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: Andrew Cashner outduels Toronto

Andrew Cashner atoned for his Opening Day outing very well this evening at Rogers Centre in Toronto for the Baltimore Orioles. Cashner dominated a Toronto lineup which is as young and inexperienced as that of the Orioles, yet appears to have more issues in figuring out who they are or will be. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K.

Cashner was masterful. He didn’t surrender a hit until the last of the fourth inning. That was the first hit off of an Orioles’ starter since Sunday afternoon in the Bronx. For a team that didn’t know what it’s starting rotation was going to look like two weeks ago, that’s pretty impressive.

This game was a pitcher’s duel for most of the evening. Toronto’s starter Stroman matched Cashner almost pitch-for-pitch. However as can be the case in many instances, one team caught the opposing pitcher right as he was running out of gas. Best time to score runs against a pitcher who’s on his game, as Stroman was!

Stroman started to run out of gas in the sixth inning. Unfortunately for Toronto, they couldn’t get him out quick enough. Or more realistically they couldn’t get the bullpen ready in time. And that was to the Orioles’ benefit tonight.

The O’s got on the board in the top of the sixth on Jonathan Villar‘s RBI-triple. And it was a tight grounder all the way down the right field line and into the corner. Rogers Centre has been a house of horrors for the Birds over the years. But for once it was the Orioles who took advantage of the dimensions and the turf at the ballpark in the great white north, yielding them a run.

Later in that sixth inning Trey Mancini would plate Villar with an RBI-single, giving the Birds a 2-0 lead. And that would end up being the insurance run in a sense. The O’s threatened in the ninth but were unable to put an additional run across. Toronto would smack a solo homer in the last of the ninth, but that was the only threat they posed. And it was an inconsequential threat at the end of the day.

MASN’s Gary Thorne asked manager Brandon Hyde how the O’s are grinding games out after the game. His response was defense. When you’re playing good defense you’re limiting your opponents’ opportunities to put runs on the board. That in essence makes your opponent’s success contingent on the long ball. Which as we know is what the Orioles were last year. That aside, if you can keep guys off base by racking up outs, your odds of winning games goes up exponentially.

The series at Rogers Centre concludes tomorrow afternoon. Nate Karns gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Matt Shoemaker. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: David Hess’ Monday Funday

David Hess is the first Baltimore Orioles’ pitcher to record a quality start in 2019. If you’re keeping track at home, that is. And Hess put on quite a performance at that. Hess’ line: 6.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K.

Hess was also the beneficiary of the Birds scoring runs early and often. Jonathan Villar smacked a two-run home run early in the first inning. That not only set the tone for the rest of the inning, but also for the game.

Later in that first inning Chris Davis would come up, and with the bases loaded at that. Davis worked the count full, refusing to swing at a would-be called strike three. And eventually Davis would draw a walk, scoring the Birds’s fourth run of the game. Rio Ruiz would later score on a pass ball, and Trey Mancini added a sac fly-RBI in the second to give the O’s a 5-0 lead.

During Spring Training Chris Davis swung at a lot of pitches out of the strike zone, and looked at several called third strikes on the black. Following that was frustrating for a lot of fans, and I’m sure for Davis himself. However that’s why they play those spring games – to get the players ready for the regular season.

Here now we had Davis with a situation where he could have broken the game wide open early. However he wasn’t about to go after bad pitches just to wish on a prayer in a sense. He worked the count, probably with some of those spring at-bats in his mind. While technically he didn’t break the game open per se, he netted the Orioles a run. Which probably wouldn’t have been the case had he pushed too hard.

The story of the game of course was manager Brandon Hyde removing Hess in the seventh inning. With a no-hitter going. Hyde said after the game that Hess was on a pitch count since he had to pitch on Thursday in NY. So the move was all about Hess’ long-term health and that of the team.

Was it a curious move by Hyde? Yes. However he gave a legitimate reason as to why he lifted Hess. Maybe you as a fan accept that explanation, maybe you don’t. But quite simply, it is what it is.

Mancini would smack a solo homer in that seventh inning as well. However Toronto would get a two-run homer in the last of the seventh following Hess’ departure. They would also put two across in the last of the ninth to make it interesting, but it was too little too late. With the win, the Birds snapped a ten-game losing streak in Toronto.

The series at Rogers Centre in Toronto continues tomorrow evening. Andrew Cashner gets the call for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Marcus Stroman. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: By any Means necessary

Dylan Bundy would have been in line to record the Baltimore Orioles’ first quality start of 2019 this afternoon in the Bronx. After a three hour and twenty minute rain delay to start the game, Bundy was masterful. The only reason he didn’t get a quality start was due to a very high pitch count. Bundy’s line: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 7 K.

The O’s jumped all over NY early on. Renato Nunez smacked a three-run homer in the first inning. Trey Mancini would add a solo shot in the third. And we were off to the races!

While Bundy looked very good today (his three surrendered runs crossed after he left the game), the real star of the show was reliever John Means. When Bundy loaded the bases in the fourth, Means entered to mop up. Means would walk in a run, and allow a two-RBI single to Judge. But he limited the damage as best he could.

And…he pitched the Orioles through into the later innings. And in a division game that figured to be close, that’s a huge service done for the team. And on a day when the team earned a big win, that made a massive difference.

Dwight Smith Jr. would add an RBI-single in the fifth, but NY’s Sanchez would smack a solo homer in the seventh. However as I said yesterday, often these games come down to insurance runs. And the Orioles got them today.

Those insurance runs came in the form of a three-run homer in the eighth inning by Joey Rickard. That extended the Orioles’ lead to 7-4. While NY would threaten in the ninth and tack on a run, Bird was the word in the Bronx today.

For what it’s worth, the Orioles took two-of- three in this series. The season is very young. That goes without saying. But how many people saw this coming? Very few, that’s for sure. And again, the key guy in this one was John Means. Incredible effort. But it was an overall team effort as well. And that’s how big wins are supposed to be.

The O’s now head to Toronto where they’ll open up a three-game set at Rogers Centre. David Hess gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Sean Reid-Foley. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles record first win of 2019 with the Wright stuff

I’m on record as saying that I’m wary of the new trend in baseball which was embraced today by the Baltimore Orioles, as they used an “opener.” Maybe I’m just not used to it, however it seems to me that as often as managers over-use their bullpen it’s not something that should be done. Nevertheless, it worked this afternoon with Nate Karns. Karns’ line: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K.

Karns managed to load the bases in the first with one down. Keep in mind however what I’ve always said. The position of pitcher yields itself to getting in trouble. The decent ones will get themselves out of trouble as well. And that’s what Karns did, inducing an inning-ending 1-2-3 double-play.

That really set the tone for the game in a sense. Despite being picked to be historically bad, this team never gave up today. Karns didn’t give in, and it got him out of the inning.

However NY would get on the board first, with an RBI-single by LeMahieu. However two innings later the Birds rallied. Dwight Smith Jr. tied the game at one with an RBI-single. That scored Jesus Sucre, who made a very important play earlier in the inning. He tagged up and moved from second to third on a routine pop fly to the outfield. That’s an aggressive risk to take – and it worked.

And then a moment later, the O’s held their first lead of 2019. They executed a double-steal, and the ball ended up in the outfield. A run scored, and the Birds took a 2-1 lead. Throughout spring training we heard about how they were going to be more aggressive on the base paths. And we saw it in today’s game. When you put pressure on the defense, sometimes they’ll commit errors. That happened to NY’s defense today.

Sucre would extend the Orioles’ lead to 3-1 in the seventh with an RBI-single, and would add an RBI-single in the seventh to run the lead to 3-1. He would come up again in the top of the ninth and sacked a two-RBI double, giving the Orioles two insurance runs and a 5-1 lead.

And you always need insurance runs when you play New York. Because come the last of the ninth Tulowitzki smacked a solo homer, followed by NY putting runners at the corners with one down. That prompted manager Brandon Hyde to bring in Mike Wright Jr. from the bullpen, for what would be his first save at any level. However Voit’s softly-hit bloop RBI-single would bring them to within 5-3.

However make no mistake about the fact that Hyde’s decision to go with Wright won the game. Both for the Orioles and Hyde, who recorded his first win as a big league manager this afternoon. Wright attacked the strike zone, and went after NY hitters. He struck out Andujar to win the game with two outs in the last of the ninth, and the Birds had their first win in 2019.

Many pundits joked about this Orioles team going 0-162. Any fool knows that’s nary impossible. However the Orioles showed a lot of grit in winning this game. Yes they allowed NY to make it interesting in the end, but it was a team-earned win and that’s really the main story.

In spring training I mentioned the importance of insurance runs. As I alluded above, you really saw it today. The two main points of this win were the insurance runs and the good base running by the Birds. By virtue of the victory, the Orioles are now at .500 on the year. Yes only two games in, but most people pegged them at 0-2 at this point.

The Orioles will conclude their three-game set at Yankee Stadium tomorrow afternoon. Dylan Bundy starts on the mound 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 to use Nate Karns as an opener

After an off day yesterday, the Baltimore Orioles will resume their young season this afternoon in the Bronx. That would be game two of the season, and in the current series with the NY Yankees. Again for those dismayed by the loss on Opening Day, today’s a new day. Every game is one of 162.

The Orioles this afternoon are expected to employ Nate Karns in the role of an “opener.” Of course this was a concept popularized by Tampa last year – this instead of a “closer.” Manager Brandon Hyde has said that he was amenable to using this tactic if it made sense, as it does apparently now:


Our bullpen will be rested, and we’re trying this out. It’s new for us, new for me. But to be able to have your bullpen rested before that game is key, so that’s why we picked it that way.

Quote courtesy of Jon Meoli, Baltimore Sun

I’ll be honest, I’m wary of this tactic, and I’m way of it league-wide. Granted some of that is probably due to the fact that it’s not something I’m used to seeing. However my point would also be that as many managers that we see struggling with bullpen management, the tactic just moves up the opportunities for bullpens to be mismanaged. Nevertheless, it’s something that the Orioles are going to try.

The Birds will play game two at Yankee Stadium this afternoon. The aforementioned Nate Karns is on the mound for the Orioles (as an opener), and he’ll be opposed by New York’s James Paxton. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Opening Day musings

In reviewing my twitter feed, there was a lot of angst following the Baltimore Orioles’ 7-2 loss to New York yesterday on Opening Day. I’m not suggesting that it was a stellar performance. However games like that are part of the rebuilding process.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Birds had what could have amounted to a rally in the first inning. Jonathan Villar was on first base and what appeared to be a base hit was going between first and second. That would-be single smacked Villar on the foot, making him automatically out. Now ironically, no umpire called him out, so he kept running – and was thrown out at third. So whether that was a base running blunder or a bad break is anyone’s guess. (Odds are had he been safe at third New York would have challenged the call – and won.)

Manager Brandon Hyde addressed some of the bad breaks after the game:


I thought we had some unlucky breaks there. For the most part we’re going to give singles the other way to Stanton and Judge and Gary Sánchez, guys like that that can hurt you and do real damage. They found some holes against us today. Over time that will go the other way, I would believe, and some balls go through the other way on us today and hopefully we can take advantage of that offensively at some point also.


Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports

But as former Washington DC sportstalk host Ken Beatrice used to say, if ‘if’s and but’s were candy and nuts, oh what a party we would have!’ Those were the types of breaks that went against the Orioles all season last year – and they were plentiful. But you have to play the games as they unfold, not wish they unfolded differently.

Whatever your thoughts on the game itself may be, remember that it’s one of 162. That game counts as much as next Tuesday night’s game in Toronto. Or Monday night, or Wednesday afternoon. Things are certainly under more scrutiny on Opening Day because…it’s Opening Day. And Opening Day is special, because baseball’s special. But again, one of 162. Long way to go!


Baltimore Orioles: Nibbling causes walks which costs you games

The Baltimore Orioles were unable to muster much in the Bronx this afternoon on Opening Day. Andrew Cashner got the start of course, and was ambushed early. And I mean early. Cashner’s line: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 3 K.

New York didn’t take long to get the lead. With two on in the first inning Voit smacked a three-run home run. And that shouldn’t come as a surprise to the Orioles or Orioles fans. Voit tore up the Birds in Spring Training the past two seasons. That’s not to say that the Orioles should be expecting to fail when Voit’s at the plate, but he seems to thrive against Oriole pitching.

If there’s a silver lining it’s that the Orioles seemed to minimize the damage after that…for the most part. New York would load the bases against Cashner in the third, but he induced a ground ball double-play. That surrendered another run, however it also recorded two outs for the O’s. That’s a win for Cashner.

The Birds did at various points look like the offense was going to do something. They cut the lead to 4-1 in the fourth on Rio Ruiz‘s RBI-single. However New York came right back in the last of the fifth and loaded the bases yet again – once again with nobody down. That brought Voit back to the plate, and Cashner promptly hit him with a pitch. A sac fly-RBI later, and New York had extended it’s lead to 6-1.

Trey Mancini sacked an RBI-double in the eighth to cut the lead to 6-2. Mancini had a great game on Opening Day, going 3-for-4 with an RBI. He immediately cemented himself as a “veteran” leader on this team at the beginning of the spring, and that seems to have continued right into the regular season. However Bird’s solo homer in the eighth extended the lead to 7-2, which was the eventual final. It certainly wasn’t the Opening Day that the Orioles wanted, but it left them with a few tough lessons.

And one of those lessons was that pitchers shouldn’t nibble. Both Cashner and Mike Wright (who followed Cashner in the game) seemed to want to nibble on the corners. That’s a textbook symptom of an inexperienced team playing a team with a lot of power. It shows a certain hesitation, and a certain angst. Can it work on occasion? Sure. And on occasion it’s something that pitchers should do.

But nibbling shouldn’t be the way that you think you’re going to get guys out. In effect, you’re relying on the home plate umpire to give you the call. And you never want to rely on someone else when you can take matters into your own hands. Oriole pitching walked eight hitters today, which isn’t conducive to winning games.

Here’s an example; Voit’s first inning home run came on a 3-1 count. The 2-1 pitch was a low slider, which according to replays did in fact catch the bottom of the strike zone. In an ideal world, the next pitch would have come on a 2-2 count and would have then been a pitcher’s pitch. (In fairness, Jesus Sucre probably also could have brought that ball up just a bit, and framed it in the strike zone.)

Instead Cashner ended up with a 3-1 count on the next pitch, and with two runners on base knew that he needed to throw a strike. Voit knew it also, and came up swinging – the ball ended up in the seats. Now ironically that’s a situation in which Cashner in theory nibbled successfully. However again when you decide to nibble intead of pitching, you’re relying on ol’ blue to give you the call. It should have happened in that instance, but it didn’t.

The O’s of course are off tomorrow, which would have been a rain date for Opening Day had there been foul weather in NY today. But they’re back at it Saturday afternoon.

Baltimore Orioles: Opening Day, 2019

The rosters are finalized, the equipment’s in the clubhouse, and the players are ready to go – the Baltimore Orioles are set to open the season this afternoon in the Bronx. For this year st least the O’s will open the season on the road, and jump right into division play at the same time. They get the task of opening with a three-game set against the mighty New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

It’s a new day in Baltimore, and it’s unfair to new manager Brandon Hyde (who makes his big league debut as a skipper today) to continually bring up Buck Showalter. However one thing of which Buck would constantly remind us is that today’s game is only one of 162. It counts just as much as Saturday or Sunday’s games. It counts as much as a random game on a Tuesday night in June. Opening Day is special for sure, but at the end of the day it’s one game. I suspect Hyde would agree.

There isn’t much in-depth analysis I can provide you at this point. That is until game time comes around. Just a reminder, fans can follow me on Twitter (@DomenicVadala) for game updates and analysis. That’s true today and for all games this year.

Again, the Birds will open the season this afternoon against New York at Yankee Stadium. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Masahiro Tanaka. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: 2019 Season Preview

2019 will be a different type of season for the Baltimore Orioles and their fans. For starters, Brandon Hyde will be manning the Orioles’ dugout instead of the venerable figure of Buck Showalter. You can also substitute Mullins for Jones in center, Villar for Schoop at second, and Nunez for Machado at third.

But it’s more than just different players. The Orioles started over, in essence smack in the middle of the season last year. 2019 is all about youth and finding new talent to plug into various positions. It’s about trusting that process as headed by new GM Mike Elias, and seeing it through.

Whereas in past season previews I’ve said the Orioles will go as far as their pitching takes them, this year the slogan will be trust the process. And seriously, I’m not sure how often in the past I said that but about pitching, but it was often. As I said, 2019 will be a different type of year in Birdland.

However that should also excite Orioles’ fans. Odds are, this won’t be the year where the Birds will come out of nowhere to contend. Granted, you never know – this world is capable of some pretty strange things. However these aren’t the 2012 O’s. I wouldn’t bet on it.

But what will happen is that the foundation will begin to be laid for whatever happens in the future. IF the Orioles are contending in 2022 for instance, fans might point back to this year and realize that this is kind of where it began. As I said, the foundation will begin now.

Ironically one area in which the Orioles do resemble last year’s team is the starting rotation. Alex Cobb of course will start the year on the injured list, however many of the faces we saw last year (the Cashner’s, Bundy’s, Wright’s, and Hess’ of the world) in fact remain. One thing that is different is that the Birds are expected to go with using Nate Karns (who signed as a free agent) in the role of an “opener.”

Offensively the Orioles don’t have the horses that they’ve had in the past. Again folks, this is the foundation for what’s to come. However also keep in mind that last year when they did have the horses things weren’t exactly smooth. It’s also worth noting that Brandon Hyde’s philosophy seems to be to be more aggressive on the base paths. So…could they perhaps be better offensively?

I’m not sure if better’s the term for which we’re looking. But if the spring slate of games is any indication, we’ll see more team speed, more guys in motion, etc. Yes, that means that mistakes will be made on the base paths. However when you put guys on base and put pressure on the defense, mistakes can happen. And if nothing else, advancing a runner into scoring position or staying out of a double-play could represent the fine line between winning and losing.

All of that said, it’s going to be a tough year in Birdland in terms of wins and losses. Keep in mind that last year’s team won 47 games. Will this year be easy? Not in the least. Will the improvement in terms of wins and losses be exponential? Doubtful. But will the O’s win more than 47 games? I believe so.

Baltimore Orioles: 2019 Season Preview

2019 will be a different type of season for the Baltimore Orioles and their fans. For starters, Brandon Hyde will be manning the Orioles’ dugout instead of the venerable figure of Buck Showalter. You can also substitute Mullins for Jones in center, Villar for Schoop at second, and Nunez for Machado at third.

But it’s more than just different players. The Orioles started over, in essence smack in the middle of the season last year. 2019 is all about youth and finding new talent to plug into various positions. It’s about trusting that process as headed by new GM Mike Elias, and seeing it through.

Whereas in past season previews I’ve said the Orioles will go as far as their pitching takes them, this year the slogan will be trust the process. And seriously, I’m not sure how often in the past I said that but about pitching, but it was often. As I said, 2019 will be a different type of year in Birdland.

However that should also excite Orioles’ fans. Odds are, this won’t be the year where the Birds will come out of nowhere to contend. Granted, you never know – this world is capable of some pretty strange things. However these aren’t the 2012 O’s. I wouldn’t bet on it.

But what will happen is that the foundation will begin to be laid for whatever happens in the future. IF the Orioles are contending in 2022 for instance, fans might point back to this year and realize that this is kind of where it began. As I said, the foundation will begin now.

Ironically one area in which the Orioles do resemble last year’s team is the starting rotation. Alex Cobb of course will start the year on the injured list, however many of the faces we saw last year (the Cashner’s, Bundy’s, Wright’s, and Hess’ of the world) in fact remain. One thing that is different is that the Birds are expected to go with using Nate Karns (who signed as a free agent) in the role of an “opener.”

Offensively the Orioles don’t have the horses that they’ve had in the past. Again folks, this is the foundation for what’s to come. However also keep in mind that last year when they did have the horses things weren’t exactly smooth. It’s also worth noting that Brandon Hyde’s philosophy seems to be to be more aggressive on the base paths. So…could they perhaps be better offensively?

I’m not sure if better’s the term for which we’re looking. But if the spring slate of games is any indication, we’ll see more team speed, more guys in motion, etc. Yes, that means that mistakes will be made on the base paths. However when you put guys on base and put pressure on the defense, mistakes can happen. And if nothing else, advancing a runner into scoring position or staying out of a double-play could represent the fine line between winning and losing.

All of that said, it’s going to be a tough year in Birdland in terms of wins and losses. Keep in mind that last year’s team won 47 games. Will this year be easy? Not in the least. Will the improvement in terms of wins and losses be exponential? Doubtful. But will the O’s win more than 47 games? I believe so.