All Star Break Catch Up

I'm back from vacation and a lot has been going on. Time for a quick catch up...

Sweep!

O's swept the Rangers in Texas before the All Star break. How'd they do it? With a little help from the offense. For the series:

Adam Jones: .313/.353/.563
Markakis: .316/.316/.632
Patterson: .368/.400/.684

Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta kicked a little ass but the much-maligned Orioles bullpen pitched 15.2 innings in the series without surrendering an earned run. That's the biggest reason they swept and a trend I just can't see continuing.

International News


The Orioles are reportedly ready to sign Dominican 3B Vector Heloz. According toBaseball America:

The Orioles have signed 16-year-old Dominican third baseman Hector Veloz for $300,000, according to his trainer, Victor Baez.

The bonus is a franchise record for an amateur player signed out of the Dominican Republic and is believed to be a franchise record for all of Latin America...

At 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, Veloz, who is from Santiago, stands out for his plus raw power from the right side, though he has been inconsistent hitting in games. He also shows an above-average arm and solid hands at third base.

The deal is not official yet, as Veloz still has to clear his age and identity check and pass a drug test, which in his case could get interesting. Veloz has also already tested positive for the anabolic steroid Stanozolol when he took a drug test in mid-May as part of Major League Baseball's new registration program for 40 of the top Dominican prospects in this year's international signing class.

 This is a good news/bad news situation. This guy has already tested positive for steroids at the age of 16. However, that test probably dropped his price a bit and he is among one of the 40 best players in the DR.  And this shows a willingness to spend on Latin American talent that the Orioles have not showed before.

However, he was not considered one of the top 33 talents by Baseball America. It a positive step but they need to do more here during this signing season.

The DL

Guys seem to be getting healthy...

Except for Kevin Millwood. Millwood is on the DL and Brad Bergesen looks to be the man to take his place. Probably better in the long run to keep trotting Bergesen (and for that matter, Matusz, Tillman and Arrieta) out every five days anyway.

LF Felix Pie is finally back from his torn muscles. Although he strained his quad over the weekend so maybe he doesn't belong on this list.

DH Luke Scott is set to begin a rehab assignment tomorrow.

RP Mike Gonzalez is continuing a rehab assignment in Aberdeen.

2B Brian Roberts is playing in the GCL, his first significant work since the first week of the season. Roberts returning would be a big boost to this lineup...I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Getting all these guys back healthy would be a big boost to the team. At this point, I kind of don't want the Orioles to lose the #1 overall pick in 2011 but it might be more beneficial in the long run for this team to have some success in the second half.

Miscellaneous

Markakis has reached base in 17 straight games.

The undead carcass of Julio Lugo is OPSing .871 for July.

Since May 1st, Adam Jones is hitting .298/.328/.480 with 11 home runs.

Since May 1st, Ty Wigginton has hit .236/.317/.380.