Baltimore Orioles: Big series in the Motor City

The Baltimore Orioles motor into Detroit this evening to open a three-game series. However this isn’t just any three-game set – the very soul of the season may well be on the line for the Birds. And I don’t say that lightly. You can’t win a division in April (although Boston and the New York Mets seem to think you can), but you can certainly lose one.

And it’s interested that I brought up Boston above. The Orioles aren’t the only team on which they’ve beaten up this year, obviously since they’re 12-2. As good of a team as they are, they’ve probably over-achieved a bit thus far. And the Orioles, while not perfect, aren’t as bad as they’ve looked. However they’ve under-achieved thus far.

But it’s also fair to look at the teams’ schedules and compare them a bit. Boston got Tampa twice, Miami, New York (Yankees), and the Orioles. The Birds got Minnesota, Houston, New York (Yankees), Toronto, and Boston. Boston’s had a much lighter schedule – on paper that is.

For the firs time, the O’s will get to play a series starting tonight in which they’re playing an opponent that they should handle mightily. Now I say that with a fair amount of trepidation, as the games aren’t played on paper. They just aren’t. Detroit could well decide to take up that mantle of over-achieving, and take the fight straight to the Orioles tonight and for the remainder of the week. But the Orioles have to find a way to make sure that doesn’t happen.

And that means zeroing in on the strike zone, and anticipating pitches better than they’ve done. This season isn’t over by a long shot, and the battle to get back in has to start tonight. Incidentally regarding the schedule, the O’s have only played six home games thus far. Now granted they’ve only won two of them, but in reality it’s almost like a three-week road trip given the fact that they could never really unpack and stay awhile.

That changes after this series, as the O’s will play their longest home stand of the season. But there’s little relief in that right off the bat, as Cleveland comes in this weekend. But following them they’ll see Tampa and then Detroit again. But all of these games are only worth anything to the Birds if they can win most of them – and again, that effort must start tonight.

The series opens this evening at Comerica Park in Detroit. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Francisco Liriano. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Franchise in flux?

The Baltimore Orioles are getting out of Boston and headed for Detroit – and that’s a good thing after this weekend. The best thing that probably could have happened to the Birds was a rainout today. Not because they got beaten in three consecutive games at Fenway, but because it’ll give them a chance to regroup and gather their thoughts. There’s a lot of season to go.

Over the weekend Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (formerly of The Baltimore Sun) published an article which detailed some recent upheaval in the Orioles’ front office. And the report seemed to detail the fact that the Orioles are and/or will be very much in flux following this season.

The biggest piece of news in the article (which is linked above to Rosenthal’s name – although you’ll need a subscription to read the whole thing) is that owner Peter Angelos has apparently decreased his role with the team of late, and his sons John and Lou Angelos have taken a much larger role. This is a move that was indubitably made due to Peter Angelos’ advancing age. He’ll be 89 on the Fourth of July.

According to Rosenthal, Angelos has never been less involved in his 25 years or so of stewardship of the franchise. Again according to Rosenthal, Brady Anderson and Buck Showalter have also been taking more of an interest in the Front Office aspect of the franchise, minimizing GM Dan Duquette and his influence. And this apparently has Duquette not feeling comfortable.

Honestly I can’t blame anyone for being upset others are encroaching on his responsibilities. Both Duquette and Showalter’s contracts are up at the end of the season. (Along with multiple player contracts, which is another story.) I would believe that Duquette can read the writing on the wall, and is aware of the fact that odds are against him being here next season. So where does that leave the front office?

The answer to that lies somewhere with John and Lou Angelos. Rosenthal’s article spins the sons taking over in general in what I feel is a somewhat negative light. Basically they’re unproven, and nobody knows what they’re getting. That said, were the same questions there surrounding the Steinbrenner boys? The fact is that the Angelos boys have had increasing roles over the past few years. So they’re hardly going into this cold.

I suspect that Duquette will be gone after the season. If Showalter wants to continue managing, I would hope that the Angelos’ would say that the job is his. Maybe they sign him to a two or three-year extension of some sort – again, if he wants it. And perhaps Anderson moves into a co-GM role with Showalter. Coaches are GM’s in other sports, the great Vince Lombardi being a great example. So why not here?

Or perhaps Anderson is out of the picture, and Buck takes that role on his own. Or perhaps Buck retires. One way or the other, there are scenarios out there which involve all kinds of ends. Perhaps all three of them (Duquette, Anderson, and Showalter) are back in their current roles, or perhaps they’re all three gone. It’s really tough to say right now, but again the decision lies with John and Lou Angelos. Interesting times in which we live for sure.

Baltimore Orioles: 14 strikeouts and small wonders beat the Birds (updated)

The Baltimore Orioles got another good effort out of Dylan Bundy this afternoon. This one of course in less-than-great conditions. Bundy’s line: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R (1 earned), 2 BB, 6 K.

It took Bundy nine pitches to record the first four outs of the game. And by that time they already had the lead. Manny Machado‘s RBI-double in the first inning gave the O’s a 1-0 lead. And that of course came because Trey Mancini once again got on board to lead off the game. The Birds have their lead off hitter; they just need to gain some steam in the bats behind him.

Boston would mount a bit of a rally, or an attempt at one at least, in the second. Bundy gave out a one-out double and a walk. He then struck out the third hitter, and induced the next one to pop out to third base. In case you’re scoring at home, that’s how you kill a rally!

Boston’s Lin would get credited with a single in the fifth inning, however in my personal opinion it was a play that third baseman Danny Valencia could have and should made. Valencia muffed what appeared to be a routine ground ball, allowing a one-out base runner. (Lin would later be replaced at first base by Bradley, who reached on a fielder’s choice.) While the ball did appear to kick up just a bit on the heel of Valencia’s glove, that’s a play that he has to make…

..especially seeing that Benintendi’s RBI-triple a moment later tied the game at one. It’s those little things which will eat a team alive. Not to mention later in the inning when Bundy uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Benitendi to score from third. That gave Boston the lead, which was later extended to 3-1 on Lin’s sixth inning RBI-double.

And the Orioles couldn’t muster much else, so they fell once again on this cold Sunday afternoon in Beantown. All in all, the Birds struck out 12 times. It’s tough to win a game when doing that. On top of the twelve strikeouts, the O’s almost stubbornly looked at pitch after pitch in the later innings, adding to the massive strikeout totals. Why is that an issue more than anything else?

And the answer is because many of those pitches weren’t strikes. The zone expanded as the game wore on, probably because of the weather. If it was remotely close to the strike zone, it was getting called a strike. Boston seemed to recognize this, and was able to muster a few base runners. However the Orioles seemed stuck on what they interpreted as the strike zone. And admittedly what they interpreted as the strike zone was in fact the strike zone. But you have to adapt to game conditions; one of those is the strike zone of the home plate umpire.

Also keep in mind that all things being the same, this game is 1-1 of not for some untimely mistakes by the Orioles (the Valencia muffed ball and the wild pitch). Now these mistakes themselves didn’t cost the Orioles the game. The Orioles being unable to overcome them is what cost them the game. But the moral of the story is not to make them in the first place.

On that note, what exactly do the Orioles do at third base? Is Valencia now the everyday third baseman with Tim Beckham filling in for Schoop at second? I would consider telling Machado to put his yearn to play shortstop aside and move him back to the hot corner. That has to be an option for the Orioles. But time will tell.

Weather permitting, the Orioles will conclude the series at Fenway tomorrow in a late-morning Patriot’s Day matinee. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Brian Johnson. This game is in serious jeapardy given the forecast, but if it’s played (on time) it’s set to begin just after 11 AM.

UPDATE: Tomorrow’s game has officially been canceled. It will be made up on May 17th at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

 

Baltimore Orioles: Pitching-to-contact doesn’t cut it for Alex Cobb and the Birds

There was a lot of talk surrounding the Baltimore Orioles’ signing of Alex Cobb back in the spring, and how great of a move it was for the franchise. After his first start with the Orioles this afternoon at Fenway Park, a lot of fans are now questioning that move. I’m not suggesting that Cobb’s outing was great, but I would suggest that fans cool their criticism just a bit. The guy pitched in one game, at Fenway Park, against the BoSox. Cobb’s line: 3.2 IP, 10 H, 8 R (7 earned), 1 BB, 0 K.

Cobb pitched to contact during his truncated outing. The problem was, Boston was making contact the whole day. They took the lead right away in the first inning on Benintendi’s RBI-double, and on Ramirez’s subsequent two-run homer. Martinez would add a solo shot in the last of the third, and Cobb and the Orioles trailed 4-0.

Bentinendi would add a two-RBI single in the fourth, and Ramirez would bring him home with an RBI-double. Again, both Cobb and the relievers who came behind him were pitching-to-contact all day. In general, I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. But when the opponent is a team in the midst of what’s now a 12-2 start and in fact is MAKING contact on everything that’s thrown up there, that can be a problem.

To make matters worses, Boston would net a run in the last of the fourth on a Machado throwing error – on what would have been a routine infield ground ball. And it’s small things like that which could eat this franchise alive. I’m not suggesting that Machado lollygagged the ball to first base, because I don’t think he did. I think he just made a bad throw. However at times guys can start allowing apathy to set in when games get out of control like this, and things like that can happen. And Boston happily took the run.

The O’s made an attempt to get back into it one inning later however, when Pedro Alvarez connected for a two-run homer. However again keep in mind that the criticism of this Orioles team is that the homer appears to be the only way they can score. But runs are runs, and you take them. However Boston bounced right back, with an RBI-single by Martinez in the sixth, and an RBI-single by Swihart in the seventh. The O’s would net one run in the end as Sisco grounded out, scoring Chris Davis from third.

Again, it’s tough to be overly critical of the Cobb given that he was pitching against a murderer’s row of hitters in a sandbox of a ballpark. It was also his first start with a new team after no spring games and only a few weeks’ worth of workouts and simulated games. That’s not to say that his pitches weren’t overly hitable this afternoon. Furthermore as I said, his plan seemed to be to pitch-to-contact. Once it was obvious that wasn’t working, he should have gone to secondary pitches more often.

Offensively, the Orioles are allowing themselves to be shifted on far too often. And it’s working. How often did guys hit the ball right at defenders…and at defenders that had shifted into that position? And that’s the result of swinging away far too often. In no way am I suggesting that they switch to small ball, because power will always rule the day in the AL East. However if a runner or two were on base when the homers came, that would even things out a bit.

For what it’s worth, the trailing two games of this series are very much in question. The forecast for Boston for tomorrow is for rain and potentially freezing rain in Boston all day – off and on. They’re also calling for up to an inch of rain on Monday during the Boston Marathon (when the O’s and BoSox have a scheduled 11 AM first pitch). So there’s a real possibility that the Birds may not play again until Tuesday in Detroit.

So weather permitting, the series continues tomorrow at Fenway Park. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Chris Sale. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Four-run first inning sinks Chris Tillman

Chris Tillman put the Baltimore Orioles in a pickle last night. Not just with regard to last night’s game, but moving forward as well. Series’ at Fenway Park aren’t easy on visiting teams. The fact that Tillman made an early exit from the game could tax the bullpen going forward. Tillman’s line: 2.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 0 K.

The O’s took an early 1-0 lead thanks to Adam Jones‘ sac fly-RBI. But that’s as close as the Birds got. Boston would tie the game in the bottom of the first with a sac fly-RBI of their own, and then Nunez’s three-run homer would give them a quick 4-1 lead.

Betts’ RBI-double in the second would add to Boston’s lead, and after hitting a batter to load the bases with nobody out in the third, Tillman would hit the showers. A run would score after he left on a wild pitch, which closed the book on Chris Tillman for the game. Tillman wasn’t fooling anyone during his outing, and as a result was asked after the game if perhaps his problems  were stemming from issues with his mechanics (all quotes courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

I mean, there might be. It didn’t feel like it. I felt like my last start was worse mechanically than this one. It comes down to execution. When you miss with the first one, you’ve got to try to get back into the count and you fight an uphill battle at that point, especially against a team like this. You’ve got to stay ahead and work with the count in your favor.

The good news is that the Orioles’ ‘pen really stepped up and held Boston at bay after that. Boston would scorer once more on a wild pitch in the sixth, which really just drives home the point that if you get runners on base good things might happen. The Birds would net two more runs in the seventh on Machado’s two-RBI double, but Boston shut them down other than that.

To add injury to insult, the Orioles lifted Jonathan Schoop from the game in the seventh inning after he felt a twinge in his side while swinging. This according to manager Buck Showalter:

He had some discomfort in his side and we decided to get him out of there to be on the safe side. That last swing he took.

While Schoop is struggling a bit at the plate, the O’s don’t want to lose him. According to the Orioles last night, his status in the lineup today is very much in question. It’s definitely something to watch.

The series continues this afternoon at Fenway Park. Alex Cobb will make his Orioles’ debut and first start of the season, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Hector Velazquez. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles head to the Fens for the weekend

The Baltimore Orioles will make their maiden voyage to Fenway Park (or “Pahk”) in Boston this weekend as they get set for a weekend showdown with the Boston Red Sox. Boston of course is fresh off of taking two-of-three from New York this week, in a series that featured multiple theatrics. The O’s of course dropped two-of-three to Toronto at home this week, but hope to rebound in Boston.

The Birds had their own dust-up with Boston last year under somewhat similar circumstances. As I said yesterday, the difference is that the Machado slide on Pedroia was a hard slide, but clean. The Austin slide was dirty. Granted that’s my view, but sliding in with your spikes up is a big no-no.

And the situation between Boston and New York isn’t over with yet. The teams have 16 more meetings this year. And Boston never forgets. So…based on what happened over the weekend, will their memories of last year creep up this weekend with the Orioles? One would hope not.

Needless to say, this is a big early-season series at Fenway Park for the Birds. You hope for a split; but we also said that last weekend in the Bronx. So, could the Birds take three-of-four from Boston? The answer of course is yes – if they perform at a similar level as they did last weekend.

This is a bit of a strange series in that it includes Monday’s Patriot’s Day game, which begins at 11 AM. A few years ago the Orioles played a series like this one, and it included a Sunday Night game on ESPN, AND the Patriot’s Day matinee. 11 AM is a rough time for a game at any point, however especially after a night game the day before. Perhaps not so much after a 1 PM game on Sunday, as is the case this year.

Chris Tillman gets the start in the first game of the series tonight. He’ll be opposed by Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: In this game there are unwritten codes

There’s one big difference between what happened between Boston and the Baltimore Orioles last year, and what happened between them and the NY Yankees. Manny Machado did nothing more than take a hard slide into second base, however his foot hit the bag and popped up to spike Dustin Pedroia. NY’s Tyler Austin slid into second with his spikes up to begin with against Brock Holt.

Baseball has unwritten codes. While people love to rail against them and say they shouldn’t exist, they do. And they always will. Austin caused the situation at hand because of sliding in with his spikes up. Sorry to all of the folks who say there should be no unwritten codes; but that’s a big no-no.

Again, people are comparing this to Manny Machado last year. He spikes were up, but they only popped up after he made contact with the bag. There’s a big difference between that and sliding in with your spikes up from the get go. That show intent on the part of Austin.

Austin of course was hit by a pitch later in the game, prompting a benches-clearing brawl on the field. And I have no issue with that, as the fact of the matter is that in accordance with the unwritten rules Boston had the right to do it. Tyler Austin can slam his bat to the ground and complain all he wants, but he started this by spiking an opponent.

Again folks, don’t tell me that the unwritten codes are bad for baseball or that they shouldn’t exist. There are unwritten rules in all walks of life. If you go to a wedding, do you bring your dog with you? Of course not; you leave Fido at home, or make boarding arrangements if need be. But do most wedding invitations say specifically that you can’t bring a dog with you? No…because people are assuming that everyone knows not to do that. Thus it’s an unwritten rule.

So you can say you don’t agree with having unwritten rules, but they exist in all parts of one’s life. And when you violate one, you aren’t exactly looked upon with grace. So if you’re scoring at home, New York was the aggressor in this scenario. You don’t slide into second base with your spikes up like that. Am I suggesting that the hitting of Austin later in the game was justified? That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.

Baltimore Orioles: Jonathan Schoop breaks out in victory

Jonathan Schoop may have gotten his bat going in this evening’s Baltimore Orioles win over Toronto. We won’t know if Schoop’s 2-for-4 game is the beginning of a trend or just an exception until a few games down the line, but Schoop was good this evening. As was starter Kevin Gausman, who won his first game of the year this evening. Gausman’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 7 K.

Gausman started in an inauspicious manner, giving up a solo homer to Pillar in the first inning. And that lead held up for Toronto – until the fourth. Schoop’s RBI-double tied the game at one, which was followed by an RBI-single by Chris Davis – who also broke out a bit this evening. Beckham would add a sac fly-RBI later in the inning, and the Birds took a 3-1 lead onward.

Toronto would battle back a bit in the fifth with an RBI-single by Solarte. But the likes of Schoop, Davis, and Gausman weren’t about to let the Birds fall in this one. Schoop smacked an RBI-single in the bottom of that fifth inning, giving the Birds a 4-2 lead. Diaz would smack a homer in the sixth for Toronto, and the O’s would close the scoring with a Sisco RBI-single.

At the end of the day, it goes as a 5-3 lead for the Birds. For the record, this goes as a quality start for Gausman, who started slow this season. But his start last weekend in Yankee Stadium was a bit better, and this one was stellar. As I’ve said before, pitchers are going to have poor starts. But they’re also going to have good ones like this. Gausman picked up his offense tonight in a sense, although the offense came through as well.

Davis and Schoop have been the subject of several taunts from fans and so forth, as they’ve been slow out of the gate. But they both came through tonight. If the Orioles can get those two guys going for good, they’ll really be in good shape.

One concern coming out of this game was that Trey Mancini got nicked on the hand with a ball. His hand immediately started swelling, although he stayed in the game until the top of the ninth. X-rays were negative after the game, however tomorrow’s off day comes at a good time for Mancini. Based on production thus far, he isn’t a guy that the O’s can afford to lose.

Baltimore Orioles: Bats only used on the road?

The Baltimore Orioles got a great effort out of starter Andrew Cashner last night, but it wasn’t enough. Of late, that’s seemed to be the case when it comes to their starting pitching. As the season got rolling we thought it would be the hitting that carried the team. While there have certainly be games where the starters have struggled, the starting pitching has been more consistent than the hitting thus far. Cashner’s line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K.

However the strange thing is that Oriole bats were very active this past weekend in the Bronx. The Orioles were being no-hit last night into the eighth inning. Is it the cold? It might be easy to point to that, but it was colder in NYC this past weekend than it is in Baltimore right now. And manager Buck Showalter isn’t about to fall back on that excuse (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

That’s an excuse that our guys won’t use. You look up on the scoreboard and somebody’s scoring a bunch of runs in cold weather. It’s the conditions we play in and in the past we’ve got some guys with a track record that that hasn’t affected. I don’t think that’s going to come into it. I know the people who came out for the game tonight really don’t want to hear it.

The O’s thus far are just one of those very rare teams that doesn’t play very well at home, but okay on the road. And while you play as many road games as you do home games, that’s kind of a problem. You want to protect your home field so to speak. Buck Showalter also pointed out that quite a few Orioles squared balls up well last night and were robbed. So it isn’t as if guys aren’t hitting the ball well, teams are just playing good defense against the O’s.

While the O’s were being no-hit, Toronto couldn’t muster much either. The teams played to a scoreless draw through seven innings. Toronto would put a run across in the eighth on a throwing error to take a 1-0 lead. However once they got their fist hit, the O’s came right back. Sisco’s RBI-single tied the game at one. However in the end, it was a mislocated O’Day pitch that did the O’s in. Granderson smacked a solo homer against him in the ninth, and Toronto went home winners at 2-1.

The Birds had a flurry of chances in those final two innings, but could only muster one run out of a bases loaded situation. And yes, Toronto set their defense almost perfectly. That should tell the Orioles that their hitters are becoming too predictable. Sometimes spectacular defensive plays aren’t made fully by sheer skill and a bit of luck. Sometimes it’s also due in part to the fact that the defense was set up right where the batter usually hits the ball. And that’s part of what’s happening with the O’s.

The O’s will try to salvage one game in this series and homestand this evening at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Marco Estrada. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Is Nestor Cortes hurting the team?

Nestor Cortes Jr. gave up the decisive runs, specifically a grand slam in the ninth inning of tonight’s Baltimore Orioles game against Toronto. But that’s not why I ask if he’s hurting the O’s. In fact, perhaps the better question is whether or not the Orioles are hurting themselves by keeping Cortes on the roster – but more on that in a moment.

Dylan Bundy turned in his third consecutive quality start for the Orioles, and the third consecutive quality start in which he missed out on a win that he deserved. Bundy’s line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 10 K. It’s strange to call someone a hard-luck loser for a team that lost 7-1 but that would describe Bundy’s outing tonight. Unequivocally, he pitched well enough to win.

Bundy made one bad pitch – and it ended up being a two-run homer by Pearce, giving Toronto a 2-0 lead in the third. However the O’s came right back in the bottom of the inning on a Machado solo homer to cut the lead in half. But that’s as close as they got.

Cortes inherited a bases-loaded situation in the ninth, and promptly walked in a run to make the score 3-1. That brought Donaldson to the plate, with the bases still loaded. And unfortunately for the O’s, they were unable to walk that one last tight rope, and Donaldson deposited that ball in the stands. The grand slam gave Toronto a 7-1 victory. The final score obviously isn’t indicative of how close the game was in truth, but it goes as a six-run loss.

Going back to Nestor Cortes, we know that the Orioles under Dan Duquette have been big on the Rule 5 draft. Obviously they also have Anthony Santander (who’s Rule 5 status expires next month) and Pedro Araujo on the roster as Rule 5 draftees. And we know their history of Rule 5 players since 2012.

Araujo’s been fairly solid thus far, and Santander’s been great. Cortes has had some struggles, and quite frankly if the Orioles could send him down and keep him they probably would. But they can’t do that, or he goes back to the Yankees’ organization.

Is this mentality not potentially hurting the team, however? The fact that Cortes was the last one left on the bench in yesterday’s 12-inning game is telling. The O’s would have rather used guys who were over-taxed.

Again, this isn’t a knock on Cortes as much as it might sound like it is. I do think he has a promising career ahead of him in the big leagues. But the road’s very tough from his standpoint right now. Wouldn’t it do the player (Cortes) justice by letting him go back and further season himself in the minors? Consequently, would that not do the team justice in terms of giving them a roster spot that was more interchangeable?

I’m not suggesting that the O’s shouldn’t participate in the Rule 5 draft. I’m saying that they probably shouldn’t be quite as stubborn about keeping the players they select as they are. If someone isn’t cutting it, that’s not a knock on him. It just means he might not have been ready. So is it serving anyone by keeping him?

The series with Toronto continues tomorrow night. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Aaron Sanchez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.