A few days ago, I gave you the rundown of arbitration-eligible Orioles and educated guesses on which players could be non-tendered. There are enough names on the list to keep any team executive busy.
The Orioles don't have nearly as many pending unrestricted free agents. The 40-man roster includes outfielders Nate McLouth and Endy Chavez, pitcher Joe Saunders and designated hitter Jim Thome. Pitcher Randy Wolf and first baseman Nick Johnson are on the 60-day disabled list.
This group can...
Because so many fans wanted to know, I'll pass along that manager Buck Showalter's knee surgery was a success and he's rehabbing at home. No complications. No fun, either, if you've ever rehabbed a knee.
Here are a few more Showalter-related notes:
A week after being the honorary captain at a Ravens game, Showalter will appear on this season's first episode of "Basketball and Beyond with Coach K," co-hosted by Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and Dave Sims, at 7 p.m....
Zach Clark managed to do the impossible this season. He won 15 games, posted an ERA below 3.00 and went largely ignored.
It's the Dylan Bundy factor. And later, it became the Kevin Gausman factor. Top pitching prospects who garnered most, if not all, of the media's attention.
Until 2012, Clark was best known for having pitched at UMBC. He was "local." He also was an organizational guy who kept getting moved from one affiliate to the next whenever a spot opened up.
Clark, 29, was signed...
The Red Sox did exactly what had been rumored pretty much since their former manager, Bobby Valentine, criticized Kevin Youkilis earlier this year. They arranged for John Farrell to become their new manager.
Orioles third base coach DeMarlo Hale interviewed for the job, but the Red Sox made their decision a long time ago. They just needed to complete the rare player-for-manager trade with the Blue Jays, which they did by sending Mike Aviles to Toronto.
The first time I ever heard of such a...
Yesterday, we kicked around ideas for second base. Today, we'll ponder whether the Orioles need to upgrade the rotation or play the hands - right and left - that they've been dealt.
The Orioles' starters posted an ERA under 4.00 after Aug. 1 and a 2.00 ERA in the playoffs. The pitching staff finished with a 3.90 ERA that ranked 14th in the majors. Their 3.73 ERA after the All-Star break tied them with the Giants for 11th.
The staff's 3.35 ERA in September ranked eighth in the majors, and...
While the left side of the infield is set for 2013, the right side is open for business.
The Orioles probably won't pick up Mark Reynolds' $11 million option. They could non-tender him and attempt to re-sign him, rather than risk going to arbitration.
Second base is especially unsettled, with Robert Andino and Omar Quintanilla non-tender candidates and Ryan Flaherty a possibility to start the season at Triple-A Norfolk, now that he's no longer a Rule 5 player.
Nobody knows what to expect...
The Houston Astros announced today that former Orioles manager Dave Trembley has been hired as a coach.
Trembley, 60, will join new manager Bo Porter's staff. His position hasn't been determined.
"I'm real appreciative," Trembley said in a phone interview. "Bo is still sorting through where he's going to place everybody. He's got a couple more hires to make, so he's kind of holding off on what we're going to do for him."
Trembley had been working as the Atlanta Braves' minor...
There isn't a team in baseball with more arbitration-eligible players than the Orioles, who lead the field with 15.
Too bad they can't be exchanged for runs.
The list in alphabetical order reads as follows:
Robert Andino
Chris Davis
Lew Ford
Jason Hammel
Tommy Hunter
Jim Johnson
Brian Matusz
Darren O'Day
Troy Patton
Steve Pearce
Omar Quintanilla
Nolan Reimold
Mark Reynolds
Taylor Teagarden
Matt Wieters
Executive vice president Dan Duquette was asked on Saturday about the large...
The bad news for the Yankees is they were swept by the Tigers in the American League Championship Series. The good news is Alex Rodriguez now has a date for Saturday night.
Have the Orioles ever been swept in the postseason? Don't think so.
Watching the Yankees stumble out of the ALCS like a drunk after last call should bring pleasure to fans here, but I can't get past how the Orioles almost certainly would have put up more of a fight. They didn't hit in the Division Series and still...
The Orioles are settled at most positions for the 2013 season, with Adam Jones set in center field, Nick Markakis in right, Manny Machado at third, J.J. Hardy at shortstop and Matt Wieters behind the plate. They would like to retain first baseman Mark Reynolds, but they must decide at what cost.
Left field is a moving target, to borrow one of manager Buck Showalter's favorite expressions.
Do the Orioles attempt to re-sign Nate McLouth? Do they roll the dice again with Nolan Reimold, who was...
It doesn't seem that long ago that Steve Johnson was deciding whether he should re-sign with the Orioles. And later, whether he should become a minor league free agent if the Orioles didn't place him on the 40-man roster.
Now he's still washing champagne out of his hair.
Johnson's professional life took some crazy turns, including the one that pointed him toward the playoffs. He won all four of his major league decisions, posting a 2.11 ERA and striking out 46 batters in 38 1/3 innings....
Pitcher Dana Eveland and catcher Ronny Paulino, among the 52 players who appeared in games with the Orioles this season, have filed for free agency.
Eveland, acquired from the Dodgers on the last day of the Winter Meetings for Jarret Martin and Tyler Henson, went 0-1 with a 4.73 ERA in 14 appearances with the Orioles, including two starts. He cleared waivers twice this summer - he didn't pitch for the Orioles after July 13 - and accepted outright assignments rather than forfeit the rest of...
Just when I'm convinced that I've kept up with all the firsts with the Orioles this year, I stumble across another one.
On Sept. 26, Jim Thome became the oldest player to homer for the Orioles at 42 years, 30 days. Thome was 11 days older than the previous record older. Can you name him?
Answer below. No fair looking it up or scrolling down.
While I'm focusing on Thome, I'll mention again that the Orioles don't know whether he wants to continue playing in 2013. That's because Thome...
So, it appears that Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is being skewered by the New York media for trying to score from the dugout.
According to a New York Post article, Rodriguez flirted with two young women sitting in the stands after he was removed for a pinch hitter in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. The Yankees were losing 4-0.
Rodriguez, who's 3-for-23 with no extra-base hits in the postseason, supposedly tossed a baseball to one of the women requesting her phone...
One of the primary reasons why the Orioles snapped their streak of 14 consecutive losing seasons was their ability to win on the road.
The Orioles recorded 46 road victories, 16 more than their total in 2011 and their most since 1997 (52). The 46 road wins were the most in the America League.
It also helps when a team goes 29-9 (.763) in one-run games for the best winning percentage in major league history. There was no way to predict it back in March.
The record was previously held by the...
The Baseball Writers' Association of America will begin announcing its 2012 award winners Nov. 12 with the American and National Leagues Rookies of the Year.
The Angels' Mike Trout will run away with the honor, followed by the Athletics' Yoenis Cespedes and the Rangers' Yu Darvish. Not much drama attached to this one.
The AL and NL Managers of the Year will be revealed Nov. 13, followed by the Cy Young Award winners on Nov. 14 and Most Valuable Players on Nov. 15.
Ballots were submitted...
I wasn't at M&T Bank Stadium yesterday, but I heard that Orioles manager Buck Showalter received a huge ovation while walking to midfield as the Ravens' honorary captain. He stood on their sideline for the anthem, though the FOX announcers didn't seem to notice. Showalter was positioned in plain view beside coach John Harbaugh. You couldn't miss him.
Ravens and Orioles. It's always nice when birds collide.
One of the unfortunate developments in the American League Division Series...
I checked the comments on this blog throughout the day and night, and I'm so appreciative of the many kind words. Please don't think for a minute that they went ignored. They meant a lot to me.
I plan on watching football today and perhaps consuming a drink that includes an olive or two. There could be a cigar in my future. But I wanted to revisit a few of manager Buck Showalter's comments from yesterday.
I spoke to Showalter toward the end of the season about his contract and whether...
Now that the Orioles are done playing in 2012, manager Buck Showalter will undergo surgery Wednesday on a right knee that's required treatment all season and often left him limping or using a fungo bat for support.
Less painful was the time he spent chatting with reporters in the home dugout this afternoon.
On whether it felt weird to wake up this morning without a game to play:
"Weird? Not yet. At some point, your body kind of goes, 'OK, that abuse, I'm getting ready to pay you back.'...
The Orioles estimated that about 500 fans waited to greet them at Camden Yards early this morning when they arrived from New York at 12:50 a.m. The crowd formed a human tunnel and cheered as players, coaches and manager Buck Showalter walked through it.
Executive vice president Dan Duquette signed autographs again this afternoon before making it inside the Orioles' clubhouse, where a few players packed up their belongings for the winter. The roll call included Wei-Yin Chen, Troy Patton,...
