The Orioles hired Jeff Datz as their new bench coach. I guess we'll be hearing a lot of "Dtaz" jokes next year as in "Datz all folks" or "Datz the way the cookie crumbles" or ..... He's been in baseball 29 years in one form or another. As for the Roster moves, they outrighted Fiorentio, Lambert, Miller, Rodrieguez and lost Sean Henn to a waiver claim by the Jays. Oh, in case anyone is interested, they declined the options on Mora and Moeller.

so they lose Henn and have to give the Twins a player for him as a result of the trade that's a really bad deal then, do u what kind of waiver deal it was, do the O's have 7 days to match it or can they get compensation from the Jays for him.

I may be wrong, but I think these waivers are irrevocable. I'll do some checking unless someone else can chime in.

EDIT:

Irrevocable Outright Waivers
A club that wishes to remove a player from its 40-man roster but keep him in its minor-league system must first place him on outright or special waivers. Outright waivers are not revocable, so a player claimed on outright waivers may not be pulled back by his original club. A club may not request outright waivers on a player with a complete no-trade clause or on a player ten-and-five rights.

Through 2006, outright waivers secured between September 1 and 30th day of the next season were known as Special Waivers. The owners and players eliminated Special Waivers in the 2007-2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Given Henn's performance, I doubt we give up any player for him and it will likely be cash (which could be as little as a $50 dinner).

Little bit surprised to see Miller outrighted.

I'm a little bit surprised he wasn't claimed.

there is a fire datz website. so this is a pretty normal pickup by the Os

"so they lose Henn and have to give the Twins a player for him as a result of the trade that's a really bad deal then"

Probably just cash.

I'm disapointed we lost Chad Moeller and I don't understand that move at all. He is a smart player with solid defense and respectable hitting ability and he costs next to nothing. Moeller was the best backup catcher option we had in this organization so now we're going to have to call-up someone who will probably struggle to bat over .200 or sign a free agent catcher.

Here are the free agent catchers:

Eliezer Alfonzo (31)
Brad Ausmus (41)
Paul Bako (38)
Rod Barajas (34) - Type B
Josh Bard (32)
Michael Barrett (33) - club option
Henry Blanco (38)
Ramon Castro (34)
Chris Coste (37)
Sal Fasano (38)
Toby Hall (34)
Michel Hernandez (31)
Ramon Hernandez (34) - $8.5MM club option with a $1MM buyout - Type B
Jason Kendall (36) - Type B
Jason LaRue (36)
Victor Martinez (31) - $7.7MM club option with a $250K buyout - Type A
Chad Moeller (35)
Bengie Molina (35) - Type A
Jose Molina (35)
Miguel Olivo (31) - $3.25MM mutual option - Type B
Mike Redmond (39)
Ivan Rodriguez (38) - Type B
Brian Schneider (33)
Yorvit Torrealba (31) - $4MM mutual option with a $500K buyout - Type B
Javier Valentin (34)
Jason Varitek (38) - $5MM club/$3MM player option plus incentives - Type B
Vance Wilson (37)
Gregg Zaun (39) - $2MM club option with a $500K buyout; Zaun can void option

As far as Jeff Datz goes, I've never heard of him but I hope he can make a positive impact on this club.

"I'm disapointed we lost Chad Moeller and I don't understand that move at all."

It's worth the risk that he'll sign elsewhere. He's not that valuable of a player and at this point (he's a good defensive catcher who couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, we could find another one if we needed to), and we need the extra spot on the 40-man roster to protect guys from the Rule 5 draft. I'm quite sure if he's still a free agent at the beginning of spring training (as he was this past year and likely will be again), he'll get an invitation to camp and an opportunity to win the backup catcher job (absent any younger, defense-first catcher options availing themselves, he likely would be the favorite for the job). It's a roster thing, it's nothing personal about Moeller.

Likely, you can add Moeller to your list of free agent catchers here... and likely we won't sign one until after spring training begins.

"he's a good defensive catcher who couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat"

I'm not going crazy over this but Chad Moeller did have a .751 OPS which was higher than Mora, Wigginton, Izturis, and just two points fewers than Wieters. Either way Moeller may be with the Orioles again next season, and even if he doesn't it won't make or break this team.

Career .639 OPS dude. He had 89 irregular at-bats that are grossly out of line with his career numbers... he had a pretty good year (probably a career year for him, actually), and he wasn't terribly productive because he had just 89 at-bats - if he had more at-bats, the chances are pretty good that the .751 OPS number on which you're hanging your argument would have come down closer to his .639 career number. He's a 34 y/o backup catcher who had a .313 OBP for us last year, which actually is significantly higher than his career OBP. I'm sticking with "couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat," and I'm fine with that. I think he's a smart player and a capable backup catcher, but let's be abundantly clear that he's not a .751 OPS guy.

I'm a bit surprised to see Miller turned loose. I thought he was definitely someone worth keeping. I wonder if it might be an injury thing or something b/c surprisingly he was one of the pitchers that I think we all expected to get called up on Sept 1st but never did. Must be something to it b/c his numbers were good enough that I thought he should have been retained.

Chad Moeller is no big loss. The roster spot is much more valuable then to worry about an aging backup catcher.

I wonder what the Jays see in Henn.

They still have Miller, he's just not on the 40 man anymore. Back-up catchers are readily available come ST time, so like you say... no biggie. Supposedly there will be more 40 man moves coming by the first of the week.

"They still have Miller, he's just not on the 40 man anymore."

Yeah but to be "outrighted" don't you have to be released or clear waivers.

Yeah, I think so. Even if he's still under team control (meaning he clears and is assigned to Norfolk), he'll still be subject to the Rule-5 draft and his numbers last year at Norfolk (1.07 whip, 10.6 k/9 to 3.0 bb/9 - way down from previous years), it seems to me he's kind of a no-brainer to claim. He's mlb-ready as a middle reliever, he just needs innings. With our bullpen being kind of a debacle for the past two years, it just seems like a really curious decision to effectively dump one of our better relief pitching prospects and a guy who is MLB-ready with nothing left to prove in the minor leagues.

Any notion as to why he didn't get a call on Sept 1st. Seems a bit odd to say the least.

None. That would seem to lend some credence to the injury theory though.

Yeah that's what I was thinking but I've looked and can't find anything that would back it up so who knows.

Three more roster moves from Roch's Blog

By Roch Kubatko on October 30, 2009 4:25 PM
The Orioles have outrighted pitchers Rich Hill, Bob McCrory and Alfredo Simon to Triple-A Norfolk, removing them from the 40-man roster.

All three pitchers cleared waivers. Hill and Simon were reinstated from the 60-day disabled list. McCrory recently underwent surgery on his right shoulder.

Hill, 29, was 3-3 with a 7.80 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) after being acquired from the Chicago Cubs. He endured two stints on the disabled list - March 29 to May 16 with a strained left elbow and July 29 through the end of the season with left shoulder inflammation. Hill had surgery on Aug. 7 to repair a torn labrum.

It's possible that Hill could refuse the assignment and elect to become a free agent.

Simon, 28, was 0-1 with a 9.95 ERA in two starts covering 6 1/3 innings before undergoing ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow on May 5.

McCrory, 27, registered a 17.18 ERA in 7 1/3 innings over two stints with the Orioles. He was shut down on Sept. 21 because of a torn labrum.