Ryan Romano: Three interesting things about new Oriole Wade Miley

Ryan Romano: Three interesting things about new Oriole Wade Miley
For most of the 2016 season -- and a fair amount of the time before it -- the Orioles have needed a starting pitcher. On Sunday, they finally got one in the form of Wade Miley. Seattle shipped the 29-year-old lefty to Baltimore in exchange for Ariel Miranda; for more general information on Miley's background, check out my Camden Depot colleague Matt Perez's analysis. What I'd like to do in this space, as I've done for past Orioles transactions, is focus on a few esoteric observations about...

Marty Niland: How does the Melancon trade affect the rest of the Nats bullpen?

Marty Niland: How does the Melancon trade affect the rest of the Nats bullpen?
So the Nationals have finally landed a new closer, with Mark Melancon coming from Pittsburgh. General manager Mike Rizzo sent left-hander Felipe Rivero and prospect Taylor Hearn to the Pirates in hopes that he can solve the late-inning issues that have plagued the team in the past week. But what will become of the man he's supplanting, Jonathan Papelbon, and the rest of the bullpen? Papelbon is on record as saying he is OK with the move, despite the fact that his new role is undefined. When...

Andrew Stetka: Missing playoffs won't ruin Orioles

Andrew Stetka: Missing playoffs won't ruin Orioles
As the Orioles struggle to cling to their lead in the American League East, they are starting to show their true colors - and they aren't orange and black. The pitching staff has looked more like black and blue of late. I'd call the offense green at this point, not because it's new or fresh, but because it looks sick. It may be true that the Orioles battled to avoid a sixth straight loss in Toronto yesterday, but everything isn't rosy in Birdland right now. The O's have still lost nine of...

Matthew Taylor: RBI-less Joseph shouldn't be defined by statistical quirk

Matthew Taylor: RBI-less Joseph shouldn't be defined by statistical quirk
With his wife having given birth to the couple's first child during spring training last season, Caleb Joseph described his added motivation for making the team humorously using the phrase "Baby's gotta eat." Joseph appeared in 100 games for the Orioles in 2015 and acquitted himself well as Matt Wieters recovered from Tommy John surgery. His productive plate appearances often inspired tweets incorporating the hashtag #BabysGottaEat. Little Walker Everett Joseph did not go hungry. Given...

David Huzzard: Nationals shouldn't deal top prospects for bullpen help

David Huzzard: Nationals shouldn't deal top prospects for bullpen help
There is some irony in the demands that the Nationals cave in to the Yankees' high asking price for Andrew Miller. Not because Lucas Giolito is untouchable, but because Miller was once the 10th best prospect in baseball. It was also at this time he was traded to the Marlins, along with Cameron Maybin, for Miguel Cabrera. Maybin was listed as the sixth best prospect in all of baseball. If Miller and Maybin had lived up to even half their projected potential with the Marlins, the Cabrera trade...

Zach Wilt: Bundy showing potential as a starter in O's rotation

Zach Wilt: Bundy showing potential as a starter in O's rotation
For just the second time this season, the Orioles lost a series in Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Let's be honest, the hometown fans have gotten a little spoiled by the O's this season. If you've purchased a ticket to watch the Birds at home in 2016, you've probably seen them win. They're winning 69 percent of the games they play in Charm City. Last night, however, they were simply outmatched by Rockies rookie Jon Gray and dropped two of three from Colorado. It wasn't all bad though. Chris...

Charlie Fliegel: Nats may have found their answer in center field

Charlie Fliegel: Nats may have found their answer in center field
The Nationals have, over the past few weeks, inched closer to putting Trea Turner in center field, and last night they finally made the leap. Turner in center field makes too much sense to not at least try, and fans should be excited that the Nats are willing to do it. For starters, Turner appears to be an excellent hitter, and just the kind of table setter they are missing at the top of their lineup. He is making solid contact, and yesterday, on more than one occasion, his speed probably got...

Dillon Atkinson: Chapman deal puts Britton's trade value into perspective

Dillon Atkinson: Chapman deal puts Britton's trade value into perspective
Who would have thought Orioles closer Zach Britton could continue to get better? In his age-28 season this year, Britton has converted all 32 of his save opportunities, recording 10.55 strikeouts per nine innings and an MLB-leading 0.63 ERA over 42.2 innings pitched. He's one of the best, if not the best, relievers in all of baseball. With 2016 being his first year of arbitration eligibility, Britton is earning $6.8 million. He has two more years of arbitration prior to reaching free agency,...

Steve Mears: Aroldis Chapman would not have been worth the high price

Steve Mears: Aroldis Chapman would not have been worth the high price
How many postseason saves does Aroldis Chapman have? Zero. Chapman does have a blown save and a loss. Wade Davis has four postseason saves with a perfect save record, and he also has three holds and four wins. Davis has 23 postseason games on his record and no blemishes. There is something called "incremental improvement" that sabermetricians look at to compare a 2.4 WAR player versus a 2.8 WAR player while using their advances stats to determine which player is better. Not so fast:...

Ryan Romano: Should Gallardo keep Wright and Wilson out of the rotation?

Ryan Romano: Should Gallardo keep Wright and Wilson out of the rotation?
What words come to mind when you think of the 2016 Orioles rotation? For me, the first few are ones that I can't print here. After that though, "fluid" arises as the most apt euphemism. Chris Tillman and Kevin Gausman have stuck around and pitched well, but beyond them the waters get murky. Dylan Bundy is currently a starter after beginning the campaign as a long reliever; the same applies to Vance Worley, for the most part. Ubaldo Jimenez, Mike Wright and Tyler Wilson have each had extended...

Marty Niland: Three questions facing Nats as they begin road trip

Marty Niland: Three questions facing Nats as they begin road trip
The Nationals seemed to have all the answers a week ago after starting their post All-Star break homestand with two wins in three games, but after a 2-4 finish, they hit the road to Cleveland, San Francisco and Arizona with more questions. Who will be the Nats' fifth outfielder? Michael A. Taylor was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse following Sunday's 10-6 loss to San Diego. Since being recalled from Syracuse on July 10, he's gone 3-for-16 with six strikeouts, including one to end the eighth...

Andrew Stetka: Experiment with Bundy, Worley could work for Orioles

Andrew Stetka: Experiment with Bundy, Worley could work for Orioles
As the Orioles continue to tinker with their pitching staff, more specifically their starting rotation, they are searching for a mixture that works. Over the last four days or so, they appear to have found something. The experiment of placing Vance Worley and Dylan Bundy into the rotation has paying off in the early going. I went on record last week in this space as against plucking Bundy out of the bullpen and making him a starter at this point. I won't go back on that just seven days later,...

Matthew Taylor: Zach Britton closing in on history for O's

Matthew Taylor: Zach Britton closing in on history for O's
Zach Britton is a perfect 30-for-30 in save situations in 2016 after closing things out in the Bronx on Thursday afternoon. He joins Gregg Olson as the only Orioles relievers with three seasons of 30 or more saves. The current O's closer is justifying the T-shirt worthy play on words, "Great Britton" (hat tip: OBP Apparel). This is the fifth consecutive year that the Orioles have had a closer with 30 or more saves, which marks the longest such run in team history. Britton is putting an...

Zach Wilt: Looking at the O's offensive struggles since the All-Star break

Zach Wilt: Looking at the O's offensive struggles since the All-Star break
For the first time since June 4, the Baltimore Orioles find themselves out of first place in the American League East. Looking up in the standings is something this club hasn't been used to this year. In 2016, the O's have spent 91 days atop their division and saw their lead reach a season-high 5 1/2 games on June 29, but after the Birds got shut out in the Bronx last night, the Red Sox took a half-game lead in the East when they defeated the Giants 11-7. The second half hasn't been kind to...

David Huzzard: Would the Nationals trade for Mike Trout?

David Huzzard: Would the Nationals trade for Mike Trout?
There's a thin line between rumors and speculation. This is the time of year when everybody is trying to predict who will get moved where and for how much. The latest bit of speculation about the Nationals would be game-changing. While Reynaldo Lopez didn't get great results in his debut, his strikeout ability and velocity were on display and there were flashes of the promise. Trea Turner flashed his speed and stole home last night. Lucas Giolito had a good but abridged first outing with the...

Charlie Fliegel: Trade deadline could spell out Lopez's future with Nats

Charlie Fliegel: Trade deadline could spell out Lopez's future with Nats
It wasn't a good start, but it is hard to call Reynaldo Lopez's debut last night awful, either. He started out poorly, giving up seven hits and four runs to the first 11 batters he faced. But he did settle down after that, getting the next eight consecutive hitters, before giving up two more runs in the fifth inning. Ten hits and six runs over 4 2/3 innings is bad, but he struck out nine hitters. That was the most in a MLB debut for any Nationals pitcher other than Stephen Strasburg, and that...

Dillon Atkinson: Diving into some bullpen options as trade deadline nears

Dillon Atkinson: Diving into some bullpen options as trade deadline nears
In an act of possible desperation, manager Buck Showalter has opted to use Dylan Bundy and Vance Worley in starter's roles this past week. These two - behind the trio of Chris Tillman, Kevin Gausman and Yovani Gallardo - could stick in the rotation for a little while, despite possible pitch limits, since both are making the move from the bullpen. However, it's not a secret that the Orioles could use help in the starting rotation from outside the organization. And it would be hard to imagine...

Steve Mears: Balancing want vs. need at the trade deadline

Steve Mears: Balancing want vs. need at the trade deadline
The 2016 non-waiver trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and while the trade winds are blowing, we are throwing caution to the wind. Sometimes the best trades you make are the trades you don't. What does that mean? It means that when you are contemplating a trade that does not feel right that it is best to not do it. How many trades would teams want to have back? Plenty. The Orioles want to reverse the deal sending Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop to the Cubs for Steve Clevenger and Scott...

Ryan Romano: Schoop improves his situational plate discipline

Ryan Romano: Schoop improves his situational plate discipline
If you've watched the Orioles on MASN recently, you've likely seen the ad featuring Jonathan Schoop. The announcer provides the denotations for a number of words like "fluke" and "luck," interspersed between clips of the second baseman's more impressive plays, before bragging about some element of his performance. These doubts have always seemed to haunt Schoop, which is why his apparent breakout in 2016 feels so sweet. Through, Schoop had hit .302/.335/.515, by far the best line of his...

Ryan Romano: Shedding some daylight on O's struggles under the sun

Ryan Romano: Shedding some daylight on O's struggles under the sun
In the nearly 150-year history of organized baseball, night games are fairly new. The first professional contest under the stars occurred in 1930, and it took a while to catch on - Wrigley Field didn't install lights until nearly 60 years later. By now, though, most baseball fans have become accustomed to the different start times, especially in their typical, two-night/one-day arrangement. For the most part, all games are the same, regardless of their time, right? For the 2016 Orioles, no....