orioles buzz

Zach Wilt: Zach Britton is following the Jim Johnson blueprint in the ninth

June 18, 2014, 7:14pm

Orioles

Zach Wilt: Zach Britton is following the Jim Johnson blueprint in the ninth

Zach Britton entered Wednesday's game in the ninth inning, attempting to hold a 2-0 lead over the Rays and secure a series win for Orioles. Tampa Bay's 3-4-5 hitters (Evan Longoria, James Loney and Ben Zobrist) were due up. It's never easy in the American League East, even against the lowly Rays. In the blink of an eye, Joe Angel had pronounced that the Orioles were indeed in the win column after Britton struck out Longoria and Zobrist, and forced Loney to ground out to first base. Twelve...

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Daniel Clark: Reassessing the O's active roster

June 18, 2014, 4:40am

Orioles

Daniel Clark: Reassessing the O's active roster

Worn fingernails, mood swings and high blood pressure - Welcome to the life of an Orioles fan. A frustrating season has continued to fray the nerves of us fans this past week or so, after our team failed to take advantage of eight consecutive quality starts by winning just four games. Those that follow me on Twitter (@DC_TBLDaily) will know I speak my mind and immediately after Monday night's painful loss to the Rays, I said there won't be any holding back in this week's blog post. I'm...

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Little movement for Orioles in All-Star voting

June 17, 2014, 2:02pm

Orioles

It was more of the same for the Orioles in the most recent All-Star balloting figures. Despite hitting .264/.339/.340 in June, Nelson Cruz is still the leader at designated hitter, following a May where he had a batting average of .339 with 13 home runs and 27 RBIs. Matt Wieters is also still the leader among American League catchers with 1,488,884 votes. However, the O's catcher was ruled out for the rest of the 2014 season on Tuesday following a succesful ligament-reconstructive surgery. The...

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Jon Shepherd: Looking back on this year's draft

June 17, 2014, 4:35am

Orioles

Jon Shepherd: Looking back on this year's draft

When the Orioles chose to sign what Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz, two free-agent stragglers with free-agent compensation attached to them, it was a blessing and a curse for the amateur scouts in the organization. Bad news first - the curse was the continual loss of top selections in the draft. Add in the loss of a competitive pick, which the team dealt in the Bud Norris trade last year, and the Orioles handed over three picks over the first two rounds. The major league draft is one where...

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Andrew Stetka: O's indecision with rotation is a good thing

June 16, 2014, 5:05am

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: O's indecision with rotation is a good thing

Depth at any position in any sport is always crucial, but it seems starting pitching in baseball always provides one of the toughest tests for a team in this department. It's clear that having a top-notch pitcher always gives an organization a chance to win every fifth day, but one injury (or sore elbow leading to Tommy John surgery, it seems this season), can derail the best of rotations and teams. The Orioles are clearly going about things differently this season, and have been for some...

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If you've got the tarp and downpour, we've got the ex-O's catcher ...

June 13, 2014, 9:53am

Orioles

If you've got the tarp and downpour, we've got the ex-O's catcher ...

It's pouring right now at Camden Yards. No, pouring may be too tame a word. The rain is coming down so hard that I can barely see the tour group stuck in the visitors dugout from my fifth-floor Warehouse window. I don't know about you, but I can't see the tarp on the field in the middle of a rainstorm and not think of ex-Orioles catcher and current MASN broadcaster Rick Dempsey, who turned rain delay boredom into laugh-inducing pantomime on many a major league diamond. Sometimes Dempsey...

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Zach Wilt: Best season of Nick Markakis' career?

June 12, 2014, 6:50am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: Best season of Nick Markakis' career?

I can't get enough of the season that Nick Markakis is putting together in 2014. Atop the Orioles lineup, he's turned into one of baseball's most consistent leadoff hitters. Coming into Wednesday's game against the Red Sox, Markakis had hit .318 in 145 games as the O's leadoff hitter and was batting .410 in the first inning this season. But you already know how dominant he has looked to since moving to the top of Buck Showalter's lineup. What I've been more fascinated with is how this...

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Matthew Taylor: How much defense makes up for a lack of offense?

June 13, 2014, 5:10am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: How much defense makes up for a lack of offense?

Would I appreciate Mark Belanger today? That's the question that's been on my mind lately as I watch Jonathan Schoop try to find his way a the plate, Manny Machado struggle to return to the preternatural form he displayed on offense last season or Ryan Flaherty serve as a jack-of-all-trades on defense while mastering none on offense. How much defense makes up for lousy offense? Let me state unequivocally that I'm not putting Schoop or Flaherty in the same category defensively as Belanger,...

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Orioles fans can win trip to World Series, cash prizes and more from the Maryland Lottery

May 19, 2014, 9:22am

Orioles

The Maryland Lottery has released its first-ever Baltimore Orioles branded scratch-off, with 15 chances on each ticket to win cash prizes! There are more than $11.5 million in total cash prizes, and you have chances to grab the top prize of $60,000. However, the opportunities to win don't end there. The Maryland Lottery is also giving baseball fans chances to snag some of the best prizes that the game can offer in its second-chance contest. These prizes include trips to Wrigley Field to...

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Daniel Clark: O's rotation set for change

June 11, 2014, 5:00am

Orioles

Daniel Clark: O's rotation set for change

As the Orioles continue to experience troubles on the mound, a series of injuries last week to both Johan Santana, who was nearing a comeback, and Miguel Gonzalez has thrown up a number of possibilities with the starting rotation going forward. Having been inconsistent all season, the planned addition of Santana was hoped to add an element of consistency and reliability to a shaky group of starters. However, his season-ending Achilles injury, suffered while retrieving a batted ball during an...

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Jon Shepherd: When stats fail

June 10, 2014, 6:35am

Orioles

One of the early thoughts that emerged through the primordial sabermetric movement was that the previous year's numbers racked up at Triple-A was as meaningful as those earned at the major league level when trying to determine what would happen in the upcoming season. That matured into more refined ways to project performance, such as Clay Davenport's Minor League Translations. That approach looks at park factors, the performance of players crossing over from one minor league level to the...

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Andrew Stetka: Machado's reputation on the line after rough weekend

June 08, 2014, 7:09pm

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: Machado's reputation on the line after rough weekend

It seems the so-called unwritten rules of baseball have been tested throughout this season. We've seen brawls between the Pirates and Brewers, Red Sox and Rays. and a few different incidents now involving the Orioles - most notably when Bud Norris threw inside on Boston's David Ross. The latest stems from Manny Machado's actions on Friday night, which boiled over into yesterday and led to an ejection and a public shaming. All of a sudden, one of the game's most respected young stars has a...

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Machado, Jones, Markakis make progress in All-Star voting

June 08, 2014, 5:50pm

Orioles

Machado, Jones, Markakis make progress in All-Star voting

The Orioles are moving on up. Well, some of them. In the most recent All-Star balloting figures, designated hitter Nelson Cruz (1,404,275 votes) and catcher Matt Wieters (1,235,369) still lead at their respective positions, but a couple of Orioles are moving up the board. After being fourth American League third baseman in the previously released results, Manny Machado has now moved up to third with 720,761 votes. The young third baseman trails Josh Donaldson(1,470,544) of the A's and Evan...

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Matthew Taylor: Orioles baseball is a family tradition

June 06, 2014, 7:21am

Orioles

My son hears J.J. Hardy's name on the Orioles broadcast and he starts a chant: "J.J. Hardy ... clap, clap, clap-clap-clap." He hears the familiar bugle music that long ago signaled the cavalry and he yells "Charge." He visits my office and immediately wants to see the "baseball men," meaning a Brian Matusz bobblehead and an Orioles garden gnome (It was a gift, OK? No judging.) He's either a fan of an Orioles legend or of off-color comedy because he plays with a replica statue and calls...

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Zach Wilt: Markakis has taken nicely to leadoff role

June 05, 2014, 4:47am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: Markakis has taken nicely to leadoff role

How about that? The Orioles have won four straight, and have scored 27 runs and racked up 50 hits over that streak. As I type this post, MLB.com's headline says the Orioles continued their "upswing in Texas" with their 6-5 victory on Wednesday. Upswing, huh? The O's are definitely trending in the right direction and appear to be gaining a bit of momentum. Tonight, they look to sweep the Rangers in Arlington and have now elevated themselves to 30-27, second place in the American League East,...

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Daniel Clark: Where would O's be without Cruz?

June 04, 2014, 5:12am

Orioles

Daniel Clark: Where would O's be without Cruz?

As the Orioles continue their inconsistent season, which between short-term winning and losing streaks has left them with a fragile record of 29-27, their most valuable player through 56 games continues to shine. Nelson Cruz was a late signing for the O's, having only inked a deal in the last week of February. At the time, the one-year deal worth a reported $8 million was touted as being an absolute bargain for the O's. Now, almost a third of the way through the season, it's become evident...

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Jon Shepherd: Nick Markakis is everything

June 03, 2014, 4:49am

Orioles

Jon Shepherd: Nick Markakis is everything

Over the first third of this season, there has been considerable discussion about how well Nick Markakis has performed. Depending on your perspective, he has been doing poorly, has been a breath of fresh air or something in between. Amazingly, all of those stances are somewhat equal in being accurate. Markakis has been doing poorly, he has been excelling and he has been merely adequate. How is this so? It depends on what you choose as your baseline. Back in the day, we nailed what Markakis...

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All-Star voting: Cruz overtakes Ortiz, Wieters still leads at catcher

June 02, 2014, 12:14pm

Orioles

All-Star voting: Cruz overtakes Ortiz, Wieters still leads at catcher

Nelson Cruz already tops the major leagues in home runs and RBIs. Now he leads in another category. Cruz, who has hit 20 homers and collected 52 RBIs this year, is now the American League leader among designated hitters in the most recent All-Star Game balloting results. Cruz jumped ahead of Boston's David Ortiz in the latest figures after setting an Orioles record for the most RBIs before the end of May. Cruz has received 888,855 votes and leads Ortiz (766,631), Victor Martinez of the Tigers...

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Andrew Stetka: O's window doesn't have to close

June 01, 2014, 4:52pm

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: O's window doesn't have to close

There's been much made of a so-called window the Orioles are playing with over the next two seasons. Many believe the club's best chance to compete is when Chris Davis and Matt Wieters are under contract. Additions like Nelson Cruz for this season enhance that thought, and having a lack of superior competition in the American League East makes eyes widen even larger. The problem I have with this mindset of a window is that it was built by those running the ballclub. For years, Orioles fans...

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Matthew Taylor: O's single-season homer list undergoes modern renovations

May 30, 2014, 4:38am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: O's single-season homer list undergoes modern renovations

Cal Ripken Jr. stepped to the plate in the sixth inning on Sept. 29, 1991, and stroked his second home run of the game against the Detroit Tigers. It would be his 34th and final homer of the season. Ripken, Baltimore's career home run leader, tied Boog Powell for seventh on the O's single-season home run list with that effort; both players now rank 17th. Powell, who has the third-most career home runs in Orioles history, held four of the top 10 spots on the single-season list when Ripken...