BLOG: Guthrie-Ace Of The Staff Or Trade Bait?
Jeremy Guthrie -- one of the nicest guys I think anyone of us in the media have ever had to deal with -- and probably the one player we all wish had more success... personal success. Guthrie, the Orioles' No. 1 starter in what is a very young an inexperienced rotation, recorded is Major League worst 13th loss last night at the hands of the Cleveland Indians. Guthrie, who had trouble locating and getting head of batters, was less than tortured talking to the media after the game, and rightfully so. For a person who is expected to be the stopper, the one guy you can depend on for a victory -- even a moral one for the team -- Guthrie just doesn't appear to be that guy. So is it time we stopped thinking of him as that?
Last season, Andy MacPhail and Dave Trembley clearly considered him something less since they brought in Kevin Millwood to take over that role which in turn moved Guthrie down to the No. 2 spot. Unfortunately, Millwood was an absolute bust. He finished the season with a dreadful 4-16 record, his bags at the end of the season, got a one-way ticket out of Maryland and never looked back. By default, since MacPhail did not bring in a No. 1 starter, an absolute MUST if you want to compete in the AL East, Guthrie was moved back to the No. 1 spot where he is on track to end the season with a worse record than 2009 when he went 10-17.
Last night on Baltimore Baseball Tonight, Jim Duquette and I agreed that Guthrie may be the only player on the team with any trade value. Not many teams, competing teams, need a shortstop right now and Luke Scott is out with an injured shoulder. Not to mention, Vlad and Lee have underachieved which means no team in a playoff race could benefit from their services.
What are your thoughts on Guthrie? Does the organization try to make him somebody he's not -- the team Ace -- or is there a successful pitcher in there somewhere just begging for a little run support and maybe a few team wins to help the overall moral?
