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: Mental lapses cost you wins

John Means have the Baltimore Orioles five incredibly solid innings this evening against Kansas City. The issue of course was that he seemingly fell apart in an abrupt manner – before the O’s could get him out. While an error certainly helped things along in that sequence, Means tired quickly. Means’ line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 earned), 2 BB, 4 K.

Again for five innings, Means looked good. And the O’s had a lead. DJ Stewart‘s RBI-double in the second inning gave them a 1-0 lead.

However a base hit and a botched fielder’s choice and an error in the top of the sixth gave Kansas City runners at the corners. Before the O’s could get someone ready in the bullpen Merrifield’s RBI-single would tie the game at one. Later in the inning Dozier’s two-RBI single gave Kansas City a 3-1 lead.

I’ve said this before but teams are holding the Orioles in account for 100% of their mistakes. Now the Orioles are in some instances starting to do the same, but if you get into games which are decided by the team that commits the fewer errors and so forth, generally a rebuilding franchise is going to lose that.

However the Orioles don’t quit. That’s certainly to their benefit. Jonathan Villar‘s solo homer in the last of the sixth cut the lead back to one. However the Orioles managed to run themselves out of that inning, with two runners being well off the bases in the end trying to advance. With two outs. Kansas City had both runners in a run-down, only needing to nail one of them. And they did.

And again, they made the Orioles pay for that. They led off the seventh with back-to-back home runs. That broke the Orioles’ back in a sense. Again, the Birds managed to run themselves out of the previous inning. And Kansas City held them to account.

But turnaround can also be fair play. As I said, the O’s are starting to do that also. Stewart would smack a run-scoring single in the last of the seventh which scored a run due in part to an error. Rio Ruiz would smack a solo homer in the last of the ninth, but it was too little too late and the O’s fell 5-4.

Those mental lapses, whether they show up in the scorecard or not, cost the Orioles the game. Think back to that unearned run in the sixth. Think back to the O’s running themselves out of that inning. If things break differently this could be a win instead of a loss.

However that’s part of rebuilding. Lesson learned, in a sense. These games will happen, and as I’ve said many times the organization all but promised fans that at the beginning. It’s a painful process. You just have to hope that if the process is administered properly it culminates in the organization being in a good spot.

The series with Kansas City continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Brad Keller. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Ball always bounces for Boston at the Fens

I would say that Ty Blach‘s day for the Baltimore Orioles was slightly more good than bad. However he certainly had an interesting game, getting six runs and then giving them back. Blach’s line: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 6 K.

Some of the runs Blach surrendered behooved he and the Orioles in that they had a lead and they gave them outs. But they all add up. The O’s took an early 3-0 lead on Renato Nunez‘s three-run homer in the first inning. It looked like it might be a good day for the O’s at that point.

Trey Mancini‘s second inning two-RBI single extended the lead to 5-0. One inning later Hanser Alberto‘s RBI-double extended it to 6-0. But that’s a dangerous position in which to find oneself at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox. It’s perhaps the quirkiest park in the majors, and those quirks usually play to the advantage of the home team.

Comebacks always start innocently enough. Boston better two runs in the last of the third on RBI-groundouts. And as I said, it somewhat behooved Ty Blach to surrender those runs. The Birds got outs out of the deal, and they were only one run at a time. Speaking for myself, as a coach I would take that 100% of the time. But in retrospect, Boston was piecemealing their comeback together.

The turning point of the game came in the fourth inning. Jonathan Villar was called out in an inning-ending play on the base paths when he contacted the Boston shortstop. The umpires ruled that he had impeded the fielder’s ability to field the ball.

My point would be what is he supposed to do, run around the guy? Either that or allow the fielder to make the play and then potentially tag him out? It’s a judgement call, but one that went in Boston’s favor. And as I said, the game all but changed on that moment, especially seeing that the bottom of that fourth inning brought a solo homer by Travis (cutting the Orioles’ lead to 6-3).

The last of the sixth was the nadir of the game. Vazquez’s RBI-double cut the lead to 6-4, and left runners at second and third. Moreland then sent a pop into shallow center field. And…the ball fell in the “Bermuda triangle.” This allowed both runners to score, tying the game at six. The ball always bounces Boston’s way at Fenway Park.

I did have a question about the tying run, however. The runner nic’d catcher Chance Sisco as he went by, making it tough for him to field the incoming ball and have a shot at tagging the runner out. Earlier in the game Villar had been called out on the base paths for contacting a fielder. Apparently that rule isn’t universally applied. Sisco would later leave the game after taking a ball to the groin. Again, the ball bounces Boston’s way at Fenway Park.

Bogaerts would smack a two-RBI single later in the inning to give Boston a lead, and they never looked back. Trey Mancini would smack a sac fly-RBI in n the ninth, but the Birds ended up falling 13-7 in Boston. They went 0-for-7 on the road trip.

Many of the tack on runs Boston scores came on singles which were either just slow enough, or against the shift. Oriole pitchers put out several good pitches which justifiably should have gotten them out of the at-bat. But Boston hitters managed to find the holes. Far too often the Orioles are using the shift and opposing teams are either finding a hole, or hitting the ball right where a fielder otherwise would have been had there been no shift on.

And there’s no science to that. It just happens. And it happens a lot to the Orioles. Ultimately it’s damned if you do, damned if you don’t, regarding a shift. The ball just bounced the other way a lot today – and the bounces always go Boston’s way at Fenway Park.

The O’s now head home to open a three-game set with Kansas City. John Means gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Jorge Lopez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Hunter Harvey makes big league debut in loss

For the second straight game in Boston, the Baltimore Orioles had a starting pitcher who pitched much better than his numbers indicated. You might remember last Sunday against Houston that Asher Wojchiekowski certainly pitched well enough to win (in a game the Birds eventually won in walk-off fashion). Again his numbers tonight weren’t great, but they also aren’t indicative of how he pitched. Wojchiekowski’s line: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K.

When I say those numbers don’t look great, I’m basically talking about the innings pitched. Boston hitters worked Wojchiekowski in this game. But while that led to his early exit, he also got out of some big jams in the early innings. He showed an incredible amount of composure, and has attested for himself very well of late.

If you’re Wojchiekowski, you have to think that these are two consecutive starts in which you looked decent. We’re almost back in the spring training mentality at this point in that results are meaningless. I won’t go that far because these are still regular season games and yes they do count. However bigger than wins and losses is guys paving a way for themselves for the future. And it appears that Wojchiekowski is attempting to do just that.

Wojchiekowski started to struggle in the fifth when his pitch count creeped up. Holt smacked a solo homer, and Bradley would later score on a wild pitch before Wojchiekowski would leave the game. But again, a very decent effort by Wojchiekowski.

Boston would tack on two more on a two-run homer by Devers in the seventh. The frustrating thing about that for the Orioles was that the Birds allowed a double with two outs prior to the homer. The ball would have hooked foul, if not for Hanser Alberto making a valiant attempt at catching the ball, and having it tick off the top of his glove – making it fair.

Again, Alberto made a valiant attempt at catching the call on the fly. But had he not tried, that would have been a foul ball. Sometimes it comes across as circumstances taunting the Orioles. Had Alberto mailed it in, there.’a no two-run homer.

Perhaps the biggest moment for Orioles’ fans was Hunter Harvey pitching the eighth inning tonight, and making his major league debut. Harvey retired Boston without surrendering a run, and looked good doing it. (He gave up one walk.) He of course has struggled his way to the big leagues, between surgeries – among other things. However fans and personnel alike should be happy that he’s here now.

The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at Fenway Park. Neither team has yet announced a starter. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Could Aaron Brooks be an opener?

The Baltimore Orioles were unable to break their losing streak this evening at Fenway Park. They had dropped four straight (to New York) going into the game. Now you can make it five. Aaron Brooks got the start at Fenway Park this evening, but in my view he pitched much better than the numbers indicate. Brooks’ line: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Brooks gave up an RBI-single to Devers in the first inning. Then he buckled down and kept their potent lineup off the board for awhile. There was a stretch where he was mowing Boston hitters down, allowing the O’s to tie the score at one on Trey Mancini‘s RBI-double in the third inning.

However an inning later Boston took the lead back on Benintendi’s RBI-triple. Moreland would add an RBI-triple of his own later in the inning, running the score to 3-1. At first it appeared that DJ Stewart had a play on the ball. However he misplayed it, and it fell in for a triple. However even in that inning, Brooks was able to limit the damage.

It didn’t unravel for Brooks until he hit a batsman in the sixth, and allowed an additional single. A sac bunt moved the runners into scoring position, and Owings’ pinch-hit two-RBI double opened the game right up. Boston would go on to tack on four additional add-on runs, defeating the O’s 9-2 at Fenway Park.

However keep in mind, Brooks was very effective after he settled in. He did however seem to fall apart all at once. That was due in large part to fatigue, however it was more abrupt than the Orioles would have liked.

So…might Brooks make an effective “opener?” I’ve said before that I’m not a fan of the concept of openers, only because I’m a purist and it’s foreign to me. However it’s not something that’s going away anytime soon. It’s probably a concept that’s here to stay.

And the idea is to bridge tougher innings to pitch; in this case opening innings. So if he continues to do what he did tonight, he could very well morph into an opener-type role. At this point, the Orioles don’t have much to lose.

The series continues tomorrow night at Fenway Park. Asher Wojchiekowski gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Another take on the Jon Heyman tweet

Yesterday I wrote about MLB Network’s Jon Heyman calling out the Baltimore Orioles on twitter. Heyman was…less than complimentary about the Orioles’ rebuild process:

The reaction was predictably poor, including that of this writer. My point is that Heyman didn’t react this way when the Houston Astros or Chicago Cubs went through this same process. Yet it’s the Orioles who not only get called out, but also are now in Heyman’s eyes the face of tanking in professional sports. (Whereas if you read my column – linked above – I say that there’s a difference between tanking and rebuilding.) I stand by what I’ve said on the matter; personally I think Heyman was out of line.

However there’s another take out there as well, and one that ever so slightly more benign at that. Heyman said that what the Orioles are doing isn’t good for the game. But is the criticism possibly coming from a better place than we think?

There’s no question that what the Orioles are doing is making things much easier on teams such as Boston and New York. The O’s of course are in Boston this weekend, but they finished their season slate against NY by dropping the final 16 games. Those games made New York look unstoppable – unnecessarily unstoppable. And they’ve had their share of games as such against Boston also.

Is it possible that Heyman’s point is that what the Orioles are doing is making things easier for teams such as Boston and New York? One could make that argument – I suppose. I’m not sure that I personally buy that, however it is in fact possible.

But if you buy into that mentality, my rebuttal would be what exactly are the Orioles supposed to do? Should they go all out just to get to 60-70 wins so that they come off as “competitive?” Because that’s in essence what they did from 1998-2011. And that famously didn’t really work out.

I would also say this to Jon Heyman and other naysayers; look at what the Orioles have in the minors. Their farm system was ranked 22nd by Baseball America last year. Fast-forward to last month after the Birds traded for so many prospects (in 2018) and replenished the farm system with a GREAT draft. Baseball America ranked them as having the 8th best farm system in baseball. Now that’s meaningless for the big league level in the here and now. However the Orioles are in this for the long game. And it’s evidence that the rebuild is working.

As I said earlier, the O’s head up to Boston for a weekend series at Fenway Park. Aaron Brooks gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Rick Porcello. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles called out by national writer Jon Heyman

Jon Heyman of MLB Network is apparently not a fan of what the Baltimore Orioles are doing. Heyman tweeted late Tuesday night:

Reaction to this commentary was swift and sure; most people felt that this was an unfair take on Heyman’s part. And I agree with that sentiment. I’ll even take it a step further; saying what Heyman said is beneath the dignity of a national reporter.

First and foremost, both the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs have gone through this exact process of late. And both of those organizations won World Series’. (Also worth throwing in that the Orioles’ GM and manager were both respective parts of those two organizations.) Was Heyman complaining about the process then?

And the answer is no. Here’s another point; the Orioles aren’t tanking. They’re undergoing a full rebuild. There’s a big difference. Tanking means you’re all but trying to lose games. Various NBA seasons involving the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics come to mind. The Orioles may only be fielding a lineup which sports an all-star by default, but I feel you’d be hard pressed to argue that the guys on the field at any given time aren’t trying to win games. When you see guys diving around for the ball, running hard, etc, the fact is that they aren’t mailing it in.

And that’s why I say that Heyman’s comments are beneath his position as a national pundit. He’s accusing players and coaches of something that first off isn’t true, but also of something that he couldn’t possibly know. It isn’t for Jon Heyman or anyone else (myself included) to say whether or not the players are playing hard and so forth. But the efforts they put in indicates that they are.

Heyman’s job is to report the news – not become a part of it. But again, I do find it odd that nobody called out other organizations for doing exactly the same thing as what the Orioles are doing now. Apparently it’s just the Orioles.

Baltimore Orioles: The fine line between winning and losing

With today’s 6-5 loss, the Baltimore Orioles concluded the 2019 season series against New York by losing the final 16 games between the two teams. Starter Dylan Bundy pitched into the sixth, but couldn’t get the job done in full. However as has been the case in other games, the Orioles battled in this series. And if not for an unfortunate moment in the sixth inning, might have won it. Bundy’s line: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

Jonathan Villar‘s RBI-single in the first inning gave the O’s a 1-0 lead early. However Gregorius followed suit in the last of the first for NY, and later in the inning Urshela’s three-run homer put them ahead 4-1. Now on the flip side, that was the lone homer surrendered by an Oriole team who’s made it a habit of allowing multiple homers in games. Baby steps.

The O’s did battle in this game however, as I previously said. Pedro Severino smacked an RBI-single in the third to bring the Birds to within 4-2. Bundy exited in the sixth with two outs, two runners in scoring position, and Tauchman coming to the plate. The Orioles opted to bring Richard Bleier into the game to pitch to him – and it almost worked.

Bleier had Tauchman with a two-strike count, meaning one more and the inning would have been over. Bleier threw what he thought was a perfect pitch – right down broadway, as they say. And it was called a ball. Tauchman would end up walking, and a moment later Ford smacked a two-RBI double to give New York a 6-2 lead.

Television replays seemed to back up Bleier’s opinion of the pitch. The Orioles’ dugout was yelling out at home plate umpire Mark Carlson, as did Bleier. He yelled a couple sentences of protest, earning a glare from Carlson. However he wasn’t ejected.

Renato Nunez would bring the O’s to within two an inning later with a two-RBI double. Later in that seventh inning Jonathan Villar would score Nunez with an RBI-double of his own. The O’s would put the tying run on base in the ninth, but they could never quite make it over the hump and fell 6-5 this afternoon in the Bronx.

That wasn’t the only pitch that went against the Orioles this afternoon. Carlson didn’t have a consistent day behind the plate. However it was certainly the most poignant pitch to go against them. And moments as such in games can often represent the fine line between winning and losing. The Orioles did what they could to shrug it off, however it was ultimately something they were unable to overcome.

The folks who say never blame the umpires for the most part are correct. There’s always something else in a game that could have occurred which would have helped the team win or overcome a questionable call. However while that’s fair to point out, it’s also fair to mention that if that’s a called strike three, all things remaining the same the Birds would have won this game 6-4.

Baltimore Orioles: Turning to brass versus turning to gold

The Baltimore Orioles suffered yet another beat down at the hands of New York this evening. This time behind all-star pitcher John Means. While Means landed a couple of decent pitches for strikes, overall he was an ineffective as everyone else has been against New York this year. Means’ line: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 1 K.

Means surrendered a solo homer to LeMahieu on the first pitch of the game. Means, along with most Oriole pitchers it seems in this series, seemed intent on throwing almost exclusively fastballs. And those fastballs were hit a long way by one of the best lineups in baseball.

Now ironically, that was the only homer surrendered in the game by the O’s. So if there’s a silver lining, it’s that they didn’t allow a multi-home run game. And on the flip side, the Orioles themselves got homers from Anthony Santander in the fourth, Stevie Wilkerson in the fifth, and Renato Nunez in the ninth. And that as they say, is it.

Everything that New York has touched this year has turned to utter gold. It’s really amazing and semi-tough to believe. Every player they’ve brought up from their farm system or signed as needed has produced. And some of them have produced big time.

When the likes of Ford, Tauchman, or Maybin at being plugged into the lineup and producing at will in the stead of injured players (who in theory are more talented), to be blunt you know you’re screwed. It just seems that whomever put the pinstripes on this season turned into a superstar.

On the flip side, the Orioles seemingly have the fruits of their labor turn to brass. Alex Cobb‘s our for the season. Mark Trumbo‘s missed the entire year to this point. And even Means, the Orioles’ lone all-star representative, hasn’t lived up to his billing in the second half.

We can go back even further than this. The signing of free agent pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez was widely seen as a great move, according to many pundits. I myself thought it was a good move, and would help shore up the pitching staff. Jimenez was a veteran and he knew how to win.

But it turned to brass. Without showing any numbers, everyone remembers that. Jimenez just didn’t pan out as a positive for the O’s. And go back further than that; look at Glenn Davis. It just seems that whatever they touch goes by the wayside. And it’s uncanny.

The series concludes tomorrow at Yankee Stadium. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s J.A. Happ. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Should walks be used to stop the homers?

The Baltimore Orioles claimed Ty Blach off of waivers last week from San Francisco. Last night he started game two of a doubleheader for the Birds at Yankee Stadium. He did make some decent pitches, and perhaps had he been pitching against a different opponent the result would have been different. But in fact he was pitching against New York. Blach’s line: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R (6 earned), 3 BB, 4 K.

The O’s only surrendered three home runs in this game, which is actually an improvement. However New York’s Gleyber Torres his three of them. That makes 13 for the season for Torres against the Orioles.

Despite being down early and down big, the Orioles did battle as best they could. Trey Mancini smacked a two-run homer im the third to bring the Orioles to within one at 4-3. Following Ford’s solo homer and Torres’ two, Hanser Alberto‘s three-run homer in the seventh got them to within 11-6.

Rio Ruiz added a two-RBI single in the ninth to bring the Birds back to within three. But they ended up falling 11-8. However as beleaguered as the Orioles looked in this game, it’s worth mentioning that they had the tying run at the plate in the top of the ninth. There’s no quit in this team.

That doesn’t mean they did everything perfectly, however. Gleyber Torres came up to bat again in the last of the eighth with two runners on base. Torres has already hit two homers in the game, and as I said above they were the 12th and 13th homers of the season for Torres against the Orioles respectively. Manager Brandon Hyde in that moment opted to intentionally walk Torres.

This wasn’t a strategic IBB given the circumstances. It was done with the specific idea to stop Torres from hitting another home tun. Hyde admitted as much after the game. And honestly, I’m not a fan of that methodology.

I get the point; the guy’s hitting to the moon and back against you. However I would submit that it’s better to find a way to beat someone as opposed to giving in and just giving him a base. It says that you’re adverse to even trying to beat someone as opposed to just taking the easy way out and putting him on.

I do understand why Hyde did what he did. And I’m not suggesting that this is some sort of unacceptable move that should cost people jobs. That’s a ludicrous thought. But I just think that putting a guy on instead of trying to beat him in one manner or another sends a bad message.

The series continues tonight at Yankee Stadium. John Means gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s Domingo German. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Homers the Birds’ bugaboo once again

Gabriel Ynoa did the honors of reminding Baltimore Orioles’ fans what the Birds’ issue has been all season: the home run ball. As this afternoon’s starter, Ynoa gave up four home runs to New York. Therein lies the result of the game. Ynoa’s line: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Here you see some of the effects of doubleheaders for teams. Ynoa probably didn’t pitch well enough to justify pitching six innings. However manager Brandon Hyde seemed to feel that he needed to protect his bullpen – presumably due to the second game.

The O’s took a 1-0 lead early on Renato Nunez‘s sac fly-RBI in the first inning. However Ynoa allowed two base runners in the last of the first before even recording an out. That brought Gregorius to the plate, and he smacked New York into the lead at 3-1 with a three-run home run. One inning later they would tack on a fourth run on Urshela’s RBI-double.

Trey Mancini would keep the Orioles close with a solo home run in the third inning, cutting the New York lead to 4-2. The teams would swap solo home runs in the fifth and sixth with Urshela hitting one out for New York, and Anthony Santander doing so for the Birds. So while the home run ball back back to haunt the Orioles again this afternoon, they weren’t the only team hitting them out this afternoon.

However Maybin would smack a solo homer in the last of the sixth, and Gregorius added a sac fly-RBI in the seventh. The O’s would cut the lead to 8-5 in the eighth however on Renato Nunez’s RBI-groundout and Jace Peterson walking with the bases loaded. The mini-rally forced NY to bring in former Oriole Britton, which could play well for the Orioles in game two.

In essence, if Britton’s already been used today, that might make them attempt to stay away from him in the night cap. A championship-caliber team such as New York may not quite look at it like that, however needless to say if Britton pitches tonight he won’t be fresh. Different game(s), but same day.

The O’s should be heartened by the fact that they put some runs on the board in this game. Granted they also left guys on base, but they were able to have guys cross the plate. However this further illustrates the issues that the home runs are causing. You can look at it from the perspective that the three-run homer in the last of the first by Gregorius in effect was the game. Solo home runs generally don’t beat you; three-run homers often do.

The series and the doubleheader continues this evening at Yankee Stadium. Ty Blach (who was claimed off waivers last week from San Francisco) gets the start for the O’s, and New York is yet to announce a starter. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.