Roch Kubatko

More on the baseball stoppage

May 05, 2020, 3:35pm

Orioles

The Orioles would have been wrapping up a three-game series this afternoon in Toronto if the coronavirus pandemic hadn't short-circuited the season. Thirty-six games already would be in the books, assuming there were no postponements. The Orioles would enjoy an off-day Thursday, along with the rest of us, and host the Angels for a weekend series. This is how it's supposed to be playing out. The baseball world stopped spinning on March 12 with spring training camps shut down and players in...

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Castro facing hitters this week while increasing workouts back home

May 03, 2020, 8:44am

Orioles

Castro facing hitters this week while increasing workouts back home

The last trip to the mound by Miguel Castro in an exhibition game resulted in three batters faced and three strikeouts. He left on such a high note that it should have come with a safety net. There's no real momentum in baseball. It's been described as the next day's starting pitcher. And any drops of it would have evaporated since Castro received his congratulatory handshakes and hugs in the visiting dugout at the Yankees complex in Tampa. Castro blew through the Yankees on March 6, learned...

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Powell "just trying to stay healthy and not do anything stupid"

May 01, 2020, 1:02pm

Orioles

Powell "just trying to stay healthy and not do anything stupid"

Players stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic are adapting to life away from baseball. A shock to the system. They've been playing the sport since they were kids. For fun and later as a profession. Their body clocks are wired to it. The shutdown can challenge them both mentally and physically. "It just reminds me of a lockout or a strike, but with more consequences," said former outfielder Eric Davis, in his 12th season as a Reds special assistant. "When you have a lockout or a...

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Castro helping back home during baseball's shutdown

May 01, 2020, 12:32pm

Orioles

Castro helping back home during baseball's shutdown

Miguel Castro vowed back in February to return home to the Dominican Republic following the 2020 season, with no fears or trepidations created from the previous month's robbery that almost cost him more than just a couple of gold chains. The Orioles reliever made the trip much sooner than he expected with sports shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic. And he's using the time to help people who are less fortunate, still immersed in his community rather than hiding out or keeping a lower...

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Powell also a cancer survivor in Orioles family

April 30, 2020, 10:35am

Orioles

While Eric Davis was undergoing colon cancer surgery and chemotherapy treatments in 1997, one of the most popular players in franchise history - a member of its Hall of Fame and satisfier of pit beef cravings - would be subjected to a similar procedure and regimen in the exact same summer. Davis was diagnosed in June during the first of his two seasons in Baltimore. Former first baseman Boog Powell, who played in four World Series with the Orioles and was voted Most Valuable Player in the...

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Remembering Eric Davis' comeback from colon cancer

April 29, 2020, 11:59am

Orioles

Remembering Eric Davis' comeback from colon cancer

Trey Mancini is finding strength during his health crisis from family, friends and teammates who keep offering their love and support. Who have been propping him up without violating orders for social distancing. His girlfriend, Sara, held his hand as the doctor in Baltimore passed along the diagnosis of Stage 3 colon cancer. "Squeezing it, actually," he wrote in The Players' Tribune. Inspiration also comes from former Orioles outfielder Eric Davis, who learned in June 1997 that the...

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Mancini: "I have no doubt in my mind I'll be back playing baseball"

April 29, 2020, 10:46am

Orioles

Mancini: "I have no doubt in my mind I'll be back playing baseball"

The symptoms and signs began as a curiosity and evolved into concern. Trey Mancini would become fatigued while performing drills in spring training, having to push himself through them. He tried to dismiss it as a product of growing older. He braced for news that he was experiencing something far less serious than colon cancer - a diagnosis that rocked the entire Orioles organization and led to his March 12 surgery in Baltimore. The story progressed to the point where Mancini began undergoing...

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Remembering the no-fans game five years later

April 28, 2020, 7:27am

Orioles

Remembering the no-fans game five years later

The Orioles enter another day with no baseball on the agenda. No clue if or when there's going to be a second spring training and season with an assortment of changes applied to it. Five years ago today, they played a game with no fans at Camden Yards. An oddity that was disturbing on another level. There were a couple of humorous moments, which we sought out in an attempt to provide some balance to the tension. Caleb Joseph tipped his cap to the imaginary crowd and pretended to sign...

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Mancini writes about undergoing chemotherapy

April 28, 2020, 5:34am

Orioles

Mancini writes about undergoing chemotherapy

If the 2020 baseball season unfolds later this summer, Trey Mancini doesn't expect to be part of it. Making his first comments beyond a tweet since his surgery on March 12 to remove a malignant tumor from his colon, Mancini confirmed that he's been undergoing chemotherapy treatments since April 13 that will last for six months. "If baseball returns in 2020, it will probably be without me," Mancini wrote in The Players' Tribune. "I want everybody to know that I'm OK. I know reading...

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Taking the latest Orioles quiz during the shutdown

April 27, 2020, 11:37am

Orioles

If you sense that I'm giving you a quizzical look this morning, well, scroll down for verification. Or maybe the headline gave it away. This is the latest coronavirus edition. We could use the distraction and a few smiles. Extra credit awarded for expanding on "none of the above" by making a prediction. The season is going to start: A. In June B. In July C. In 2021 D. None of the above Games will be played: A. Exclusively in Arizona B. In Florida and Arizona C. In no more than five states D....

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Recalling where Orioles played one year ago and bullpen woes

April 24, 2020, 6:36am

Orioles

At the risk of rubbing salt into an open wound caused by the sports shutdown, the Orioles are supposed to be playing the Royals tonight to begin a four-game series at Camden Yards. I would have spent the following weekend in Chicago for the three-game set against the White Sox, as the season rolled merrily along. A year ago today, the Orioles were in the middle of a series against the Twins in Minnesota that treated them with concrete gloves. No kidding. The Orioles were swept by a combined...

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LeBlanc on life at home without baseball

April 24, 2020, 6:26am

Orioles

LeBlanc on life at home without baseball

Wade LeBlanc expected to be pitching for a new team this season rather than becoming a stay-at-home dad. He was waiting to be placed on the 40-man roster, bypassing the opt-out date last month in his contract. But he retains status as an invitee to spring training despite the camp's closure and a sports shutdown with no known date to reopen. I've found it interesting how players are maintaining their focus on the season, with the Orioles keeping everyone connected and dispensing information...

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More myths, misconceptions about some Orioles players

April 23, 2020, 7:44am

Orioles

Another weekend is passing without sports, unless we're counting the NFL draft. I'm on the clock again, challenging myself to come up a few more Orioles who were misunderstood or unfairly labeled. Who didn't completely earn their reputations. For example: * Albert Belle wasn't always a menace to the media and actually was a popular teammate. Let's start with the second part. I'm not saying that Belle was loved by everyone who wore the uniform during his two seasons in Baltimore, but...

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LeBlanc: "I just want to play ball"

April 23, 2020, 6:57am

Orioles

A world that no longer simulates normalcy during the coronavirus pandemic keeps tossing pitcher Wade LeBlanc in directions he couldn't imagine. From a professional standpoint, he settled for a minor league deal with the Orioles on Feb. 3 after the Mariners declined his $5 million option. He made $2.5 million in 2019 and is supposed to earn $800,000 this summer if he's on the club. The bonding process with teammates was interrupted in spring training with the March 12 shutdown. He participates...

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Trade deadline status and other lingering questions

April 21, 2020, 11:15am

Orioles

Trade deadline status and other lingering questions

If questions about the 2020 baseball season could be used as currency, I'd be able to afford all the toilet paper in the land. I'd also make donations to the Maryland Food Bank and assorted charities, but there would be lots and lots of toilet paper. I'm wondering exactly how a late start is going to impact the trade deadline. Does it still exist? Does the date get pushed back? The Orioles traded veteran pitcher Andrew Cashner to the Red Sox on July 13, 2019 for two Rookie-level Dominican...

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Myths, misconceptions about some former Orioles players

April 20, 2020, 11:08am

Orioles

As various cable networks keep reheating old broadcasts to satisfy the need for sports, I'm certain that the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network will skip the night of Aug. 14, 1997. Unless fans want to wait through a 2 hour, 25 minute delay while sitting at home. For a game that wasn't played. Then again, it could be part of a tribute package for Cal Ripken Jr. Include a silly rumor, which turned into an urban legend, with the 1983 World Series, 2,131 and the home run in his final All-Star Game. The...

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Three more Orioles enter the closer conversation

April 19, 2020, 2:24pm

Orioles

In yesterday's article that mentioned some of the top Orioles closers since the franchise's move from St. Louis, I omitted a guy who saved 24 games in 1978 and 21 more in 1979 while making his only All-Star team. He also made Earl Weaver smoke as if the future Hall of Fame manager was electing a pope. Don Stanhouse registered a 2.89 ERA in '78, but he also had a 1.500 WHIP, blew seven save opportunities and averaged an anxiety-inducing 6.3 walks and only 5.1 strikeouts per nine innings. But...

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A few Orioles questions that can't be answered

April 18, 2020, 8:58am

Orioles

If the baseball season begins in its altered state, and in whichever states are deemed acceptable for hosting teams, we're still going to be left wondering what would have happened under the usual circumstances. It's impossible to simulate normal with spring training shut down on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic and months lost past the anticipated opening day. For example, no matter how many games are salvaged - and this is assuming that health risks are reduced and the travel and...

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Closing in on Orioles bullpen bests and blunders

April 17, 2020, 11:08am

Orioles

With so much uncertainty engulfing the 2020 season and the world-wide impact of the coronavirus pandemic reducing the importance of playing baseball to microscopic proportions, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde isn't whittling away the hours at home wondering about his closer situation. Mychal Givens counts as the incumbent, though he worked the seventh or eighth innings in his last five appearances. Hunter Harvey seems to be on deck for the role, though no one on the team has made him an offer....