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: Where does Dylan Bundy fit in?

With pitchers and catchers reporting in a couple of weeks, one of the more intriguing questions surrounding the Baltimore Orioles involves Dylan Bundy. Will he be in he rotation or bullpen? My personal opinion is that he’s earmarked for the rotation in the wake of the club trading Gallardo. But we’ll have to see.

First off if you include Bundy as a starter, that gives the Birds a rotation of (in no particular order) Tillman, Jimenez, Bundy, Gausman, and perhaps either Wright or Wilson. Who else is out there to contend for a spot? You see that I already included two people for that last rotation spot, so in essence they’re already somewhat thin.

My point is that whereas last year they really had no choice by to put Bundy in the bullpen, this year they may have no other choice but to start him. Unless they’re able to sign a veteran starter as a back-of-the-rotation guy, where else could Bundy go? Basically, the starting rotation is his and the Orioles’ only option right now.

The only scenario in which I see Bundy ending up back in the pen besides signing or trading for someone else would be if both Wilson and Wright have stellar springs and both end up in the rotation. And that’s entirely possible – they both muscled their way onto the roster in the wake of last year’s spring training. However I see one of them in the rotation and one in the bullpen – but both on the big league roster.

So that means that the O’s owe Bundy the opportunity to be stretched out a bit in the spring. I would expect him to get a significant amount of work, both publicly and perhaps not so publicly. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him start several “B games” on the back fields, and perhaps even a minor league game or two. And not that it really matters, but there’s also the final spring tuneup on March 31st at Harbor Park that he could start as well.

But with that said there’s also some maneuvering that the Orioles could do in the first two weeks or so. The schedule’s somewhat strange this year in the sense that the O’s have two off days in the first week. They open at home against Toronto, after which they’ll have the obligatory day off after Opening Day. They then finish what will be a disjointed two-game series on that Wednesday, and an off-day on Thursday before New York comes in on Friday for the weekend.

In other words, the Orioles won’t need a fifth starter right away. Heck, they won’t need a fourth starter for that matter! They’re also off on Monday April 10th before heading to Boston on April 11th for their first road series of the season. So not needing a fifth starter could push into the second week as well. And while we’re at it, they’re off on Monday Aprl 17th.

Bundy’s out of options, however if they needed to the Orioles could “invent” a minor injury for him and leave him behind in Sarasota. In fact if they played their cards right, they could backdate it so that they could send him on a rehab assignment so he’d be ready by mid-April. He certainly wouldn’t be the first pitcher to go through some minor tendinitis in Spring Training.

This is all speculation, however I do believe that Bundy will be a member of the rotation in 2017. Once the O’s need a fifth starter, that is!

Baltimore Orioles: Is Manny Machado putting up barriers?

Before I get to Manny Machado, I want to mention that the Baltimore Orioles’ annual FanFest celebration yesterday was a rousing success. The Baltimore Convention Center was packed with people from the beginning of the event until the end, all enthusiastic about the upcoming baseball season. And the Birds have learned to expect nothing less of their fans for this event. There as a palpable excitement around the Inner Harbor all day, which is a good sign!

Not much news usually comes from these types of events, however Manny Machado did make an interesting comment when asked about a contract extension that I caught (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

You know, I mean, I’m up for it. I’d rather win a ring than sign a long-term contract. They are doing the right things to put the right pieces in the right direction. When the time comes, I know they are going to come up and try to get something done. For the meantime, we’re just trying to put the best 25 guys on the field.

I want to be fair to Machado, first and foremost. Prior to saying this he said that the Orioles were the only team he’s ever known, and that he’d like to remain with the Orioles. However in saying he’d rather win a ring than sign long-term, what’s he really saying?

One might interpret that as suggesting that he’s going to sign with a team he believes has the most chance of winning a title when the time comes. On one hand, one can’t really blame him. However does that mean that if a team such as the Chicago Cubs are interested when the time comes, he’d go there instead of staying here?

If you read into that quote, then I suppose that’s exactly what he’s saying. But again, let’s be fair to Machado; he also did say that he wanted to stay here. In reality, hisdiscourse on a contract extension was more a long version of your typical responsee of I’m just going to play the game and let my agent handle it than anything else. But often when you give the long version of answers you leave your words open to interpretation.

Furthermore, it’s also interesting to note at this time that when the Orioles drafted Machado he was hesitant to sign. It came down to the wire, and he almost opted not to sign with the Birds. At the time of course, the Orioles weren’t a very good team or organization. Machado wanted to be a part of a winner, as it appears he still does. Again, one can’t really blame him there. But what I’m saying is that his comment in passing yesterday was consistent with what he’s said and done in the past.

Again, nobody can blame the kid for wanting to play for a winner. And as always, there are two ways to look at this; it could actually benefit the Orioles if you think about it. What if he’s offered a HUGE contract elsewhere, but at the end of the day it’s a franchise that’s not quite where the Orioles are now – just to throw a team out there, let’s say Tampa. If he’s true to his comments above, he’ll stay with the Orioles.

Baltimore Orioles host their annual FanFest

The Baltimore Orioles will open for business in 2017 this morning. In just a few short hours, the doors of the Baltimore Convention Center will swing open, and Orioles’ FanFest will begin. FanFest will be held from 11 AM – 6 PM. Yesterday I incorrectly pinned the price of admission at $10; it’s actually $12.

FanFest is a time-honored tradition in Birdland, and it has something for fans of all ages. And writers!  So you can bet that a lot of families, groups of friends, and onlookers will make their way through the convention center today.

The Orioles work very hard to make this a great event, and in general they seem to succeed. They’ve set attendance records the past few years, and coming off of a playoff appearance there’s no reason to believe that might not happen again this year.

Now here’s one downside to this event: the fact that the Orioles charge for admission vouchers for the autograph sessions. They’re sold out at this point, however that doesn’t mean you can’t get them. The Orioles donate that money to charity – so it’s not intended for them to turn a profit. However as I said, you can still get an autograph voucher…plenty of people sell them on the secondary market.

That’s right, scalpers. And many scalpers scoop up the vouchers early and then sell them at a profit.Let me be clear; this IS NOT the Orioles’ fault. The only way they could avoid this is by not charging for the vouhcers, which takes money away from charity. It just is what it is.

So with that said, I’m off – see you at the Convention Center!

Baltimore Oriolesriday in Charm City

The Baltimore Orioles are on the verge of one of the most beloved weekends of the off season for fans. Tomorrow Birdland will congregate at the Baltimore Convention Center for the Orioles’ annual FanFest celebration. And when I say all of Birdland, I mean everyone – players, coaches, fans, etc.

FanFest is quite simply put, an awesome event. I tell people that it has all the elements of an Orioles game at Camden Yards, with the exception of the game itself. There are so many great parts to it which are family oriented, from free merchandise, instruction from coaches and players, mascot appearances, and great exhibits. Needless to say, it’s worth the $10 price of admission.

As a writer, I always enjoy listening to the symposiums with players and coaches to get a glimpse of what their thoughts are for the upcoming season, or on a specific issue involving the team or the sport. And in fact, it’s probably the first and last chance that fans will have to see the team before they all head south to Sarasota for Spring Training next month. Keep in mind that Grapefruit League play begins at the end of February!

If you have plans tomorrow, cancel them! As I said, FanFest is well worth the price of admission. The event is from 11 AM until 6 PM at the aforementioned Baltimore Convention Center. Tickets can be bought at the door.

Baltimore Oriol Trumbo to attend this weekend’s FaFest

In case you weren’t aware, the Baltimore Orioles will be holding their annual FanFest this Saturday at the Baltimore Convention Center. It was announced yesterday that the newly re-signed Mark Trumbo will be in attendance. As will new catcher, Welington Castillo.

Both players were late adds, and in fact Trumbo will be introduced to the media (or “re-introduced” I suppose) at a 3 PM press conference tomorrow afternoon. Trumbo is expected to draw a lot of interest from fans, as there were varying opinions as to whether or not he should be brought back.

At the end of the day however, the yea’s won out and Trumbo will be an Oriole for the next three years. However I would submit that Castillo will draw some interest as well, given that he’s taking over for a perennial all-star and a longtime fan favorite in Wieters. Those are big shoes to fill, however if the rest of the league’s reaction to Wieters being on the free agent market is any indication one might think that the Orioles did the right thing in moving on.

Incidentally folks, I’ll be wandering around the convention floor on Saturday myself. If you see me, feel free to say hello!

Baltimore Orioles: Power wins in the AL East

Many fans like to say that the Baltimore Orioles use power as a crutch in a sense. In bringing back the likes of Davis (last year), Trumbo, etc, the Orioles are expecting to slug their way into the post season. And in the eyes of some, that’s misguided.

If you look at recent history, perhaps it is. The Cleveland Indians made it to the World Series last season playing small ball, and there are plenty of other examples of that. However what I would say is that the Orioles need to be a power team that can play small ball. There’s no reason that guys shouldn’t be able to bunt for a base hit, or sac bunt. That’s part of the game.

But that’s not how you win games in the American League East. It never has been and probably never will be. You win games in the AL East based on two things: power and pitching. The pitching part we know is a constant struggle in Baltimore. I’m focusing on the power.

How many AL East games are 1-0 or somewhere of the like? Not very many. You win games in the AL East by bashing your opponents’ brains in. Teams consistently win games 9-7 or 10-9. That’s just how it works.

While the Orioles do need to focus a bit more on OBP, if they started playing small ball consistently in their division, they’d lose a boatload of games. It’s perfectly okay to only score four runs in a game overall. But when your opponent is putting up seven, that’s a problem.

So my hope is that people try to understand that it isn’t that the O’s don’t want to work harder on their team OBP. The fact is that they need as much power as they can get. The other teams aren’t just going to change at will simply because the Orioles did. That’s not how it works! The American League East is always won or lost on power hitting at the plate. And good pitching…but again, that’s a totally different story!

Baltimore Orioles: How important are wins and losses this spring?

The Baltimore Orioles will begin spring training games at the end of next month. Yeah, I just wrote that! But as we start looking to Grapefruit League play, how important are wins and losses once games start? Is there or should there be more of an emphasis on that?

It’s tough to say. First off, keep in mind that wins and losses are tough to gauge in road games in spring. Most teams only bring a handful of regular players on their travel rosters, and the lineups are thus not really what one would expect to see in a regular season game. And even in the home games, sometimes we see lineup changes and tinkerings here and there.

So any discussion about wins and losses in spring should be prefaced with that. If a guy who’s basically earmarked for triple-A makes two errors and strikes out three times in a spring game, that will probably have no bearing on how the team will finish the regular season.

However I do think that perhaps there could be more of an urgency this year. With Wieters presumably gone and Castillo behind the dish, these spring games are going to be key in building rapport with the pitching staff. Does that mean that winning games is a must? Not necessarily per se. However it helps.

Make no mistake about the fact that similar to what I said above about the guy earmarked for triple-A, if the starters come out of a game in which they have the lead and the reserves blow it, that’s meaningless. At the beginning of camp the starters will get two or three at-bats in games, and then turn things over to some of the minor leaguers. Furhermore, the pitchers’ appearances are all going to be choreographed.

That’s how spring games work – they’re almost planned out! Starters are earmarked to only pitch two innings in their first outing, maybe three in their second, and so forth. And the same with the position players; after two or three at-bats, they’re rotated out of the lineup.

My point is that it’s tough to judge by wins and losses in spring. First off the games don’t count, so it’s pointless. But when you go into a game knowing that your time is limited and in essence you know how long you’re going to be playing, it’s also tough to judge. Wins and losses are important, even in spring. Especially with a new starting catcher. But how the spring develops in terms of quality at-bats and outings is more important.

Baltimore Orioles, MLB mourn loss of Yordano Ventura

The Baltimore Orioles join the rest of Major League Baseball in mourning the death of the Kansas City Royals’ pitcher Yordano Ventura. His Jeep was found overturned yesterday in the Dominican Republic. Along with Ventura’s body was found that of former Pittsburgh Pirate, Andy Marte. Condolences to all who knew and loved them.

This is only the latest players killed in accidents over the past few years. It’s unclear if this is something that the league will address, or if there was any ort of substance abuse involved. Time will tell.

I want to be up front about the fact that I wasn’t a fan of Ventura’s style. He was a great pitcher, and a great talent. However he caused multiple incidents involving bench-clearing brawls after beaning people – including one here in Baltimore last year. It got to the point to where if you looked at Ventura wrong, you were in danger o being hit.

But that’s beside the point. Someone’s death, especially one in that manner for someone that young, is always a sad affair. I never met Yordano Ventura in person, and for all I know he was the nicest person in the world off the field. But again, even that’s irrelevant.

What is relevant is that he had a family that loved him, and who now lacks him for the rest of time. That’s an incredibly sad prospect. Again, condolences to all who knew and loved him.

Baltimore Orioles: More on Matt Wieters

As I’ve said before, I’m shocked that former Baltimore Orioles’ catcher, Matt Wieters, is still out there on the free agent market. If I were him, I’d be looking at my agent (Scott Boras) and wonder what the heck is goin on. There’s little doubt that if Boras wasn’t so stingy and stubborn at times, Wieters might already either be back with the Orioles or have a new team.

Incidentally, it’s probably to the Orioles’ credit that they found a new direction in Castillo and all but immediately moved on. I suspect that they wanted no part of Boras’ reindeer games, and knew that the only thing they stood to gain from being in whatever Wieters sweepstakes were going to be out there was next-to-nothing. Odds are the Orioles would have been leveraged to get more money out of other teams, and then they would haave been unceremoniously jilted at the altar.

Supposedly there are teams that are still interested – including the Orioles (according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick). Crasnick says that they’re a long shot, but they could do exactly what I said they might consider doing earlier in the off season: platooning Wieters and Castillo and then DHing him the rest of the time. It’s an idea for sure, and one that could incidentally yield the Birds a couple of prospects at the deadline as well.

But again, I really feel that Boras has really overplayed his hand on this one. Only he knows what kind of offers have been out there thus far, but needless to say I suspect that someone has made an offer on Wieters. I just don’t see him coming back to Baltimore, regardless of the role he might play. But stranger things have happened.

Baltimore Orioles: Matt Wieters is surprisingly still available

This column is not me suggesting that the Baltimore Orioles need to or should re-sign Matt Wieters. With the catchers that the Birds have right now, that ship has sailed. However this column is me saying that I’m shocked that Wieters is still a free agent. Are teams really that afraid of a guy who had Tommy Johns a few years back?

Again, the Orioles don’t need a catcher. However there are plenty of teams who do – such as the team down the pike. Wieters was also apparently earmarked for Atlanta at one point, which is where he went to school. But even that hasn’t materialized. So again, what gives?

We’re talking about a guy who’s appeared on multiple all-star rosters, and who’s a true team leader. The only thing I can muster is that agent Scott Boras is either stubornly asking for too much money (still), or teams really do have questions about Wieters’ health. Or could it go deeper than that?

I would submit that the shelf-life of a catcher has gotten shorter and shorter. When the likes of SF’s Posey get hurt in the manner that he did, it makes teams think. Furthermore you have the Washington Nationals who literally sent Harper to the outfield – never allowing him to crouch behind the dish.

This is how the league ebbs and flows. Sports are very reactionary in the sense that if injuries happen to high-profile people, something will eventually be done to prevent them. And I get that, however…Wieters is probably the best catcher on the market. It’s shocking to me that he’s still out there.

So just for the sake of saying it – should the Orioles bring him back? I say no. They’re set at catcher, and in fact within the organization they’re deep at that position. We’re getting to the point to where prices will start to drop. So someone will get a bargain. My guess is that it’s Atlanta.