Tag: Delmarva Shorebirds

Two former SotW players garner camp invites

Well, it’s about time. For some reason it seemed like the Orioles took forever to determine who was being invited to spring training – maybe it’s because of the question of signing Vladimir Guerrero. But Thursday they selected a total of 16 non-roster invitees and a pair of 2008 Shorebirds of the Week – picked just two weeks apart – were among them.

While Ryan Adams was an error-making machine in his season here, the guy could hit and that seems to be his ticket to the big leagues. Baseball America named him the 8th best prospect in the Orioles’ chain this year so apparently the fielding questions have been answered – of course, if nothing else the American League has the designated hitter.

On the other hand, I liked Tyler Henson‘s style of play when he was with Delmarva so I’m happy to see him latch onto the invite. He’s retreated a bit from the 20/20 I predicted he could have (just 12 homers and 7 steals at Bowie last year) but he gets his chance to shine nonetheless.

With the two additions to those already on the 40-man roster, there are ten players who at one time were Shorebirds of the Week in the Orioles’ big league camp this spring. Something tells me I may have more than one inductee to the Shorebird of the Week Hall of Fame next fall.

In the meantime, spring training starts on Valentine’s Day with the first exhibition game on February 28. Damn, I can’t wait!

Shorebirds have stability at the top

This is a great item to ease readers into the work week, particularly one where winter weather is forecast.

The Orioles announced the coaching staffs for their minor league affiliates late last week and revealed that the top two coaches from last year will return – Ryan Minor stays as manager and Troy Mattes returns as the pitching coach.

We do have to wave goodbye to Mike Devereaux, who was promoted to coach at Frederick. He’s replaced by onetime big league shortstop Jose Hernandez. The well-traveled 2002 All-Star makes his Shorebird debut after a season coaching Oriole prospects in the Gulf Coast League.

Now that Shorebird fans are assured that these two fan favorites will return we can get excited for the upcoming season, which begins in just 64 days with their second annual exhibition game against Salisbury University on Tuesday, April 5th.

And not only will we host the South Atlantic League All-Star Game this season, I happen to know that there will also be exciting changes at the stadium this year. It’s also likely we may see one of the game’s top prospects don a Shorebirds jersey for a time, as Manny Machado (who hit .306 in 9 games split between the GCL Orioles and Aberdeen) is likely to be placed here. Otherwise, we’ll be pretty disappointed.

Are you ready for some…baseball? I know I am!

Shorebird of the Week Hall of Fame: 2010 induction

Quite frankly, I’m surprised that I only have one inductee this year for the class of 2010. Yet this man builds the SotWHoF by 50 percent, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain. It’s not all that far from the time I’ll be honoring a Shorebird player each week at 7 p.m. on Thursday (naturally this post was set to that day and time.)

So let me tell you a little about this year’s honoree.

When Brandon Snyder was first drafted in 2005 (a first round pick and 13th overall) it was a rare occasion in the last decade where the Orioles didn’t have a top-10 pick. Originally drafted as a catcher out of Westfield High School in Virginia, he first came to the Shorebirds to begin the 2006 season but struggled both at the plate and with injuries – eventually he hit just .194 here before being shipped off to Aberdeen. Quite honestly, at the time he looked more like a continuation of a series of draft busts the Orioles had endured.

But 2007 brought a more healthy and confident Snyder back to Delmarva and he hasn’t looked back since. He hit .283/11/58 in 118 games here, which was really good considering he changed positions to become a first baseman. Brandon did even better at Frederick in 2008, and aside from a brief rehab stint at Aberdeen this season has steadily moved up the chain after a position change to first base. It culminated with his September callup to the Orioles and 20 at-bats with the big club.

Along with the new inductee, I have also updated the status of the two current members of the SotWHoF, Brad Bergesen and David Hernandez. With more former SotW honorees (there are now eight, including the three already in) added to the Orioles’ 40-man roster, the chances are excellent there will have more than one in the Class of 2011.

With the page updated over the last couple days, it’s now restored to its rightful position on the blog header.

Picks and pans from a Shorebird fan – 2010 edition

In wrapping up my 2010 Shorebirds coverage, I’m actually going to borrow from the 2009 edition to see what was addressed and what was not.

Each year I talk about what I liked and disliked as a fan, and 2010 had a lot to like – except I’d have liked a little better team recordwise because things definitely fell apart in the latter part of the season. But those are things neither I nor the local Shorebirds management could have done much about. And they still drew about their average attendance over the last few years, drawing 221,051 and rebounding from an all-time low last season due to some nice weather. Too bad they weren’t in a pennant race or we may have reached 250,000.

The staff did its usual good job, although some of those who left were missed. Hopefully Stefan, the onfield host, has found a home since he’s survived here two years. Unfortuately, aside from my suggestion on the clam strips I don’t think the food was any better and the pizza vendor not as good. I do have kudos for Karin and the crew at that concession stand, though, they were very receptive and helpful (and most nights knew that I wanted my large diet Pepsi, light on the ice.) And while she didn’t care much for Thirsty Thursday, I do (more on that later.)

Unlike 2009, we did get back a couple of the local favorite national acts early on as I recall Myron Noodleman made an appearance and Reggy came a few weeks later. Certainly the kids liked Spongebob, although they probably liked the mid-game weather break that evening where the players were signing autographs waiting for the tarp to come off. But what happened to the Redskins cheerleaders? And it might be time to bring back that dog act from a few years back and also see if we can’t get Principal Financial to come back here (they did a parking-lot carnival here at the end of the 2009 season. It was fun.)

To me the giveaways were pretty good. One advantage of being a season ticket holder is that I automatically get each one – so I didn’t have to be there at 4:30 to get a Brad Bergesen bobblehead. (They actually took my suggestion from last year and picked Brad Bergesen. How about my soon-to-be-inducted newest SotWHoF member Brandon Snyder for 2011?) And I suspect we’re going to have at least one other water bottle giveaway; apparently those things went like hotcakes. 

Oh, and bring back the Peninsula Home Care wheelchair races!

As for “pans”, yes, they haven’t changed much over the last several years. However, I’m told there will be action on my number one beef over the offseason since we’re hosting the 2011 SAL All-Star Game. And I deleted the fireworks music selection; they’ve done a pretty good job of mixing it up over the last couple years. The shows do seem to be a little shorter now than in past years, though.

Just as a review:

  1. New scoreboard and videoboard, along with a small alternate scoreboard along the first base line.
  2. A closed-circuit TV system for the concession stands so we can watch the game while standing in line.
  3. More player availabilities in the “Bird Pen.”
  4. No bands on Thirsty Thursday. It was a common practice in 2005, my first season here and I STILL miss it! 

From what I understand, the offseason plan regarding the scoreboard is to maintain the frame but put all new “guts” inside. If they can upgrade it to an LED board like several other parks have (Frederick comes to mind since we went there in April; I think Lakewood does too) that would be acceptable to me. We did endure the better part of a homestand where some of the components would not work, so it’s obvious our current system is on borrowed time.

I suppose the drawback to #2 might be that the Ovations workers may watch the game on TV rather than pay attention to customers (and I’m sure creating a CCTV system from scratch isn’t cheap.) Perhaps as a compromise they can set up a zigzag system of queueing people (like you might find in a Wendy’s or a bank) so that people in line can face the field yet be in line, at least for the two main concession stands upstairs and perhaps the adjacent Sweet Shop too. Obviously you have to maintain a certain amount of egress width on the concourses and I think this may actually help.

I know #3 is up to the players and manager, but is doing this for at least the Sunday games too much to ask? Seems to me a number of teams have player availabilities as a Sunday attraction and it would tie right in with Sherman’s Sidekicks. We’re trying to get kids to be baseball fans for life, and I can pretty much guarantee you that you couldn’t walk into an NFL stadium on Sunday and get pregame autographs from the players.

In all honesty, all #4 needs is a sponsor. I’m sure the bands would jump at the chance to do a set or two (the sponsor is there to advertise and to pay the bands) and we could set things up the same way. I notice they sometimes do pregame concerts outside, but I think they are better served in the ballpark as a postgame activity (or shorten the pregame announcements for Thursday only and let the bands play from 5:30 to 6:30 – open the gates at 5:15 for those interested in checking them out. Depending on the band, I might be there about 4:45.) Outside would be good if people tailgated but we don’t do that for a Shorebirds game.

Most people don’t know that the Shorebirds are part of a group which owns several teams, including a third they purchased in 2009. The 7th Inning Stretch LLC family includes the Stockton Ports of the California League (a advanced-A team comparable to the Orioles’ Frederick affiliate) and the Everett (Washington) AquaSox of the Northwest League (a short-season rookie league team similar to Aberdeen.) And once again, of the three 7IS affiliates Delmarva had the best attendance – Stockton drew 198,016 for 70 games and Everett drew 90,079 for 36 openings. (I don’t think that counts playoffs – Stockton was knocked off in the opening round but Everett won their league title for the first time since 1985.)

So we have found that our fan base is relatively loyal, although it’s not as large as we had during the early days of the franchise. But next year they won’t have the hooks of it being the 15th anniversary season, a new logo, or new uniforms to draw people in. (On the flip side, we do have the All-Star hoopla, at least for the first two months of the season.) Obviously we can’t do anything about the players we get either, although I’ve heard we are dropping one of rookie league affiliates so that the overall talent level in the Orioles organization will increase. My polling (albeit a small sample) suggests we’d rather have a winner than an Orioles’ affiliate but perhaps we can get the best of both worlds with some tweaking.

As I said last year, the Delmarva Shorebirds can be the jewel of the 7th Inning Stretch empire. If they follow through on some of the key problems they encountered this year, next summer looks to be another fun summer at the ballpark. We’ll get to see the best of the other teams come here, but why not bring home a title while we’re at it?

Shorebird of the Year – a 2010 season wrapup

You know, after a 6-2 roadtrip to begin the season, many thought we would have a team of world-beaters here at Delmarva. I guess they peaked WAY too soon.

Instead, Delmarva’s team grew steadily worse as the year dragged on, thanks in no small part to a revolving door of players – for example, a total of 31 pitchers threw for the Shorebirds this season (including two position players pressed into service.) They ended the season 11-24 in August and September and losing their last five at home to stagger home at 59-81, their highest loss total ever and worst record since 1999 (58-80.)

The ugly truth manifested itself in a number of other ways as well:

  • Batting average: .243, 13th of 14 teams in the league. Greensboro’s .239 overall mark held us up.
  • Runs: 578, again 13th of 14.  Rome scored just 520.
  • Doubles: 249, 8th in the league.
  • Triples: 42, 5th.
  • Home runs: 63, 12th in the league.
  • Walks: 439, 4th in the league.
  • Strikeouts: 1160, 3rd most of 16. They always seemed to come when we had a runner on third and less than two outs.
  • Stolen bases: 118, 11th.
  • OPS: .669, 13th in the league. On-base percentage was 12th while slugging percentage was 13th. Only Rome had a more punchless offense.

The pitching was much more noteworthy; that is if you consider more toward league averages noteworthy. The 4.07 team ERA ranked 9th in the loop. Some of the other numbers and how they compared to the rest of the SAL:

  • Shutouts: 6, tied for 12th.
  • Saves: 29, last of 14.
  • Hits allowed: 1265, second most in the league. Only Hagerstown (1316) allowed more.
  • Runs allowed: 689, 3rd most in the league. 565 earned runs was 5th most.
  • Home runs allowed: 89, 6th most.
  • Walks allowed, 441, 4th most. 
  • Strikeouts: 1043, 8th.
  • WHIP: their 1.37 WHIP tied for 10th.

With the higher-than-average number of unearned runs allowed, the pitching staff actually looks a little better than it was. We didn’t have the real high-error games of seasons past; instead the defense was like a slow leak – maybe an error or two game in and game out.

Yet again, there were a number of also-rans in the system below us. Aberdeen finished 34-40, which tied for third in their four-team division. At 23-45 Bluefield was by far the doormat of the Appalachian League; however I have it on good authority they will be eliminated next season as an Orioles affiliate (we will have one fewer rookie league team.) But the GCL Orioles were 25-34 and near the bottom too, as were the Orioles’ two Dominican Summer League teams. Only Frederick and Bowie had records over .500 and those weren’t by much. (Frederick leads their playoff series against Potomac 1-0 as of this writing, though.) Needless to say, the Orioles chain seems to be lacking in overall talent in comparison to its peers.

But there are some good individual players and the Orioles just need their cream of the crop to be superior to see success. Here’s how the 21 players and special 100th overall pick I selected as Shorebirds of the Week ended up faring for the season.

April 8: Tony Butler

I picked Tony because he’s a nice guy and I was hoping he would present a great comeback story. Unfortunately, the comeback aspect failed to materialize. For the Shorebirds he was 1-4 with a 7.66 ERA in 12 games and 8 starts before being released June 14. His unemployment didn’t last long, though, as he was picked up by the Milwaukee Brewers organization. But in three stops there (AZL Brewers, Helena, and Wisconsin) he struggled to a 1-1 mark and 9.20 ERA – after allowing 5 runs without retiring a batter August 5th for Wisconsin he was released again.

April 15: Mikey Planeta

One of just a handful of Shorebirds who spent the whole season here (and avoided the disabled list), Mikey got into 117 games and had a .226/0/33 mark to show for it. He was also one of the top base stealers for the season, swiping 14. At 21 Mikey could stand another season here to see if he could improve the average closer to the .288 he posted at Bluefield in 2009. Certainly he has a solid arm and is a good defensive outfielder, but what holds him back is the average and high number of strikeouts (123 this season in 438 at-bats.)

April 22: Tyler Kolodny

A second-year Shorebird, Tyler got off to a good start here – he hit .260/10/29 and, despite the fact he played less than half the season here before being reassigned to Aberdeen, he led the Shorebirds with those 10 home runs in just 41 games. Unfortunately, the injury bug got him in Aberdeen and he played just 10 games there, hitting .207 with just one homerun. He will be 23 by the next season opener so yet another Delmarva campaign may not be out of the question. Certainly he shows power potential but may need to throttle things down just a bit to stay healthy.

Other honors: Tyler was the SAL Player of the Week April 19.

April 29: Garabez Rosa

Garabez initially burned up the SAL like a house afire, hitting .333 in April and maintaining a .300 mark deep into May. But the league eventually figured him out and his average had dipped into the .230’s by August. Rosa recovered in the season’s final month, though, and finished with a fairly decent .251/5/44 line in 124 games. He also led the team with 32 doubles. Obviously he has to cut down on the 46 errors he committed to move up the system, as well as improve on a ratio of 114 strikeouts to seven walks he compiled. Garabez loved to swing at the breaking ball in the dirt. Since he’s only 21 next year he could move up or stay here.

Other honors: Garabez was selected to the SAL All-Star Game.

May 6: Ryan Berry

Ryan was only 0-3 with a 3.50 ERA in 8 starts here, but the Orioles liked him enough to promote him to Frederick later in May. There he was 2-2 with a 3.04 ERA in 17 appearances (12 starts) but he maintained a great strikeout-to-walk ratio (106-36 in 117.1 innings pitched total) and allowed fewer hits than innings pitched with the Keys. A good young pitcher who slipped in the draft because of injuries he suffered in college, Berry could be a diamond in the rough for the Orioles and just might make it to the Show with a solid 2011 season – more likely he should advance to Bowie.

May 13: Brian Conley

Brian put together a nice, steady 2010 campaign for Delmarva before being promoted to Frederick in August. For the Shorebirds Brian hit .270 in 98 games with 6 homers and 29 RBI, and was among league leaders by drawing 70 walks (he also struck out 70 times.) Brian also stole 20 bases here, placing him second on the team. Conley hit .222 in 16 games for Frederick after his promotion. He’ll be 25 early next season so we may have seen the last of Brian here – if he washes out with Frederick he’ll likely draw his release.

Other honors: Brian was selected to the SAL All-Star Game and picked as the Delmarva Shorebirds Fan Club Player of the Half for the first half.

May 20: Josh Dowdy

Once Josh was promoted in July, it seemed to affect both him and the Shorebirds staff adversely. He was pretty much lights-out as our closer, amassing 15 saves and a 1.23 ERA in 29 1/3 innings here. Yet once he settled in Frederick he was hammered, going 1-0 but allowing 15 runs in 14 2/3 innings. His 24 hits allowed with the Keys matched the total he allowed with the Shorebirds. But Dowdy has shown in his brief history that he struggles with a midseason promotion, so perhaps starting at Frederick next year will suit the 23-year-old well.

May 27: Steve Bumbry

Fans expected a lot out of Steve this season, and at times he delivered. But he slumped badly toward the end (hitting just .171 in August) and finished the season on the disabled list. Oddly enough, he was a player who fared much better on the road (.315/2/15) than at home (.215/2/19). Mixed together, Steve put together a decent season, hitting .263 with the 4 home runs and 34 knocked in. But he needs to cut down on strikeouts (131 was the most on the team) and take better advantage of his speed – he stole nine bases but was caught 11 times. Since he turns 23 next season I see him as a cusp player between repeating here or moving on to Frederick; more likely the latter.

June 3: Nathan Moreau

Nathan began in the bullpen but found his stride as a starter. For Delmarva he was 2-3 with a 2.98 ERA, allowing 45 hits in 60 1/3 innings while walking 23 and fanning 70. And you couldn’t make a better impression on your new teammates than tossing a no-hitter as Nate did on June 30 for Frederick. As it turned out, his numbers there were pedestrian at best, going 4-5 with a 5.29 ERA and allowing 43 hits in 49 1/3 innings (obviously all in the last 40 1/3.) Nate turns 24 later this month so he’s probably not coming back here since he dominated before.

Other honors: Nate was selected as Pitcher of the Week both by the South Atlantic League (June 1) and by the Carolina League (July 6.)

June 10: Kieron Pope

After a year-long layoff due to injury, Kieron returned to action in May and got off to a fast start. Unfortunately he couldn’t keep up the pace and struggled dreadfully after the All-Star break, hitting just .204 in the second half. Overall, he had to have two good games right at the end to place his average right at the .250 mark. Kieron also had 6 home runs and 44 knocked in. What he didn’t do was cut down appreciably on his strikeout pace, fanning 94 times in 284 at-bats. Pope has spent 5 seasons in the Orioles chain and hasn’t hit better than .257 for a season – very disappointing for a 4th round pick, I’m sure. (Ironically, current Orioles Josh Bell and Brian Matusz were picked in the same 2005 draft round by different teams.) He may have played himself out of a job despite the effort he made in just returning from a devastating injury.

June 17: Kenny Moreland

A solid, durable starter while he was here, Kenny pitched like he had something to prove after a demotion from Frederick. He ended up tying for the team lead in victories (7) in just 16 starts. For Delmarva he was 7-7 with a 4.20 ERA, allowing 101 hits in 100 2/3 innings while fanning 70 and walking just 10. He rejoined Frederick in August and didn’t do as well, finishing the year there with a 5.80 ERA in 49 2/3 innings. Still, he walked just 12 there. Kenny has come a long way since being signed as a non-drafted free agent out of a Division III school, and he may get yet another crack at Frederick next year (his fourth) – by next year’s season opener he’ll be 25 so I’d be surprised if he came back here.

Other honors: Kenny was named SAL Pitcher of the Week on June 21.

June 24: Ryan Minor

Because it was my 100th Shorebird of the Week selection I decided to do something different, and Ryan was a good choice since he’s served the team as a player, coach, and manager. Certainly a 59-81 record isn’t something which looks good on a manager’s resume but considering the sheer number of players Ryan had to deal with this year, I’d like to see the Orioles give him another shot. He does have some managing skills to learn, but there is potential for Ryan to be a good skipper down the road.

July 1: Jesse Beal

Considering Jesse was shut down the last month of the season, he put together a good campaign. Jesse tied for the team lead in wins with 7, was just short of leadership with 114 1/3 innings pitched, and crafted a 3.86 ERA. 64 strikeouts to 23 walks is a nice ratio and allowing 122 hits is reasonable. All in all, it was good experience for a kid who won’t turn 21 until the middle of next year, and it may be a season he works in Frederick’s rotation.

Other honors: Jesse was selected to the SAL All-Star Game.

July 8: Luis Noel

I was surprised to see Luis back, and he didn’t stay long – in fact, right after I named Luis he was promoted. But in the 8 starts he was here, he won 4, lost 2, and had a sparkling 2.59 ERA. He allowed 16 walks in 41 2/3 innings. With Frederick, though, he struggled to a 6.18 ERA in 51 innings. The biggest difference was the longball – whereas Noel allowed just one home run here he gave up eight with Frederick. He’s only 23 at the start of next season, though, so he’ll probably stick with the Keys – I’d say it’s about a 1 in 5 chance he’ll be demoted back considering he’s played at this level twice and pitched well both times.

July 15: Brent Allar

Brent is entertaining to watch and a fan favorite. But he needed to put up better numbers than he did, particularly in allowing walks (47 in 75 2/3 innings is quite high compared to league averages.) Trying him in the starting rotation over the tail end of the year netted him a 1-4, 4.84 mark as part of a 2-4, 5.00 season. Allar can touch 95 on the radar gun but can’t always locate his pitches (even with adopting the practice of pitching out of the stretch full-time), and at higher levels batters will be more discerning. I hope he can latch on either here or with Frederick, but in a numbers game he may be squeezed out given he’s been in the organization five seasons and will turn 26 during spring training.

Other honors: Mountaire selected Brent as their Humanitarian of the Year based on his service to the community.

July 22: Tyler Townsend

Shorebird fans were looking forward all spring to seeing this local boy do well, and they got a brief glimpse in May before he injured his hamstring. Upon his return (after going 5-for-13 in the Gulf Coast League), he continued to tear up the SAL so the Orioles promoted him just days after I selected him as a SotW. Hitting .342/3/26 in 30 games definitely qualifies as tearing up the league, and the good news is that he continued his success in Frederick, hitting .284/3/14 in 19 games. Overall he had a superb .959 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage – .700 is considered average) so I’m naming him my 2010 Prospect of the Year and wouldn’t be completely surprised to see him in an Orioles jersey at the end of 2011. My guess is they fast-track him to Bowie to start next season.

July 29: Ty Kelly

Ty was the sort of player who came to work every day and quietly helped the team. By doing so, he led the squad in a number of offensive categories including games played, at-bats, and hits. He tailed off just enough at the end to finish with a batting mark under .260, but .259/4/58 is very respectable. He also drew 68 walks, which was among league leaders. He’ll turn 23 in the middle of next season so there’s a good chance he could come back but I think he deserves a chance at Frederick.

Other honors: The Shorebirds Fan Club picked Ty as their Player of the Half in the second half.

August 5: Bobby Bundy

What Ty Kelly was to the offense Bundy was to the pitching staff – by doing his job he ended up atop several categories. Of particular interest would be the most innings pitched (116) and strikeouts (91). Overall, Bobby finished 4-6 with a 3.65 ERA and was quite a bit better as a starter (a 3.55 ERA in 90 innings) than as a reliever (4.24 in 17 innings.) He also allowed just 100 hits, which is a solid ratio and could be an indicator of future success.  Bobby may be ticketed for Frederick next year even though he’ll be only 21 based on being a fairly high draft pick and the good season he posted.

Other honors: Mountaire selected Bobby as their Player of the Year and the Shorebirds Fan Club picked him as their Pitcher of the Half in the second half.

August 12: T.J. Baxter

The hard-nosed Baxter is another player who showed up daily to play but didn’t find quite as much success as the aforementioned Ty Kelly. Baxter hit .243/8/34 for the season, slumping with a 5-for-39 effort in his last 10 games to fall below the .250 mark. He did lead the team with 34 stolen bases, however. Baxter, who will be 25 by next season, is probably another player who’s at a career crossroads because he was less successful at this level, and having 118 strikeouts to 41 walks may not be desirable for a leadoff hitter. But he has versitility and speed, so there may yet be another shot for T.J.

August 19: James Brandhorst

The workhorse of the bullpen, James made a team-leading 46 appearances and pitched better than his 1-8 record may indicate. In 61 innings he allowed only 50 hits, struck out 65, and walked 28. Upon looking at his line, perhaps the only flaw is allowing a few more walks than one would prefer – if he can cut that down there’s no reason the 23-year-old Brandhorst can’t advance up the system beginning with Frederick next season.

August 26: Justin Dalles

Considering the aggregate average for all Shorebirds catchers was a puny .191 hitting .208/4/14  in 48 games isn’t all that bad. Believe it or not, that’s the most games any Shorebird catcher of the six we had played here this season. Over the last couple years the Shorebirds haven’t had many good-hitting catchers. But Dalles endured two trips to the disabled list after memorable collisions and was placed on a third time just before I named him as SotW. He’ll only be 22 and the Orioles have a tendency to repeat catchers at this level so I would expect Justin to be back for 2011.

September 2: Nick Haughian

Nick was another pitcher who did whatever was needed, mostly in long relief. He put together a good season, going 6-4 with a 3.97 ERA in 35 games and 5 starts. Nick struck out 90 in 93 innings while walking only 33, but he allowed 110 hits for a .293 average against. That is probably the area Haughian needs to improve upon most as he advances up the system, but since he’ll be 24 next spring I would expect that to occur in Frederick next season.

My 21 Shorebirds of the Week were definitely a mixed bag of successes and failures. And because of the turnover I probably had the hardest time of any of the five seasons I’ve done this to pick a winner for Shorebird of the Year.

There’s several guys who had the potential to be winners had they been here longer – Tyler Townsend immediately comes to mind, but had Mike Flacco arrived earlier and put up the same numbers he would have contended.

It came down to a group of four or five guys who played fairly well all year – Jesse Beal, Steve Bumbry, Bobby Bundy, Brian Conley, and Ty Kelly. But you can only pick one and this is who I decided on.

The 2010 Shorebird of the Year, Brian Conley.

Brian won out because I thought the team simply played better on those nights he was in the lineup than those when he was out. And while there were a number of other factors at play, the fade of the team in the late season seemed to coincide with the time period after he was called up. Conley was good at getting on base, swiping one if needed, and setting the table for those further down the lineup.

As I closed out my post last season, I wish nothing but the best to each and every one of the 2010 Shorebirds and thank them for making my third season as a season ticket holder a wonderful experience. Next week I turn my attention to the front office with my Shorebird Picks and Pans.

A new (non-political) poll

I haven’t done polling in awhile but I thought it would be interesting to poll my readership on an issue near and dear to my heart – the Delmarva Shorebirds.

Every so often, the opportunity exists to change affiliations and, while I believe we are under contract to the Orioles for 2 or 3 more years, perhaps the grass may be greener and the on-field product better if we switch to another parent club. Many fans may not know that the Shorebirds haven’t always been an Orioles farm team – they began by playing out an existing contract with the Montreal Expos for one season. I’m also told that the Bluefield Orioles will have to undergo the process of finding a new parent because the O’s wish to have just one rookie league team next season so at times there is change in all minor league systems.

Thus, the poll basically asks about the direction we should follow – there is no right or wrong answer and the results are just to sate my curiosity. Look on the far right-hand side beyond the candidate links and Amazon ad and you’ll find it; the poll will be open for 10 days or so.

Ehrlich today, Murphy tomorrow

Late edit: Bob Ehrlich will also be at the local GOP Victory Center (the old Hollywood Video) from 3 to 4 today.

It seems like baseball and campaigning go hand in hand. Last night at the Shorebirds game State’s Attorney candidate W. Seth Mitchell went the sack race route to get in front of the crowd (yes, Kim got video and I will upload it for the next FNV) and today it’s Bob Ehrlich’s turn as he will throw out the first pitch for this evening’s 5:05 contest and hang around with supporters for awhile afterward.

Meanwhile, fellow Republican challenger Brian Murphy continues his “Refuse to Settle” tour on the Eastern Shore today with appearances in Easton, Eden (at the Bordeleau Winery at 3:30), and the Ocean City boardwalk this evening. Tomorrow he’ll be in Cambridge meeting with local homeschoolers, attend the final Shorebirds game (2:05 tomorrow afternoon) and wrap up in Ocean City again by jamming with Johnny Bling at M.R. Ducks. (See, it pays to have a nicely detailed events calendar.)

For his part, Martin O’Malley will be walking in Labor Day parades in Greenbelt and Gaithersburg tomorrow. Nothing like shoring up the base when you don’t have significant opposition in your primary.

These visits should make for an interesting subplot for the conclusion of an otherwise mediocre Shorebirds season. Right now the Shorebirds are playing only to avoid losing 80 games for the first time since 1999 (that team was 58-80 and currently we are 59-79.) Of course, longtime Shorebirds fans know the very next year we went from worst to first by winning the 2000 SAL pennant. Perhaps Maryland Republicans will go from bitter losses in 2006 and 2008 to success this time around.

Shorebird of the Week – September 2, 2010

Nick Haughian has spent the entire season with the Shorebirds - one of just a handful of pitchers to do so.

Nick Haughian's high leg kick makes for a good picture, and if it helps him pitch well that's an added bonus. This picture was taken back on June 20th as the Shorebirds closed out the first half against Lexington.

He’s been one of the ‘go-to’ guys for long relief all year, but when placed in a starting role Nick Haughian has showed his worth. The lefty has stymied Hagerstown over his last two starts and hopes to conclude things on a high note tonight in what may well be his final 2010 outing against Kannapolis.

Over his three-season pro career, the 9th round 2008 pick out of the University of Washington has bounced between starting and relieving roles. For Aberdeen in 2008 he made 9 appearances with one start, but in 2009 all but one of his outings opened the game (including 2 starts at the tail end of the season here.) This year Nick began in the bullpen but moved into the starting rotation on August 8 and has stayed since.

As a whole, Nick has proven to be just effective enough to pile up strikeouts but allows more hits than innings pitched, which suggests that a starting role may work better because it allows him to develop three or more effective pitches – if he can do that the batting average against him should come down (hitters are batting .289 against him for the year) and he can maintain the great ratio of ground outs to fly outs he currently boasts. For every fly out, Nick gets 1.95 ground outs, which is impressive and means that runners getting on base can more easily be erased by double plays.

Looking at the more common stats, the 23-year-old out of Marysville, Washington is 6-3 with a 3.77 ERA in 34 appearances (including the most recent 4 starts.) Haughian (pronounced ‘Hoy-an’) has only allowed 29 walks while famming 84 in 88 1/3 innings this season and is among team leaders with 6 wins – five of those came in relief with the sixth earned in his last start.

One would think Nick may have moved a little faster up the organization given a relatively high draft pick status, but if he can put up good numbers at Frederick next year it would probably align him back to where he is supposed to be. Left-handers who can get guys out are always in demand and Haughian may just have the tools to put himself on the Orioles’ prospect map with a good season in 2011.

Political correctness run amok

If you haven’t been able to figure it out by now, I’m a big fan of the Shorebirds and try to make it out to all of the games as I can (perhaps 50 so far this season.) One of the fun things to watch is what goes on between innings and one of the promotions was a wheelchair race sponsored by a local home health care company. (Full disclosure: my significant other is one of their employees. They also put a large ad in the program so you can figure out who it is if you really care to know; that’s not my point.)

The premise was pretty simple: two teams of two players push a wheelchair while the other rides and they switch in the middle. A little harmless between inning fun, right?

Guess not. I had to bring back the wheelchairs from the stadium today because a total of FOUR – that’s right, four out of the nearly 200,000 fans the Shorebirds have drawn this season – complained. Apparently their gripe was that this event made fun of people who require wheelchairs to get around.

To them I say, get a life. Certainly I enjoyed watching the event, and I have no less respect for people who need wheelchairs. The point of the exercise was to play up the goal of the sponsor – to help people who are recovering from ailments return to their normal lives. Besides, there were only 8 games left in the season so why not let the event run its course? I wonder if these people whine about those athletes who compete in events such as the Boston Marathon in specially-designed equipment? Or, to pick a different promotion, how many people complain about the Maryland Lottery ticket contest – doesn’t that promote gambling?

A week ago Friday, the final wheelchair races featured several teams of local celebrities who were racing for their selected charities. Granted, not all of the races had such a noble cause but where does political correctness stop?

We worry about the perception given by people who are competing in an event for fun (and may find out just how difficult moving people around in such a fashion can be) while there are problems many times weightier affecting our way of life. Just live and let live and don’t sweat the small stuff, people.

I hope the sponsor brings back the races bigger and better next season (and while we’re at it, returning the Thursday night postgame concerts would be cool too.)

In the meantime, don’t let the four people who probably could never be happy anyway spoil things for the rest of us.

Shorebird of the Week – August 26, 2010

A happy and healthy Justin Dalles smiled for the camera back in April while teammate Jake Cowan looked on.

Before his first injury, Justin Dalles was among the team offensive leaders. Here he leads off first during an April game against Hagerstown. Photo by Kim Corkran.

It’s been a rough year for the Shorebirds, who are already destined to have a losing season this year and on the cusp of elimination from playoff contention. Nowhere has that been more evident than at the catcher’s position, where five  (make that six as of tonight) players have moved through a revolving door for those wearing the “tools of ignorance.” Perhaps the most consistent player among the group, Justin Dalles had been sought after for several seasons before finally signing with the Orioles in 2009 as a sixth-round pick out of the University of South Carolina.

Yet Dalles has had a miserable season. It started with a memorable home plate encounter with Steven Souza of the Hagerstown Suns that literally knocked him out cold and landed him on the disabled list. A month later, another home plate collision left the opponent with a broken leg and Justin enduring another trip to the DL. Guys from Brooklyn are tough, but not quite superhuman enough to avoid injury from these violent encounters.

Through all this, Dalles has struggled at the plate, hitting only .208 at the moment after a decent start. However, he has hit 4 home runs in 48 games played, suggesting he has a little bit of power to go with the catching ability. It was ability highly sought, since he was drafted by the Mets in 2006 (15th round), St. Louis in 2007 (40th round), and Toronto in 2008 (26th round) before finally leaving USC for a pro career in 2009. Justin had a decent season with Aberdeen last year (.225/0/21 in the exact same 48 games) and perhaps the Orioles were expecting more out him of this season.

But with all the injuries and time off Dalles has endured, perhaps a more fair assessment will come from having a fresh start next year. It wouldn’t hurt the 21-year-old Dalles to begin a second campaign here in 2011 and hopefully avoid the maladies he’s fought through this year.

Shorebird of the Week – August 19, 2010

The requisite still shot of James Brandhorst taken back in April at our 'Meet The Players' lunch. I knew those would come in handy!

James Brandhorst stands and delivers to close out the first half against Lexington.

Sometimes a minor league campaign is simply about survival, particularly for a pitching staff. Due to a number of factors, only 5 of the 13 pitchers who began the 2010 campaign here are still around – James Brandhorst is one of them.

That’s not to say James has been ineffective – in fact, he’s unscored upon in his last 5 appearances covering seven innings. But perhaps it’s Brandhorst’s size (at 6′-4″ and 245 pounds he’s one of our bulkier pitchers) or careful usage which has led to his durability over the course of a 140 game season. Overall, he’s made a team-leading 40 appearances covering 51 innings.

Obviously he’s been on the wrong end of some decisions as his 1-7 record would indicate, but a losing record is not atypical for a reliever who tends to come into the final innings of a close game. He also has 4 saves as the backup closer to the now-departed Josh Dowdy. But in 51 innings he’s piled up 60 strikeouts while allowing only 44 hits and 24 walks and a decent 3.53 ERA. The resulting 1.33 WHIP could be improved upon by allowing fewer walks but the 2009 20th round draft choice out of Lamar University is probably progressing on schedule.

James pitched well for Aberdeen last season (0-1 but with a 1.30 ERA and 4 saves in 27.2 innings) and appears destined to remain a reliever for his career. I’m sure the 22-year-old Texan (he turns 23 next week) doesn’t really mind so long as he continues to advance through the system.

Shorebird of the Week – August 12, 2010

T.J. Baxter celebrates a job well done in this July game.

Between innings of this game in June, I snapped T.J. Baxter playing catch and getting loosened up.

One of the top base stealers in the Orioles’ chain, T.J. Baxter has provided one of the sparks for the Shorebirds’ offense this year with an ability to get himself into scoring position. Although he’s slowed down the pace in recent weeks, his 28 steals still puts him in the top 15 leaguewide.

The outfielder, first baseman, and designated hitter has proven to be relatively versatile as well, filling in gaps in the lineup and allowing other players a bit of rest. And after a July slump (he hit just .219 in 17 games) a 7-for-21 homestand against Lexington may have shaken him out of the doldrums and reignited his bat. He clobbered his 7th home run of the season late in the final game, a 10-3 loss.

The 24th round pick in 2008 out of the University of New Orleans (and New Jersey native, so trips to Lakewood are like a homecoming for him) spent the previous two seasons with Aberdeen before making the jump to full-season ball this year. And while his overall batting average is down from the .280 range he kept with the IronBirds, he’s managed to maintain an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of remarkable consistency, varying between .720 and .724 over the course of his career (.700 is about average.) He’s lost a touch of on-base percentage this year but has more power to make up for it. He’s improved on his stolen base totals each year, too.

However, T.J.’s pro career could be at a crossroads as he is one of the older players on the Shorebirds’ roster – he’ll turn 25 in December. Obviously spending a second season at Aberdeen (although it was a pretty successful one) put him a little behind in development, so he may need a solid finish to assure him a place in the organization next season. With Frederick being a little short-handed in the outfield and first base, though, there’s a chance he could yet move up this season for a short stint and see how he fares at that level.