Baltimore Orioles Articles
This weekend, the Orioles start a long, ten-game road trip, and their first stop is in Toronto, Canada, as they face the Blue Jays.
It's a three-game set up north, and with the Orioles now 3-3, plus mired in a three-game skid, they hope to get things back in order.
The Jays are 4-2 and are atop the American League East along with the Tampa Bay Rays. A small group of experts are pegging Toronto as a team that has an outside chance at the playoffs, but not likely.
However, they have a lot of young talent and are definitely on the rise within the division. It will be intriguing to watch them throughout the season and see where they end up.
Tonight, Tommy Hunter - who pitched very well in his first outing of the season - squares off against Brandon Morrow on the mound.
The Baltimore Orioles could easily be 5-1 or 4-2; however, the New York Yankees swept the Orioles this week. They were very much in game two and three of the series; alas, the Orioles didn't help out their situation at all in key moments. There was a key error made by Mark Reynolds in the second game of the series, and the Orioles had a few chances at the plate to take advantage, but could not for one reason or another.
Despite the negatives, the pitching - especially, the starting corps, sans Brian Matusz's start - at least from what we have seen has been very strong. That's a very positive sign. Then again, the season is only a week old. There are 156 games to go, but if the Orioles can be consistent in all facets of the game, the 2012 season could be a marked improvement from what we've in the past.
More importnatly, they have been competitive -- so far.
As I said a few days ago, the Orioles are better than last year and have quality players on the roster now; however, mediocre teams cannot give good teams umpteen chances to come back. The margin for error with the Orioles is very thin, and within the American League East, you cannot give your rivals second chances at all in games.
no commentsIt looks like the Orioles have signed another pitcher with extensive major league experience to a minor league deal. They s
igned Joel Pineiro yesterday...
From the Orioles.com: The Orioles signed right-hander Joel Pineiro to a Minor League deal on Wednesday, in a continuing effort to add depth to the organization.
The 33-year-old Pineiro, who arrived at Baltimore's Minor League complex in Sarasota, Fla., on Wednesday, was signed by the Phillies in January but released a few days into Spring Training, and the Orioles could use him as a starter or potentially as a long man in the bullpen.
He has a career 104-93 record with a 4.41 ERA. The hurler has pitched for the Mariners, Cardinals, Angels, & Red Sox.
It's certainly worth taking a gamble on Pineiro, as he's another veteran arm who can provide depth within the Orioles organization, and could be plugged into a starter or relief role with the big league squad.
no comments
It would be preposterous to bring Dylan Bundy to the majors right now
; however, based on what he did for the Delmarva Shorebirds last night, it might be hard to quiet his buzz.
From the Baltimore Sun: Top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy was dominant again Wednesday night in his second pro start for the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds. He pitched three perfect innings and struck out six, including the last five batters he faced.
His line against Kannapolis was identical to his first regular-season performance. He has now faced 18 batters and struck out 12 of them, while not allowing a hit or walk.
No one is surprised that he is overmatching Single-A hitters, but it remains to be seen how long the Orioles keep him at Delmarva. If he continues to be unhittable, he'll probably be in Frederick before the end of the month.
As silly as it might sound, could Dylan Bundy be the best pitcher in the Oriole organization. It's hard to say for sure.
Bundy may not be in the majors this year: however, the hurler might get some consideration for a roster spot assuming that he continues to dominate in the minors.
no commentsThe New York Yankees have always proven to be a pain-in-the-you-know-what for the Baltimore Orioles over the years, and last night was no exception.
For the second consecutive game, both teams went into extra innings; however, once again, the Yankees emerged victorious as they defeated the Orioles, 6-4, in ten innings.
After starting 3-0, Baltimore is now 3-3. We as fans can feel better that the games have not been blowouts; however, at this point – are the Orioles what they are?
So far, I think the Orioles are better than last year, but mediocre teams cannot give good teams umpteen chances to come back. In this series against the Yankees, they have done it time and time again.
In order to become a good baseball team, the Orioles need to secure a lead and close out a game. That’s the bottom line.
Of course, the Orioles had a golden chance to win in the 9th inning as Adam Jones – who had a chance to a hero in the clutch – struck out with the bases loaded against reliever Rafael Soriano. That’s fine and well, and there’s no shame in striking out for Jones, but the Orioles have to capitalize on that situation.
Kevin Gregg – who got booed during the Opening Day pre-game ceremony – didn’t help out his public image. I feel for the guy, but last night he did not get the job done. Granted, he pitched two innings of relief, but got in trouble in the top of the tenth as he allowed a runner to reach base and gave up a devastating home run to Nick Swisher. It's not like he will be looking for oilfield jobs, but he has been terrible with the Orioles.
In the bottom of the tenth, it was game, set, match for the Orioles as Mariano Rivera put them away and earned his second save of this season, and his 605th of his career.
Starter Jake Arrieta who had a dazzling Opening Day debut, pitched 6 2/3 innings; however, didn’t get the decision. He started the game on a rocky note, giving up a lead-off double to Derek Jeter, and then Curtis Granderson hit a two-run homer to give the New Yorkers an early 2-0 lead.
Arrieta left in the seventh inning, with the Orioles up 4-3; however, Luis Ayala came into the game in relief of Arrieta and gave up a game tying double to Curtis Granderson.
Overall, Arrieta has pitched well and looks like a leader on Baltimore’s staff. He is certainly pitching with a lot more consistency and focus this year, in comparison to what I’ve seen in the past.
Arrieta has only had two starts, granted; however, I think this is going to be a watershed season for him. Meanwhile, big C.C. Sabathia went six innings and gave up four runs.
Mark Reynolds and Robert Andino each plated in two runs.
J.J. Hardy, Matt Wieters – who is red hot and batting .364 as of today – and Ronny Paulino each had two hits.
It’s too bad that the Baltimore lost two close games this week against the rival New Yorkers, but they just have to keep grinding it out.
At least we all can take solace that the Orioles have not been blown out of as of yet and have been competitive this week.
They have a tough customer with the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend, as they embark on a long ten-game road trip.
no commentsFrom the Baltimore Orioles...
***
The Orioles today revealed new additions to CamdenYards20.com, the online destination for everything related to Oriole Park at Camden Yards and its 20th anniversary season. New features include an Interactive Timeline, a fan photo gallery called My Yard, and special 1992 throwback pricing for select games in the Eutaw Street Bleachers.
The Interactive Timeline features a look back at Oriole Park's 20 years of milestones, complete with videos and photos to chronicle the construction of Camden Yards through Game 162 of last season. The timeline will continue to be updated for fans to view new key moments as they occur.
My Yard is a photo gallery for fans to upload and share their own Camden Yards memories. Fans are encouraged to upload photos of their friends, family and themselves at the ballpark.
For six specially selected games from April to September, the Orioles will also be offering a limited number of Eutaw Street Bleacher seats for the 1992 price of $4.00. The selected dates are April 27 vs. Oakland, May 7 vs. Texas, July 24 vs. Tampa Bay, August 9 vs. Kansas City, August 27 vs. the White Sox and September 12 vs. Tampa Bay. Fans must purchase online at CamdenYards20.com to take advantage of this limited time offer.
Orioles fans are encouraged to continue to use the hashtag #CamdenYards20 throughout the season to talk about the 20th anniversary of the ballpark on Twitter. CamdenYards20.com aggregates all of the tweets and conversations and displays them on the front page.
Last night, the Baltimore Orioles played their longest game of the season – 12 innings – and lost to the New York Yankees, 5-4.
The Orioles have lost two in a row. They blew opportunity after opportunity on Tuesday and the Yankees won the game in the top of the eleventh as pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez drilled a ground-rule double to right off reliever Pedro Strop – who took the loss.
Strop allowed Cano to reach base and advance to second off a groundout by Alex Rodriguez before Ibanez’s fatal blow.
Former Oriole Clay Rapada earned the victory, and Mariano Rivera earned the save, the first of the season and the 604th of his long career. Rivera was flat-out dominant, and even at his advanced age, the Orioles seemingly had little chance once he came in.
Well, the big story of the night was the debut of Wei-Yin Chen. In his major league debut, Chen held his own against the Yankees until the sixth inning. Overall, he gave up four runs – two earned – in 5 2/3 innings, struck out six and walked one. He does not light up the radar gun, but used a mix of off-speed stuff and disrupting the batter’s timing to get outs.
Chen shows you the velocity on your pitches isn’t everything – but location is.
He gave up a leadoff homer to Derek Jeter in first inning and struggled in the frame, but kept the Yankees at bay for much of his start.
The trouble for Chen came in the sixth inning as the veteran New York lineup made things difficult. Down 4-1 at the time, they scored three runs in the frame as they loaded the bases and Andruw Jones fly-out and a costly Mark Reynolds at third error tied the game.
Matt Lindstrom came into the game and stopped any more damage, but the shaky sixth inning combined with Reynolds’ gaffe perhaps cost Baltimore on the night. New York nearly scored another run in the frame, but J.J. Hardy nailed Nick Swisher at home to end the threat.
The Orioles had the upper hand early though, as Yankee starter Freddy Garcia was just awful. He uncorked five wild pitches – quite unusual for a pitcher who depends on location and finesse – and gave up a solo homer to J.J. Hardy in the first; furthermore, he allowed runs to score on wild pitches in the first and fifth innings.
The bottom for the Orioles is this: if they are to beat teams like the Yankees – ok, anyone – they need to cut down on the mistakes, take advantage of opportunities and finish off opponents. The sixth inning was key, but the Orioles also had scoring opportunities in the ninth, but blew it; however, again, Reynolds error was a key moment in the game.
Not to harp on Reynolds, but his fielding has been suspect since the beginning of last season. Yesterday’s game didn’t dissuade critics at all.
If his problems keep continuing at the hot corner, the team might need to work on run prevention at that position and get someone better.
no commentsFrom the Baltimore Orioles...
***
Orioles announce AT&T Fans' Choice Bobblehead details, five players selected
The Orioles today announced the voting procedures and players selected for the AT&T Fans’ Choice Bobblehead promotion. For the first time in Orioles history, fans will be able to select the player they want to be immortalized in a bobblehead giveaway, scheduled to be distributed during Fan Appreciation Weekend on Saturday, September 29 to the first 20,000 fans age 15 and over.
Fans can vote for any of five players selected by the Orioles who have not had a bobblehead before: third baseman MARK REYNOLDS, shortstop J.J. HARDY, RHP TOMMY HUNTER, RHP JAKE ARRIETA or second baseman ROBERT ANDINO.
Voting begins today and fans can vote three ways throughout the promotion. The first is through unlimited mobile voting by texting 1 for Reynolds, 2 for Hardy, 3 for Hunter, 4 for Arrieta, or 5 for Andino to 31826. Texting is available on all mobile carriers and is subject to standard text message rates.
The second way fans can vote is on the Orioles website at www.orioles.com/bobblehead. The third and final voting method can be found on the Orioles Facebook page at www.facebook.com/orioles. The vote will conclude on Thursday, May 31.
Last night, the Baltimore Orioles dropped their first game of the young season, losing to the New York Yankees, 6-2 at Camden Yards.
For Brian Matusz, who started his first game of the 2012 campaign after a year of struggles, well … struggled on Monday night.
He only lasted four innings, and threw 90+ plus pitches during that time frame. Not good. He seemed to be doing fine through the first three frames, as he only gave up a run; however, in the fourth, the Yankees plated in three runs and Matusz labored through the frame. He was pulled after that. However, he threw with some improved velocity – in the low 90’s – and got some help from his defense, but the New Yorkers were too much.
Overall, Matusz is certainly improved and had some good moments yesterday, but a veteran-filled New York lineup worked him and eventually waited for their pitches and jumped on him. He didn’t help his cause with four walks, and against a team like the Yankees, that’s deadly.
Matusz will probably get a few more starts to figure himself out; however, if he does not, his rope may be short, and with a lot of pitching depth in the organization, he might be sent back to Norfolk.
The bullpen was shaky thereafter, as Darren O’Day and Troy Patton each gave up runs; however, Kevin Gregg and Pedro Strop each kept the Yankees from scoring anymore.
For the Orioles, Matt Wieters hit his second homer of the year – a solo shot in the second inning off Yankee Starter Ivan Nova. Nova was solid, earning the win and giving up two runs in seven innings, although the Orioles got ten hits off of him.
As well, Wieters was an impressive for 4-for-4 on the night, raising his batting average to .385.
Chris Davis and Robert Andino each had two hits.
The Yankees had only six hits on the night; however, Derek Jeter – who I thought was close to be being done a few seasons ago – also had four hits and drove in a run. No matter what you think of him, he’s got intangibles and his inside-out swing is something to behold.
Tonight Wei-Yin Chen makes his major league and Oriole debut on the mound against battle-tested veteran Freddy Garcia.
Finally, you have to love Robert Andino mixing it up with Russell Martin. It’s pretty much about nothing and somewhat minor, but at least the man cares.
He may not be an All-Star, but you have to love his swagger, grit, hustle, and the ability at times to come through in the clutch. The man will always live in Orioles folklore for what he did last year in game 162 and his thoughts on the Boston Red Sox…
no comments
Tonight at Camden Yards, the Evil Empire – aka, the New York Yankees – come into town for a three game series.
Well, the Yankees are winless on the season and after being outplayed by the Tampa Bay Rays, they’ll be hoping for a reprieve in Baltimore.
However, the Orioles have been playing very well – having earned a series sweep over Minnesota.
In an earlier post James did a mini-preview of tonight’s game, but the story will definitely center on southpaw Brian Matusz.
We all know about his struggles from last year and the historic mark he sent. There’s no need to repeat it here.
Then again, Matusz pitched well down in Florida and it looked like that he exorcised the demons from 2011. He’ll face a challenge tonight against the Yankees and their powerful, potent, and veteran-filled lineup.
As it is, if Matusz can go five-plus innings and contain the Bronx Bombers, then it is mission accomplished for him.
The pitching has been phenomenal the first three games, and if Matusz can keep it up – that would be something.
The Birds will only improve in the standings if the pitching can hold itself together, and Matusz – no matter what you think of him – is a key to the future of baseball in Baltimore.
I suspect he will be much better off in 2012 than he was last year.
I’d love to go to the game tonight, but I have a prior engagement involving fake entertainment with men in tights who fight in staged matches down in Washington, D.C.
Wednesday night will feature the debut of Wei-Yin Chen in a Orioles uniform – and in the majors.
Finally, pretty much every game should be available on TV if you want to watch the Orioles via MASN. You can get the station on various providers such as Comcast, Cox Cable and DirecTV.
However, if you're looking for great value when it comes to satellite, check out DX3. DX3 Direct TV provides the best in satellite TV coverage and provides the best value for your buck. Why pay more?
The Orioles swept the Twins and emotions are running high. They swept the Twins by way of three fantastic starting pitching performances: 22IP/ 3R/ 1ER/ 10H/ 12K/ 6BB. For a team that many national writers expect to lose 100 games and have one of the worst pitching staffs in recent baseball history - that is a very good start. Yet, the refrain I am hearing from too many people is: "yeah great, but it was the Twins and they aren't supposed to be good this year." Well neither are the Orioles right?
I thought the Orioles' best case scenario was 69 wins? I thought that the rotation would be worse then last year's because we traded away Guthrie? If those opinions were true then the Orioles should be celebrating every series win like it's VJ Day. If this team is supposed to be one of the absolute worst teams in baseball then the Twins should not be discounted as some are.
Listen, 3-0 is a great start no matter how you slice it. Sweeping a MLB team in a three-game set is hard enough no matter who you are playing and the Orioles deserve credit for a newly flawless weekend. I understand that no one wants to get too excited and no one should, but let's not discount a great weekend too much.
Tonight the Yankees come into town licking their wounds after being on the wrong-end of a three-game sweep at the hands of the Rays. Brian Matusz will be going up against 2011 wunderkind Ivan Nova, who is trying to forget a fairly underwhelming spring. Matusz has his first big test of 2012 trying to keep the starting pitching mojo working against the older, but still vaunted Yankee lineup.
Other observations from opening weekend:
-Good God the Red Sox bullpen is in trouble. Their inability to hold a lead this weekend has to be troubling. Papelbon is not walking through that door anymore and Melancon and Aceves are nowhere near the intimidating force that Papelbon brought to the mound. It is still early, and they were playing a completely stacked Detroit Tigers lineup but that pen needs to be stabilized and quickly.
-The Rays continue to do what they do, just enough to win. Carlos Pena showed he is not dead yet with a big weekend and a team that looked to be offensively challenged hanging 18 runs on the Yankees. (third in the AL behind the Tigers and, surprisingly, the Mariners)
-The Jays have looked strong in the early going winning those two marathons in Cleveland.
-The Oroles have only allowed five runs so far this season - the lowest total in baseball.
-Ozzie Guillen may not last if the Marlins don't get on a win-streak. You can not compliment Fidel Castro when your ballpark is in the center of Little Havana. You simply can't do it. There are a lot of very influential former Cuban refugees that do not take kindly to people complimenting the brutal dictator that chased their families away. Miami may be the only city in the world you can't make that comment, and he made it. He is in trouble.
-Yoenis Cespedes has three homers in his first 15 ABs in the majors. He also has seven Ks in his first 15 ABs. Which is more likely to keep trending as the season continues?
-Every member of the Orioles' "core" has gone deep thus far. Markakis, Wieters, Jones and Hardy. That is very good to see all of these keys to the offense getting off to good starts.
I hate the NFL draft. It is baseball season, let it be baseball season. All drafts are boring to watch outside of the first round - all of them.
no comments
