Well it’s a rainy Sunday afternoon and the worst news for Orioles fans today was that the Orioles didn’t get to play today, which is sort of ironic because the worst news is normally that we are 17 games out of first place on August 26th. However, the best news is that the Orioles have landed a legit starter, certainly not an ace, but a nice piece to this confusing puzzle that is the Orioles.
If you are an O’s fan I am not sure how you could not like this trade. Finally, a proven ML pitcher and a hometown kid. Saunders is from Falls Church, VA, played his college ball at Virginia Tech and was a first round (12th overall) pick by the Anaheim Angels, just to give O’s fans a little background.
I am sure some people are worried that giving away a piece of that bullpen was a mistake, I mean the collective group is 72-0 in the past 72 games when leading after the 7th inning…pretty impressive. But the fact is this bullpen is good with or without Lindstrom. There was a period where Lindstrom had been on the DL and this team was just fine without him, so I think the move is fantastic. For Lindstrom, unfortunately, he ran into Pedro Strop who has been one of the best setup men in baseball this year. But now Lindstrom will get a chance to go over to Arizona and get a chance to be a setup man to J.J. Putz. Another fun fact for all of us Orioles fans: currently the Diamondbacks have Matt Lindstrom, Brad Bergesen, Matt Albers and David Hernandez.
But back to Saunders. This guy has already seen postseason ball and the majority of the A.L. while pitching with the Angels. Most of you remember him from his 08′ year where he was an All-Star and was in contention for a Cy Young. It was when everyone was saying, “who the hell is this Joe Saunders kid?” Then in 2010 he was shipped to Arizona for Dan Haren and as of today he has become an Oriole. He was a little banged up this year and his pitched to a 6-10, 4.22 ERA including a 1.36 WHIP. Not bad numbers.
There are a few reasons why I love this trade:
1. He is proven
Currently the Orioles staff, when Jason Hammel comes back in 10 days or so will look like; Saunders, Hammel, Chen, Gonzalez, Johnson (maybe). If that isn’t a list of no names I don’t know what is. If this team does somehow make the playoffs we finally have a proven guy that can take the reigns of that rotation, and to be honest I am a lot more comfortable seeing a name like Saunders as one of the potential playoff starting pitchers other than a Gonzalez or Johnson.
2. We didn’t give up much
Lindstrom was a guy we got in the trade for Jeremy Guthrie (who has also since been traded). When the deal was done most Oriole fans were crushed. Jeremy Guthrie for Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom….WHO!? FIRE DUQUETTE! I heard a ton of that on the local sports talkshows. As I said earlier, Lindstrom has already been on the DL once, and the Orioles were just fine, so I don’t really see much of that changing. Lindstrom wanted to be a setup type of guy and that wasn’t going to happen while Strop was still pitching.
3. Duquette has had a scary way of making things work this year
I know this might be a stupid reason, but sometimes things just pan out in these G.M.’s favors. Well in Duquette’s case everything has been going right. The Hammel and Lindstrom trade for Guthrie looks genius. We traded for Thome and gave up two Single-A prospects. Granted Thome is hurt, but here is the thing…they are still winning without him so when he comes back that can only benefit the lineup, in my opinion. Then they trade for Omar Quintanilla, I think they traded a half dozen crab cakes for him. But the guy has only come over and brought stability to a terrible fielding team and hit the same number of home runs in his time with the Orioles as he has in his career. And now you bring in Saunders. With 36 games left it looks like the guy will probably get about 6 to 7 starts to end the year, he is slated to make his O’s debut either Wednesday or Thursday.
4. Saunders coming to Baltimore means Bundy or Gausman will probably stay down
I want to see both Bundy and Gausman in an Orioles uniform just as badly as the next diehard, but I don’t think either of them are ready. You look at the numerous pitching prospects that have been called up too soon and just had a career wasted, it’s not worth it for one potential playoff push. Bundy is 19 and he is dominating the minors, which is awesome. I want that confidence to continue to grow and be so overwhelming that when he is finally brought up he just has the confidence to dominate the league. You look at Strasburg and maybe the best quality of all was that he was a bit older and more mature. I think bringing up Bundy, maybe wouldn’t be so bad but on top of it there are rumors of bringing up Gausman. I think that would be one of the biggest mistakes the Orioles would make in the history of the franchise. I have watched minimal film of this kid and he is overpowering, however, he doesn’t look ready. He still eats 4 donuts in between every inning he pitches…how he hasn’t barfed on the mound yet is beyond me. Now with the addition of Saunders I am hoping that keeps at least Gausman down and hopefully Bundy as well.
Regardless, the Orioles have done everything wrong this year and it has worked. We are a week away from September and still in contention. In Philly, I understand that is the norm, in Baltimore it hasn’t been in a long time. Most of my friends and the guys my age have a typical routine. We go to opening day, we talk about how great the team is going to be, we go to games, we watch on television and by the time our late July/early August vacation to Ocean City takes place we start talking fantasy football and the Ravens because frankly, we understand the Orioles have no shot. But this year has been different. I woke up today, I walked the dog, kissed my girlfriend, got dressed and we went to the grocery store. As she was up at the deli counter ordering god knows what I was looking at ESPN and checking Twitter to verify that what I was reading was true. On August 26th, the Orioles are in a pennant race and made a trade for Joe Saunders. The first thing I did was call my old man and broke the good news. Before he could finish saying, “hello, what are you up to?” like he does to start every conversation, I said anxiously, “Dad we traded for Saunders.” We talked for about 5 more minutes and then hung up. For the minute or two after that I was just in a haze as my girlfriend finished at the deli counter. Not because the Orioles pulled off some blockbuster but because this season has taken me, like many others my age, back to when we were kids, when the Orioles mattered. When I was 9 years old it was 1997, my old man scored tickets to both the Seattle and Cleveland series. He didn’t take a buddy, his wife, or even my older brother (mainly because he wasn’t real into sports). He took me. He taught me to understand what Orioles baseball was like when it was winning, how great it was to have a stadium like Camden Yards, and that it was special that we were able to live in a city that not only had a baseball team, but a team that won. Well the Orioles went on to lose to Cleveland that year and I as a 9 year old boy was crushed, but I was from there on out, forever an Orioles fan. I have spent 15 years turning on the television at 7:05 to watch scrub after bum after homeless guy take the mound or boot balls at third or strike out with the bases loaded. That is what this year has meant to me. So, to sum it all up Joe Saunders was more than just a trade, it was the hope that 15 years will come to an end.
Sorry to all the Phillies fans that had to listen a rant.
