Steve Melewski

O's Hobgood is headed for season-ending surgery

March 23, 2012, 6:40am

Orioles

O's Hobgood is headed for season-ending surgery

Orioles 2009 first-round draft pick Matt Hobgood is going to have season-ending surgery on his right rotator cuff after getting a second opinion from a doctor on his ailing shoulder. Hobgood, who said he had not felt right or truly free of discomfort since beginning his pro career, will be operated on April 2 by Dr. Craig Morgan of Wilmington, Del., a shoulder specialist. After an offseason where he seemed to make some progress in rehabbing his shoulder injury, Hobgood was recently shut down...

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Are the Orioles shopping Kevin Gregg and Mark Reynolds?

March 22, 2012, 5:30pm

Orioles

All it takes is one. One tweet from Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com saying that the Orioles are shopping both Kevin Gregg and Mark Reynolds, and soon everyone is picking up the report and it is almost taken as fact. The report could very well prove to be true, but I think you always have to be somewhat skeptical of trade rumor talk. Gregg's name has been out there before, but I don't recall any reports about Reynolds. No doubt many fans would be happy if Gregg were removed from the roster....

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Duquette on Bundy, Machado and Schoop

March 22, 2012, 8:16am

Orioles

Since I was not invited to the meetings, I can't say for sure how involved Andy MacPhail was or was not when it came to decisions involving Orioles minor leaguers over his time with the club. But it sure does seem that first-year executive vice president Dan Duquette, who clearly takes a large and active interest in player development, will have a big say in which players end up with which minor league teams when the seasons begin in a few weeks. Duquette figures to be the final arbiter when...

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Duquette and Peterson talk minor league pitching

March 21, 2012, 5:55pm

Orioles

Duquette and Peterson talk minor league pitching

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette has been multi-tasking since that November day when he was hired by the club to replace Andy MacPhail. While trying to improve the 2012 Orioles he has also spent a lot of time working on improving the club's future outlook. That happens with some of the changes and hopefully, upgrades and improvement that Duquette wants to make in the O's minors and player development starting this year. "I think probably the most important thing is we are...

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Talking cleanup hitters and minor league shortstops (Duquette quote added)

March 20, 2012, 6:45pm

Orioles

Talking cleanup hitters and minor league shortstops (Duquette quote added)

Here is an obvious statement: The Orioles need more production out of the No. 4 spot in their batting order this year. The Orioles got 65 RBIs out of that batting order position last year to rank dead last in the American League. By comparison, the Yankees and Red Sox rated first and second in the AL in four-hole RBIs with 118 and 116, respectively. We all know the Orioles don't have a legit cleanup batter on the team or that feared slugger that many fans ask about. This could be a season...

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Orioles pitching injuries: Is there any end in sight?

March 19, 2012, 6:10pm

Orioles

Maybe this is what Andy MacPhail meant when he said, "Pitching is fragile." Orioles pitchers are eliminating themselves from the pitching competition due to various ailments and injuries - Zach Britton is the latest - and another Orioles pitching staff is getting smaller by attrition. Buck Showalter said opening day jobs on last year's staff went to the "last man standing." This year they may go to the last man able to pitch without injury. These various camp ailments once again must be...

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O's and Hobgood seek second opinion for shoulder injury

March 19, 2012, 10:10am

Orioles

O's and Hobgood seek second opinion for shoulder injury

We still don't know what the final course of action will be for Orioles 2009 top draft pick Matt Hobgood and his ailing right shoulder. After seeing an Orioles team doctor last night, the 21-year-old pitcher remains shut down and will soon seek a second opinion. At this point, the Orioles are not recommending surgery for the player the O's selected with the fifth overall pick in the draft. The right-hander saw Orioles orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens in Florida last night and is expected to...

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Trying to project some of the roster for Triple-A Norfolk

March 18, 2012, 7:36pm

Orioles

Trying to project some of the roster for Triple-A Norfolk

So I spent some time this weekend trying to figure out which players will be on the roster at Triple-A Norfolk this year. Tough task and I didn't even look much at the pitching yet, since there are still so many pitchers competing for jobs with the Orioles that will likely wind up with the Tides. Projecting today what will be on the field in Norfolk in a few weeks is a dicey proposition at best and frustrating to do. There are many years where you just move players up from the previous level,...

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Checking in with some facts, stats and opinions

March 17, 2012, 7:11am

Orioles

Checking in with some facts, stats and opinions

It is getting closer to the time to start a new baseball season in Baltimore. But that doesn't stop me - lover of stats as you know - from still presenting some numbers from last season. Good start, remember?: The Orioles began last season going 4-0 and 6-1. In those first four games, they gave up just one run in each contest. According to Elias, that tied a major league record of four consecutive wins to start a season while allowing no more than one run in each game, previously set by the...

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O's pitcher Matt Hobgood shut down at minor league camp

March 16, 2012, 11:57am

Orioles

O's pitcher Matt Hobgood shut down at minor league camp

Matt Hobgood, the Orioles 2009 first-round draft pick, has recently been shut down from pitching at minor league training camp in Sarasota, Fla., and will see a team doctor in the next few days. About four or five days ago, Hobgood threw during a live batting practice session, but he continued to have shoulder soreness and now he'll soon see team orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens to determine the next course of action. An Orioles source denied that the club has decided that Hobgood needs surgery...

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Five to watch in the minors this season

March 15, 2012, 4:41pm

Orioles

When Baseball America recently ranked its top prospects, the Orioles placed three players in the top 100, with Dylan Bundy at No. 10, Manny Machado at No. 11 and Jonathan Schoop at No. 82. No other Orioles minor league players came close to cracking that top 100 and most analysts consider the O's farm system somewhat top heavy with the elite top two prospects heading up the farm and no one after that - save for Schoop - rated very highly. It's a system lacking in high-end prospects. But the...

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Ranking the AL East rotations

March 14, 2012, 5:42pm

Orioles

Life is tough in the American League East. You don't have to tell the Orioles or any Orioles fan that. It's a division filled with top stars, top lineups, big payrolls, excellent farm systems and top pitching rotations. If you don't pitch well, you will get destroyed in this division, which features some of the best pitchers and rotations in the AL. Here is how I rank the starting fives in the East. 1 - Tampa Bay Rays James Shields David Price Jeremy Hellickson Matt Moore Jeff Niemann or...

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An interview with Orioles scouting director Gary Rajsich

March 13, 2012, 6:20pm

Orioles

The Orioles have the fourth pick in round one of the First-Year Player Draft in June after adding talents like Manny Machado and Dylan Bundy with their top picks the last two years. With another draft fast approaching, it's a good time to check in with Orioles first-year scouting director Gary Rajsich, who was hired by the club on Nov. 28. Rajsich was with Boston from 1994-2006, Texas from 2006-2009 and Toronto since late in the 2009 season as a professional cross-checker until joining the...

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The K factor for a pitcher

March 12, 2012, 5:34pm

Orioles

Here is a question I'd love to get some opinions on today: How important are strikeouts for a pitcher? We tend to think that pitchers with the most strikeouts are the pitchers with some of the best velocity. While that is likely true, there are always exceptions to the rule. But I think it is fair to say that a big strikeout pitcher is generally one with some quality pitches and stuff, as they say. On the downside, a strikeout pitcher can run up his pitch count faster than a control pitcher...

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The Orioles' weekend: Some players moving out, some moving up

March 11, 2012, 7:13pm

Orioles

I think we started to see where Ryan Adams stood with the Orioles last year. He was called up twice from Triple-A Norfolk, but didn't get to start much at second base either time. During yet another losing season, the Orioles called up their own 2006 second-round draft pick but didn't give him much of a chance to show what he could do. Yesterday, Adams was among the first players cut this year by the Orioles and he'll now head to Triple-A Norfolk. Adams is not considered a candidate to be a...

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Some impressions from the early games (updated with contract signings)

March 09, 2012, 6:51pm

Orioles

Some impressions from the early games (updated with contract signings)

As we near the end of the first week of exhibition games, here are some very early impressions of what we've seen and heard so far from Florida: * Jake Arrieta certainly had a dominant outing Friday against Tampa Bay, pitching two scoreless innings where the Rays didn't get a ball out of the infield. He was hitting 97 mph on the stadium radar gun. Heck, that's Dylan Bundy territory. Whether that gun was a tick or two fast or not, what was most encouraging is that Arrieta is pitching...

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What could go right or wrong during the 2012 season?

March 08, 2012, 6:24pm

Orioles

What could go right or wrong during the 2012 season?

Trying to predict how many games the Orioles will win this year is a dicey proposition. If some of their young players take steps forward and the team has a healthy year, maybe they approach or even better a .500 mark. But if some of the opposite occurs and the team once again gets overwhelmed by its American League East rivals, the 2012 Orioles could approach or reach 100 losses. That seems to be a big swing from the most optimistic outlook to the most dire. By the way, just twice in club...

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How quickly should the Orioles move Bundy and Machado through the minors?

March 07, 2012, 5:53pm

Orioles

There is a theory out there that the Orioles have rushed some of their prospects too fast to the big leagues in recent years and that is one key reason why some of that young talent may have struggled at times in the majors. One thing to note here is that all players are different in some way, so an organization can have a general philosophy about promoting players in the minor leagues, but they also surely realize that some players can be moved faster than others. Two of those players for...

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With Matusz, the velocity is only a part of the story

March 06, 2012, 5:32pm

Orioles

With Matusz, the velocity is only a part of the story

I know that Brian Matusz pitched terribly last year and that is the memory many still have as they wonder if he can regain his pre-2011 form for the Orioles. But I keep thinking back to the Matusz I saw in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He was a pitcher with an excellent four-pitch assortment and could command them all. He pitched with a plan and with confidence. We've seen him do that at the major league level as well and I am confident he will do it again. It may take some time and maybe he...

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Spring training stats can be hard to read

March 06, 2012, 4:53am

Orioles

Spring training stats can be hard to read

The performance of Jake Fox last year in spring training should remind us to never get caught up too much in spring training statistics. Yet, it's all we will have to go on until opening day and we can't say that spring stats don't matter at all. But when Fox hit 10 spring training homers last year to lead all big leaguers it led some to jump to the conclusion that he might hit 30 for the Orioles and some even said he should start at catcher ahead of Matt Wieters who was coming off a season...