Baltimore Orioles sign Andy Rutschman as Manny Machado returns

The Baltimore Orioles have signed their top pick, catcher Andy Rutschman. Rutschman signed yesterday afternoon for a record signing bonus of $8.1 million. The Orioles have scheduled an introductory press conference this afternoon at Camden Yards, and Rutschman will be introduced to the crowd at tonight’s game against San Diego.

The Orioles have reportedly also come to an agreement in principle with their second round pick, shortstop Gunnar Henderson from Alabama prep. There was never any question that Henderson or Rutschman would sign, however it’s noteworthy. A rebuilding team such as the Orioles needs that type of reassurance for it’s fanbase to the effect that they’re going to have their best new players in the pipeline.

It’s funny how things work out sometimes. While the Orioles are introducing Rutschman, the future of the club, in their clubhouse, a major piece of the past will be sitting in the visitors’ clubhouse at Camden Yards. That of course being San Diego third baseman Manny Machado. This is certainly a series that Machado circled on his calendar, as I’m sure did Orioles fans. While much of the personnel from the front office on down has no affiliation with Manny, this is still the organization that drafted him. It’s the fans in front of whom he played for so long.

Again, there’s certainly some irony in the fact that the introduction of Andy Rutschman is juxtaposed with the return of Manny Machado. However once the game states it’s just baseball. But I will say this to anyone going to tonight or tomorrow afternoon’s game: don’t boo Manny.

There are fair criticisms of Manny Machado in terms of how he handled his departure from the Orioles, and even some of the comments he’s made towards the organization since leaving. In no way am I defending that. However I also suspect that the national media is waiting to pounce on Orioles fans and the city of Baltimore for any reason they can find. Serenading Manny Machado with boo’s will bring charges of sour grapes. It’ll spin Machado as a sympathetic character; and heaven forbid he homers or makes a gold glove-caliber play on the field. Do you really want the national media spinning that?

Instead, politely applaud when he comes up to bat. That reflects well on the city and the fan base. Sure there were some moments he could have behaved differently while he was here and afterwards. But that’s life. A positive response to Manny’s return would say something about Baltimore and Baltimore Orioles’ fans. Again, do you really want Manny hearing a chorus of boo’s, only to smack a homer, pose at home plate, and have the national media defend and praise him for doing so? Because that’s exactly what would happen.

The series with San Diego opens this evening at Camden Yards. Jimmy Yacabonis gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by San Diego’s Logan Allen. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Do players simply go through the motions?

The Baltimore Orioles were never going to compete for a division title this year. This much we know. However a lot of fans are grousing across the board for how the O’s are losing games. Big innings, countless errors, etc. So…what gives?

People have asked me if it’s possible that players are in effect mailing it in. Meaning that they’re just going through the motions of the games to collect a paycheck. My answer to that is an emphatic NO.

Professional athletes simply don’t do that. Win or lose, these guys take a lot of pride in their crafts. They also know that if they don’t perform, they’ll eventually be sent back to the minors or DFA’d. Now they’ll still get their contracted salary either way. But what happens after the contract has expired?

Guys don’t just mail it in, because like anyone else they need to feed their families. They need to ensure that there’s bread on the table. They also recognize that this isn’t a Monday-Friday, 9-5 job. They’re blessed to do what they do. And they aren’t going to do anything to put their careers in peril.

More realistically, I would argue that guys are pushing too hard. They have in their minds that they don’t want to make an error, but that all but causes a mistake. If you push hard enough that’ll happen. But no folks, the players aren’t collecting a paycheck. That’s about as harsh of a thing to say about an athlete as is out there.

Baltimore Orioles done in by the third inning

The Baltimore Orioles once again gave a starter a lead in Seattle, this time Gabriel Ynoa. And once again, they couldn’t hold the lead – twice, in this case. Ynoa’s line: 2.1 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 3 BB, 0 K.

Ynoa nibbles the entire truncated time he was in the game. And as I’ve said before, that’s not conducive to getting borderline calls. It also shows a lack of confidence on his part. Ultimately however when you’ve been trying to nibble and you eventually do perhaps hit the corner, umpires are less inclined to call that pitch a strike. Make no mistake however, that’s on the pitcher – not the umpire.

The Orioles took a 1-0 lead before Ynoa even took the field on a solo home run by Trey Mancini. However Ynoa gave up a solo shot in the bottom of that first inning to Crawford, and we were tied at one. The second inning brought an RBI-double by Hanser Alberto. However it also brought Williamson grounding into a double-play which scored a run.

Through two innings Seattle had taken the anything you can do I can do better tactic. And that generally doesn’t bode well for the Orioles. But the good news was that the run-for-a-run routine didn’t last long…

…Seattle our eight runs on the board in the third. The worst part was that many of them cam with the bases loaded. Oriole pitching would either walk players, hit them with pitches, or had base hits that were just perfectly placed enough to net a single. The runs kept coming, and there was nothing that the Orioles could seemingly do about it.

An inning like that effectively ends the game. Especially when it comes so early in the game, it’s fashionable to say hey, if they can do it we can do it. In theory that sounds great. In practice it’s another story.

Surrendering eight runs in an inning generally means the game is over. You can start not holding runners on, with the full knowledge that the unwritten rules of the game prevent the opponent from stealing a base. And I say that in the sense that both teams begin going through the motions. Especially the Orioles, who are flying home this evening.

The Orioles ended up dropping the game 13-3. Big innings as such are happening more and more frequently. Some of that is opponents taking advantage of their opportunities – whereas the Orioles do not. But some of it the result of mental errors by the Orioles. And that’s tough to defend against.

Baltimore Orioles: Redemption for Jonathan Villar, Birds snap loss streak

With this afternoon’s victory in Seattle, the Baltimore Orioles snapped a ten-game losing streak. With the win, the Orioles won their 22nd game of the season, this one behind starter Andrew Cashner. And for once, the O’s got a quality start out of a pitcher, and they won. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Ironically today it was Seattle who took the early lead and couldn’t hold it. Vogelbach’s RBI-double in the first gave them a 1-0 lead. However the O’s threatened immediately following that in the top of the second. They put runners on first and second with one down. However Jonathan Villar got picked off of second, followed by a strikeout to end the inning.

And it wasn’t even close – Villar getting picked off, that is. You could have driven a Mack Truck through the space between Villar and the bag. Those are the types of mental errors that we’ve seen a lot from the Orioles of late. And it’s costed the games.

However for once, neither the team nor the player allowed that mistake to define them in this game. Villar came up to bat next in the fourth inning, and smacked a three-run homer which gave the O’s a 3-1 lead. Sometimes tough stretches can be more mental than anything else. But Villar was able to dust himself off after his mistake and make a big (positive) difference for the O’s in this game.

The score remained at 3-1 until the sixth when the Orioles extended it to 5-1 with a two-run homer by Anthony Santander. Seattle would close to within 5-2 with a run in the bottom of that sixth inning off of an error, but again the Orioles didn’t allow that to let the wheels come off. In fact, they further extended their lead in the seventh with a sac fly-RBI by Pedro Severino.

And in fact, the Birds were able to put up a couple of insurance runs. They loaded the bases in the eighth, and Hanser Alberto‘s two-RBI single extended the lead to 8-2. Santana would smack a solo homer in the last of the eighth and Smith an RBI-single in the ninth, but that was too little too late for Seattle.

The big story is that the O’s snapped a ten-game losing streak. However as I said, there were a couple of moments when this could have gone another way. The Villar error, and even the run-scoring error (by Hanser Alberto) in the sixth. Not to mention your run-of-the-mill runners on base throughout the game. The O’s overcame that to win this game. And in Jonathan VillarMs case, he overcame a pretty bad mistake on the bases to play a big role.

The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at T-Mobile Park as the O’s try to go for a series split. Gabriel Ynoa gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s Yusmeiro Kikuchi. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles’ comeback falls short

I admittedly didn’t think that the Baltimore Orioles had it in them to come back last night. Trailing 10-3, I figured that the game was over. Now while the O’s weren’t able to win, they did strike the fear of God into Seattle. This after calling up Sean Gilmartin to make his first start as an Oriole. Gilmartin’s line: 2.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 K.

Part of the Orioles’ problem of late has been that they’re taking early leads and then surrendering them. Pedro Severino‘s two-RBI double in the first inning gave the O’s the lead. They extended that lead to 3-0 on Chance Sisco‘s RBI-single.

However Gilmartin immediately struggled when he entered. He surrendered an RBI-single in the last of the first. One inning later in the second Moore’s solo homer brought Seattle to within one at 3-2. However an RBI-single later in the inning by Crawford would tie the game at three.

It was the third inning however which did the Orioles in. A combination of Gilmartin and the bullpen surrendered five runs. That plus another two in the fifth gave Seattle a 10-3 lead. One would have been justified in thinking that the competitive portion of the game was finished. But that ultimately wasn’t true.

Dwight Smith Jr’s RBI-single in the top of the sixth for the Orioles back on the board. Hanser Alberto would add an RBI-double. When the smoke cleared, the Birds were within 10-8. One inning later Severino added an RBI-is for, biting the Birds to within one. However they ran out of innings, and fell 10-9 to Seattle.

Obviously this was a case of getting too far behind. But you have to tip your cap to the O’s in the sense that they didn’t give up. This team has character in that sense. They could have mailed in the second part of the game, but they kept fighting. And at some point that characteristic will do them well.

The series continues this afternoon at T-Mobile Park. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s Tommy Milone. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles drop series opener in Seattle

For once, the Baltimore Orioles made someone pay for their mistakes. At the beginning of last night’s game, that is. Starter Dylan Bundy was sharp at the beginning of the game, as the Birds built a lead. Bundy’s line: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 7 K.

Before Bundy even took the field, he had a lead. By way of a Seattle error the Orioles loaded the bases in the first inning. Rio Ruiz‘s two-RBI single Gabe the Birds a 2-0 lead. So again, for once the Orioles were able to hold someone accountable as opposed to letting them off the hook for a mistake made in a game.

One might argue that’s a start. And for sure, it is. However Oriole bats were quiet the rest of the way. You have to be able to add onto your lead. The Birds couldn’t do that. And in turn, they were made to pay for it.

Seattle got a solo homer from Navarez in the last of the second to cut the Orioles’ lead to 2-1. Santana would smack a solo shot of his own in the sixth. And we were tied.

Seattle would get two RBI-singles in that sixth inning to take a 4-2 lead. The Orioles would also walk in a run in the last of the seventh, running it to 5-2. Which ended up being the final.

So again, the Orioles held an opponent accountable for their mistakes. That’s a good thing. Now they need to work on tacking onto their leads. The impression from this game at least is that the Orioles can’t score without the opponent making a mistake. Now we know that isn’t true, however perception can at times be reality.

The series continues this evening at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. The O’s are yet to name a starter, but whomever he is will be opposed by Seattle’s Mike Leake. Game time is set for just after 10 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Adding another annual destination?

The Baltimore Orioles currently play 9-10 games a year in Tampa/St. Petersburg at Tropicana Field. However that could be changing with the news today that MLB has given the Tampa Rays permission to explore the idea of playing half of their games in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area and half in Montreal (Montreal of course being the former home of the Montreal Expos, now the Washington Nationals). Again, they’be been given permission to “explore” the idea.

Basically that means we’ll think about it and get back to you. Tampa’s struggled with ticket sales and forming a fan base since the team’s inception. Heck, they had trouble selling out World Series games the year they advanced that far. So in that sense, might a more condensed schedule make sense?

Something like this has never really been done before in baseball – to my knowledge. Over in the NFL the Green Bay Packers used to play one preseason game and two regular season games annually at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. The Washington Bullets used to trek back to Baltimore for years and play four home games a year at the Baltimore Civic Center. And there are other examples out there as well which are similar to this.

But this wouldn’t be simply moving a home game or two. This would literally be two cities sharing a franchise. Perhaps the only example of which I can think would be the Homestead Gray’s, which was a Negro League baseball team that was shared between Washington D.C. and Homestead, FL. But that was short-lived. Needless to say, it would make for an interesting dynamic.

I believe that the idea would be for the early part of the season to take place in Tampa, where a new outdoor stadium would be constructed. The weather isn’t incredibly hot at that point in Tampa, so it wouldn’t be a big issue in terms of the weather. The second part of the season would be played in Montreal. However if this comes to pass it’ll be interesting to see how it’s handled. Would Montreal have to build a new stadium also, or would the old Olympic Stadium suffice?

This is something that Orioles fans will want to watch, however. Earlier this season there were rumors that the league wanted the Orioles to leave Baltimore. How true that is or was, who knows? It was merely a report that surfaced.

Montreal was naturally one of the cities that was mentioned as a possible destination for the Orioles if they were to move. If Montreal gets a piece of the Tampa Rays, that’s one city that wouldn’t be in the running. My personal opinion is that the Orioles will never move anywhere. So take that point at nothing more than face value.

End of the day, I don’t think that the Tampa Rays will split themselves between two cities, either. I suspect it’s just positioning to get someone to build them a stadium. But it would be interesting to see in terms of the dynamic to say the least.

Baltimore Orioles: Trey Mancini hurt as game spiralsthe

Gabriel Ynoa served as an opener this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles. And with pretty good success at that. Unfortunately for the Birds, Ynoa’s performance was about the highlight of the day. Ynoa’s line: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Overshadowing just about everything else on the day for the Orioles, they may have lost Trey Mancini for a period of time. Mancini was hit on the wrist in the first inning, and had to leave the game. The Orioles later announced that he had an elbow contusion, which in essence is a bruise. More on that in a moment.

The Birds were no-hit through five, however in the bottom of that fifth inning Phegley smacked a three-run homer. That broke the tie and gave Oakland a 3-0 lead. The Birds would come right back however and cut that lead to 3-2 in the sixth on an RBI-single by Renato Nunez, and a bases-loaded wall by Rio Ruiz.

The O’s and Oakland would trade runs in the last of the sixth and top of the seventh, with the Orioles’ coming on a sac fly-RBI by Anthony Santander. However the last of the seventh did the Orioles in. And excuse me check-swing double got a runner to second, and he made it to third on a single that came against the shift. Consider that again for just a moment; the O’s, like everyone else, play a shift on certain players. But teams always manage to defeat it. You can’t make this stuff up.

With runners at the corners and nobody out, Oakland hit into what should have been a tailor-made 4-6-3 double-play. However instead of yielding the run and taking the two outs, Hanser Alberto opted to nail the runner at the plate. And it might not have been the worst idea. However the throw wasn’t exactly spit on, and the runner scored from third. And the O’s didn’t record an out on the play.

When the smoke cleared, the Orioles trailed 8-3 (which ended up being the final). It’s tough to fault Alberto for trying to cut down the run at the plate. But the proper way to manage that situation is to yield the run and take the two outs. Yes, you surrender another run. But it clears the bases and leaves you with two outs. It’s lapses like that which are HAUNTING this team right now. If they could manage to button some of that up, they might be closer in some of these games.

The bigger concern however is Trey Mancini. He got his elbow X-Rayed, and it came back negative. So presumably he’s day-to-day. However if they lose him for any significant amount of time, that’s going to become a problem very quickly. All the Orioles can do is hope for the best.

The Birds now head to T-Mobile Park to open a four-game set with Seattle. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s Wade LeBlanc. Game time is set for just after 10 PM tomorrow night.

Baltimore Orioles being eaten alive by minuet details

Errors are piling up on the Baltimore Orioles, and they’re making a huge difference. And the sad thing is that there’s a part of me which says one mistake here and there can’t make THAT big a difference. Yet it does. Gabriel Ynoa was the victim of that mentality last night. Ynoa’s line: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Oakland smacked a solo homer in the third and a three-run shot in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead. Jonathan Villar smacked a solo homer for the O’s in the fifth. That was followed by Rio Ruiz netting a run with a fielder’s choice.

The Orioles appeared to at least be competitive in the game at that point. However in the sixth Oakland put two runs on the board off the bat. That extended their lead to 6-2. Still however, that’s a lead that could be overcome – in theory.

Richie Martin committed a fielding error with two outs. That would have been the final out of the inning. Now in general one can accept an error by a guy like Martin, a Rule 5 pick who’s in his first year in the majors. And again, my own thoughts in a moment like that are there’s two outs, just get one more and the inning is over. No harm no foul.

Only that isn’t how things normally go for the Orioles. When they commit small defensive lapses like that, opposing teams take full advantage. Oakland was no exception last night, and they ended up putting ten runs up in the inning. Think about that, eight runs after the error, ten total.

They would also put up two in the seventh, which came on a two-run homer. Now again it’s tough to argue that the error cost the Orioles the game because they were already losing and in fact they didn’t score again. But who knows how things would have played out?

The Orioles can’t allow themselves to adopt the mentality that I apparently have. By that I mean that they can’t ever just assume there are two outs in an inning and one error won’t kill them. It is a big deal, and when you let your guard down your opponent pounces. That was evident last night.

The O’s will try to savage one game in this series in the finale today at the Oakland Coliseum. Jimmy Yacabomis gets the start for the Orioles (in what could be more of an “opener” situation than a real start), and he’ll be opposed by Oakland’s Chris Bassit. Game time is set for just after 3:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall on errant throw, tag

The Baltimore Orioles actually performed fairly well in their first game out west last night in Oakland. Starter Andrew Cashner gave the Birds a quality start, both statistically and in reality. More importantly, he put the team in a spot to win. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (1 earned), 1 BB, 2 K.

The O’s gave up an RBI-double in the last of the first to Olson, which gave Oakland a 1-0 lead. However in the second the Orioles would tie the game. Rio Ruiz attempted to move a runner into scoring position with a sac bunt. However Oakland’s errant throw up the first base line allowed the runner to score from first, tying the game.

As we’ve said so many times, if you put the ball in play good things can happen. All it takes is one mistake, and a routine play like that can turn into a run-scoring opportunity. And in that instance it allowed the O’s to tie the game.

And in fact, that error also allowed the O’s to take the lead. With Ruiz at third, the Orioles put on a squeeze play and Hanser Alberto Laos down a sac bunt, which scored Ruiz. Ironically, Alberto’s path and progress to the bag at first was impeded by the first baseman, who was out of position on the play. The two literally collided on the base path. Despite Oriole protests, no interference was called on the play.

However in the end, it was an error and a mistake which did the Orioles in. With the bases loaded in the third, Olson grounded to short. The O’s completed the force out at the plate, and Chance Sisco went to throw the runner out at first. However he threw errantly, and a run was allowed to score, tying the game.

The O’s would throw the ball home where Sisco applied the tag and seemed to prevent Oakland from taking the lead. However Oakland challenged the play, and the replay appeared to show that Sisco applied the tag high, allowing the runner’s leg to touch home plate before the tag. The call was overturned, and Oakland took a 3-2 lead.

And unfortunately, the Orioles were unable to challenge further in the game, and fell 3-2. Now on the bright side, Oriole pitching was very good for the remainder of the game. They didn’t allow Oakland to push anything else across, which is more than can be said for other games to this point. They just couldn’t muster anything themselves.

The series continues tonight at the Oakland Coliseum. Gabriel Ynoa gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Oakland’s Brett Anderson. Game time is set for just after 10 PM.