[外電] Mailbag: O's see Loewen as a pitcher
Mailbag: O's see Loewen as a pitcher
Beat reporter Spencer Fordin answers questions from fans
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
It seems Adam Loewen gets injured so often that he probably won't ever pitch
the same again. I heard that he was a great power hitter, so what about
converting him to DH?
-- Aaron B., Baltimore, Md.
It's probably a little too early to call Loewen injury-prone, as he's had one
major injury that required surgery, and one complication from that operation.
Loewen doesn't appear to have anything structurally wrong with his elbow, so
the Orioles aren't particularly worried about his long-term health and don't
see reason to question his long-term potential.
Loewen suffered a stress fracture in his left elbow last year, a mysterious
non-contact ailment that wasn't easily traceable to any start or any
incident. And this year, Loewen experienced discomfort while warming up and
pitching, a condition many feel is related to him learning to pitch with a
remnant of his surgery -- a metal screw -- still in his arm.
The Orioles are hoping he gains a comfort level while he's on the disabled
list, because the screw is there to stay. Loewen has to learn how to pitch
with it, a process that could take a while. The southpaw is still pitching on
largely untapped potential, a product of signing a Major League contract and
getting promoted before he was ready.
Loewen is still one of Baltimore's brightest prospects, and converting him
back to a hitter at this point would be courting desperation. The transition
made by Rick Ankiel may have been effortless, but it's also largely
unprecedented. Loewen is a pitcher, and if the Orioles ever decide to make
him a hitter, it will be done only as a last resort.
With Ramon Hernandez struggling both offensively and defensively, will we see
Guillermo Quiroz take over behind the plate? Also, should we expect a
September call up for Matt Wieters?
-- Carl W., Kent Island, Md.
Hernandez may be struggling, but he's still a more viable regular than Quiroz
at this point. The veteran knows the hitters around the league far better
than Quiroz does and also has more experience handling Baltimore's staff.
Quiroz has been a solid pickup for the Orioles, but there is no current plan
to get him in the starting lineup.
Instead, the Orioles expect Hernandez to hit his way out of his current
struggles, a hope backed up by his career history. Hernandez has been a
second-half hitter for most of his career, and April and May have
traditionally been his slowest months. Hernandez should get hotter along with
the weather, while Quiroz could be overexposed by playing too much.
As for Wieters, the Orioles appear to be taking things slowly and cautiously.
Baltimore's top prospect has stormed out of the gate with a .338 batting
average and 11 home runs in his first 40 games for Class A Frederick, but he
still hasn't been promoted. And there's a solid reason for that, when you
think about it.
The next test for Wieters -- and perhaps his real final examination as a
prospect -- is the move to Double-A Bowie. If he thrives there, he could be
as close as a year away from making a big league audition. The Orioles will
likely move Wieters to Bowie within the next month or two, and from there
we'll have a better sense of his proximity to the Majors.
Did we wait too long to trade Brian Roberts? There were several rumors about
Chicago this winter. Could we really get a better deal? He is my favorite
payer, but we are rebuilding, and he is our best chip.
-- Chuck D., Kendall, N.Y.
Did the Orioles wait too long? That depends on your perspective. Roberts is
still under contract through the 2009 season, so there's no need to make an
immediate deal for him. And he hasn't gotten hurt or had an abysmal start,
which means his value is still largely the same. Teams know what Roberts can
do -- including the Orioles, who value his leadoff ability.
The Orioles never intended on swinging a wrecking ball through their entire
roster. And while they might deal Roberts in the right trade, they never were
putting on a full-scale effort to send him elsewhere. Next to Nick Markakis,
Roberts is the team's most well-rounded player, and there are next to no
replacements within the upper reaches of the farm system.
Of course, the same could be said for Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada, and
Baltimore found a way to deal them. The Orioles have seen great short-term
effects from their offseason trade spree, and it's an open question whether
that progress would've been felt without Roberts. At some point, they may
have to deal him and find out the answer.
Baltimore will gauge interest in Roberts around the non-waiver trading
deadline, and there's a decent chance he'll get traded (as there is for many
of the team's veteran players). But if no acceptable deal materializes, the
Orioles are just as happy to keep writing his name into the lineup at second
base and in the very top spot of the batting order.
Do you think Hayden Penn will ever make it back to the big leagues?
-- M. Slygh, Dover, Del.
Sure, I think he'll make it back at some point. And I'll even go you one
further: I think he'll probably make it back this season. The right-hander
has struggled at Triple-A Norfolk to the tune of a 2-2 record and a 5.20 ERA,
but he's finally healthy again. Penn missed time for an appendectomy two
years ago and for an operation to remove a bone spur last year.
Now, the right-hander is pitching regularly at Triple-A for the first time
since the 2006 season. It may be hard to realize since he's been on the map
forever, but Penn won't even turn 24 years old until October. The former
fifth-round Draft pick tore through the lower levels of the organization, so
he has time to struggle his way through the upper levels.
Penn's value has definitely taken a hit, and he's had arms like Loewen and
Garrett Olson pass him in the organizational hierarchy. But there's still
plenty of time in his career for him to regain his form, and he's still on
the short list of possible contingency plans from Norfolk if something winds
up awry in the big league rotation.
From:http://tinyurl.com/5w9ysd
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