I wasn’t calling anybody out, on this site anyway. I’ve felt the same way for a couple of years now, with the kendall-batting-9th thing the only interesting exception (in my opinion).

And to be clear: I think we ought to complain when Ned overplays the bench—I just mean that the lineup-ordering stuff is overkill. Like the endless talk in April about swapping Hart and Hall in the 5 and 6 spots. There’s a large contingent of folks, esp. commenters on Tom H’s blog, who find something to complain about no matter how our 8 batters are ordered. That’s what drives me up the wall.

but I don’t think that’d be the deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Brewers were scoping out Roberts, esp. if this was after the team knew about Rickie’s current injury scare. But it seems to me that the Crew wouldn’t be shopping for Roberts if we thought Rickie’d be healthy, and if Rickie isn’t healthy, the Orioles wouldn’t want him (for right now, if they traded away Roberts).

But Roberts certainly seems like a good bet … I don’t know who else the Brewers would be scouting, except maybe a starter.

Here’s a deal that makes sense: Brian Roberts for Rickie Weeks. The Brewers, who recently had two scouts watching the Orioles, are interested in Roberts, but it remains to be seen whether they are ready to give up on Weeks.

Roberts, a more accomplished leadoff hitter and better defender than Weeks, is a more natural fit for a contender. The Orioles, meanwhile, could be patient with Weeks defensively, much as the Twins are being patient with the erratic Carlos Gomez. Weeks would be another young, athletic building block to go with Adam Jones and Nick Markakis.

A straight-up deal might be out of the question, considering that Roberts is a free agent after next season while Weeks is under club control through 2011. But the Orioles could add a young pitcher or even one of their veteran relievers while perhaps getting another piece back in return.

Link

The Orioles would have to throw in plenty more for this to be anywhere near worthwhile when considering team control and Rickie’s incredible potential. And besides, Roberts isn’t that big of an upgrade anyway. Last year, Rickie’s OPS+ was 108; Roberts was 112.

I’m not near ready to ‘give up’ on a #2 overall pick.

I’m guessing the scouts were looking at that bullpen.

Couldn’t these guys have beent here because we’ve got a series with the O’s next week?

Clinton, like Counsell, stuck around a lot longer than she had any business to.

Is that the baseball equivalent of “undisclosed location”? Sounds like a polite way of saying, get the hell off my phone Tommy. I’ll call you when I want you to report something.