Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

Can Matt Wieters get his bat going in 2011?

Can Matt Wieters get his bat going in 2011?
After tearing it up as a college hitter and then being named the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball, Orioles catcher Matt Wieters had a strong rookie year in 2009. He seemed poise for a possible breakout, all-star-type season in 2010. Instead, Wieters took a step back offensively. While some just felt Wieters was over-hyped and not as good as advertised, it's just too soon to make that call. But I think there was a reason - call it an excuse if you want - for Wieters' statistical dropoff...
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Steve Melewski

Next question: How much better are the Orioles?

Next question: How much better are the Orioles?
So now that we can say the season (spring training at least) starts next month, some excitement is clearly building for the 2011 version of Orioles baseball. Many fans seem quite pleased with the offseason additions and some seem to even feel the club could contend if a lot breaks right. I would still guess that is a two-year process where you would hope to make a run at .500 and 80-some wins one season while hoping to get to 90-plus and contention the next. So can 2011 be the year where...
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Steve Melewski

Maybe there will be glee about adding Lee

Maybe there will be glee about adding Lee
New year, new first baseman for the Orioles. After all the worry, hand-wringing and frustration over how long the process played out, the O's got a decent first sacker, one that is one season removed from hitting 35 homers with 111 RBI in 141 games. They didn't get Victor Martinez, Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, Carlos Pena or Adam LaRoche, who just wasn't worthy of a three-year deal. The O's began the offseason with Martinez as their top target to be their new first baseman. In ending up with...
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Steve Melewski

Noteworthy day

Noteworthy day
Some notes to wrap up another year of blogging for me here at MASNsports.com. Thanks to everyone for reading all year and Happy New Year! Right before the 2010 season began, I made some fearless predictions about the O's and the AL East. Here are some of those predictions and how they fared vs. what really happened. Steve's predicted 2010 AL East standings: Boston 94-68 Tampa 91-71 New York 90-72 Baltimore 79-83 Toronto 72-90 The actual standings were: Tampa 96-66 New York 95-67 Boston...
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Steve Melewski

Hobgood: "O's didn't get damaged goods"

Hobgood: "O's didn't get damaged goods"
In a way, Matt Hobgood is relieved that doctors say he has a strained rotator cuff. To him, that perhaps is the best explanation yet why the fastball velocity he had in three high school seasons, has never surfaced in two years of pro ball with the Orioles. Hobgood, the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft, had an MRI last week and now doctors have put him on a four- to six-week rehab program to strengthen his shoulder and they say surgery is not needed. In a Wednesday afternoon phone...
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Steve Melewski

Exclusive: O's prospect Matt Hobgood talks about his shoulder injury

Exclusive: O's prospect Matt Hobgood talks about his shoulder injury
In a phone conversation this afternoon, Matt Hobgood said he felt some soreness in his shoulder during a light, mid-December throwing session and that led him to pre-Christmas visits with Drs. John Wilckens and Lewis Yocum. They both said he has a strained rotator cuff, but does not need surgery. Hobgood described this as "a minor setback" but also said it's possible his shoulder problems could date back to sometime in 2009. He also feels the shoulder issue is the primary reason he has not...
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Steve Melewski

Still a Hobgood fan? Yep.

Still a Hobgood fan? Yep.
Today, I find myself once again writing about Matt Hobgood. Some fans and commenters to this and other blogs just can't get enough of the guy and commenting on his selection by the Orioles with their top pick in 2009. I know the majority of fans and readers here wish him the best and support him. I also know there are a few fans who see him as my boy and were likely outwardly excited at the news of his shoulder injury. They can't wait to tell me again how right they are and that I am just...
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O's can never have enough starting pitching

O's can never have enough starting pitching
Do the Orioles need to add starting pitching? I say the answer to that question is a clear yes. Others may say the Orioles already have six pitchers for five starting spots in Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Brad Bergesen, Chris Tillman and Zach Britton. The only problem with that thinking is that having even six is not enough. Not over a full season. The Orioles used nine pitchers to start games last year and 12 in 2009. No doubt, both Tillman and Britton will get their...
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Roberts, Jones and Markakis at the top

Roberts, Jones and Markakis at the top
It is hard to project what the Orioles batting order could or should be for the 2011 season since all the parts are not in place yet. But I still think the most effective top of the order, or top three spots in the order, could be with Brian Roberts batting first, Adam Jones second and Nick Markakis third. I suspect many fans first thought about this will be negative. They don't see the free-swinging Jones as a number two hitter at all and most realize Markakis statistically hits better...
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Steve Melewski

Merry Christmas Birdland!

Merry Christmas Birdland!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone in Birdland! Thanks for all you do to keep this blog popular and please know that I never take you for granted. No great baseball thoughts today, except one small one. I hope all long-suffering O's fans realize that anyone can easily root for a winner. Being an Orioles' fan is tough. I know, I've been one for over 40 years. I've seen the glory years and World Championships and I've seen everything since that 1983 win over the Phillies and...
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It's just about time for the gifts

It's just about time for the gifts
Growing up as a kid on Third Street in Overlea, Christmas was a magical time for me. As another holiday season has arrived, I hope we all can experience some of that magic we felt as a kid and remember the special friends and family in our lives. Since my parents would always let us open a few presents on Christmas Eve after returning from my aunt's house, here are a few presents for the Orioles on this Christmas Eve. Nick Markakis: A Gold Glove and continued leadership ability. Everyone in...
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Steve Melewski

Some random O's takes

Some random O's takes
Well, I am now back from vacation and back on the East Coast. After several days in Las Vegas, my energy and bankroll were both running low so I made it home just in time. I would say more, but, as you all know, what happens in Vegas....... Thanks to the MASNsports.com staff for publishing some stories I had left behind to run over the past few days, mostly on the minor leagues and reader comments also. Thanks to our great fans/readers for leaving some good comments even when I wasn't able...
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Guzman heads for Japan, Reimold a comeback candidate

Guzman heads for Japan, Reimold a comeback candidate
Joel Guzman led Orioles minor leagues in homers and RBIs last year at Double-A Bowie and he recently turned that solid 2010 season into a nice, new contract. But he has to leave the country to get it. Guzman signed a one-year deal with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan. He did not get an offer to join any major league team's 40-man roster. The Orioles let Guzman know they'd like him back, but they also seemed to expect that the minor league free agent would sign elsewhere. "It was our best...
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More Rule 5 draft talk with Lee MacPhail

More Rule 5 draft talk with Lee MacPhail
I had a conversation recently with Lee MacPhail, the Orioles' director of pro scouting, who was heavily involved with the club's preparations for the Rule 5 draft, among other projects. Click here to see his take on Adrian Rosario, the 21-year-old righty the club took with the fourth pick in the Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings. Here is what MacPhail said about the club's prep and plans going into that Rule 5 draft: "We discussed some strategies going into the draft and we put...
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Steve Melewski

Buck was on board with the Rosario selection

Buck was on board with the Rosario selection
When the Orioles took 21-year-old pitcher Adrian Rosario in last week's Rule 5 draft, they selected a pitcher with a good arm, but very little experience. The youngster from the Dominican has thrown only 183 career innings, most in rookie ball. When he pitched 32 innings for Wisconsin of the Single-A Midwest League last summer, those were his first career innings above rookie-ball level. The odds are against any Rule 5 player sticking with his new big league club all season. Rosario, with...
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Steve Melewski

Dave Schmidt talks about Hobgood's fastball

Dave Schmidt talks about Hobgood's fastball
When the topic is Matt Hobgood the Orioles' first-round pick in 2009, the discussion among fans often turns to whether or not he was taken as signability pick by the club. Fans also talk about his conditioning, or lack thereof. I recently interviewed O's minor league pitcher coordinator Dave Schmidt, who detailed improvements Hobgood is looking to make. All of that is well and good, but here is perhaps the biggest issue with Hobgood moving forward: Will he get his fastball back? At Norco...
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Komminsk on his new role and some Bowie hitters

Komminsk on his new role and some Bowie hitters
After managing the last three seasons at Double-A Bowie, Brad Komminsk will work in a new role for the Orioles during the 2011 season: hitting coach for Triple-A Norfolk. What will be some keys for him in this role? "I think egos and stuff and getting guys to trust you," Komminsk said. "Hitters can be fragile and they have everybody in their ear. Every player is a hitting coach and every parent is a coach, every fan they have to deal with so much.They hear a lot of stuff from a lot of...
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Avery reflects on his AFL experience

Avery reflects on his AFL experience
He may not have hit for a high average in the Arizona Fall League, but O's outfield prospect Xavier Avery felt like he made progress with his game in his time with the Scottsdale Scorpions of the AFL. The lefty hitter, who turns 21 on New Year's Day, batted .188-0-5 in 21 games with six steals. "I went in there to focus on just getting better," said Avery, the Orioles' second-round pick in 2008. "I felt like I accomplished that, but my numbers at the plate don't show it. I had a talk...
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How to compete in the East: Win the arms race

How to compete in the East: Win the arms race
How do the Orioles compete in the AL East? It is a fair question. If the Orioles added Mark Reynolds and J.J Hardy, while Boston added Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, haven't the Orioles lost ground to Boston? The answer is almost certainly yes. I can't imagine anyone figured the O's to make a move or moves to top the two Boston made. That is life in the AL East. It seems the Orioles might sometimes have a better chance versus Boston and New York on the field than they do in the...
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Checking in on Australia

Checking in on Australia
Four Orioles farmhands were playing winter ball in the Australian Baseball League. Now, there are three. Righty Brett Jacobsen was there, but, as of Thursday he was traded to Minnesota in the deal that sent J. J. Hardy to Baltimore. The 24-year-old Jacobsen came to the O's in a trade on August 17, 2009 from Detroit for Aubrey Huff. This winter with the Perth Heat, Jacobsen went 0-0, 1.93 with three saves in four chances over 9 1/3 innings. Lefty Cole McCurry is 0-1, 4.12 in five starts...
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