Baltimore Orioles: This is The Oriole Way

Here we are, Baltimore…Opening Day for the Baltimore Orioles. The rosters are set, the players are ready, and all of you fans are presumably excited. Today is a holiday across the nation – but especially in Baltimore.

Every team has traditions that they feel are special. However I would submit that NOBODY does Opening Day like the Orioles. NOBODY. The image of the players and coaches running onto the field from center field on that orange carpet never seems to get old for Orioles fans. But let’s back up a moment and go back to pregame…

…when many fans gather at Pickles and Sliders across the street. The Orioles alway hold Opening Day at 3 PM, which gives people time to spend much of the morning and early afternoon “pregaming.” This is something that happens before each of the Orioles’ 81 home games – it’ll go on prior to Wednesday night’s game. But things are a bit different and a bit more special on Opening Day.

Then the fans stream into the yard, and see the players enter on that orange carpet. However the one thing that always gets me is actually the day’s lone somber moment. As part of the pregame pomp and circumstance, the Orioles read the names of the members of the organization who have passed on since last year’s Opening Day. Does it put a temporary damper on the day’s festivities? Yes. But this is an organization that values it’s history, and that includes all of the people who are and have been a part of it. So in my view that’s an important part of things.

Once the teams have been introduced, the national anthem sung, and the first pitch ceremony concluded, it’s time to PLAY BALL! At that point, it’s just baseball. In essence, it’s no different than any other game. But it’s still Opening Day, which makes it special.

And on that note, the Orioles will today open the season with a truncated and in effect a disjointed two-game set against Toronto. Kevin Gausman gets the nod on the mound for the Birds this afternoon, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Marco Estrada. Game time is set for just after 3 PM.

I’ve had people tell me that the Orioles overdo it on Opening Day. Why all the pomp and circumstance? Why so much paegentry? Why not just introduce the players on the base lines and that’s it?

First off I would refer you to the famous Terrence Mann quote fro Field of Dreams:

America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh… people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.

This is America’s pastime. Yes people love to suggest that the NFL is now king in America. But it’ll never be America’s pastime. Opening Day is a celebration of the return of baseball, but also a celebration of America, and everything for which she stands. It’s a celebration of summer, good times, beach trips, barbeques, and family. And yes, a celebration of baseball…the sport which like America, marches on like an army of steamrollers. The sport which reminds us of all that once was good – and will be again.

And if that’s not enough for you, this is just how things are done in Baltimore on Opening Day! Every team and every city has it’s tradition – this is part of what makes the orange and black so great. This my friends, is The Oriole Way.

Baltimore Orioles: Multiple Opening Days around baseball

Opening Day for the Baltimore Orioles is tomorrow. I have fond memories of Opening Day from when I was a kid; I’d always run home as quickly as possible to be in front of the television by 3 PM. If I could be there earlier to see the first pitch ceremonies (which often in Baltimore involved the President), even better.

The entire league seemed to open up on Monday, save for a few teams who would open on Tuesday if they played in indoor stadiums. And of course many teams would be off on Tuesday for the potential rain date. Somehow it just worked out, and it was always an unofficial national holiday.

And for the record, Opening Day still is an unofficial national holiday. However it’s evolved a bit, and in my mind that’s not necessarily a good thing. But it’s evolved, one way or the other.

In 2004, MLB tried an experiment with having a “Sunday Night Opener” for the first time, with the rest of the league opening on the traditional Monday. That first Sunday Night Opener was played at Camden Yards, and the Orioles beat the Red Sox that night. And that’s something that continues to this day, with the Sunday Night Opener often involving the defending champion.

And quite frankly, I like that concept. The NFL mirrors it with their Thursday Night Opener, and I think it’s kind of a cool quirk. However last year they further evolved things a bit, and that’s kind of where I draw a line. Now as opposed to the one game on Sunday night, there are also two afternoon games…

…this year it’s the Yankees at the Rays at 1 PM, the Giants at the Diamondbacks at 4 PM, and of course the Cubs at the Cardinals at 8:30 PM. Now let me be frank; seamheads such as myself will watch all of these games since they’re on. But that’s beside the point.

In my view, by having now three games today, the league now in effect has created rolling Opening Day. Most teams will still open tomorrow, and then be off on Tuesday. Then you’ll have some teams who’ll open on Tuesday and be off tomorrow if they play indoors. Such is life in the newly “evolved” world of MLB.

Some folks might ask why it’s such a problem, ESPECIALLY since I all but admitted that I’ll watch the games today. While I do appreciate instant replay in the game, I’m a traditionalist for the most part. Years ago, you appreciated the fact that kids in cities across America were doing the same thing you were doing: racing home to watch their hometown team’s Opening Day game. I would submit that with a slate of games now on Sunday, that concept is dulled just a bit.

Granted, the majority of the games are still held tomorrow (on Monday). However is today really “Opening Day,” or is it just a run-of-the-mill Sunday afternoon in Major League Baseball? Because if I were covering one of the teams in those games, I’d view it as just another Sunday in baseball.

I would also add that the league couldn’t have picked stranger matchups in their slate of games for today. Again, people like me will pay attention because it’s baseball. But outside of that and fans in the cities represented, are there that many people who are looking forward to sitting down and watching the Yankees and Rays or the Giants and Diaondbacks? Would it not have behooved the league to perhaps pick some games with a bit more pizzazz to put on National television?

In that same spirit, the Chicago Cubs also seemingly got the short end of the stick. A team who didn’t win for 108 years is a very compelling story, and one that’s well worthy of having on the Sunday Night Opener in the wake of them snapping that streak. Not to mention that they’re playing their most hated rival. However how can MLB look at itself while not having this game at Wrigley Field? In essence they’re saying, …great job after all those years, Cubs. As your reward you’re getting to open up on Sunday Night Baseball in front of a national audience, AT your most hated foe and in front of their screaming fans who hate you!

Somehow that doesn’t seem like a fair narrative. Then again, life’s not always fair. My opinion about that as well as my opinion about today’s games is irrelevant. It’s going to go down that way whether I like it or not! But the call of PLAY BALL! will ring out in Baltimore tomorrow afternoon, which is how it should be.

Baltimore Orioles’ 2017 season preview

Buck Showalter‘s Baltimore Orioles have broken camp, and they’re now back in Baltimore eagerly awaiting Opening Day. But what do we make of this latest version of the Birds? Questions have surrounded this team since their sudden exit from the American League playoffs last October, with Zach Britton waiting in the bullpen. How will 2017 play out?

I can’t tell you that right now. But I’ll start with the team’s one apparent weakness, and that’s starting pitching. That isn’t to say that the Orioles have no pitching whatsoever, because that’s not true. Chris Tillman looks to anchor the rotation, with Kevin Gausman right behind him. However as we know, Tillman is on the DL right now, which means Gausman’s the Opening Day starter.

Beyond those two, there are questions about who’s going to be able to step up. If the Orioles are going to be successful this year, Dylan Bundy is going to have to make strides. And Ubaldo Jimenez isn’t going to have the luxury of being inconsistent. All of that aside, starting pitching is this team’s one glaring weakness. If they can work around that, they’ll win games this year.

At the plate and in the field, the Birds are a-okay. The likes of Machado, Hardy, Schoop, and Davis form one of the best infield defenses in baseball. Not to mention Adam Jones out there patrolling center field. Oh, and they can all hit as well.

The name of the game offensively for the Orioles is going to be power. And we know that they have a lot of that. Nobody expected Mark Trumbo to return, yet the O’s managed to ink him to a new deal. Throw in Davis, Jones, Schoop, and Machado, and the Orioles should be able to keep up with or out-slug anyone.

Their other strength is their bullpen, which is anchored by the likes of Zach Britton at the back. However his supporting cast is going to be pretty strong as well, with guys like Brad Brach, Darren O’Day, et al. However this is also where they need the starting pitching to step up. If that’s inconsistent, the Orioles’ bullpen will end up getting overtaxed. And then they’ll struggle as well. So the key is getting starters to go six plus innings in games. If they can do that, the bullpen will continue to be light’s out.

I haven’t given you anything earth-shattering here. So the question everyone wants answered in these season previews is where will the Orioles finish? And I can’t tell you that – yet. We know that they’re in a very competitive division, and they’re given no respect by any of the pundits. But my personal prediction for this Orioles team is…

…they’ll be in the playoff hunt until the end. Whether that gets the to the post-season or not remains to be seen. But that’s my prediction. Some of you are wondering how this team with lackluster starting pitching is going to get to that point. And the answer is simple…

…Buck Showalter. The biggest competitive advantage the Orioles have sits in the dugout. This is a team that’s defied the odds since 2012. That’s no coincidence. He knows exactly which buttons to push for the most part and when. And there’s no bigger competitve advantage that any team could have than that.

Baltimore Orioles: That’s a wrap for camp!

The Baltimore Orioles officially break camp this morning in the wake of yesterday’s Grapefruit League-closing game, a 7-3 loss to Detroit. Worse things have happened, folks. Weather permitting, they’ll be at Harbor Park in Norfolk, VA at 3 PM this afternoon to play a final exhibition against the Tides. Really pay attention to that weather permitting part; it’s supposed to pour for much of the day up and down the eastern seaboard today. My guess is that there’s no game played.

The final roster is starting to take some semblance of shape. The O’s sent Wade Miley to the 10-day DL yesterday. Miley has dealt with some illness over the course of camp, so they want to give him some additional rest. Chris Tillman will join him on the DL, however Miley is expected to pitch in the first week of the season. This means that the Birds will break camp with only three starting pitchers. But as I’ve said numerous times throughout camp, that’s really all they need for the time being – with three off days in the first seven days of league play.

One thing that surprised me is that Pedro Alvarez was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, which is where he’ll start the season. I suppose I assumed that while the O’s signed him to a minor league deal, it was all but predetermined that he would be in the bigs. Especially after he had such a good spring at the plate. However I suspect we’ll see him at some point.

The Orioles will break camp with both Trey Mancini and Joey Rickard on the roster, and it appears that Craig Gentry has made the team as well. And for that I’m really happy. Gentry was given an extended look this spring due to the WBC, and he really took advantage of it. He has good speed and a good bat, and he should really make a difference for the club down the stretch.

Now keep in mind that all of this is subject to change. The waiver wire always pops at this time of year, and sometimes things just happen. But this looks to be how things are going to go for now.

I’ll be interested to see how long they wait things out in Norfolk before the game is called today. Seriously folks, I wouldn’t hold my breath. The Orioles will have an off day tomorrow, during which guys will presumably get settled or resettled at home in Baltimore. They’ll have a team workout on the field at Camden Yards on Sunday, and the Opening Day of course is scheduled for Monday at 3 PM. Rain is in the forecast for both Monday and Tuesday, but we’ll just have to wait and see how that works out. One thing I’m sure of however…the O’s aren’t looking for a repeat of last year’s Opening Day which featured two lengthy rain delays.

Baltimore Orioles: Laid a big number

The Baltimore Orioles surrendered 12 runs in the sixth inning of yesterday’s 15-6 loss to Tampa. That’s not going to win you many games. However once again, the Birds had sent two low-A farmhands out in that inning against a big league lineup. So it’s tough to expect much more.

Kevin Gausan seemed a little wayward in his final spring start, however his outing was shortened by having to throw more pitches due to errors being committed behind him. Gausman’s line: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 earned), 4 BB, 5 K. Gausman’s next start of course will be Monday at Camden Yards on Opening Day.

Kim and Dickerson each notched homers for the Birds, however it was an otherwise forgettable day. Showalter said after the game that it was obvious that guys were ready to go home. That means they’re ready to head north. It won’t be long.

The Orioles also put Aneury Tavarez on waivers, which means that any team who claims him has to keep him in the big leagues since he was a Rule 5 pick. If nobody claims him, he can go back to the Boston organization and be sent to the minors. The Orioles of course are notorious for keeping Rule 5 guys over the course of a season, however it didn’t appear to be in the cards this year.

The Birds have one final game in Sarasota this afternoon against Detroit before they forally break camp. They’ll make a quick stop in Norfolk on Friday to play the Tides, however that’s weather permitting. They’re calling for rain in the Hampton Roads, VA area on Friday afternoon. The Orioles would be fine with not playing that game, as they’re just trying to get home without sustaining a serious injury at this point!

Detroit comes to town for the final Grapefruit League game this afternoon. Dylan Bundy will get the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Matt Boyd. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Gentry, Mancini, Asher, et al

The Baltimore Orioles made a trade yesterday with Philadelphia, acquiring minor league pitcher Alec Asher in return for a PTBNL or cash. Asher has a career record of 32-33 in the minor leagues, with a 3.39 ERA. He also made five starts for Philadelphia last year at the big league level, going 2-1 with an ERA of 2.28.

Asher comes with two minor league options. This is a move that adds some pitching depth to the organization, and the Orioles are thinking that Asher’s a guy who could help them out in the big league’s this year. And that’s a great thing about being traded to the Orioles; they use the entire 40-man roster unlike any other team in the majors. If you get traded here, there’s a good chance you’re going to have an opportunity to play in “the show.”

The Orioles also have some big decisions looming in terms of the Opening Day roster regarding several players. We know that Mike Wright won’t be there, as he was optioned to Norfolk before yesterday’s 5-4 win over Atlanta. However while nobody will make a commitment to this, it appears that Wade Miley will begin the season in the rotation after yesterday’s outing. Miley’s line: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

Again, nothing’s set in stone as of yet. However Miley looked pretty good yesterday in what shapes up as his penultimate spring outing. But with that said the only thing we know thus far is that Tillman will start the season on the DL, and that Gausman and Bundy are in the rotation. Anything else is technically still up in the air.

One guy who’s had a great camp has been Craig Gentry. He got some extended playing time due to the WBC, and he really took advantage of it. In my mind the Orioles have to find a way to bring Gentry north with them – if they’re going to bring the best 25 guys to Baltimore, that is. Gentry earned a spot on this team; hopefully he gets it.

Trey Mancini is another guy to watch. Similar to Gentry, he’s earned a spot on the roster. However you have to hope that the fact that he has options and is still young doesn’t work against him. The Orioles are very happy with the progress he’s made in terms of converting to the outfield in camp, and again in my mind he’s earned a spot on the roster.

The urgency of some of these decisions may be waned in the immediate future if the O’s decide to play a “roster game” or two. And quite frankly I would recommend that. As I’ve said several times previously, they don’t need a fifth starter until mid-April. In fact, they have three off days in the first seven days of the season. Could they even come north with just three starters?

Point being that a Mancini or a Gentry could start the season with the Orioles in the absence of the necessity of a full rotation. Obviously that means that they might get sent down at some point, and that’s certainly a shame. But there are worse places to be than on a big league roster on Opening Day.

The Orioles will play their final road game of the Grapefruit League season this afternoon in Port Charlotte against Tampa. Opening Day starter Kevin Gausman will get the nod on the bump today, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Erasmo Ramirez. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Nine-run fifth sinks Birds

The good news for the Baltimore Orioles are that the games still don’t count for now, and yesterday’s game didn’t include many pitchers who’s expected to be on the big league roster. Tyler Wilson still has a shot, however he looked fairly solid overall. WIlson’s line: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K. Whether Wilson ends up in the bullpen or starting at Triple-A is anyone’s guess.

Wilson gave up a home run in the third, which was a solo shot. Other than that, he looked great. The Birds would get that run back in the bottom of the inning when Hardy reached on an error, allowing a run to score. The O’s would proceed to manufacture four runs in the last of the fourth. And that’s a good sign; that they’re able to score without homers, that is.

So the O’s led 5-1 after a big inning, and it appeared that they were set to go in terms of winning the game. What you look for is a big inning and the Orioles got that, right?! Yes, but then the fifth inning came around…

…and that was Boston’s time to shine. A four-run inning is a “big inning.” A nine-run inning is gargantuan. Boston’s Leon came to bat twice in the inning, and homered both times. The second one was a grand slam, which obviously attests for four of the runs right there. But at the end of the day, you’d rather not be on the other end of an inning like that.

First off, sometimes things like that happen in baseball. So you have to start there; everyone’s going to have their moment in the sun so to speak. However as I said above, I suspect that most of the guys throwing at that stage of the game are going to be farmhands when all is said and done. Granted that might make you wonder who the O’s have in the pipeline, but odds are it’s not really a harbinger for what’s to come this year.

The good news for the Birds is that they battled back a bit, and ended up falling 11-9. Craig Gentry smacked a homer in that mix, and I have to believe that the O’s are going to find a way to carry him on the roster. He’s had a great spring, and he has speed on the base paths that the Birds desperately need. That’s just one of many tough decisions the O’s have to make this week.

The Orioles will head over to Orlando this afternoon for their first and only meeting with the Atlanta Braves this spring. Wade Miley gets the start, and he’ll be opposed by Atlanta’s Adonis Garcia. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Jayson Aquino makes his case

The Baltimore Orioles still might have a few decisions to make with regard to the final rotation spot – if Jayson Aquino has anything to say about it after yesterdays game be. Toronto. Aquino’s line: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1BB, 4 K. I’m still on record as saying that I believe the final rotation spot will go to Gabriel Ynoa. However Aquino made a strong case for himself yesterday.

And that’s what you want out of camp – strong competition. At the end of the day once a decision is made that’ll give whomever wins that spot a stronger base. And ultimately the team will be stronger as a result.

The O’s took an early 1-0 lead in the first when Chris Johnson singled home a run. Toronto would even things out in the last of the inning with an RBI-groundout. And tied the game remained until almost the bitter end. Cedric Mullins’ sac fly-RBI in the eighth gave the Birds the lead back at 2-1, which turned into a 2-1 victory.

Neither team appeared willing to show much in this game. And who can really blame them? They’ll open the season against one another one week from today at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Might as well save it for then!

The Orioles enter the final week of camp as the roster begins to come together. Their final Grapefruit League game is Thursday. Friday morning they’ll break camp and head to Norfolk to play the Tides, and then onto Baltimore.

Boston visits Ed Smith Stadium this afternoon. Tyler Wilson will be on the mound for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Eduardo Rodriguez. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Did Gabriel Ynoa earn the fifth starter role last night?

Gabriel Ynoa pitched five drama-free innings last night for the Baltimore Orioles. Ynoa’s line: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K. In the quest for a fifth starter, my personal opinion is that the Birds found one last night. They of course acquired Ynoa in a trade with the NY Mets this past off season.

Mind you, that’s just my personal opinion. Ynoa and Gausman are the only Oriole starters to make it through five innings this spring. Manager Buck Showalter seemed to feel that Ynoa’s outing was a success as well (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

He presented himself well. That was close to a normal night. A little wind blowing out. Not much. Mostly early. In the shadows the first couple of innings. A lot of things you keep in mind.

J.J. Hardy put the Orioles on the board in the last of the second with his first home run of the spring, a solo shot. Jonathan Schoop followed suit two innings later with his second of the spring, also a solo home run. The Orioles were off to the races, and they never trailed in this game.

Minnesota did briefly cut the lead in half on a solo homer by Field in the sixth, but Chris Davis had something to say about that in the bottom of the inning. He smacked a two-run home run, and the O’s opened the game up with a 4-1 lead. Later in the inning they were also able to net another run on a pass ball to run the tally to 5-1, and then 6-1 an inning later when Trumbo reached on an error.

Minnesota would get two back on a late two-run homer in the ninth, but the Birds closed things out with a 6-3 win before the home folks in Sarasota. As if there weren’t enough during the game, the fans at Ed Smith Stadium were treated to a fireworks night after the game. Fitting if you think about it!

But the story of the game was Gabriel Ynoa, and how solid he looked. I feel that it’s telling that previously he had only gone two plus innings in a game, and last night he went through five. If in fact the Orioles break camp with five starters (which they don’t have to do), I suspect that fifth starter would be Ynoa. Having said that, they wouldn’t need a fifth starter until about midway through April. So there’s that also.

The Orioles will head over to Dunedin this afternoon for a game with the Toronto Blue Jays. Jayson Aquino (another fifth starter candidate) will get the start today, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Francisco Liriano. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: One week before a northward turn

One week from now Buck Showalter and the Baltimore Orioles will have broken camp and be on their way back to Baltimore. Actually they’ll probably already be back in Baltimore. The spring is winding down, and a lot of people (myself included) are happy about that. Everyone looks forward to spring training every year because it signals the return of baseball. But once we get towards the end we’re happy it’s over and that the real stuff is about to begin.

The jury’s still out on who the fifth starter will be coming out of camp, or even if the Orioles would even need one. One would think that Mike Wright is in the discussion, although he gave up five runs last night in Ft. Myers as the Birds ended up tying Minnesota. But I suspect he’s still in the discussion.

The Orioles have days off scheduled on April 4th (day after Opening Day), April 6th, and April 10th. So the fact is that they won’t need a fifth starter right away. (Obviously if it rains on Monday April 3rd that will be the off day and the season will start on the 4th.) So it might well behoove them to carry an extra reliever or an extra field player right off the bat.

If they do decide to bring Wright north, I might recommend that they invent an injury an send him to the DL. That would allow him to remain back in Sarasota working out when the season starts. It also allows them to send him to the minors (depending upon when they backdate the DL listing) for a “rehab assignment.” Would that be right and fair? Probably not. But teams do it all the time. This isn’t to say that’s what they’re going to do, but it’s an option.

The O’s have three home games left in Sarasota, and three road games. I suspect that this week we’ll start to see some of the regulars hit the road as the team starts to come together to head north. Especially guys like Jones and Machado, who have been away from the team in the WBC.

One of those home games will be tonight when Minnesota hits Ed Smith Stadium. Gabriel Ynoa will be on the mound for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Hector Santiago. Game time is set for just after 6 PM.