Brian Matusz, 2012 Topps Mini #84

If you need to know how far Brian Matusz has fallen, just look at yesterday's transactions. The Orioles traded the former number four overall draft pick to the last-place Braves along with a competitive balance draft pick, netting two minor league pitchers in return. Atlanta immediately designated Matusz for assignment, so they effectively paid the O's the $3 million left on the lefty's contract just to get the extra draft pick.

Brian has been something of a whipping boy for Baltimore fans, including yours truly. I may or may not have dubbed him "Sad Giraffe". But although he never lived up to his initial potential, Matusz did start off promisingly enough: 15-14 with a 4.37 ERA (97 ERA+) and 7.4 K/9 IP in 40 starts in 2009-10. Then, from late 2012 through 2015, he was a decent lefty specialist. Brian also famously held David Ortiz to four hits and one walk in 30 plate appearances, while striking him out 13 times, for a batting line of .138/.167/.241. But something about Matusz allowing 18 base runners in six innings across seven appearances this year caused Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette to lose faith in him, and now he's a free agent. Hopefully he lands on his feet elsewhere.

Brian Matusz, 2010 Upper Deck #5

It's time for a bit of the cutting-edge, insightful analysis that you've come to expect from this blog. Are you ready? Here goes:

Brian Matusz is...not very good.

Brian Matusz, 2011 Topps Allen and Ginter Mini #317

Apparently Brian Matusz is such a freaking sad sack that he can't even cheat successfully. The oft-snakebitten O's lefty was ejected in the 12th inning of a scoreless game between the Orioles and Marlins tonight after the umps determined that he had an illegal substance on his right arm. Buck Showalter was forced to bring in T. J. McFarland, who allowed a walkoff single to Martin Prado with the bases loaded and two outs an inning later, as the Birds wasted another gem of a start by Mike Wright and an impressive debut in relief by Navy's Oliver Drake (three scoreless innings with a putout at home plate of Adeiny Hechavarria as he tried to score on a pitch that bounced).

Incidentally, I'm sorry for my unannounced absence this week. Wednesday Janet and I flew down to Sarasota for her brother's wedding, and I was so busy prepping for the trip that I didn't get a chance to post on Tuesday. I'll just say that our stay in Florida was much more enjoyable than tonight's 13-inning shutout loss.

Brian Matusz, 2011 Topps Orioles Team Set #BAL3

Another Orioles FanFest is in the books, and it feels like we've passed an important signpost on the road to Opening Day. Even if temperatures are in the mid-twenties with swirling winds, there's just something energizing about walking through the Eutaw Street concourse, mingling with groups of fans decked out in orange and black, and exchanging a few pleasantries with players past and present. I usually take a pass on most of the memorabilia dealers that set up shop in the Baltimore Convention Center, because their prices are good for a laugh ($3 for an autographed 1990 Score Juan Bell card, for example!), but I did pick up three Jim Palmer oddball cards from the late '70s and early '80s for a total of five dollars. I'll share them soon enough, I assure you.

My sister and I also enjoy browsing the team-sponsored memorabilia sale, which we've dubbed the Orioles' yard sale. There's always a couple of long tables piled high with game-used jerseys from the regular season and spring training, and it's like visiting with the Ghost of Spring Training Past. Here are some of the high-numbered jerseys we found, worn by guys who never made it to Baltimore: Johan Santana, Johnny Monell, Edgmer Escalona, Kelvin de la Cruz...there was also a Willis Otanez jersey mixed in at random. We talked one another into buying orange spring training/batting practice jerseys of our respective sentimental favorites - #48 Joe Saunders for Liz, and #35 Danny Valencia for me. No regrets. We do have our limits, though; neither of us was willing to part with $50 for an empty champagne bottle from last season's locker room celebration. How about $20 for a champagne cork?

We ducked out at noon for lunch at Dempsey's, complete with a flight of their house brews. I still prefer their '83 Golden Ale and their Rain Delay IPA. We timed things well, arriving just before the rush. Then it was back to the Convention Center so I could get some autographs from the trio of Brian Matusz, Caleb Joseph, and Jim Palmer. I'll share the Joseph and Palmer cards next Friday, which will bring us another week closer to baseball.

Brian Matusz, 2012 Topps Heritage High Numbers #H579

Today I have the pleasure of wishing my favorite (and only) sister a very happy birthday. I mention her often on this blog, as we own a pair of season tickets on the 29-game plan, and thereby share in dozens of highs and lows throughout baseball season. My sister is a tad more superstitious than I am when it comes to the O's, though. For instance, she put her autographed Brian Matusz jersey in mothballs for quite awhile after becoming convinced that she was personally responsible for his disastrous 2011 season. Now that he's rebuilt some confidence with a strong season-plus of relief pitching, the jersey is safe to wear again. But she's still a little snakebit after Jim Johnson and Nate McLouth - both of whom signed t-shirts for her at fan events last year - left the Birds this past offseason. For the time being, she's sworn off any further autograph collecting for the greater good. She's nothing if not unselfish.

Brian Matusz, 2011 Bowman #28

Earlier today, I enjoyed one of the perks of being a partial season ticket holder with the Orioles. At 12:45 this afternoon, the team held autograph sessions throughout the ballpark before a 1:30 Q & A with Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette. I chose the autograph station outside of Section 85: Taylor Teagarden, Brian Matusz, and Chris Davis. I'll hold off on showing the Davis card for now, since he's hopefully got a lot of headlines left to make in 2013. Here's the card that Matusz signed for me; I'm sure he'd rather be starting than working out of the bullpen, but he's made the most of his role. He's allowed only 3 of 32 inherited runners to score this year, and has given up 29 hits in 36 innings. As for that signature, we can cut him a little slack; I was near the end of the line, and they were hurrying to ensure that everyone got through.

Brian Matusz, 2013 Topps Emerald Foil #217

I got an unexpected mailing from Max today, complete with the shiniest greeniest something I've ever seen. This is one of the 4,192 parallel inserts in 2013 Topps, and it features the Orioles' newest relief ace in a special camouflage jersey. Sure, Brian Matusz took a tough blown save yesterday against the A's, but he entered the game with the bases empty, ensuring that his season-spanning streak of stranding inherited base runners continues into another week. The lefty has prevented all 24 inherited runners from scoring since being switched to relief midseason last year. For his career, Brian has a 2.22 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, and 10.7 K/9 IP in 29 games as a reliever; in 68 big league starts, he has a 5.51 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and 7.1 K/9 IP. The O's may not have drafted Matusz fourth overall planning to use him as a high-leverage reliever, but it's better than being a bust. They're still getting some value out of the 2008 first-rounder, which is more than you can say about many of the top draft choices that preceded him in the organization.

Brian Matusz, 2012 Panini Triple Play #8

Here's another card from Night Owl. I love the Triple Play set, and only partially because they don't have an MLB license and I want to stick it to The Man. I also love the price point (a dollar per 7-card pack) and the creativity of the set. Going with player caricatures draws the attention to the artwork and away from the lack of team logos. Some of the player likenesses are pretty accurate. Others are just silly. Then there are player portraits like this one of Brian Matusz, which fall into the "so bad it's good" category. I would think that the young lefty would be easy to cartoonize, what with his perpetually pink cheeks, protruding ears, and his long, giraffe-like neck. You can see hints of a long neck in this doodle, but even that's obscured by the pitcher's glove. It goes downhill from there. The rain-thin Matusz is depicted as a moon-faced, squinting fellow with shocks of unruly black hair. Even when Brian experimented with a shaggier 'do in early 2011, his locks have always been a medium brown. The guy on this card looks more like Josh Beckett on a bender than Brian Matusz. But that's why I enjoy this card. It's so completely off the mark that it amuses me every time I look at it.

Brian Matusz, 2011 Bowman International Foil #28

The Orioles knocked quite a few items off of their checklist tonight. With a 7-1 victory over the Yankees, they finally got their first win against their division rivals after coming up empty four times to start the season (including two extra-innings losses and last night's one-run defeat). It was the 1,000th win of Buck Showalter's managerial career, and it came against the team that gave him his start. Nick Johnson finally got his first hit as an Oriole and his first in the majors in nearly two years, and made it an RBI double to boot. Chris Davis continued his hot streak with a 3-4 game; he hit his fifth home run, his seventh double, and scored thrice. Oh, and for good measure, Brian Matusz snapped his personal 12-decision losing streak.

Matusz's poor and injury-marred 2011 season was one of the most discouraging things I've witnessed as an Orioles fan. The lefty had been the most polished of the Birds' young arsenal of pitchers, and he raised expectations by finishing 2010 with a 7-1 record and a 2.18 ERA over the final two months. He didn't show up in top shape last spring, however, and missed all of April and May with a strained intercostal muscle in his ribcage. When he finally showed up in June, he was missing velocity, control, and confidence. His earned run average got higher with each progressive start but one, with a midsummer demotion to Norfolk offering no answers. Brian finished 1-9 with an unsightly 10.69 ERA in 12 starts, a record-setting mark for futility with such a high workload. He showed signs of life this spring, but it was the same old story once the games counted. Losses in each of his first 3 appearances, with 11 walks, 11 strikeouts, and 15 runs (13 earned) in 14.2 innings. He looked better in his last start this past Thursday in Toronto, clearing six innings with four hits and a couple of walks allowed, but an ill-timed error by Johnson at first base cost him a chance at his first win. But even moral victories count for something, right?

Tonight was the first of Brian's 2012 starts that I watched, and he looked strong. After giving up a first-inning solo homer to Curtis Granderson, he kept the Yankees off the scoreboard and waited on the run support that had eluded him in his first four outings. He induced a lot of weak contact in the form of pop-ups, and didn't walk a batter until tiring in the seventh inning. Perhaps most importantly, he kept his composure after consecutive one-out singles by Derek Jeter and Granderson in the third inning. Matusz retired Alex Rodriguez on a comebacker to the mound and got Oriole killer Robinson Cano to pop out to right-center field. The young pitcher's final line: 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 6.1 IP, and best of all, a W. It's too early to make definitive judgments, but Brian's earned run average has gotten progressively lower in each of his 2012 starts, and it's now 4.67. Last year it jumped to 5.11 in his third start (June 12) and never recovered.

Everything looks a little better after a big win.

Brian Matusz, 2010 Topps Update Series #US-185

Brian Matusz finished tied for fifth in the voting for 2010's American League Rookie of the Year, which was won by Rangers closer Neftali Feliz, who garnered attention with 40 saves, a 0.88 WHIP, and 71 strikeouts in 69.1 innings. Three players were named on each ballot, and Matusz received three third-place votes. With a quick glimpse at his numbers, which included a 10-12 record and a 4.30 ERA, you might assume that he was lucky to receive even that small amount of consideration. But a closer look suggests that he should have been a more serious contender.

First, consider the progress that Brian made as the season progressed. Like the team at large, the University of San Diego product got off to a poor start. When Buck Showalter arrived at the beginning of August, the lefty had a 3-11 record and a gruesome 5.46 ERA. Over the final two months of the season, Matusz rebounded and finished with a 7-1 mark and a 2.18 ERA. He will enter the 2011 season on a personal six-game win streak, and he failed to complete six innings in only one of his last 11 starts. If he had maintained that level of performance from April through September, he would have been a slam-dunk for Rookie of the Year.

Of course, you can't just throw out those first two-thirds of the year. But even taking Matusz's rocky beginnings into account, he stacks up pretty well. He led Orioles starters in strikeouts (143), and his total of 3.1 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) was best among all vote-getting A.L. rookies. His stats were practically in a dead heat with the Rays' Wade Davis, the fourth-place finisher and the only other starter to receive votes (12-10, 4.07 ERA, 113 K).

Orioles fans are getting used to droughts, and Brian Matusz's fifth-place finish means that the Birds still haven't had a Rookie of the Year winner since Gregg Olson in 1989. I suppose we'll have to settle for the 2011 Cy Young Award.