Phillies Nation

Continuing the "Trade Lieber to _____ for middle relief" magniloquence

Posted by Brian Michael, Tue, February 13, 2007 01:47 PM

Ken Rosenthal at Foxsports.com has released news of Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kris Benson has torn his rotator cuff eliminating him of having any chance of playing in 2007. I was struggling to find the words to describe the type of pitcher Kris Benson is and how it will affect the Orioles young starting rotation. Luckily, at CBSsportsline.com the Fantasy Outlook of Benson surmised him perfectly:

Better known as the pitcher who gets less headlines than his outspoken, sometimes half-dressed wife, Benson continues to prove to be nothing more than a .500 pitcher. In Pittsburgh, it was thought to be a function of his team, but it’s becoming apparent it’s a function of his pitching. Now that the Orioles are deep into a rebuilding stage, Benson is a low-end Fantasy option that you fall back on out of necessity.

The O’s are faced with two problems related to Benson’s injury. The first being that Anna Benson will not be hanging around Camden Yards looking like she came straight from an FHM cover shoot. Secondly, their only major league-ready pitching option is Hayden Penn, who was a September call up from last year and is projected to fight for a rotation spot this March. Penn, who took advantage of his six late season starts in 2006, posted an 0-4 record with a 15.10 ERA in 2/3’s innings. 

So, what is a team to do?

I know for a fact that Pat Gillick has the O’s front office on the speed dial of his office phone. He must have grown tired of dialing 1, then all 10 digits of O’s GM Mike Flanagan while he tried flipping Pat Burrell to Baltimore for Daniel Cabrera through July of last year. This time Gillick isn’t hampered by no-trade clauses, a staple incentive enacted for all of former Phillies general manager Ed Wade’s favorite players. This time Gillick has leverage with Lieber, a veteran pitcher with playoff experience, over the Orioles who are looking to reclaim their perennial third place spot in the AL East from the Toronto Blue Jays.

UPDATED: The O’s signed Steve Trashcel to fill the hole in the starting rotation. So much for wishful thinking.

Posted in Posts | Share This | Permalink