Category Archives: Baltimore Orioles News

Baltimore Orioles: Why is Baltimore’s question always WHY?

The next professional game involving a Baltimore team will be the Baltimore Orioles on Opening Day. Unless you count Spring Training. But I digress. The Baltimore Ravens’ season ended yesterday when they lost to the Los Angeles Chargers.

However I harkened back to the 2016 AL Wild Card game in watching yesterday’s game. We all remember that, right? Buck Showalter holding Zach Britton in the bullpen while the Orioles gave up a walk off homer. Yesterday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh kept his starter (Lamar Jackson) in the game down big, as opposed to going to Joe Flacco. Many fans, myself included, thought it was worth a shot bringing Flacco in.

I’m not going to debate the savior fair of making or not making any of those moves. In fact, the game situations themselves were vastly different, never minding that they’re different sports. All of that said, why is it that it’s Baltimore fans consistently put in the position of having to ask questions like these? The question of…WHY?!

Obviously the difference with the Ravens and the Orioles is that the Ravens have a young quarterback with a good upside. The Orioles of 2012-2016 were always an injury, a bad call, or a bad decision away from ending up like the 2018 Orioles.

As soon as that wild card game was over, fans were calling for Buck Showalter’s head. Just as now they’re saying the same about John Harbaugh. And in reality that shows how fickle fans can be these days. You’re really only as good as your last win. In Showalter’s case, people had to know at that moment that he was in no danger of being replaced – at that moment. In Harbaugh’s case, time will tell.

Baltimore Orioles trade Valera, Zach Britton to NY

Former Baltimore Orioles’ closer Zach Britton is headed back to the Bronx. New York resigned him reportedly last night to a three-year deal worth (a reported) $39 million. Britton of course was traded from the O’s to New York last season. So in a sense he’s returning to the Bronx.

While Britton wasn’t as effective with New York as he was with the Orioles, this means that Orioles fans will be seeing a guy that they consider one of their own playing against them consistently in the division. Time will tell how that turns out.

There is one quirk about the reported deal for Britton. It’s a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth year. However the team has to pick up that club option after year two, otherwise Britton can opt out – after year three.

The Orioles also completes a trade. On Friday they DFA’d Breyvic Valera off the roster. Yesterday they traded him to the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations. Not much to see here, just a low-level trade from one team to another. Obviously Valera didn’t figure into GM Mike Elias’ plans moving forward.

Baltimore Orioles claim RHP Austin Brice

The Baltimore Orioles made an interesting personnel move yesterday – they claimed right-handed reliever Austin Brice off of waivers. Brice, formerly of the Anaheim Angels, has been a big league reliever for three years. He spent 2016 with Miami, and the past two seasons with Cincinnati.

Brice has an ERA of 5.68 and a record of 2-4 over 70 appearances in three years as a reliever. That’s hardly the type of production for which the Orioles are looking or that they need. However he does have an upside in that he’s young. And he’s coming to an organization in the Orioles which has a lot of young pieces and a young coaching staff.

I suppose part of what I’m saying is that this could be a classic “change of air” type of situation. The other interesting thing about this is who the Orioles had to DFA to make room for Brice on the roster. That would be Breyvic Valera, who was acquired in the Machado trade last year.

Valera was expected to compete for a possible platoon role in the infield. However for now, he’s been DFA’d off the roster. It’s certainly possible that he clears waivers and opts to accept a minor league assignment, remaining in the organization. However one thing to keep in mind is that Valera was acquired in a trade consummated by Dan Duquette.

Mike Elias, the current GM, has no ties to that move. So…is Elias more inclined to see the parts in that trade as moving pieces as opposed to bedrocks? Interesting question for sure.

Baltimore Orioles: Where’s the line of justice?

One of the teams with whom the Baltimore Orioles share the mid-Atlantic region is the NFL’s Washington Redskins. As a disclaimer, the Redskins are “my team.” My NFL team that is. I’m certainly pulling for the Ravens moving into the post-season, as I pull for them if they aren’t playing the Skins. But I digress.

The San Francisco 49ers cut linebacker Reuben Foster in November after he was charged with domestic violence. The Redskins submitted a waiver claim on him, and he’s now under contract in Washington. Foster was cleared of all charges yesterday. So in essence this was a good move by the Redskins, although the NFL could still suspend Foster for conduct detrimental to the league going into next season.

This column isn’t about Reuben Foster. But it is about how leagues handle player conduct off the field. We see discipline for off-field conduct in MLB much more often than we do in other sports. The other leagues are starting to follow suit now, and we’ve seen a crackdown on domestic violence in the NFL. The league has no want for players who beat women. And I support that.

But the idea of “conduct detrimental to the league” casts a very wide net. Domestic violence in and of itself is fairly cut-and-dry. Again, I support disciplinary action against someone in any league who beats women. That’a unequivocal. But what about someone like Foster? You know, someone who in essence is innocent. Are we now holding people accountable for even being charged with a crime?

I would simply say this; while not perfect, our criminal justice system is based on the pillar of innocent until proven guilty. So a guy who.’a ether found innocent of a crime or as in this case if charges are dropped – is that someone who should pay a price to the league? Would it not behoove the leagues to take their cues from the criminal justice system?

Before you come back with the fact that the number of false accusations made are few and far between (and that’s a fact), let me share something with you. I’ve been falsely accused of something in my life. It wasn’t anywhere near as serious as domestic violence; but it was still very damaging and it was 100% untrue.

So I suppose my stance on some of this stuff is that while I agree the number of false accusations are few and far between, I would wait for evidence beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law to convict someone. And if a player is convicted of a crime, it goes without saying that he should be held accountable by MLB (or whichever league he represents). However the next time a baseball player or any athlete is accused of something of this sort, maybe we should offer the benefit of the doubt before the entire story comes out in the public domain.

Baltimore Orioles: Can you call 100 losses a success?

If you’re looking at wins and losses, 2019 won’t be too far off from 2018 for the Baltimore Orioles. Remember all of those frustrating nights where everything that could go wrong would go wrong? Yeah, we’re probably looking at that again for 2019.

However I am on record and I do believe that come the end of the season the Orioles will have an improved record. And I say that for one reason; all of their starters will presumably have a full slate of spring games and training sessions. That wasn’t the case last year. In my view it affected some early season games. Furthermore, the current team will build chemistry from day one and get stronger.

Even still, it’s not shaping up to be a season in which the Orioles contend. They could still lose 100 games plus. But keep in mind that if they improve by 14 wins, they’d still have 100 losses.

In general if you win 14 additional games year-over-year, that’s a good improvement. But regardless of the overall number, could fans consider a 100-loss season a success?

Baltimore Orioles: How to attract younger fans?

With today being January 2nd, the Baltimore Orioles will begin their march back towards normalcy. I’ve always seen the end of the holiday season as January 6th, but needless to say the portion of the season whereby people are off is basically done. That means it’s time to get to work.

This is a big month for the Orioles, as it culminates with Orioles’ FanFest, one of Birdland’s most celebrated annual events. The O’s are going to want to have more of a vision and a plan carved out by the end of the month if that’s going to be a well-attended event. The same is true of games once the season gets closer.

I’ve read a lot of late about how various teams in various sports and cities are having to look outside the box to draw fans to games. Mainly, to draw younger fans. I’m not talking about kids, but more so perhaps recent college graduates. Your 22-30 age bracket.

According to most “experts,” this age group rejects conventional marketing ploys. I’m not exactly sure what that means; does it mean that they aren’t swayed by seeing an advertisement paid for by the team on television or hearing it on the radio? But…how is that even possible? Does this age group not watch television?

They do…they just don’t do it as you and I are used to consuming these media. But many people are now moving away from cable and satellite dishes, and getting their television service through other means, such as AT&T. Many kids don’t listen to the radio like you and I do, as they’re listening to their favorite podcasts.

Keep in mind that this is the generation that grew up playing video games as opposed to playing outside. So where as I played in the backyard and pretended to be Cal or Eddie as a child, people ten years younger than I were busy playing video games. Recreational play wasn’t necessarily tied to sports for them as it was for people older than them.

The Orioles’ program instituted last year of allowing parents to bring two kids to the games for free is a great example of outside-the-box marketing. Because this generation is also shaping up to be incredibly civically-minded. They see everything as a “product” into which they’re buying. And if part of the return on their investment is that their kids get a free experience, they’re on board with that.

I wish it were as easy as throwing together a few discount days, offering free food, or even free tickets. That’s how it used to be, and that’s what I’m quite frankly used to. But in some instances that’s actually backfiring. Some younger fans actually take that as an insult because they feel like the team is trying to in essence buy them.

Whether we like it or not, the Orioles have to pay attention to these trends – whatever they are. And the fact that they share a region with another big league team only makes it tougher. Not only that, but there’s also competition from several minor league teams (most of which are Oriole farm teams), AND other sports. The mid-Atlantic region is home to franchises literally in every professional sport. And if that’s not enough, there are other entertainment venues that compete as well.

Baltimore Orioles: Welcome to 2019!

It’s New Year’s Day, Baltimore Orioles fans! That means that 2019 is officially “this year.” Or perhaps more specifically “this year coming.” Tomorrow the team offices will re-open for business, thus ringing in the new year.

What will 2019 hold for the Birds? We know it’s going to be a big rebuilding campaign, in effect a continuation of the end of last season. However time will tell in the long run. If the Orioles can somehow find their way just a bit, 2019 will be a successful year.

And by find their way, I mean improve their record. So what I’m saying is that the goal for this year should be to win more than 46 games. If the Orioles can do that, the organization will have taken a step forward. I’m not going to split hairs over how many more games than 46 they should win, but you get the idea.

The team needs to make progress on it’s promise to rebuild. And thus far, there’s nothing that would indicate they aren’t planning on doing just that. With that in mind, I wish all of Birdland a very happy New Year!

Baltimore Orioles: Common sense turned on it’s head in 2018

I did a season recap for the 2018 Baltimore Orioles back in October. I’m not about to re-hash that now. It the fact is that 2018 was unkind to the Orioles and their fans. And the logic behind all of it made no sense.

Somehow Buck Showalter became an incompetent manager in the eyes of some fans. Things got so bad that he wasn’t offered a new contract. That aside, Showalter expected (and rightfully so in a sense) that guys would somehow progress back to their career means. The likes of Davis, Mancini, and others – somehow their numbers at some point had to improve to where their career averages said they should be, right?

They never got there. This much we now know. However that’s why I say that logic was turned on it’s head this year. In contrast, it seemed that Oriole opponents did more and more things outside the box, or against logic. And somehow it worked. Essentially in perpetuity.

I never felt that effort was the issue for the Orioles. Somehow it was just the perfect storm of things working against them. And all they can do is hope on this New Year’s Eve that with the regime change, perhaps 2019 will be different.

And of course let us not forget the send off made by Orioles fans to Adam Jones on the last day of the season. That was a single moment where everything made sense, in a year where common sense turned sidewards. To a lesser degree that farewell was for Buck as well, however the sentiment for him was felt much more in print and on message boards than at the ballpark that day.

Buck and Adam were the faces of a rebirth of the Orioles. And while they’ll be sorely missed, their legacies will live on. The hope of course is that someone on the current roster will step up and take that mantle moving forward.

Baltimore Orioles: Brandon Hyde and Mike Elias will grow with the team

The Baltimore Orioles will be all about change in 2019. Mike Elias is now the head of the organization (save for ownership), and Brandon Hyde is in charge of the operations on the field. Not to mention that we’ll see more change on the field in terms of the players than we have perhaps since circa 2008.

However the Orioles find themselves in a position in which perhaps they’ve never been. Literally the entire organization is going to be new (or semi-new) to their respective positions. Sure the Mancini’s, Davis’, and Trumbo’s of the world are holdovers. There are also a few holdovers in other areas of the organization, such as scout Nathan Showalter (Buck’s son). But I digress.

For the most part, everyone’s new. Mistakes will be made; I’m just telling you that up front. When Buck took over in 2010 there was an expectation of a certain par which came with an experienced manager (and one of his caliber at that). Not to mention that at the time Andy MacPhail (an experienced GM) manned the front office. While the team wasn’t necessarily stacked with veterans, there were lots of players who had been around for awhile at that point. None of that is true this time around.

Spring Training will have a huge say in who starts at which position and so forth. However once the (semi) permanent lineup is set, as I said mistakes will be made. And I’m not talking about grounders rolling under mitts, pop flies being lost in the sun or lights, or anything along those lines. That happens with veterans – as we saw in 2018. I’m talking about guys taking the wrong route to balls, missing cut off men, etc. And not only that…

…mistakes will be made by coaches also. Brandon Hyde has managed in the minor leagues, but this is MLB. He’s going to make mistakes. As will the base coaches among others. Ironically Showalter was a master at a trait at which so many young managers struggle: handling the bullpen. As I look around baseball, I see so many young managers flat out abusing their bullpens to the point to where someone’s arm could fall off. And it’s not just a recent phenomenon; it’s been going on for years.

Guys like Buck who turn into great managers all started by misusing their bullpens. So maybe expect a little of that from Hyde – maybe not, for all I know. My point is that he’s going to make mistakes; as Buck said so often, we’re dealing with human beings here. 

My hope is that Orioles fans are patient and forgiving with Hyde. Not to mention the players, and even Elias in the front office. These guys are all going to be new to their jobs. Yes from Elias to Hyde on down they’ve all seen their respective jobs done up close, but the fact is that they’ve never done them. And it’ll take some time for everyone to be on the same page. Because the entire organization is going to be collectively growing together.

Baltimore Orioles: All’s still quiet on the home front

Everything’s still quiet for the Baltimore Orioles. GM Mike Elias is taking some time with his family during the holidays, however it’s doubtful he’s totally unconnected. This is somewhat of an interesting time because you’re coming out of a major holiday (Christmas), and going into another major holiday (New Years).

The entire league is slow this time of year. Heck, the entire world seems to slow down. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But nevertheless, there’s not much news going on with the Orioles and the baseball world. Which means there’s not much more to write in today’s column!