orioles

Leftovers from today's first workout

February 14, 2011, 2:28pm

Orioles

SARASOTA, Fla. - I wanted to dump out the rest of my spring training bag for today. I'll also let you know that tomorrow's workout is slated to begin around 10 a.m., two hours earlier than today. The crowd was pretty small. I'd say it was a modest gathering. But word on the street is that parking was limited because of the construction vehicles. Try again tomorrow. As I mentioned earlier, Koji Uehara threw his fourth bullpen session this afternoon. Unlike the others, he did so under close...

Comments

Tags:

orioles

The first workout has ended

February 14, 2011, 10:51am

Orioles

SARASOTA, Fla. - Manager Buck Showalter is pleased with how smoothly today's workout ran. No injuries that he's aware of, no reason to be alarmed in any way. "We got through it," he said. "I haven't talked to the trainers and coaches yet, but so far, so good. We got most everybody here with the exception of (Alfredo) Simon, obviously. No red flags yet health-wise. "The physicals were pretty good. Just some of the normal precautions that we already knew about." Pitchers Brandon Erbe...

Comments

Tags:

orioles frontfeatured_orioles

A few workout notes

February 14, 2011, 8:51am

Orioles

SARASOTA, Fla. - I tore myself away from the back fields to pass along a few notes from the workout, which began at noon and is expected to run until 3 p.m.. Minor league catcher Caleb Joseph beat the other players onto the field for the pre-workout stretch, but Matt Wieters was close behind him. Twenty-nine of the 30 pitchers are in camp today, the obvious exception being Alfredo Simon. All six catchers are here. Brian Roberts passed his physical and walked onto Field 4 to greet manager...

Comments

Tags:

orioles frontfeatured_orioles

MASN to broadcast five Orioles exhibition games

February 14, 2011, 6:48am

Orioles

SARASOTA, Fla. - As I wait for the pitchers and catchers to complete their physicals and head to the backfields for the first workout, I'll pass along the five exhibition games that will air on MASN: Monday, March 7 at 7 p.m., New York Yankees vs. Orioles Monday, March 14 at 1 p.m., Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Orioles Tuesday, March 15 at 1 p.m., Houston Astros vs. Orioles Saturday, March 19 at 1 p.m., Philadelphia Phillies vs. Orioles Sunday, March 27 at 1 p.m., Boston Red Sox vs. Orioles I'll...

Comments

Tags:

orioles frontstory_orioles1

Waiting for the first workout (with radio schedule)

February 14, 2011, 3:53am

Orioles

Waiting for the first workout (with radio schedule)

SARASOTA, Fla. - I woke up to a bunch of spam comments on the blog, most of them from senders claiming to have squirrels in their pants. Is that really how my day is starting? Anyway, pitchers and catchers are taking their physicals this morning and the clubhouse is closed to the media. They'll immediately head to the back fields for workouts, so access will be delayed. I won't be arriving at Ed Smith Stadium before 11 a.m., unless I want to sit in a room and stare at the walls. A team...

Comments

Tags:

orioles frontfeatured_orioles

Gonzalez ready to get going

February 13, 2011, 11:25am

Orioles

SARASOTA, Fla. - Michael Gonzalez was a health riddle last spring, insisting that his left shoulder felt fine while everyone noticed his diminished velocity and spotty location. He blew two of his first three save chances and went on the disabled list April 14 with a strained shoulder. He wasn't reinstated until July 21. Gonzalez posted a 1.76 ERA in his first 18 appearances after being activated. He looked like a different pitcher, and not simply because he no longer was closing. Orioles...

Comments

Tags:

orioles frontfeatured_orioles frontstory_orioles1

Talking renovations and Tillman

February 13, 2011, 10:27am

Orioles

SARASOTA, Fla. - I took an extensive walk through Ed Smith Stadium, where the construction will continue right up to the home opener on March 1. Most of the work should be completed by Feb. 21. Construction beyond the left field fence, including an elevated picnic perch that fans are going to love, will take a little longer. The lawsuit delayed construction, but it also allowed for some late changes to the original plans, including raising the picnic area from ground level. I walked through...

Comments

Tags:

orioles frontfeatured_orioles frontstory_orioles3

Notes on Patton, Accardo and Drese

February 13, 2011, 7:37am

Orioles

SARASOTA, Fla. - Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman just arrived together at 12:16 p.m. Troy Patton isn't allowed to speak with the media regarding his DWI arrest in Houston last month. He politely declined to comment before leaving the clubhouse, but he's clearly embarrassed by the incident. Patton may not have to leave the team for a court hearing later this month. There's a chance that he'll be able to work around it. Brad Bergesen was playing catch on one of the back fields with Jeremy...

Comments

Tags:

orioles

More scenes from Sarasota

February 13, 2011, 5:18am

Orioles

SARASOTA, Fla. - Koji Uehara just played catch outdoors. So far, so good. Third baseman Mark Reynolds has reported with the pitchers and catchers. Looks like he's eager to get started. Reynolds is working out today and will take his 2-year-old daughter to Disney the next two days. I told him to enjoy these precious moments while he can, since my little angel turns 18 tomorrow. I swear she was 2 when I left the house yesterday. I took another spin through the clubhouse. It's a little...

Comments

Tags:

orioles frontfeatured_orioles

The start of spring training (updated)

February 13, 2011, 3:51am

Orioles

SARASOTA, Fla. - I can say that spring training has officially started because my rental car is parked at Ed Smith Stadium and I've already walked through the clubhouse once this morning. I saw a bunch of empty lockers. I also saw a huge crane outside the stadium as the renovations continue at the complex. The finishing touches are being applied to the back fields, which should be ready for tomorrow's first workout for pitchers and catchers. Some of the stadium work could continue until the...

Comments

Tags:

orioles frontfeatured_orioles

They came to say goodbye to Ernie Tyler

February 15, 2011, 8:15am

Orioles

It was a cold and blustery morning in Harford County. Not a day exactly made for a ballgame, but that didn't stop hundreds from making their way to St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church in Jarrettsville to say goodbye to Ernie Tyler. The man, who was an Orioles employee since their first season in 1954 and umpires attendant since 1960, died at 86 on Thursday. The stories about Ernie and kind words from so many have been pouring in ever since and today was a time for a final goodbye. The...

Comments

Tags:

orioles steve melewski ernie tyler frontstory_orioles1 frontstory_orioles2

The Keith Law interview, uncut and unedited

February 17, 2011, 5:40pm

Orioles

The Keith Law interview, uncut and unedited

The interview with ESPN.com's Keith Law and some of his quotes published here last week certainly got some fans stirred up. I had mentioned that this week I would publish the entire interview here and now is the time. Since it takes a lot of words to read through a 17-minute interview, I will publish it in two posts. The second one will follow this by a few hours. Some of these quotes you read before, some you have not seen. This time I am just publishing the entire interview, questions and...

Comments

Tags:

keith law orioles steve melewski frontstory_orioles2

A little more on the Frederick Keys lease situation

February 17, 2011, 12:53pm

Orioles

A little more on the Frederick Keys lease situation

There is another article out today on the Frederick Keys' unsettled lease situation that I have written about previously. Click here for an update from Baseball America's Josh Leventhal. The city of Frederick is expected to accept bids on the 2012 lease through April 15 and an Atlantic League team is expected to bid to basically try to move in on the Keys' turf in a move that could potentially push the Keys out of Frederick. The article quotes Keys' owner Ken Young saying: "We need to...

Comments

Tags:

frederick keys orioles steve melewski

Some minor leaguers need to bring extra gloves this year

February 17, 2011, 5:14am

Orioles

Some minor leaguers need to bring extra gloves this year

With the news coming out of Sarasota this week that Brandon Snyder will put the catching gear back on for a look at that spot in the big league camp, it reminds me of a topic we've discussed here before: defensive versatility in the O's minor leagues. We began to see some of it last summer. This year, we should see players at times playing somewhere that would not normally be their regular position. For instance, first baseman Joe Mahoney played four games in the outfield at Single-A...

Comments

Tags:

orioles steve melewski frontstory_orioles2

The O's minor league spring training schedule

February 16, 2011, 3:02pm

Orioles

The O's minor league spring training schedule

The Orioles have announced the schedules for their minor league spring training squads. The clubs will play 16 spring training contests. Minor league pitchers and catchers will report to camp in Sarasota on Sunday, March 6, while position players will report on Thursday, March 10. There will be four games each day with a Triple-A, Double-A and two Single-A games with the two O's higher level squads playing at one site and the two lower level clubs at another. If the higher level teams are...

Comments

Tags:

orioles steve melewski frontstory_orioles2

Adam Jones' take on "First Take"

February 16, 2011, 7:15am

Orioles

While waiting to see how distracted Albert Pujols will be waiting for the all the money his next contract will provide, I took some time to watch the video of Adam Jones' appearance on ESPN's "First Take." What, ESPN covered the Orioles? Yep, Adam was in Bristol this week. Click here to see that video. (Yeah, I'm slow getting around to see this, guess I was distracted.). "We're going to go out and play hard and the sky's the limit really because I think everybody is optimistic about...

Comments

Tags:

orioles steve melewski adam jones frontstory_orioles2

Hearing from the man with the O's plan in Sarasota

February 15, 2011, 6:06pm

Orioles

Hearing from the man with the O's plan in Sarasota

Now that spring training is here, David M. Schwarz is getting to see his vision come to life. Schwarz is the design architect and master planner for the improvements and renovations to the Orioles' facilities in Sarasota, Fla., which include Ed Smith Stadium and the club's Twin Lakes minor league complex. "For us, it was extremely important to make something that felt quite at home in Sarasota," Schwarz said on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. "Sarasota has a style that is...

Comments

Tags:

orioles steve melewski frontstory_orioles2

O's, WBAL announce 16-game spring training radio schedule

February 14, 2011, 7:02am

Orioles

O's, WBAL announce 16-game spring training radio schedule

WBAL Radio (1090 AM) and the Orioles have announced that 16 of the team's spring training games will be broadcast live, beginning with the O's Grapefruit League opener at Bradenton, Fla., against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 1:05 p.m. The next day, Sunday, March 1, catch the O's home exhibition opener at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota against the Tampa Bay Rays. Twelve of the 16 broadcasts will feature 30-minute pregame and postgame shows. Longtime Orioles Radio Network...

Comments

Tags:

orioles orioles buzz pete kerzel spring training wbal radio frontstory_orioles3

It looks like Chorye Spoone is back on the O's radar

February 13, 2011, 5:23pm

Orioles

It looks like Chorye Spoone is back on the O's radar

For Orioles pitching prospect Chorye Spoone, the long road back from shoulder surgery in September 2008 has just about reached its end. Some fans were worried when he walked eight in just 3 2/3 innings in his last start at Bowie last Aug. 19. But he was simply out of gas, but not hurt again, after throwing 132 innings in 2010 at Double-A. That is not a lot until you remember, he had pitched just 71 innings combined in 2008 and 2009, before and after his surgery. But Spoone, once one of the...

Comments

Tags:

orioles steve melewski frontstory_orioles3

Building deep depth in the lineup and bullpen

February 14, 2011, 6:58pm

Orioles

Building deep depth in the lineup and bullpen

Call it the principle of displacement. If the Orioles put Vladimir Guerrero in the fourth spot in the batting order, doesn't that mean it will move others down in the order, displacing them? It should then help the order become stronger if someone who batted fourth can move down to fifth or sixth and so on and so on. One possible batting order for the Orioles is Brian Roberts leading off, followed by Nick Markakis, Derrek Lee, Guerrero, Luke Scott, Mark Reynolds, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters and...