Don't count on him being up before June and that's if he tears up AAA. The O's want to make sure they don't start his arbitration clock too soon. Believe me, I want him up ASAP as he and Hanson are rotting on my bench right now.
Well, I keep hearing a lot earlier than June. He got off to a real slow start in AAA, though. Finally got his first HR on Thursday. That was his first RBI, too, I think. Unfortunately, last night it looks like he strained a hamstring. So it could be a while...
Norfolk catcher Matt Wieters, who hit his first Triple-A homer in a win over Charlotte Thursday, suffered a hamstring injury in the contest. Wieters lined a ground ball down the right field line in the top of the first inning but suffered a right hamstring cramp as he rounded first base. The 22-year-old backstop was replaced in the lineup by Steve Torrealba for precautionary reasons, and will be reevaluated on a day-to-day basis.
Just talked to a friend who was talking to someone who follows the O's religiously, we're talking practically knows when each player takes a dump or eats breakfast religiously. He said he doesn't see Wieters coming up anytime soon, which sounds like July at the earliest, maybe later. When you think about it the O's have ZERO incentive to bring him up anytime soon. They're SP is among the worst in baseball and their defense is not that good. They've got no realistic shot at the playoffs so what would bringing him up in June accomplish? Absolutely nothing. The O's probably have no shot of competing next year without decent SP. Not a single O's starter is on a team in my standard 12-team mixed yahoo league. Not even their #1 starter. So really where is the incentive to start Wieter's major league clock when he won't help them make the playoffs? Maybe he won't be up until september...could happen.
Actually I think the O's might have some incentive to bring him up in terms of gate receipts. If the club sucks, you've gotta give people more reasons to come to the park, right?
BillyHallDisciple wrote:Actually I think the O's might have some incentive to bring him up in terms of gate receipts. If the club sucks, you've gotta give people more reasons to come to the park, right?
I don't think he'd make that big a difference in that dept. Some, but not a lot. I mean they already have some exciting players to draw fans like Markakis and Adam Jones. Besides I think the O's are one of those teams that draws pretty well even when they aren't in contention. You could be right, but I don't think we're talking about the kind of effect someone like Wieters would have if he was coming up in Tampa (when they were bad) or Washington or Pittsburgh, for example. At any rate, I'm just passing along the thoughts of a diehard O's fan that follows them intensely and my thoughts based on that. Also there's some wishful thinking on my part as my biggest competitor in my league drafted him.
BillyHallDisciple wrote:Actually I think the O's might have some incentive to bring him up in terms of gate receipts. If the club sucks, you've gotta give people more reasons to come to the park, right?
They haven't had a "gate receipt" guy since Ripken. They thought Tejada would be one, but even with him on the team that first year, it was close to 50% visiting fans when Boston/NYY were in town. A rookie ain't gonna fill the seats.
And yea their pitching sucks the donkey scrotte. But don't catchers call the game? Is Wieters going to be that kind of catcher? I hardly think so. Word around the fan base is no earlier than late June.
"Don't worry, the fans don't start booing until July."
If he is the catcher of the future, I would think that there is a benefit to having him play with his future team-mates this season just to allow them all to bond and to get to know each other better. Even if it's a lost season, that could mean that it's a low pressure situation for a rookie hitter. Perfect time to work on his game at the big league level.
Yeah, I mean I respect what you guys say about gate receipts, etc. and that you know a dude who is an insider with the O's, but good prospects get to play on crappy MLB teams all the time when they could use more seasoning. Look at Billy Butler and Alex Gordon in KC or this Jordan Zimmerman kid who's gonna be starting for the Nats this year.
I'm just throwing those out there for the sake of argument. Also, I'm a Wieters owner who wants to see him come up ASAP so maybe I'm just in denial.
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by fewlazz » Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:53 pm 
