Baltimore Orioles: Has the purge quietly begun?

Lots of changes are going to come to the Baltimore Orioles between now and…whenever. Vice-President of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette’s contract is up at the end of the season, and the suspicion is that he’s all but gone (as has been covered here and on other columns). That’s only one position that’s potentially going to turn over. But perhaps…has it already?

According to Ryan Sharrow of the Baltimore Business Journal, the Orioles have hired John Vidalin, formerly of the NBA’s Miami Heat, as the Chief Operating Officer for Business Operations. This is a new position that was created for Vidalin, who was the Heat’s Executive Vice-President and Chief Revenue Officer. Prior to that he had worked in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers.

This isn’t a hire that made a lot of waves. Sharrow’s article actually was published on July 3rd. But it is interesting to say the least. Vidalin’s only going to be in charge of “business operations.” This while Duquette’s still overseeing “baseball operations.” So in theory the two are mutually exclusive. But the timing is still interesting.

First and foremost, we know that a purge of the roster is forthcoming at some point – for all we know as early as today or tomorrow. (I don’t say that with any knowledge of something coming down the pike, but more so because the chips could start falling at anytime.) It stands to reason that the Orioles wouldn’t want Duquette overseeing the beginning of that process (or any part of it) unless he’s going to be here moving forward – which for all I know he might be. But that appears doubtful at this time.

So…did the Orioles just hire Duquette’s replacement? There is precedent for this in a sense. When they hired Andy MacPhail mid-year of 2007, Jim Duquette and the late Mike Flanagan were still technically the co-GM’s. Bowden has said previously that he found out about the hire on the day of the press conference. The two were kept on the payroll for the remainder of their contracts (through the end of the season) in essence as figureheads, MacPhail called the shots from that point forward.

Is it possible that something similar is happening here? It’s possible. It could also be just a new hire in a newly-created position that the Angelos family felt was necessary. According to the Baltimore Business Journal article, Viadlin is focusing on ballpark upgrades, the gameday experience, growing ticket sales, and other aspects. However keep in mind that all of those duties would also fall under the job description of a President of Operations.

The fact is that we don’t know what’s going on. Which means we’ll have to wait and see what the Angelos brothers do. I found it interesting that this hire was made under the radar. If Viadlin starts taking a more public role in the immediate future, perhaps the Orioles have found their man.

Baltimore Orioles’ Dylan Bundy struggles and Minnesota squashes all rallies

Dylan Bundy struggled in his return to the Baltimore Orioles from the DL last night in Minnesota. Bundy’s line: 3.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R (5 earned), 1 BB, 2 K. Bundy had command issues all night, in his first start in nearly two weeks since injuring himself running the bases in Atlanta. He left some pitches elevated, and Minnesota hitters took advantage of it.

The fact that Minnesota put a damper on almost every rally the Orioles attempted didn’t help matters. And it started literally on the first pitch, which Tim Beckham sent deep to center field – the deepest part of the park. It was a home run…until Minnesota’s Cave climbed the wall and brought it back in. That really set the tone for the game.

And as I’ve said before, your opponents always seem to get fat on what you leave behind. Or more specifically, they don’t let you off the hook. Minnesota put two runners on in the last of the first, and Dozier’s RBI-single scored a run. However Beckham couldn’t handle the throw from the outfield at third base, and the ball kicked into the dugout. This allowed another run to score, and Dozier to get to third base. He would later score on a Polanco RBI-single – which was hit against the shift.

And that’s another underlying theme for the Orioles defensively this year. They have to lead the league in having guys produce against the shift against them. These infield shifts are used because the spray charts on players league-wide indicate that they hit the ball to certain areas of the field more so than other places. But when they play the Orioles, somehow they’re able to work against those numbers and hit ’em where they ain’t.

Bundy would give up a two-run homer to Kepler and an RBI-single to Mauer in the fourth. However just prior to that the Birds had loaded the bases in the top of the inning, and Minnesota found a way out of the jam. And once again the Orioles paid for what they left behind. They would get an RBI-single from Chris Davis in the sixth, and another run on an error in the seventh.

However later in that seventh inning Tim Beckham was thrown out at home plate after being sent by Bobby Dickerson at third. It was a questionable decision by Dickerson, as it came on a medium-depth grounder to left field. But nevertheless, it was another example of Minnesota being able to stop an Oriole rally. The Birds would still find a way to get a couple of runners on base in the ninth, but again the rally fell short.

The Orioles are past the point where they were only getting two or three hits a game. They’re putting men on base, which is obviously a good thing. However they’re continually unable to get them home, save for the home run ball. And somehow opposing teams have all found a way to prevent that from happening so frequently. Again however, the fact that they appeared to have a home run on the first pitch and were robbed didn’t help matters.

The series continues this afternoon at Target Field. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Kyle Gibson. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Andrew Cashner’s error grounds the Birds

Andrew Cashner pitched the Baltimore Orioles to another quality start last night. The only problem was that it was his error which played a major role in a couple of Minnesota runs, which ultimately proved to be too steep a wall to climb for the O’s. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 earned), 2 BB, 3 K.

With the score still tied at zero, Minnesota put a runner at second following a lead off double with nobody out. Wilson then grounded to Chris Davis at first; Davis fielded the ball between first and second, and Cashner ran to cover the bag. All in all, it appeared to be a fairly routine play, which was going to leave a runner at third with one out.

However keep in mind that these fairly routine plays have bitten the Orioles where the sun don’t shine all season long. While Minnesota outfielders made numerous diving catches to save base runners and runs all night long, Cashner muffed the Davis throw to first. Wilson ended up at second, and a run ended up scoring.

It’s play like that which have snakebitten the Birds all year long. And it baffles the mind why they keep happening. It’s easy to say that they don’t pay enough attention to detail and so forth, but that’s not true. Human errors are going to happen, even to professionals. That much we know. However the Orioles seem to be a sponge of sorts for these types of occurrences. They soak up all of the bad stuff so that there’s nothing left for the other teams.

Rosario’s RBI-single later in the inning would score Wilson, leaving the Birds trailing 2-0. On a side note, that goes as an earned run to Cashner. It would have only been unearned had there been two outs when the error occurred. I would argue that the run should still be unearned due to the fact that the error put Wilson in scoring position. Again, just a sidebar.

To make matters worse, Morrison homered one inning later and the Birds trailed 3-0. But they tried to make a game of it – they just couldn’t pull it off. Jonathan Schoop smacked solo homers in consecutive at-bats in the fifth and seventh innings, cutting the lead to 3-2. So in essence, the O’s were in the game. But Kepler’s RBI-single and Cave’s RBI-double in the eighth sealed the deal for Minnesota, who went onto win 5-2.

The margin for error for this team is basically nothing. They simply couldn’t overcome that third inning error. All things being the same mind you, the O’s still would have lost this game 3-2. But you can’t always assume that all things would have been the same. That error put the Orioles in a here we go again mentality, which lingered throughout the whole game.

The series continues this evening from Target Field in Minneapolis. Dylan Bundy (who will have to be activated off of the DL, meaning that a roster move looms) gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Lance Lynn. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Why keep talent in the minors?

The Baltimore Orioles do in fact have several players in the minor leagues who are beating down the door to come to the big leagues – namely, Cedric Mullins. His name’s been thrown around various outlets for quite some time, and it in fact does appear that he’s ready. So why not bring him and others up to the majors?

It’s all but a foregone conclusion that at some point the Orioles are going to get younger this year. What’s unclear is which veteran players will stay and which will go. That depends largely on the return that the Orioles are able to get on the Machado’s of the world. It’s been reported in the national media that the Orioles have been much more engaged in trade discussions this time around than in the past. The question is whether or not that’s a good or bad thing.

It can’t truly be a bad thing – per se. However it could be that they’re just more attentive this time around, OR it could mean that they’re desperate to strike deals. And if that’s the case, other teams indubitably know that. Which puts those other teams in more of a position of power in wheeling and dealing. In their minds, they can probably get someone for cheaper in a sense.

That aside, I suspect that once cards start being played and trade pieces falling into place, we’ll see Mullins and perhaps others in the big leagues. Ideally the Orioles are going to want big league-ready talent for some of the players who are going to be traded. So if they can unload someone and in theory get his replacement back in a trade right away, that’s a plus for the Birds.

The idea thus being that when the “newbies” start showing up, someone like a Cedric Mullins gets his call to the big leagues at the same time. Then you’re in theory bringing all of these guys along at the same time. It’s called team-building.

Baltimore Orioles: Chris Davis gave a little too much brotherly love

Chris Davis has been a topic for the Baltimore Orioles this year for all the wrong reasons. Offensively he’s fallen off the map, although he’s been marginally better since sitting out for eight games. Marginally better. But for the most part his defense has been solid – until today, that is.

The Orioles started Yefry Ramirez, who did what a started is supposed to do; he put his team in a spot to win. He didn’t get the quality start because he didn’t go six innings, however he certainly pitched a quality outing today one way or the other. Ramirez’s line: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R (1 earned), 2 BB, 4 K. Again, quality start or not, Ramirez mowed ’em down while he was in this afternoon’s Fourth of July game.

The O’s took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third when Adam Jones split the defense in the power alley in left center, allowing a runner to score from first base. And that lead stood up for a couple of innings. Oriole pitching held Philadelphia in check for the most part in this series. They’re a high-powered team, but the O’s held them in check.

But some things can’t be helped on the part of a pitcher. Ramirez put two runners in scoring position in the last of the fifth with one down. Alfaro grounded a routine ball to Chris Davis at first base. For a split second, that appeared to be a key out for the Orioles. Because the runner at third wouldn’t have been able to advance, and it would have been the second out. The O’s were probably poised to walk the next hitter to get to the pitcher, Nola – which would have been all but a sure out.

However the ball slid under Davis’ mitt at first, and into the outfield. Two runs scored, and Philadelphia took the lead at 2-1. Now as has been said all season, things happen with runners on base and when the ball’s put in play. However that’s a play that has to be made on Chris Davis’ part. This isn’t to say that Davis is now a poor defending first baseman either, because I don’t think that’s the case. I think he made a bad mistake, which led to things going south in this game for the Orioles.

Philadelphia would add a two-run homer by Williams in the last of the seventh, and the O’s never threatened after that. Wins and losses are always a team effort. So again not all of this should be put on Chris Davis. However a mistake like that does tend to stand out, especially when it directly relinquished the lead to the opponent.

The Orioles will now head to Minnesota for a four-game set. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Aaron Slegers. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.

Baltimore Orioles can’t cash in on Alex Cobb’s quality start

Alex Cobb gave the Baltimore Orioles a quality start last night in Philadelphia. Heck, he even registered a base hit (playing by National League rules, of course). And it was no cheapie; Cobb made solid contact on a pitch and grounded it up the middle. Yet he had nothing to show for it but a loss and a pat on the back for a quality start. Cobb’s line: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 K.

Before the game started however it appeared that either the Orioles or Philadelphia had angered the baseball God’s, as one of the worst thunderstorms I’ve ever seen descended on south Philly. No exaggeration, some of the lightning bolts sounded like they were hitting right behind the grandstand. As Doc Brown said in Back to the Future II, it was “one hell of a storm!”

So the game began with a 90 minute rain delay, but when it did start Mark Trumbo led off the second inning with a solo home run to give the Birds a 1-0 lead. In theory Trumbo’s sudden resurgence is great news for the Orioles. However if there’s nobody on base ahead of him, it’s almost superfluous. Solo home runs don’t beat you, so in turn they don’t win games for you. Had that homer occurred in the first inning and a couple of runners were already on base, the Orioles would have really been in business.

Philadelphia led off the home half of the third with a base hit, and the starting pitcher Eflin actually bunted the runner over the first base in a typical National League-type move. Only that it surprised me to see them doing it in the third inning, however with a steady rain still falling there was question as to whether or not the teams would get a full game in. Following a walk, Hoskins’ RBI-double gave Philadephia the lead at 2-1.

However one inning later it was Trumbo again coming through for the Birds. His bloop RBI-single to right tied the game at two for the Birds, who at least were going to make a game of it. But one inning later an RBI-triple by Knapp gave Philadephia a 3-2 lead, which they never relinquished.

The O’s however threatened in the top of the eighth. With two outs and the bases loaded, Chris Davis grounded a ball to third, which Philadelphia third baseman Franco miraculously fielded. And I say that because it was in fact a deep ball in the hole, and it took a gold glove play to get to it. Franco proceeded to throw Davis out, although Davis hustled down the line – big time. And that’s to Davis’ credit, as he hasn’t ceased to play hard or to try. Say what you will about his prowess at the plate, but the effort is there in games.

The Orioles challenged the call, citing that the first baseman didn’t hold the bag. According to the umpire in New York, the replay was inconclusive. It did appear that the cleat was off the bag well before Davis crossed, and that it never quite made it back on. Buck Showalter used the term snakebit to describe that play (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

You’re just snakebit. I thought Chris (Davis) had some good at-bats tonight and hung in there and carved the ball the other way. It was a little offline at first. It’ll go down as a real good play by their first baseman.

If you read between the lines there, he’s calling the umpiring crew out. In fact, it was a great play by the third baseman. The first baseman appeared to come off the bag, however according to New York there wasn’t enough visual evidence to overturn the call on the field.

On a side note, the Orioles deactivated outfielder Colby Rasmus and put him on the restricted list. Earlier in the day Rasmus alerted Buck Showalter that he was heading home and wanted to “discontinue playing.” Showalter was very poignant in saying that there were personal factors involved in Rasmus’ decision – so fans shouldn’t rush to judgement in saying things such as Rasmus quit on the team, or anything like that. These things do happen, but once again they seem to have happened to the Orioles – who as a result of this and not being able to get someone to Citizens Bank Park in time for the game, had to play with only 24 roster spots last night.

The bried two-game series concludes today in a July 4th matinee. The Orioles have opted to start Yefry Ramirez, who’ll be opposed by Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles feeling the hurt as they head to Philadelphia

The Baltimore Orioles are once again having injury problems. Darren O’Day is done for the season, and new addition Steve Wilkerson has what Buck Showalter is calling “the beginnings of an oblique injury.

This as the Orioles head to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia for a short two-game set with Philadelphia. Keep in mind that tonight and tomorrow the O’s will be forced to surrender their DH under National League rules. This means that the pitchers will have to hit. Anyone who’s read me along the way knows I refer NL rules. And big time at that.

But these injuries plus losing the DH compounds a lot of things for the Orioles. Do they make a roster move before tonight’s game? If in fact Wilkerson is unavailable, I think they have to – otherwise they’re left without a backup infielder.

These decisions aren’t easy. Especially when the Orioles are trying to time the addition of younger talent with trading veterans. But even in a down year, the urgency of today’s game always takes precedent.

As previously stated, the O’s will be at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia for tonight’s series opener. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Philadelphia’s Zach Effin. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Anaheim lapse leads to an orange donnybrook

This was perhaps the game for which the Baltimore Orioles had been waiting all season. The team was constructed to play games like yesterday’s. We thought that would be the norm. To this point, it hasn’t been. But yesterday we saw a different Orioles team – one that most fans would just as soon as see for the rest of the season.

The Birds got a gem out of Kevin Gausman, who set the tone for the team. Gausman’s line: 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Anaheim had a flight to catch, and I suppose they assumed that Gausman would be just as hitable as the other Oriole pitchers they had seen this series. Save for a couple of exceptions, such as Pujols’ first inning RBI single (which gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead), that wasn’t the case.

We’ve seen strange things happen to this Orioles team all year. Balls falling in where they shouldn’t, balls being lost in the sun, balls sliding through the infield, etc. And often times, those small anomalies led to donnybrook-like innings which doomed the O’s on the spot. For once, those bounces fell the other way.

Adam Jones hit a lazy pop up towards Anaheim’s first baseman Cowart, who called for the ball. Couldn’t have been a more routine play, for what should have been the first out of the inning. But Cowart lost the ball in the sun, it fell in between first and second, and Jones was safe at first. It was only a single; but again, those are the types of plays which the Orioles have allowed to haunt them when they’ve happened to them.

And true to form, that play did in fact start a bit of a donnybrook. Manny Machado followed Jones to the plate, and smacked a two-run homer which gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead. That one mistake, that one mental lapse by Cowart…it gave the Orioles an opening, and they jumped through it. That was also a key point in the game because as much as I’ve written about teams holding the Orioles accountable for their mistakes, for once the O’s didn’t let an opponent off the hook.

Mark Trumbo came to the plate next, and the result was the same; Trumbo’s homer ran the lead to 3-1. Steve Wilkerson also smacked his first career extra-base hit later in the inning, which was an RBI-double and gave the Birds a 4-1 lead. And to cap things off, Tim Beckham‘s two-RBI double ran it to 6-1.

Again, think of how often the Orioles have made slight mistakes in games this year (such as Beckham hesitating to throw the ball to first base on Saturday), and how they’ve ballooned into bigger things which equaled big losses. That’s exactly what happened in the Orioles’ favor with Cowart losing that Jones pop up in the sun. I’m not suggesting that the O’s only won because of that, because when you’re given a gift it’s also about what you do with it. Most of the time when something like that has happened in the Orioles’ favor they’ve taken the aw shucks attitude and let the opponent off the hook Whereas when it’s happened to the Orioles (much more frequently than it’s happened for the Orioles, but I digress) the opponent hasn’t let them off the hook. For once the O’s took advantage today.

The O’s batted around in that fourth inning, which brought Trumbo back to the plate in the last of the fifth. And he delivered for the Birds, smacking a second solo home run. Later in the inning Trey Mancini would hit one as well, running the score to 8-1. Anaheim’s Calhoun would smack a solo shot of his own in the eighth, but that was as close as Oriole pitching was going to let Anaheim get as the Birds ran away with it in an 8-2 victory.

Buck Showalter addressed the quirky nature of the Jones single that was lost in the sun after the game (quote courtesy of Zachary Silver, mlb.com):

Those are the types of things that have been happening to us. I don’t care who you are, if the ball gets in the sun, it stays in the sun. … I thought one of the big keys today, the things we haven’t been doing, was the add-on runs. We get the six-spot and we add on some more runs. And that keeps a good mentality going.

Showalter was also asked in his press conference who his started was going to be on the Fourth of July in Philadelphia. He said that he had to update a few things and that an announcement would probably made on today’s off day. Interesting response, needless to say. However ultimately for one day, Orioles fans left the yard happy after a nice win.

Baltimore Orioles: Tim Beckham’s mistake costs Birds the game

Even when things are actually going well for the Baltimore Orioles, all it takes it one mental lapse to send things into a tailspin. This time it was an ever-so-slight mental error by Tim Beckham at third base with the O’s and Anaheim tied at two. And that set off a sequence of events whereby Anaheim ran away with the game.

Many of these columns seem to run similarly – you can just change the names. In this case, it was Andrew Cashner turning in a quality start and having nothing to show for it. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K. Now I will say this; it seems that you can pencil almost any Orioles starter in for six innings each game, in what ends up being a quality start. You have to wonder if perhaps some pressure might be taken off the bullpen if starters pitched seven innings…?

The Orioles led this game most of the way. Manny Machado smacked an RBI-single in the first inning. However at that point it was Anaheim committing an error, and the Orioles taking advantage – for once. Jones advanced to third on an Upton error, and he later scored on a Valencia RBI-single.

However those were the only runs that the O’s could muster. And in the first inning at that. Overall, they went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and left seven on base. If even one of those seven came around to score, perhaps the game plays out differently.

Anaheim would put a run across in the fourth in a Simmons RBI-single. And on we played with the Orioles holding a one-run lead until Anaheim put some runners on base in the eighth. Going back to Beckham’s mistake, it’s important to note that the O’s had already surrendered the lead before that. Pujols’ RBI-single tied the game at two. But in theory…

…they actually pitched out of the jam – before they didn’t, that is. With one out and the bases loaded, Young grounded to Beckham at third. He stepped on the bag for the second out of the inning. Then he seemed to get confused, and he hesitated for just a second. Just one short second…before he threw across the diamond. However Young was ruled safe by a hair, allowing a run to score and giving Anaheim a 3-2 lead. They would later put three more across in the inning, taking home a 6-2 win.

It’s tough to say what happened in that moment, however Beckham was definitely confused. I don’t want to be too hard on him, because if you look back to when he joined the team last year he’s done more good than ill as an Oriole. Furthermore he’s not playing his regular position of shortstop – Manny Machado is. However without that small hesitation, Young’s out at first base, the inning’s over, and the game remains tied.

Up to that point, this was a good game for the Orioles for the most part. Yet that one slight mistake cost them the game. But I’ll take it a step further; this game was lost back in December when the Orioles decided to acquiesce to Manny Machado and allow him to play shortstop, moving Beckham to third.

The O’s will attempt to get one game out of three tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Deck McGuire of Anaheim. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Two big league debuts in loss

The Baltimore Orioles fell 7-1 to Anaheim this evening, their sixth consecutive loss. David Hess got the start this evening, and was hit up for all but one of Anaheim’s runs. Hess’ line: 5.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

The tone was set early on when Hess gave up a solo homer to Trout, giving Anaheim a 1-0 lead. Simmons’ RBI-single in the third extended the lead to 2-0, and Anaheim would later score on a fielder’s choice-RBI by Valbuena. And true to form, sound baseball common sense failed the Orioles in that sequence. With one out they played the infield at double-play depth. Yet Valbuena’s grounder was slow enough that Schoop had to come in to field it, allowing Anaheim to stay out of a double-play. And allowing a run to score.

Anaheim would put four more runs across before all was said and done, including one on a solo homer. Adam Jones would add an RBI-single in the last of the ninth to keep the Orioles out of a shut out as well. With the loss, this Orioles team is currently one game behind the pace set by the 1988 team which began the season 0-21.

But not all of the news was bad for the Orioles. They did have two relievers make their big league debuts in this game, Ryan Meisinger and Paul Fry. Meisinger, a native of Dunkirk, MD, pitched 1.2 innings and gave up two hits and a homer (striking out one). Fry also pitched 1.2 innings, and struck out two.

First off, it’s always a neat moment when someone makes their big league debut. But Ryan Meisinger grew up an Orioles fan, attended Orioles games with his family, etc. In sports it’s all but known and understood that you’re going to be working away from where you’re from. But stories like Meisner’s where the player makes his debut for his hometown team are rare. And they’re awesome to tell. What a thrill for him, and for his family.

Meisner of course gave up the homer, so on that basis Fry looked better of the two. However they both showed promise. It remains to be seen whether or not these guys will remain with the Orioles or be sent back down for whatever the reason might be. But we’re starting to see some of the players grown in the Orioles’ system coming up. Again, for better or for worse.

The series continues tomorrow at Camden Yards. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Tyler Skaggs. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.