Baltimore Orioles still searching for a pitching coach

The Baltimore Orioles are going into the first part of the final weekend before Thanksgiving still in search of a pitching coach. According to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports, there’s a shot that an announcement could be made on a hiring before the Warehouse closes for the holiday. In case you’ve forgotten from past years, Thanksgiving week is a dead period for MLB.

In the article I linked above, Kubatko mentions how it’s a fine line that teams have to walk because you don’t want to make a rash decision, but you also don’t want to lose a candidate to another team. And that’s a sentiment with which I agree entirely. The Orioles aren’t the only franchise that needs a pitching coach, and there are only so many qualified candidates. The longer you wait the more you risk.

And we can’t understate how important of a decision that this is for the Orioles. The starting rotation is so precarious at times, and it’s tough to know which version of it is going to show up each game. So they really need to ensure that they get this hire right.

My personal opinion is that they need someone who’s going to strike a balance between being firm and not accepting excuses, and being a shepherd of sorts. Time will tell who that person ends up being. But according to the Orioles, that decision hasn’t quite been made yet.

Baltimore Orioles: Matt Wieters to New York?

With Matt Wieters being a free agent, the Baltimore Orioles need to be aware of who’s in need of a catcher. Their American League East rival, the New York Yankees, made a move yesterday that could impact the Orioles and Wieters. They traded catcher Brian McCann to Houston for two promising young pitching prospects.

McCann had apparently been on Houston’s radar for some time, and he’s a player that they had really wanted to add to their mix. For sure, he’ll provide some veteran leadership to a young team who seems to be up and coming. However while my personal opinion is that they gave up too much to get him, that seems to be how New York flies. So now they have a hole at catcher.

So my point would be why would they not be interested in Wieters? Since the likes of Wieters, Machado, and even Schoop have broken into the bigs with the Orioles, the muted running joke has been that at some point they’d be in pinstripes. (The same is true with Washington’s Harper down the pike.) So again, I’m not sure why they wouldn’t be interested in Wieters, but assuming they are in some manner they now have a golden opportunity to get him.

And given the fact that the market for catchers isn’t as good as it could be, Wieters is looking to get decent coin for his services. So what exactly can the Orioles do? The fact is that the Birds have about as much of a shot as anyone else at landing their now former catcher. It all depends on whether or not they’re willing to spend the cash to keep him.

In general, I think they’re fairly set at catcher with Joseph and Pena. But while there’s no gaurante that Wieters ends up in the Bronx right now, you have to imagine that he’s on their radar. And here’s the kicker; he doesn’t come at a price more than his price in a sense. This is exactly why the Orioles should have made him a qualifying offer, because now any team can sign him without surrendering a draft choice.

New York is in the rare spot of rebuilding and being able to compete at the same time. So if they had interest in Wieters, are we to believe that surrendering a precious first round pick might not give them some pause? If the goal is to continue building for the future, that pick would in theory be of supreme importance. That’s not something with which they need to be worried now.

Ultimately, whether he ends up in the Bronx or not remains to be seen. But I don’t think he’ll be back at Camden Yards, except as a visitor at some point. And while the Orioles are a better team with Matt Wieters than they are without him, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. They’re keeping some extra cash stashed away for the likes of Manny and Schoop at some point down the road. These decisions aren’t easy sometimes, however they have to be made.

Baltimore Orioles add a stop in Norfolk

The Baltimore Orioles announced yesterday that they’re extending their spring training schedule by one game. This final game won’t count towards “Grapefruit League standings” of course, however the Birds have scheduled what to me amounts to a glorified intersquad scrimmage. On their way up to Baltimore after breaking camp, they’ll stop at Harbor Park in Norfolk, VA to face their triple-A affiliate Norfolk Tides.

Again, to me this is similar to an intersquad scrimmage, as it’s the big league team against the triple-A team. The game will be on Friday, March 31st with first pitch slated for 3 PM. How much a role it will play in final cuts is unclear, however needless to say it’s a game that’s now on the schedule. Tickets will go onsale at 10 AM on March 4th at norfolktides.com.

Bearing that in mind, I would highly recommend that any Orioles fan consider taking a trip and going to this game. First off, Hampton Roads, VA is a really cool and really nice area. My sister went to school in nearby Newport News, and I always enjoyed going down to visit when she was down there in college.Harbor Park is also a great ballpark in which to watch a game, with the James River passing directly behind the right field grandstand.

In that sense the Orioles uniformly have great facilities in their organization. We know the merits of Oriole Park at Camden Yards and Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. However at each stage in the organization Orioles players find themsevlves playing in great facilities such as Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick, Prince Georges County Stadium in Bowie, and Harbor Park in Norfolk.

The O’s have played their triple-A team on two other occasions at Harbor Park. They also hosted the Washington Nationals in Grapefruit League action at the facility twice, most recently in 2009. And to piggyback on what I said above, it you happen to frequent Virginia Beach in the summer, make a point at stopping in Norfolk for a game. According to my sister, the Tides do promotions such as Turn Back the clock Night, whereby hot dogs are sold for $.25. I mean, can you really beat that?!

Baltimore Orioles: Buck Showalter third in Manager of the Year voting

Baltimore Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter finished third in the manager of the year voting in the American League. He finished behind Texas’ Jeff Banister, and Cleveland’s Terry Francona. Francona ended up taking the award home.

For the record, these awards are voted on prior to the post season, so the fact that Cleveland made it to the World Series wasn’t taken into account. The Orioles were picked to finish last by many pundits this past year, and with 89 wins they obviously smashed that prediction.

So did Showalter get screwed out of the award? I would say no in a sense, as Francona was just as deserving. I might argue that he should have placed ahead of Banister, however at the end of the day it really only matters who finishes first. And ultimately Showalter isn’t a guy who cares too much about accolades for himself.

However consider this for just a moment; as the season wound down and the Orioles remained in the race, the fact that they were picked by many to finish last became a popular point of discussion. Buck Showalter always brushed that off, saying that they never thought of themselves as a last place team, and they always knew they were better than that. Again, this might register for someone who cares about these awards, which Showalter does not…

…but in saying that they always knew they could be competitive, did he kind of talk his way out of an award like this? Most people, myself included, love Showalter’s aw shucks type of folksy talk. However it’s entirely possible that voterson the committee hear that at various points along the way and that perhaps it registers with them. If they really weren’t a surprise team in the race, how good of a job did Buck really do?

That may be a bit of an unfair way of putting it. Probably it’s better stated to say that Buck may have done his normal run-of-the-mill good job. As Showalter himself says, these awards usually go to the manager of a team that comes out of nowhere and surprises people. In reality it’s actually a team award, because it involves the players playing for the manager and so forth. And there’s been nobody in Baltimore who hasn’t wanted to play for Buck since he’s joined the organization.

Ultimately, Showalter doesn’t really care about these awars. He’d probably say that it’s an honor to be considered at all – and he’d be right. But I guarantee you that he’s not losing sleep over it now. He’s focusing on 2017.

Baltimore Orioles: Mark Trumbo rejects Birds’ qualifying offer

In a move that wasn’t unexpected, Mark Trumbo rejected the Baltimore Orioles’ qualifying offer. Trumbo is turning down a guaranteed $17.2 million contract for one year because both he and his agent feel that he can get a longer term deal on the open market. And who can really blame him.

As I said, this wasn’t unexpected. The Orioles would like to keep Trumbo, and in a rare example of a player showing a bit of his had Trumbo said at the end of the season that he’d like to stay. Obviously he doesn’t want to stay long enough to take the qualifying offer. And again, nobody can really blame him.

The Orioles of course will get a compensatory draft pick from whichever team signs Trumbo, assuming that it isn’t them. However here’s a word of caution on that for you; don’t assume it’s a first round pick. In general, yes it will be a first round pick. However the rule is that the draft pick is the signing team’s best possible pick.

So let’s say for example that Trumbo happens to sign with a team that’s already signed someone else as a free agent who had a qualifying offer tied to them. That team would have already surrendered their first round pick for the first free agent, meaning that Trumbo would cost them their second round pick as a compensatory pick to the O’s.

So that’s something that Dan Duquette needs to monitor. It’s not necessarily a huge point per se, however it goes without saying that you’d rather have an extra first rounder than second rounder. So if a couple of free agents are already gone and the same teams are sniffing around Trumbo, that might make the Orioles consider offering a contract.

At the end of the day, the expectation is that Trumbo will be elsewhere in 2017. And that’s not necessariy a knock on the Orioles in terms of not being willing to spend the money. Funds aren’t unlimited, and it’s unclear if Trumbo can duplicate what he did this year moving forward.

Furthermore, would Orioles fans want Trumbo back if that made it more difficult to keep the likes of Machado and Schoop in the future? All of these contracts add up, and the fact is that it’s fair to say that the team can’t keep and pay everyone. That aside, Trumbo is now officially a free agent – as if he wasn’t before. Teams now know that there’s an additional price of a draft choice attached to him. So in theory, the Orioles won’t be left out in the cold if he walks.

Baltimore Orioles: Is Dan Duquette tough to get along with?

With so many changes having already come down the pike for the Baltimore Orioles, there’s a question that needs to be asked about Dan Duquette. Is he tough – maybe too tough – to get along with? Why would I be asking that about Duquette and not Showalter?

And the answer to that second question is because Duquette’s the one who hands out the contracts. It seems that a lot of guys are choosing to walk away for whatever the reason may be. Dom Chiti said that Duquette never returned his calls (Duquette disputed this fact). Rick Peterson bizzarrely seemed to be bounced from the organization. Among others.

Looking specifically at Chiti for a moment, he’s the type of guy that was never afraid of expressing his views on where the organization was going and so forth. So if he felt Duquette was erring in judgement, he would say so. So again given that, is Duquette possibly too tough to get along with?

It’s hard to say for sure what goes on behind closed doors. Needless to say, Duquette’s record speaks for itself – he’s had the Orioles in the playoffs three years out of five. He’s gotten very good at finding diamonds in the rough for the Orioles, and that’s to his credit. Many detracts will also point to the likes of Jimenez and Gallardo as quite the opposite. However mind you that not one expeert/writer (myself included) thought those were bad moves at the time.

However the fact is that we now live in a world where people are increasingly wary of working for someone who’s thought of as being a “pill.” And that may not necessarily be a bad thing per se. Nobody wants to take on additional struggles in their life. However I would submit that the character of one’s boss is probably weighed more heavily now than ever in the past in deciding whether to take a job or stay at one.

If in fact Duequette himself if an issue, undoubtedly he probably knows that he has this reputation. And if that’s the case, he might want to soften up just a bit. Granted I recognize that there’s an incredible amount of pressure in all of these jobs to succeed and succeed now. But if good people refuse to come to your organization, it’s tough to do that. Worse yet, if you continually lose good people from your organization, things become all the more difficult in the immediacy of today.

Baltimore Orioles lose Rick Peterson as Director of Pitching Development

The Baltimore Orioles will not have the services of Rick Peterson as their Director of Pitching Development moving forward. Peterson has worked behind the scenes with Oriole minor leaguers (and a few big league guys) since joining the organization in 2012. And speaking for myself, I think that the results have been fairly decent.

Some would take issue with that assessment, and perhaps they have a valid point. The Orioles’ starting pitching (at the major league level) is inconsistent for the most part. However compared to what it was prior to 2012, I would submit that it’s been pretty good. And to me, that’s the context into which anything needs to be put.

Vice-President of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette confirmed this news yesterday (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

I appreciate Rick Peterson’s effort and good work for five years to develop pitching at all levels and wish him well. Rick has a solid track record helping pitchers and is well-respected throughout baseball.

I’m not exactly sure what to make of that statement, as it somehow comes off in the form of someone saying the right things. I know what you’re thinking – gee Domenic, are you saying that there’s more than meets the eye? The fact is that there generally is more than meets the eye.

Running an operation such as a major league baseball team and bringing everything together isn’t easy. So when you look at how things were run prior to Andy MacPhail’s arrival and then how things have been since (up to and including Duquette’s stewardship of the franchise), there’s no question that things are better. However needless to say, the changes on the pitching side of things of late are of interest…

…and that’s something into which we’ll delve perhaps this week. But right now the big news is that Rick Peterson is out. You have to wonder what’s next for him, as you may recall that Boston was interested in him as a pitching coach a few years back. My personal opinion is that he’s very good at bringing out the best in pitchers, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he ends up in a dugout somewhere.

Time will tell, however for the time being he’s out of the Orioles’ organization. Honestly, I’m not sure why he isn’t being considered for the Orioles’ vacant pitching coach job, but that’s another story for another day. For the time being he’s gone.

Baltimore Orioles’ Mark Trumbo wins AL Comeback Player of the Year award

Mark Trumbo of the Baltimore Orioles has won the 2016 Player’s Choice Award for the American League Comeback Player of the Year. In leading the league with 47 homers, this was all but pre-determined. Trumbo of course has a one-year $17.2 million dollar qualifying offer on the table from the Orioles.

Trumbo rebounded from a 2015 season in which he smacked only 22 homers. He also improved year-over-year by RBI as opposed to 64 in 2015. Trumbo was elected to the all-star game for the second time in his career in 2016 as well.

This of course makes it all the more likely that Trumbo will be a hot commodity on the free agent market this winter. There are rumors that the Orioles are considering a multi-year deal for Trumbo, however I admittedly think that would be a mistake – if in fact it’s being considered. Trumbo might be a big force for another year or two, however whether he’d be any more than a name after that would remain to be seen.

Anything’s possible, I suppose. However assuming Trumbo walks (and that’s only an assumption), the O’s would have to find a way to replace his production in the lineup. And that would be a daunting task. But it could also make the team more productive, if in fact they’re forced to opt for on-base percentage more so than home runs. But then again, home runs is how games are won in the AL East.

The Orioles of course fleeced Seattle in trading a minor league catcher for Trumbo last off season. Given his down 2015, it wasn’t exactly a trade that made huge waves around the league. Trumbo was a name for sure, but he was thought to be past his prime. And it’s important to put it the way I did in that the Orioles “fleeced” Seattle in that trade…

…nothing against Seattle of course. Although their trades with the Orioles do have a historical knack for backfiring on them. However while many fans are complaining about the number of former Orioles that are currently World Series Champions in Chicago, there have been plenty of trades of late in which the Orioles have ruled the roost.

While it’s regrettable that Arrieta thrived after leaving the Orioles, how do you think Seattle feels about losing Trumbo? In that case they very well may have made it over the hump and into the post season had they had his services. How do you think Texas feels about having lost Davis?

The point is that some trades work out and others don’t – it’s the nature of the business. But Mark Trumbo winning comeback player of the year validates this one for the Birds, just in case it needed anymore validation.

Baltimore Orioles: The case for loyalty

On Sunday I wrote about fickle fans and how they’re becoming more and more commonplace – in the Baltimore Orioles’ fan base and elsewhere. And I think I made myself clear in that I firmly disagree with the idea of fan loyalty being somewhat conditional or tied to winning. Anyone who’s read me for some time knows that, incidentally.

Fan loyalty is important – and that’s a blanket statement. But this isn’t just some mouthpiece of the Orioles saying that. There are two reasons for why fan loyalty is important. Yes, the first one admittedly is an emotional one. As I’ve said previously, most people pick their teams when they’re children. So…are people that fickle now to where they’re willing to turn their backs on perhaps their earliest memories?

To me, part of the draw of rooting for a team is the time you spent on your mother’s sofa watching the games growing up, or however you followed the games. That’s why I get frustrated when I hear about fans of any franchise saying they’re switching allegiances. To me, that’s forsaking all of that time spent as a youngster.

However the second reason for fan loyalty is more logical. If fans across the board get frustrated with a team because they aren’t going in the direction that people seem to think is correct to the point that they find a new team en masse, who does that serve? If people are basically going to start supporting someone else both emotionally and financially, doesn’t that in effect create a situation whereby only a few teams are financially stable and able to compete?

Now bearing all of this in mind, there’s also a new kind of fan in a sense: one who’s geographically and thus perpetually up for grabs. I know a few people like this myself; some people who seem to relocate for work reasons every few years seemingly relocate their fan loyalties as well. So if they live in Baltimore at that given time, they root for the Orioles and Ravens. If they pick up shop and move to Chicago, they might start supporting the Bears and the Cubs.

Honestly, while I still do believe in loyalty in perpetuity, this is a bit more explainable than switching because you think your original team is going in the wrong direction. This is the act of someone moving to a new community and trying to fit in right away. Speaking for myself I still think it would make more sense to bring your teams with you given the fact that it’s a link to the old hometown, but as I said I know a few people who fall into this category.

I suppose my main point in bringing any of this up is that fandom should be through thick and thin. Yes the Orioles fell on some incredibly hard times from 1998-2011. But if you were a true fan to begin with, you stayed with them and never wavered. But that’s just my view. The opposing one says that sports are supposed to make you feel good, so if your first team doesn’t work out find one that makes you happy. But these are the times in which we live.

 

Baltimore Orioles: Matt Wieters not given a qualifying offer

Yesterday was perhaps the first busy day of the off season for the Baltimore Orioles. Catcher Matt Wieters was not given a qualifying offer for 2017. This means that he’s truly a free agent in the sense that he’s not a protected free agent – to use NFL terminology.

In essence, Wieters is now free to sign with any other team, and they won’t have to give up a draft choice to the Orioles. My personal opinion is that this is a mistake on the Orioles’ part. Are they worried that Wieters would once again accept the qualifying offer, putting them on the hook for a $17.2 million contract for next year? I don’t think that he was going to accept it anyways, so in my mind the Orioles just gave away a draft pick. With that said, they have as good a shot as anyone to sign him.

The Birds did make a qualifying offer to Mark Trumbo, and he has until November 14th to accept it or turn it down. Most of the time players turn it down and test the waters in free agency. But of course this means that wherever Trumbo signs that team will have to forfeit their top draft pick to the Orioles for 2017. That is of course unless the team that signs him is the Orioles.

Again, this is why I don’t understand why the Birds aren’t giving Wieters a qualifying offer. What do they really have to lose? He’s expected to be the top catcher on the market this year, although obviously there’s always the chance that he stays in Baltimore. If the Orioles are thinking there’s a good shot at that happening, perhaps that’s why they didn’t make the offer. But they also did that with Markakis a couple of years ago – and he walked.

In other news, Buck Showalter is a finalist for the Manager of the Year award, however he wasn’t nearly as happy about that as he was angry about an apparent snub. Closer Zach Britton was not named a finalist in the Cy Young voting. Instead, three starters were named finalists. And Showalter didn’t hide his feelings about the matter (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

That’s a real poor reflection on the people who are evaluating him. God bless the three guys in front of him. They were doing it every fifth day and he’s doing it every day. I’m not so sure any of those guys could do what Zach does.

This guy had maybe the best year in the history of relief pitching. He should have finished in the top three in MVP, OK? He should. There’s nobody in baseball who’s more valuable to their team than Zach Britton is to the Orioles.

Now I’ve made my opinion clear in another incarnation of this column over time – I don’t think that relief pitchers should be Cy Young award winners. I don’t think you can compare what someone does over one inning to a starter who’s doing this for between 5-9 innings every fifth day. However let’s also keep in mind that Britton saved 47 games this year and didn’t blow one. Over 67 innings of work, he posted a 0.54 ERA. So do we not think he’s at least worthy of consideration?

Incidentally, that quote above is partially why so many players love Buck Showalter. The guy takes up for his team and then some. It would have been simple just to say that the voters made their decision and so forth. But he kind of went the extra mile on this one. But that’s how he’s consistently been – a manager who looks out for his team and his players.

Going back to Trumbo for just a moment in closing, I have serious doubts as to whether he remains an Oriole. But he did express an intent to stay remain with the Orioles towards the end of the season. However whether he’s willing to accept what the Orioles offer is another story. And that’s not to say that the Orioles are trying to low ball him; they just recognize that they’ll need that money more for the likes of Machado and Schoop.