Markakis Has Broken Bone in Wrist

The most dependable of Orioles is headed to the disabled list for the first time in his career. Right fielder Nick Markakis has a broken bone in his wrist and will have surgery to repair it tomorrow. He is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. Markakis started all 50 games prior to last night (48 in RF, 2 @ DH). This is a big blow to the Orioles' playoff chances having Markakis out for 3+ weeks. It is also one that I am not sure the Orioles can overcome. Yes, he was having a down year by his standards, but he is a hitter pitchers fear. Without him in the lineup, it will be much more difficult for Adam Jones to get quality pitches to hit. Losing your #1 hitter and your #3 hitter kills any lineup. The new lineup will have to somehow account for the loses of Reimold and Markakis.

There is good news though because Brian Roberts should be back soon. He is scheduled to finish his rehab stint June 11. Zach Britton is scheduled to be back after his rehab start in the next day. Britton's return will help fortify a struggling rotation while Roberts return will help a weak lineup. We just better hope Roberts is something close to his old self with Markakis and Reimold out still.
Here is my proposed lineup until Roberts gets back.
2B Robert Andino
SS JJ Hardy
C Matt Wieters
CF Adam Jones
1B Chris Davis
DH Wilson Betemit
RF Markakis' replacement
3B Ryan Flaherty
LF Endy Chavez


Once Roberts is back
2B Brian Roberts
SS JJ Hardy
C Matt Wieters
CF Adam Jones
1B Chris Davis
DH Wilson Betemit
RF Replacement
LF Endy Chavez
3B Robert Andino

Wieters is the only guy that makes sense @ #3 in my opinion. Unless we are trying to have a good hitter behind Jones. If that is the case then we need to swap Davis and Wieters. However, I would have my best hitter hit 3rd and Wieters is a better hitter than Davis.

You will notice that Mark Reynolds is not in either lineup. I am not a fan. I would try to trade him asap and eat some salary. I'd do the same thing with Gregg. We have to get another OF with Cakes and Reimold out. We need to do it asap.

What are the internal options?
Xavier Avery could come back up. The only problem with that is many in the organization think he is getting into bad habits. He may be getting into bad habits, but he is better than Chavez. He's certainly better than no options. If we want to compete for the playoffs, we might have to call Avery back up.

Jai Miller is still in the organization, but he is not playing well. He strikes out about every other time to the plate. That can't cut it in the big leagues.

Lew Ford is also an option for the Orioles. Ford is hitting .370 with 2 homers this season in Norfolk. This is in only 12 games, but perhaps Ford is the best option. We don't have much OF depth in the minor leagues.

Sure would have been good to still have Matt Angle on the 40 man at this point huh? Good thing we kept Josh Bell and Jai Miller when we let Angle go. That to me was the worst move of the offseason. Letting Matt Angle go was a really poor decision. We need to get someone to the Orioles that will hit. If we pay a price it is ok, but we can't give up our first good season in years without a fight. It should be interesting.

-Noland

Brandon Snyder>>>>Mark Reynolds

As someone who is a huge Orioles fan and someone from Northern VA I felt it important to talk about the big issue here. Mark Reynolds is playing absolutely horrible and Brandon Snyder who was terrific at Westfield High School in Northern VA should not have been let go. Many Westfield kids, including Brandon Snyder did Explosive Performance (speed camp) with my high school. We weren't usually in a class with them, but we did do Combine Training in the same group as Westfield. I was not happy when Snyder was dumped. I know that hindsight is 20/20, but let's look at this in greater detail.

Currently on the 40 man roster is Jai Miller. Miller was the person who was added the same day as Snyder. He was the guy that was added in the move right before Snyder was dealt to get Snyder off the 40 man. The strikeout king better get it together, because Brandon Snyder sure has looked good for Texas. People will go back to Jai Miller vs. Brandon Snyder constantly if Miller continues to struggle and Snyder continues to excel. Miller did hit a homer last night though at least. Jai Miller is the main guy added to knock Snyder off the 40, but he is not the only guy.

Another person on the 40 man is Nick Johnson. Johnson has not been able to hit out of a wet paper bag this season. The guy has been dreadful this season. It is amazing that the Orioles are tied for the best record in baseball as often as they march Johnson out there. Now, Johnson isn't really to blame for Snyder. He was signed to a minor league deal and earned a job in spring training. Still, would you rather have Snyder or Johnson?

Then there is Josh Bell. Bell was traded recently by the Orioles. We did not get much for Bell, but we got something. Still you have to wonder why Josh was sent out of town after Snyder. Was it because Texas was willing to give up cash? You would have to imagine that someone would have given up cash for Bell at that point. This stinks of poor decision. Had the roles been reversed, and Snyder been sent to spring training, would he have beaten out Nick Johnson for a roster spot? Could we have saved ourselves that disaster last night and had a really solid bench piece. A guy that can catch in a pinch.

Finally, we get to Mark Reynolds. Look I am obviously not a Reynolds fan. The guy is dreadful in the field. He had another incredibly costly error last night. Could we not have traded Reynolds in the offseason? Fresh off a campaign with over 30 homers couldn't we have gotten something of value? Especially given the fact that he looked ok at first and could be used as a DH for some teams. Would you rather have Brandon Snyder at third or old stone hands. I would have preferred Brandon personally especially if we could dump Reynolds and his salary and use the money elsewhere. Another starting pitcher perhaps? Guess we can only play what if on this one.

Oh we also have Zelous Wheeler, Joe Mahoney, and Matt Antonelli on the 40 man. I am not dissing any of these guys, but I would rather have Brandon Snyder than all of them.

-Noland