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: How does one market the team in 2019?

The Baltimore Orioles are a hot mess. Unfortunately they have been since April when the world seemingly stopped turning. However as I’ve written over time, Spring Training 2019 is going to be the most important camp in awhile. Not only to see who plays where, but also to see how everyone meshes under the new manager. And also to figure out who “everyone” is.

However the 2019 Orioles are going to have an identity problem from the outset. Who exactly are they? Or rather, who will they be? I suspect that Baltimoreans and Orioles fans will take the time to learn who these guys are as we go along. Your true die hards will know everyone out of Spring Training. But soon enough the new team will be guys that fans recognize by name.

But what do the Orioles do until that happens? How do you market things such as season ticket packages when you can’t even inform fans who they’ll be paying to see play? Similarly, how does the team draw fans to their annual FanFest celebration when they don’t have any star power (or even a manager) to hock?

The same is true in terms of merchandising. Cedric Mullins‘ jersey and shirsey will only sell so much. Needless to say I think that Birdland is excited to have Mullins here, but again he’s only one guy. And it’s still uncleaer as to how much people are going to be willing to buy in right now. Needless to say, the marketing department has it’s work cut out for it.

Baltimore Orioles: Branden Kline to the 40-man roster

Earlier this week the Baltimore Orioles instated pitcher Branden Kline onto the 40-man roster. In a sense, he’s officially a big leaguer. Of course the fact that it’s November means that he won’t be in games anytime soon. But nevertheless he’s on the roster.

The Birds considered giving Kline a September call-up this year. However with him coming off of Tommy John surgery, they opted to shut him down. And odds are that was smart. There probably wasn’t much for him to prove this September in any games.

For what it’s worth, Kline in essence took Adam Jones‘ spot on the 40-man roster. Jones because a free agent on Tuesday of this week, and is officially no longer employed by the club. And effective today, former manager Buck Showalter and former GM Dan Duquette can say the same. Their contracts expired at the end of October.

The Orioles were considering the option of protecting Kline during the Rule 5 draft, but putting him on the 40-man roster does that and then some. How he fits into whatever direction the team heads from here remains to be seen. Of course, once we know who the GM and manager will be, that might become a bit more clear.

Baltimore Orioles: Your enemies get fat on what you leave behind

Throughout the 2018 season I wrote about how the Baltimore Orioles left a lot of opportunities on the field, and how their opponents almost always made them pay. And in fact, the Orioles could never seem to do the same in return when other teams would slip up. They were the most giving and the most forgiving team in baseball in a sense.

But is the same also true on a grander scale? Steve Pearce now stands as the World Series MVP. Not only that, but he does so with one of the Orioles’ rivals (Boston). As I said earlier this week, my hope is that Orioles fans are happy for Pearce. He had some great moments with the Orioles, and odds are he’ll be remembered fondly here.

He also was allowed to walk at a certain point. Granted, Pearce is a career journeyman. He was used to coming and going, sometimes more than once a year, over time. The Orioles were just another stop along the way. There were no hard feelings, and both sides parted amicably.

But the fact remains that Pearce probably would have fit into the 2017 and 2018 Orioles’ payrolls very nicely. And he would have certainly fit into the lineup. Would the Orioles have been a better team with him the past two seasons? Not that it would have mattered too much at the end of the day, but yes they would have been.

Instead the O’s allowed him to leave, and his travels took him to Toronto this season. Toronto traded him to Boston before the trade deadline, and the rest is history. Again, Pearce is a guy who in these parts will be remembered as being a key member of some great Oriole teams. His name will always be somewhat synonymous with the Showalter era. But…

…history now says that he”ll be remembered as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Perhaps the Orioles can’t necessarily be blamed for allowing a career journeyman to walk per se, although he would have been welcomed with open arms by fans on a more long term basis. However the fact remains that a direct rival took what was once the Orioles’ and it worked out for them. BIG TIME.

Hindsight is always 20/20. The Orioles probably didn’t think twice about their decision. You can’t know how something’s going to turn out before you do it. That’s a fact. But perhaps moving forward they should check their lists two and three times before parting ways with a player. Because what was once the Orioles’ now belongs to someone else.

Baltimore Orioles are on the clock

The end of the World Series brings a finality to the 2018 season for the Baltimore Orioles and across the league. The Birds’ season has been over for awhile, however as long as baseball was still being played it almost existed onward in absentia. However now everyone’s done – for this year at least.

Fans have groused on and on about the Orioles’ lack of direction and so forth. And my message has been the same in that you have to wait to see what happens after the post season has been completed. One of the “unwritten codes” of team building is that the league prefers you to not make any big moves during the post season. Plenty of teams did, but the O’s did not.

So the time is now. With baseball activities officially being over and done with for this year, the Birds are officially on the clock. It’s very simple; the Angelos’ need to hire a General Manager. And that General Manager needs to hire a manager.

Whomever that GM is will take the position knowing that he’ll have to move quickly. There are only three full months (one of which is about to begin on Thursday of this week) between now and the beginning of Spring Training. Whomever the new manager is will need some time to get his coaching staff together, grow into the job a bit, and be ready to go on February 23rd when Grapefruit League play begins. So again, the O’s are on the clock…no pressure or anything.

Baltimore Orioles: Steve Pearce is the World Series MVP

Baltimore Orioles fans are probably not happy that a division rival won the World Series in the Boston Red Sox. However there is one aspect of that for which they’re hopefully happy. Former Oriole Steve Pearce, now a member of the Red Sox, is not only a World Series champion. But also the World Series MVP.

Pearce hit .333 in the Fall Classic, with four hits, eight RBI, and three homers. It has to be sweet redemption for a player like Pearce, who’s been a journeyman his entire career. He was always well-received in Baltimore during his numerous stints, and he quickly became a fan favorite.

Not only that, but he became a quick favorite of Buck Showalter. Pearce was in essence a “lunch pail,” blue collar-type player. Over the course of the season when facing Pearce while he played for Toronto and Boston, Buck was never anything less than complimentary of Pearce. He was a key member of the 2014 AL East Champion Orioles team, and I suspect that was experience that served him well.

So is it okay for Orioles fans to be bitter about a hated foe winning it all? Sure. However I hope that fans will be happy for Steve Pearce. He’s been a winner wherever he’s gone, and he’s played for several organizations. My hope is that he’ll always be a fan favorite in Baltimore.

Baltimore Orioles: Last hurrah for Buck Showalter

Now former Baltimore Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter was back in Baltimore yesterday afternoon. Actually he’s been back for some time, but I digress. Buck and his wife Angela were in town for their annual Trick-or-Trot as Camden Yards on behalf of KidsPeace.

Showalter’s been around the past few days tying up loose ends and in effect moving out of his residence that he’s kept in town since he’s been here. He’ll now revert to living in the Dallas area full time moving forward.

It says a lot about Showalter’s character that he still attended yesterday’s event. Nobody would have blamed him for not being there after the Orioles opted to go in a different direction. However since he arrived in Baltimore he and his wife have adopted KidsPeace, and the charity means a lot to him. Again, that should tell Orioles fans all they need to know about their leader the past eight years.

Buck always said that he “got” Baltimore. However I think Baltimore also “got” him. For his sake, it’s my hope that he returns here at some point and is inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame.

Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado caught sign-stealing?

Former Baltimore Orioles’ third baseman and shortstop Manny Machado is being charged publicly with sign-stealing. And in the World Series at that. This according to Boston pitching coach Dana LeVangie.

According to LeVangie, Machado was touching his helmet while on second base with his right or left hand, among other things. LeVangie said that he wanted to go to the mound, but Boston was able to get a strikeout in the process. Basically he stayed in the dugout because he didn’t want to disrupt momentum.

My recommendation to the Boston Red Sox would be to simply hit Machado with a pitch if they feel he was stealing signs. That’s how the unwritten codes of the game work. You think someone’s stealing your signs, you throw at them. And Boston’s proven that they don’t forget – ever.

Would they hit Machado in a World Series game? Tough to say. But if they don’t, they’ll get to him whenever they see him in the future. Again, that’s just how the unwritten codes of the game work.

What isn’t supposed to happen is calling teams out in the media. That’s apparently what Boston’s doing, of which I’m not a fan. Take care of these types of things on the field. Leave it out of the public eye.

Baltimore Orioles: Can’t overuse analytics

One of the big concerns about the Baltimore Orioles the past few years was the absence of analytics in their game plans. I can appreciate analytics as much as anyone out there. However I also know that baseball is a game played by human beings. Not by computers.

L.A. Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts finds his team down 2-0 in the Fall Classic after dropping games one and two to Boston. Roberts however is under a bit more scrutiny than he should be. He rested four of his top home run hitters in games one and two at Fenway – because analytics say that righties hit better in that park. Again, Los Angeles is now down 2-0.

Overall, I think Roberts is a solid manager. However I think he’s seriously erring in this instance. Again, analytics plays a role. But sometimes you also have to add the human touch and go by feel. Resting your top four sluggers doesn’t feel like a winning formula.

National analysts say that the series is over. I personally don’t believe that. However if Boston goes on to beat Los Angeles, will Roberts’ decisions be scrutinized for the rest of time? Think of the decision to leave Britton on the bench in the AL Wild Card game in 2016 – will he face Showalter-like scrutiny?

Whomever manages the Orioles moving forward should embrace analytics as a part of the role. However you never want to get so close to the forest that you can’t smell the trees. That may well be what Dave Roberts has done in this year’s World Series.

Baltimore Orioles: Jim Riggleman for manager?

I’m on record as saying that the Baltimore Orioles should hire a guy new to managing when they look for a leader in the dugout. (Obviously they need to hire a GM first, but I digress.) But is it possible that a candidate with experience could be the right fit? Even for a young team?

Jim Riggleman was relieved of his duties in Cincinnati and thus is available. He’s not a flashy name by any means, but he’s had some limited success over time. He’s also older, and would probably not be looking to manage long-term.

In other words, he’d be primed to maybe set the course of the organization in terms of fundamentals, and then when things start to churn well they could look to bring in a flashier name. This while Riggleman would in theory be retiring.

I thought that Riggleman was treated poorly by Cincinnati. That team was dead in the water in April, and he lit a fire under the players and they started to win. At the very least, he deserved to be their manager next year, and I thought it was poor form to let him go. He was also treated poorly by the Washington Nationals, who refused to even discuss picking up his option. Riggleman resigned mid-season as a result – a move that I respected.

But would he be the right fit for such a young team? That’s up to the new front office. But the fact is that he’s a name that’s out there. Anything is possible.

Baltimore Orioles: Former Birds impact Fall Classic

Albeit in absentia, the Baltimore Orioles are having an impact in the 2018 World Series. After one game, that is. Steve Pearce had a walk and a run scored last night for Boston, and Manny Machado had three RBI for Los Angeles. Boston defeated the L.A. Dodgers 8-4 and lead 1-0 in the Fall Classic,

I suspect that Orioles fans are following Machado’s progress more so than they are that of Pearce. That’s probably due in part because they don’t want to see a division rival win the World Series. But Machado was obviously more of a factor for the Orioles than Pearce was.

But don’t sell Steve Pearce or his time with the Orioles short. He was a very key member of the 2014 AL East Champions team. He was always clutch in the utility role, and when Chris Davis was suspended for PED use he immediately filled in as the starting first baseman – a role he filled for Boston last night in game one of the World Series.

Orioles fans also saw some familiarity in the field last night with Manny Machado making a few incredibly plays to either start double-plays or to throw runners out at first base. As deadly as Manny can be with the bat, his best stuff has always been in the field. Somehow I don’t see that changing, regardless of where he signs next season.

Make not mistake that both Manny Machado and Steve Pearce represent what will always be a special time for Orioles baseball. Was everything perfect from 2012-2016? Of course not. The abrupt end to that era represents that fact. But it was the first time that an entire generation of Orioles fans got to see their team as a winner. Thus it’s fitting that at least one guy from those times will call himself a world champion when all’s said and done this year.