Apr 29 The Washington Post's Jorge Arangure Jr. reports there is growing sentiment in the Baltimore Orioles organization to go out and acquire a top-of-the-line starting pitcher. Team sources say the Orioles are willing to relinquish RP Jorge Julio and perhaps one of their young starters, either Erik Bedard or Daniel Cabrera.
Though I'm not thrilled about it, I'm trying to figure out who to drop for Julio in case he does become a closer somewhere. My 3rd and 4th closers ae Kolb and Turnbow. So with the long-term loss of Benitez and temporary loss of Izzy, suddenly I'm in less than great shape at that position.
Of course, if Julio is a closer at some point I hope he's better than he was last season.
pt1171 wrote:Though I'm not thrilled about it, I'm trying to figure out who to drop for Julio in case he does become a closer somewhere. My 3rd and 4th closers ae Kolb and Turnbow. So with the long-term loss of Benitez and temporary loss of Izzy, suddenly I'm in less than great shape at that position.
Of course, if Julio is a closer at some point I hope he's better than he was last season.
Snaggin Julio now is a very high percentage move IMO. Ryan has the closer job locked down. No one, especially Julio whom the O's are completely down on, will wrestle it away from him at this point.
Julio is a proven closer who had his share of problems in the last couple of years. But a lot of people forget that he was a high prospect with very good tools. He is still very young and may needed some time to learn how to pitch. He's been pitching incredibly well so far and if the O's were smart, they would move him sooner rather than later. I don't know where he will end up but I'm willing to bet that he gets traded and becomes the closer soon.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." ~George Carlin
Julio's been nearly unhittable this year, which actually makes me more inclined to think that he won't be traded--at least, not to the Giants, nor in the near future. Which starter on the Giants would Baltimore trade Julio for? Certainly the Giants aren't stupid enough to offer Schmidt. Who else, then? Perhaps Jerome Williams, but the Orioles already have decent young pitchers (Bedard and Cabrera), so another one, I take it, won't satisfy the organization's wants.
The story said "top of the line starting pitcher" so I would think that rules out the Giants. It also rules out just about everyone else.
Julio is a good reliever, but his type are a lot more plentiful than "top of the line starting pitchers" and I feel secure in stating that it will take more than Julio and Cabrera/Bedard to land one.
You never know what may happen in late July when soon to be FA's hit the market from teams out of contention, but as I see it, the Giants aren't a candidate to pry Julio from the Orioles.
So now the Orioles finally figure out that they need a solid front line starter?
As for Julio, he is still crap as a closer in my opinion. With the exception of his rookie year he has not put up the sort of ratios that one would associate with even a middle of the road closer, much less an elite one. This goes back to his minor league career, where his numbers likewise did nothing to impress. The guys ceiling is as a journeyman closer, no team with serious aspirations of contending for a pennant would be happy with him as a closer unless they are forced to turn to a second-choice/fill-in type of guy (i.e., the Giants and Cubs right now). The Orioles, no chronic playoff contender in recent years, have a such a low opinion of him that they gave his job to a 100% unproven guy. This does not happend to "proven" closers.
thehat wrote:Julio is a good reliever, but his type are a lot more plentiful than "top of the line starting pitchers" and I feel secure in stating that it will take more than Julio and Cabrera/Bedard to land one.
You never know what may happen in late July when soon to be FA's hit the market from teams out of contention, but as I see it, the Giants aren't a candidate to pry Julio from the Orioles.
The thread was about Julio PLUS another young pitcher for a top of the line starter. Julio is a 26 year old with 83 career saves with 19 blown saves. That's pretty valuable considering he's only making 2.5M.
Also, his control was progressively getting worse since his rookie season. He's not walking nearly as much this season and you can bet that he will be immensely successful if he keeps this trend.
Tough to say what the Gints are going to do. Someone may step up and run with the job but based on what we know, no one on their roster currently has the ability to do this. Maybe one of their callups can do it but either way, they have to all but rule out Benitez for at least the regular season. I never believe what GM's say either. There are no guarantees in baseball since things change by the minute. If their pen totally sucks and they want to stay competetive, why wouldn't they trade for a closer?
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." ~George Carlin
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by yankee_cafe » Fri Apr 29, 2005 1:40 pm 
