If you’re watching the Orioles take on the Red Sox tonight, you saw general manager Andy MacPhail join the MASN telecast in the top of the third inning. The problem is he said nothing of real substance.
In addition to discussing the Orioles’ plans for a new spring training facility in Sarasota, MacPhail discussed the possibility of Chris Tillman being promoted to Baltimore in the near future.
“We haven’t finalized anything,” MacPhail told Gary Thorne and Buck Martinez. “We do recognize that all of his Bowie pitching mates [from 2008] are already here…I would expect that we’ll see him this year; I can’t tell you exactly when yet.”
If the Orioles are planning on promoting Tillman—and WNST’s Drew Forrester has reported that they are—the organization is blowing a golden opportunity to cultivate some excitement—not to mention ticket sales—for next week’s series against the Kansas City Royals. With Tillman being the first of the “Big Three” to be promoted, it’s unquestionably a debut many fans would want to witness.
MacPhail did express pleasant surprise in talking about Brad Bergesen’s development at the big league level. He praised the 23-year-old’s poise and ability to throw strikes and induce ground balls.
The general manager spoke about the upcoming trade deadline but only in general terms. Unsurprisingly, he mentioned third base and shortstop as the positions where the club would look to acquire prospects in any potential trades.
All in all, nothing of substance was said throughout the interview. It was a far cry from MacPhail’s announcement about the promotion of Matt Wieters in late May.
Tonight, I fully expected him to do the same thing regarding Tillman, but the Orioles always keep us scratching our heads, don’t they?
