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: MLB has gone too far on rules

The Baltimore Orioles and every other team have done their best to adapt to the various new MLB rules that have come into effect. However last night we saw a situation in game one of the NLDS where a run was allowed to score BECAUSE of a “new rule,” that was instituted for player safety. In short, Los Angeles was awarded a fifth run when on replay it was ruled that the Chicago catcher was blocking the plate prior to the ball arriving.

By the letter of the law, the umpires got the call right. However is the letter of the law…correct? I understand why these types of rules exist – player safety is obviously very important. However in that instance, the issue appeared to be the Chicago catcher’s leg jetting out over home plate. Well, the fact is that the guy had to do that in order to support himself and stay upright.

However that aside, we also need to remember that these plays happen very quickly. Baseball is a thinking man’s game, but that thinking is done in the dugout. When a play like that happens, it comes fast and furious. And players rarely have time to think. They just “do.” So…are we not in essence giving the offense more of an advantage in that sense as opposed to the defense?

I would argue yes. But that should be nothing new to sports fans; the NFL has done it for years! I understand that the goal is to limit the number of home plate collisions for safety reasons. But if players are going to be forced to stop and think of where their foot is in regards to the plate…are we not limiting the game itself? Again, I would argue that we are.

I’m not sure what the right answer is in all of this. I’m not against player safety by any means. But how many players out there have really had career-ending injuries, or even life-altering injuries because of things like home plate collisions among other things? Yes, it’s easy for me to say as a writer who sits behind a computer screen. Really easy. It’s not my career, nor is it my life. However I do care about how all things affect the game. And I’m not a fan of over-regulation in sports.

Baltimore Orioles release 2018 spring training schedule

Good news folks; the Baltimore Orioles are headed back to Sarasota in 2018! That of course you already knew. But the Birds released their spring training schedule (home dates only) this past week. Let the countdown begin!

In 2017 spring training began early due to the World Baseball Classic. This year however it will begin earlier than normal as well because baseball’s retooled it’s schedule. The regular season will actually open the last Thursday in March as opposed to the first Monday in April.

So that means that spring training opens earlier as well. And that’ll probably make a lot of people happy given the potential for severe weather around here in the winter. The O’s open the spring slate of games on February 23rd against Tampa at Ed Smith Stadium.

In fact, their first two games (as listed right now, at least) will be at home. On Saturday February 24th the Minnesota Twins will come to Ed Smith Stadium for a 6 PM Saturday evening tilt. The full home schedule can be viewed by clicking here.

The St. Louis Cardinals come in for a visit on February 28th, which for whatever reason seems to be a rarity. St. Louis has always been in the Grapefruit League, however the times the Orioles see them seem to be few and far between. The final home game will be Saturday, March 24th at 6 PM against Minnesota. However the regular season won’t open until the following Thursday…

…and presumably the Birds might play a road game the following day (March 25th). But what after that? In past seasons we’ve seen them play an exhibition game against a local Sarasota-area college, or perhaps even come north to play an additional game in a big league stadium. Time will tell.

But that’s the home slate of games for the Birds for next spring. I mention this several times a season, but when the Orioles trained in Fort Lauderdale they had a hard time convincing teams to come to play them at their facility because it was so antiquated. What they’ve created at Ed Smtih Stadium has teams lining up to come for games. It’s one of the best if not THE best spring facility in MLB.

Baltimore Orioles need to return to fundamentals

The Baltimore Orioles are a power-hitting club. This much we know, and we’ve known for some time. However I saw something in Monday’s NLDS Game Three at Wrigley Field that the Orioles should consider taking up.

Old school baseball, in the form of bunting. In general, I’m not a fan of giving up outs. That’s just not how you win games in the AL East. And I think there’s a chance that if the wrong team tried to play that type of game they could risk getting bludgeoned to death. But there are also two sides to every story.

Following a lead off walk in the last of the eighth inning, Chicago bunted the runner into scoring position. Later in the inning with two outs, that runner scored on a bloop RBI-single. In general a runner at second base might not score on a blooper. However keep in mind that with two outs the runner was going on contact.

That all served the Chicago Cubs well, and they won the game 2-1 – with that as the winning run. Imagine that – a small fundamental part of the game ended up winning it for a team. And in a post season game at that. Tough to be in a bigger spot.

And keep in mind that the Cubs are a power-hitting club as well. That’s their bread and butter, just like the Orioles. So with that said, would the Orioles really stand to lose much if they took up that type of bunting in games? Look at it this way, the Birds won 75 games this year. If they would have put on a play like that and scored even one more run in certain games, they would have gone from one-run losses to ties. And all bets are off then – if you end up winning those games, suddenly you’ve had a .500 season.

Again, this type of small-ball mentality would never work in the AL East in general. Many National League teams start playing that game from the early innings. The O’s would get run out of the park if they tried that. But obviously in a late-game spot where you need one run, it’s worth trying.

Odds are had the Orioles of 2017 tried to do that bunt play, they’d end up with two strikeouts, a fly-out, and maybe a base hit. The inning would have ended with runners at the corners. So…what’s the better alternative?

Baltimore Orioles: Over-accepting of the status quo?

One of the Baltimore Orioles’ big time foes made what I feel was a big mistake yesterday. The Boston Red Sox released manager John Farrell, and are now hunting for a new manager. Farrell took the BoSox to the playoffs on numerous occasions, and of course won the 2013 World Series as the skipper in Boston.

That’s a resume that should make Farrell an attractive candidate for a managerial position with another team. I said that it should make Farrell an attractive candidate; much is being made of the toxic clubhouse culture that seemed to ensue in Boston, to which he apparently either turned a blind eye or openly allowed to continue. Luckily when you look at the Orioles and Buck Showalter, none of that has ever been an issue.

Boston did what they did, and in fact this particular ownership group seems to have a history of that nature in Boston. Everyone remembers them cutting Grady Little situation where Pedro Martinez told him not to remove him from a play off game. He didn’t, Boston lost, and Little was out. Then there was Terry Francona‘s departure after the 2011 season, which seemed to come as a result of similar clubhouse angst among other things. And in between Francona and Farrell, Boston had Bobby Valentine for one season – which was an abomination by anyone’s standards.

Point being, management decided that the guy in charge wasn’t the guy to lead the team any longer, and they made an immediate change. The Orioles don’t always do that. Many people said that Dave Trembley and Sam Perlozzo were allowed to stay much longer than they otherwise should have. It also became apparent very quickly that Mike Hargrove wasn’t going to be able to take the franchise anywhere years ago, yet he finished his contract out.

And yes, if you can believe it, there are people now who would like to see the O’s go the Boston route and let go of Buck Showalter. This is a very small, but vocal minority. And it started after last year’s situation in the AL Wild Card game where he never used Britton. Yes, people want to totally discount from where the Orioles have come under Showalter, simply because of one incident and subsequent season gone awry.

So which do you prefer? Boston’s way, or the Orioles’? Speaking for myself, I’d be on board with how Peter Angelos honors contracts. That’s not to say that he’s never fired managers, but for the most part he wants to keep his word in terms of what he agreed to when he signed the guy. However Boston would argue that the urgency to win today is greater than any one person or group. So if the current guy isn’t the guy, cut him loose – now.

I maintain that Farrell should still be the manager there. A new manager is an unknown commodity in any situation. They thought they were getting something special with Valentine – couldn’t have been more further off than they were. Needless to say, it’ll be interested to see who ends up in the dugout up there. Incidentally, Philadelphia may have just found their new manager.

Baltimore Orioles: MLB screwed the pooch in the NLDS

The Baltimore Orioles are the first ones to tell you that the weather is unpredictable. And that seems to especially be true in terms of trying to decide whether to play baseball, delay, or post phone. However I would submit that MLB’s tactic yesterday in Chicago did more harm than good in the NLDS between the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals.

In a regular season (or spring training for that matter) game, the home team controls whether or not the game starts on time. In saying that, I mean it’s squarely their decision in terms of the weather. Now with that said, the unwritten rule so to speak is that you confer with the visiting team and the umpiring crew. Obviously if the game’s going to be post phoned, you want to come to a mutual decision together. But when push comes to shove, it’s up to the home team. Once the umpire’s said play ball, it’s up to the crew whether or not to call for a delay or cancellation.

However in the post season it’s different. MLB handles all weather situations. The forecast in Chicago yesterday was calling for heavy rain all day, but especially in the later afternoon and evening. I’m not a weather man, however it seems to me that the prudent thing to do would have been to simply post phone the game from the outset.

And yes, it’s easy for me to say. At this point I’m just like the rest of you – a fan sitting at home watching the game on television. And believe me, I was ready to watch baseball late yesterday afternoon! The pitching in this Chicago/Washington series has been very good. And I’m a fan of pitching. But if the weather isn’t going to hold up, why delay the inevitable.

Again, sometimes forecasts are off and sometimes strange things happen. Especially in a place like The Windy City. But it just seems to me that MLB did both teams a disservice by bringing them to Wrigley Field and having them go through the motions of getting ready to play a ballgame.

And let’s take it a step further; with the rain out, the teams now surrender their travel day IF Washington happens to win today. Whereas before they would have traveled back to DC today for a game five on Thursday, now they’ll travel immediately following the game today to be ready for tomorrow. Some would argue that’s more akin to the regular season which is what players are used to, and that might be a valid point. (And again, mind you that this only applies if Washington wins; if Chicago wins this afternoon the series is over.)

However on that premise, why would MLB schedule a 4 PM start today? Why not a 1 PM or even a noon game? Would that not give the teams an extra few hours to get to Washington if in fact that’s today’s eventuality? I get it in the sense that it’s all about TV ratings, and to a lesser extent how many people they feel will complain about the start time in terms of having tickets to the game. But this is Chicagoland…it’s acceptable to skip work on any random weekday afternoon for a regular season Cubs game. Much less a playoff game!

Baltimore Orioles: Sound of silence

At times in 2017, Adam Jones was one of the only players hitting and producing. Again, I said one one the only players. Trey Mancini and Jonathan Schoop obviously had great years. as well as a couple of others. However one of the hallmarks of this past season was that the offense hibernated all at once in various points of the season.

And that’s something on which we should spend some time this off season. Obviously the main problem was the pitching. But there were quite a few games that the pitching did in fact hold up their end of the bargain. And the bats let the Orioles down. It’s fine and dandy to pitch a quality start, but if your offense can’t help you out and you lose 3-0, it’s still a loss.

First off, every team is going to go through dead periods at the plate. The Los Angeles Dodgers had that happen in the beginning of September. It was kind of laughed off because they were light years ahead in their division and at no risk of missing the post season, but it still happened. So you can’t totally head off these types of problems in terms of having it not happen.

But it seemed to happen to the Orioles across several different periods of the season. May was a dead period, however the Orioles have had a couple of bad May’s at the plate over the past couple of years. And that almost attests for it happening. Perhaps guys are starting to settle into the grind of the season and so forth, realizing the long haul that it’s going to be.

The O’s also had a slew of injuries over the course of the entire summer. Davis, Hardy, Castillo, and Flaherty all found themselves on the DL (some more than others). That’s not an excuse, but a fact. And that was true throughout the entire year. Adam Jones missed in essence the entire last week of the season due to sore legs that had plagued him all year.

Instead, the Orioles’ competition seemed to get stronger and healthier. Boston and New York didn’t have to contend with those types of injuries. In general, I’m in favor of a veteran team like what the Orioles have. However if half your infield AND your depth (Flaherty) are hurt, you see the downside very quickly. And in fact, you look at the season that Trey Mancini had, and when you realize he was a rookie perhaps youth can sometimes make a difference.

Lackluster pitching will be the end story of this Orioles’ season. But the silent bats at times played just as big a role. Hopefully for the O’s a long winter’s rest will help them to spring anew come March.

Baltimore Orioles: Buzzing up and down I-95

As you may recall, I was as surprised as anyone to hear of the Baltimore Orioles’ Buck Showalter‘s name on Philadelphia’s wish list of managers a couple of weeks back. It made no sense to me whatsoever that a manager under contract to another team would even be on someone’s radar. And I still stand by my statements from last week; if Philadelphia would even want the Orioles to consider cutting Buck loose, the Orioles would have to be able to gut Philadelphia’s farm system.

However there is a manager in the region who’s contract is up once the league season is over: Dusty Baker. The Washington Nationals’ manager of course is currently managing in the NLDS, and his team is tied at one game a piece with the Chicago Cubs. The series resumes today at Wrigley Field.

Baker is a great manager, most certainly on par with the Showalter’s of the world. He was given a two-year contract with Washington following the 2015 season, a deal which inexplicably hasn’t been extended at this point. Furthermore from Philadelphia’s standpoint, he manages a division rival.

In theory, contracts that are up after any given season expire in the immediacy of the World Series ending. If Washington makes it to the fall classic, it might be bad form for a team to reach out to Baker’s agent and inquire about a contract. But if they don’t make it that far, would it not behoove Philadelphia or any other potential team with a need in the dugout to look into Baker’s services?

My prediction is that Baker’s managing in Washington for the Nationals on Opening Day of 2018. However the fact is that right now he’s out of a job once the season concludes. I thought it was a little overly-aggressive for Philadelphia to have a sitting manager under contract for next year on their managerial radar, but especially with a skipper of equal caliber that in theory is going to be available.

On that note, it also seems to be bad form on Washington’s part to let Baker flail in the wind like this. He’s too accomplished as an MLB manager to have to wonder about his future. And quite frankly it would serve Washington right if he did walk – especially to a division rival. But so far as we know, Philadelphia has no interest in Dusty Baker. Only apparently Buck Showalter.

Baltimore Orioles: No sweeps for MLB’s tastes?

When the Baltimore Orioles were last in the ALDS in 2014, they swept the Detroit Tigers. That of course was a series that included a blowout win in game one, a game two win on the heels of Delmon Young‘s bases-clearing double in the eighth inning, and Buck Showalter rolling the dice at the end of game three. Showalter of course walked the winning run into scoring position to match up. But needless to say, it was a three-game sweep.

With Washington winning yesterday (and with similar heroics to the Delmon Young game at that), that’s one LDS series that has no chance at being a sweep. However the LA Dodgers won last night, setting up an elimination game tomorrow in Phoenix. And both Boston and New York face elimination today at the hands of Houston and Cleveland respectively.

My personal prediction is that at least one of those series’ will see at least a game four. However out of three series’, the odds of at least one of them being a sweep are also pretty good. But is it fair to say that perhaps MLB doesn’t want any of these series’ to be sweeps?

At this point, MLB’s really in this for the ratings. Correction: they’re in this for their television partners, who are in this for the ratings. You’re going to get ratings in the cities that are involved in the games for sure. Eyeballs in Cleveland, New York, Boston, etc. are going to be glued to the sets. And keep in mind that there are a lot of “haters” in cities such as Baltimore – division rivals of those teams who want to see them go down. They’ll probably be watching also.

But in reality, I suspect MLB would prefer that all of the series’ go the entire way. The league has to be thrilled that Washington won last night, and in such compelling fashion at that. Now they’re guaranteed a fourth game, and in the “friendly confines” of Wrigley Field at that.

Mind you, I’m in no way suggesting that any games are fixed – not by any stretch of the imagination. I just think that it makes sense for the league to hope the series’ go the entire five games. Especially seeing that they would culminate during the week. MLB’s at a disadvantage somewhat today because their two elimination games are going up against NFL football. While NFL ratings are down, it’s still competition. But games next week won’t have that type of competition.

Baltimore Orioles: Experience winning the day in the post season

The Baltimore Orioles might not be in the post season, but there are still some very compelling storylines. Look no further than Cleveland, where the Tribe has an opportunity to sweep New York tomorrow at Yankee Stadium. Cleveland of course hasn’t won the World Series since 1948, making them an attractive team for which to root.

One motif we’ve seen in the first slew of games in the playoffs has been that experience rules the day – for the most part. The one exception is Boston being on the verge of elimination at the hands of Houston. That Boston team has playoff experience; and they’re having their lunch handed to them thus far.

New York may be a great team, but they’re up against a Cleveland team that has playoff experience at the highest level. Cleveland of course went to the World Series last year, narrowly losing to Chicago in game seven. Looking at the National League, that experience also did Chicago well last night as they beat Washington 3-0, and Los Angeles bested a pesky Arizona team.

Some might look at that Chicago and Washington series as a draw in a sense. In fact, some would argue that the core group of players in DC might have more experience in the post season than does Chicago. However you can’t discount the fact that Chicago played in an won the World Series last year.

There are people who tell me that I put too much emphasis on experience. Anyone can win a baseball game, right? Yes, that’s very true. But just as the regular season differs from spring training, the bright lights of the post season is vastly different than the regular season. So that’s why when you get to this level you can’t discount that angle.

When you look at a team like Arizona, the atmosphere they saw at Dodger Stadium last night was probably unlike anything some of those players had ever experienced. To draw a comparison, if you bring a field goal kicker in the NFL in to try a 55-yard field goal to win the game, that’s a tough spot. If it’s preseason, there’s probably very little pressure. But if it’s a regular season or playoff game, is that same 55-yard kick just as easy? Probably not.

So who are most fans watching and wanting to win? There’s the Washington Nationals for the local angle, of course with former Oriole Matt Wieters. While he opted to leave Baltimore, I suspect that Wieters is a guy most O’s fans would like to see succeed. Speaking for myself, the Tribe is such a compelling story in terms of the amount of suffering that fan base has done since they last won a title. I’m also keeping my eye on Dodger Blue. One way of the other, the games thus far have been great!

Baltimore Orioles: Is the sports system immoral or unfair?

One term I hear a lot from fans of the Baltimore Orioles and other franchises is the term on-field product. I’ve said this before, but sports isn’t a product – it’s a game. However the more we hear that term, the more fans (especially younger fans) are going to treat it like a product.

Point here being, if you don’t like Coca-Cola (first off you must be crazy because it’s the greatest soda of all time!), you can switch to Pepsi. If you don’t like Marriotts, you can switch to Hiltons. You get the idea. Those are products.

And yes, if rooting for one team isn’t working out for you, there’s no reason you can’t switch. But most people grew up rooting for the team at hand, and it’s tough to just drop them. But if you treat sports like a product, that makes it a lot easier. And hey, the league’s still happy because you’re still supporting it – just in the form of another team.

And this article published earlier this week by CBS Sports kind of delves into sports fans’ senses of entitlement. I suspect that a lot of fans out there are now conditioned to feel that they deserve a winning team. And that’s because society’s taught people that over time. But there’s more to it than just that – it’s an interesting read, and I’d recommend clicking the link I provided and taking a look for yourself.

But this doesn’t all fall on the fans. After all, they (you) are in fact paying customers. Do the leagues and teams themselves take things too far? If there weren’t drafts, would that not benefit players themselves more so given that in theory they could play wherever they wanted?

And my answer to that is no. Look at the Lonzo Ball situation in the NBA. It’s a total fiasco, and his old man needs to stay out of things. That part goes without saying. But keep in mind that his Dad basically said that the only acceptable landing spot for his son was the Lakers. So in the absence of a draft, you’d have a lot of players picking their favorite or hometown teams exclusively. Nobody else would have a chance.

At the end of the day, it’s tough to feel badly for athletes even who make their league’s minimum. In MLB and the NFL, that’s somewhere between $400-$500K per season. However it’s also tough to feel badly for fans who think that the price of admission should mean that they get to see a winning team. So is the system unfair? No.