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: Is Baltimore a black hole for players?

The Baltimore Orioles once again wasted a quality start by a starting pitcher, this time Dylan Bundy. Now with that said, Bundy would be the first to tell you that this start had mixed reviews. Granted he only surrendered three runs, but he also allowed 11 hits. But statistically he pitched a quality start, and it went by the wayside. Bundy’s line: 6.0 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 6 K.

Bundy threw a home run to Harper on the first pitch of the second at-bat of the game, and the O’s trailed early. However Manny Machado wasn’t about to be outdone by Harper, and he smacked a first inning homer of his own to tie the game. But Washington would come right back and take the lead in the second inning on a Difo bloop RBI-single. And believe me folks, it wasn’t anything to write home about. It was one of those very softly hit balls that barely made it over the second baseman’s head.

Washington would also get a solo homer from Reynolds in the fourth, running the lead to 3-1. Adam Jones‘ RBI-single in the fifth brought the O’s to within 3-2, and in fact they had a shot to get more. Third base coach Bobby Dickerson sent Jace Peterson behind Jones in an attempt to tie the game, and Peterson was thrown out at home plate.

In general, I think that Dickerson can be overly aggressive and in essence can run the Orioles out of outs. In that instance, he should have known that Machado was coming up and thus would have had a runner on third. Now with that said, Machado probably would have been intentionally walked – and odds are Dickerson knew that. With all of that said, it took a near perfect throw to get Peterson at home plate. And Washington did just that.

The Orioles had their chances, but were incapable of putting anything else across over the course of the rest of the game, dropping this one 3-2. Interestingly enough, the winning pitcher for Washington was Jeremy Hellickson, for whom the O’s traded last year. Many Orioles fans will remember how much he struggled when he got here. With Philadelphia (prior to the trade), he was 5-6 with a 4.73 ERA. Not great, but I digress. With the Orioles he was 2-6 with a 6.97 ERA.

You also have former Oriole Mark Reynolds with Washington. Reynolds of course did hit home runs when he was with the O’s in 2011 and ’12 – 37 and 23 respectively. He also hit .221 both years, and struck out 196 and 159 times respectively. Thus far with Washington, he’s hitting .406 and he’s struck out five times (in only 35 plate appearances).

It’s just very disheartening for Orioles fans to see things like this, as it makes one wonder why it happens. Reynolds has always been a home run threat, but also one who strikes out a lot. He’s only on the active roster due to injuries elsewhere, so he may or may not be with the team the entire season. But Hellickson really is a mystery. Granted when the Orioles traded for him last year he wasn’t having a career year by any means. But the wheels came off with the O’s. Now he’s seemingly found the fountain of youth.

Let’s take this a step further; look at Jake Arrieta. His struggles in Baltimore were well-documented. And when the O’s traded him I wrote that I thought it was a smart thing to do because he had gone as far as he was going to go with the Orioles – words I stand by to this day. At the time of the trade, he had a 5.46 career ERA, and a win percentage of .444. That’s what Chicago traded to get…

…and in what was left of that season (2013), Arrieta went 4-2 and achieved an ERA with 3.66 with Chicago. When he left Baltimore in 2013 his ERA was 7.23 on the season. And we know what he’s done since then. It’s really uncanny. I think it’s so easy to put this squarely on coaching, and yes the proof could very well be in the pudding. However Arrieta was “good” literally as soon as he set foot in Wrigley Field. Chicago’s coaches wouldn’t have had time to work with him and free him of whatever bad habits he could have formed from whatever bad coaching he was getting here.

Consequently, Hellickson started trending poorly as soon as he got to Camden Yards. Whatever poor coaching the Orioles would be giving him (if you buy into that argument) wouldn’t have had the chance to take effect yet. At the end of the day, apparently playing poorly here (or in Reynolds’ case playing to your career averages) and then playing off the charts afterwards is a thing. (Again, in Reynolds’ case it’s simply playing above your career averages with another team).

As I said, it’s easy to blame coaching, and that may well be a part of it. But as I said, we’re talking about things changing on a dime as soon as a guy walks in or out of the door. For whatever the reason, there just appears to be a pall over this franchise that makes guys not only underachieve, but also makes them overachieve once they’re gone. All I can say is that there’s no reasonable answer as to why any of that should happen. In essence, it defies logic. But then again, the splits of Bundy vs. Washington and Hellickson vs. the Orioles severely favored the Birds last night. And that stat got turned on it’s head, making people like me look fairly inept.

The series with Washington concludes this evening at Camden Yards. David Hess gets the call for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Max Scherzer. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Sometimes you have to take up for the home team

As a Baltimore Orioles writer, I try my very best to NOT be a blind homer. Yes the articles written here are from the Orioles’ perspective, but I try to call things down the middle. And I try to do the same while tweeting game highlights.

However there are some instances when you’re called to use your bully pulpit to in effect defend the home team. One of those instances came this morning for me. Overall, I like and appreciate the work of The Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell. He’s a great baseball writer, and a great sports writer overall – much in the tradition of Tony Kornheiser. (I’d throw Shirley Povich or John Steadman in there also, but I truly believe that those guys are in a league of their own.) But he wrote something this morning that came as a bit “off.”

In Boswell’s column today, he writes about how after yesterday’s game the Washington Nationals are now getting the best of the Orioles. (Chelsea Janes, also of The Post, wrote a very similar article as well.) Overall since the series started in 2006, the Orioles have won 38 games, and including yesterday Washington’s won 27. So…because of that one win, Washington is suddenly in command?

Boswell and Janes point out that there were lots of Washington fans in the stands at Camden Yards yesterday. And that might be a fair assessment. From my perspective perched above home plate, I’d say that approximately 30% of the announced crowd of 36K+ were “rocking the red,” or rooting for Washington. That’s maybe 12K fans or so.

Now if you read Boswell’s or Janes’ columns today, you get a vastly different view point. One would think that it was a total take over of Camden Yards by Washington’s fan base. That’s just simply not true. The biggest cheers of the day did in fact come from Orioles’ fans, on the off occasion that they did something good in the game.

Boswell mentions the LET’S GO CAPS cheers in his piece; the assumption is that everyone yelling that was rooting for Washington. The Capitals are given home team status with regard to the NHL in Baltimore as well. I saw quite a few people with Caps’ jerseys and Orioles’ hats at the game yesterday. And again by Boswell’s logic, both Buck Showalter (who conducted his pre-game presser in a Capitals jersey) and Mike Bordick (who wore a Capitals hat during the MASN telecast) must have had a rooting interest on Washington’s behalf.

And again, let’s not allow facts to get in the way of a good story. Yesterday was Memorial Day, and as a result it was an afternoon game. That was great scheduling on MLB’s part, because yes in fact it allowed BOTH fan bases to be a part of the game. The rest of the series will probably see the crowds slanted much more heavily in the Orioles’ favor because they’re two night games during the week.

And on that note, the Orioles will head down to DC in the third week of June, for all night games (Tuesday June 19 – Thursday June 21). In the past when the DC-based games have been weeknights, the Orioles’ fan base has ALWAYS turned out. Were there more Orioles fans in DC (and in fact more Washington fans at Camden Yards) when the series would be held over a weekend? Absolutely. But you’ll see a similar phenomenon in reverse when the O’s head down there. Heck, Showalter’s commented on the number of Orioles’ fans in attendance before.

But apparently all of that means nothing, if you read Boswell’s article. Neither does the head-to-head record of the team’s against one another to this point. If you read Boswell’s article with tunnel vision and without knowing anything else, one would think that yesterday’s game was the first the teams had ever played against one another. Not only that, but that first ever game between the two teams (because the others either didn’t happen or didn’t count) was held in Baltimore in front of nothing but Washington fans. And again as someone who covered the game in the ballpark, I can tell you that’s just not true.

I wouldn’t expect The Washington Post to make mention of the orange hue that will indubitably be in the stands at Nationals Park next month. And if they or anyone else does mention it, the commentary will be well those people live in the DC area and for some reason didn’t want to root for the Nationals so they really don’t count. No joke folks, I’ve heard arguments like that in the past.

In fairness to Thomas Boswell, that article didn’t really sound like his body of work. It almost sounded like he was told to write about a certain angle. Boswell’s still a great writer, and make no mistake that he’s one of the best of this generation. I just disagree with him here, and I think he published a piece of what’s called yellow journalism. But again, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was prompted to do so.

So your question might now be, why do you care? If you have no rooting interest per se and you’re “just a writer,” does it really matter? That might be a fair question. But as I said, I write “from the Orioles’ perspective.” I try to call things down the middle – but sometimes you do have to in effect take up for the home team. If the home team is correct or as in this case is being made the fool or the butt end of a joke, setting the record straight IS calling it down the middle. Lest you risk a false narrative such as this one becoming the unofficial truth. In D.C. they have a much simpler way of putting it: FAKE NEWS.

Baltimore Orioles: Is there a serious problem in Birdland?

Alex Cobb pitched a quality start for the Baltimore Orioles today against Washington. That’s both literally and statistically. Cobb’s line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 K.

Cobb was fairly dominant of Washington’s lineup this afternoon, as evidenced by manager Buck Showalter‘s post-game comments about him (all quotes courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

Good, huh? I thought he was good. One pitch, so to speak. He will probably lament a walk there in that inning, but Alex gave us a great chance to win. That was fun to watch for him. That’s more like the guy we know is capable of pitching like that. We’ll take that type of outing against a good club any day. We’re just not scoring any runs. He had a feel for his changeup today, got some outs there. That’s one of the ingredients he’s capable of bringing that he hasn’t had every time. When he’s got three of them, he will have a solid outing like he had today

Cobb was the first one to admit however that one of the few mistakes he made was allowing two Washington hitters to reach with two outs in the third. That allowed Rendon to smack a three-run homer, giving them a 3-0 lead. Washington would also get RBI-singles from Adams, Taylor, and Difo in the eighth inning, and they took the first game of three from the O’s at 6-0.

As I said, Showalter was very complimentary of Alex Cobb after the game. That wasn’t all that he said, however. Later in that same press conference Showalter was asked about his team struggling at the plate, and being dominated by Washington’s Gonzalez:

Well, I think you’re being nice when you say a little (struggling). It’s been a challenge for us and I’m gonna always give credit to them. He certainly has … he’s got an ERA under 3.00 and he’s having a solid year. So to answer your original question, I’ll give him credit, but we all know it’s a little bit more than that. We’ve had some success against good pitchers before, but there’s a good situation for other pitchers right now. They’re really good and we’re not swinging the bats well – that’s a bad combination.

That’s an answer loaded with riddles, from a manager that’s well aware of how to use words to his advantage. When he says, there’s a little bit more than that, what exactly does that mean? Consequently, he went onto say at the end of the quote that in effect opposing pitchers are getting fat off of Oriole bats.

That leads me to wonder if these struggles aren’t so much physical, philosophical, etc. What if they’re mental? And in saying that, what if they amount to more than just a lack of confidence?

The Orioles’ clubhouse has always been a tight group since Showalter’s arrival. Has something changed? The answer there is a resounding YES. But all teams change a few pieces year-over-year. Are players frustrated with the franchise’s philosophy? Or direction?

I can’t really answer that, because if they are frustrated by those things players generally won’t admit it. However here’s some food for thought; the organization seems hell bent on using the Rule 5 draft, which I might understand guys questioning. One player here or there is one thing, but it’s every season (under Duquette). But it could well go further than that.

Don’t underestimate the potential affect on guys’ psyche’s of having the highest paid player in franchise history struggling the way that Chris Davis is struggling. This isn’t to say that Davis isn’t trying to get out of his funk, because I do believe that he is. But the fact is that he has four years’ worth of guaranteed money regardless of how he performs. If I were a guy who had to battle to be on the roster and perhaps is having to battle to stay there and to feed his family, I might look at that situation with a slight bit of resentment. Not to mention the perennial all-star third baseman insisting that he play SS – and the organization acquiescing.

And then there’s the direction of the franchise. Showalter and Dan Duquette are both free agents at the end of the year. As are Adam Jones and Manny Machado. Jonathan Schoop comes up after next season. I think it goes without saying that if he wants to be back with the organization in any capacity, Showalter will be here. But players know what’s going on; they know that it’s tough for Duquette to work on a trade for Machado right now, because the fact is that the Orioles don’t know what their way forward is. And part of that starts in the GM’s chair. If it’s going to be Buck moving into that seat, fine. If Buck stays in the dugout, no problem. But they need to figure out what the plan is moving forward. And that falls on John and Lou Angelos.

Players are all aware of the tension in the air in these various situations. Does it affect play on the field? That I don’t know. But players also need to compartmentalize their concerns and just go out and play. If they’re worried about who the next GM is or why they have to scrap while Davis eases by, that’s really on that individual player – NOT Duquette, Davis, or anyone else. So if any of these things among others are issues in that clubhouse, players need to force themselves to stop making these things issues. Because to borrow a line from the business world, all of it is above their pay grade.

The series with Washington continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Jeremy Hellickson. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Memorial Day in MLB

The Baltimore Orioles will join teams across the league today in celebrating Memorial Day. Everyone will wear the special military-centric uniforms, and we’ll see various displays of patriotism in ballparks across the league. Whereas the NFL kind of gets Thanksgiving as “it’s holiday,” Memorial Day and the Fourth of July most definitely belong to MLB.

The O’s of course will play a matinee game today, as will many other teams across the league. And that’s part of the deal on holidays such as Memorial Day. It plays well with the motif of cook outs, the beach, hot dogs, etc. But we shouldn’t ever forget why we celebrate the holiday overall.

We always associate Memorial Day as being the beginning of summer. And in fact, Memorial Day and Labor Day do act as great bookends to the summer season. More specifically, we associate the holiday with the military – and justifiably so. However often times I feel that we forget why it’s associated with the military.

Memorial Day isn’t meant as a military appreciation day – per se. It is, but then again it isn’t. (There’s some hyperbole for those of you who complain that I speak in riddles!) Memorial Day is meant to honor those members of our American armed forces who died in combat. Now keep in mind, it’s ALWAYS worth mentioning and thanking our veterans. But they’re the first ones to say that their day is Veterans Day – in November. Today is about those who didn’t make it back.

And my hope is that as fans start filing into Oriole Park at Camden Yards this afternoon, they’ll remember that. We all get to sit here and watch and talk about baseball in relative freedom. And we can only do that BECAUSE of the brave men and women who gave their lives in defense of our country over the years.

I’ll leave you with two quick stories, both of which stick with me. My late grandmother emigrated to the United States from Italy when she was one year old. The family settled in a Western PA mining town, and her brother, Pfc David Berardi, served the United States in World War II. He was awarded three Purple Hearts, and eventually died in service of the United States.

My grandmother didn’t talk often about her brother, but on the occasion that she did it was obvious that his death deeply affected her. Her family thus became a Gold Star Family, and again while she didn’t speak of him often I know that she never forgot her brother. When she passed in 1999 I remember thinking of how joyful their reunion in heaven must be.

Secondly, about 15 years ago I was flying back from visiting family in Italy myself, and it was a very clear summer day. The pilot came on the PA and announced that if passengers looked out the windows on the right side of the plane they could see Omaha Beach – where the Allied invasion of Normandy occurred in WWII. I’ll never forget the image of three or four elderly gentlemen jumping out of their seats, standing at attention, and saluting out the window.

These are the things we should consider today as we make our way into ballparks, to beaches, or to enjoy a day off nationwide. The Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals this afternoon – but the fact is that we’re all on the same team. And we remain on the same team because of the so many fallen hero’s in so many wars over the course of our history. And we should never forget that.

Baltimore Orioles: Kevin Gausman victimized by the big inning

The worst part for Kevin Gausman this afternoon is that the Baltimore Orioles gave him a three-run lead before he even stepped on the mound. Not only could Gausman not hold the lead, but he allowed Tampa to put up a crooked number in the third before leaving the game with two outs (in that third inning). Gausman’s line: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 1 K.

Things looked up for the Birds early on. They loaded the bases in the first inning, and took the lead on Chris Davis‘ sac fly-RBI. And incidentally, that came after a decent at-bat for Davis. While he isn’t hitting with the fire and fury that his contract mandates, there are other ways to contribute. He does so defensively game in and game out, and in this case he was able to plate a run for the Orioles – by recording an out.

The Orioles would re-load the bases again in the first inning, and would take a 2-0 lead on a Sisco walk. Craig Gentry‘s RBI-single would then run the score to 3-0. So if you’re at home you’re thinking that things are looking up for the Birds on this day. But it wasn’t to be.

Gausman would start giving runs back almost immediately on a solo homer by Miller. However he was able to get out of the inning without further damage, and he retired Tampa in the second 1-2-3. However Miller would come up again in the third with runners at second and third. And he would deliver a two-RBI double, tying the score at three.

Later in the inning Wendle would smack an RBI-single, giving Tampa the lead at 4-3 – and Wendle went to second on Mancini’s throw. Wendle would later score on an RBI-ground out after moving to third base. And that’s been something that’s plagued the O’s for a long time; guys not hitting the cut off man and trying to throw out a runner that isn’t going to be thrown out 95% of the time. When runners take extra bases on the O’s in situations like that, they almost always find a way to score.

Arroyo would add a two-RBI single before the inning could end, and when the smoke cleared the O’s trailed 7-3. Gomez would smack a solo homer in the seventh for good measure, and the O’s dropped this one 8-3. This game got out of control due to the big inning by Gausman for sure. However it’s not all on him. I mentioned Mancini not hitting the cut off man above; things like that have haunted this team all season. Lack of offensive production has done the same. The O’s couldn’t get anything going after the first inning.

And at the end of the day, you have to just keep grinding. There isn’t much else to say. It’s a long season, and while circumstances beyond their control haven’t been kind to the Orioles to this point, circumstances within their control haven’t been controlled either. And they can start keeping things under control by hitting the cut off man. Now with that said, also keep in mind that those mistakes are done out of wanting to make something happen. Not out of stupidity or lack of talent.

For what it’s worth, the Orioles weren’t thrilled with home plate umpire Mark Wegner’s strike zone for most of the day. There were numerous borderline pitches that they felt went Tampa’s way – whether they were in the field or at bat. Buck Showalter seemed to glare out towards home plate on numerous occasions. While pitch-track technology seemed to back up the Orioles’ point, often times when your pitching staff is struggling you won’t get those calls. Them’s the breaks.

The Orioles now head home to open up a three-game set with the Washington Nationals in the “Battle of the Beltways” on Memorial Day Alex Cobb gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Gio Gonzalez. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: What to make of Tampa’s bizarre bullpen model

You might notice that Sergio Romo is starting for Tampa this afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles. He also started Friday night against the Birds. Is this the bizarro world?!

Not if you look at it under the guise of how Tampa and manager Kevin Cash are using their pitchers this year. Cash is employing a bullpen hand in many cases as an “opener;” this as opposed to using a closer. And after between 1-2 innings, that bullpen hand is being lifted for what one might call a regular starting pitcher.

This is all very unconventional, but baseball fans have learned to expect that from the Tampa Rays. They don’t do this for every game, although each turn of their rotation is in essence a “bullpen game.” But they tend to do it against lineups such as that of the Orioles which are heavily stacked with righties. Again, it’s unconventional, which is part of where a lot of the criticism towards Cash comes from – and for the record, Cash seems to take that in stride (quote courtesy of Doug Padilla, mlb.com):

I’ve been called an idiot, but that has happened before.

However Tampa’s attitude towards anything has always been well if it works who’s the dumb one? They were the team that started the trend of employing shifts on almost every batter. Old school baseball people such as myself weren’t really comfortable with that – a shift here or there is one thing, but every hitter? Heck, Tampa at times will put a fielder in motion during the at bat if they think it’ll give them an edge. Well now everyone seems to do that – the shifts, that is.

Speaking for myself, I think using an “opener” instead of a closer is ill-advised. You’re burning through your bullpen literally from the moment the game begins. However I suppose that part of the theory is that it prevents opponents from stacking their lineup for a starting pitcher, lest they want to make wholesale changes early in the game. But again, the fact is that it’s unconventional.

Does that make it wrong? No, of course not. But Tampa is a team that seems to want to re-invent the wheel at times. And again, the thing with the shifts has certainly caught on league-wide. However that’s not to say that this will as well. Because I believe that it’s asking a lot of bullpen relievers. It’s also asking a lot of coaches to literally play match-ups on every at-bat. To be quite blunt, I think it’s nothing more than a fancy way of dressing up the fact that they can’t find five viable starters.

 

Baltimore Orioles: Andrew Cashner nitpicked to the right

Andrew Cashner pitched a lot better for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon than the numbers indicate. He threw some good pitches that rightfully should have ended in either strikes or outs. However Tampa and their unconventional ways got to him. Cashner’s line: 5.0 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 4 K.

Cashner allowed a base runner in the first with one out on a softly-hit blooper to center. And that’s part of what Tampa does. They seem to specialize in literally hitting the ball so softly that your outfield is too far back to get it. That was followed by an RBI-triple by Wendle, and an RBI-double by Ramos (who was tagged out oversliding the bag at second).

Again in those situations, Tampa sees that the Orioles are playing their outfielders straight away. So what do they do? They push the ball into the right field corner. It’s one thing to hit them where they ain’t. But Tampa seemed to always put it where they couldn’t possibly be, on the right side of the field.

Refsnyder would flick another softly hit blooper into right center in the second, which scored their third run on the day. Later in the inning Cron’s two-RBI double would round out Tampa’s scoring for the day. When the smoke cleared, the O’s trailed 5-0.

Again, the Orioles are a conventional team that tries to hit the ball hard. Tampa’s about as non-conventional as it gets. And that bit the Orioles in the derriere this afternoon. This is not to say that the general manner in which the O’s try to win games is wrong – or that Tampa’s way is right. Because we’ve seen games this year in which the Orioles have bludgeoned Tampa. It just didn’t happen today.

The O’s would get on the board in the seventh on an RBI-single by Chris Davis, which interestingly enough was hit to left field. One inning before that however Cashner would load the bases with nobody out, prompting his exit. Tanner Scott came into the game and proceeded to strike out the side. That was good to see, as Scott inherited a mess and got the team out of it. And if anything, it makes you wonder if Tampa themselves were caught off guard. They seem to pride themselves in being ready for anything, however it’s somewhat incriminating to have no outs and the bases loaded only to end up with no runs.

The Orioles will have an opportunity to win the series tomorrow afternoon in the rubber match. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Sergio Romo. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles, David Hess gas Tampa again

David Hess got to face the same team tonight for the Baltimore Orioles that he faced in his big league debut. However this was a Tampa Rays team that changed a bit due to a flurry of trades consummated just prior to first pitch. But either way the result was the same, as Hess gassed the Tampa Rays. Hess’ line: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K.

For once, we saw the Orioles taking outs away from an opponent, and even getting one back in a sense. With two outs in the first inning Jonathan Schoop struck out but reached on a pass ball. Danny Valencia proceeded to smack an RBI-single, giving the O’s a 1-0 lead.

But in the last of the first Hess picked a runner off second base. If you’re keeping track at home, that’s one out taken away on the base paths. And keep in mind, runners at second base aren’t picked off easily. The Orioles also gunned runners out trying to steal in the second inning and the fourth. So again if you’re keeping track at home, there are three outs taken away by the Orioles on the base paths.

The Birds also got an insurance run in the sixth when Schoop blasted a solo homer deep into the left field grandstand. And that’s your ballgame – in terms of scoring. However the story of the night was Hess. This is a guy who came through the Orioles’ organization and worked hard to get to the big league level. And that work is now really paying off, both for Hess and for the organization.

And we’re starting to see the Orioles take advantage of the opportunities with which they’re presented in games. Yesterday they faced a starter in Giolito who was off-kilter from the beginning. The Orioles jumped on that, and chased him after recording only four outs. Tonight they not only took advantage of opportunities they were given in the game (such as Schoop getting on base in the first inning), but they took opportunities away from Tampa.

In a game that ended 2-0 if you can record three outs on the bases as the Orioles did that’s a huge deal. In effect, they took an entire inning away from Tampa. Small plays in games like those do matter.

The series continues tomorrow afternoon at Tropicana Field. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Ryne Stanek. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Is Alex Cobb turning into Ubaldo Jimenez II?

It begins and ends with starting pitching for the Baltimore Orioles, and last night that meant Alex Cobb. It also meant that things weren’t going to go very well for the Birds on the south side of Chicago. Cobb’s line: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 3 K,

The O’s took an early 1-0 lead as Peterson singled home a run. However that was the best the Orioles were going to do on this night. Chicago’s Moncada smacked a three-run homer in the third, and the ChiSox were off to the races. When the smoke cleared at the end of the game, the O’s had fallen 11-1. Not exactly the result that anyone affiliated with the ballclub was looking to achieve.

Mark Trumbo sat in this game with knee soreness, which is something of concern for the Orioles. Trumbo of course missed the first month of the season with an injury, and the Orioles’ offense was fairly stagnant during that period. Trumbo will see the Orioles’ doctors in Sarasota before tomorrow’s game in Tampa, but the team isn’t expected to need to make a roster move.

As for Alex Cobb, he’s well aware of the pressure on him from fans to perform, and that to this point he hasn’t really lived up to his end of the bargain (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

There’s been some absolute difficulties for not only me, but us as a team to start the season. But I’m not going to look into how people view me as a pitcher. I’d obviously love to go out there and show the fanbase and all of baseball that the Orioles made the right decision in getting me, but it hasn’t gone according to plan to start the season. I no doubt believe that I will return to form, and this commitment that made – we made to each other – that it’ll end up working out for both sides. But you do your best convincing when you’re on the mound and pitching a good game. I plan on not looking too much into the stats and the overall season of numbers, but going game-to-game and trying to put a good streak together.

Cobb and his contract are being compared to that of former Oriole Ubaldo Jimenez, who vastly underperformed during his four years in Baltimore. Now in saying that, I always remind fans that over those four years there were plenty of times when the O’s needed a solid outing in a big spot and Jimenez delivered. That includes the 2014 AL East-clinching game.

However overall, would the Orioles still make that deal if they could do it over? Probably not. Is Cobb turning into Jimenez II? While a 1-6 start isn’t what anyone envisioned, it’s still far too early to tell.

And this season may not be the best judge, or at least the first half. Cobb missed basically all of spring training, which is obviously still affecting him. Having said all of that, there’s still a lot of season left. Cobb can still get it together, and his comment above should reassure fans that he has every intention of doing so.

The series concludes this afternoon, and the O’s will have a shot to split. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Lucas Giolito. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Did Showalter outthink himself with Mychal Givens?

I tweeted last night that Baltimore Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter had pushed all the right buttons with reliever Mychal Givens the previous two games. Givens of course was brought in to pitch in a tight spot on Monday night, and got out of it. He was then brought in last night to complete the seventh inning after starter Kevin Gausman allowed a base runner. But did my observation end up being famous last words?

Gausman pitched a great game last night, and was well deserving of being the winner. Gausman’s line: 6.1 IP, 9 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K. For once it was an opponent racking up double-digit strikeouts against the O’s. The only real struggle that Gausman had was the sixth inning when he had two runners in scoring position with nobody out. But he buckled down and struck out the next three batters, leaving those runners on base.

Gausman was getting his fastball over for strikes. That included his two-seamer, which was deadly and induced swing-and-misses. His off-speed breaking pitches were just as deadly, and almost always induced a weak flail at the ball from a Chicago hitter. It was a dominant performance, which as I said was well deserving of a victory.

And for most of the game it appeared that Gausman was going to get that victory. The Orioles got an RBI-double from Trumbo, and an RBI-groundout from Peterson in the second inning. They led 2-0 most of the way. They also had an opportunity to extend that lead in the fifth, however Chance Sisco was doubled off of second in a base running mistake. Those are the types of things you have to put up with from young players, but they hurt you when they happen at the big league level.

And as I said, Buck Showalter seemed to press just the right buttons with the bullpen when he brought Mychal Givens in to complete the seventh inning. He then proceeded to bring Givens back out for the eighth, which raised my eyebrows a bit. While you want to use as few relievers as possible, why not go to a set up type guy in that spot?

When Givens came back out for the eighth Palka hit what appeared to be a solo homer. The Orioles only wish they had been that lucky. The ball didn’t carry, and instead headed for the right field corner. Mark Trumbo made a valiant attempt at the ball, but it slipped out of his glove (keep in mind that Trumbo was playing shaded to center, so he had a lot of ground to cover to get that ball). Castillo followed with a bloop RBI-single (which was softly hit and barely made it past a fielder’s glove) that cut the Orioles’ lead to 2-1.

Chicago would put together two more RBI-singles in the inning, taking a 3-2 lead – which ended up being the final. Make no mistake about the fact that a loss like that is frustrating. Chicago wore the Orioles down in the end with their tenacity and their refusal to go away. They also faced pitchers in Givens and Richard Bleier who were tired. As I said, I thought that Givens shouldn’t have come out for the eighth.

The question at hand is whether Buck outthought himself a bit there. My point would be that it’s unfair for someone like me to be overly critical of a career baseball guy as accomplished as he is. Does that mean I would have started the eighth inning with a new pitcher had it been my decision? Yes. But Showalter had his reasons when asked why he kept Givens in and used Bleier as opposed to bringing someone else in, as he explained after the game (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

Compared to who? We don’t have Darren (O’Day), we don’t have Zach (Britton). Those are our best options right now and they’ve done a good job for us.

The series continues tonight in Chicago. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Dylan Covey. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.