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TORONTO -
As the season wanes and his options shrink, Orioles manager Dave Trembley said he has to decide what type of team to put onto the field.
If Trembley is looking for defense, then rookie Michael Aubrey will get the call at first base, which he has done in three consecutive games, instead of a more traditional power bat such as Luke Scott's or Ty Wigginton's.
"I think you need to have guys at the corners that hit for power, but I think right now we need a defender with the pitchers we are running out there," Trembley said. "I don't think right now we can afford to give runs away. I think you need a good defender, and I think [Aubrey] is a pretty good defender."
Aubrey, acquired by the Orioles from the Cleveland Indians for future considerations in June and promoted from Triple-A Norfolk in August, has started 10 games at first, more than any other current Oriole besides Wigginton.
That's no guarantee for 2010, however.
"I think any opportunity I get I am going to have to take advantage of," said Aubrey, who is hitting .313 with no homers and four RBIs in his first 48 at-bats for the Orioles. "I hope that he feels confident enough that he can put me in the lineup whenever he feels he needs to."
When Aubrey Huff was dealt to the Detroit Tigers in August, it created a void at first. At the time, Trembley said Scott, an outfielder throughout his pro career, would be tried there.
Scott, who has started eight games at first, has been back in left field more often now that left fielder Nolan Reimold is out for the season and Felix Pie has been moved to center field to replace Adam Jones.
Trembley said he doesn't consider the Scott experiment over, saying: "I still think you'll see Luke Scott play first base again."
But it's clear that the Orioles' first-base issue won't be solved this September.
Trembley said previously that he would like to have a big bat, preferably a right-handed one, hitting behind Nick Markakis in 2010. The optimal situation would be if that hitter played first base."I would say if you have the choice, you'd like to have a right-handed-hitting run producer at that position," Trembley said.
"He's played an awful lot," Trembley said. "I have been trying to give him a day, and he has balked at it. He wants to be in there every day. He doesn't get caught up in the statistics and all that. He just wants to play, but I decided on the last homestand that today would be the day he didn't play."
The only other game he didn't start this season was June 21 in Philadelphia, and Markakis eventually entered in the late innings. That was a possibility again Tuesday, Trembley said, if he were needed to pinch hit in a key spot (he wasn't). It also would have given Markakis a shot to potentially play all 162 games this season - something Trembley called a "rarity."
"For whatever reason, I don't know what it is, but guys don't do that anymore," Trembley said. "They don't play every day. Markakis has told me over and over again, 'Hey, I am paid to play.' "
If Trembley is looking for defense, then rookie Michael Aubrey will get the call at first base, which he has done in three consecutive games, instead of a more traditional power bat such as Luke Scott's or Ty Wigginton's.
"I think you need to have guys at the corners that hit for power, but I think right now we need a defender with the pitchers we are running out there," Trembley said. "I don't think right now we can afford to give runs away. I think you need a good defender, and I think [Aubrey] is a pretty good defender."
Aubrey, acquired by the Orioles from the Cleveland Indians for future considerations in June and promoted from Triple-A Norfolk in August, has started 10 games at first, more than any other current Oriole besides Wigginton.
That's no guarantee for 2010, however.
"I think any opportunity I get I am going to have to take advantage of," said Aubrey, who is hitting .313 with no homers and four RBIs in his first 48 at-bats for the Orioles. "I hope that he feels confident enough that he can put me in the lineup whenever he feels he needs to."
When Aubrey Huff was dealt to the Detroit Tigers in August, it created a void at first. At the time, Trembley said Scott, an outfielder throughout his pro career, would be tried there.
Scott, who has started eight games at first, has been back in left field more often now that left fielder Nolan Reimold is out for the season and Felix Pie has been moved to center field to replace Adam Jones.
Trembley said he doesn't consider the Scott experiment over, saying: "I still think you'll see Luke Scott play first base again."
But it's clear that the Orioles' first-base issue won't be solved this September.
Trembley said previously that he would like to have a big bat, preferably a right-handed one, hitting behind Nick Markakis in 2010. The optimal situation would be if that hitter played first base."I would say if you have the choice, you'd like to have a right-handed-hitting run producer at that position," Trembley said.
Markakis sits
For just the second time this season, Markakis was not in the starting lineup Tuesday. The right fielder is batting .117 (11-for-62) in his past 17 games with one extra-base hit and five RBIs."He's played an awful lot," Trembley said. "I have been trying to give him a day, and he has balked at it. He wants to be in there every day. He doesn't get caught up in the statistics and all that. He just wants to play, but I decided on the last homestand that today would be the day he didn't play."
The only other game he didn't start this season was June 21 in Philadelphia, and Markakis eventually entered in the late innings. That was a possibility again Tuesday, Trembley said, if he were needed to pinch hit in a key spot (he wasn't). It also would have given Markakis a shot to potentially play all 162 games this season - something Trembley called a "rarity."
"For whatever reason, I don't know what it is, but guys don't do that anymore," Trembley said. "They don't play every day. Markakis has told me over and over again, 'Hey, I am paid to play.' "
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