Unhappy with a diminished role, utilityman Ryan Freel has asked the Orioles to trade him.
"I'm not very happy," Freel said. "I think change is good for people. I think the expectations were for me to come over here and perform in a different way than I did. I don't think I met those expectations as far as the way I performed in spring training.
"I don't think I fit here. ... I can't control whatever they do at this point. I know it's really putting a damper on my career, really hurting my career as far as getting a job next year. I'm pretty much just rolling with the punches."
Freel, 33, was acquired from Cincinnati in December.
Soon after, the team acquired Ty Wigginton and Felix Pie, which cut into Freel's playing time severely.
April 2009 - Baltimore Orioles Wiretap
Wieters Misses 4th Straight Game
Matt Wieters missed his fourth straight game Wednesday with a strained right hamstring, but director of player development David Stockstill said that the top prospect will return to the Triple-A Tides' lineup Thursday.
Orioles Farm Report: Wieters Still Looking For First Hit
Matt Wieters continues to struggle in his first two Triple-A games of 2009, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a walk on Saturday.
Wieters went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in Thursday's game.
Wieters is the top overall prospect in baseball and had an excellent Spring Training with the Orioles.
Click here to view RealGM's prospect page on Matt Wieters.
Christopher Reina/RealGM
Orioles Farm Report: Arrieta Strikes Out 8 Over 4 Innings
Jake Arrieta struck out eight batters over four innings in his first start of the 2009 season for Double-A Bowie.
Arrieta, one of the Orioles top pitchers, walked two and gave up one hit while not giving up a single run.
Click here to view RealGM's prospect page on Jake Arrieta.
Christopher Reina/RealGM
Orioles Farm Report: Wieters Goes 0-For-3 With 2 Strikeouts
In his first career Triple-A game, super-prospect Matt Wieters went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in Durham against the Bulls.
Wieters struck out twice and walked once in the game.
The consensus top prospect in baseball had a .908 OPS in 20 Spring Training at bats.
Nolan Remiold, another top Orioles prospect, went 2-for-4 with a homer.
Click here to read RealGM's prospect page on Matt Wieters.
Teixeira Tries To Clear Up Confusion Of Childhood Loyalties
Mark Teixeira's various comments about which team he grew up rooting for between the Orioles and Yankees has been confusing.
"My favorite team was always the Orioles. I've always said that," said Teixeira. "But when the Yankees were in town, I'd wear a (Don) Mattingly T-shirt and a Yankees hat and root for him.
"I think the fans here are great," he said. "They're so passionate about the O's, the Yankees are in town and I didn't sign with the Orioles -- I think it's great for Baltimore that fans are so into the Orioles."
The Daily Opsera (Mon. 4/6): Rangers, O's And Jays Roll On Opening Day
Opsera is a metric I created to rank teams in terms of averaging their hitting and pitching.
Opsera is extremely simple; I take each team's total OPS, move the decimal point one place to the right and then subtract their respective ERAs from that number. The best teams will finish the season with a mark over 4.00 and the worst teams are usually under 2.50.
The single game Opsera is the first number listed with the run total listed in parenthesis.
Team of the Day: Texas Rangers
Game Opsera Scores
(Sunday)
Atlanta Braves: 6.93 (4)
Philadelphia Phillies: -0.77 (1)
- Big homers by Brian McCann, Jordan Schafer and perhaps most importantly, Jeff Francoeur.
(Monday)
New York Mets: 7.53 (2)
Cincinnati Reds: 2.29 (1)
- Thanks to J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez, Mr. Met was finally able to watch the eighth and ninth inning in relative easy.
Cleveland Indians: -6.46 (1)
Texas Rangers: 9.51 (9)
- Kevin Millwood looked like the Cy Young pitcher on Monday rather than Cliff Lee, plus the new left side of the Texas infield had a nice debut.
New York Yankees: -0.07 (5)
Baltimore Orioles: 8.33 (10)
- CC Sabathia's first start in a Yankees' uniform was certainly far from how they drew it up in December.
Colorado Rockies: -0.13 (8)
Arizona Diamondbacks: 5.24 (9)
Felipe Lopez and Tony Clark each homered from both sides of the plate.
Washington Nationals: -6.55 (6)
Florida Marlins: 7.22 (12)
- After ESPN showed the highlight of the Hanley Ramirez grand slam during the Yankees/Orioles telecast, Joe Morgan called Ramirez the most underrated player in the NL. The consensus around most of baseball already seems to be that he's a fairly scary offensive player.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 5.16 (6)
St. Louis Cardinals: 1.57 (4)
- The Cardinals inability to find a legitimate closer the winter has already cost them a win, as Jason Motte blew a 4-2 lead, giving up four runs to the Pirates.
Chicago Cubs: 5.94 (4)
Houston Astros: 2.67 (2)
- A good performance from their starter (Zambrano), a couple of solo shots from Soriano and Ramirez, plus a little closer controversy late in the game, which will all be familiar ingredients in about 93 Cubs wins.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 6.06 (3)
San Diego Padres: 1.67 (1)
- Matt Kemp goes deep on an 0-for-3 afternoon from Manny.
Detroit Tigers: -6.44 (5)
Toronto Blue Jays: 7.43 (12)
- The Jays, especially Adam Lind and Travis Snider, looked pretty darn good on Monday night and the only thing that could have lost the game for them was their debris-throwing fans.
Seattle Mariners: 5.77 (6)
Minnesota Twins: 0.16 (1)
- Ken Griffey Jr. looked right at home huffing and puffing in the dugout after belting a homer over the right field wall.
Oakland Athletics: -0.28 (0)
Los Angeles Angels: 6.97 (3)
- Jason Giambi, Matt Holliday, Nomar Garciappara and Orlando Cabrera combined to go 2-for-15 against Joe Saunders and that excellent bullpen trio of Jose Arredondo, Scot Shields and Brian Fuentes.
* Opsera will be the metric we use to rank all 30 teams throughout the 2009 season and we also will present this on a daily basis in order to quickly determine how well or poorly teams played in single games.
Run-saving defensive plays and timely hitting aren't taken into account in any meaningful way with the Opsera, nor is timely/situational hitting but it gives a pure reading of how well teams hit and pitched.
Teixeira Doesn't Blame Oriole Fans For Hating Him
Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira was expecting a negative reception from fans in Baltimore on Monday, and got more than he expected.
Fans are still upset that Teixeira, who grew up near Baltimore, didn't sign with the Orioles.
"In a perfect world, the Orioles would've won the World Series every year I was alive, and I'd be an Oriole right now," Teixeira said. "I have so much love for this city, for this organization. But in the business world, in the baseball world, sometimes you have to make difficult decisions. When it came down to it, the Yankees were a better fit for me."
Teixeira was 0-for-4 with a walk in New York's 10-5 loss to Baltimore on Opening Day.
Biden To Throw First Pitch For Orioles
The Orioles have revealed that Vice President Joe Biden will throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the team's season opener against the Yankees on Monday.
Biden will be the first sitting vice president to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at the stadium, according to the team.
Trembley: Wieters Is 'Going To Be Something'
The Orioles sent top prospect Matt Wieters to Class AAA Norfolk to begin the season, but there is a buzz in Baltimore about the catcher.
"I hope I'm around long enough to be his manager for a long time," manager Dave Trembley said. "This guy's going to be something, man."
The praise isn't just coming from the coaching staff either.
"If you're a proficient catcher and you can hit, you're going to elevate yourself to the top of the game. You stand apart," catcher Chad Moeller said.
Baltimore Interested In Josh Fogg
Josh Fogg of the Colorado Rockies has drawn interest from the Orioles, but is expected to accept a Triple-A assignment.
Marlins Acquire Penn From Orioles
The Marlins have traded shortstop Robert Andino to the Orioles for pitcher Hayden Penn, a right-hander.