|
Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (pictured) was on his way to his second strong performance in a row when he grabbed at his side and exited Sunday's game with a right oblique strain. That's very bad news for a team that already has called on four Triple-A starters to fill in the fifth slot in the rotation and replace injured Miguel Gonzalez. It was a tough week already, after so-so outings by Jason Hammel, Freddy Garcia and Steve Johnson, and that was reflected in the combined numbers. The rotation posted a 2-2 record with a 6.03 ERA and averaged just five innings per start. Even though the team managed to go 4-2 in those games, this is starting to get scary.
Grade: D (Hannah Foslien / Getty Images /May 12, 2013)
Former Orioles outfielder Jai Miller had committed to play college football at Stanford coming out of high school, but instead he chose to follow a dream to play professional baseball.
Now, at age 27, Miller is going to give college football another chance with one of the nation’s top programs.
Miller, who spent last season in the Orioles’ minor league system with Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie, has reportedly enrolled at Alabama for the spring semester and intends to join the football team there, according to a report from BamaOnline.
Alabama is playing for its third national title in four seasons in Monday night’s BCS National Championship game against Notre Dame in South Florida.
According to BamaOnline, Miller’s brother-in-law Matthew Elliott said Miller, who will likely play safety, spoke with Alabama coach Nick Saban about joining the team several weeks ago.
The Orioles were Miller’s fourth major league organization in as many years. Executive vice president Dan Duquette acquired Miller from Oakland last offseason for cash considerations last offseason and he competed for a fourth outfielder spot last spring.
Duquette liked Miller’s ability to play all three positions. His speed and blossoming power numbers – he hit 32 homers in Triple-A in 2011 – stood out, and Miller opened spring training strong (his 10 RBIs were second on the team). But his high strikeout totals plagued him and he was optioned to Triple-A to begin the season.
Miller struggled at Norfolk, eventually being demoted to Double-A Bowie before rejoining the Tides late in the season. On the season, Miller hit .196/.299/.365 with 12 homers, 38 RBIs and 159 strikeouts in 312 at bats.
Miller, a Selma, Ala, native, overcame watching his mother and grandmother die in a car accident at the age of 13 to become a top three-sport athlete (Read more on that HERE). He was a fourth-round pick of the Marlins in 2003.
