FL
19 Huff, Aubrey L/R 6-4 234 12-20-76 Marion, OH Tampa, FL
15 Millar, Kevin R/R 6-0 213 09-24-71 Los Angeles, CA Beaumont, TX
43 Moore, Scott L/R 6-2 195 11-17-83 Long Beach, CA Long Beach, CA
6 Mora, Melvin R/R 5-11 200 02-02-72 Aqua Negra, Venezuela Fallston, MD
1 Roberts, Brian S/R 5-9 179 10-09-77 Durham, NC Scottsdale, AZ
NO. OUTFIELDERS (4) B/T HT WT BIRTHDATE BIRTHPLACE RESIDENCE
10 Jones, Adam R/R 6-2 210 08-01-85 San Diego, CA Phoenix, AZ
21 Markakis, Nick L/L 6-2 214 11-17-83 Woodstock, GA Woodstock, GA
16 Payton, Jay R/R 5-10 207 11-22-72 Zanesville, OH Raleigh, NC
30 Scott, Luke L/R 6-0 210 06-25-78 DeLeon Spring, FL DeLand, FL
The Orioles officially dumped Jay Gibbons today and, I assume (although I’m no salary expert) they will eat the rest of his contract. If that’s not a step in the right direction then I don’t know what is.
A couple of days ago I posted a blog offering my “best/worst case” scenarios for some of the ’08 Orioles. I’ve reposted that here and added some more.
JEREMY GUTHRIE (Opening Day Starter)
BEST CASE- See first half of ’07 season
WORST CASE- See last 10 starts of ’07 season (5.40 ERA and a K/BB ratio
that’ll make you want to cry.)
ADAM JONES (CF)
BEST CASE- Figures out Major League pitching and shows why he’s considered a future All-Star by nearly every baseball expert. In 2009 gives the Orioles an outfield that’s among the best in the American League.
WORST CASE- Proves that defensive liabilities during spring training were no fluke. Nor were his ’06 and ’07 K/AB ratio when he struck out nearly a third of the time. In fact, his propensity for “whiffs” is SO epic he makes Chris Hoiles (4.6 lifetime k/AB ratio) look like a disciplined hitter… or he suffers a career ending injury in early May.
AUBREY HUFF (1B/DH)
BEST CASE- Gets hit by a bus.
WORST CASE- Gets hit by a bus and lives.
MELVIN MORA (3B)
BEST CASE- With all the young talent around him (and maybe better help with those 25 kids he has so he’s better rested), Mora’s career is revitalized and he puts up numbers similar to ’04.
WORST CASE- He whines, he cries, he moans and before the all-star break, with a .240 average and a whopping 4 home runs, checks into a mental hospital for evaluation.
JAY GIBBONS (who cares)
BEST CASE- Sold to a league in the Phillipines.
WORST CASE- Sold to a league in the Phillipines where, owing to some perfectly legal pineapple juice and monkey spleen concoction, Gibbons rediscovers his power and is picked up by the New York Yankees where, in 2009, he’s voted the league’s “Comeback Player of The Year”.
NICK MARKAKIS (RF)
BEST CASE- He was just getting started in 2007. This year he improves upon those numbers as the quiet superstar makes the All-Star squad.
WORST CASE- Angered because he didn’t get the raise he wanted, his team sucks and he has ZERO protection in the lineup, Markakis becomes a sullen guy who “conveniently” suffers a season ending injury while accidentally talking to a reporter.
KEVIN MILLAR (1B)
BEST CASE- The “Cowboy Up” guy- whatever the hell that is- proves to be the tough out and the positive clubhouse force we keep hearing about. Even at the ripe age of 36 he shows that he still has some pop in his bat and, late in the season, gets traded to a playoff contender who,
mistakenly, thinks he can contribute.
WORST CASE- The only thing more annoying than his paltry offensive numbers is the fact that he keeps telling us the Orioles are playing “… good baseball right now it’s just that the breaks aren’t going our way.”
GEORGE SHERRILL (CLOSER)
BEST CASE- B.J who?
WORST CASE- “Oh, dear God, please make Chris Ray healthy again!”
DAVE TREMBLEY (MANAGER)
BEST CASE- Working with a bunch of talented, young kids and stressing
solid fundamental baseball, Trembley reinvents “the Orioles Way” as the
team surprises everyone and scrapes together 75 wins thus reminding all of us why we were so happy when Perlazzo got canned.
WORST CASE- Um, remember what happened last year when the “interim” tag was removed from Trembley? Uh, the Orioles lost 30-3.
JAY PAYTON (OF)
BEST CASE- Payton, always a competitive guy, likes the hustle he sees from the youngsters on the roster and, when called upon, hits .300 and steals a few bases. In fact he does so well that he’s traded away himself, or included in a Brian Roberts deal, and brings the Orioles even more young talent.
WORST CASE- Last year was just the beginning of the end for a guy who’s been pretty much over-rated most of his career.
DANIEL CABRERA (P)
BEST CASE- Finally the guy who supposedly has more talent than Christy Mathewson, figures out that he’s paid to be effective EVERY START and not just when pitching against the Yankees. He calms down, finds both consistent mechanics and the strike zone and gives the Orioles a solid season.
WORST CASE- He sets MLB records for walks, hits allowed and losses before being beaten to death by Jim Palmer because “THE GUY DOESN’T FREAKIN’ LISTEN!”
BRIAN ROBERTS (2B)
BEST CASE- All-Star second baseman and local favorite doesn’t lose focus because of constant trade rumors and puts together another stellar season.
WORST CASE- Feeling like a soon to be jilted lover, Roberts cries every time he takes the field while screaming “Why? Why? Why? Is it because I’m not pretty enough for you?”
RAMON HERNANDEZ (C)
BEST CASE- Although defensively no one’s going to ever compare him to Johnny Bench, in ’08 he gives the Orioles the 20+ home runs they need and manages to throw out a base stealer at least once in awhile.
WORST CASE- He’s not so much with the home runs anymore and the combination of a Cabrera/Hernandez battery turns every walk into a double. In fact, his inability to throw out runners is so bad, the Orioles begin to live and die on the “hidden ball” trick.
ADAM LOEWEN (P)
BEST CASE- The Orioles get 15 good starts out of him before he gets hurt again.
WORST CASE- The Orioles get 15 REALLY BAD starts before he gets hurt again.
LUIS HERNANDEZ (SS)
BEST CASE- With his spring training woes behind him, Hernandez offers a reliable “no hit/good field” shortstop in line with the team’s pitching and defense philosophy.
WORST CASE- He’s a “no hit/ no field” shortstop which leads the Orioles to do a “HEY WHO WANTS TO PLAY SHORTSTOP?” event in early June… That, or Jay Gibbons is brought back in to try the single worst experiment in baseball history.
LUKE SCOTT (LF)
BEST CASE- “Use the force, Luke.” Okay, that might be the single dumbest thing I’ve ever written but you get the point I hope. Scott has enough slugging potential to give the Orioles 30 or more home runs.
WORST CASE- “Well, he’s okay but he’s no Ken Gerhart.”
STEVE TRACHSEL (P)
BEST CASE- His experience and eagerness to share knowledge with the rest of the pitching staff yields positive results.
WORST CASE- His experience and eagerness to share knowledge with the rest of the pitching staff can’t make up for the fact that he’s old and was never that great to begin with. In fact, his eagerness to share knowledge with the younger pitchers is just seen as annoying and he hears alot of “Shut the hell up, Trachsel! You’re not my dad and besides you’re 3-11 with an ERA over 6.00!”
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