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O's announce minor league coaching staffs

January 28, 2011, 12:08pm

Orioles

O's announce minor league coaching staffs

The Orioles today announced the coaching staffs for their seven minor league affiliates for the 2011 season. Gary Allenson returns for his sixth season in the organization. He will manage Triple-A Norfolk for the fifth season after guiding the Tides to a 24-31 record in the first two months of the 2010 season. Allenson was promoted to Baltimore to serve as third base coach for the remainder of the season on June 4, 2010. Mike Griffin, who pitched for the 1987 Orioles, will serve as pitching...

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One last time: Jordan on 2009 draftees Berry, Cowan and Martin

January 28, 2011, 6:27am

Orioles

One last time: Jordan on 2009 draftees Berry, Cowan and Martin

In our last article with O's scouting director Joe Jordan on some of the pitchers selected in the 2009 draft, he talks about Ryan Berry, Jake Cowan and Jarret Martin. Berry has been a success story to this point, despite the fact he was a pitcher the O's selected even though he had been hurt as a college pitcher that year at Rice. He missed some time during Rice's 2009 season with a strained shoulder. The Orioles took Berry in round nine and he was signed to an over slot bonus and they...

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Luke Scott wants Guerrero in the lineup (updated)

January 28, 2011, 4:21am

Orioles

Luke Scott wants Guerrero in the lineup (updated)

The Orioles' search for a left-handed reliever won't lead them to Joe Beimel. He's apparently decided to sign with the Pirates, according to this tweet from Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Beimel was born in St. Marys, Pa. and pitched at Duquesne. He spent his first three major league seasons in Pittsburgh. Sounds like he wants to go home. We'll find out later how much the Pirates are paying him for that warm and fuzzy feeling. Yes, they beat out the Orioles. They also beat out the Red...

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Updates on Guerrero, Duchscherer and Beimel

January 27, 2011, 11:10am

Orioles

Updates on Guerrero, Duchscherer and Beimel

After making another round of calls today, I can pass along the following nuggets on a few of your favorite free agents: The Orioles have, indeed, made an offer to Vladimir Guerrero this week, and it falls in the $3 million to $5 million range. They most certainly did not exceed $5 million. I'd say it's a lot closer to $3 million. Also, team officials don't expect a FanFest announcement similar to what transpired with Miguel Tejada last winter. In fact, while they understand that the...

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The 2009 draft: Joe Jordan with updates on Henry, Tolliver and Wirsch

January 27, 2011, 4:37pm

Orioles

The 2009 draft: Joe Jordan with updates on Henry, Tolliver and Wirsch

Here is a followup to an article with O's scouting director Joe Jordan addressing some of the pitching injuries to hurlers the O's selected in the 2009 draft. In this post, he talks more specifically about some of those pitchers. Despite the injuries that impacted so many of the 2009 draftees last summer, Jordan remains quite hopeful for the pitchers taken in the top 10 rounds that June. Right-hander Randy Henry was the fourth-round pick that year from South Mountain Community College in...

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O's prospect Britton fired up to make a run at rotation spot

January 26, 2011, 5:46pm

Orioles

O's prospect Britton fired up to make a run at rotation spot

If some baseball prospects fly under the radar, Orioles pitching prospect Zach Britton isn't one of them. Maybe fans didn't know much about Britton when he was drafted in the third round out of a Texas high school in 2006, pitching at Rookie League Bluefield that summer. But it seems everyone now knows his name. Britton was named Carolina League pitcher of the year in 2009 and he pitched for Team USA in the Futures Game last July. He ended the 2010 season thriving at Triple-A and was named...

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Remembering the Jackson-Dempsey collision

January 27, 2011, 5:20am

Orioles

Remembering the Jackson-Dempsey collision

I was watching the MLB Network's "Top 50 Most Incredible Collisions" last night, and No. 8 was Bo Jackson plowing into Rick Dempsey and almost sending the former Orioles catcher flying into the dugout. I counted three backward somersaults. When I texted Dempsey, he replied, "Well, I've got that going for me." Which is nice. Dempsey, in his only season with the Cleveland Indians in 1987, missed the last six weeks with a broken left thumb. And get this: A proctologist in Kansas City set...

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Your incremental Vladimir Guerrero update

January 27, 2011, 9:09am

Orioles

Your incremental Vladimir Guerrero update

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, citing a major league source, says the Orioles have made an offer to free-agent designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero. Rosenthal estimates that the offer falls in the $3 million to $5 million range. If this is true, the offer must have come this week, because the two sides hadn't been in negotiations. The Orioles always left open the possibility of signing Guerrero, but only at a discount price. Guerrero has sought a multi-year deal, but he can forget it. And...

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More on Rapada

January 26, 2011, 11:56am

Orioles

Clay Rapada will compete for a left-handed relief role with the Orioles, but the Triple-A Norfolk Tides will gladly welcome him to Harbor Park if he's reassigned. Rapada, 29, is a Portsmouth, Va., native who pitched at Virginia State University. He won't hurt attendance. Rapada posted a 4.00 ERA in 13 games with the Texas Rangers in 2010, his third team since the Chicago Cubs signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2002. The Tides put out a release with more information on Rapada, in...

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One argument that fans are not losing interest in baseball

January 25, 2011, 6:31pm

Orioles

One argument that fans are not losing interest in baseball

According to a Harris Poll, pro football is the most popular sport in the United States. Among people that follow at least one sport, 31 percent say football is their favorite sport while baseball is second at 17 percent. In 1985, 23 percent in the same poll listed baseball as No. 1, so the sport is losing ground since then. There are some that think baseball is completely dwarfed by interest in the NFL and some that say the sport just doesn't generate the interest it once did. Oh,...

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Jim Palmer, Brandon Erbe added to FanFest autograph sessions

January 26, 2011, 6:41am

Orioles

Jim Palmer, Brandon Erbe added to FanFest autograph sessions

The Orioles have announced that Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer and right-handed mound prospect Brandon Erbe have been added to the roster of players signing autographs at Saturday's FanFest at the Baltimore Convention Center. Palmer has been added to Station 3 at 3:20 p.m., while Erbe will be signing at Station 1 at 4:40 p.m. Fans should visit www.orioles.com/fanfest for an updated list of autograph session availability and a recap of the newly implemented autograph procedures. FanFest...

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Two O's on list of MLB's top 50 prospects

January 25, 2011, 7:02pm

Orioles

Two O's on list of MLB's top 50 prospects

The Orioles have two of baseball's top 24 prospects, according to MLB.com. In announcing its top 50 prospects last night, MLB.com named left-handed pitcher Zach Britton as the game's 19th best prospect and rated shortstop Manny Machado as the 24th. Britton, who turned 23 on Dec. 22, went 10-7 with a 2.70 ERA in 26 starts last year between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. The lefty, who was added to the O's 40-man roster in November, gave up two earned runs or fewer in 21 of 26...

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The O's 2009 draft: Addressing some pitching injuries with Joe Jordan

January 24, 2011, 6:30pm

Orioles

The O's 2009 draft: Addressing some pitching injuries with Joe Jordan

When it comes to the Orioles' 2009 draft, Matt Hobgood is not the only pitcher the O's selected then that has dealt with or is currently dealing with injury issues. The club selected 12 pitchers among the first 20 rounds in that draft, signing 10 of them. Of those 10, six pitched fewer than 50 innings last summer. They selected six pitchers in the first 10 rounds and five of those hurlers dealt with some type of injury last season. Here is a rundown: Round 1 - Hobgood: Currently...

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Some names in the news: Damon, Cashman and Vladdy

January 23, 2011, 6:06pm

Orioles

Some names in the news: Damon, Cashman and Vladdy

Starting the countdown to FanFest and spring training with a look around the AL East. Color me surprised by Tampa After years of watching the Tampa Bay Rays build an impressive franchise by signing and developing young talent as well as anyone, it was interesting to see their latest additions. Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez on the Rays? What is the AL East coming to? Maybe Andy Pettitte will sign with them too. Rays fans are going to notice a drastic difference in their left field defense...

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Spending some time in the broadcast booth with Keith Olbermann

January 23, 2011, 5:26am

Orioles

Spending some time in the broadcast booth with Keith Olbermann

I am not even sure which exact year it took place. I think it was the 2005 or maybe the 2006 season. But it was in Staten Island, N.Y., one night where I got to share a broadcast booth for a while with Keith Olbermann. Yes, this is another one of Steve's minor league stories. I was broadcasting Aberdeen IronBirds games and the Birds were on the road playing in the beautiful Richmond County Bank Ballpark against the Staten Island Yankees. The park provided an amazing view of Manhatten and it...

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Who will be the next Oriole to sign a long-term contract?

January 20, 2011, 6:26pm

Orioles

Who will be the next Oriole to sign a long-term contract?

It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that the Orioles moved to lock up two of their better home-grown players and signed Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts to long-term contracts. Who will be the next Oriole, home grown or not, to sign the next megabucks deal? The Orioles have signed four of their six arbitration-eligible players to 2011 contracts but there hasn't been any indication the club is moving to lock up any of them to longer deals, at least not right now. After three seasons...

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MacPhail: Guerrero report "is not accurate"

January 22, 2011, 3:28am

Orioles

MacPhail: Guerrero report "is not accurate"

In an e-mail this morning, O's president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail responded to a report that the Orioles are close to signing slugger Vladimir Guerrero. "Report is not accurate," MacPhail wrote to MASNSports.com. Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio reported last night, via Twitter, that Guerrero was close to accepting a deal from the Orioles. Guerrero, who turns 36 in February, hit .300-29-115 last year with Texas and is a free agent. He finished fourth in the American League in...

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A little more Vlad talk

January 22, 2011, 10:10am

Orioles

What is that game we played as kids, was it musical chairs? You know where you dive for the seat as the music stops. At the end there is one kid and one chair. Is Vlad Guerrero the kid and are the Orioles the chair? Is what seemed like a remote possibility now more likely after yesterday's other moves in baseball? If reader response on our blogs here and other message boards and call-in shows is any barometer, it seems a lot of fans are clamoring for this to happen. There is nothing wrong...

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Warm thought: spring training tickets on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.

January 20, 2011, 10:33am

Orioles

Warm thought: spring training tickets on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.

Need a comforting, warm thought to take the chill off a mid-winter's day? Orioles spring training tickets go on sale Saturday, Jan. 22 at 10 a.m. So, if you want to ditch snow, ice and cold for the sunny shores of Sarasota and the new-look Ed Smith Stadium, you'll want to know all the details for how to acquire tickets for the Birds' 16-game Grapefruit League slate. Play starts March 1 with a home game against Tampa Bay. Individual game tickets can be purchased by phone by calling...

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Buckball: Will O's skipper continue turnaround in 2011?

January 19, 2011, 7:37pm

Orioles

Buckball: Will O's skipper continue turnaround in 2011?

No doubt, Orioles fans quickly became believers in manager Buck Showalter last season. He took over an O's club that was 32-73 and then went 34-23 from Aug. 3 through the end of the year. The O's winning percentage was .308 before he got there and .596 after he took over. The O's posted winning records in both August and September for the first time since 1996. But, will this truly be Showalter's second season as O's skipper? Well, Steve, duh, of course it is. Silly question,...