Category Archives: Baltimore Orioles News

Baltimore Orioles parting ways with Brady Anderson

Former Baltimore Orioles’ star Brady Anderson is now former Baltimore Orioles’ front office employee Brady Anderson. (But he’s still obviously former Orioles’ star Brady Anderson – you get the idea.) Multiple outlets have reported that the club and Anderson are parting ways.

Anderson of course was very active in baseball operations under former VP Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter. Once that regime was gone, Anderson’s role became a bit less defined – in effect once VP Mike Elias took over. Anderson apparently was on a leave of absence dealing with family issues for much of this season. With that said, it sounds as if this is a mutual decision.

Elias has now turned over pretty much the entire front office. Many fans will see that as a good thing, and many will raise their eyebrows. However the Angelos family gave Elias the power to mold the organization in the manner he wished. And he’s doing just that. More as it comes.

Baltimore Orioles: We go beyond the end of the line!

Today’s the day after for the Baltimore Orioles. The team returned to Baltimore last night after the season finale in Boston, and today guys will report to Camden Yards to clean out their lockers for the winter. While 2019 is over and done, it’ll be a busy day at the yard. And always with an eye on the future.

Rumor has it that manager Brandon Hyde met with each player over the course of the final two or three weeks or so. Each player’s future was discussed, and Hyde went over what each player had done well this year – and how each player is expected to improve going into spring training. And the point was driven home that the expectation was that said improvements and adjustments were expected to have been begun going into spring training. They weren’t to begin in spring training, but they were to have been worked on throughout the off season.

So it’ll be interesting how things look once we get to spring games next year. And we will get there – if you can believe that, here on the first full day of the off season. Time will in fact pass!

In the mean time however, the season never really ends here at Birdland Crush. We’ll have daily coverage of any Orioles’ news, including opinions and analysis. In the immediate future, I always take a couple of days to “digest” the season in it’s entirety. But sometime towards the end of this week I’ll provide a season recap. We’ll also look at the MLB playoffs as they go along, perhaps chronicling the progress of former Orioles, or players with ties to the Orioles.

Off seasons tend to drag on in baseball; they can be trying. But before we know it, Orioles’ FanFest will be upon us, and pitchers and catchers report two weeks after the Super Bowl. And then we begin anew. But in the interim, it never stops here at Birdland Crush!

Baltimore Orioles: Final game of this decade

Today the Baltimore Orioles close not only the 2019 season, but also a decade that will forever be special in Birdland. The next time the Birds take the field it will be 2020, and thus a new decade. (The Roaring 20’s?!) So today ends the 2010’s.

And what a memorable decade this was. First off, the Orioles and the rest of the league all play at 3 PM EST this afternoon. The league took note of the closing act of 2011, in which the Orioles savagely beat Boston in walk off fashion, and five minutes later Tampa did the same to NY – the combination of the two acts sending Tampa to the post season and sending Boston home. So at some point the league decided to have the last day feature games at the same time so as to potentially have something along those lines occur again.

Obviously the success of this past decade can be traced back and attributed to Buck Showalter. His leadership propelled the likes of Adam Jones, Chris Davis, Manny Machado, Nick Markakis, J.J. Hardy and others to greatness. Some of you reading this will point out that the O’s never won a World Series in this timeframe, and that’a undebatable. However after 14 consecutive losing seasons and multiple embarrassments in that span, are you really going to let the lack of a World Series define that era?

The 2012 Orioles shocked the world. And it was literally a season-long process – shocking the world, that is. They took the momentum garnered after bouncing Boston from the playoffs in 2011 and paid it forward. There were people who didn’t truly believe in the Orioles having a shot at the post season until they had actually clinched. But they made it, and won the inaugural AL Wild Card Game in Texas.

We all know the rest. Two years later the O’s were AL East Champions, and two years after that they returned to the post season as a wild card team. However all good things must come to an end. And the 2010’s-era Orioles has their fall from grace as well. They were competitive in 2017 until the final month, when they just fell off. Then 2018 obviously was a disaster, causing wholesale changes across the board.

But when fans think back on this decade of Orioles baseball, my hope is that they remember the good times. Because the fact is that they far outweigh the bad. By a long shot. Think back to moments such as this one – Delmon Young‘s bases clearing double in the 2014 ALDS against Detroit.

Incidentally, as a writer I try my best to call things down the middle. Sure I cover the Orioles and thus write from the Orioles’ perspective, but I try not to cheerlead. But watching that clip still sends shivers down my spine (in a manner that only baseball can induce). You can hear the crowd, and hear the announcer straining just to have his voice heard over the fans. And that’s very consistent with my own memories of that moment.

That was not only the loudest I had ever heard Camden Yards, but the loudest I had ever heard any stadium. It was one of those moments that you just won’t ever forget. Nary one person in the park that day didn’t feel that Baltimore was collecting penance in that moment for all of the losing and embarrassments over the years.

It was unforgettable. And personally I think it’s the moment which personifies and symbolizes this decade of Orioles baseball. Again, it’s easy to look at that and say wow look how far they’ve fallen. But the fact is that this was one of the most successful decades in some time for the Orioles. Never forget that.

And yes folks, it closes today. But I think most fans believe that the organization is headed in the right direction. Those days could be returning in the future. Oh and there’s one other thing people should keep in mind when thinking of the 2010’s and Orioles baseball. The price of admission? ONE BUCK.

Baltimore Orioles: 158 down, three to go

We’ve almost come to the end of the line for the 2019 Baltimore Orioles. Mind you, the goal that I set forth for this team in my season preview back in March was for them to better the record of the 2018 Orioles. Standing now at 52 wins, they’ve done that by five games already.

So in that sense this was a successful season. Granted the bar was set very low, but the fact is that it had to be. As time wore on over the course of the final five to six weeks however, this team turned it up a notch. Maybe that wasn’t necessarily seen in the win/loss column, but guys really seemed to come together. That’s a good sign going into spring training next year.

However that’s irrelevant – for now. There are still three games to play, and the Orioles find themselves closing the season in Boston at “the Fens.” Surprisingly, this series is meaningless. It was a given that it would be meaningless for the Orioles. However I’m quite frankly surprised that Boston’s in a position whereby it’s meaningless for them as well.

Nevertheless, the series begins tonight at Fenway Park. Asher Wojciechowski gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Nathan Eovaldi. Game time is set for just after 7 PM this evening.

Baltimore Orioles: Changes in the organization

The Baltimore Orioles let go of several scouts a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday we found out that they weren’t finished making changes in the front office or throughout the organization. The O’s are apparently not renewing the contracts or parting ways with several people, but most notably former Orioles Scott McGregor, Calvin Maduro, Ryan Minor, and Jeff Manto – again, among others.

I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of this. I feel that former players should be taken care of. As much as Buck Showalter (who’s son was one of the scouts let go) was criticized for being overly loyal to veterans, I’m right there with him. And that also extends to former players. I think that there should be a place in the organization for those who want to remain a part of it after their playing days.

Obviously it goes without saying that the person has to be doing good work – and there was never any indication that any of the aforementioned alumni were falling short of their duties. This move is more about GM Mike Elias wanting to shape the front office in the manner he prefers. And I do understand that – and I understand it in full. But I also see Scott McGregor, who was on the mound for the final out of the 1983 World Series, who’s now sent packing from the only organization he’s ever known.

At the end of the day, if Elias can mold the Orioles into World Series champions down the line this will have had little to no effect on it. I just wish there were a way that they could have kept former Orioles in the organization. But these are the things that happen when you rebuild. You have to trust the process.

The O’s open a three-game set at home this evening with the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. John Means gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Los Angeles’ Ross Stripling. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: MLB needs to re-think it’s interleague strategy

The Baltimore Orioles will open a three-game set with the Los Angeles Dodgers tomorrow night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Los Angeles of course comes in with an eye on the post-season, while the Orioles are in effect playing out a string. However that wasn’t always the case at this time of year.

As we know, the Orioles won more regular season games than anyone in baseball between 2012-2016. They were always very much in contention at this point. So you, the Orioles fans, know what that’s like. You obviously want things to go as smoothly as possible for you.

Interleague games can sometimes throw a wrench into that armor. From the Dodgers’ perspective, that’s what they’re having to deal with right now. However from the perspective of an American League team, it’s even worse – you surrender your DH. And there have been plenty of times when the Orioles of the aforementioned era have had to do that in these all-important September games.

This is symptomatic of MLB wanting to have an interleague game on every day of the season. Literally from Opening Day until the season concludes. So whenever your team has an interleague game at what could be deemed an inconvenient moment, just keep in mind that someone had to play interleague today.

But I think it made much more sense to do interleague games in blocks, which is how it used to be. Normally the weeks leading in and out of Memorial Day weekend (and Memorial Day weekend itself), and the last couple of weeks in June would be interleague games. So whether you were home or away, that’s when you would be playing games against the opposite league.

MLB moved away from that, however I think it’s something they should reconsider. Once you get to September it should be about one of two things; the playoffs, or playing out a string. I suppose if you’re the Orioles and you’re playing out a string, it’s not that big a deal. However the L.A. Dodgers have to get used to a style of play with which they’re not familiar, at a very sensitive moment.

Again, the Orioles have had to do that in the past as well. However if the league went back to the former rules on interleague play, that would cease to be an issue.

Baltimore Orioles: Are the Birds impacted by Kansas City’s potential sale?

The Baltimore Orioles open up a three-game set in Kansas City tonight over Labor Day weekend. There was an interesting story that broke this week considering this weekend’s opponent. Apparently the owner of the Kansas City Royals, David Glass, is in talks to potentially sell the team. If the deal goes through, the sale price is rumored to be $1 Billion.

Let’s get the thank you Captain Obvious moment out of the way; that’s A LOT of money. Probably more than any of us is every going to see in this lifetime. However this does relate just a bit to the Orioles. There have been rumors that either owner Peter Angelos, or the family of owner Peter Angelos could be interested in selling the O’s at some point in the near future.

So if the Kansas City Royals net a sale price of $1 Billion, what does that say about what the Orioles might be worth? Could Angelos or his family not then turn around and tell a potential buyer, the Royals got this, so we should at least get that? Is it really that simple – as just to say that?

You have to look at both franchises and what they have going for them. Both are in the basement right now, but building their cores. Kansas City does have a recent World Series title, which the Orioles can’t tout. However, while both franchises are smaller markets, Baltimore is the 26th largest media market in the country. Kansas City is the 32nd largest. While those are only separated by a few slots, being a top 30 market is still huge.

One could also argue that the fact that the Orioles often have to compete for fans within their own backyard with another franchise makes them a tougher sell. However on the flip side, they also draw from the much larger Washington, D.C. media market. So it goes both ways.

It seems that each time you make an argument for one franchise being worth more, there’s an inverse argument which in theory could cancel that argument out. At the end of the day the Orioles and Kansas City Royals are probably worth very similar sale prices. So this is definitely something to watch, as if Kansas City sells for that $1 Billion price, one could definitely expect the same of the Orioles if they’re ever sold.

The aforementioned series with Kansas City begins tonight at Kauffman Stadium. The Orioles are yet to announce a starter, and Kansas City will start Eric Skoglund. Game time is set for 8:15 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Richard Bleier sounds off on shifts

The Baltimore Orioles are once again being talked about due to a public spat between a player and a coach. Reliever Richard Bleier came out of last night’s loss in Washington, and appeared to have words with third base coach Jose Flores. Later it was confirmed that the issue at hand was defensive positioning:

I think I just let frustration kind of boil over about some stuff that … some balls that I thought maybe defensive positioning, I guess. I probably could have done better for myself to keep my mouth shut, and unfortunately, I may have said something and you guys saw the rest.

Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports

Bleier surrendered a single down the first base line in last night’s game, on yet another play where the Orioles played a shift. And the ball would have been hit right to the first baseman had the shift not been on. As has been chronicled in this column ad hoc, teams seem adept at beating the Orioles in a shift. Bleier went onto say:

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I mean, I think that we’re all adults. It’s not like I’m mad at anybody. Right now, we’re not thrilled with each other, maybe, but I’m sure we can move past this and get back to a healthy relationship.

Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports

First and foremost, regardless of anything else I’m not a fan of players verbally confronting coaches in public. I always remind folks – this game is a job to these guys. Think about your job, whatever that may be; if you have an issue with how a boss or supervisor is conducting things, do you verbally confront him in the middle of the office? In general, no you don’t.

Now having a closed door meeting with your superior and airing your concerns in a civilized manner might be another story. In general that’s a much better conduit for change. It also comes across as much more professional. And if you look at those quotes Bleier seems to understand that.Perhaps he understands it in retrospect, but he seems to understand it.

That said, I obviously agree in principle with Bleier. My personal view is that the Orioles play these shifts far too often. And on top of that, when they play them they usually play fairly radical shifts. There may be only one opportunity for a guy to get a base hit with some of these shifts – but they’re finding that one hole of daylight, all other things be damned.

Not all of this can be avoided. Some hitters just luck out at times. However how many situations have we seen such as in last night’s game where the ball is literally being hit to the exact spot a fielder would have been had there been no shift? That’s something that should stand out to fans.

I think what we’re seeing is that at the end of the day these shifts are just going to make guys into better hitters. The idea behind a shift is to cover the spots on the field where the hitter usually hits the ball. The fatal flaw of the shift is that the game’s still played by human beings. Sometimes fluky things happen. And if I were the Orioles, it would give me pause when I saw that they seemed to happen to me an awful lot.

Baltimore Orioles head for D.C. to battle for beltway supremacy

The Baltimore Orioles head down I-95, US 1, the B/W Pkwy, etc, to Washington D.C. this evening to open up a two-game set with Washington. The teams split a two-game series last month at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. However Washington’s gotten hot since then. Very hot.

However the Orioles also are coming off of a winning home stand, where they took four-of-seven games. The big difference between these games and others is that the Birds will have to surrender their DH, and the pitchers will have to hit. The teams themselves aren’t really into that. But the players certainly are – the pitchers, that is.

Speaking for myself, I despise the concept of the designated hitter. I know that the National League is much more likely to adopt the DH than the American League is to drop it, however I digress. I’ll grant you however that it puts American League teams at a disadvantage in these interleague games. But them’s the breaks.

The series begins this evening at Nationals Park in D.C. Aaron Brooks gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Patrick Corbin. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Beating last year’s win total matters

As I mentioned at the tail end of my game recap yesterday, the Baltimore Orioles have now won 43 games. Four more wins and they’ll have equaled last season’s win total. Five more and they’ll have bettered it.

Again, my vision for a “successful season” at the beginning was to beat the 2018 Orioles. Many folks are of the view point that it’s a weak goal, as stated. In essence, that making that the goal is admitting defeat before you even begin.

I don’t look at it that way. The Orioles were up front about what this season was going to be before the season even started. Therefore everyone should have known that it would be a difficult season, barring a miracle. And it has been. But garnering more wins than last year does show an improvement. It may only be a slight improvement (depending on the margin of improvement), but it shows an improvement.

And we know that the organization as a whole is in a much better position than it was at this time last season. As I’ve written, Baseball America ranked the Orioles’ farm system in the 20’s at the beginning of last year (out of a total of 30 teams). After the Orioles’ draft in June they ranked them as having the 8th best farm system in baseball.

Now there are some crass individuals who say that doesn’t help the 2019 Orioles in the here and now. And that’s very true. However it does show the fruits of labor in terms of re-tooling the organization. Baseball is in essence like a reverse funnel in the sense of it’s minor league systems. Quality players funnel upwards to the big leagues. So with the Birds’ farm system taking that big a leap in one year, the future does in fact look bright.

However if the O’s can also manage to win more games than they did last year, there would also be a legitimate argument that they took a step forward in the majors as well. We still don’t know if that goal will be realized – but with four games separating them from that goal, it appears to be a drop in the bucket.