Category Archives: Baltimore Orioles News

Baltimore Orioles pick high school pitcher Grayson Rodriguez in draft

The Baltimore Orioles went really young in last night’s MLB draft, picking RHP Grayson Rodriguez of Central Heights High School in Nacogdoches, Texas. At six foot five 230, Rodriguez is a bit of an imposing figure. His fastball is routinely in the mid-90’s according to scouting reports.

They also selected SS Cadyn Grenier. a junior out of Oregon State. Grenier was drafted mainly for his glove, because his bat is somewhat suspect. But he’s a plus fielder, which is exactly what the Orioles have been looking for.

Keep in mind folks, it’ll be awhile before we see these picks in Orioles’ uniforms. Part of drafting guys is bringing them through the minor league system and eventually to the big leagues. However they’re certainly names to keep an eye on as time goes on.

My only concern would be Rodriguez, who’s already committed to college. Is it safe to assume that the Orioles did their homework and that he’s going to sign as opposed to head to Texas A & M? Time will tell.

The Orioles this evening head to New York for a short two-game set with the Mets. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s Jason Vargas. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Will a different team take on the N.Y. Mets?

This afternoon’s Baltimore Orioles game against New York at Camden Yards has been  canceled due to rain. The game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Saturday August 25th. The makeup game will be at 1 PM, and the previously scheduled game will begin at 7 PM. A separate admission is required for each game.

So the O’s will have the rest of today, and tomorrow off. They’ll then head to New York for a two-game set against the New York Mets. Just a friendly reminder, the Birds will have to surrender their DH in those two games. And as a person who likes the National League game better BECAUSE the pitchers hit, I’m looking forward to that.

The question is whether or not the Orioles team that heads to Queens on Tuesday night is the same team we’ve known to this point. Reports surfaced yesterday that the Orioles have expressed interest in former Boston infielder/DH Hanley Ramirez, who was recently DFA’d by Boston. Ramirez is hitting .254 on the year, and has six homers. He also has 1.000 fielding percentage (over 25 games this year at first base).

Based on the twitter reaction, this would not be a popular move to Orioles fans. However let’s look at the facts; first and foremost, Ramirez was DFA’d. That means that the $15 million he’s due this year is going to be paid by Boston. As much as I talk about the Orioles not DFAing players because they’d still have to pay them, they could kind of do that process in reverse in this case.

However the fact is that while he struggled this year, Ramirez is a better option than Valencia or Alvarez. Odds are one of those two would be DFA’d if Ramirez were brought in. And given that both of them are here on minor league deals, it wouldn’t cost the Orioles but about $100K.

The drawback with Ramirez is that he has a clause in his deal whereby if he reached 497 plate appearances, he’s due $22 million for next year. And that would be picked up by the Orioles. He’s currently at 195 PA’s – so between there and 497, could the O’s not decipher if they want to keep Ramirez? Either that or limit his plate appearances so that he doesn’t get to that point.

Easier said than done, but possible. The other option is that Ramirez might be a guy who could be included in a trade at the deadline to perhaps draw a prospect. He wouldn’t net a massive haul, however he could bring the Orioles a farmhand that might help to re-stock their system. And if all else fails and he doesn’t work out, they can DFA him – and guess what? He’d still be on Boston’s payroll!

Nothing that has happened to the Orioles this year has made sense. The Orioles have played games and made moves in a very conventional manner – and in essence they’ve been outdone by teams thinking outside the box. So if nothing else, this would be the O’s thinking outside the box.

Baltimore Orioles postponed

Tonight’s Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards against New York has been postponed. It will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader on July 9th at Camden Yards. The first game will begin at 4 PM, with the second one starting approximately 20-30 minutes after the completion of the first one. The teams are scheduled to play again tomorrow night at 7 PM at Camden Yards – weather permitting.

Baltimore Orioles: Sometimes you have to take up for the home team

As a Baltimore Orioles writer, I try my very best to NOT be a blind homer. Yes the articles written here are from the Orioles’ perspective, but I try to call things down the middle. And I try to do the same while tweeting game highlights.

However there are some instances when you’re called to use your bully pulpit to in effect defend the home team. One of those instances came this morning for me. Overall, I like and appreciate the work of The Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell. He’s a great baseball writer, and a great sports writer overall – much in the tradition of Tony Kornheiser. (I’d throw Shirley Povich or John Steadman in there also, but I truly believe that those guys are in a league of their own.) But he wrote something this morning that came as a bit “off.”

In Boswell’s column today, he writes about how after yesterday’s game the Washington Nationals are now getting the best of the Orioles. (Chelsea Janes, also of The Post, wrote a very similar article as well.) Overall since the series started in 2006, the Orioles have won 38 games, and including yesterday Washington’s won 27. So…because of that one win, Washington is suddenly in command?

Boswell and Janes point out that there were lots of Washington fans in the stands at Camden Yards yesterday. And that might be a fair assessment. From my perspective perched above home plate, I’d say that approximately 30% of the announced crowd of 36K+ were “rocking the red,” or rooting for Washington. That’s maybe 12K fans or so.

Now if you read Boswell’s or Janes’ columns today, you get a vastly different view point. One would think that it was a total take over of Camden Yards by Washington’s fan base. That’s just simply not true. The biggest cheers of the day did in fact come from Orioles’ fans, on the off occasion that they did something good in the game.

Boswell mentions the LET’S GO CAPS cheers in his piece; the assumption is that everyone yelling that was rooting for Washington. The Capitals are given home team status with regard to the NHL in Baltimore as well. I saw quite a few people with Caps’ jerseys and Orioles’ hats at the game yesterday. And again by Boswell’s logic, both Buck Showalter (who conducted his pre-game presser in a Capitals jersey) and Mike Bordick (who wore a Capitals hat during the MASN telecast) must have had a rooting interest on Washington’s behalf.

And again, let’s not allow facts to get in the way of a good story. Yesterday was Memorial Day, and as a result it was an afternoon game. That was great scheduling on MLB’s part, because yes in fact it allowed BOTH fan bases to be a part of the game. The rest of the series will probably see the crowds slanted much more heavily in the Orioles’ favor because they’re two night games during the week.

And on that note, the Orioles will head down to DC in the third week of June, for all night games (Tuesday June 19 – Thursday June 21). In the past when the DC-based games have been weeknights, the Orioles’ fan base has ALWAYS turned out. Were there more Orioles fans in DC (and in fact more Washington fans at Camden Yards) when the series would be held over a weekend? Absolutely. But you’ll see a similar phenomenon in reverse when the O’s head down there. Heck, Showalter’s commented on the number of Orioles’ fans in attendance before.

But apparently all of that means nothing, if you read Boswell’s article. Neither does the head-to-head record of the team’s against one another to this point. If you read Boswell’s article with tunnel vision and without knowing anything else, one would think that yesterday’s game was the first the teams had ever played against one another. Not only that, but that first ever game between the two teams (because the others either didn’t happen or didn’t count) was held in Baltimore in front of nothing but Washington fans. And again as someone who covered the game in the ballpark, I can tell you that’s just not true.

I wouldn’t expect The Washington Post to make mention of the orange hue that will indubitably be in the stands at Nationals Park next month. And if they or anyone else does mention it, the commentary will be well those people live in the DC area and for some reason didn’t want to root for the Nationals so they really don’t count. No joke folks, I’ve heard arguments like that in the past.

In fairness to Thomas Boswell, that article didn’t really sound like his body of work. It almost sounded like he was told to write about a certain angle. Boswell’s still a great writer, and make no mistake that he’s one of the best of this generation. I just disagree with him here, and I think he published a piece of what’s called yellow journalism. But again, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was prompted to do so.

So your question might now be, why do you care? If you have no rooting interest per se and you’re “just a writer,” does it really matter? That might be a fair question. But as I said, I write “from the Orioles’ perspective.” I try to call things down the middle – but sometimes you do have to in effect take up for the home team. If the home team is correct or as in this case is being made the fool or the butt end of a joke, setting the record straight IS calling it down the middle. Lest you risk a false narrative such as this one becoming the unofficial truth. In D.C. they have a much simpler way of putting it: FAKE NEWS.

Baltimore Orioles: Memorial Day in MLB

The Baltimore Orioles will join teams across the league today in celebrating Memorial Day. Everyone will wear the special military-centric uniforms, and we’ll see various displays of patriotism in ballparks across the league. Whereas the NFL kind of gets Thanksgiving as “it’s holiday,” Memorial Day and the Fourth of July most definitely belong to MLB.

The O’s of course will play a matinee game today, as will many other teams across the league. And that’s part of the deal on holidays such as Memorial Day. It plays well with the motif of cook outs, the beach, hot dogs, etc. But we shouldn’t ever forget why we celebrate the holiday overall.

We always associate Memorial Day as being the beginning of summer. And in fact, Memorial Day and Labor Day do act as great bookends to the summer season. More specifically, we associate the holiday with the military – and justifiably so. However often times I feel that we forget why it’s associated with the military.

Memorial Day isn’t meant as a military appreciation day – per se. It is, but then again it isn’t. (There’s some hyperbole for those of you who complain that I speak in riddles!) Memorial Day is meant to honor those members of our American armed forces who died in combat. Now keep in mind, it’s ALWAYS worth mentioning and thanking our veterans. But they’re the first ones to say that their day is Veterans Day – in November. Today is about those who didn’t make it back.

And my hope is that as fans start filing into Oriole Park at Camden Yards this afternoon, they’ll remember that. We all get to sit here and watch and talk about baseball in relative freedom. And we can only do that BECAUSE of the brave men and women who gave their lives in defense of our country over the years.

I’ll leave you with two quick stories, both of which stick with me. My late grandmother emigrated to the United States from Italy when she was one year old. The family settled in a Western PA mining town, and her brother, Pfc David Berardi, served the United States in World War II. He was awarded three Purple Hearts, and eventually died in service of the United States.

My grandmother didn’t talk often about her brother, but on the occasion that she did it was obvious that his death deeply affected her. Her family thus became a Gold Star Family, and again while she didn’t speak of him often I know that she never forgot her brother. When she passed in 1999 I remember thinking of how joyful their reunion in heaven must be.

Secondly, about 15 years ago I was flying back from visiting family in Italy myself, and it was a very clear summer day. The pilot came on the PA and announced that if passengers looked out the windows on the right side of the plane they could see Omaha Beach – where the Allied invasion of Normandy occurred in WWII. I’ll never forget the image of three or four elderly gentlemen jumping out of their seats, standing at attention, and saluting out the window.

These are the things we should consider today as we make our way into ballparks, to beaches, or to enjoy a day off nationwide. The Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals this afternoon – but the fact is that we’re all on the same team. And we remain on the same team because of the so many fallen hero’s in so many wars over the course of our history. And we should never forget that.

Baltimore Orioles: What to make of Tampa’s bizarre bullpen model

You might notice that Sergio Romo is starting for Tampa this afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles. He also started Friday night against the Birds. Is this the bizarro world?!

Not if you look at it under the guise of how Tampa and manager Kevin Cash are using their pitchers this year. Cash is employing a bullpen hand in many cases as an “opener;” this as opposed to using a closer. And after between 1-2 innings, that bullpen hand is being lifted for what one might call a regular starting pitcher.

This is all very unconventional, but baseball fans have learned to expect that from the Tampa Rays. They don’t do this for every game, although each turn of their rotation is in essence a “bullpen game.” But they tend to do it against lineups such as that of the Orioles which are heavily stacked with righties. Again, it’s unconventional, which is part of where a lot of the criticism towards Cash comes from – and for the record, Cash seems to take that in stride (quote courtesy of Doug Padilla, mlb.com):

I’ve been called an idiot, but that has happened before.

However Tampa’s attitude towards anything has always been well if it works who’s the dumb one? They were the team that started the trend of employing shifts on almost every batter. Old school baseball people such as myself weren’t really comfortable with that – a shift here or there is one thing, but every hitter? Heck, Tampa at times will put a fielder in motion during the at bat if they think it’ll give them an edge. Well now everyone seems to do that – the shifts, that is.

Speaking for myself, I think using an “opener” instead of a closer is ill-advised. You’re burning through your bullpen literally from the moment the game begins. However I suppose that part of the theory is that it prevents opponents from stacking their lineup for a starting pitcher, lest they want to make wholesale changes early in the game. But again, the fact is that it’s unconventional.

Does that make it wrong? No, of course not. But Tampa is a team that seems to want to re-invent the wheel at times. And again, the thing with the shifts has certainly caught on league-wide. However that’s not to say that this will as well. Because I believe that it’s asking a lot of bullpen relievers. It’s also asking a lot of coaches to literally play match-ups on every at-bat. To be quite blunt, I think it’s nothing more than a fancy way of dressing up the fact that they can’t find five viable starters.

 

Baltimore Orioles: Is fair now foul and up now down?

The Baltimore Orioles are in Chicago to take on the ChiSox, who of course share a city with the Chicago Cubs. That would be a team that’s apparently hot for Manny Machado. Since the Winter Meetings last December, the Orioles have been willing to trade Machado…for the right price. They’ve yet to see that price.

That aside, selling Machado would indicate that the franchise is potentially looking to sell players off and start over. I really hesitate to use the word rebuild, because in a sports sense I’m not a fan of it. It’s one thing to “warm-over” your team. But are fans really going to stand for a true rebuild? You know, where you tear EVERYTHING down and build it back up?

I’ve always said that’s a tough sell to fans. You’re asking people to continually spend their money to come out to the ballpark and pay big league prices for what amounts to a non-big league roster. And while someone such as myself might see the benefit of becoming entrenched with a group of players from the get-go, I’m in the minority. Most people want that big league product, and they want it now. That’s why the Orioles have never committed to rebuilding over the years – because it’s a tough sell to fans.

But I’ve noticed something in the past few years that challenges that line of thinking. Heck, everything else I know to be true in baseball is getting challenged (including the concept of a nine-inning game), why not that also?! The 2016 Yankees were a veteran team and they decided to cut ties with several players mid-year. The haul they got back included the likes of a guy named Judge. They went on to contend for the wild card that year.

The Tampa Rays of this year sold off what few big name players they had in the off season. They wiped the slate totally clean. And they’re playing way over their heads. In general I’m not a fan of youth, because I don’t want to deal with the on and off-the-field mistakes. But are the current youth different than before?

The answer is mixed. Young kids are always going to mess up here and there. And in saying that I suppose I’m talking more off the field than on. I’m talking about things such as Sidney Ponson‘s various driving violations among other things. That’s the type of thing that neither the Orioles, nor the fans want to have to deal with. No matter how good the player could be.

However many of these young players are also able to provide a shot in the arm to teams. Again, look at the 2016 NY Yankees, and this year’s Tampa team. In terms of wins and losses, they’re actually better than they were with the vets. Why is that?

You might chalk it up to youthful exuberance, however I need something a bit more tangible than an emotional argument. The fact is that college baseball as an institution is getting much stronger than it was even 20 years ago. I don’t think it’ll ever reach the point of being as popular as football or basketball, but it’s growing in popularity. And that means that there’s better coaching out there, and skill.

Point being that players are more ready when they get to the big leagues than they previously were. They have a stronger skill set, because they have solid foundations – both from the minors and from college. That makes a world of difference.

I still say that a full rebuild is too tough a sell to a fan base. Because what if it doesn’t work? What if you exchange your talent for what turns out to be lemons? You’re kind of up a creek without a paddle – that’s what happens.

Baltimore Orioles: Sour grapes?

Baltimore Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter didn’t hold back on his opinion of home plate umpire Tony Randazzo’s strike zone after last night’s game (all quotes courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Kevin’s got a bubblegum card, too. Those pitches, I’m very biased, but I didn’t think he got a fair shake tonight.

It’s rare that you hear a big league manager be quite that clandestine about his displeasure with the strike zone after a game. And in fact, during the course of the game Showalter appeared to be woofing about the strike zone fairly vehemently. And after one pitch, Kevin Gausman stood on the mound with his hands in the air as if to say how is that not a strike?!

Gausman also had some interesting comments himself with regard to the stolen bases that occurred against him:

I thought it was weird that two of the three times they stole on me, I was picking,” Gausman said. “It kind of raises some eyebrows as to how they knew and those types of things, but that’s all on me. It’s one of the things that we can control.

These comments are spot on by both Showalter and Gausman. The strike zone did appear to differentiate between Gausman and Boston’s David Price. I don’t question Randazzo’s integrity, not do I think Showalter is. I think he was just inconsistent. And it was noticeable.

However comments such as these are also tough sells. They come off as sour grapes, correct as they might be. In Gausman’s case, he passive-aggressively accused Boston of stealing signs. And it kind of makes sense that they would do that – nobody had stolen on Gausman all year. That and he had a rookie catcher behind the plate with him.

However it also boils down to much of what I said last night. Boston’s not the type of team that’s going to sit back and let the game come to them. They reach out and take not only what’s theirs, but what’s yours. So in Gausman’s case if he’s picking and doesn’t step off, Boston’s going to take that and thus take second base.

This is not to say that the Orioles should start stealing signs. However when an opportunity presents itself, they need to take advantage of it. When guys get on base, they need to find a way to get them home – among other things. Were Showalter and Gausman’s comments spot on last night? Yes. Should they have been made? I suppose it just matters how you want to come off.

Baltimore Orioles rained out

The Baltimore Orioles waited out a three hour plus rain delay before their game with Philadelphia was finally rained out. It will be made up at 7 PM on July 12th. The weather is also in question tomorrow, and the start time has been moved from 12:35 to 12:05 PM.

Some might question what the use of that is. In order to move a game time more than 30 minutes, you have to get the approval of both teams and the MLBPA. So while I do question what 30 minutes will do, the O’s are moving the game up by as much time as they can without any further approval. Andrew Cashner is now listed as tomorrow’s starter – weather permitting.

Baltimore Orioles open a huge stretch for 2018

The debate about whether the Baltimore Orioles should sell or not (and when) rages on as Philadelphia rolls into town this evening for a short two game series. In fact, this is a series that will last about a day-and-a-half, as tomorrow’s game is an afternoon affair. Players and coaches alike aren’t fans of these two-game sets. It’s only one game less than a regular series, however it’s somewhat disruptive to the normal grind.

At 13-28, people are saying sell, sell, sell. And almost conveniently, whatever return the Orioles got in a sale would probably not be enough for some people. But I digress. Dan Duquette said he wanted to wait things out until about Memorial Day before making any big decisions. We now enter a stretch that will leave us right at that point.

Philadelphia’s a good team, but they could also be suseptable here and there, especially with a young manager. The Orioles would do well to sweep them, however statistically most of these two-game sets end in splits. The Birds then head to Boston for four games (one of which is a makeup game). The O’s are playing better, and Boston’s looked ever-so-slightly more pedestrian than they did the first time the two teams met. Might the Birds have a shot at splitting that series also?

Let’s say that happened – just for conversation’s sake. That would put them at either 17-30 or 16-31; still not exactly competing for the division title. However look past that – the O’s head to the south side of Chicago for four games. The ChiSox are looking worse than the Orioles, who at least can say that they’ve seen an uptick in their play the last week or so. Would three-of-four be a stretch?

Following the Chicago series, the O’s head to Tampa for three games over the physical weekend days on Memorial Day weekend. The Birds just finished up with Tampa, who while having the spunk and audacity of youth, is still a young team. Again, would it be a stretch to say they could take two-of-three?

If things occurred just as I said above, the O’s would be at either 22-32 or 21-33. And we’d literally be at Memorial Day, when Washington comes to town. Many of you will say that the record would still indicate a sell-off is necessary. And I’m on record as saying that I think the Birds should consider selling Machado right now (IF they get the proper return, that is). But it would be interesting to see what people would be saying if the O’s were able to string together a few positive series’ in the next week-and-a-half or so.

And here’s the other thing; a lot of people out there refuse to look just a bit deeper and thus past the tips of their noses (no matter how long) at this team. It’s all fine and dandy to simply read the box score and/or look at the standings and callously suggest that you know what’s going on or what the story is. Let’s keep in mind that this Orioles team was incredibly nick’d up the first five weeks or so of the season. The likes of Schoop, Beckham, Trumbo, Britton, and O’Day were on the DL. Some of them still are. Now they have Schoop and Trumbo back, and that at least has the offense looking better.

They also had just about everything go wrong in games that could have gone wrong. And I’m not talking about errors, many of which could be attributed to some of the aforementioned injuries. I’m talking about balls taking weird hops, instant replay overturns that shouldn’t have happened, strike zones changing, etc. So what, am I saying that the Orioles are actually a team in contention in disguise?

No, not at all. I’m saying that there are intangibles in games, all of which seemed to break the opponent’s way regarding the Orioles for some time. You’re never as bad as you’re made out to be when things are really going poorly. The Orioles are an example of that. And when things are going well, you’re never really as good as you think. As I said above, Boston’s looked just a bit more human over the past couple of weeks.

Mind you folks, when I went through the litany of games and series’ above, those weren’t predictions. Those were me saying what was possible and where it would leave the Birds. If they’re going to end up with a respectable record, they have to start shaving space off between wins and losses. And you do that by winning series’.

The series with Philadelphia opens tonight at Camden Yards. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Philadelphia’s Nick Pivetta. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.