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: 2017 season recap

My prediction for the 2017 Baltimore Orioles was that Buck Showalter would have them in contention at least until the very end. And in fact, they were mathematically in contention until about a week to go in the season. But there were two things that derailed this Orioles’ season: inconsistent starting pitching, and inconsistent bats.

The O’s jumped out early, winning 22 of their first 32 games. That included a dramatic extra inning win on a Trumbo walk off home run on Opening Day against Toronto. However things in this world can often change on the drop of a dime. And they did.

Some of the Orioles’ issues were within their realm of control (in theory). Starting pitching in May and June just wasn’t up to snuff. That sent the Birds into a tailspin, as pressure mounted on the bullpen. However there were other issues which were not in their realm of control – such as injuries.

Chris Tillman of course began the season on the disabled list. And the fact is that he never seemed to get it going as the season wore on once he returned. However the likes of Chris Davis, Darren O’Day, J.J. Hardy, Ryan Flaherty, Welington Castillo, and of course Zach Britton, also spent time on the DL. In Hardy’s case, it lasted for most of the season. It’s tough to be competitive when you have that many players out.

And the fact is, the competition (NY and Boston) seemed to get healthier by the day. The Orioles were a veteran team in 2017, which in my eyes is a good thing. You’re dealing with more mature players who aren’t trying to be everything to everybody and so forth, causing rookie mistakes. In NY’s case, they were a young team. Yet the flip side of that is that youth is more durable at various points.

This is not to say that there were no good moments. Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones were both trailblazers – at the plate and in the field. Rookie Trey Mancini was also a nice surprise as time went on. And Dylan Bundy had a strong 2017, and the Orioles hope he anchors the rotation next year.

August brought a resurgence for the Birds, and come Labor Day they were a game out of the second wild card slot. However it was not to be, as they dropped 18 of their final 22 games to finish the season with only 25 wins. It’s only their second losing season under Showalter, the other being in 2011.

So what happens with this franchise moving forward? That’s something we’ll discuss a great deal, between now and the first spring training games.

Baltimore Orioles: Is the NFL’s loss MLB’s gain?

The Baltimore Orioles and the sports world have been rocked with the national anthem protests across the NFL of late. I have my views on that, and you can find those out if you follow my social media accounts. I’m not going to go into that here.

However regardless of the reasoning as to why, many Americans are turning away from the NFL – for now. That may be the wrong way of putting it; some people claim they’re turning away from the NFL. Speaking for myself, I couldn’t do it. I love football too much!

But that aside, does MLB possibly have an opportunity? Baseball has long whistled a patriotic tune in the sense that three major American holidays (Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day) fall during the season, and the league does a great job of marking them. The past few years the patriotic line of memorabilia has been very strong.

However I would submit that the chance to gain fans isn’t as great as one might think. Baseball’s greatest lack in terms of demographics are younger fans – the millennials. However it’s mainly the older generations (Gen X and Baby Boomers) who are the ones who have an issue with the protests…

…or with the methodology, at least. Most people probably aren’t upset about the protests overall, they’re upset that they’re disrespecting the flag. But that’s another story. Even still, perhaps it’s time for MLB to remind folks that baseball in fact is and always will be “America’s Pastime.”

Baltimore Orioles: Buck Showalter to Philadelphia?

It goes without saying that the Baltimore Orioles are lucky to have Buck Showalter at the helm. People can debate whether his moves are good or not, but the fact is that he’s the best manager the O’s have had since the mid-1990’s. If there’s a better candidate out there, I’d be interested to see him. Showalter is under contract as the Orioles’ manager through the end of next season.

So you can imagine my surprise when over the weekend NBC Sports Philadelphia (formerly Comcast Sportsnet) named Showalter as one of the ten potential candidates who could fill the managerial vacancy in that city. I suppose I understand the interest given that former Orioles’ GM Andy MacPhail is the current boss in Philadelphia.  But…they do realize that Showalter is under contract, don’t they?!

Teams being interested in another team’s current manager is nothing new. Farrell up in Boston was in essence traded from Toronto when the BoSox came calling. But that was different in a sense, as Farrell never really clicked in Toronto; basically they didn’t really want him any longer. Boston did want him. So they made a deal.

My understanding is that the Orioles still very much want Showalter as their manager. And for good reason at that. Now with that said, I don’t think that his name appeared in that article out of the blue. There’s a very real possibility that the Philadelphia Phillies might not only want Showalter, but have an idea of how they could get him from the Orioles.

Obviously Showalter and MacPhail are familiar with one another, as I said above. Furthermore there’s also apparent tension at times between Showalter and Dan Duquette in the front office. However that’s not necessarily a bad thing per se. GM’s and managers often don’t see eye-to-eye. At the very least, both Showalter and Duquette respect what one another means to the organization.

If Philadelphia really wants Buck, obviously they could wait a year and then in essence he’d be a “free agent” (absent an extension). However they need a manager now, and odds are someone isn’t going to be willing to sign a one-year contract to manage. A few years ago as you’ll remember Toronto wanted Dan Duquette, and at the end of the day after squabbling back and forth the Orioles were willing to part with him – for a price.

But keep in mind that the two situations aren’t the same. While Duquette would have in essence had a better job in Toronto, the Blue Jays also went out of their way to go about getting him the wrong way. They did their negotiating through the media, and all but announced that they wanted Duquette as executives were flying in for the annual winter meetings. Kind of a bush league move. And that’s why the Orioles and Peter Angelos wanted a king’s ransom in return for Duquette. A request that Toronto denied, hence Duquette still being in Baltimore.

But this is totally different. Obviously this wasn’t a bombshell dropped by the Phillies’ organization, it’s just a news story. However if they were really interested in Showalter, it goes without saying that he would come at a price. If I’m the Orioles, I only consider this if I have the opportunity to literally gut Philadelphia’s farm system. And I don’t say that figuratively…

…I mean it literally. The Orioles would need to get top prospects in return, preferably pitching prospects. Pitching prospects who are a heart beat away from the big leagues at that. If Philadelphia isn’t willing to pony up, the Orioles shouldn’t even listen.

At the end of the day, this isn’t happening folks. Buck Showalter’s the best thing to happen to the Orioles in years. They aren’t just going to give him away (unless it’s an offer they can’t refuse). Plus, Buck loves Baltimore. He’s made that clear with his comments and his actions. He’s also said that the Orioles would be his last managerial stop. Now granted things can change, however he’s said that numerous times.

I wouldn’t expect this to be a major storyline this off season. I could always be wrong, but my money’s on Buck managing at Camden Yards on Opening Day, 2018.

Baltimore Orioles arrive at the end of the line

Kevin Gausman did everything he could to hopefully extend the summer one more day for the Baltimore Orioles. At the very least to send the Birds and the fans into the off season on the heels of a win. But it wasn’t meant to be. Gausman’s line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K.

As I said, Gausman did everything that he could in this game. This was the line and the effort that I suspect the Orioles wanted to see out of Gausman on Opening Day back in April as opposed to yesterday in a meaningless game on the final day of the season. Nevertheless, he finished his season on a personal high note. And that might pay dividends going into next year.

Perhaps the most noteworthy part of Gausman’s start is that he didn’t suffer from the epidemic of going through the order once and falling apart. He was able to disguise his pitches and kept Tampa hitters off kilter for the most part. Casali’s solo homer in the fifth inning was the only run he surrendered.

And the fact is that when the bats are silent, that one run is all that’s necessary. Another hot topic this off season will be how it’s possible that great big league hitters can all go cold at the same time. And it happened at several points along the way this year. And it’s as much of a reason as to why the Orioles are now cleaning out their lockers as opposed to preparing for the post season as anything else.

After Gausman departed, Tampa really got to work. Longoria smacked an RBI-double in the eighth, followed by an RBI-single by Morrison. Later in the inning Ploufe walked with the bases loaded, followed by another bases loaded walk – this one to Casali. At the end of the day when the smoke cleared Tampa led 6-0.

And that was the final. Not just the final for the game, but the final impression of the 2017 Orioles. Kind of ironic that the big strength of this team was supposed to be the bullpen, but yet in their penultimate game they got a strong outing from a starter and the bullpen couldn’t get the job done. There’s a lot that derailed this team in 2017, not all of which was in their control. And as time goes on we’ll go over all of it until we find ourselves back in Sarasota for spring training.

And that’s all she wrote! Some seasons are good, and some lackluster such as this one. But one way or the other we made it through 162 games and we’ve now come to the end of the line. But stay with me here at THE ORANGE CRUSH, as we’ll have daily coverage of the Orioles throughout the off season.

And thanks goes out to you the fans for reading. Whether you cheered or boo’d the team, the passion of the Orioles fans is second to none. You care about your team, and you want them to succeed. As for me, I always take a few days to “digest’ the season before writing a formal season recap. But you can expect that this week.

Normally I close my game recaps by setting up the next day’s game. But this was the end of line, so there is no next day’s game. My next game recap will be in February after Opening Day of spring training. So in lieu of the pitching match up, I’ll just say that pitchers and catchers report in less than six months. And hope springs eternal!

Baltimore Orioles: Second time through the order sinks Birds again

The Baltimore Orioles gave Miguel Castro a start out of the bullpen last night, and while he was only in the game for a short time he produced mixed results. Castro’s line: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K. Castro retired the side 1-2-3 in the first inning to get things started. He also pitched out of a small jam in the third.

However he gave up base hits left and right in the fourth. He also uncorked a wild pitch, and one hitter later surrendered a three-run homer to Miller to give Tampa a 3-0 lead. And in doing so, he became only the most recent Orioles’ starter to struggle after going through the batting order once.

I have to believe that if the Birds are giving Castro a start here in the regular season (and considering sending him to winter ball), they’re viewing him as a potential candidate for a starting job next year. He’s going to be a fascinating guy to watch throughout spring training. If there’s a rotation spot to be had, he might have an opportunity to rise up and take it.

But it seems throughout September, the one constant has been that Oriole starters can’t get out of the third or fourth innings. Teams start beating them around, and they go from striking out the side to an early exit. Why is that?

It’s something on which I’ll probably touch here and there throughout the off season. I mean, I have to find something to write about, right?! But I have to believe that opposing teams are picking up on something with every Oriole starter after going through the order once which is allowing them to tee off on them the second time through. And mind you that the Orioles were very much in the thick of contention during Labor Day weekend. So whatever it is, it helped play the Birds right out of the play off race.

Tampa would add an additional run in the seventh on a sac fly-RBI. In fact, the runner was only at third because Donnie Hart balked him there – another unforced mistake. And that run ended up being big, because the Birds made a run.

The O’s got runners on in the top of the eighth, and Pedro Alvarez‘s two-RBI single brought them home. That cut the Tampa lead to 4-2. They would add a sac fly-RBI in the ninth off the bat of Santander, but the third out was recorded before they could tie the game.

All things being equal, if not for that balk the game would have been tied. It’s attention to details like that (or lack thereof) which win and lose you games. And that ties back to the first and second time through the order bit from above. Whatever opposing teams are picking up on after going through the order once, they’re paying close attention to detail. And perhaps the Orioles are not – in the sense that they’re allowing teams to pick up on something. Things to consider for 2018.

It’s hard to believe that this afternoon’s game is the end. It’s been a tough year for the orange and black, but it hasn’t been without it’s lighter moments also. But we can discuss all of that and more in the six months or so between now and Grapefruit League play. But needless to say, when you’ve been charting games since the end of February, it’s hard to believe it when you get to the final one.

The series and the season concludes this afternoon at Tropicana Field. Kevin Gausman will make the penultimate start of the year for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Blake Snell. Game time is set for just after 3 PM.

Baltimore Orioles issue ten walks in loss

Some fans might excuse the Baltimore Orioles in a sense if some of them are already looking to next week. With the season drawing to a fast conclusion, many players are undoubtedly looking towards potentially being on a golf course or a beach somewhere. This after being tied up with baseball since February. Having said that, while many people might understand the mentality, it certainly doesn’t look pretty on the diamond.

Wade Miley got the start for the O’s in Tampa last night, and not with the greatest results. Miley’s line: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 6 K. As a team, the Orioles issued ten walks last night. Half of those came from Miley. And true to form for Orioles’ pitchers, it was the second time through the order that got him.

Tampa loaded the bases in the third, and Longoria’s RBI-ground out gave them a 1-0 lead. They loaded the bases again in the fourth, and Robertson took a walk to give them a 2-0 lead. They ran it to 3-0 on Bourjos’ sac fly-RBI. Longoria would lead off the fifth with a solo homer as well.

And Tampa would put three more runs on the board in the last of the seventh before they were done. This was the Orioles’ 17th loss in 21 games. However unfortunately there was more to this overall game story.

Tim Beckham potentially injured his hamstring running out a ground ball in the eighth inning. Granted if you’re going to have an injury this is the time to do it, however it’s just one more injury in an injury-plaqued year for the Birds. The scary part is that Beckham is seen as being part of the Orioles’ future, and he’s a younger player. It’s one thing when Davis or Jones is hurt – you expect that of older players.

Part of the sequence that ended up with Miley loading the bases in the fourth was Tampa’s Puello hitting a ball into the catwalks of Tropicana Field. It hit off of a set of stairs and was lost in the roof – umpires awarded Puello an infield hit. Buck Showalter addressed this after the game (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

None of the four umpires could tell if it hit it. The problem is, our replay has no angle that goes up to correct them. That ring’s in foul ground, which should have been a foul ball, but when they tell me that all four of them couldn’t tell if it hit it or not and where we were, it was obvious that it hit it. So, we were trying to go to replay to correct it and help them out, and replay has no angle that shows that it hit it. It leaves me no course of action to go to replay to correct it, so another flaw in the ballpark.

“It’s been that way for a long time. And a flaw in the replay angle. They just don’t have a camera up there. There’s a lot of places here you’d have to put a camera to correct it, with the many things that happen.

Admittedly I’m not a fan of the Trop – and neither is Buck Showalter. I’ve always said that Oakland is the worst ballpark in the big leagues, but Tampa’s up there. A ball that should have been foul literally couldn’t be seen on replay to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was foul, so the call remained fair. Let that one sink in.

The series continues this evening at Tropicana Field. Miguel Castro is going to get a start out of the bullpen for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Chris Archer. Game time is set for just after 6 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Back to the beginning

The Baltimore Orioles train in Sarasota, which is a little less than an hour south of Tampa, Fla. Of course Sarasota is where the journey this season began, as it does every year. So perhaps it’s fitting that the Birds find themselves back in the greater Tampa area again this weekend for the end.

It seems like such a long time ago at this point – spring training, that is. The majority of the games were at 1 PM, with my game recaps written by 4:30 and the rest of my evening free. Early to bed, early to rise. That’s been my motto most of my life, although now during the season it’s more like late to bed, early to rise!

Perhaps there’s a parallel to be drawn so to speak with returning to the Tampa area for the end of the season for the Birds. However I’d draw a line more so to spring training next year. People love to use the term meaningless exhibition game, however those spring training games in 2018 mean more than do these games this weekend right now.

Which means that to players such as Jones, Davis, et al (guys who will definitely be on the roster next year), these games mean a lot. Look no further than 2011 and 2012 to see what finishing strong can do to bring you into the next season. And perhaps the same is true of last year into this season. So much was made of Showalter leaving Britton in the bullpen in that AL Wild Card Game; and it’s something from which the Orioles never seemed to really recover.

The Tampa series begins tonight at Tropicana Field. Wade Miley gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Jake Odorizzi. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles swept out of Pittsburgh

There are a lot of fans who are probably going to say that the Baltimore Orioles have thrown in the towel on the season, and maybe aren’t even trying. However I would challenge fans to take a look at the lineup before saying that. Guys like Chance Sisco are getting a shot at some playing time with the team out of contention. And justifiably so.

However the more striking issue is that for the truncated Pittsburgh series, the O’s have gone with an all-rookie outfield. In essence they’ve had to, given the fact that Adam Jones is resting his sore legs, and they have to surrender their DH in a National League ballpark. Last night it was Mancini, Hays, and Santander. Granted Mancini’s been in the lineup all season, however you get the point. The Orioles’ offense can’t be whatever it is with the amount of inexperience that’s in the lineup.

Gabriel Ynoa got the start last night, and only lasted a few innings. Ynoa’s line: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K. Ynoa wasn’t stellar, however the fact is that the Orioles are trying to get a look at different people in an attempt to fill starting rotation slots next year. In essence with the team out of contention, these are spring training games.

Ynoa gave up an RBI-single to McCutchen in the first inning, and the Birds trailed 1-0 early on. However they battled back right away. Cisco and Santander smacked RBI-doubles, and Hardy grounded into a fielder’s choice-RBI. Suddenly it looked like the baby Birds were onto something.

However one inning later Pittsburgh got back to within one on Polanco’s solo homer. In the third Ynoa issued a harmless two-out walk in a sense, only to have Bell smack a two-run homer to give Pittsburgh the lead back. They would add a run on Marte’s RBI-single in the seventh to win it 5-3, sweeping the series.

With that two-out walk Ynoa fell victim to something that’s plagued Oriole pitchers all season long. It’s understandable that they aren’t trying to walk guys with two outs, however I do wonder if perhaps the team doesn’t collectively let their guard down just a bit once they hit two outs. Or even two strikes. Walks happen sometimes, and that’s okay. They’ve just seemed to happen at the wrong time to this team in 2017.

To add to the quirkiness of the schedule in this final week of the season, the O’s are off again today. So in a sense this is the final off day of the season for the Orioles, however after this weekend of course they’ll be off until late February of next year.

Baltimore Orioles fall in Pittsburgh

Kevin Gausman of the Baltimore Orioles struggled last night, in what could be his final start of the season in Pittsburgh. Gausman’s line: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 5 K. The Orioles have another off day (tomorrow) this week, meaning that in theory Gausman wouldn’t need to start again Sunday in Tampa. However if I were manager Buck Showalter I’d send Gausman out there again to give him another shot at finishing the season strong.

Gausman allowed two runs in the last of the first on two consecutive RBI-doubles. One of those came off the bat of McCutchen, who ended up with eight RBI on the night overall. It’s tough to win when one guy drives in eight runs. However that sequence got started as Gausman made an errant throw on a pickoff attempt at first base. Gausman was charged with the error, but it looked like Chris Davis just whiffed on the throw when he tried to catch it.

McCutchen’s grand slam in the last of the second broke the game wide open, giving Pittsburgh a 6-0 lead. Pittsburgh would also pick up a run on a fielder’s choice in the fifth, although Chris Davis would smack his 26th homer of the year in the sixth to cut the lead to 7-1. But that’s as close as the Orioles got, as McCutchen smoked another homer over the wall in the seventh. This one of the three-run variety.

Buck Showlater said after the game that Gausman’s issues were command-related. And in fact, he was unable to put hitters away as he missed a lot of spots (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

I hate to keep … it’s a command issue. You’re trying to go down and away and you throw it middle middle, you’re going to pay a price to hitters at this level. Kevin’s shown that he’s very capable of pitching very solidly at this level. I’ve said many times, some of the best development of players happens in the off-season. You step back and you go, ‘OK, here’s reality.’ Because sometimes at this time of year reality doesn’t quite hit you like it will in about a month.

The Orioles will complete this short series in Pittsburgh this evening at PNC Park. Gabriel Ynoa gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Pittsburgh’s Chas Kohl. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Toughest schedule in MLB

The Baltimore Orioles head to Pittsburgh this evening to open up a two-game series. It’s actually a return engagement in a sense, as the two teams played a two-game set back in June at Camden Yards. The wonders of interleague play I suppose. I’m actually a proponent of interleague play, but I do think that they should look at how they do it.

The Orioles were given the toughest schedule in baseball this season. One of the factors in that designation was the fact that they had two games in the final week of the season in a National League ballpark. However the fact is that someone has to do it, given the fact that the league has an interleague game on every day of the season.

Obviously the point was that if the Orioles were in a playoff race, is it exactly fair to them to have to play two games in the final week where they surrender their DH and the pitchers hit? The fact is that the Birds are now eliminated from the race, however you get the point. But again, someone has to do it.

Personally I liked the way that they did interleague play prior to the changes that were made a few seasons ago. The games kind of came in blocks, with a large chunk of interleague games surrounding Memorial Day, and another one later in June. And I felt that kind of localized teams having to prepare for these games – meaning only in certain parts of the season as opposed to anytime.

If the O’s were still in contention, I suspect we would have heard a lot about that this week given that they’re in interleague play. It’s not the first time they’ve had a strange September schedule. In 2015 they had a similar situation, with a three-game set in Washington the third week of September. Going all the way back to 2012, they had a major road trip to the west coast in the middle of September as they were gearing up for the playoffs. You take the schedule as it comes, I suppose. But maybe while you don’t look for breaks per se, you do look not to be put at a disadvantage either.

The series at PNC Park in Pittsburgh begins tonight. Kevin Gausman takes the mound for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Pittsburgh’s Trevor Williams. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.