Birdland Crush

Roughly 33 days until the Baltimore Orioles’ pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota for Spring Training. A couple of weeks later Florida Grapefruit league play begins in earnest. That means games.

One thing I hear a lot from fans is that they enjoy making the trek down to Spring Training because it’s much more laid back. Players are more approachable for autographs, many of the games are in the afternoon sun, and overall it’s just a more relaxed atmosphere. But should it be?

Please note, I’m in no way suggesting that players shouldn’t be approachable for autographs. In fact, I think that they should be MORE willing to sign autographs in ballparks while they’re on the field. Some players will come out and do it, but others will not. If fan engagement means something, give people what they want.

But players often say the same thing – that spring training is much more relaxed and laid back than the regular season. Well, veteran players say that at least. Guys who don’t have to necessarily work their way onto the team. I suspect if you’re playing for a job it isn’t quite as laid back as we’re led to believe.

However should it be as laid back as it apparently is? In saying that, I suppose I’m talking about the actual games. Players approach the games knowing they’re only playing a few innings. Heck, teams publish the rotation of pitchers that will pitch that day, for how long, and for which inning.

Spring Training is seen as a “destination,” while NFL Preseason is almost laughed off. However I know that many NFL coaches tell their starting players that they should prepare to play the entire game during preseason. And I think that’s prudent. While in the back of his mind the player might know he’s getting lifted at some point, it puts him in the mindset to be prepared.

When you tell guys how long they’re going to be in the game, or when they’ll be entering it, they might not take things quite as seriously. If I’m a manager I want my pitchers to have that bulldog mentality, just as they might in the regular season. If the team’s lost a couple of games in a row, I want my starting pitcher to think of himself as the team’s “stopper” that day – as he would in the regular season.

Instead players and coaches talk about getting their work in and so forth. And that’s important – don’t get me wrong. But if you prepare in a tough manner in the spring, you’ll prepare in a tough manner once the regular season rolls around. Just a thought.

Many Baltimore Orioles fans, who presumably are also Ravens fans, probably watched with glee last night as the New England Patriots lost to the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the NFL playoffs. I’m no different. Many say that this is the end of the Patriots’ reign as the creme de la creme of the NFL.

And it’s easy to see why. Quarterback Tom Brady’s old, and his contract’s up. Moving forward this is a franchise that could look vastly different.

But don’t be so sure that their dynasty is over. Look no further than the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. As the Orioles of the 2010’s we’re coming onto the national stage as a power, those two franchises appeared to have their stars dimming. But franchise like the Yankees, Red Sox, and yes the New England Patriots don’t necessarily go quietly into the night.

The New York Yankees quietly retooled. They had a few lackluster seasons, but nothing like what the Orioles have been in 2018 and 2019. The Boston Red Sox on the other hand did have some really poor seasons. However their success overall allowed them to in effect poke fun at themselves while going through that. My parents went to a game at Fenway in 2014, and they handed out “First to Worst” buttons. This while quietly getting their top prospects ready to come to the big leagues and retool the franchise.

Boston did it with their minor leagues. New York did it with trades. Either way my point is that these were two franchises who were used to being in the mix. And they took steps to ensure that they’d be back in the mix very quickly. Now the caveat to this is that this requires that they hit on every prospect and every trade, in order to be successful with their goal. And guess what? They did.

Point here is that regardless of what Tom Brady does moving forward, the New England Patriots are used to winning. I wouldn’t expect them to go quietly into the night. It’s possible that the “era” is over. But they created that era by making smart moves and building their football team. And very quietly, they could easily do so again.

This is the last full month where the Baltimore Orioles won’t be playing games. Let that sink in for just a moment. Pitchers and catchers report two weeks or so after the Super Bowl, and the Florida Grapefruit League opens on February 22nd.

The O’s will travel to the Atlanta Braves’ new spring facility (in Sarasota County, no less) to play Atlanta at 1 PM that afternoon. That’ll obviously be a road game, which means that many of the Orioles’ “regulars” (whomever those might be at this point), probably won’t make the trip. Instead they’ll most probably make their spring debuts the next day at home against Boston.

January always strikes me because while it’s really only the beginning of the “winter doldrums,” it is in fact that last month without live baseball. That doesn’t mean we’re anywhere near Opening Day – because we aren’t! But it sure gives you more to which to look forward than say Thanksgiving Day!

The Baltimore Orioles had Adam Jones as their “Birdland hero” for most of the last decade. In using that term I probably mean more the face of the franchise than anything else. And there’s no question that Jones filled that role admirably.

However one year plus into a rebuild, who’s going to be the new “Birdland hero” for the next generation? I suppose it’s kind of set up to be Trey Mancini. And he took steps to solidify that in a sense last year. Being voted Most Valuable Oriole is no joke. But is there or are there others who could also fill that role?

Rio Ruiz comes to mind. While he’s not a high impact player per se, I think he could develop into one. You might also look to Austin Hays. Or even John Means. Mentioning these guys shouldn’t take anything away from Mancini. If anything it compliments him.

Being the face of a franchise for an “era” has a lot to do with being a star player. So that goes without saying. Any of the aforementioned guys will have to be a superstar on the field if they’re going to get that distinction. We all know that Adam Jones was that and then some.

But it’s also about attitude. And again I’ll point back to Jones; the guy’s work ethic and his attitude towards the team, his coaches, and the city was unquestionable. That’s the type of attitude any of the guys I mentioned above will have to adopt if they’re going to be thought of as the face of the franchise, or Birdland’s hero. And again that’s why Trey Mancini’s name comes to mind right away, because he took steps to become the team leader off the field last year. Time will tell.

Today is the first non-holiday day of 2020 for the Baltimore Orioles. And for the rest of the world. What will this year bring for the O’s?

For starters, I think that the Orioles will have to explore the pitchers out there on the free agent market. They need arms in spring training. Veteran arms to be precise. If they could find a veteran to anchor the starting rotation, that would go a long way towards a productive 2020 on the mound.

They also need to address their middle infield. With Villar having been dealt, the O’s are going to need someone to play short and second. Will that person come in free agency? Or from within the organization? That remains to be seen.

It’s worth mentioning that Mike Rosenbaum of MLB.com recently named the Orioles’ farm system in the top five most improved in baseball. Last year they went from 22nd to 8th in terms of their farm system ranking according to Baseball America. There’s obviously no guarantee that translates to the big league level at some point. But it shows that the organization is going in the right direction. No matter how you spin it.