Entries Listing
By James Baker, July 28, 2011 11:22 PM
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Last night Brad Bergesen struggled - again. Pitching three terrible innings, giving up six runs and effectively putting the Orioles out of it before they even had a chance to be in it. The Orioles bullpen did not help either. All in all it was just another all-too-familiar sight for Orioles fans. This weekend, the Orioles will play four games in three days against the
By Pete Kerzel, July 28, 2011 9:05 AM
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Any way you slice it, bullying isn't welcome - in school, on teams, in the workplace, in life. The Orioles have released an 80-second anti-bullying public service announcement in support of the It Gets Better Project and The Trevor Project. O's pitchers Jake Arrieta, Jason Berken, Zach Britton, Michael Gonzalez and Kevin Gregg appear in the PSA, delivering encouragement to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered
By Heath Bintliff, July 27, 2011 8:59 PM
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The Orioles are playing at right about the level they usually do in late July, jockeying for position for one of the top three picks in the amateur draft for 2012 and basically filling the role of American League doormats. The fans are pointing fingers at the pitching staff - rightly so since they are dead last in ERA among American League teams, and it's
By Daniel Moroz, July 27, 2011 8:20 AM
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I think it's a common sentiment amongst Orioles fans to consider the offense as very poor at turning baserunners into runs on the scoreboard. On multiple, unrelated occasions in recent weeks, I've heard people refer to leaving the bases loaded without scoring a run as "pulling an Orioles." When I asked people on Twitter what they thought "pulling an Orioles" meant, every O's fan with
By Lauren Tilley, July 26, 2011 9:00 AM
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Decades ago, Major League Baseball was all about the domination of pitchers. Eventually, the league changed the height of the mound and some other rules in order to make baseball more offense-friendly, because that's what fans like to see (I actually prefer pitching duels to offensive shootouts). Those days of pitching dominance are on us again with the likes of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and
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By Pete Kerzel, July 25, 2011 11:15 AM
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It's not too late to purchase a ticket for the Aug. 12 Oriole Advocates Hall of Fame luncheon. Former Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick and longtime head athletic trainer Richie Bancells will be honored at the event, which begins at noon on the sixth floor of the B&O Warehouse at Camden Yards. Bordick, who compiled the highest fielding percentage by a shortstop in club history during
By Matthew Taylor, July 25, 2011 9:10 AM
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Nowadays, it seems unusual for a reliever to take the mound as a starter. You typically don't serve shutdown sauce as a first course. Nevertheless, that's exactly what the Orioles are doing as Alfredo Simon, the 2010 team leader in saves, has recorded consecutive quality starts with 13.2 innings pitched and four runs allowed against the Indians and Angels. Meanwhile, there continues to be talk
By James Baker, July 21, 2011 11:06 PM
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The Orioles have a problem and it is a mystery to most. On the Internet and the airwaves, the new clarion call is the Orioles' need to improve their scouting and player development systems. Well, that is great, but I am willing to be dollars to doughnuts that the callers and posters do not know the first thing they are talking about. That is to
By Pete Kerzel, July 21, 2011 11:12 AM
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When Pat Gillick enters the Baseball Hall of Fame in inductions ceremonies at Cooperstown, N.Y., on Sunday, his tenure as the Orioles' general manager from 1995-1998 will be a footnote in a storied career that has seen him win two World Series at the helm of the Toronto Blue Jays and another as the GM of the Philadelphia Phillies. Baltimore fans remember Gillick as the
By Heath Bintliff, July 20, 2011 8:52 PM
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Yesterday's shutout included, the Orioles have scored more runs over the past seven games than they have over any seven-game stretch this season. (OK, that's not completely true. During interleague play, the O's also scored 39 runs over the seven games from June 21-26. But four of those games came in National League parks with Vladimir Guerrero relegated to the bench.) Sure, seven games seems
By Daniel Moroz, July 20, 2011 10:08 AM
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I started writing about the Orioles way back before the 2008 season (at the suggestion of my friend, who isn't a fan and so was probably tired of listening to me talk about baseball), and it's been a fun and rewarding experience. No way did I ever expect to be invited to participate in something like this, but I'm grateful to MASNsports.com for the opportunity.
By Lauren Tilley, July 19, 2011 1:20 PM
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Hey, everyone! My name is Lauren Tilley and I'll be doing some guest blogging for the remainder of the season here at MASNsports.com. I wanted to introduce myself and allow you to get to know me a little bit this week before I start blogging about our woeful Orioles. I was born in Maryland and lived here for a few years before I moved to
By Pete Kerzel, July 19, 2011 8:22 AM
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The warm, engaging smile Nate Snell flashes as he chats with fans and signs autographs is a decided departure from the manacing scowl he wore on his baseball cards. But times have changed for the 58-year-old Snell, and he no longer has to worry about intimidating opponents or making a positive impression to maintain his roster spot. Want to really get Snell smiling? Just ask
By Pete Kerzel, July 18, 2011 11:52 AM
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This time of year always makes me think of Hall of Fame induction weekend at Cooperstown, N.Y. If you've never made the trek to this diamond mecca in upstate New York, you're missing one of the true hallowed halls of the game we love. My first trek to Cooperstown came in 1977 and was memorable for a few reasons. Armed with my brand-new Vivitar SLR
By Matthew Taylor, July 18, 2011 8:56 AM
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The big news from the weekend, aside from the Orioles turning a nine-game losing streak into a two-game winning streak, was the team's agreement on a three-year extension with shortstop J.J. Hardy. You wouldn't expect to hear a player say anything negative about the organization that just gave him more than 20 million reasons not to. You don't anticipate much more than clichés following this
By Pete Kerzel, July 16, 2011 11:52 PM
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Kelly Saunders, the former WJZ-TV reporter who holds the distinction of being the first female to serve as the public address announcer for the Orioles, has died. Sanders, who was 62, passed away early Friday morning from cancer, according to DCRTV.com. A veteran of Washington, D.C.-area radio stations, Saunders also worked in radio in Baltimore at WBAL-AM and WIYY-FM. But it was her pinch-hitting appearance
By James Baker, July 15, 2011 10:53 AM
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Good morning, Birdland! As some of you may know, if you keep a calendar, my name is James Baker and I write primarily for Oriole Post. Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com asked the new guest bloggers to give a little intro of ourselves and our blogging history for this introductory post, so without further ado, I present "A Brief History of an Orioles Blogger: James C.
By Heath Bintliff, July 14, 2011 8:25 AM
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A quick look at some of the first half numbers for the Baltimore Orioles - the good, the bad and the ugly: 0 - Number of passed balls allowed by Orioles catcher Matt Wieters. Obviously, this leads all of Major League Baseball starting catchers. 1- Number of Orioles All-Stars. Matt Wieters represented the O's in Arizona and has been one of the bright spots for
By Pete Kerzel, July 13, 2011 5:20 PM
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Brian's Baseball Bash - a fundraiser for the University of Maryland Children's Hospital hosted by Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts - has been rescheduled for Sunday, Aug. 28 at Dave & Buster's in Arundel Mills Mall. The event was originally scheduled for Sunday, July 24, but is being postponed because Roberts remains on the disabled list with concussion symptoms. All purchased admissions will be honored
By Pete Kerzel, July 12, 2011 2:26 PM
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This weekend, while the Orioles host the Cleveland Indians, fans will have an opportunity to help the less fortunate. For the 25th straight season, the Orioles will host a canned food drive from July 15-17, and they are encouraging fans to donate non-perishable foodstuffs and money at the gates when they enter Camden Yards. The collection is sponsored by the O's, Orioles Wives, Oriole Advocates,
By Pete Kerzel, July 11, 2011 8:23 AM
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By now, you're used to coming to MASNsports.com each morning for the best in Orioles coverage. That includes our initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our pages, and their contributions during the season's first half added both new voices and divergent viewpoints to our ongoing discussion of all things orange and black. Guest bloggers - those who reside into what's become knows as the "blogOsphere"
By Matthew Taylor, July 8, 2011 8:14 AM
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Things have been pretty bleak of late for the Orioles and their fans, but it can't possibly be all bad news for the Birds, can it? Let's look at some of the facts and locate the elusive silver lining for the orange and black. The Orioles allowed six home runs in a 10-3 loss in Boston on Thursday. The good news is they didn't give
By Pete Kerzel, July 7, 2011 6:05 PM
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If Adam Jones is going to go to the All-Star Game in Phoenix, it will have to be as an injury replacement. The Orioles center fielder finished fourth of our five participants in The Final Vote, a competition which yielded White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko as the final member of the American League All-Star team. Konerko was followed in the fan voting, which concluded
By Matthew Taylor, July 7, 2011 8:32 AM
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The Orioles are headed to Boston to close out the first half of the season. Given the team's recent struggles and the time of year, fans are perhaps most interested in the upcoming trade deadline and who the Orioles, as sellers, might offer up to other teams in exchange for young prospects. The Orioles don't have any Babe Ruths on their roster, but in 1914
By Matthew Taylor, July 6, 2011 8:59 AM
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Matt Wieters is only the fifth All-Star catcher for the Orioles, following Gus Triandos, Andy Etchebarren, Terry Kennedy, and Mickey Tettleton. The good news for Wieters is that each catcher made more than one All-Star team. After reviewing the boxscores of this quartet of previous O's All-Stars I'd say that, come next Tuesday, Wieters would do well to model Kennedy behind the plate and Triandos
By Pete Kerzel, July 5, 2011 11:15 AM
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Two Orioles - one past, one present - need your help in All-Star Game-related matters. We'll tackle the present first. Center fielder Adam Jones is one of the five players up for The Final Vote to determine the last player on the American League squad for the Midsummer Classic in Phoenix on July 12. In the first tabulations released Monday afternoon, Jones ranked fourth out
By Anthony Amobi, July 5, 2011 10:07 AM
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Yesterday, the Orioles lost deep in the heart of Texas to the Rangers. However, slugger Mark Reynolds again showed his power stroke. The third baseman, acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the offseason, put on quite the power display in Atlanta over the weekend, and followed up that performance with two homers last night, his 19th and 20th. Despite Baltimore's 13-4 loss to the Texas,
By Matthew Taylor, July 5, 2011 9:54 AM
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Mark Reynolds joined a nontraditional 20-20 club on Monday when he hit his 20th home run of the season and committed his 20th error. Prior to the season, I identified Reynolds as the most likely candidate to become the Orioles' first traditional 20-20 player (20 home runs, 20 stolen bases) since Brady Anderson in 1999. I was enamored with Reynolds' power, concerned about his strikeouts
By Dan Kolko, July 4, 2011 1:35 PM
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When the 2011 All-Star Game rosters were announced yesterday, Adam Jones didn't hear his name called. But that doesn't necessarily mean the Orioles outfielder won't get to take the field July 12 in Arizona for the 82nd annual Midsummer Classic. Jones, who made his All-Star debut in 2009, is among five American League nominees who are up for the All-Star Game Final Vote. The winner
By Matthew Taylor, July 4, 2011 11:31 AM
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Happy Fourth of July, Orioles fans. I'm spending the holiday with my family in Catonsville, Md., where July 4 is, like a certain fictionalized news anchor, kind of a big deal. It certainly isn't more popular than Jesus (just "imagine" someone saying that); more like a secularized version of a holy day of obligation. Thousands of locals make the pilgrimage to Frederick Road in the
By Pete Kerzel, July 4, 2011 11:30 AM
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Happy July 4! While teams trot out those patriotic stars-and-stripes uniforms for the Independence Day holiday, we here at Orioles Buzz renew our heartfelt belief that every major league club should play (preferably a single-admission doubleheader) on each of the holidays that falls during the sport's six-month regular season - Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day. You'd think you'd always get every team in action
By Stacey Long, July 1, 2011 7:18 AM
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After Brian Matusz's terrible outing last night and his subsequent demotion to Triple-A Norfolk, the Orioles' future is looking very unclear. Going into the season, before Matusz's injury, he was one of the players with the fewest question marks. But now, who knows what will happen? A polished college pitcher who sailed through the minors the first time, we know he has the talent. Hopefully