Matthew Taylor: Here's hoping Birds take wing in The Bronx

Matthew Taylor: Here's hoping Birds take wing in The Bronx
The Orioles begin their season series with the Yankees on Tuesday. The last time the teams met, the O's posted an improbable 4-3 victory in 11 innings at Camden Yards. Luke Scott homered off Mariano Rivera in the ninth, and the Birds used good fortune - and even better managing - to escape unscathed in the 11th inning after the Yankees put a runner on third with nobody out. It was a thrilling game, made more special for me by the fact that I was there with my dad and my wife. Dad and I still...
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Monday Memory: Welcome home, Natty Boh!

Monday Memory: Welcome home, Natty Boh!
Judging solely by the number of people clamoring to have their photo taken with Mr. Boh on opening day, I'd say the return of National Bohemian - Natty Boh for short - to Camden Yards for the first time since 1992 is a toast-worthy occasion. So hoist your frosty, cold mug o' brew (and, for a moment, conveniently ignore that the beer once brewed on the shores of the Chesapeake, well, isn't any longer) and enjoy this 1960s television ad for what was once the official frothy libation of the...
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Head to Hightopps for baseball chat, O's-Yankees on April 14

Head to Hightopps for baseball chat, O's-Yankees on April 14
Hightopps Backstage Grille in Timonium will host another in MASNsports.com's series of Orioles baseball chats Thursday, April 14 at 6 p.m. in conjunction with that evening's O's-Yankees game in the Bronx. Join Steve Melewski and myself for an hour of dugout chatter before the game, then stick around for O's-Yankees action on the many televisions at Hightopps. Some special unannounced guests may join us, and there will be plenty of time for fans' questions and some trivia...
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Catchy O's tune from Warning Track Power

Catchy O's tune from Warning Track Power
If you don't know Warning Track Power already, I suspect you soon will. Or at least you'll be humming their new, upbeat orange-and-black anthem. The Baltimore-based band, which released an Orioles-inspired song, "How Bout Dem O's," in 2009 is back with an equally catchy tune to kick off the 2011 baseball season. Here's "Oh Oh Orioles." There's a lot to like about this song, from the backyard-and-basement locales (complete with Bawlmer-style rowhomes) and the historically accurate...
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Stacey Long: Is it too early to consider an extension for Hardy?

Stacey Long: Is it too early to consider an extension for Hardy?
Of all the offseason acquisitions made by the Orioles, the one I found most exciting was the trade for shortstop J.J. Hardy. I thought he'd be a good fit for the Orioles back when he played for the Brewers, so picking him up from the Twins for the bargain price of two minor league relievers was, in my opinion, a fantastic move. The only thing that could make the deal better is if Orioles President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail takes the next step and extends Hardy before he has the...
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Stacey Long: A different feel with invested, invigorated O's fans

Stacey Long: A different feel with invested, invigorated O's fans
The online community for the Baltimore Orioles is a passionate and relatively tight-knit bunch. We comment on each other's blogs, we follow each other on Twitter and we never stop talking about the O's. Because of this it can be hard to have the proper perspective on the team's fan base as a whole. There are, of course, a lot of things to be excited about as an O's fan: The offseason acquisitions changed the look of the lineup, the young players are a valid reason for hope and we have our...
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Don't downplay Wieters' impact on 4-0 start

Don't downplay Wieters' impact on 4-0 start
Matt Wieters has gotten a bit of heat for how he's fared early on in his major league career. You might be aware of this by now. Following a 2010 season in which Wieters hit just .249 with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs, some baseball publications were already calling him a bust, and analysts and scouts might have been left wondering whether they'd missed on a can't-miss prospect. Well, just four games into the 2011 season, it's already clear how much of a factor the Orioles' young catcher is...
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Stacey Long: There's no opener like an opener in Baltimore

Stacey Long: There's no opener like an opener in Baltimore
Hello MASNsports.com readers, and welcome to my first post on this fine Web site. My name is Stacey Long and I am the editor-in-chief at CamdenChat.com. Since 2005, Camden Chat has provided daily coverage of the Baltimore Orioles that is, in my (admittedly biased) opinion, the best you'll find on the Internet. Our writers are always intelligent, often hilarious and occasionally grumpy. With statistical analysis, thoughtful commentary and an occasional inspired haiku, Camden Chat covers the...
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O's announce plans for Monday's home opener

O's announce plans for Monday's home opener
If you're lucky enough to be coming to the Orioles' home opener on Monday, you'll be interested in a variety of special plans the team announced today. First, when you come through the gates, you'll receive a 2011 schedule/car magnet, courtesy of Brothers Services. To allow for maximum fan enjoyment, the games for the 3:05 p.m. game will open at noon, and roving musical groups will entertain on Eutaw Street and the main concourse. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 2:30 p.m. for...
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Win home opener tickets at Friday Hightopps baseball chat

Win home opener tickets at Friday Hightopps baseball chat
Want to go to the Orioles' home opener April 4? Don't have tickets, you say? Well, MASNsports.com will give you the opportunity to win a pair of opening day tickets Friday night at Hightopps Backstage Grille in Timonium. Steve Melewski and yours truly will be hosting another in our series of baseball chats that evening, from 6-7 p.m. At 7 p.m., we'll tune Hightopps' many televisions to the O's game in St. Petersburg, Fla., against the Rays on MASN. What better way to celebrate the start...
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Monday Memory: Now pitching, Jim Palmer

Monday Memory: Now pitching, Jim Palmer
Opening day at Camden Yards is a week away, and preparations at the ballpark continue to get it ready for the Tigers-Orioles game that will be cause for civic celebration, innovative excuses for missing school and work, and early afternoon beers at Pickles Pub. Whatever your opening day traditions are - and feel free to share them in the comments section below, where you can be part of the trial of our new commenting system - I'm sure your time-tested plans are well under way. The MASN...
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Camden Yards to host championship of inaugural President's Cup tournament

Camden Yards to host championship of inaugural President's Cup tournament
Come Saturday April 16, Oriole Park at Camden Yards will play host to an intense, pressure-packed game with plenty on the line. Nope, the Yankees aren't in town to face the O's that weekend, and the Red Sox won't be setting up shop in the visitor's clubhouse, either. The players taking the field at Camden Yards that day will be members of two Baltimore city high schools, and they'll be duking it out for the championship of the inaugural President's Cup. This morning, flanked by...
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MASN hosts Orioles chat at Hightopps tonight, 6-8 p.m.

MASN hosts Orioles chat at Hightopps tonight, 6-8 p.m.
The Grapefruit League is hitting its home stretch and there are still plenty of Orioles-centric topics trending in Baltimore-based baseball discussions. Why not join MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski and Jen Royle tonight at Hightopps Backstage Grille for another in our series of baseball chats. The fun begins at 6 p.m. with a roundtable discussion - with you, the fans, at the table - about the current state of the Birds. Will Zach Britton make the rotation? Will Brian Roberts and Derrek Lee be...
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Guest bloggers expand reach of Orioles Buzz

Guest bloggers expand reach of Orioles Buzz
The start of a new baseball season brings some changes at Orioles Buzz. Beginning the first full week of the 2011 campaign, there will be some new names, viewpoints and voices associated with MASNsports.com's blog dedicated to all things Birdland. Beginning April 4, Orioles Buzz will feature guest bloggers every weekday. MASNsports.com recognizes that the blogosphere contains all sorts of opinions on the O's, and bloggers following the orange and black are a particularly hearty breed of fan....
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Monday Memory: O's TV ad from 1994

Monday Memory: O's TV ad from 1994
We're three weeks away from the Orioles' home opener, and preparations are coming along to get Camden Yards ready for the April 4 game against the Detroit Tigers. From my fifth-floor warehouse window, I've been watching the grounds crew turn the infield dirt and work on the home plate area. A surveyor's tripod rests on the pitcher's mound. Work crews are putting the finishing touches on newly installed seats throughout the ballpark, and masonry workers are performing maintenance on the...
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Peter Angelos speaks on O's fortunes, Guerrero, Sarasota renovations

Peter Angelos speaks on O's fortunes, Guerrero, Sarasota renovations
Orioles managing partner Peter G. Angelos took in today's home exhibition opener in the renovated Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla., and spent a few minutes chatting with WBAL-AM announcers Joe Angel and Fred Manfra during the top of the eighth inning during broadcast of the game. "We always like the club in the beginning of the season," Angelos said, referring to the O's victory in their Grapefruit League opener Monday and a 12-6 lead over Tampa Bay on Tuesday. "Hopefully, this will be...
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Hightopps to host O's chat, first MASN TV game March 7

Hightopps to host O's chat, first MASN TV game March 7
Are you ready for Orioles baseball on television? Your wait is almost over. And you can share the MASN broadcast of the Yankees-O's game on Monday, March 7 with other baseball fans at Hightopps Backstage Grille in Timonium. Join MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski, Jen Royle and yours truly at Hightopps at 6 p.m. for an hour of spirited baseball talk. We'll answer your questions about the 2011 Orioles, give you our thoughts on the upcoming season, ask some trivia questions and give away some...
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O's, WBAL announce 16-game spring training radio schedule

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...
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Ernie Tyler never stopped doing what he loved

Ernie Tyler never stopped doing what he loved
The last time I saw Ernie Tyler was, well, vintage Ernie. He was sitting near the corridor that leads to the umpires' dressing room in Camden Yards, a stack of towels perched on his lap and a smile on his face. It's a pretty good memory, befitting an amazing guy who is as synonymous with the Orioles - and on a first-name basis, no less - as Frank, Brooks, Boog or Cal. It happened the day before dizziness forced his hospitalization last October, before surgery a few days later to remove a...
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O's baseball talk at Hightopps on Monday, Feb. 14, 6-8 p.m.

O's baseball talk at Hightopps on Monday, Feb. 14, 6-8 p.m.
Orioles pitchers and catchers hold their first spring training workout Monday in Sarasota, Fla., at Ed Smith Stadium. If that's not a reason to celebrate in the midst of a cold, snowy Baltimore winter, I don't know what is - so join MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski and Jen Royle for an evening of baseball talk at Hightopps Backstage Grille in Timonium from 6-8 p.m on Monday, Feb. 14. Yes, Monday is Valentine's Day. What better way to declare your love for your hometown team than to join...
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