Jose Mesa, 1992 Fleer Ultra #305

In my first blog post of the year, I may have been a little harsh in my criticisms of the Orioles' somnolent winter. After all, Dan Duquette claimed not one, not two, but three pitchers in the major league phase of the Rule 5 Draft last month. It's been a running joke for a while now that the O's top front office exec treats this draft like his own personal Christmas; after all, he acquired eight players total in his previous six go-rounds. Many of them have been shoehorned onto the team's roster the next season (Ryan Flaherty, T. J. McFarland, Jason Garcia, Joey Rickard, Anthony Santander). But to draft three guys in one fell swoop? That makes it seem like Dan is actively trolling the die-hards among us. The three 2018 hopefuls are 23-year-old lefty Nestor Cortes, 24-year-old righty Pedro Araujo, and 24-year-old righty Jose Mesa, Jr.

Yes, that's right. The Birds are going to take a long look at the son of the 19-year big league veteran who got his start in Baltimore. The elder Mesa didn't do so well in parts of four seasons here, posting a 13-24 record with a 5.41 ERA in 47 starts (and two relief appearances). He walked 131 men and struck out only 127 in 269.1 innings, and in 1992 the O's traded him to Cleveland for a AA outfielder. Two seasons later, the Indians had the good sense to move Jose to the bullpen, and he never looked back. Junior was a 24th-round draft pick of the Yankees in 2012, and has pitched to a 2.86 ERA in four minor league seasons. He's topped out at AA so far, where he allowed three runs in 34.1 innings for Trenton last year. He's whiffed 226 batters in 176 pro innings, a rate of 11.6 per nine IP. It still seems like Jose is a long shot to make (and stick with) the Orioles this season. Nestor Cortes is getting most of the buzz, on account of being a southpaw and having had AAA exposure, but we all know that the O's aren't exactly bubbling over with pitching depth...

Jose Mesa, 1988 Donruss #601

I'm so impatient for baseball to come back that I'm looking for an angle in the upcoming Super Bowl. As you know by now (if you even remotely care), the Seattle Seahawks will be meeting the Denver Broncos two weeks from tonight in the NFL's championship game. Out of curiosity, I asked Baseball Reference how many players had suited up for the Orioles as well as the Colorado Rockies and the Seattle Mariners. There have been a grand total of six, and they're not the brightest stars in the O's galaxy: Eric Byrnes, Jack Cust, Jeff Manto, Jose Mesa, Kevin Millwood, and Jamie Moyer. The Jose Mesa Bowl doesn't exactly have a magical ring to it, huh?

Jose Mesa, 1991 Bowman #91

It's Hall of Fame ballot day! There are a whopping 37 players vying for enshrinement in Cooperstown in 2013, including 24 first-time nominees. Nine, count 'em, nine, former Orioles will be on this year's ballot. The holdovers are Rafael Palmeiro, Tim Raines, Sr., Lee Smith, Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa, and David Wells. The newcomers are Jeff Conine, Steve Finley, and Jose Mesa.

Yep, Jose Mesa.

Good ol' Joe Table might not be the worst player on the ballot (Todd Walker?), but it's tough to make a case for a guy with a 4.36 ERA just because he hung around long enough with enough good teams to rack up 321 saves. Naturally, Mesa will probably be one of several one-and-done players, dropping off the crowded ballot after receiving little to no consideration. But it tickled me to see his name juxtaposed with Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mike Piazza, and the like.

As for the louder-than-ever Big Bad Steroids debate, my views line up pretty closely with Craig Calcaterra's. It's odd that baseball writers have suddenly decided to become morality police. I hope common sense prevails in this year's vote, but I will not hold my breath.

Jose Mesa, 1992 Topps #310

Okay, here's a question for you longtime Oriole fans. Was Jose Mesa really this ugly? By the time I became a fan, "Joe Table" was a Cleveland Indian, and thankfully he had dropped the Stoney Jackson look somewhere along the way. I also didn't remember him being quite so doughy, but maybe this photo is just taken at a bad angle. All I know is that I wouldn't exactly be filled with confidence if a guy took the mound for my team looking like that. He's a far cry from Al Hrabosky when it comes to projecting an intimidating figure.

Jose Mesa, 1991 Donruss #765

This week's reader request comes from William, whose stated reason was "just sayin'". That's not actually a reason at all, so I'll try to do some legwork and figure out why he wanted to see this card today. Is it because Tuesday was the 13th anniversary of Jose's blown save that cost the Indians the World Series? Perhaps. Is it because his 321 career saves are 13th all-time and are a record among Dominican-born major leaguers? Maybe. Is it because this photo affords an excellent view of Mesa's surprisingly well-toned glutes? I would never make such a baseless accusation. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Jose Mesa, 1992 Fleer #17

I am a man of many interests, tastes, and humors. I'm also probably misusing the word "humors". Let me go check...

Nope, I'm good. Anyway, a couple of things that I always appreciate are good baseball nicknames and amusing Spanish-to-English translations. For these reasons, I'm sharing Jose Mesa, his ridiculously long legs, and the odd combination of metallic green gradients and ochre (not orange) block lettering. The literal translation of his name is "Joe Table". Seriously, that's pretty apt if you break down his career, particularly his early years as an Oriole. In parts of four seasons (1987, 1990-1992) in Baltimore, he went 13-24 with a 5.45 ERA. It's safe to say that "Joe" was setting the table for opposing hitters. Sure, he eventually switched to the bullpen in Cleveland and went on to pitch for two decades, accumulating 321 saves. But his 4.36 ERA and 1.47 WHIP would have been much too high for my blood pressure.

Others on the All-Translation Team would include Pedro Feliz (a.k.a. "Peter Happy") and Guillermo Mota ("Willie Speck"). Can you think of any others?