Lots of Mail From Ryan Part One - Some Orioles IP Autos

Ryan from "O No Another Oriole Blog" is a heck of a guy.  He just purchased a new house (Congrats man!) and is purging some Orioles stuff and was kind enough to send some my way.  There was so much stuff that I had to break it up into multiple blog posts, so here we go.

This first post concerns some of the in person autos he sent my way.  The first of which is the below Oliver Drake signed baseball.  I believe I traded this ball to Ryan at Fan Fest this January for a Joe Mahoney signed ball.  I kind of regretted trading the ball away, but at the time my buddy Ryan needed it, so I wanted to make sure he was happy, first.  Little did I know that the ball would be back in my collection a few months later.

Drake is a mid-level prospect for the O's at the moment, but I'm hoping he can turn it up and get on their radar.  With Matusz's struggles, Tsuyoshi Wada's elbow issues, etc, The Orioles need more pitching depth in the minors.  If Drake can have a solid year at AA Bowie, he might work his way onto the 2013 roster.  Only time will tell.

Here is a signed 2010 Topps RC of Jake Arrieta.  Jake is off to a decent start to 2012, after having bone chips removed from his elbow.  Apparently he is pitching pain free for the first time since he played in college.  I expect a good year from Jake, if he can keep his ERA down.  I wouldn't be surprised if he wins 15 games this year.  We'll see!

Brad Bergesen is struggling at AAA Norfolk.  He can be a pretty effective pitcher if he can get his sinker going.  I definitely like Bergy and hope he turns it around and makes it back to the big club this year.

Of all the young pitchers that the Orioles have stockpiled thae second most disappointing (aside from Matusz) has to be Chris Tillman.  He is still 24, so there is time for him to get it together, but he really needs to get on the fast track.  Tillman has the stuff, but not the command.  He also might not have the mental makeup as of yet to be a major contributor to the rotation.  Here's to hoping he becomes what all the scouts and front office types saw in him.

Finally, the last IP auto Ryan sent was this Mike Bordick signed 2000 Upper Deck.  Bordick might be one of the most underrated shortstops ever.  Bordick, until this season, was the only major leaguer to hail from the State of Maine (from what I heard on a MASN broadcast).  He was a solid defensive shortstop who was brought into Baltimore to replace an aging Cal Ripken at shortstop when the Iron Man was moved to third base.  I met Bordick in Norfolk in 2010 and he was really nice.  He now does commentary on select Orioles' broadcasts on MASN.

Thanks so much for all of the awesome stuff, Ryan.  I don't think I will ever be able to repay you, but I'll definitely try.