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: Jarrod Dyson headed to Birdland?

Could Jarrod Dyson be the left-handed bat that the Baltimore Orioles are coveting? In recent days, the O’s have been rumored to have been talking to various players – one of which is Dyson. He’s a career .258 hitter, but he also averages 50 stolen bases a year. He’s also a career .982 fielder in the outfield.

Dyson would be a good addition, because it would also allow the Orioles to keep some of their younger outfield pups back in the minors for some extra seasoning. Speaking for myself, the stolen bases intrigues me. He’s a guy that could give the Orioles some added speed on the base paths – something they’ve lacked for years.

Furthermore, he’s got playoff experience. Now if you listen to the experts this team won’t sniff the post season. But those experts said that in 2012, 2014, and 2016 as well. Having a former World Series champion on the roster can make a world of difference.

Fans of course will remember Dyson leading the charge of chirping at the Orioles’ dugout during the 2014 ALCS while with Kansas City. Players, coaches, and fans alike didn’t appreciate that. And yes, from the perspective of this writer, it came across as juvenile. However in this era where guys change teams at will, players have to have short memories. Now certainly if Dyson’s going to join the Birds he’s going to have to understand that they don’t do things in that manner. But I have no doubt that he’d be welcomed as a brother in the clubhouse.

This isn’t a done deal, but when it is you can we’ll be on it here at The Orange Crush – and more as we hear it!

Baltimore Orioles: Pace of the off-season

A lot has been made of how little the Baltimore Orioles have done this off season thus far. However whether they’re good moves or bad, most Orioles fans know that Dan Duquette doesn’t really get cranking up until February or March. With the team’s annual FanFest celebration this coming Saturday however, fans do want to know who they’ll be seeing on the field at Oriole Park at Camden Yards this year.

That aside, the Orioles aren’t really unique in their tactics this time around. The hot stove season has been a cold one league-wide. It’s kind of shocking to see the caliber of player that’s still out there on the market. I would have thought that the Arrieta’s and the Moustakas’ of the world would have been scooped up long ago.

But it seems that plenty of other teams are taking the wait and see approach – just as Dan Duquette has done almost every year in Baltimore. And I think that a lot of it is due to the fact that teams are becoming more and more budget-wary. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Sure, signing a big ticket free agent at the winter meetings or even before makes a big splash and it gets fans excited. And I think that at times, that’s literally been teams’ goals. Get fans excited about the next season back in December so they’ll buy a ton of merchandise, tickets, etc. And it may not necessarily be a bad idea…

…because if you wait too long on a guy, he’s not guaranteed to be there forever. But with that said, while it’s great to have that guy a part of your team and merchandise flying off the shelves, suddenly it comes time to pay the player. And that’s where teams realize that the idea of a mega-contract lasting ten years or so might not have been the greatest idea.

So I think that a lot of teams are waiting, in hopes that eventually guys’ prices will come down. If you could add a guy like Arrieta for two or three years at a reasonable salary, is that not better than adding him for seven or eight years at an inflated one? It all but guarantees that you get value for your money, because the player in theory won’t wane until after the contract is up.

Next year of course the likes of Machado and Harper will be on the market, which will make for a vastly different off season to this year. But for now, most of the league is waiting and seeing.

Baltimore Orioles almost sent Manny Machado to Cleveland

Manny Machado was almost traded to Cleveland last month by the Baltimore Orioles. This according to John Morosi of mlb.com. Apparently one of the names that was thrown around to be sent back to the Orioles in return was RHP Danny Salazar.

If you read the article I linked above, Morosi doesn’t go into too much detail about the deal itself. So it’s unclear if this potential trade (which incidentally could still happen) was Machado-for-Salazar straight up, or if there were other pieces involved. But I would caution the Orioles on this one…

…granted Cleveland has a surplus of starters, and they would have been offering the Birds what they wanted: a big leauge-ready pitcher. (Not even a big league-ready pitcher, but a straight up big league pitcher.) However Salazar has many of the markings of some of the other names that have come through the Orioles’ rotation over the years. There’s a reason that Cleveland’s trying to unload him: he’s inconsistent.

Last year he was only 5-6 on the year, with a career-high 4.28 ERA. Playing roughly half of his games at Camden Yards, that might become a bit of a problem. Now in fairness, inconsistent also means that he has his good points. There are times when he’s really on – but also times when he’s really off.

If I’m the Orioles, I’d say been there, done that. Again, we don’t know what else would have been part of that deal. If in fact it was a one-for-one swap, I’d say the Orioles would be getting fleeced. Salazar has the markings of another Ubaldo Jimenez. Now with that said, he could also end up as a classic “change of air” type of guy, get to the Orioles, and be what Jake Arrieta was to the Chicago Cubs.

But are the O’s willing to run that risk? My personal opinion is that I hope they are not – for their sake. If they’re going to trade Machado, a Salazar-like guy could well be a part of that trade. But what they want to do is get some top-notch pitching prospects in return. Either prospects who are ready to make the jump to the big leagues now, or perhaps who have had a cup of coffee there already – perhaps in a September call-up or something like that.

The last thing they want is a guy who’s been inconsistent for five years somewhere else, and who could be a reclamation project at best. Again, perhaps he would end up an Arrieta-type. But…can the Orioles afford to run that risk?

Baltimore Orioles tickets on sale in five days

One of the big questions each off season is when will Baltimore Orioles tickets officially be on sale? Well, this week we found out. The date is January 25th; the time is 2 PM.

At that time, fans will be able to visit http://www.orioles.com/tickets to purchase tickets for Orioles’ home games. They can also call 1-888-848-BIRD (2473) to purchase as well. There’s also the old trusty method of going down to Oriole Park at Camden Yards and buying tickets in person.

Fans will also be able to purchase tickets at next Saturday’s Orioles FanFest celebration at the Baltimore Convention Center. And yes, this coming week opens FanFest week, for what that’s worth. As I tell people every year, it’s all the excitement of an Orioles game at Camden Yards, all the fanfare, and everything else – except an actual game!

Opening Day is the one game that will not be included in this coming week’s public on sale. Fans can guarantee themselves tickets for Opening Day by purchasing a full or 29-game season ticket plan. Opening Day this year is scheduled for Thursday, March 29th, at 3 PM against the Minnesota Twins. March 30th is scheduled as an off day, which in essence makes it the rain date.

Baltimore Orioles: Can Chris Davis return to form?

Pitching has been the big talking point for the Baltimore Orioles thus far in the off season. And justifiably so. However there are two parts to any story in sports: both offense and defense. What will the Orioles’ offense look like in 2018?

That question hinges largely on the bat of first baseman Chris Davis. Davis seemingly hit his peak in 2013, when he hit 53 homers with a .286 average for the year. 2015’s 47 home runs at .262 wasn’t shabby either.

We all know what Davis is capable of doing. However last year he only hit 26 home runs, at .215 for the season. That’s a tough drop-off. However it’s also worth remembering that Oriole bats went into a tailspin for much of September last year as well. Not just Davis.

So why would that bode well for 2018? September was the sum of literally everyone on the team pushing too hard – including Davis. That won’t be the case when spring training or the regular season begin. Everyone will have a new slate. However there have been numerous reports of Davis working out, and working out hard thus far all winter. Could that make a difference?

Interestingly enough, Davis has admitted that the shifts which teams play against him have affected him. Although perhaps not in the way that opposing teams would have envisioned (quote courtesy of Brittany Ghiroli, mlb.com):

A lot of it is just the shift. I’ve been shifted since — I can remember — 2011, I think, was probably the year it was the most consistent throughout teams. The last couple years I’ve tried so hard to try to hit against the shift, to play that game with them, that I got away from who I was.

Those shifts are designed to guard where players seem to generally hit the ball. The idea being that someone’s there guarding that spot, and it’ll assist the defense in recording an out. However in that same aforementioned article, Davis also said that he became “too picky” last year, presumably in attempting to defeat the shift:

Last year, I had way too many called strikes. Called third strikes. Way too many counts where I was taking two strikes before I ever took a swing. For me, it’s a matter of being a little too passive or too picky and not trying to capitalize on the pitches early in the count.

In simpler terms, Davis outsmarted himself. He became so ardent in trying to defeat the shifts that teams were playing on him, he was letting good pitches go by – and swinging at bad ones. Ultimately that racked up the strikeouts big time. So in a way it’s an interesting critique on how one lives his life in that you have to be yourself. If you try to become someone other than yourself, odds of failure go way up.

The fact that Davis recognizes his mistakes and is working to correct them bodes well for the Orioles’ offense. As critical as people can be at times, most fans know that when Oriole bats get cranking the ball starts to fly out of the yard. And I’m sure we can expect a lot of that from Davis this year. Teams can play a shift all they want, but if he hits the ball out of the ballpark, it’s meaningless.

Since he won’t be letting pitches go by this year as he did in 2017, we should expect more of that. However it’s not just the home run ball; even if he records a would-be out on the ground, the ball’s still in play. The defense could commit an error, and/or runners could move up. That can’t happen on a strike out. Does this mean that the Orioles’ offense won’t ever struggle this coming year? Not at all; every team does at some point. However the hope is that the lows aren’t quite as low with Davis’ new techniques. And perhaps the highs are higher as well.

Baltimore Orioles: Don’t look to Pittsburgh as an example

The Baltimore Orioles would do well not to look to the Pittsburgh Pirates as an example of how to rebuild. Many folks want to see the Orioles do what Pittsburgh did with Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole. However look closely at those trades – please.

Pittsburgh in essence allowed themselves to get fleeced. They traded Cole and McCutchen to Houston and San Francisco respectively. And in return for the two of them they received six players. All are either young minor league prospects, or young major leaguers with little experience.

This reaks of a team that desperately wanted to just rid themselves of players who may or may not be a part of their future. Having said that, McCutchen was the face of that franchise – very much in the tradition of Adam Jones with the Orioles. On top of that, he’s a Pittsburgh native. It’s not often that a player of his caliber comes along who’s literally from your city. And they traded him away.

Again, that’s what they felt like they needed to do to make their team better in the long run. And perhaps time and consequence will prove them to be right. However outwardly, it appears that they simply took whatever Houston and San Francisco were willing to offer them.

So…do fans really want the Orioles to take that route? Sure they wouldn’t have to worry about the Machado saga anymore, and sure some would argue that getting something (anything) is better than getting nothing. But is it really worth getting pennies on the dollar? Because from my standpoint right now at this moment, that’s what Pittsburgh got for a perennial all-star center fielder and an ace pitcher.

I suppose the point here is that the Orioles are steadfast in what they want and expect in return for their players. Former GM Andy MacPhail once said that he wouldn’t allow other teams to undervalue their players. It appears that’s what Pittsburgh’s brass allowed Houston and San Francisco to do. And go figure, McCutchen will now return to PNC Park, in his hometown of Pittsburgh, to play against his former team as a member of the Giants.

Baltimore Orioles: Line of equilibrium on a potential Manny Machado trade

The Baltimore Orioles have gotten numerous offers on Manny Machado. That’s nothing new. Neither is the fact that the Birds haven’t gotten an offer for anything that was remotely in the range of what they want in return for Machado. It’s no secret that the Orioles want pitching. It’s also no secret that nobody’s offering pitching.

So the O’s remain at an impasse. Arizona has remained engaged and interested in trading for Machado – but like everyone else, they haven’t been able to put together a pitching-centric package of players. However the question is where the line of justice and equilibrium lies.

There are people out there who will tell you that the Orioles are asking for too much. Maybe they are, for all I know. Backing up that point I suppose would be the fact that nobody’s offering what the Orioles want. But is that the truth, or is the truth more in the inverse view: that perhaps other teams are simply being stingy?

That’s what the Orioles need to figure out. Ideally, you want a trade to be somewhat mutually beneficial. Some may suggest that’s not necessarily the case given that you want to ensure that you win the trade. And yes, in fact you want to perhaps get somewhat the better end. However look at the trade which brought the likes of Jones and Tillman to Baltimore. It was incredibly one-sided.

That puts teams on notice that if they trade with you they might end up getting screwed over. But you also don’t want the opposite to be true; if you give up the farm for peanuts, everyone and their brother will be after your players. So when talking trades, you want to stay in that equilibrium zone. But where that is could be anyone’s guess.

Baltimore Orioles: Does the east coast media fail the fans?

Most of the Baltimore Orioles’ media tries to call things down the middle – I’m no exception. And unbiased reporting is really a trademark of the east coast in a sense. Now that’s not to say that there isn’t a slant in a sense, because there is. Speaking for myself, I do call things down the middle – but from the Orioles’ perspective.

As an example, I’ll always use the term ORIOLES when referring to the team. However when I refer to the opposing team, I usually use the city name. Now there are exceptions – sometimes using the city name too much at once sounds odd, so in that instance I might throw in the team name here and there. But in old school baseball that’s kind of how it was down. And it’s the same concept of having the team name plastered on the front of the white home jerseys, and the city name on the gray away jerseys.

But for the most part, most of us try to call things down the center. That isn’t necessarily the case in other places. Former ChiSox announcer Hawk Harrelson was well-noted for referring to the Chicago players as us, we, our team, etc. Big no-no in my book. I’ve heard the Palmers, Dempseys, and Bordicks of the world do that on occasion also – but they actually played for the Orioles. There’s a difference.

Over the weekend I was listening to the New Orleans radio call of that team’s NFC Playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings. I noticed that concept of referring to the team in the first person, and it was blatant. It wasn’t just once or twice – it was across the board. And I’ve noticed similar things on local radio or television calls in other cities.

So…as writers, announcers, etc, do we fail the fans in this region by sticking to what I would consider to be good journalistic ethics? There’s a certain joie de vivre that seems to come with following a team in certain areas of the country. Certainly one can point to the Chicago Cubs, the aforementioned Saints, and others. Here on the east coast there’s almost a misery that comes with it, as we take it so seriously we even critique how the people who cover the team operate.

One thing I say a lot and that we hear a lot here on the east coast is that sports is a business. And that’s part of this same narrative. Is it a wonder that attendance and ratings are down in many places for many teams? The loss the Saints suffered on Sunday was devastating. However odds are the fans went right back to partying on Bourbon Street. The Ravens were eliminated from playoff contention weeks ago in similar fashion…and people are still grousing about it.

I’m not sure what the answer is. However I know that a writer or announcer playing like he’s on the team isn’t it – perhaps contrary to what I said above.

Baltimore Orioles: MLK Day and MLB

Along with the rest of the nation, the Baltimore Orioles celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day today. It’s a federal holiday – for those lucky enough to have it off. And we should never treat this as just a three-day weekend. Dr. King dedicated his entire life to achieving civil rights for African-Americans, and in reality all Americans.

And at the end of the day, that fight cost him his life. However all Americans owe him a debt of gratitude, because America could never truly be America until all of her citizenry were seen as equal under the law. In this fight for civil rights, baseball of course plays a special role. Before Dr. King, Rosa Parks, et al, there was Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in 1947. That started the ball rolling.

However well before that, baseball had the old old Negro Leagues. And Baltimore had a franchise which played from 1916-1933 – the Baltimore Black Sox. The Black Sox won the 1929 Negro League Championship, and the Orioles have honored their tradition twice (2007 and 2014) by wearing their uniforms as throwbacks.

The team disbanded after 1933, however they had quite a run during their tenure in Baltimore. Down the road Washington D.C. also had a Negro League team, referred to as the (Washington) Homestead Grays. This team was in essence shared between D.C. and Pittsburgh, which I find somewhat odd. But nevertheless, the tradition of the Negro Leagues in the mid-Atlantic region is very strong.

On this MLK Day, we should honor the tradition of ALL African-Americans who made both our league and our country great. And that includes the likes of Adam Jones, who’s helped to rejuvenate baseball in the inner city through his work with the Boys and Girls Club of Baltimore. But none of that would be possible if not for the work done by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who we as a nation honor today.

Baltimore Orioles: How does Donaldson affect Manny Machado?

The Baltimore Orioles will be paying Manny Machado $16 million this upcoming year. Or someone will be – this much we know. However another AL East third baseman signed a record contract for an arbitration-eligible player on Friday. Toronto signed Josh Donaldson to a one-year $23 million deal. Again, that’s a league record.

So how does this affect Machado, if at all? Well in the interim it doesn’t. Machado will making his $16 million, and Donaldson his $23 million. But it might come 2019. Notice I said might.

Machado is the best third baseman in baseball. He has been for a few seasons. Donaldson’s a darn good player, however. For his career, Machado’s hitting .279; Donaldson chimes in at .277. However in the field is where the two separate a bit. Machado’s fielding at a .967 clip for his career, with Donaldson at .956. Now with that said, while Donaldson’s a great third baseman who’s capable of amazing plays in his own right, neither he nor anyone else has Machado’s range. FACT.

So next season when Machado’s contract is up and he’s looking for a new deal (in Baltimore or elsewhere), don’t think that his agent won’t bring up the fact that a lesser third baseman made $7 million less than Machado in base salary in 2018. (I wouldn’t expect that Machado would feel slighted in his salary this year, because the fact is that he agreed to it in conjunction with the Orioles. If he thinks he’s underpaid, he has himself and his agent to blame for not negotiating a higher one.) From his agent’s perspective, my client is a better player than Mr. Donaldson, and he should be making a higher salary.

Incidentally, Donaldson also did himself a favor because when his deal is up after this season his agent will be negotiating from a position of strength. My client won’t accept a year-over-year salary that’s lower than what he made last season. That’s how the business of sports works, folks. Some might question what the difference is between $16 and $23 million. For regular people, that’s a valid point. But an agent’s response would be $7 million. And that’s a lot.

But remember that above I said that Donaldson’s situation could impact Machado. That indicates that it isn’t set in stone. Machado wants to play shortstop  this year, whether it’s with the Orioles or someone else. If in fact he moves back to his natural position, he’ll cease to be the best third baseman in baseball. Not because his skills would have diminished, but because he won’t be playing third base anymore.

If that ends up happening, then using Donaldson’s deal as leverage is going to be much tougher. Negotiating parties will argue you can’t compare these two players and/or their salaries because one’s a third baseman and one’s a shortstop. And that’s a very valid point. But let’s put it this way; both Donaldson and Machado are going to be paid handsomely in 2019 and beyond.