Mike Griffin talks about Jake Arrieta

Mike Griffin talks about Jake Arrieta
Of those in baseball that know Jake Arrieta's pitching very well, Mike Griffin may know him the best. He's been his pitching coach for his 28 starts at Triple-A Norfolk over the last two years. Griffin is confident Arrieta will do well tonight and can handle making his first career start vs. the Yankees. "He's going to be nervous, that's only human. But you know what, Jake's going to handle it. He's going to handle the situation very well, I am totally confident in that aspect of...
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Trying to put Arrieta's debut in perspective

Trying to put Arrieta's debut in perspective
A fan calling in to the Mark Viviano show on the O's flagship station, 105.7 the Fan today said he thought the Orioles were calling up Jake Arrieta to sell more tickets to tonight's game. Some fans' lack of knowledge knows no bounds. What about his league-leading ERA of 1.85; what about his ERA of 0.82 over his last three starts; what about his recent improved control? Maybe the O's should wait until he pitches back-to-back no hitters or gets that ERA under 1.00. That will show us...
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Tillman talk and some notes following the O's 4-2 loss to NY

Tillman talk and some notes following the O's 4-2 loss to NY
On a night where he said he just didn't have nearly his best stuff, Chris Tillman battled the Yankees pretty well, but it didn't lead to a win for him or the team. Tillman gave up eight hits and three runs (two earned) over six innings in the Orioles 4-2 loss to New York. "This might have been the best I've felt but I think I had the worst stuff today. I got that curveball going and that was the only thing that saved me," Tillman said. "Fastball command was pretty poor tonight, but...
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Well, Cervelli is excited

Well, Cervelli is excited
We know at least one player is really fired up here tonight. When CC Sabathia struck out Luke Scott with the bases loaded to end the last of the seventh, Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli jumped up and thrust his fist through the air. I mean if it had connected, someone might have needed a standing eight count. One word came to mind - bush. Is he taking lessons from Jonathan Papelbon now? I haven't noticed too much before, but this may not be the first time the young man has gotten so...
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The Norfolk prospects are starting to hit

The Norfolk prospects are starting to hit
After watching that terrible top of the sixth and the atrocious Orioles defense hand the Yankees a 3-2 lead, I've decided to focus on Triple-A for a few minutes. Almost no one has big numbers on offense there, but some of the key prospects are picking it up recently with the bat: Josh Bell: He is batting .364 over his last 15 games with nine doubles. He has nine multi-hit games in that stretch and is tied for fourth in the league with 17 doubles. Brandon Snyder: Is batting .306-3-18 over...
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O's close in on signing some draft picks

O's close in on signing some draft picks
Now that the First-Year Player Draft is over, it's time for scouting directors around baseball to start signing some of the players they selected. That process has already begun for the Orioles who already are close to an agreement with their fourth-round pick, Auburn outfielder Trent Mummey. "We do have a pretty good understanding with Mummey, our fourth-round pick. I think he's ready. Klein at three (from UCLA) is still playing. They're in the Super Regionals this weekend. We'll...
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The proud papa (plus Bowie moves)

The proud papa (plus Bowie moves)
There are now two Shelbys in the Orioles organization. Today the Orioles drafted Grambling State outfielder Jeremy Shelby, the son of John "T-Bone" Shelby, the Birds first base coach, in the 38th round. "I was hoping somebody would take a chance and they told me that they would draft him. I called him to see if he was listening to it. He listened all day yesterday and was frustrated (when he wasn't taken). So he didn't even listen today and I broke the news to him. "He was hollering...
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No reason to be concerned about Guthrie

No reason to be concerned about Guthrie
Well, now we know that Jake Arrieta is officially scheduled to make his Major League debut tomorrow here at Camden Yards. Jeremy Guthrie, who was listed yesterday as Thursday's starter, will now get an extra day of rest and is set to start Friday vs. the Mets. After his last start, Guthrie mentioned that he had been dealing with some "general soreness." Today he told reporters he is fine and that he has known he will be pitching on Friday since the day after his last start, last Saturday...
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Hoes nearing a return for the Keys

Hoes nearing a return for the Keys
The Frederick Keys, who are closing in on the first half Northern Division championship in the Carolina League, have even more good news on the way. Their talented, young second baseman, L.J. Hoes, should be back in the lineup soon. The 20-year-old, right-handed hitter has not played since May 15th. He's been out with an illness but is feeling better now and has been taking batting practice and ground balls for about a week. "I'm very excited to get to this point and get healthy again. ...
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No problem with Arrieta facing the Yankees

No problem with Arrieta facing the Yankees
If the reports are true - and they likely are - that Jake Arrieta is Baltimore bound to start Thursday's game against the Yankees, I have no real problem with that. We reported in this space yesterday that Tim Bascom was going to join the Norfolk squad and that could lead to Arrieta in Baltimore and that is about to happen. It's about time really. Maybe the O's were holding Arrieta out to avoid Super Two status, although they'll never say that, but he sure has been pitching well. The...
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More with Joe Jordan as the draft heads into its final day

More with Joe Jordan as the draft heads into its final day
Scouting directors have turned the corner and are heading home in the First-Year Player Draft. There are thirty rounds now in the books and today the clubs select for rounds 31 through 50 when the draft resumes at Noon. O's scouting director Joe Jordan talks about his goals for today and those final 20 picks. "Obviously the (draft) board has been decimated, but we're going to look for whose got top end. Do we have the ability to chase another guy or two? "If there are rosters that need...
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Some notes and quotes after New York's 12-7 win

Some notes and quotes after New York's 12-7 win
Unlucky seven: The seven runs the Orioles scored was their most since a 13-7 loss to Texas on May 20. They had scored just 14 runs over their previous nine games. They are now 1-3 on a nine-game homestand, 4-18 over the last 22 games, 7-24 vs. the AL East and 16-42 on the season. Is this good?: The Orioles are 1-9 this year versus New York with nine losses in a row. The Yankees have won 20 of the last 23 and 29 of the last 35 games between the teams. New York is 10-4 over its last 14...
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Jordan sizes up day two of the draft

Jordan sizes up day two of the draft
On day two of the First-Year Player Draft, the Orioles selected 28 players, completing rounds two through 30. Of the O's 29 picks to date, 15 are pitchers and 14 position players with 20 of the 29 selections being college products. A few moments ago, O's scouting director Joe Jordan talked about the second day of the draft with reporters here in the Camden Yards press box. "It was a good day. We got a lot of guys we targeted and, like every year, that's what you try to do. Had a couple...
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Should there be any mild concern about Millwood?

Should there be any mild concern about Millwood?
Kevin Millwood gave up a two-run homer in the first inning tonight to Nick Swisher. It's the fourth game in a row where Millwood has been scored on in the first inning after he pitched shutout ball in the opening inning of his first nine starts. Maybe it's time for some mild concern over Millwood. In his last two starts, he gave up 10 ER and 16 hits over 11 2/3, including four homers. Then some balls were hit very hard off him in that opening inning tonight. In six starts from April 21...
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Wieters on his offense and days off

Wieters on his offense and days off
There has been a lot of talk about catcher Matt Wieters and his offensive numbers, or lack thereof. I asked Wieters about his offense today and also if carrying such a heavy load with catching and playing almost every day hurts his offense a bit. "I don't think so. I think you can look at my numbers last year and they are probably similar to this point in the same number of at bats. You have a good month or couple of weeks and you are right back where you need to be." You know what,...
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Bascom joins Norfolk: Is Arrieta on the move?

Bascom joins Norfolk: Is Arrieta on the move?
In a move that potentially could lead to Jake Arrieta joining the Orioles, right-hander Tim Bascom has joined the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. Bascom has not yet been activated, but soon could be joining the Norfolk rotation. The 25-year-old right-hander is 3-4, 3.43 in 11 starts with Double-A Bowie. Over 63 innings, he gave up 71 hits with just ten walks to 41 strikeouts. He has allowed 2 ER or less in seven of his 11 Baysox starts. Bascom is a fourth-round pick from 2007. Bascom last started...
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Frederick closes in on playoff berth

Frederick closes in on playoff berth
The first-half of the Carolina League season is nearing completion and the Frederick Keys are in the drivers seat to clinch their first playoff berth since 2007. With 13 games left, the Keys lead the Northern Division by eight games over Wilmington. They have a magic number of five to win the division first-half title. Frederick is 35-23, the first time since the end of the 2005 season that the Keys are 12 games over .500. After beating Potomac 3-1 last night, the Keys now have a...
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Jordan expects some over-slot signings

Jordan expects some over-slot signings
Well, with all the stories I have written in the last week or so on the draft, believe it or not, in reviewing some of my notes, I actually found some comments from scouting director Joe Jordan that I have not yet published. So let's clean out this quote book once and for all. I asked Jordan if he expects to sign players to over-slot contracts as the O's did with a few picks in the 2009 draft? "I expect to have the ability to do whatever we feel like we need to do. There is a budget,...
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Quotes and comments from Manny Machado

Quotes and comments from Manny Machado
After he had about 25 people over to watch the draft, where he was selected with the third overall pick by the Orioles, shortstop Manny Machado took part in a telephone conference call interview with Orioles reporters tonight. Here are the questions he got and his answers: Q: What was today like for you and did you think you would be drafted by the O's? Machado: "I was just here, hanging out with my family, sitting around, waiting for my name to be pronounced over the TV. It was a great...
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Machado is no consolation prize

Machado is no consolation prize
Okay, I'll admit I was hoping the Orioles would get high school pitcher Jameson Taillon with the third pick in the draft. To me the numbers 99 (his top velocity) and 18 (his age) don't often go together. Now, I and all O's fans have to get over it. They didn't make a mistake here, unless winning two more games than the Pirates last year was a mistake. They got shortstop Manny Machado and Joe Jordan seemed very happy when I saw him earlier today and said, if they did wind up with...
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