Amber Theoharis Archive
Upon arriving in Sarasota on Thursday my goal was to spend the next few days gathering as much information as I could about the new Orioles. My first reaction to the O's newest offseason additions are; Andy MacPhail got the right guys. ... Read More
For those of you who are reading this blog simply because of the entry title...I like your style in music. Good to see Marvin Gaye fans in O's Nation. ... Read More
When a team is in last place in the division and just coming off a thirteen-game losing streak, news that the man who oversaw the whole implosion will keep his job is going to come with mixed reactions. Walking into the Orioles clubhouse after Andy MacPhail announced Dave Trembley ... Read More
Dave Trembley announced today that right handed reliever Bob McCrory will undergo surgery on Friday to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder. He's expected to be out of commission for about six months. That does make him questionable for spring trianing. ... Read More
Not to undermine Nolan Reimold's hopes of being voted AL Rookie of the Year, but I can't help but pose the question: Should Matt Wieters' name be amongst the candidates as well? ... Read More
It's not as if everyone watching O's games lately hasn't noticed how much this club is in desperate need of a power hitter. It's impossible to compete in the AL East without one---and even one might not be enough, especially when teams like the Yankees have anywhere from four to ... Read More
The weather matches the mood here in NY. On the eighth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, there is a somber mood across the city. There are subtle reminders all over Manhattan of how terrible that day was. ... Read More
Koji Uehara is in Boston with the team, but he will not be available to pitch tonight. After Uehara's last bullpen session in Sarasota, he told Orioles Minor League Medical Coordinator Dave Walker, he was not ready to pitch yet in a big league game. He threw 40 pitches ... Read More
What happens if Chris Tillman has a breakthrough performance tonight or his next start? What if he pitches seven innings plus with ease? We saw Brian Matusz do it last Sunday, and it makes you wonder. Will the Orioles still shut down their two young arms early if they ... Read More
Tough break for Adam Jones. As it's been reported on MASNsports.com that his sprained ankle could be a season-ending injury. Coming into September his focus was on finishing strong - now he has to deal with the reality that he won't have the chance. ... Read More
Since the Orioles' youth movement began back in May, we've heard how hard the young players are working to improve. We've heard about Felix Pie working endlessly with hitting coach Terry Crowley in the batting cages. We've listened to the accounts of the great bullpen sessions Brian Matusz has ... Read More
The Orioles are going to have to figure out how to win some of these close games. I'm a bit worried the young players are missing out on the opportunity to learn how to win. It's easier said than done, but they have to learn the value of finding ... Read More
Before Friday's game against the White Sox in Chicago Dave Trembley confirmed the Orioles still plan to see Brad Bergesen pitch again in the big leagues before the end of the season. ... Read More
Nolan Reimold was happy to get a chance to DH Wednesday. You wouldn't know it by his numbers since the All Star break, but he's pretty banged up. An inflamed Achilles heel tendon has bothered Reimold to varying degrees throughout the season, and now because of overcompensation, the back ... Read More
Huff's roster spot won't be filled until tomorrow, so the Orioles will be playing with a short bench tonight against the Angels. As Roch Kubatko mentioned in his blog, Huff's spot will be filled tomorrow by either newly acquired first base prospect Rhyne Hughes or Michael Aubrey who is ... Read More
With the Angels in town, Orioles rookie pitchers Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz are going to face the toughest offensive team they've seen to date. It's a real chance to show they can get the best hitters in baseball out. ... Read More
Matt Wieters seems much more relaxed at the plate. In my opinion, showing he was human those first two and a half months of the season was the best thing that ever happened to the rookie. ... Read More
During Monday's rain delay I opted not to elbow my fellow media members out of the way for free hot dogs. Instead of heavy eating, I did some light reading. Rarely does anyone read every single note written in the Orioles game notes, but since I had some time ... Read More
Interesting note about Jeremy Guthrie: he's 6-1 with Gregg Zaun behind the plate. For the record, Guthrie is 7-10 overall, so the right-hander has only notched one win when Zaun has not been behind the plate. That's a big difference. ... Read More
I'm glad Dave Trembley has decided to give Brian Matusz something Tuesday that he didn't afford Chris Tillman in the rookie's major league debut last Wednesday--Matt Wieters behind the plate. Now this opinion has nothing to do with Gregg Zaun. His expertise and knowledge behind the plate has been ... Read More
Sure it's premature, but that's what we bloggers do--throw out scenarios, speculation, and hypothetical situations. The Major League Baseball trade deadline is approaching (4:00 p.m. Friday, July 31) and it seems the Oriole drawing the most interest from clubs around the league is George Sherrill. ... Read More
Nolan Reimold is proving he has the ability to work his way down the major league skills checklist. ... Read More
Cla Meredith made his Orioles debut in the seventh inning of Wednesday's game against the Yankees. The first thing you notice about the five year major league veteran is his sidearm delivery. It's very deceptive. ... Read More
As America celebrates the 40th anniversary of the day Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon, I looked up some interesting tidbits about what was happening in baseball that day. Here's what I found: ... Read More
Looking back at the Orioles' first half of the season, you have to put the emergence of Brad Bergesen as one of the most significant events of the year. ... Read More
The Orioles should be getting two of their key players back from the disabled list soon. Cesar Izturis is expected to be activated this Friday for the weekend series against the Blue Jays. Dennis Sarfate is heading out on a nine to ten game rehab assignment beginning this weekend. ... Read More
Every time the Orioles visit SafeCo Field in Seattle, I can't help but wonder if the Mariners cringe at the thought of what they gave up to the O's two years ago. ... Read More
After learning Nolan Reimold had been named AL Rookie of the Month Friday, I spoke to John "T-Bone" Shelby about the Orioles outfield. He told me, forget the future, he'd put the trio of Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and Reimold up against any other outfield in the American League. ... Read More
Matt Wieters grew up in South Carolina where Atlanta Braves games were broadcast on television. He told me he was already switch hitting when Chipper Jones became popular with Atlanta in the mid 90's, but watching Jones inspired him to focus on becoming good at hitting from both sides ... Read More
Melvin Mora told me he doesn't care where he hits in the lineup, but obviously he doesn't feel he belongs in the seventh spot. He said he's always hit second or third in his career and we've seen the type of career he's had as a hitter. ... Read More
Thursday night I interviewed Aubrey Huff live on MASN's O's Xtra post game show. He had just driven in the game winning run against the Mets for the series win. ... Read More
Ty Wigginton was not in the lineup Tuesday despite going 3-for-4 with two homers and three RBI's on Sunday (O's had Monday off). Many in the media thought that was odd. Apparently so did Wigginton, but he clearly didn't have any intentions of becoming vocal about his displeasure. ... Read More
How frustrating was it to see the Orioles leave the bases loaded in the first inning of Friday's game against the Braves? ... Read More
Baseball players just might be the most superstitious of all professional athletes. That was very apparent Tuesday night when George Sherrill was joking around with a reporter from MLB.com after the game. ... Read More
The Birds return to The Yard Tuesday after going 1-5 on the recent road trip. There are low points in every season, but this one feels particularly painful for the Orioles, perhaps because it followed such a high the week before. ... Read More
The Orioles aren't going to get back in the win column until the offense starts scoring runs again. It's been very surprising just how cold the bats have gone lately. ... Read More
The Orioles are in the middle of a stretch in which they face four consecutive lefties. It's an odd occurrence for one team to see that many southpaws in one week, but it's the luck of the draw. ... Read More
Adam Jones doesn't the sweat the Mariners anymore. He used to, just a bit, but not anymore. ... Read More
Nick Markakis knows what it's like to be a big time prospect. He was selected by the Orioles in the first round of the 2003 player draft, but he told me he has no clue what Matt Wieters is going through in his MLB debut. ... Read More
It's natural for fans to be excited to see Matt Wieters make his MLB debut on Friday. The Orioles haven't had a long-term offensive-minded catcher since Chris Hoiles, and Wieters is expected to be a major piece of the puzzle going forward. ... Read More
As reported by MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko, it's widely believed that right hander Jason Berken will be called up from Triple A Norfolk tomorrow to make the start in place of Adam Eaton who was released by the Orioles over the weekend. Here's some food for thought. Who will be ... Read More
Let's all revert back to our Sesame Street days and hope the Orioles series against the Nationals this weekend is brought to us by the letters R, B and I. It's an acronym that hasn't showed up on the O's scorecard a whole lot lately. ... Read More
When Nolan Reimold was called up to the big leagues on May 14th, it was assumed he only had about twelve days to earn his right to stay. That's not a whole lot of time to show you deserve a longer look in the majors, but Luke Scott is ... Read More
Expect to see Adam Jones back in the lineup when the Orioles open a three-game series against the Yankees on Tuesday night. ... Read More
It looks like tonight's game against the Royals will be played, just much later than expected. It was just announced in the press box here at Kauffman Stadium that we can expect the game to start an hour to an hour and a half late. ... Read More
Count Luke Scott out for tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Dave Trembley thought he'd be available to pinch hit off the bench, but Luke told me he is not. ... Read More
Aubrey Huff's imitation of Joba Chamberlain's signature fist pump on Sunday was well done. Huff pumped his fist twice in Chamberlain's direction while running around the bases after hitting a three-run homer off the Yankee pitcher on Mother's Day. ... Read More
If history is any indicator of the future, it would behoove the Orioles to get after C.C. Sabathia early tonight. ... Read More
After the O's final game of a nine-game homestand, Amber Theoharis stood outside the Birds' locker room to discuss the reason behind the Birds' recent struggles. While the Orioles' bats started the season on fire, Amber talked with Dan Kolko about the lack of clutch hitting of late. ... Read More
Could the Orioles be headed toward a logjam in left field? It's looking that way. Felix Pie is clearly still developing, but it seems he's doing it in the major leagues whereas his future competition is developing in the minors. ... Read More
Melvin Mora is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list this Tuesday April 28th. He said he's feeling better and is continuing to get treatment on his tight hamstring but doesn't want to rush back if he's not one hundred percent. ... Read More
It's amazing how the Orioles offense heats up again when they have a pitcher on the mound who works fast, gets quick outs and gets his defense back in the dugout. ... Read More
The Orioles are taking too long to get off the field when on defense. Today in Boston Dave Trembley spoke about the value of quick outs. It's a big reason why the Orioles pitchers are struggling to go deep in games. ... Read More
Update: Dave Trembley said today before the game that he's leaning toward starting Hendrickson Monday in Fenway. With the day off Thursday he'll be on his normal turn. Trembley did add that the decision will depend on how Hendrickson does in Texas tonight. If Hendrickson starts Monday, that will ... Read More
During game one of the series against the Rangers, Orioles fans emailed questions to MASN that were answered on air. One viewer had a great question: Why is a strikeout symbolized by the letter "K" in box scores? ... Read More
Adam Jones is making the adjustment to batting in the two hole this year. Coming up in the minor leagues he was always a number three hitter; then last year with the Orioles he frequented the seventh and eighth spots in the lineup. ... Read More
It's the third inning and Gregg Zaun has only visited the mound to speak with Koji Uehara once. If you're wondering how they communicate with the language barrier, Zaun told me it's not as hard as everyone thinks. ... Read More
With the O's 2009 season just underway, Amber Theoharis checks in from Camden Yards to discuss some hot topics surrounding the Birds. Amber touches on one of the more intriguing storylines coming out of Spring Training -- outfielder Felix Pie and where he will fit in Dave Trembley's plans, ... Read More
Watch Adam Jones early on this season. He looks really good at the plate. His maturation as a hitter from last season to this season is clear. The young centerfielder could be very exciting to watch in 2009. ... Read More
I know there are some veterans in the bullpen who support Andy MacPhail and Dave Trembley's decision to go with twelve pitchers. Yesterday I met with some of the players who felt strongly about the issue, but didn't want to voice their opinions publically before a decision was made. ... Read More
There has been a lot of speculation, but no official confirmation just yet on whether Dave Trembley will keep twelve or thirteen pitchers on the roster. It's believed the club is leaning toward keeping thirteen because of the uncertainty of the starting rotation. The Orioles might need some extra ... Read More
I've enjoyed watching and talking to Ty Wigginton this spring. He's one of those players fans are really going to attach themselves to here in Baltimore. Obviously his versatility is why the O's signed the veteran to a two year deal this offseason. Having a right handed power hitter ... Read More
Following up some readers questions concerning Jeremy Guthrie... Yes, Jeremy Guthrie is in the Orioles future plans as far as I know; although I've never asked Andy MacPhail that question directly. ... Read More
Jeremy Guthrie has been making headlines and message boards lately as if he was the chairman of AIG. Here's a newsflash: Guthrie should be the least of anybody's concerns right now. ... Read More
In my last blog I said the Orioles' defensive upgrades would pay dividends in the future. Let's clarify. The rotation this year is a huge question mark. A strong defensive team is only going to help. That being said, the point of the blog was to emphasize the word ... Read More
The Orioles took their first steps toward having a great pitching staff last year. Before the men in white coats come to take me away to the insane asylum, allow me to prove I'm not crazy. ... Read More
I sat down with Dave Trembley for just a few minutes in his Ft. Lauderdale office and the topic I was most eager to discuss was Brad Bergesen. From the minute I arrived at Spring Training, there had been a lot of buzz and speculation around the 23-year-old righty. ... Read More
Rookies are given two pieces of advice upon arrival in the Big Leagues. Do your job, and shut up. Throughout history those two simple instructions have kept many rookies from being 'put in their place' by clubhouse veterans. ... Read More
Adam Jones has cut the self proclaimed fro-hawk he sported this offseason, but the 23-year-old doesn't want to shed something else he developed over the winter; about 20 pounds of muscle and two inches, height wise, on the old growth chart. ... Read More
Visiting Clubhouse Manager Fred Tyler had about 100 bottles of champagne ready to go last night in case Tampa Bay clinched their first ever AL East division title. The Orioles knew they were there before the game. That had to be irritating. Those champagne bottles just sitting there on ... Read More
Gary Thorne and Buck Martinez discussed the contract status of several current Orioles on the MASN game broadcast last night. It prompted me to look up the complete list. Here's where the core veterans stand in 2009: ... Read More
There's an air of both excitement and sadness here in the Bronx as the Orioles play the Yankees in the final series ever at Yankee stadium. The excitement comes from all the wonderful memories baseball fans are reliving here this weekend. For the next three days, grown adults will ... Read More
I took at look at the recently released 2009 schedule outside the Orioles clubhouse in Toronto last night. It didn't take long for some of the players to start peaking over my shoulder. They wanted to know how it looks. Here are the highlights and lowlights I pointed out ... Read More
Ramon Hernandez took ground balls at first base today along with Aubrey Huff. Dave Trembley said we could see Ramon play first again before the season is over. Hernandez made one appearance at first back on September 2nd in Boston as a late inning replacement for Kevin Millar. Clearly, ... Read More
There's the curse of the Bambino, but is there the curse of the Tremblino? Every time Dave Trembley gets a promotion or an extension, the most miserable of Orioles games ensues. We all remember the the 30-3 loss to the Texas Rangers on August 22, 2007, the same day ... Read More
Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast today, and Oriole pitcher Lance Cormier had a reason to keep an eye on the news. Cormier is a Louisiana native, and his parents, grandparents and sister still live in LaFayette, LA. He excused himself from our discussion in the clubhouse to call ... Read More
The Orioles could be in quite a jam for the Tampa series. Dave Trembley said he's going to piece together rotations series by series for the rest of the year. That's how dire the starting pitching situation has gotten. If Daniel Cabrera is not healthy, the situation gets even ... Read More
Kevin Millar brought up an interesting point before last night's game against the White Sox. He and I were talking about the difference between being a last place team [as the Orioles are], and being an easy team to beat; which the Orioles are not. ... Read More
We'll know by the end of tonight's game who will be the Orioles starter for the series opener against the Yankees this Friday. Dave Trembley said he'll make an announcement in his post game press conference. Popular belief [which is known to be dead wrong] is that Radhames Liz ... Read More
Melvin Mora has been named American League Co-Player of the Week along with Javier Vasquez. Mora has had a career week batting .563 with three homers and 13 RBI. Here's how hot Mora has been: Yesterday, as the team and staff boarded the Orioles bus from Tigers Stadium to ... Read More
I talked to Juan Castro before last night's game, and he told me he should be back in the lineup today. The shortstop was scratched from the lineup last night in Cleveland because he is still feeling pain in his strained left groin. He had the day off Sunday, ... Read More
The Orioles are talking openly about the opportunities that will be afforded their young players over the next two months. The Chad Bradford assignment to Tampa Bay made it clear; the rebuilding plan is still in effect, and a number of prospects could get a look in the final ... Read More
It was unanimous in the Yankee Stadium press box: Edwar Ramirez's "wild pitch" thrown at Kevin Millar's head Wednesday was intentional. The media knew it, Ramirez knew it, and the home plate umpire Mark Wegner knew it. That's why he did not hesitate to throw Ramirez out of the ... Read More
A pretty cool part of my gig at MASN is traveling to different cities with the Orioles. During the day, a lot of the players and staff take advantage of having days off and will walk around the city before heading to the park. In New York we stay ... Read More
Remember this time last year how frustrating it was to watch the Orioles play? Ground balls weren't run out. If they were trailing after the 6th inning, they almost always lost. Late inning rallies were something that happened on other ballclubs---not the Orioles. Even though the Orioles have lost ... Read More
The 1983 World Series Championship celebration last night was nicely done. I sat in a pre-game press conference with several members of the team including players I haven't seen or thought of since the 80's, such as Dan Ford and Jim Dwyer. Seeing those guys really brought back memories ... Read More
A funny story from Saturday's extra-inning win over the Tigers. As we all saw, Luke Scott hit the walk-off homer. As he approached home plate, he bowled his helmet toward his awaiting teammates. ... Read More
Adam Jones is playing banged up. His ankle is sore after rolling it while running the bases on Friday, and his tailbone is sore from slamming into the centerfield wall yesterday; but he's still playing at the same level he did when he wasn't hurt. Jones is pretty tough. ... Read More
Needless to say, the Orioles were eager to get out of Toronto last night, and it wasn't because the players were sick of doing the math it takes to convert American dollars to Canadian dollars. The buses leaving the Rogers Centre's loading docks filled up pretty shortly after the ... Read More
Your heart has to go out to Orioles southpaw Adam Loewen. The 24-year-old could be facing a career-ending injury. Tests done on his surgically repaired elbow are not good. He has reinjured the stress fracture in his throwing elbow that caused him to miss most of last season and ... Read More
The Orioles say goodbye to one of their most successful Junes in the past 15 years on a down note. For the 2nd day in a row the ever so dominant closer George Sherrill paid for making a bad pitch, and the Orioles lost a heartbreaker 6-5 to the ... Read More
It's easy to look at the Orioles' record and see just how different this year's team is from last year's, but it wasn't until last night that I realized how much the overall mentality of the entire club has changed. ... Read More
Miguel Tejada returned to Camden Yards as an Astro last night and went 0-for. The Baltimore crowd didn't receive the former Oriole All-Star very well. From his first at-bat until his last, Tejada was booed by the crowd. It's understandable. Tejada made it clear he didn't want to be ... Read More
So much for Friday the 13th. Last night Orioles magic took over on the unluckiest day of the year. I guess the Birds didn't get the memo that bad things were supposed to happen. The win over the Pirates was kind of ironic, considering last night was throwback night ... Read More
Fenway Park is a tough place to play; that's what makes last night's 10-6 win over the Red Sox all the sweeter for the Orioles. The win ensures this 3-city road swing is a success. The worst the Birds can finish is 5-4. Yesterday was so hot in Boston, ... Read More
