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 sweep New York away behind Dylan Bundy’s outstanding outing

The Baltimore Orioles are still having trouble scoring runs – both for Dylan Bundy as well as for other pitchers. However last night and this afternoon they played a team in the New York Mets who have been having similar difficulties. And just as the did last night, the Orioles took advantage this afternoon. But it begins and ends with starting pitching; Bundy’s line: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K.

The game was a scoreless tie until the eighth inning. After putting a couple of runners on base, Manny Machado‘s sac fly-RBI gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead. And the bullpen took care of the rest.

Again, the concern is that the O’s are still struggling to score runs. However I would point out that in what ended up being the final game with New York last Saturday they put five runs on the board. It’s easy enough to call out Oriole bats, and that’s certainly part of it. But the opponent has something to say about it also. And the Birds ran into some good pitching in Queens this week.

Perhaps there is some irony in the fact that the Orioles had to surrender their DH for these two games, and while the offensive output wasn’t the greatest, they won. Mind you, that wasn’t due to the fact that they didn’t have a DH, and their pitchers didn’t add anything offensively. But it’s just a strange fact. For what it’s worth, the O’s will have to surrender their DH again starting June 19th for six games – three in Washington, and three in Atlanta.

The Orioles’ rotation has steadily improved over the past few weeks. Unfortunately that hasn’t translated into wins per se, but we’ve seen quite a few quality starts. Including in today’s game. That does and should stand for something, according to manager Buck Showalter (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

It’s like I said earlier, pitching every fifth day and being the same pitcher every time out is really, really hard to do. Just the sum of the parts as far as the rotation, we’re starting to get a little depth in it now. Not only here, but down below, so down the road I still think this year and next year and years to come it’s got a chance to be strength of ours. And from within.

The O’s now head north of the border for the first time this season to open up a four-game set in Toronto. David Hess gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Jaime Garcia. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles flush out a victory for Alex Cobb

The Baltimore Orioles started Alex Cobb this evening at Citi Field in Flushing Meadows. Cobb was dominant for six innings, and Oriole bats gave him exactly what he needed to win – although nothing more. Cobb’s line: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K.

This was also an exciting night for the Orioles and Orioles fans, as newly promoted catcher Austin Wynns made his big league debut. Wynss was almost masterful behind the plate, blocking balls and controlling Cobb and subsequent pitchers like an old pro. True to form, his first big league at bat came in the second inning, and it resulted in his first big league hit. There’s nary a better moment than seeing a guy get his first hit as a major leaguer to the cheers of his parents and family in the stands. That’s one of the things that makes baseball great.

The Birds got on the board early, and almost often. The first two hitters reached base, which is not something we’ve seen out of the Orioles much this year. The Orioles took a 1-0 lead on Manny Machado‘s RBI-single. Danny Valencia would add a sac fly-RBI, and the Birds held a 2-0 lead.

New York would put a run across in the fifth on a sac fly-RBI by Bautista. But Oriole pitching across the board shut them down for most of the game. The concern is that New York pitching also kept the Orioles down after that first inning. And things were looking up in that inning, but that was all the Orioles were able to get.

All in all, the O’s smacked six hits and walked twice on New York pitching. So were they just lucky to get out of this game with a win, or did it take a certain skill to win it? The answer is both. In order to win a 2-1 game you have to tap dance out of various situations, and the Orioles did that – especially in the ninth inning when the winning run was on base. Perhaps that receded just enough pressure to give the Birds the moxie they needed to flush out a tight victory.

It’s also worth mentioning that the O’s hadn’t played since Saturday. Am I suggesting that they were rusty? Not really, I’m actually saying the opposite. I’m saying that perhaps with some time off they were a bit more relaxed in playing tonight. And perhaps that helped them when the going got tough.

This short two-game set concludes tomorrow afternoon at Citi Field. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s Zach Wheeler. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles pick high school pitcher Grayson Rodriguez in draft

The Baltimore Orioles went really young in last night’s MLB draft, picking RHP Grayson Rodriguez of Central Heights High School in Nacogdoches, Texas. At six foot five 230, Rodriguez is a bit of an imposing figure. His fastball is routinely in the mid-90’s according to scouting reports.

They also selected SS Cadyn Grenier. a junior out of Oregon State. Grenier was drafted mainly for his glove, because his bat is somewhat suspect. But he’s a plus fielder, which is exactly what the Orioles have been looking for.

Keep in mind folks, it’ll be awhile before we see these picks in Orioles’ uniforms. Part of drafting guys is bringing them through the minor league system and eventually to the big leagues. However they’re certainly names to keep an eye on as time goes on.

My only concern would be Rodriguez, who’s already committed to college. Is it safe to assume that the Orioles did their homework and that he’s going to sign as opposed to head to Texas A & M? Time will tell.

The Orioles this evening head to New York for a short two-game set with the Mets. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s Jason Vargas. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Has the business of sport changed?

The Baltimore Orioles have embraced the Washington Capitals and their run to the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals. And in reality, Baltimore is almost ground zero for Capitals fandom. There’s a huge fan base in Charm City, and there always has been. I certainly grew up a Caps fan myself, so for me these are certainly exciting times.

However I look at the grousing going on among Orioles fans right now, much of it justified based on the record. And I’m reminded of the early days of the Washington Capitals. As most folks know, they played their games in Landover, MD’s Capital Centre until the late 1990’s. And I think that’s partially why Baltimore’s always embraced the team. First off they’re the closest NHL franchise. However if you were in downtown Baltimore it was probably easier for you to get to a Caps’ home game than it would have been from Northern Virginia.

But some of those early Caps teams were dreadful. When I was a kid in the 1980’s the games were on Home Team Sports, which also carried the Orioles. My parents refused to pay the up charge that was required to get HTS, as it wasn’t considered basic cable at the time. So I rarely got to see a Capitals’ home game on television (the road games were carried on local over-the-air stations). I spent many winter nights laying in bed listening to Ron Weber call games on the radio.

And as I alluded above, Weber called A LOT of bad hockey in the first few years. Really up until the late 1980’s. But keep in mind that the franchise still had a fledgling fan base at that time. Whereas I followed baseball, football, and basketball because older men (Dad, uncles, etc) played those sports in my family, I never really had a background with ice hockey. But I enjoyed the games and I enjoyed following the Capitals – and I kind of picked it up on my own (by reading a few books on the history of the sport, and some of the greats such as Bobby Orr).

While they had a fledgling fan base at that time, the fans were also loyal. The Caps routinely played in front of small Capital Centre crowds, but the fans that came were loud and proud. And as time went on the fan base grew. And anyone who’s seen the shots of the fans outside the arena nowadays knows that it’s now huge.

So I’ve covered a lot of real estate to get to this point. But here it is; could that have happened in the exact same manner now as it did then? The Capitals came to town as an expansion team in 1974. It took them a long while before they even thought about reaching respectability. Yet the fans were loyal and never really complained. They were just happy to have a team.

The Orioles of today seem to have more complainers than ever before. Everything they do is under the microscope, and if you believe some fans is just flat out wrong. Obviously with the record they have it’s hard to suggest people should cut them a break. However if this was the spring of 2014 and they were streaking towards the AL East title, would anyone be complaining that they were considering the act of signing Hanley Ramirez?

I would submit that social media has played a huge role in this. And it’s an industry-wide thing in regards to sports. Back in the ’70’s and ’80’s nobody had an outlet such as Twitter or Facebook to voice their opinions about the team – or about anything. Heck if you had a cable channel that cost an extra fee that you didn’t feel like paying and thus you couldn’t see your favorite team’s games, you’d be screaming on social media. Back then the youthful version of me just found another way – the radio.

I suppose the point is that things look a lot more bleak overall for a team like the Orioles with one million people on various social media sites thinking they know better. And thinking that their views and opinions are all correct. More correct than what the team thinks, in fact. So if the Capitals had been a contemporary expansion team and had started out their first decade as they did back then, people would have been up in arms. Especially now, when the Caps’ opponent in the Stanley Cup Finals is a Vegas team in it’s fist year of existence.

Baltimore Orioles: Will a different team take on the N.Y. Mets?

This afternoon’s Baltimore Orioles game against New York at Camden Yards has been  canceled due to rain. The game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Saturday August 25th. The makeup game will be at 1 PM, and the previously scheduled game will begin at 7 PM. A separate admission is required for each game.

So the O’s will have the rest of today, and tomorrow off. They’ll then head to New York for a two-game set against the New York Mets. Just a friendly reminder, the Birds will have to surrender their DH in those two games. And as a person who likes the National League game better BECAUSE the pitchers hit, I’m looking forward to that.

The question is whether or not the Orioles team that heads to Queens on Tuesday night is the same team we’ve known to this point. Reports surfaced yesterday that the Orioles have expressed interest in former Boston infielder/DH Hanley Ramirez, who was recently DFA’d by Boston. Ramirez is hitting .254 on the year, and has six homers. He also has 1.000 fielding percentage (over 25 games this year at first base).

Based on the twitter reaction, this would not be a popular move to Orioles fans. However let’s look at the facts; first and foremost, Ramirez was DFA’d. That means that the $15 million he’s due this year is going to be paid by Boston. As much as I talk about the Orioles not DFAing players because they’d still have to pay them, they could kind of do that process in reverse in this case.

However the fact is that while he struggled this year, Ramirez is a better option than Valencia or Alvarez. Odds are one of those two would be DFA’d if Ramirez were brought in. And given that both of them are here on minor league deals, it wouldn’t cost the Orioles but about $100K.

The drawback with Ramirez is that he has a clause in his deal whereby if he reached 497 plate appearances, he’s due $22 million for next year. And that would be picked up by the Orioles. He’s currently at 195 PA’s – so between there and 497, could the O’s not decipher if they want to keep Ramirez? Either that or limit his plate appearances so that he doesn’t get to that point.

Easier said than done, but possible. The other option is that Ramirez might be a guy who could be included in a trade at the deadline to perhaps draw a prospect. He wouldn’t net a massive haul, however he could bring the Orioles a farmhand that might help to re-stock their system. And if all else fails and he doesn’t work out, they can DFA him – and guess what? He’d still be on Boston’s payroll!

Nothing that has happened to the Orioles this year has made sense. The Orioles have played games and made moves in a very conventional manner – and in essence they’ve been outdone by teams thinking outside the box. So if nothing else, this would be the O’s thinking outside the box.

Baltimore Orioles haunted by in-game mistakes

If there’s ever a lesson that the Baltimore Orioles are going to learn in 2018, it’s that their opponents aren’t anywhere near as charitable as they are in games. When the O’s make a mistake, they’re held accountable for it – almost tenfold. When the opponent screws up, the Orioles can’t seem to follow suit.

Kevin Gausman didn’t throw a quality start, but he pitched better than his numbers indicate. Gausman’s line: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R (5 earned), 0 BB, 9 K. The zero walks and nine strikeouts kind of stand out. Gausman was dealing in yesterday’s game, although he did surrender the home run ball. And he was let down by the defense behind him.

The O’s actually took the lead early on an Adam Jones solo homer in the first. This after an hour and forty-five minute rain delay before the game even started. However New York took the led right back in the top of the second when Andujar smacked a two-run homer. One inning later New York seemingly opened the game right up when Stanton hit a two-run shot of his own to give them a 4-1 lead.

One would have thought that the O’s wouldn’t even attempt to come back from that. But the one difference in yesterday’s loss and other ones of late is that the Birds did show a pulse. And while that won’t win you any awards, it’s a start. Joey Rickard‘s solo homer in the last of the third cut the lead to 4-2. Then the sixth inning occurred.

With a runner on first Sanchez grounded into what appeared to be a tailor-made double-play. However Schoop’s throw back to first was air mailed, giving New York an extra out and a runner in scoring position. So as opposed to two outs and nobody on, they had a runner at second with one out. Kind of a big difference. Gregorius’ RBI-single would score Sanchez, and Gregorius would then take second on a fielding error by Adam Jones (who misplayed the ball).

Again, opponents aren’t as charitable as the Orioles. When the Birds make mistakes in games, they’re held accountable for them and then some. Jones would also allow Hicks to advance to second on a throwing error later in the inning after Hicks’ RBI-single gave New York a 6-2 lead.

However again, showing a heart beat doesn’t win you any ponies. But the O’s did attempt to come back in this game. And with those three unearned runs, it’s very possible that things would have been very different had those aforementioned mistakes not occurred. Manny Machado smacked a solo homer in the sixth to cut the lead to 6-3, and later in the inning Danny Valencia‘s RBI-double cut it to 6-4. However that’s as close as the Birds would get. In fact, NY would add two more runs in the eighth, while Jones’ RBI-single in the ninth brought the O’s back to within three at 8-5 (the final).

Jones really illustrated why this season makes no sense for the Orioles. People want to say that they stink and so forth, and obviously that’s what their record indicates. But Adam Jones is a perennial all-star center fielder, who we know is better than those errors indicate. (They were also made in the rain – in fairness.) So you have a roster of guys who are for whatever reason performing below what their career numbers indicate.

Some will say that they’re aging, and in some instances that’s true. But most of these guys are in their 20’s and early 30’s – and they’re performing as if they’re in their early 40’s. Ultimately you just have to ride out the mistakes as best you can, however this team doesn’t “stink.” They just aren’t performing up to where they should be. And again, they’re being held accountable by their opponents 100% of the time for their mistakes. Yet they can’t seem to do the same in return.

After the game the Orioles optioned catcher Andrew Susac back to triple-A Norfolk. A corresponding roster move is obviously forthcoming before today’s game. Who that will be still remains a mystery, however.

Weather permitting, the series wraps up this afternoon at Camden Yards. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s Domingo German. Game time is set for just after 1 PM (again, weather permitting).

Baltimore Orioles’ hitters are far too precise

Another quality start by a Baltimore Orioles’ starter, this time Andrew Cashner. And yet, another loss. And the worst part? New York looked fairly susceptible last night. The game was ripe for the taking, but the O’s couldn’t muster more than one run. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

At first it looked like the Orioles were going to have things on track last night. Manny Machado smacked a solo homer in the first inning to give the O’s a 1-0 lead. However I’ve said this previously; it seems that all Oriole home runs these days are solo shots. And here’s the ironic part…I don’t think they’re “relying on the homer” as much as we’re being told that they are. But don’t statistics and results indicate otherwise?

Outwardly, yes. However go just a little deeper below the surface. There’s nary one hitter on the roster against whom the opponent isn’t employing some sort of shift. And true to form, the Oriole hitters are hitting the ball to almost the exact spots where opposing fielders are playing. Hence so many quick innings.

Oriole hitters have gotten so predictable that teams can position their fielders in shifts and have a great amount of confidence that the ball’s going to go to that spot. On one hand that type of precision is somewhat impressive on the Orioles’ part. However it doesn’t help when it comes to the ball finding a hole and a guy getting on base. Obviously the only true remedy to that short of adjusting your hitting is hitting the ball over the fence.

New York would tie the game at one in the third on an RBI-single by Torres. Ironically, Torres was on base after hitting directly into the Orioles’ shift. The ball deflected off of Davis’ glove at first and popped straight up into the air – enough time for Torres to get to second base. And when things are going poorly, those are the types of things that happen.

Two innings later New York had the lead on Bird’s RBI-triple. New York would also get an RBI-double from Romine in the sixth, and a solo homer from Judge in the seventh. The O’s would actually load the bases in the last of the eighth with only one out. However a Schoop strikeout and a Davis flyout ended the threat.

The series continues this afternoon (weather permitting) at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Masahiro Tanaka. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Weather looks spotty at best

With how things were going for the Baltimore Orioles, last night’s rain out may well have been a good thing. However the Birds might be on track for more weather situations this weekend for the remainder of the series with New York as well. They’re calling for scattered showers tonight, scattered thunderstorms tomorrow, and a 50% chance of rain on Sunday.

Personally I think they’ll get at least two of those games in. Just a hunch. However this illustrates how the weather has reaked havoc on the MLB schedule thus far. New York already has a doubleheader on Monday of next week to make up two games in Detroit. So that’s out if another game needs to be reschueduled.

The O’s will still send Andrew Cashner to the mount tonight, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Sonny Gray. Game time is set for just after 7 PM – weather permitting.

Baltimore Orioles postponed

Tonight’s Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards against New York has been postponed. It will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader on July 9th at Camden Yards. The first game will begin at 4 PM, with the second one starting approximately 20-30 minutes after the completion of the first one. The teams are scheduled to play again tomorrow night at 7 PM at Camden Yards – weather permitting.

Baltimore Orioles: Another quality start wasted

The Baltimore Orioles got their second quality starts in as many games against Washington this evening – this time from rookie David Hess. However the result was the same as it was with Bundy last night: an Orioles’ loss. Yet again. And this one stings just a bit more, because Hess was REALLY good. Hess’ line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Hess pitched-to-contact all night. And save for one pitch, he did it masterfully. He surrendered a solo homer to Harper in the third inning. That’s the only bad pitch he made. However Oriole bats have put this team in the position whereby their pitchers can’t give up even one bad pitch. Because it cost them the game.

Washington would nab their second run off of an RBI-single by Soto in the seventh. And THAT folks, is your ballgame. Or was it?

The Orioles put two runners on with nobody out in the last of the ninth. In fact, Adam Jones reached on a miscommunication by the Washington infield and outfield as a ball dropped in. If there’s ever a moment to make an opponent pay for a mistake, the ninth inning is a good time to do it. However in the end, it was predictably the O’s who ended up paying.

Craig Gentry was the lead runner at second base, and the Birds had Machado coming to the plate with nobody out. A home run would have won the game. Yet inexplicably, Gentry took off for third base. And on top of that, it was a tentative attempt to steal as it was. Gentry was thrown out in the subsequent rundown, which in essence ran the Orioles out of the inning.

First off let’s not blame the loss on Craig Gentry. That was an incredibly bone headed move, and the fact is that you really can’t explain it. All you can say is that he either did it on his own, or he misinterpreted a sign. In fact, you hope that it was something with the sign, because that at least is a rational explanation. If he just randomly decided to take off on his own with Machado representing the winning run at the plate, one has to question his baseball savoir faire.

The Orioles however lost this game because they couldn’t solve Washington’s Scherzer; NOT because of Craig Gentry’s horrible decision. That one thing unfortunately stood out, however it didn’t lose the game for the O’s. It may have aided in them not coming back to win it, however.

Ironically, as much as I talk about not trusting youth in games, it’s plays like that which I envision. I’d rather not have to deal with boneheaded plays like that, and in my antiquated mindset it’s young players who are going to make those types of mistakes. Gentry’s been a big leaguer since 2009. So that type of play is pretty tough to swallow.

The Orioles will now open a four-game set with the New York Yankees tomorrow night. Andrew Cashner gets the start, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Sonny Gray Game time is set for just after 7 PM.