Author Archives: Domenic Vadala

Welcome to Birdland Crush! Yes folks, for the record it's a spin off of the popular summer beverage native to the Mid-Atlantic Region - "orange crush." Nevertheless, I've been covering Orioles' baseball since 2009 in some capacity, and it's basically the greatest gig of all time so far as I'm concerned! But for those who aren't familiar with my work or bio, I'm familiar with pretty much every sport out there. But baseball is king - we all know that. So my hope is that you come back and check in after every Orioles' game, and throughout the off-season. I'm always on duty!

Baltimore Orioles fall to Tampa despite a Chris Davis homer

The Baltimore Orioles sent John Means to the mound this afternoon against Tampa for his maiden voyage this spring. He was slated to go two innings, but came out early due to a high pitch count. However it was a typical start against the Tampa Rays. Among other things, Means surrendered a wind-aided triple, an infield hit, and a “normal” single. Means’ line: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

Tampa’s notorious for getting guys on base however they can. Sometimes in unorthodox manners. But they get on base. And they get runners in. Following the aforementioned wind-aided triple in the second, Robertson’s RBI-single gave them a 1-0 lead. Brousseau’s RBI-single later in the inning extended the lead to 2-0.

Means was upbeat after coming out, saying that he felt good. In fact, he said he felt “better” than giving up two runs (which came as a result of some wind-aided hits):

In spring training you’re not too worried about results. You’re really just worried about how you feel, how the ball’s coming out, how the hitters are reacting. And I honestly felt really good. I felt like the fastball was there, changeup was there, curveball was there. So yeah, I definitely felt a lot better than the two runs.

Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports

Following a ground-rule double in the fourth, Cozens’ RBI-single gave Tampa a 3-0 lead. Again, this is how they do things. They just keep adding on runs. Their runs usually don’t come in buckets, but it’s one here and one there. Today however, they did have a big inning.

And that process continued. Tampa loaded the bases later in that fourth inning, and Lowe cleared them with a wind-aided bases-clearing double. He would later score when Renato Nunez (who got a rare assignment in the first) botched a throw, committing an error. But that error allowed another Tampa score, and the Birds trailed 7-0.

But there was one bright spot for the O’s this afternoon. Chris Davis smacked a solo homer the opposite way in the last of the fourth, cutting the Tampa lead to 7-1. Tampa would immediately come back in the fifth with an RBI-single by Zunino, but I digress. The fact that Chris Davis is homering this early in the spring is a really good sign for the O’s.

Davis put on about 25 lbs in the off season, and he seems to think that as a result he might faire better this year. Going oppo-boppo in his second spring game is a good start to that. He’s also drawn a few walks, which shows he’s working the count.

It’s also worth mentioning regarding Oriole bats…like all team’s they’re behind the pitching. Position players only reported last Monday, so they’re about a week behind the pitchers (and catchers). It’s always worth remembering that in some of these early spring games.

Tampa would tack on several other runs in the later innings, including a three-run homer by Perez. They ended up beating the Orioles 15-2 on the afternoon. (Rylan Bannon homered for the O’s in the last of the eighth.) One of the differences between Tampa and the Orioles is that Tampa has better pitching – top to bottom. However offensively they also take advantage of EVERYTHING that comes their way. If you slip up in some way by leaving a ball up in the zone or something along those lines, their next guy up is ready to make you pay. And again, that’s true top to bottom of their organization.

Blowout losses must have been contagious throughout the organization today, as the Orioles’ B Team seemingly suffered the same fate down at Jet Blue Park against Boston in Fort Myers. The split squad O’s fell to Boston, 12-4. As the saying goes, some days you’re the bug.

The Orioles will remain in Sarasota tomorrow as the Atlanta Braves come to town. Baltimore native Bruce Zimmerman (a non-roster invite to camp) gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Atlanta’s Sean Newcomb. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles battle back, but fall in the ninth

Alex Cobb made his maiden start of the spring for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon in Clearwater against Philadelphia. However his day was cut short after a lone inning – due apparently to Cobb not feeling well. Cobb had apparently been dealing with flu-like symptoms the past couple of days, and was only able to pitch one inning. Cobb’s line: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.

After his short outing Cobb seemed semi-content with the preparation he had put in, and with what he got out of the start:

I told you I wasn’t feeling that good, so just feel dehydrated and dizzy. So, figure it was stupid to keep pitching and risk anything. I just didn’t feel very good today. I put a lot of work into getting ready for the game and got a lot of information in the game. So there is a lot to build off there.”

Quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports

I suppose I would question why Cobb was starting to begin with given that. Flu and other illnesses can spread like wildfire through an MLB clubhouse. Especially for whatever reason during the spring. Now Cobb did look fairly crisp through that one inning, however it might have been advisable for him to stay home until he feels right.

David Hess followed Cobb to the mound, and shut Philadelphia down. The Orioles’ issues started when some of the young minor leaguers got into the game. Mahtook smacked a three-run homer in the fourth, giving Philadelphia a 3-0 lead. The O’s would battle back two innings later in the sixth, with Anthony Santander smacking an RBI-single to get the O’s on the board.

However it was the last of the sixth that really put the Birds in a hole. Williams and Forsythe smacked back-to-back home runs, and Maton a two-run shot. Again, keep in mind that the people in the game at this stage were minor leaguers. The majority of them won’t be seeing time in the majors this year. But these spring outings are good for them to help them to get ready for when they are in the big leagues.

Pat Valaika and Richie Martin each smacked solo homers in the seventh inning (back-to-back), bringing the Birds to within 7-3. The game appeared to be drawing to a conclusion. But the Orioles had other ideas.

Jose Rondon smacked a two-RBI double, bringing the O’s to within 7-5. Ryan McKenna would reach on a throwing error, allowing another run to score and bringing the O’s to within one at 7-6. Malquin Canelo would later double home the tying run, knotting the game at seven. You have to appreciate the effort on the part of the youngsters in the game at that stage. It shows a lot of fight, and it shows what the organization is all about.

Unfortunately however, a win wasn’t to be in this one. A throwing error (E3) in the last of the ninth allowed Philadelphia to go home with a walk off win. However you have to tip your cap to the young Orioles out there this afternoon. They battled, and that’s what you want to see.

Manager Brandon Hyde also addressed the play of first baseman Chris Davis yesterday against Boston, and he appeared upbeat regarding Davis:

I liked all three at-bats. First at-bat I was excited about. Couple of runners on, nobody out. Gets behind on the count. Fouls a couple of pitches off, takes a couple of tough ones and works a walk. Great at-bat. I liked the left-on-left too. Stays in there, stayed closed. Used the whole field and punches one to left off a left-hander. Thought it was a really good Day One for him, took three good at-bats.

Quote Courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports

Tomorrow the Orioles head into a split squad game, with the “A team” staying at home and playing Tampa at Ed Smith Stadium, and the “B team” heading to Jet Blue Park to take on Boston. We’ll primarily cover the home game tomorrow; John Means gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Charlie Morton. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles in the spring training WIN COLUMN!

Wade LeBlanc got the start for the Baltimore Orioles on spring opening day in Sarasota. Keep in kind, these outings are short and are often tough to judge in the spring. But LeBlanc looked crisp – very crisp. That’s a good sign. LeBlanc’s line: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

LeBlanc retired the first two Boston hitters on three pitches. Both grounded out to first base. Offensively, it appeared that the Orioles might struggle. After being shutout yesterday, the O’s loaded the bases in the last of the first. However Boston pitched out of the jam, inducing a 1-2-3 double-play.

However that bit about the Orioles loading the bases – that was a harbinger for things to come. Stevie Wilkerson‘s RBI-groundout, giving them Orioles a 1-0 lead in the second. For what it’s worth, that was the Orioles’ first run of the spring. It was also their first unofficial lead of 2020.

One inning later the O’s had something cooking once again. Dwight Smith Jr.‘s RBI-single extended the lead to 2-0. An inning later, Rio Ruiz added a sac fly-RBI, extending the lead to 3-0. Boston would attempt to chip away in the fourth with a lone RBI-ground out in the fourth.

However the O’s kept at it. Cedric Mullins smacked a two-RBI single in the fifth to extend the Birds’ lead to 5-1. Mullins you’ll remember was meant to be the new team leader last season, but ended up being sent back to the minors. He could afford to have a breakout spring this year. Once on base he immediately swiped second, so that was good to see. He has speed, but he struggled to get on base to be able to use that speed last year. Maybe this time around it’ll be different.

Rylan Bannon‘s sixth inning two-RBI double ran the score to 7-1, and Bryan Holladay added the Orioles’ first homer of the spring in the seventh to it to 8-1. They’d also add a ninth run when yet another guy scored on a pass ball in the seventh. Mason Williams‘ seventh inning RBI-double ran it to 10-1. The O’s would net an eleventh run on a pass ball, and Boston would tack four on in the ninth (including a two-run homer) to close out an 11-5 Orioles’ victory.

The O’s were able to plate runs once guys got on base today. That was an issue all of last year. And even just a smidge today when they left the bases loaded early. But for the most part they were able to get guys in today, defeating Boston and winning their Sarasota home opener.

The Orioles head to Spectrum Park in Clearwater tomorrow to take on the Philadelphia Phillies. Alex Cobb gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Philadelphia’s Vince Velasquez. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall to Atlanta in spring opener

As we go along in these spring games, keep in mind that the Baltimore Orioles (and other teams) don’t usually bring their starting players on the road. So this afternoon’s 5- loss to Atlanta, and starter Chandler Shepherd’s outing, could look deceiving. Shepherd’s line: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 0 K.

After his outing Shepherd acknowledged that he has an opportunity to compete for a starting job, and needs to take advantage of it better than he did today (Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Obviously there’s a lot of names in that lineup that I’ve been watching on TV for a long time. Yeah, it was super cool, but at the end of the day I just had to go out and focus on what I was working on in my game. It’s cool to get that opportunity, but I’ve got to go out and take advantage of my outings.

Shepherd loaded the bases in the last of the first right off the bat. Duvall’s RBI-single Gabe Atlanta a 1-0 lead. Atlanta would also add two sac fly-RBI later in the inning, running the score to 3-0. Again, not the start Shepherd wanted. But he was slated for two innings this afternoon, and he pitched two innings. If there’s a silver lining it would be that they didn’t have to pull him prior to then.

Ty Blach followed Shepherd into the game, and provided a much better result. He gave up a run in the third when Duvall grounded into a double-play with the bases loaded. You don’t want to surrender runs, however you’ll take that all day long. Especially in spring training, it’s good to see guys live to fight another day by getting out of a jam. Remember folks, it’s not about wins and losses. Especially in the road games.

Atlanta would add an additional run on a sac fly-RBI in the last of the fifth, sending the Birds down to defeat, 5-0. Keep in mind however that while Shepherd’s shaky outing set the tone, there are two coins to every game. When you don’t score any runs you can’t win. The Orioles can take solace in the fact that often times Atlanta hitters got on base via softly-hit bloopers, but they still got on base.

The O’s will host their “spring home opener” tomorrow afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium as the Boston Red Sox come to town. Wade LeBlanc gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Mike Cazza. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles open Grapefruit League play

It all starts this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles. Today they’ll travel to the other side of Sarasota County to take on the Atlanta Braves. For what it’s worth, Atlanta opened CoolToday Park in Southern Sarasota County late last spring. They played one spring game there last season. This is their first full year training there.

We probably aren’t going to learn too much from this game, as I suspect most of the “regular players” will remain behind in Sarasota. We’ll probably see them tomorrow against Boston. But we’ll begin to see what could be in the future.

But whatever 2020 holds in store for the Birds, it unofficially begins today. Baseball will be played, and a team with BALTIMORE across their chests will be on the field. All is thus right with the world.

As I said, the O’s will begin the spring this afternoon with a visit to CoolToday Park. Chandler Shepherd gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Atlanta’s Felix Hernandez. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles add exhibition game at the Naval Academy

The Baltimore Orioles announced yesterday that they’ve added an exhibition game to the end of the schedule. They’re slated to play the NY Mets on Tuesday, March 26th at 2 PM. The game will be held at the Naval Academy, and by broadcast on the Orioles Radio Network.

The Birds will play the NY Mets the day prior as well in their Sarasota finale. This game will count towards the Grapefruit League “standings” – for what that’s worth. The O’s open the season two days later on March 26th against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Two years ago the Washington Nationals “hosted” a final exhibition game against Boston at the Naval Academy. The Orioles stepped in however and ensured that they would be the only team allowed to do so again, as Anne Arundel County is located within Baltimore’s television market. The Birds did some outreach last year at the Naval Academy prior to the regular season starting, and now this.

The Orioles also announced that Chandler Shepherd will get the start in tomorrow’s exhibition opener at Atlanta. I have to admit, I didn’t see that one coming. Shepherd ironically started the regular season finale last year against Boston at Fenway Park. He’s only expected to pitch a couple of innings tomorrow, but he gets the start. Still no word on who starts Sunday at home against Boston.

Baltimore Orioles: How crisis’ are handled does matter

Along with the rest of MLB, the Baltimore Orioles have to be looking towards West Palm Beach where the Houston Astros train while shaking their heads. Not only because of what they were doing in terms of the cheating scandal. But how they’ve handled it since the news of it brok. How one handles a situation can often begin to take on a life all of it’s own in cases like this. Needless to say with Houston, that’s what’s happening.

First off, when Houston won the 2017 World Series there’s not a fan across baseball that wasn’t happy for them. They had rebuilt their organization from the ground up. It appeared they had done it the right way, and that they had succeeded. Save for the fact that they cheated, that may well have been true.

But the players came across as less than humble about their success. They were loud and proud about the fact that they were the champions. Some people might not have an issue with that per se, however when it later comes out that you were cheating…yeah you’re going to get some blow back when you were less-than-gracious winners to begin with.

But it goes well beyond that. Players have come off as less than contrite when talking about this matter. And that’s a real problem. ALL PLAYERS from the 2017 squad should be counting their blessings that they got immunity. Instead, in their minds they seem to have done nothing wrong. That’s a major problem.

Each time they speak on the matter they put their foots further and further into their mouths. We’re supposed to believe that someone’s wife just didn’t want him taking his shirt off? And then we’re later supposed to believe that he had a bad tattoo he didn’t want shown? We’re just supposed to accept that?

This story isn’t going away. People are still talking about the 1919 Black Sox scandal, they’re still talking about gambling in baseball, and they’re still talking about PED’s. This isn’t going away. But engaging in self-preservation tactics such as excuse-making isn’t going to make it go away faster. It’s going to keep it in the national discussion.

The moral of this story is that organizations need to engage in proper damage-control when things like this happen. Because if you don’t, the poor manner in which the situation is handled will blow right up in your face.

Baltimore Orioles: Who starts on Sunday?

Many fans will want to know who gets the ball in the Baltimore Orioles’ spring opener on Saturday against Atlanta. And for sure, it’ll mean something when manager Brandon Hyde tells us who it’s going to be. That will happen sometime between now and Saturday!

But keep in mind that many starters and/or regular players don’t play in road games during spring. At least not until the end of the spring. So whether Saturday gives us a fair representation of who might be in the rotation might be tough to gauge.

That’s why Orioles fans should be more in tuned with who starts on Sunday afternoon against Boston. That’ll be the “home opener” in Sarasota for the Birds. And generally the regulars will play in the home games. So it stands to reason that whomever gets that assignment might be looking to be in the rotation.

Baltimore Orioles: Commissioner Manfred is miscarrying justice

The Baltimore Orioles and the rest of Major League Baseball is being set up to have big problems this season – set up by Commissioner Rob Manfred. The commissioner has come out in the past few days and said that it would be inappropriate for teams to target Houston Astros players in games due to the cheating scandal. Former Oriole Nick Markakis said it best:

I feel like every single guy over there (on the Astros) needs a beating.

Quote courtesy of AM-680 “The Fan,” Atlanta, GA.

At first I thought that the penalties handed down were appropriate. I’m now re-thinking that. I get why the league had to grant immunity to the players in order to hold the organization accountable. But all in all it does seem like a miscarriage of justice. And what’s more is that players across the league are expressing similar sentiments to what Markakis said above.

This truly is the perfect storm. Because Houston seems to feel that they’re being treated unfairly. If you listen to their players, there seems to be very little contrition. If anything, it’s the league and other players and teams who are having the audacity to target them. Baseball’s always policed itself in many instances. Odds are this will be no different.

The moment one Houston Astros’ player is hit by a pitch, their bench is going to be chirping and saying that the guy should be suspended. And eventually that’ll probably happen – but not before someone incites a bench-clearing brawl presumably. And is Commissioner Manfred okay with giving worse discipline for guys retaliating for a legitimate reason than he did for the group who committed the act to begin with?

It’s not only that. The commissioner also said that he wasn’t taking the trophy away from them because it’s only hardware. So you’ve just disrespected every other World Series champion in the history of the game. In the name of what? Protecting the Houston Astros and their flimsy ego’s?

The commissioner is miscarrying justice. There isn’t anything that can be done about it, but he’s miscarrying justice.

Baltimore Orioles: Presidential First Pitches

The Baltimore Orioles will open the season on March 26th at home against NY. The rest of the league opens that day as well, and we’ll see first pitch ceremonies across baseball that day. But as of right now, to my knowledge, there’ll be one guy specifically NOT throwing a first pitch: President Donald Trump.

This is one of my favorite repeat or annual columns that I write. I do a variation of it every year on President’s Day. There’s no sport in America which has the relationship with the White House that Major League Baseball has. And in large part, that’s due to baseball being America’s Pastime. It was our only sport of consequence for some time.

But it’s also due to the fact that in 1910, President William Howard Taft was invited to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day for the Washington Senators. And the tradition stuck. President Barack Obama commemorated the 100th anniversary of Presidential First Pitches in 2010 on Opening Day at Nationals Park.

Generally these Presidential First Pitches come on Opening Day or in the World Series. Obviously one of the most famous was in 2001 when President George W. Bush threw out the first ball in the World Series after 9/11 in New York. But there are plenty of other notable times a President has thrown out the first ball.

President Calvin Coolidge did the honors on numerous occasions. Ironically however “Silent Cal” wasn’t a huge baseball fan. Instead it was his wife who followed the sport, but he appreciated the opportunity to take her out to the ballgame every year. In 1940 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first pitch (on Opening Day at Griffith Stadium in Washington DC) hit a Washington Post camera. Roosevelt was President for 12+ years, and he did the honors many times. He just had poor aim!

President Harry Truman, being ambidextrous, threw two balls in 1950 – one right and one left-handed. President John F. Kennedy also opened the 1962 season by throwing out the first ball at the new DC Stadium. Ironically, it would be renamed years later for the President’s slain brother, and is still known today as RFK Stadium.

President Richard M. Nixon, in the absence of baseball in Washington, took the tradition to the west coast in 1973 and did the honors in Anaheim. Finally in 1979, the tradition came to Baltimore. President Jimmy Carter threw out the first pitch in the 1979 World Series at Memorial Stadium. President Ronald Reagan came to town in 1984 for and did the honors, although not on Opening Day. President Reagan was also the first President to throw the pitch from the field. Previously Presidents would sit in the first row near the home dugout, and throw the ball to the catcher from there.

President George H.W. Bush came to Memorial Stadium in 1989 for Opening Day, and he returned later in his term with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. I remember that well, as they sat in a suite during the game and got to meet players and coaches from both the Orioles and Oakland A’s. I recall in the lead up to the game people were wondering if the Queen would eat a hot dog, requiring her to remove her white gloves. President Bush also came to Camden Yards for the inaugural first pitch on Opening Day in 1992.

The last President to do these honors in Baltimore was President Bill Clinton. He came to Camden Yards twice, most recently in 1996. However baseball returned to Washington in 2005, all but guaranteeing that future Presidents would most probably a throw out first pitches exclusively at Nationals Park. George W. Bush did so twice, and Barack Obama once.

Which brings us back to President Trump. I’m not naive, folks. I’m aware of the controversy surrounding this President. I have strong views on the situation, which I choose not to share in this column. But this is a fun, and non-partisan tradition. I wish it would continue.

Especially for a guy like Donald Trump, who apparently had a tryout with the Philadelphia Phillies. It nevertheless, I’m of the opinion that the President should throw out the first ball on Opening Day in Washington DC every year. Trump did attend a World Series game in DC last October, but didn’t throw a pitch. I call on the Washington Nationals organization, and the White House to make this happen. In closing I’ll say it again (and I always close this column in this manner): The President of the United States should throw out the first ball in Washington DC on Opening Day EVERY YEAR.