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: A much-needed win and a possible loss

The Baltimore Orioles can’t catch a break. I bet you didn’t expect to see that sentence leading off a story about the Birds snapping a six-game losing streak. And quite frankly, I didn’t expect to have to write it. However the fact is that as grateful as the O’s were to have won that game last night, they may have lost Trey Mancini for today or possibly longer. More on that later.

Dylan Bundy was his normal solid self, putting the O’s in a spot to win. Bundy’s line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K. That one run shouldn’t have happened, although it was earned. With Kipnis (the second hitter of the game) at the plate and one out, Chance Sisco misplayed a foul pop. That would have been a sure out, however Kipnis stayed alive and ended up getting on base – which given the Orioles’ propensity for being held accountable for all of their mistakes isn’t overly surprising.

The bases would end up being loaded later in the inning, and Bundy grazed Encarnacion’s jersey with a pitch. And when I say grazed, I mean that the ball may not have even touched hard enough to brush lint off of the jersey. But it still goes as a HBP, and in that case it forced in a run to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead.

That aside, Cleveland did the normal routine for Oriole opponents in terms of getting guys on base with seeing-eye singles and by finding holes in the shift. But Bundy never allowed any of those runners to score. The Orioles’ first hit of the game came in the last of the fourth, when Manny Machado went deep and tied the game at one.

One inning later the Birds had two on with nobody out, and Trey Mancini plated those runs with an RBI-double to the gap in left center. That gave the O’s a 3-1 lead, which the bullpen was able to hold. But unfortunately for the Orioles, the news wasn’t all good.

Mancini chased down a foul pop towards the left field line in the eighth, and crashed into the wall. He immediately rolled over in obvious pain, and was lifted from the game. The Orioles announced after the game that he was undergoing an MRI, and his status for today’s game is up in the air. Manager Buck Showalter addressed Mancini’s injury with the media after the game (quote courtesy of Brittany Ghiroli, mlb.com):

X-rays, he’s got a puncture in there, too. We’ll see how he is tomorrow. They’re contemplating a couple of sutures, but we’ll see. For him to come out of the game, he got pretty stiff.

Mancini’s listed as day-to-day, but I wouldn’t expect to see him in today’s game, unless he magically wakes up this morning and everything is healed. He’s not a guy that the Orioles can afford to lose for any extended period of time. As a lead off guy, the offense has really flowed through him of late.

The win snaps the Orioles’ aforementioned six-game losing streak. So the Mancini injury aside, that’s a good thing for this club. Now that the pressure of trying to win one is behind them, for their sake they’re hoping that they’re able to relax just a bit more. Because obviously there’s still a full season ahead, minus about three weeks.

The series continues this afternoon at Camden Yards. Chris Tillman gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Mike Clevinger. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Don’t judge someone by their worst day

The Baltimore Orioles are better than their record indicates. Sure there are a million cliche’s out there which attest to the contrary, however I’m talking facts here. Facts backed up by numbers. This team flat-out is better than it’s record indicates.

Adam Jones is only hitting .250. Now in saying that he’s also been fairly consistent thus far this year. But he’s a career .277 hitter. It stands to reason that he’ll progress upwards towards the mean. The same is true of Chris Davis, and his current .144 average. He’s a career .244 hitter, who normally hits with a lot of power.

And those are just two examples. And here’s another – Alex Cobb. Granted Cobb’s only been an Oriole for a couple of weeks, however he’s been shelled in two starts. He’s pitching at a 15.43 ERA, compared to his career mark of 3.62. Again, one has to imagine that he’ll progress towards his career means.

Buck Showalter has used a line from time to time about not judging people based on their worst days or moments. Buck’s not only a gifted baseball manager, but he’d make a great life coach as well; that’s good advice all around. Think of the worst moment, day, or even time period you’ve ever had in your life. Would you really want to have judgement on your overall life passed based on that moment?

The obvious answer to that is no – unless you live in the bizarro world, that is. The facts indicate that the Orioles are a better team than what we’ve seen. So all you can really say is that these past few weeks is that the O’s are in the midst of their worst day. Because the numbers indicate that they’re a better team than what we’ve seen.

They just need to ratchet things up – and as Buck would say, keep grinding. It that means guys take batting practice for three hours, so be it. Same with fielding practice. This team has dug itself a hole for sure. But that doesn’t mean that the season isn’t salvagable. Because it is, if the Orioles want it to be.

 

Baltimore Orioles: Not enough in the here and now and too much down the line?

The Baltimore Orioles were swept at the hand of the Detroit Tigers this afternoon at Comerica Park. It wasn’t the result the Orioles wanted, but there’s a lot of season left, and they have to move on. Alex Cobb was beaten around in his second start as an Oriole, although the fact is he didn’t get much help. Cobb’s line: 3.1 IP, 10 H, 7 R (5 earned), 1 BB, 4 K.

Detroit unofficially hit nine balls on the ground in this game which either ended up as close seeing-eye singles, errors, or were bobbled by Oriole defenders. It’s tough to put one’s finger on how many of those should have been outs and how much any of that would have mattered, but it all made a difference.

With Detroit already leading 1-0 in the second, it looked at first like it might finally be their day. Chris Davis‘ two-run homer gave the Birds a 2-1 lead. However the Orioles also left runners at the corners in that inning. When you can’t plate guys on base you play right into the hands of your opponent.

Detroit would get the lead back in the bottom frame of the inning off of a two-RBI triple by Iglesias, and an RBI-single by Candelario RBI-single. However by the time the smoke cleared, Detroit led Cobb and the Orioles 5-3. And again, part of that was due to a play in which the Oriole infield bobbled a ball which allowed a run to score.

But the teams would trade homers in the fourth, with that of the Oriole coming off of Manny Machado‘s bat. And Detroit’s came off the bat of Candelario, this one of the two-run variety. Throw in a HBP with the bases loaded, and the O’s trailed 8-3. But the coup de grace came in the last of the sixth when Martin smacked a grand slam, giving Detroit a 12-3 lead.

The O’s would get a run back on an additional homer off the bat of Machado in the sixth, Jones would add an RBI-double – running the score to 12-6. Detroit would put one more run on the board, and the O’s would actually mount a mini-rally in the ninth, putting two runs on the board. However a loss is still a loss – whether you lose 13-8 or 1-0.

The Orioles have now lost six straight and have fallen to 5-14 on the year. These are tough times in Birdland, however keep in mind that baseball people are superstitious. When things are going really well they tend to worry because at some point it’s going to bounce the other way. When things are going tough, they know that the same is true – at some point things bounce back the other way.

One thing manager Buck Showalter prides himself in is the ability to manage the game a few hitters or perhaps even a few innings down the way. And for the record, I agree with that type of management – in baseball, and in life’s affairs. Baseball’s a thinking man’s game, and the mental game is at times more important than finesse. And Showalter’s instilled that attitude in his Orioles as well. But is it too much?

The thing is that most people know that the Orioles manage games like that. As an example, did Buck Showalter err once again on Wednesday by not bringing his closer in, similar to the 2016 AL Wild Card Game? The results say he did. However in reality Showalter knew that being the visiting team, he would need his closer in the bottom of an inning if he was going to win that game.

So Minnesota knew not to prepare for the closer. Why do teams at times have relievers up in games at somewhat odd times? Because they know that in the next half inning Showalter might opt to pinch-hit a lefty, and they want to be ready. Things like that are what makes Buck tick in the dugout. And again, that’s proper management in terms of baseball.

And yet, a lot of guys don’t seem to do that. It seems that a lot of players nowadays try to live squarely in the moment, and not worry about what the future brings. And a lot of newer-age managers are just sitting back and letting things in games work themselves out. Could that possibly…be part of the problem?

My answer to my own question is that I quite frankly don’t know. Buck Showalter was relieved of his duties in other organizations because he obsessed over details. Speaking for myself, I like a detail-oriented guy. However is it not possible to that point to get so close to the forest that you can’t smell the trees?

Again, I can’t answer that. I refused to believe that something like this could happen, mainly because statistics said that this team was better than this. So even as an impartial observer and a writer, seeing this team going through what it’s going through is incredibly humbling. Because solidly great hitters have looked worse than poor.

But again, is it possibly to do with too much detail, and too much looking down the line? Anything’s possible. But I’d rather not think like that, because I refuse to believe that sitting back and taking it all in could somehow be better than paying close attention to detail in games.

Am I saying Showalter’s management style is the problem? I’m throwing the idea out there, but I’m also suggesting that’s not the case. And how is it not the case? Well, was it the case in 2012? Or 2014? Question answered.

Tomorrow evening the Orioles will open a four-game set with Cleveland at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Trevor Bauer. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: The struggles just don’t add up

The Baltimore Orioles are better than 5-13. They’re better than all of the miscues we’ve seen on the field. And they’re better than losing their fifth straight game, this one in walk off fashion in Detroit.

However what we’ve seen is what we’ve seen – through 17 games. But the fact is that most of their struggles quite simply don’t add up. Look back a couple of years at what’s still the core of this team; would one have thought that a team led by Davis, Jones, and Machado be performing like this, and losing games in the manner we’ve seen?

The Orioles got their eighth quality start of the season this afternoon, this time from Kevin Gausman. Gausman’s line: 6.0 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K. Simply put, Gausman deserved better. But the good news for him and for the team overall is that the O’s did in fact manage to put runs on the board today.

Danny Valencia started the scoring off with a solo homer in the second, giving the Birds the lead. However one inning later Detroit followed suit with a solo home run from Candelario, tying the game. But Gausman hung in there, keeping the O’s in the game. And that’s all you can ask from a starting pitcher; that he puts his team in a position to win.

However Gausman would give up an additional solo homer to Cabrera in the sixth which gave Detroit a 2-1 lead. And yes, the Orioles squandered a few chances with runners in scoring position. However Manny Machado would come through in the clutch in the top of the eighth with an RBI-single to tie things back up at two.

The footnote of that sequence was that Craig Gentry managed to get a runner into scoring position by bunting. That’s obviously something we haven’t seen out of the Orioles too much yet this year, however Gentry laid down a great bunt. And in fact, he ended up getting aboard on a throwing error. Sometimes when you simply put the ball in play good things end up happening.

And for once it appeared that the Orioles were going to get fat off of someone else’s mistake. Adam Jones managed to score Gentry on a sac fly-RBI, and before you knew it the Orioles had the lead back at 3-2. And to top it off, Chris Davis would smack an RBI-single to give the O’s an insurance run.

That said, there was something very important about that single, and it’s the type of thing that happens to a team that’s struggling. Davis smacked the ball off of the wall, and it bounced back into play. Had it hit the wall just a little differently, it might have bounced over and been a two-run homer. But it didn’t – remember that.

Following back-to-back singles in the last of the eighth, Darren O’Day gave up an uncharacteristic three-run homer to Hicks, giving Detroit the lead back at 5-4. Ironically, Hicks’ homer smacked against the wall in the same manner that Davis’ single did. However his went over the wall, whereas Davis’ shot bounced back into the field of play. Again, this is the type of cruel irony that befalls struggling teams.

However there is some silver lining in this – the Orioles, while struggling, fought back. Luis Sardinas‘ solo homer in the ninth tied the game right back up at five. And win or lose, those are the Orioles that the fans have come to know – the team that keeps fighting. Unfortunately for the O’s and the fans, Detroit fought also. And being the home team, they got the last at-bat; and that last at-bat was a walk off home run to win the game for Detroit.

It’s too cliché to say this team invents ways to lose games. However while a lot of fans are justifiably frustrated with this team, the fact that statistical means indicate that they’re better than this should give people some hope. 5-13 is a tough hole out of which to dig out. But again, past performances indicate that these guys will snap out of this, which is exactly what Buck Showalter indicated after the game (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

You’ve got to stay the tide. When things are going real well, you can’t seem to do anything wrong. Those days are ahead. Those things can happen but you can’t just wait for them to happen. This is a tough level of play, and you’ve got to be clicking on a lot of different areas in order to put together a good string of wins.

Translated: stay the course. As I said, career statistical means indicate that this team is much better than that. It’s easy to fall into the trap of saying that they aren’t with it emotionally or mentally – especially when the results back up that point. But the fact is that what we’ve seen thus far just doesn’t add up or make sense. And unless this is the bizarro world, at some point it’ll have to make sense.

The series concludes this afternoon at Comerica Park. Alex Cobb gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Jordan Zimmerman. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Do the issues stem back to Buck Showalter, Zach Britton, and Ubaldo Jimenez?

Many fans love to point back to the 2016 AL Wild Card game in which Baltimore Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter opted to leave closer Zach Britton in the bullpen. Instead he turned to Ubaldo Jimenez in an extra-inning elimination game. Jimenez of course gave up a walk-off season-ending home run.

Scientifically it’s impossible for that to be influencing what’s happening with the team now. Or even last year. Yet people still talk about it as if it’s a white elephant in the room. I’m going to say this once – I agreed with Showalter’s decision. It was tempting to use Britton for sure. But what happens if the Orioles take the lead and he’s already spent? As the visiting team in that situation, they would have had to play the bottom of every inning. Who pitches if Britton’s already used? Jimenez?

Was it controversial not to use Britton? Yes. But I had no issue with it. In baseball you always have to be thinking ahead. That’s all Showalter was doing.

Yet people act like had that gone differently maybe the team wouldn’t be struggling as it is right now. I suppose that anything’s possible. There are reports that some of the players in the clubhouse lost respect for Buck Showalter in that moment. He still has respect in the clubhouse, just not as much. If that’s true, is it fair? And does it make a difference?

I’m sure there were players who disagreed with Showalter’s decision. Heck, if Showalter’s own comments are any indication, he second-guessed himself after the fact. However I think you also have to look at the fact that these players are professionals. Even if they disagreed with the decision, are they really about to let that affect their play on the field one or even two years later?

You also have to look at the entire body of work. Again while that’s the decision I would have made personally, that was one “mistake” that Buck Showalter made as manager of the Orioles. Is it really fair to question his entire stewardship of the team? Similar to Machado, he’s going to win you more games than he’ll lose you.

Ultimately I think the Orioles’ issues are smaller details. Such as seeing the correctly, paying close attention to details, and letting things snowball into bigger things. It’s easy to point to the Britton thing as a catalyst for things going south to this point. However again scientifically that’s an impossibility. If there’s a correlation, these players aren’t professionals. And I don’t think that’s the case.

Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado’s base running blunder costs the Birds

The Baltimore Orioles are in a spot whereby they literally can’t make mistakes in games. They have to be almost perfect in order to win – for now. Ask Andrew Cashner, who turned in another quality start for the O’s tonight, and took the loss. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 K.

Cashner gave up a two-run homer in the second inning to Martinez, who hit his first of the season. The Birds played catch-up the rest of the night, although at first it looked like they might get there. Trey Mancini‘s solo homer in the third inning cut the lead to 2-1. Two innings later in the fifth, Adam Jones‘ RBI-single tied the game and appeared to put the Orioles in a great spot.

Manny Machado was on first base with two outs at the time of Jones’ RBI-single. So it appeared that the Birds had a two-out rally going with one run in and runners at first and second. That meant that the go-ahead run was in scoring position.

However Machado inexplicably decided to try to take third base. Detroit played the ball back in, tagging the runner out on the base paths and ending the inning. In the bottom of that very same fifth inning Detroit would get an RBI-triple from Candelario, and then an additional run would score on a wild pitch in the eighth. And that was all she wrote; the Birds fell 4-2.

It’s always a tough sell to make all things being equal statements. There’s no guarantee that the Orioles push an additional run across in the person of Manny Machado in that fifth inning. However the fact is that had Machado stopped at second base as he was probably designed to do, the shot is there.

If they’re able to put an additional run across in that inning, the Birds take the lead. Again, the all things being equal argument is never a good one. And that’s especially true given the fact that Detroit ended up winning the game on another Oriole mistake, that being a wild pitch. However you see where I’m going with this…

…the fact is that Manny Machado’s going to win you more games than he’s going to lose you. But this is a totally different ballgame if he doesn’t get thrown out. You have to know the score and where you are in the game at all times. And the situation calls for continuing the inning in that case. Those are things that can’t happen, but that do when a team’s struggling.

Just a programming note, tomorrow’s game has been switched to a 1 PM first pitch. (Meaning that the final two games of the series are mid-week day games.) This change was made by Detroit and MLB, in conjunction with the Orioles, as the forecast for Detroit tomorrow evening isn’t good. Smart move, in my view.

The series in fact will continue tomorrow at Comerica Park. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Matthew Boyd. Game time is set for just after 1 PM, as I said above.

Baltimore Orioles: Big series in the Motor City

The Baltimore Orioles motor into Detroit this evening to open a three-game series. However this isn’t just any three-game set – the very soul of the season may well be on the line for the Birds. And I don’t say that lightly. You can’t win a division in April (although Boston and the New York Mets seem to think you can), but you can certainly lose one.

And it’s interested that I brought up Boston above. The Orioles aren’t the only team on which they’ve beaten up this year, obviously since they’re 12-2. As good of a team as they are, they’ve probably over-achieved a bit thus far. And the Orioles, while not perfect, aren’t as bad as they’ve looked. However they’ve under-achieved thus far.

But it’s also fair to look at the teams’ schedules and compare them a bit. Boston got Tampa twice, Miami, New York (Yankees), and the Orioles. The Birds got Minnesota, Houston, New York (Yankees), Toronto, and Boston. Boston’s had a much lighter schedule – on paper that is.

For the firs time, the O’s will get to play a series starting tonight in which they’re playing an opponent that they should handle mightily. Now I say that with a fair amount of trepidation, as the games aren’t played on paper. They just aren’t. Detroit could well decide to take up that mantle of over-achieving, and take the fight straight to the Orioles tonight and for the remainder of the week. But the Orioles have to find a way to make sure that doesn’t happen.

And that means zeroing in on the strike zone, and anticipating pitches better than they’ve done. This season isn’t over by a long shot, and the battle to get back in has to start tonight. Incidentally regarding the schedule, the O’s have only played six home games thus far. Now granted they’ve only won two of them, but in reality it’s almost like a three-week road trip given the fact that they could never really unpack and stay awhile.

That changes after this series, as the O’s will play their longest home stand of the season. But there’s little relief in that right off the bat, as Cleveland comes in this weekend. But following them they’ll see Tampa and then Detroit again. But all of these games are only worth anything to the Birds if they can win most of them – and again, that effort must start tonight.

The series opens this evening at Comerica Park in Detroit. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Francisco Liriano. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Franchise in flux?

The Baltimore Orioles are getting out of Boston and headed for Detroit – and that’s a good thing after this weekend. The best thing that probably could have happened to the Birds was a rainout today. Not because they got beaten in three consecutive games at Fenway, but because it’ll give them a chance to regroup and gather their thoughts. There’s a lot of season to go.

Over the weekend Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (formerly of The Baltimore Sun) published an article which detailed some recent upheaval in the Orioles’ front office. And the report seemed to detail the fact that the Orioles are and/or will be very much in flux following this season.

The biggest piece of news in the article (which is linked above to Rosenthal’s name – although you’ll need a subscription to read the whole thing) is that owner Peter Angelos has apparently decreased his role with the team of late, and his sons John and Lou Angelos have taken a much larger role. This is a move that was indubitably made due to Peter Angelos’ advancing age. He’ll be 89 on the Fourth of July.

According to Rosenthal, Angelos has never been less involved in his 25 years or so of stewardship of the franchise. Again according to Rosenthal, Brady Anderson and Buck Showalter have also been taking more of an interest in the Front Office aspect of the franchise, minimizing GM Dan Duquette and his influence. And this apparently has Duquette not feeling comfortable.

Honestly I can’t blame anyone for being upset others are encroaching on his responsibilities. Both Duquette and Showalter’s contracts are up at the end of the season. (Along with multiple player contracts, which is another story.) I would believe that Duquette can read the writing on the wall, and is aware of the fact that odds are against him being here next season. So where does that leave the front office?

The answer to that lies somewhere with John and Lou Angelos. Rosenthal’s article spins the sons taking over in general in what I feel is a somewhat negative light. Basically they’re unproven, and nobody knows what they’re getting. That said, were the same questions there surrounding the Steinbrenner boys? The fact is that the Angelos boys have had increasing roles over the past few years. So they’re hardly going into this cold.

I suspect that Duquette will be gone after the season. If Showalter wants to continue managing, I would hope that the Angelos’ would say that the job is his. Maybe they sign him to a two or three-year extension of some sort – again, if he wants it. And perhaps Anderson moves into a co-GM role with Showalter. Coaches are GM’s in other sports, the great Vince Lombardi being a great example. So why not here?

Or perhaps Anderson is out of the picture, and Buck takes that role on his own. Or perhaps Buck retires. One way or the other, there are scenarios out there which involve all kinds of ends. Perhaps all three of them (Duquette, Anderson, and Showalter) are back in their current roles, or perhaps they’re all three gone. It’s really tough to say right now, but again the decision lies with John and Lou Angelos. Interesting times in which we live for sure.

Baltimore Orioles: 14 strikeouts and small wonders beat the Birds (updated)

The Baltimore Orioles got another good effort out of Dylan Bundy this afternoon. This one of course in less-than-great conditions. Bundy’s line: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R (1 earned), 2 BB, 6 K.

It took Bundy nine pitches to record the first four outs of the game. And by that time they already had the lead. Manny Machado‘s RBI-double in the first inning gave the O’s a 1-0 lead. And that of course came because Trey Mancini once again got on board to lead off the game. The Birds have their lead off hitter; they just need to gain some steam in the bats behind him.

Boston would mount a bit of a rally, or an attempt at one at least, in the second. Bundy gave out a one-out double and a walk. He then struck out the third hitter, and induced the next one to pop out to third base. In case you’re scoring at home, that’s how you kill a rally!

Boston’s Lin would get credited with a single in the fifth inning, however in my personal opinion it was a play that third baseman Danny Valencia could have and should made. Valencia muffed what appeared to be a routine ground ball, allowing a one-out base runner. (Lin would later be replaced at first base by Bradley, who reached on a fielder’s choice.) While the ball did appear to kick up just a bit on the heel of Valencia’s glove, that’s a play that he has to make…

..especially seeing that Benintendi’s RBI-triple a moment later tied the game at one. It’s those little things which will eat a team alive. Not to mention later in the inning when Bundy uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Benitendi to score from third. That gave Boston the lead, which was later extended to 3-1 on Lin’s sixth inning RBI-double.

And the Orioles couldn’t muster much else, so they fell once again on this cold Sunday afternoon in Beantown. All in all, the Birds struck out 12 times. It’s tough to win a game when doing that. On top of the twelve strikeouts, the O’s almost stubbornly looked at pitch after pitch in the later innings, adding to the massive strikeout totals. Why is that an issue more than anything else?

And the answer is because many of those pitches weren’t strikes. The zone expanded as the game wore on, probably because of the weather. If it was remotely close to the strike zone, it was getting called a strike. Boston seemed to recognize this, and was able to muster a few base runners. However the Orioles seemed stuck on what they interpreted as the strike zone. And admittedly what they interpreted as the strike zone was in fact the strike zone. But you have to adapt to game conditions; one of those is the strike zone of the home plate umpire.

Also keep in mind that all things being the same, this game is 1-1 of not for some untimely mistakes by the Orioles (the Valencia muffed ball and the wild pitch). Now these mistakes themselves didn’t cost the Orioles the game. The Orioles being unable to overcome them is what cost them the game. But the moral of the story is not to make them in the first place.

On that note, what exactly do the Orioles do at third base? Is Valencia now the everyday third baseman with Tim Beckham filling in for Schoop at second? I would consider telling Machado to put his yearn to play shortstop aside and move him back to the hot corner. That has to be an option for the Orioles. But time will tell.

Weather permitting, the Orioles will conclude the series at Fenway tomorrow in a late-morning Patriot’s Day matinee. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Brian Johnson. This game is in serious jeapardy given the forecast, but if it’s played (on time) it’s set to begin just after 11 AM.

UPDATE: Tomorrow’s game has officially been canceled. It will be made up on May 17th at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

 

Baltimore Orioles: Pitching-to-contact doesn’t cut it for Alex Cobb and the Birds

There was a lot of talk surrounding the Baltimore Orioles’ signing of Alex Cobb back in the spring, and how great of a move it was for the franchise. After his first start with the Orioles this afternoon at Fenway Park, a lot of fans are now questioning that move. I’m not suggesting that Cobb’s outing was great, but I would suggest that fans cool their criticism just a bit. The guy pitched in one game, at Fenway Park, against the BoSox. Cobb’s line: 3.2 IP, 10 H, 8 R (7 earned), 1 BB, 0 K.

Cobb pitched to contact during his truncated outing. The problem was, Boston was making contact the whole day. They took the lead right away in the first inning on Benintendi’s RBI-double, and on Ramirez’s subsequent two-run homer. Martinez would add a solo shot in the last of the third, and Cobb and the Orioles trailed 4-0.

Bentinendi would add a two-RBI single in the fourth, and Ramirez would bring him home with an RBI-double. Again, both Cobb and the relievers who came behind him were pitching-to-contact all day. In general, I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. But when the opponent is a team in the midst of what’s now a 12-2 start and in fact is MAKING contact on everything that’s thrown up there, that can be a problem.

To make matters worses, Boston would net a run in the last of the fourth on a Machado throwing error – on what would have been a routine infield ground ball. And it’s small things like that which could eat this franchise alive. I’m not suggesting that Machado lollygagged the ball to first base, because I don’t think he did. I think he just made a bad throw. However at times guys can start allowing apathy to set in when games get out of control like this, and things like that can happen. And Boston happily took the run.

The O’s made an attempt to get back into it one inning later however, when Pedro Alvarez connected for a two-run homer. However again keep in mind that the criticism of this Orioles team is that the homer appears to be the only way they can score. But runs are runs, and you take them. However Boston bounced right back, with an RBI-single by Martinez in the sixth, and an RBI-single by Swihart in the seventh. The O’s would net one run in the end as Sisco grounded out, scoring Chris Davis from third.

Again, it’s tough to be overly critical of the Cobb given that he was pitching against a murderer’s row of hitters in a sandbox of a ballpark. It was also his first start with a new team after no spring games and only a few weeks’ worth of workouts and simulated games. That’s not to say that his pitches weren’t overly hitable this afternoon. Furthermore as I said, his plan seemed to be to pitch-to-contact. Once it was obvious that wasn’t working, he should have gone to secondary pitches more often.

Offensively, the Orioles are allowing themselves to be shifted on far too often. And it’s working. How often did guys hit the ball right at defenders…and at defenders that had shifted into that position? And that’s the result of swinging away far too often. In no way am I suggesting that they switch to small ball, because power will always rule the day in the AL East. However if a runner or two were on base when the homers came, that would even things out a bit.

For what it’s worth, the trailing two games of this series are very much in question. The forecast for Boston for tomorrow is for rain and potentially freezing rain in Boston all day – off and on. They’re also calling for up to an inch of rain on Monday during the Boston Marathon (when the O’s and BoSox have a scheduled 11 AM first pitch). So there’s a real possibility that the Birds may not play again until Tuesday in Detroit.

So weather permitting, the series continues tomorrow at Fenway Park. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Chris Sale. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.