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: Fifth inning sinks the Birds

The Baltimore Orioles were unable to stay out of the big inning last night. They were already trailing the Anaheim Angels, but the fifth inning chased starter Dan Straily, and cemented Anaheim’s spot in the driver’s seat in this game. Straily’s line: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

Straily was throwing strikes last night. And that in essence was the problem. His pitches were coming in high and square down the middle. This is why it’s so important to employ late movement in the strike zone on your pitches. If they have little pizzazz, they’re going to fly a long way.

Things looked good at first, however. Trey Mancini smacked a solo homer in the first inning, and the O’s led 1-0. However Calhoun’s RBI-triple in the second inning tied the game at one. The O’s would never lead again in the game.

One inning later Trout smacked a two-run homer, and Anaheim led 3-1. But the Orioles tried to battle back an inning later in the fourth. Chris Davis dumped an RBI-single into left field, cutting the lead to 3-2. But that was as close as the Birds would get.

Anaheim our five runs on the board in the fifth inning. Staying out of the big inning is a major theme in MLB. The O’s couldn’t do it last night, and Anaheim feasted on what they left behind. A big part of that rally came with two outs, which is another area in which we’ve seen the Orioles struggle. It’s unclear why that is, but obviously opponents are seeing something with two outs.

The seventh inning brought a long rain delay. However after the delay the Orioles did manage one more run – on a solo homer by Davis. After such a bad start at the plate, Davis is starting to come on. His average is currently .193, which means he’s creeping towards the Mendoza Line. It sounds like I’m saying that sarcastically, but I’m not. First off what I said was factually true. But for a guy that started the season so poorly, that’s a feat. You have to start somewhere.

The series continues today at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy. He’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Matt Harvey. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Anaheim comes to town amid more weather

The Baltimore Orioles open up a three-game set with Anaheim this weekend at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The weather is something that’s certainly in question for this weekend, much as it was during last weekend’s series with Tampa. There’s a possibility of thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow afternoon. I’ve also heard the term washout used regarding Sunday.

Last Sunday’s game was simple enough to reschedule because Tampa returns to Baltimore in July. Anaheim makes one visit to Camden Yards this year. If a game is rained out, would they consider making it up when the O’s head to the west coast in July? Basically playing an Orioles’ home game on the road? Not as if that’s never happened.

The series begins tonight at Camden Yards – weather permitting. Dan Straily gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Trevor Cahill. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall in series finale

The Baltimore Orioles took The defending world champion Boston Red Sox to the brink last night. Boston eventually defeated the Orioles, but it took them twelve innings. The Birds matched Boston point-for-point, beginning with starter Andrew Cashner. It begins and ends with starting pitching, right? Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K.

Cashner set the tone early in the game when the first hitter reached on a two-base error. Cashner in essence started the game with a runner in scoring position. But Cashner pitches out of it, not allowing a runner to cross. All in all, this was one of the best starts of the season for any Oriole starting pitcher.

Boston would take a 1-0 lead in the third on a solo homer by Betts. That was in essence the only mistake that Cashner made. He was able to labor through the sixth inning (giving him a quality start), and left to a standing ovation for his effort.

However he was rewarded for his effort – in a certain sense at least. With the decision already made to lift Cashner, Trey Mancini smacked an RBI-double in the last of the sixth which tied the game. So while Cashner deserved to win this game, at the very least he wasn’t the loser and ended up with a no decision.

The score remained tied and we went to extra innings. The O’s thought they had won it in the eleventh. And for all intents and purposes, they did. Trey Mancini smacked what would have been a walk off home run. The ball cleared the fence in center field, and would have landed on the other side…

…the only problem was that Boston center fielder Bradley Jr. climbed the wall and brought the ball back in. It was one of the better plays you’re going to see this year in the outfield, and it foiled the Orioles’ best shot to win throughout the extra innings. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap.

Unfortunately for the O’s, that propelled Boston to take the lead in the twelfth on a solo homer by Benintendi. That’s why they’re the defending champions – they rise to the occasion. However the Orioles took Boston to the brink in this game. That’s not something that should go unnoticed. It goes as a loss in the standings, however it’s fair for a team like the Orioles ( a rebuilding team) to take a moral victory out of that. Their reward? A day off today at home.

Baltimore Orioles: It begins and ends with starting pitching

Last night the Baltimore Orioles got superior starting pitching. This evening they got an average outing at best out of starter David Hess. That might be okay in some instances. Not against the defending World Series champions. Hess’ line: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 K.

I’ve said this before, but it begins and ends with starting pitching. Now granted I said that in the context that in the past the O’s were a team expected to contend, and they needed solid starting pitching to do so. However the same is still true. This is the regular season, and regardless of the outlook on the entire season you need to have solid starting pitching of you’re going to win games. The Orioles got it last night. This evening? Not so much.

Now one might point out that Hess didn’t take the loss, and he certainly didn’t throw a total clunker out there. And that’s all true, and to Hess’ credit. But Oriole starters have been going four to five innings in games routinely – last night was the exception, not the rule. That sets the tone for the opponent, as well as for the Orioles. If your starter isn’t going deep into the game, you’re putting yourself at an immediate disadvantage.

Boston took an early 2-0 lead on a two-run homer by Martinez. However the Birds fought back. Rio Ruiz smacked a two-run homer of his own in the last of the first, and before we knew it the ballgame was tied. The teams would once again swap homers in the fourth inning, Boston off the bat of Bogaerts, and the Orioles off the bat of Hanser Alberto.

One inning later however, Boston did their big damage (following Hess’ departure). Moreland’s three-run homer gave them a 6-3 lead. That was the big blow of the game, however the O’s did make a run. Dwight Smith Jr’s RBI-double in the eighth cut the lead to 6-4. Later in the inning Chris Davis‘ RBI-single cut it to 6-5. But that’s as close as the Orioles would get as Boston would put up two insurance runs in the ninth, and they fell in game two, 6-5 to Boston.

The series with Boston concludes tomorrow night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Chris Sale. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: The night Boston found out John Means business

It’s tough to pitch better than John Means once again did this evening. This time it came against Boston, of course the defending World Series Champion. If you’re going to play games against the defending champs, you may as well win them. Means put them in a spot to do that this evening. Means’ line: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

Means kept Boston hitters guessing all game long. And that began in the first inning, when he sent them down 1-2-3. But they were never quite able to figure Means out, and it showed in the result.

Jonathan Villar hit what appeared to be a lead off homer in the first inning. However upon review it was ruled that a fan had impeded the Boston outfielder from getting to the ball. Villar was called out. One almost thought this was the Kentucky Derby!

However Villar wasn’t going to be kept off the board tonight. The Birds loaded the bases with nobody down in the second inning, and Villar came to bat with two down. He smacked a grand slam to center, giving the O’s a 4-0 lead. You can’t score more than four runs at a time, but the Orioles managed to do just that.

Boston would get one across in the fifth on a sac fly-RBI. But that was as close as they got. As I said, John Means was dominant tonight. So was the Orioles’ bullpen. Combined, they held a potent lineup to three hits.

Means is showing a lot of promise. It goes without saying that he’ll hit a bump in the road at some point. But he shut down one of the best lineups in baseball last night. Despite still being young, he may be the best starter that the Orioles have right now.

The series continues tomorrow at Camden Yards. David Hess gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Hector Velazquez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fans called to arms

Baltimore Orioles’ majority owner Peter Angelos took the nearly unprecedented step in standing with the players during the 1994 Major League Baseball strike. That ruffled a lot of feathers in the league office, starting with commissioner Bud Selig. And the reverberations of that are still being felt today.

For the record, my personal opinion is that Angelos was right to stand with the players. Either way, you have to admire bucking the hand that feeds him to stand up for what he believed. That aside, he’s been unpopular in the league offices since then. The fact that he was able to in essence hoodwink the league into owning the television rights to the Washington Nationals didn’t help.

Last week the Nationals were allegedly awarded in excess of $100 million in back pay for the rights to their games on MASN from 2012-2016. While that’s more than MASN and the Orioles wanted to pay, it’s also significantly less than the $288 million that the Nationals initially wanted. MASN of course may or may not appeal the decision.

Peter Angelos of course is in ailing health, and his sons John and Lou have been running the team for well over a year. MLB has asked the Orioles to clarify who’s in charge of the team. In essence however, if John and Lou are being gifted the team or if they inherit it when their father dies, 2/3rds of the owners still have to approve them as the new owners. (As an example, Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner in essence gifted the team to his son Mark last year. The other owners approved it, and on they went.) Votes like that are normally formalities, because no owner wants to set a precedent that his family could be voted out of owning his team/company. However the potential is there for the league to not approve the Angelos sons, at which point the team would have to be sold.

Why is this all important now? Over the weekend, Attorney Ben Neil was a guest on Bruce Cunningham’s show on the Orioles’ flagship radio station, 105.7 “the fan” WJZ-FM. He mentioned that he’s heard on good authority that the league wants the Orioles to move, preferably to Las Vegas. Neil didn’t say how he had heard this information, or who his source was. He simply said that these were MLB’s wishes. He also said that a $3 million dollar offer either was or had been on the table to move the team to Vegas when the current lease at Camden Yards expires after 2021.

To be frank, this is heresy at this point. The Program Director of WJZ, Chuck Sapienza, tweeted a disclaimer of sorts yesterday in that these were unsubstantiated rumors and should be taken as such. But…should Orioles fans take this with a grain of salt?

Baltimore fans remember all too well that teams can move – often in the dead of the night. It’s easy to say the team will never move, or that MLB would never want to leave Camden Yards vacant. But certainly after the Colts left, you can forgive people for being skeptical.

Furthermore connect the dots of what I said above. The league office has multiple axes to grind with Peter Angelos and thus by extension the Angelos family – justified or not. Would taking the team away from him or his family and then moving them out of the city that they all love not grind that ax?

The league itself can’t just up and move a team. However if Mr. Neil’s comments are in fact true, it sounds like they’re trying to make that happen – again, IF Mr. Neil’s comments are true. The league could either be trying to pay their way out of Baltimore, or force a sale. And the league could then very easily make a condition of the sale being that the team has to move to Vegas.

How likely is any of this to happen? Probably not very likely, even given the political stuff I mentioned above. However Orioles fans should know that regardless of what they think of the current ownership, the Angelos family is the biggest proponent that they have in terms of the team staying in Baltimore long term.

My personal opinion is that while relocation is probably unlikely, I doubt Mr. Neil made up that story. It was intended as a call to arms to Orioles fans. On a civic level, it’s up to you to do your part to ensure that the team stays here. I can’t tell you what “doing your part” means, because I’m trying to figure that out myself. But ultimately fan empathy, or simply dismissing the idea as ridiculous plays right into the hands of forces who might seek to move the team.

What I can tell you is that while I have a small voice in the grand scheme of people who cover the Orioles, I do have a voice with this column. And I’m going to put the full force of that voice behind keeping the Orioles in Baltimore forevermore.

Baltimore Orioles washed away for today

The Baltimore Orioles looked unstoppable last night against Tampa. That wasn’t the case this afternoon, as something did stop them: the weather. The series finale against Tampa at Camden Yards was rained out.

The game will be made up as part of a split admission day/night doubleheader on July 13th. Fans with tickets to today’s game can use them for the first game of the doubleheader, at 1 PM. Otherwise they can be exchanged on a dollar-for-dollar basis for any other game this season. The exchange must be done before July 13th.

The Orioles tomorrow will open a three-game set with Boston at Camden Yards. John Means (who was set to start today) gets the start for the Birds, and Boston is yet to name a starter. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles, Dylan Bundy turn the tables on Tampa

Dylan Bundy pitched the Baltimore Orioles to a quality start this evening at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. More importantly however, he pitched the O’s to a victory, in one of the best outings by an Orioles’ starter this season. Bundy’s line: 7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

The Orioles and Bundy literally turned the tables on the Tampa Rays tonight. All of the bounces and breaks went the Orioles’ way. Jonathan Villar set that tone in the Birds’ opening at-bat when he split the outfielders and sent a double all the way to the wall in the left field power alley. Tampa’s supposed to have the angle on hitting ’em where they ain’t – but not tonight.

That lead off double in the first inning led to a 1-0 lead. Following a Mancini single which left Villar at third, Dwight Smith Jr grounded into a double-play, scoring Villar. It’s perhaps the most unexciting way to score in baseball. But all of the runs count.

And again, the Birds really played Tampa’s game all night. Tampa’s the type of team who’s attitude is that if we score one run, that means you have to score two to beat us. And it’s true, however as I said that style can be anti-climactic at times. But all the runs count.

In the third Jonathan Villar would ground into a force out, allowing a second run to score. And again, that was fairly anti-climactic. It it counted, and it meant that Tampa needed to score three to beat the O’s.

However Dwight Smith Jr. would also provide the Orioles’ faithful with a third run. However this one came in more of a traditional Oriole method. Smith’s solo home run in the fourth extended the Oriole lead to 3-0.

Tampa tried to battle back into it in their typical fashion, however. In the eighth inning Adames grounded back to the pitcher, who’s errant throw to Davis at first allowed a run to score. There it was; Tampa was tired of losing at their own game and they were skipping their way back to victory. But there was one problem…

…Adames ran down the first base line WAY inside the line. As in it wasn’t even close. Home plate umpire Lance Barrett correctly called Adames out, as his positioning inside the line impeded the Orioles’ pitcher’s ability to throw him out. The runner was sent back to second, and Adames was called out. Again, those are breaks that usually go Tampa’s way. For at least one game, it was the Orioles who got those breaks.

The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. John Means gets the start for the Birds, and Tampa is yet to make a starter. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles bested by Tampa pitching

The Baltimore Orioles were lucky that they mustered five hits off of Tampa’s starter Glasnow this evening. He turned in a dominant performance, keeping the Birds off the base paths. Dan Straily started for the O’s, and Tampa was quick to pounce. Straily’s line: 4.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

Straily surrendered a double to lead off the game, and then Pham’s RBI-single subsequently, which came on a check swing. Tampa’s good, but they’re also lucky. A check-swing base hit which ended up in the right field corner. Imagine that for just a moment – I suppose better lucky than good.

Straily settles down – for a short period. In the third he surrendered a three-run homer to Zunino, giving Tampa a 4-0 lead. Zunino came into the game hitting .195, and smacked a three-run homer.

Tampa would also muster two additional runs in the latter innings, which gave them some insurance in a sense. But Glasnow and later the Tampa bullpen dominated the Orioles’ lineup. The good news I suppose is that Glasnow won’t be pitching in either of the remaining two games in the series.

As I’ve said ad hoc, Tampa plays a lot of different oddities as part of their game. If there was an analytical stat which said they’d play better if they wore spandex they’d try it. You have to be prepared for their antics. Often they change defenses square in the middle of at-bats. Before you know what’s going on, you’ve hit the ball right to them.

The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and as this is being written Tampa is yet to announce a starter. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Opponents get fat on your negligence

The Baltimore Orioles dropped the nightcap of a twin bill last night in Chicago in walk off fashion. Andrew Cashner got the start, and became only the most recent Orioles’ starter to not go deep in a game. Cashner’s line: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R (earned), 2 BB, 8 K.

The O’s had the lead at various points in this game, including early on. Dwight Smith Jr’s RBI-single in the first gave the Birds a 1-0 lead. One inning later however, Chicago would tie the game thanks in part to Oriole negligence. Catcher Austin Wynns threw to second base after a strikeout with two outs (when all he had to do was make the play at first base), allowing a base runner to go to third. Wynns apparently forgot how many outs there were. That led to an RBI-single by Engel, tying the game at two.

Abreu’s solo homer one inning later gave Chicago a 2-1 lead. However the O’s would take the lead right back in the fourth inning on Stevie Wilkerson‘s three-run homer. That should have been kind of a big blow in the game, however the O’s gave the lead right back in the bottom of the inning. Chicago loaded the bases with two outs following a triple and two walks. That brought Chicago’s heavy hitter (Abreu) to the plate, and he sent a bases-clearing single into center.

In reality, the game only should have been tied. However Joey Rickard seemingly took his time in getting the ball back in from center field. In fact, Stevie Wilkerson did the same in getting the ball over to first base on Engel’s second inning infield RBI-single. He took his time getting the ball to first base, and Engel best the throw out. Keep that in mind.

A sixth inning homer by Anthony Santander and a seventh inning fielder’s choice-RBI by Chris Davis however gave the Orioles the lead back at 6-5. However one-run leads are tough to protect in the ninth inning. Especially in the last of the ninth, when you lead off the inning with a walk. Alonso’s two-RBI single with the bases loaded lifted Chicago to victory.

It’s always easy to point to one or two things and say “all things being the same, things would have been different if not for this.” But that’s an unfair thing to say given that you can’t simply assume that all things would be the same. Furthermore it’s always a team effort – win or lose.

That aside, we saw Stevie Wilkerson taking his time getting the ball to first base in the second, resulting in a run. Later in the game we saw Joey Rickard doing the same in getting the ball back in from centerfield. That allowed a third run to score (from first), giving Chicago the lead.

In both instances the O’s overcame the Chicago lead. However the defense needs to tighten up in those situations. Chicago was literally gifted two runs on those two plays. Other teams aren’t letting the Orioles off the hook – they just aren’t. In fact, they’re getting fat on the Orioles’ negligence at times.

The Birds now come home after an off day today to open up a three-game set with Tampa starting tomorrow at Camden Yards. Dan Straily gets the fall for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Tyler Glasnow. Game time is set for 7 PM tomorrow night.