Rule 5 pitchers facing uphill battle
Sceroler, Wells trying to make an impression
Every addition the Orioles make to their pitching staff this spring in the form of veterans on minorleague contracts makes things harder for two of the first pitchers they added to their spring training mix — Rule 5 draft picks Mac Sceroler and Tyler Wells.
Those two were plucked from the fringes of the Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins organizations, respectively, and need to be kept on the active roster for the entire season for the Orioles to keep them.
That’s a tall task in normal circumstances, and even more so when the Orioles could have to add Félix Hernández, Matt Harvey and Wade LeBlanc to the roster for Opening Day and are limited in terms of bullpen flexibility.
All these two newcomers can do is pitch well in the chances they get. Early in camp this week in Sarasota, Florida, manager Brandon Hyde said they’ve done just that.
“I like their arms,” Hyde said. “They’re big, physical guys.
“Wells is a big boy. It’s downhill, it’s every bit of [6-foot-6], big body, with a great arm. We’re going to
WOMEN’S COLLEGE LACROSSE take a long look at him. Sceroler is a guy, he’s bigger in person to me than I saw on film in a good way. I actually talked to [Sceroler’s uncle Ben McDonald, a former Orioles pitcher and current broadcaster] about him a couple nights ago.
“I watched his bullpen and gave Ben a little bit of an update. I really like his arm. Also, his pitching mix. He’s going to be a strike-thrower.”
Sceroler, the Orioles’ first of the two picks, had a good season in 2019 with High-A Daytona in the Reds organization, striking out 127 batters with a 1.11 WHIP in 117 innings. Wells missed all of 2019 with Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery but had a 1.09
WHIP and struck out 10.1 batters per nine innings in two-plus seasons before that.
Neither got much organized baseball in 2020 without the minor-league season, though Wells would have likely been rehabilitating for the most part anyway.
That means that even with a normal offseason, an intensity will be expected of them this spring that they haven’t had to hit in a while. In addition to the non-roster options, they’re in the mix with returning arms like Bruce Zimmermann and Thomas Eshelman as swingman options for the Orioles out of camp who can start or relieve.
While shortstop Richie Martin and utility man Joey Rickard spent the entire year in the majors with the Orioles as recent Rule 5 picks who stuck, it’s more difficult for a pitcher to make that jump. The Orioles have tried and struggled to keep pitchers Jason Garcia, Nestor Cortes Jr. and Pedro Araujo in recent seasons.
Last year, the Orioles’ knowledge that they had minor-league invitees they’d need to add to the roster in LeBlanc and Tommy Milone meant that team returned Rule 5 pitchers Brandon Bailey and Michael Rucker midway through camp. Rucker, especially, had pitched well to that point in camp. And in hindsight, the shutdown coming just days after they were sent back to their original clubs meant if the Orioles had held out they could have maybe kept them in the system with expanded rosters in 2020.
All that means for this year’s crew is if they’re going to make an impressive, they’d better do it quickly. Before long, Hyde will want to use what could be scarce spring innings to ensure there’s enough built-up pitchers to get through the early portion of the regular season.
“It’s two really interesting arms that we’re going to get a long look at this spring,” Hyde said.
Rats and mice are mammals, which means they like to find cozy warm places to build their nests and birth and raise their young. They usually create comfortable burrows outdoors, but sometimes environmental factors drive them to find solace in warmer areas. Your home makes an attractive residence if they can get in, and they’re likely to prefer it as a permanent home if they can.
The best way to deal with rodent problems is to prevent them from ever getting inside in the first place. However, that can be easier said than done. Rats and mice possess flexible bone structures that allow them to squeeze into incredibly small cracks and crevices. Rats can maneuver through a hole the size of a quarter, and mice can often get through holes no wider than a pencil! Pipes, power outlets, garage doors, foundation cracks, siding and roofing all offer ideal entry spaces for pests.
Carefully inspect your exterior, fill cracks and plug up openings as tightly as possible.
You can also head off furry visitors by carefully protecting your food supply and waste. Mice will try to get into boxes of food such as cereal and rice, while rats will gravitate toward trash. You can minimize this by not leaving food out in the open, and storing food in glass or metal jars rather than cardboard or plastic boxes. Take trash out promptly and make sure the lid on the can is secured.
Once rodents get in, though, you’ll need professional help to get rid of them. Pest control companies will begin to address your infestation by finding and sealing all entry points. They’ll also try to figure out where rats are coming from, as infestations often begin in a main lair outdoors or in sewer systems. Most pest control companies deal with rodents using old-school methods: baits, traps and exclusion. Fumigation is an extreme step and should only be tried as a last resort.
You can also take some DIY steps to drive away rats and mice. Cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil, castor oil or citronella oil will irritate their sensitive noses and cause them to seek food and shelter elsewhere.
Take great caution with over-the-counter solutions. Many rodenticides contain chemicals dangerous to mammals, which means they can harm people or pets. In some cases, if a cat eats a mouse that has been poisoned, it will hurt the cat. You can use a variety of trap options. Spring traps are environmentally friendly and provide a humane death for rodents. Glue traps are effective, but offer a slow and painful death. You can also try live traps, but check them frequently to avoid starving any trapped rodents.
Expect to pay between $200 and $600 for a rodent removal job. An extensive infestation that requires multiple visits will be more expensive, possibly more than $1,000.
“Possession is ninetenths of the law. Possessio is nine-tenths of the word.”
— graffiti
“Card reading” — discerning what your opponents hold by drawing inferences from the bidding, opening lead and play — is alleged to be the domain of the expert. In truth, the process can be simple in principle, often amounting only to counting to 13. But you must be in possession of the relevant facts.
In today’s deal, South opened one diamond after three passes and leaped to five diamonds, reasonably enough, when North raised. West led the queen of spades, and South took dummy’s ace and tried a heart finesse with his queen. West won and continued with the jack of spades.
South ruffed, led a trump to dummy and returned a club. When East played low, South agonized and played ... the ten. West took the queen and returned a club to East’s ace for down one.
South would, or should, make his contract if he possessed all the facts. After he ruffs the second spade, he can dig for information. He takes the ace of hearts, ruffs a heart high in dummy and ruffs the last spade. He draws trumps with the ace, ruffs his last heart in dummy and leads a club. East plays low.
At that point, South knows that West had K-J-5-4 in hearts, probably Q-J-10-x in spades and a singleton diamond. Suppose West’s clubs were A-9-7-4. Then some aggressive Wests might have opened the bidding, but every West would have doubled South’s one diamond for takeout as a passed hand, not vulnerable.
South should put up his king of clubs, placing East with the ace.
West dealer N-S vulnerable
Opening lead — Q