I've got lots of choices after my mother filled my cooler again for the trip home. Soft-shell crabs for breakfast? Why not? A breaded pork chop on the side? What's stopping me? I've been told multiple times over the past week that I'm really going to enjoy being around new pitching coach Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti. Two men with opposite personalities who are great friends and work extremely well together. Add talkative first base coach Wayne Kirby to the mix, and I may...

Dom Chiti flew back from the Dominican Republic tonight, where he was doing a little scouting for his new team. He's the Orioles' bullpen coach, but he's so much more. Showalter regards Chiti as one of the top five scouts in baseball, and those skills will be utilized here. "The last couple of years, and moreso this year than the year before, I've been very involved with the minor league pitching with Dave Wallace," said Chiti, formerly a special assistant with the Braves. "We worked...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter believes his 2014 coaching staff is as good as any that he's worked with in all of his years in baseball. The staff was completed earlier today with the official hiring of Dom Chiti as bullpen coach, following the addition of Dave Wallace as pitching coach. "I like our coaching staff and I liked our staff last year," Showalter said. "We were going to have to hire somebody. We wanted Dave to have somebody he felt comfortable with, and I think Dave and Dom are...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette took a short break from the GM meetings in Orlando to talk about the hiring of former Braves special assistant Dom Chiti as bullpen coach. "Dom Chiti is a real pro," Duquette said. "He grew up around the Orioles organization and started his coaching career here. He's very good with pitching evaluation and he's done the bullpen job before. And he worked with Buck (Showalter) in Texas." Chiti joins new pitching coach Dave Wallace, formerly the...

The Orioles confirmed today that former Braves special assistant Dom Chiti has been hired as bullpen coach. Chiti joins new pitching coach Dave Wallace, who previously served as Atlanta's minor league pitching coordinator. Bill Castro and Scott McGregor were offered positions in the organization. However, Castro said he will pursue other opportunities. McGregor will return to his former role of pitching rehab coordinator in Sarasota. Prior to working in Atlanta, Chiti was part of the Rangers...

The Orioles today announced that they have named Dom Chiti as their new bullpen coach. Chiti, 54, has worked in front offices, or on major or minor league staffs, since 1982. He joins the Orioles from Atlanta, where he had served as Special Assistant to the General Manager since 2008, additionally serving as Pitching Development and Special Assignment in 2013. Prior to working Atlanta, Chiti was part of the Texas organization, where he served in multiple roles from 2002 through 2008. Chiti was...

Mesa beat Surprise9-4 behind Matt Purke, Richie Mirowski, Steven Souza Jr. and Brian Goodwin on Saturday in the Arizona Fall League. Purke went four innings, scattered five hits, allowed two runs, two walks and struck out three. He is now 3-1 with a 3.91 ERA. Souza went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a stolen base. It is his 10th stolen base of the season. Goodwin went 1-for-5 and is batting .315. Souza is batting .368. Mesa led 3-0 and 6-2 early, and the bullpen hung in for the win. The...

It turns out that new Nationals manager Matt Williams might need to tweak his coaching staff a little more than we originally thought. The Nats have granted permission for third base coach Trent Jewett to interview for the Mariners' bench coach position under new manager Lloyd McClendon, according to FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. Jewett was expected to return to the Nats as third base coach, but when McClendon was hired as the new skipper in Seattle, Jewett's name immediately began being...

Another day brings the latest set of important events in baseball. The GM/owners meetings begin today in Orlando. There won't be a flood of trades and signings during these three days, but the groundwork is often laid for further discussions at next month's Winter Meetings in Orlando. Players tendered qualifying offers must decide today whether to accept or decline. The Orioles aren't impacted here, since none of their eligible free agents were given offers. The Sporting News Executive of...

The Orioles are facing a dilemma. They need to improve their starting pitching to get back to the playoffs. But the pitchers who seem likely to get long-term deals this winter don't look worth signing even if the O's would consider that avenue. And the pitchers on the other end of the free agent class may not even be upgrades on what is already in the rotation. Is it possible that a club that needs to improve its starting pitching won't be able to add a single pitcher that can truly help...