Baltimore Orioles: From the sandlot to a Super Bowl MVP

The Baltimore Orioles could have just as easily been facing Super Bowl MVP, Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes, son of former major leaguer Pat Mahomes, was drafted by the Detroit Tigers. Being the son of a big league baseball player, he grew up around the game, played it, and loved it.

However luckily for football fans, he loved football more. Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs of course won Super Bowl 54 last night in Miami. However again, he just as easily could have been playing major league baseball.

Mahomes is also the Godson of former Oriole LaTroy Hawkins, who played with his father Pat. However that aside, congratulations to Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs – and their fans. It’s a well-deserved honor to a great team. And…pitchers and catchers report a week from tomorrow.

Baltimore Orioles: Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

In a long-standing tradition on this column, there isn’t much to say about the Baltimore Orioles today. That because it’s Super Bowl Sunday! Many O’s fans were hoping that the Baltimore a Ravens would have been playing today, but that’s obviously not the case. Maybe next year.

Obviously the city of Baltimore does have a rich Super a bowl tradition, however. Obviously the Ravens have won it twice, and the Baltimore Colts won once. For the record, I’ll take the 49ers, 34-31. But whomever has the last possession of consequence will win the game. We’ll see how well that ages tomorrow!

Baltimore Orioles DFA Stevie Wilkerson

The Baltimore Orioles yesterday claimed Travis Lakins off of waivers from the Chicago Cubs. Larkins is a right-handed relief pitcher. I would expect him to compete for a bullpen job this spring.

Unfortunately for the O’s, this move came at a price. They had to designate utilityman Stevie Wilkerson for assignment. Now with that said, he could certainly remain with the organization if he clears waivers. He would need to do that, and then accept a minor league assignment.

And that’s exactly what happened last season. Whether it would happen again in 2020 is another story. Wilkerson happily did everything and anything that was asked of him last year. He played almost every position, including spot reliever. And on the final day of the season he made a dramatic catch in the grandstand at Fenway Park that made a late case for catch of the year.

Notice I said in the grandstand at Fenway Park. He threw his body all out to make the play. He’s a good guy to have on your roster, and one I’m sure that the Orioles would welcome back with open arms if they have the opportunity. But first thing’s first – he has to clear waivers.

As for Lakins, as I said I suspect he’ll have the opportunity to compete for a bullpen role. You can never have too much pitching for sure, however this comes at a price, as I said. Hopefully it works out.

Baltimore Orioles: Ten years in Sarasota

Baltimore Orioles’ pitchers and catchers are set to report to Sarasota in just over two weeks. I can feel the excitement out there. In fact, pitchers and catchers report is one of the finest phrases in the English language.

That aside, this will be the tenth year that pitchers and catchers (and eventually position players) will be reporting to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. The Orioles first moved there from Fort Lauderdale in 2010. When they first arrived the stadium and complex was showing it’s age, although it was light years better than their former facility in Fort Lauderdale. But how quickly things progressed…

…the Orioles almost immediately (after that first season at Ed Smith) started pumping money into the ballpark and the complex. They also invested big time in the Sarasota community. And that’s something that’s truly paid dividends for the Orioles, as Sarasota’s really embraced them. Sarasota’s as much a part of Birdland as downtown Baltimore.

Once the team breaks camp and vacates the park after spring training, the Gulf Coast Orioles move in and make Ed Smith Stadium their home during the Gulf Coast season. As I said, the Birds invested in Sarasota big time ten years ago. And that’s continued. Furthermore as a result, Ed Smith Stadium is considered one of the premier spring training facilities in baseball.

Put it this way – when the O’s trained in Fort Lauderdale, it was getting to the point to where it was hard for them to get a schedule together because teams didn’t want to come to play them. The facilities were antiquated, and the ballpark was falling apart. Then in 2010 they made the move to Fort Lauderdale, and once they began renovating the facilities and making it into the great place it is today, they had teams lining up to come and play them. It’s been an incredible transformation.

So hats off to both the Orioles, and the Sarasota community. Both are equally invested in one another, and it shows. And they’ll celebrate the ten-year anniversary of their union this spring.

Baltimore Orioles: Did the Birds win DESPITE Buck Showalter?

Former Baltimore Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter was not hired by the Houston Astros this week. That distinction instead went to Dusty Baker. This off season Showalter interviewed with Philadelphia, the NY Mets, and now Houston. None of which offered him the managerial job.

Admittedly I’m surprised and disappointed in that development. I fully expected Buck to have a job this year if he wanted one – which the act of him interviewing says that he did. There are two “knocks” on Buck however as a manager. The first is that his insistence upon attention to detail can grow cumbersome.

And that may well have occurred in Baltimore. I know that it did in other places – such as Arizona, where he apparently threw a fit about the colors of the carpet in the clubhouse not matching up perfectly with the team colors. Speaking for myself, I’m somewhat detail-oriented myself. So I don’t have an issue with a manager who’s going to cover all of his bases to a T. That’s how it should be.

The other “knock” on Buck is that he doesn’t embrace analytics. Now not having been a player, I can’t tell you how analytically-driven Buck was or was not. However everyone has to use some sort of analytical approach in baseball. It’s part of the game. Buck’s point however is that you have to still have a feel for the game. And a lot of that is being lost with analytics.

So while I personally may be on board with Buck Showalter’s old school approach as stated above, did that potentially cost him a job? Furthermore, did the Orioles of the 2010’s win DESPITE Buck not embracing new age ways of operating? My personal view is that they won partly BECAUSE of Buck. And that opinion won’t change. But what do you think?

Baltimore Orioles sign Wade LeBlanc, knuckleballer

The Baltimore Orioles yesterday signed veteran knuckleballer Wade LeBlanc to a minor league contract. He’s expected to compete for a starting job, and will be in camp in a few weeks once it starts. If he makes the Orioles, his contract would allow him to make up to $800,000.

LeBlanc made 27 starts for Seattle last year, going 9-5. He also pitched to a 5.71 ERA, which has a lot to be desired. However this is a low risk move by the Orioles, given that it’s a minor league contract. Another interesting aspect of this is that LeBlanc had other teams interested and picked the Orioles. Might that be a nod to the positive culture that’s being created?

It very well could be. I personally noticed that the O’s came together a bit during the final two months of last year. That doesn’t mean that they won more games, but they looked more like a team. So I might believe that wanting to be a part of what’s going on in Baltimore played a role. However I suspect that LeBlanc also saw an opportunity to start in the big leagues.

The real interesting thing is that he’s a knuckleballer. I think that’s something that could truly be an asset for an Orioles’ rotation that lacked depth last year. Teams will have to be wary of the fact that he’s a knuckler, and prepare for it. This of course assuming that he makes the team and the rotation in spring training.

Baltimore Orioles: How does the new bullpen rule affect the Birds?

The Baltimore Orioles and the rest of the league will have to deal with a major new rule in baseball this year that will have big time affects on games. In short, when a reliever comes into a game he’s required to pitch to a minimum of three hitters, except in cases where the inning ends. An exception is obviously made in cases where a player becomes incapacitated or injured beyond playing.

Up front, let me state that I’m not a fan of this new rule. It’s being done to assist in baseball’s quest to improve on the pace-of-play, however I’m just not in favor of legislating how and when teams can use the bullpen. But like the rule or not, it’s coming. And it’s coming this year.

So how does this affect the Birds moving into 2020? Ironically, it could make the bullpen somewhat more solid overall. I’m taking NOTHING away from a guy like Richard Bleier. Absolutely nothing. However he’s a left-handed specialist for the most part. Every team has had one up to this point. Perhaps now instead of using a lefty specialist, teams will look to just bring the eight best relievers north out of spring training.

In the specific case of Richard Bleier, he would probably still make the team. He’s also subbed as a long man in a pinch. So he may well be one of the eight best people to put into the bullpen for the O’s. But in the case of some teams that may or may not be the case. It may well shake up how bullpens are constructed.

What the rule will definitely do is change how managers call games and use their relievers. Invariably (save for injury), managers are going to know that they can’t change pitchers on a whim once they bring someone in. This will be true for the Orioles, as well as for Oriole opponents.

This meaning that if an opponent brings in a pitcher who’s having control problems that game, that’s to the Orioles’ advantage. Obviously it could also work against them as well. But time will tell – we’ll have to see how things shake down.

Baltimore Orioles: Some events cross over sports

The Baltimore Orioles yesterday joined the rest of the sports world (and the real world) in mourning the loss of former Los Angeles Laker great Kobe Bryant. As we all know, Bryant and his 13 year old daughter Gianna were tragically killed in a helicopter crash in California. Seven other people died in the accident.

This isn’t a baseball story. But as they say, some events rock the world. In fact, numerous MLB stars, including former Oriole Adam Jones, took to Twitter to mourn the loss of Bryant. Incidentally, you can draw a bit of a parallel with the tragic death of Roberto Clemente in this situation as well.

Speaking for myself, I had a “mixed relationship” with Kobe as a fan. And I say that in the sense that I never would have doubted his talent, nor would I have disagreed with the statement that he defined a generation of the NBA. However in my mind he was taking the place of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. And I wasn’t okay with that! However he proved that he belonged in the same sentence with those guys, and he proved to be the absolute best ambassador to the game of his era. His loss will be felt throughout basketball, and the entire sports world.

And was eleven years old in 1992 when the Dream Team won Olympic Gold. But USA basketball was in steady decline from that point onward. Kobe Bryant was on the team that restored Olympic Gold to Team USA. And he did it twice. So speaking for myself I’ll always remember and appreciate that.

At the end of the day, however, alone Bryant was someone’s husband, father, and son. His family is more affected by this than anyone. My thoughts are certainly with them, and with all who knew and loved the late Kobe and Gianna Bryant.

Baltimore Orioles: Does MLB’s All-Star game need re-tooling?

Spring Training workouts start for the Baltimore Orioles’ pitchers and catchers in just over two weeks. That means that Super Bowl Sunday is next weekend. And…the NFL’s Pro Bowl is today. Whoop-dee-flippin’-doo.

It’s by far the worst of all of the sports’ all-star games. I log all of ten minutes with it every year. However for better or for worse, the NFL has, in fact, re-done the way it’s being done over the years. It used to be the weekend AFTER the Super Bowl, and always in Hawaii. Now it’s the weekend before the Super Bowl, and the location varies.

Today’s game is in Orlando, FL, and it’ll have a distinctly Baltimore flavor. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and his staff will be coaching the AFC team. For what that’s worth.

With that said, should MLB consider taking a page out of the NFL’s book and consider re-tooling the All-Star Game? I’m not even sure what could be done, as the venue itself rotates around already. (This year’s game will be at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.) But would more people pay attention to what’s in essence an exhibition?

My answer is that there are two very minor things they could change. The first would be doing what the NBA and NHL do and play the game over a weekend. Now the schedule’s set up so that the game’s on a Tuesday and the season resumes on Friday, but they could remedy that also. Ratings might be better for a Saturday night game.

The other thing would be to move the game back closer to the midpoint of the season. It’s unclear to me as to why the league moved the ASG to the middle of July, which is well into the statistical second half of the year. Granted every team’s different in terms of when their games fall, but ideally they’d have the ASG when most teams had played between 80-84 games.

But other than that, speaking for myself I can’t think of anything else that could be changed. Or that needs to be changed. What are your thoughts?

Baltimore Orioles: Sort of an apology for cheating

The Baltimore Orioles and the rest of Major League Baseball finally got a apology for the cheating scandal from a player from the Houston Astros. Sort of…kind of. Pitcher Dallas Keuchel, now a member of the Chicago White Sox, stepped up and apologized for the actions of his former team. A pitcher. Consider that.

If anything the vibe from the current Astros has been that they’re getting unnecessary scorn. But it took a pitcher, someone who would have never benefited from his teammates’ cheating antics, to apologize. In reality, all Keuchel’s guilty of is not speaking up.

For the record, Astros’ owner Jim Crane has indicated that the franchise will be getting together during spring training and issuing a strongly-worded apology. But it should act as further embarrassment for this group that the only guy who’s had the decency to say anything about being sorry for what happened is a guy who never benefited from the situation. And at that, one who no longer is with the organization.

Meanwhile, the Astros tweeted out a few celebratory tweets touting their players’ accomplishments during the 2019 season. It’s shocking to me how tone deaf people can be. Baseball’s a game of humble men. That attitude spits in the very face of that, which is part of the reason why the league came down so hard on the Houston Astros.