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 sign RHP Dan Straily

The Baltimore Orioles resume their season and their series with New York this evening after the “traditional” post-Opening Day off day. And they do so with a slightly different roster than what we’ve seen to this point. Late yesterday the Birds signed RHP Dan Straily to a major league deal.

Straily, 32, was released by Miami last week following spring training. He has a 4.23 ERA over seven big league seasons. Last year he went 5-6 with Miami, pitching to an ERA of 4.12. Infielder Drew Jackson was DFA’d to make room on the roster for Straily.

This isn’t an earth-shattering signing on the Orioles’ part. Straily won’t make any big headlines. However he will add a veteran presence to the rotation, which will help other pitchers along. Incidentally, his salary is also being paid by the Miami Marlins. So the O’s have that going for them.

What this does to the rotation remains to be seen. However many might look at the likes of Cobb, Cashner, and now Straily and wonder why the Orioles are shaping themselves such a veteran rotation for a young team. Keep in mind that if Cobb and/or Cashner do their jobs properly, they could both be dealt at the deadline this summer. If that happens, the Birds still have a veteran in the rotation.

The current series with New York will continue this evening from Camden Yards as the O’s try to get even. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s J.A. Happ. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: What to do about Chris Davis?

Today is the annual off day after the Baltimore Orioles’ home opener. It used to be on a Tuesday back when Opening Day was on a Monday. But I digress. There’s no game today, and the weather reflects that.

In reading my twitter feed during and after yesterday’s game, there’s a lot of angst over Chris Davis. Davis went 0-for-3 in yesterday’s game, and was lifted for a pinch hitter late in the game. A pinch hitter who ended up getting a base hit. For the season, Davis is 0-for-17 with a walk and an RBI (the walk came with the bases loaded).

0-for-17 is tough to fathom in terms of starting the season. Especially when Davis is coming off of a season such as last year. Now anytime I talk about Davis I always throw in the fact that he’s still a good defensive first baseman. And make no mistake that’s an important part of any player’s game. Even in a losing effort, his glove saved a couple of runs at various points in Wednesday’s game at Toronto.

Again, make absolutely no mistake that defense is a massive part of the puzzle in baseball. It’s similar to basketball in that you can be playing terribly on offense, but still playing spectacular defense on the other side of the court. Believe me, I do that all the time myself in my own pickup basketball games! (Let’s be frank; I don’t play spectacular defense, but my D is better than my shooting average!)

That aside, Davis is a liability at the plate. The amount for which the Orioles are on the hook according to his contract is an even bigger liability. I’ve said this before and probably will do so again; if the Orioles were to cut Davis (designate him for assignment), they would still have to pay him the entirety of his contract. Even if someone else picked him up.

In essence, Davis could get DFA’d off the roster, be claimed by another team, and still be on the Orioles’ payroll. MLB contracts are guaranteed; this as opposed to NFL contracts where a player can be cut and owed nothing. So…is it not a poor look for the Orioles to be paying a guy to potentially be playing against them?

But it’s also a poor look for someone to be struggling the way that he is at the plate. The Orioles find themselves in a true Catch-22, given all of this. And again, don’t discount Davis in the field. If he’s no longer in the lineup, you do lose a decent glove in the field.

I’m not sure what the answer is. Maybe a trip to the Injured List might be in play at some point – if Davis’ hamstrings or lateral muscles were to become sore of something along those lines. Mind you, being on the Injured List comes with the potential for a rehab assignment, which can last up to a month. Davis would get at-bats in the minors, allowing him to potentially get some sort of groove back.

Whether that happens or not remains to be seen. Whether anything happens or not remains to be seen. Fact is it’s still early. But something needs to happen.

Baltimore Orioles: Was Mike Wright the wrong guy?

Opening Day for the Baltimore Orioles dawned brightly at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. People wanted to call this the “home opener,” but please folks…it’s fair to call it Opening Day! Pickles and Sliders across the street were open for business at 6 AM, and a festive holiday mood set in across Baltimore.

Luckily for the home team, starter Alex Cobb was ready to go from the beginning. This was Opening Day for Cobb as well, given that he began the season on the Injured List. He was probably on a shorter leash than he otherwise would have been as a result, but he put the O’s in a position to win. That’s all you can ask of a starter. Cobb’s line: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

Jonathan Villar led the game off in the home half of the first with a solo homer over the scoreboard in right field. That began a flurry in the first inning for the Birds. They ended up loading the bases, and while no bases-clearing knock took place, the O’s did clear the bases.

Trey Mancini scored on a balk by NY starter Paxton, who then proceeded to uncork a wild pitch scoring another run. Okay, maybe they didn’t totally clear the bases. But the Orioles held a 3-0 lead after one. However that was trimmed to 3-1 in the third after Torres’ solo homer. The O’s would run the lead back to three runs on an RBI-single in the last of the fifth by Renato Nunez.

However New York decided to show up in this game, albeit late. Sanchez smacked a solo homer in the sixth. New York proceeded to put two more runners on base, bringing Torres back to the plate. And unfortunately for the Orioles on their Opening Day, Torres decided he was going to have a day. He smacked his second homer of the game, this one of the three-run variety. Tack on a ninth inning three-run homer by Voit, and New York would go onto win by that 8-4 margin.

Cobb was lifted in favor of Mike Wright following the Sanchez homer, a move that was criticized by many fans on Twitter. Keep in mind first off that Cobb came off the Injured List to make this start. Brandon Hyde certainly wanted to be careful with him in that sense. Furthermore many starters are on shortish leashes in their maiden starts in a season.

Could Cobb have gone on in the game? Probably. (Recording an additional two outs would have qualified him for a quality start.) However odds are Hyde pulled him for precautionary reasons.

Now, should Wright have been the guy to come into the game in that situation? I’ll let you debate that amongst yourselves. However it.’a worth keeping in mind that Brandon Hyde is managing in his seventh big league game. Furthermore Wright got a fairly dramatic save in his last outing (the first save of his career). Some days pitchers are on, and some days they aren’t. And it’s Mary impossible to predict when they’re going to be on or off. Especially relievers. Games like these happen – all you can do is hope that the next game yields better results.

Baltimore Orioles fall in Toronto finale

The Baltimore Orioles utilized Nate Karns this afternoon as an “opener” once again. In the final game of the season’s opening road trip, the Birds were going for the sweep in Toronto, with Karns only starting in name only. Karns’ line: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 earned), 0 BB, 4 K.

Karns gave up a run-scoring single to Hernandez in the first inning, in a sequence that included an E5. You can’t give teams extra outs at this level, because they’ll take advantage. After Karns had given way to Jimmy Yacabonis however, Gruchuk added a solo homer in the third inning to give Toronto a 2-0 lead.

Prior to the game the Orioles DFA’d reliever Pedro Araujo, and called up Matt Wotherspoon from the minors. (Araujo will now be offered back to the Chicago Cubs, as he still had Rule 5 status.) Wotherspoon had his opportunity to make his big league debut at Rogers Centre today, however it didn’t go quite according to plan…

…Wotherspoon allowed a homer and an RBI-double in the eighth. In effect, that put the game semi-out of reach for the Orioles. However they did get a late three-run homer from Trey Mancini in the ninth. But the Birds ended up falling on this day, 5-3. (Incidentally the Orioles are expected to send Wotherspoon back down, as they’ll need to make another roster move before tomorrow’s game.)

While Chris Davis isn’t putting out the offensive stats that the Orioles wasn’t right now, he’s always been a solid defensive first baseman. He saved numerous runs today with his glove work at first base. The Orioles would like to see more out of him at the plate for sure, however one way or the other he’s contributing.

It’s always a bit of a downer to lose the final game of a series, even after winning the first two. You’d almost rather lose the first or second game and then win the third – it almost feels like you lost the series. But the fact is that the Orioles didn’t lose this series. They head home now with a 4-2 record, having taken two-of-three in two division series’ on the road.

It’s still very early in a season which still looks to be a tough one for these Orioles. But the fact is that NOBODY saw a 4-2 record coming after six games. Heck, there were people who expected them to be 0-6 going into the home opener. That’s not the case. Even in a losing effort today, they still made a run in the ninth. This could still be a mirage; but this team could also be just a bit better than anyone thought.

The Orioles will now return home for their home opener tomorrow at Camden Yards against New York. Alex Cobb, gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s James Paxton. Game time is set for just after 3 PM.

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!