orioles buzz

Neal Shaffer: Shifting expectations and keeping them in check

September 11, 2012, 6:53pm

Orioles

Neal Shaffer: Shifting expectations and keeping them in check

The Orioles have played themselves into a string of curious and unexpected situations this season. Possibly none more so, however, than this: They may have raised expectations to the point where missing the playoffs would actually be a disappointment. Last night, as Jason Hammel exited the game with an injury, I had the strangest feeling I've ever had as an O's fan. What I should have felt was, "Ah, well, this stretch run is going to be tough, but it's already been a great ride." Instead,...

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Zach Wilt: What's wrong with Pedro Strop?

September 11, 2012, 4:55am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: What's wrong with Pedro Strop?

Three weeks ago, Pedro Strop was thought of as one of the top setup guys in baseball. If Strop came into the game, fans assumed three outs and a Jim Johnson save the next inning. Over his last six appearances, Strop has walked five, struck out four and recorded an 18.00 ERA (six earned runs in three innings). Opponents are hitting .500 with a .609 OBP off the Orioles' flamethrowing relief pitcher. Everyone remembers Strop allowing two runs in the eighth inning of last Thursday's dramatic...

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Angel, Hunter advance in 2013 Frick Award balloting

September 10, 2012, 11:10am

Orioles

Angel, Hunter advance in 2013 Frick Award balloting

Longtime Orioles voices Joe Angel and Jim Hunter are among 41 veteran broadcasters chosen as candidates for the 2013 Ford C. Frick Award, which is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., for excellence in baseball broadcasting. More than 12,000 votes were cast in the first round of fan voting on the Hall of Fame's Facebook page. Every broadcaster, active or retired, who has broadcast at least 10 consecutive years for a team or network was...

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Domenic Vadala: Overcoming obstacles is the Oriole way

September 10, 2012, 7:03am

Orioles

Domenic Vadala: Overcoming obstacles is the Oriole way

I think that most people my age in this area have very similar stories with regard to the Orioles. Our parents raised us as O's fans and we grew up idolizing Cal Ripken Jr. I'm no different, as Cal was my boyhood hero, however I liked him for a slightly different reason. The best memories of my life were spent at my grandparents' house in Rising Sun, Md., which is about 15 miles from Aberdeen. My dad and my uncles passed their love of this team onto me, and I was told that Eddie Murray and...

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Matthew Taylor: Enjoy the moment, Orioles fans

September 07, 2012, 5:42am

Orioles

During a seemingly off-the-cuff speech as a part of Thursday's on-the-field-ceremonies, Cal Ripken Jr. pointed to the Orioles dugout and encouraged this year's team to "enjoy September." He was talking to the players, but he may as well have been talking to the fans, as well. If there's anything that 14 consecutive losing seasons should have taught the diehards who have been with this team through it all, it's to enjoy the moment and not take it for granted. What does it mean to enjoy...

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Flashback: How "The Streak" almost ended

September 03, 2012, 7:54am

Orioles

Flashback: How "The Streak" almost ended

It's hard to fathom that it's been 17 years since Sept. 6, 1995, when Camden Yards was at the center of the baseball universe on the night that Cal Ripken Jr. played in his 2,131st consecutive game. That night, Cal broke a record set by the Yankees' Lou Gehrig that was once believed unreachable. Seeing The Iron Man one-up The Iron Horse was nothing short of magical, and there may have been more electricity buzzing through the ballpark for that game than on any other in Baltimore baseball...

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Neal Shaffer: For the Orioles, all bets are off

September 05, 2012, 4:20am

Orioles

Owing to good luck and a fortuitous schedule, I have the honor of my regular turn in the MASN rotation falling today, as the Orioles wake up in a first-place tie with the New York Yankees - on Sept. 5. It was only several weeks ago that the Yanks had a 10-game division lead and it hardly mattered. That the Orioles were winning and in contention for the wild card was plenty of reason for joy. Nobody at that time, at least to my recollection, seriously considered the possibility of contending...

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O's invite fans to "BUCKle Up!" for September stretch run

September 04, 2012, 3:04pm

Orioles

O's invite fans to "BUCKle Up!" for September stretch run

The O's are within a game of first place in the American League East, and September is suddenly a lot more fun for baseball fans in Baltimore. So the Orioles are inviting fans to "BUCKle Up!" - in some creative wordplay featuring their manager's first name - while celebrating the team's push to the postseason and the 20th anniversary of Camden Yards. And what better way to celebrate than to offer some money savings of the throwback variety. Next week, when the Tampa Bay Rays - yes, the...

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Zach Wilt: Reynolds finds new ways to contribute

September 04, 2012, 5:56am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: Reynolds finds new ways to contribute

I've never complained about Mark Reynolds' crazy high strikeout totals, but it's definitely the popular thing to do in Birdland. All the cool kids are doing it. Power hitters go down swinging a lot; it happens. They swing hard and miss often, but when they put the barrel on the ball, it typically travels hundreds of feet. After hitting two bombs in the Bronx on Sunday, Reynolds struck out three times in Rogers Centre on Monday. Last season, Reynolds led the American League in strikeouts...

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Domenic Vadala: The future isn't written yet

September 03, 2012, 5:38am

Orioles

Domenic Vadala: The future isn't written yet

Prior to writing for Birds Watcher, I covered the Orioles for another outlet in 2010-11. After what I still feel was the greatest closing act of all time last September against Boston, I wrote that I felt that game juxtaposed the fortunes of the two franchises together in some strange way for the future. (Shout out to my high school English teachers, as I was paying attention all those years - who else could work juxtaposition into a sports column?). I suppose that, at the time, I did in fact...

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For Kiko Garcia, memories of '79 series are still fresh in mind

August 29, 2012, 1:07pm

Orioles

For Kiko Garcia, memories of '79 series are still fresh in mind

It's been more than 30 years since the 1979 World Series, a slice of Orioles history that represents both the best and worst for Kiko Garcia, the shortstop on the team that lost a three games to one series lead to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now 58, Garcia recently made his first trip to Baltimore since the final game at Memorial Stadium in 1991, and got his first in-person look at Camden Yards. Speaking following the Orioles Advocates Hall of Fame Luncheon last week, where he feted former...

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James Baker: A few thoughts on attendance

August 30, 2012, 7:00am

Orioles

James Baker: A few thoughts on attendance

A lot has been made of the poor attendance over this current four-game series against the White Sox. Despite being in the heart of a playoff race and playing another first-place team, the Orioles managed to draw fewer than 15,000 fans on all three nights. Today's game, with the 12:35 p.m. start time, promises to be even more sparsely attended. Why? Bloggers and fans have said for years that if the Orioles were winning, the fans would return. The swaths of green seats seen on television...

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Neal Shaffer: Why we shouldn't be afraid to embrace Orioles Magic in 2012

August 28, 2012, 7:08pm

Orioles

It's hard to watch the Orioles' success this year and not hearken back to the well-worn phrase that we, as fans, are fortunate to call our birthright: Orioles Magic. True, it's tinged with nostalgia, coming as it does from a bygone era. And equally true, it's often been uttered with tongue planted firmly in cheek over the past 14 years of losing. But it's a great phrase both because it's ours and because it works. When baseball is as much fun as this, a word like magic doesn't sound...

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Zach Wilt: My summer with the Birds

August 28, 2012, 4:48am

Orioles

I've convinced myself that I suffer from a very mild case of seasonal depression. For as long as I can remember, "back to school" has always been the worst phrase in the English language. I'm 24 and haven't been in a classroom since 2010, but there's something about the end of summer that brings me down just a bit. From the first moment I hear the smooth tones of Joe Angel and Fred Manfra broadcasting from spring training in Sarasota, I can almost feel the Baltimore humidity back in my...

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Domenic Vadala: Is Showalter an afterthought in Manager of the Year conversation?

August 27, 2012, 5:52am

Orioles

Domenic Vadala: Is Showalter an afterthought in Manager of the Year conversation?

With the Orioles on the road lsat week, I took the opportunity to visit one of my favorite places, and one of the jewels of our home region: the Delmarva shore. For the record, the seashore is one of the few places on earth that rivals a ballpark for my attention. There's nothing like braving the surf during the day, and then quite literally sittin' on the dock of the bay watching the tide roll away as you watch Orioles baseball outdoors at dockside restaurants. During my time at the shore,...

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Matthew Taylor: Five-game win streaks are the new Oriole Way

August 23, 2012, 7:51pm

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Five-game win streaks are the new Oriole Way

The Orioles are masters of the five-game win streak. After stringing together a then-season-best four-game win streak in late April, the O's have posted five-game win streaks in every month since. The Orioles' five-game win streaks are more different than they are alike, although some patterns have emerged. Here are five facts about the O's five-game win streaks: * All but one of the Orioles' five-game win streaks have included two extra-inning victories. Among these are two extra-inning...

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Rise in record give O's viewership on MASN a boost

August 20, 2012, 12:46pm

Orioles

Rise in record give O's viewership on MASN a boost

You know all the numbers by now: How the Orioles have made themselves a player in the wild card race, how they've made August baseball in Baltimore relevant on a national scale, how clubs managed by Buck Showalter historically show a significant improvement in his second full season at the helm. But the improvement in the Orioles' numbers aren't solely in the win-loss column. This season roughly 62,000 viewers are watching Orioles broadcasts on MASN versus the 44,000 viewers-per-game...

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MASN's Social Media Weekend returns to Camden Yards

August 21, 2012, 8:03am

Orioles

MASN's Social Media Weekend returns to Camden Yards

You tweet about the Orioles, interacting with MASNsports.com on a nightly basis on our @MASNOrioles Twitter account. You like our MASN Orioles Facebook page, participating in our game threads. And you've signed up for our mobile text-messaging service in astounding numbers, allowing us to deliver important news and game updates right to your cell phone. Now it's time for MASN to give back to its faithful flock of social media-minded Orioles fans. This weekend, when the Orioles entertain the...

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James Baker: The roller coaster of emotions

August 23, 2012, 4:51am

Orioles

James Baker: The roller coaster of emotions

The Orioles continue to take their fans on a roller coaster of emotions. Yesterday, fans of the Orioles experienced both crest and fall with the announcement of playoff ticket invoices and the crushing defeat at the hands of the Texas Rangers. In the middle of an uneventful Tuesday in Baltimore, the Orioles surprised their fans with the announcement of the year so far: Playoff tickets are on sale now. Baltimore. Orioles. Playoff tickets. Think about those words for a bit and now try to...

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Zach Wilt: Praising the 'pen

August 21, 2012, 6:47am

Orioles

Ten years ago, baseball experts would say that winning one- or two-run games was what defined a great a team. Good teams find a way to win close games, bad teams lose them. Sabremetrics and advanced baseball statistics have changed the way we think about the game today and now many would say that the Orioles' 42-18 record in games decided by one or two runs this season is a fluke. Doubters see this as the stat that will ultimately lead to another collapse and say this trend is too historical...