Baltimore Orioles: Calm before the storm

One might argue that today’s the final day of the off season for the Baltimore Orioles. I wouldn’t go quite that far. However it is the last day before we start getting real Orioles’ news coming out of camp.

This because pitcher’s and catchers report tomorrow. Again, one of the best phrases that can be uttered in the English language. It means that baseball season is in the process of beginning. And it means that once again, hope springs anew and eternal.

It’ll be interesting to see what the early camp battles are this year, and how things fall at the end. Many of the players are already at the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota, but tomorrow is the date that they’re required there – pitchers, catchers, and injured players.

All roster players and invites will have to report by early next week, and Grapefruit League play begins next Saturday (February 22nd). I’ll only mention this about 100 more times before the midway point of camp, but just keep in mind that the pitchers will be ahead of the hitters for the first half of camp. This because they’ve been there working out for an extra week.

Furthermore, the spring games are supposed to help coaches decides who’s on the team, and for regular players to get their timing back. So if you see guys flailing at balls and so forth, that’s the reason why. These games are designed to help them get that out of their system.