Whenever the Orioles play Tampa, MASN's Rick Dempsey usually says "don't pitch to Pena." It's his way of reminding fans, and O's pitchers, how well the guy hits Baltimore pitching.
If the O's played the Marlins more, the Demper would probably change that to "don't pitch to Ramirez."
After missing Sunday's game with a hamstring injury, Ramirez returned to the lineup last night for the Marlins.
And picked up where he left off last June in again tormenting O's pitching.
Ramirez...
If it seems like the Orioles lose often when they play the Florida Marlins in interleague games, they do.
Florida blasted the O's 10-4 tonight to win for the ninth time in the last ten games between these teams. Florida is 17-5 all-time vs. the Birds.
Hanley Ramirez, who missed Sunday's game with a hamstring injury, returned to the Marlins lineup with three hits and three RBI. Florida scored six times over the final three innings to break open a 4-3 game.
The O's fall to 19-51 as they...
Shortstop Greg Miclat, who played tonight in the Carolina League vs. California League All-Star game, will soon be joining the Double-A Bowie Baysox.
Miclat was batting .311-1-19 in 48 games with Frederick with an OBP of .403 and OPS of .806. The fifth-round pick out of the University of Virginia in 2008, was batting .348 in 18 games in June and went six for 12 with two doubles and 5 RBI in his last three games with Frederick.
Miclat will likely join the Baysox in time for Thursday's game...
O's fourth-round draft pick Trent Mummey is at Camden Yards watching the Orioles tonight.
Mummey had his physical in Baltimore this week and it appears everything checked out fine, as expected. The outfielder from Auburn is expected to join the Aberdeen IronBirds in the next few days. The 21-year-old Mummey hit .366-17-54 in 36 games in college this year after beginning the season missing 28 games with an ankle injury.
Meanwhile an O's official did confirm tonight that minor league...
Ronnie Welty of the Frederick Keys made the semifinals of the home run derby before tonight's California League/Carolina League All-Star Game in Myrtle Beach, S.C., hitting five first-round homers, the most of any of the 10 competitors. In the semis, he was beaten by Winston-Salem's Jon Gilmore, two homers to one. Gilmore beat High Desert's Rich Poythress in the finals, four homers to three.
Thanks to reporter Pete Kerzel, who is covering the game for milb.com for that note.
Welty is...
Yes, the Orioles did trade a Wolf for a Fox. Pitcher Ross Wolf goes to Oakland and a few moments ago Jake Fox completed his first interview with Baltimore reporters.
Fox found out yesterday morning he would be an Oriole and today settled into his locker in the Camden Yards clubhouse.
"I'm excited about it. It's always good to have a change and go someplace where hopefully you fit in. Where I came from, it just wasn't the right fit for anybody. I didn't fit into their style and it's...
Over the next few weeks and months fans and reporters will be tracking the Orioles for a couple of reasons. One, the constant watch to see just how historically bad this team turns out to be. Two, to see who might become the next manager.
For me, this season has turned out so badly, I don't care if they lose 100, 110, 120 or 130 games. At this point, what difference does it make?
Here is what I am most interested in the rest of this season:
Will the core group of young players that...
The Orioles third-round draft pick, right-hander Dan Klein, picked up a save in the College World Series on Monday night.
He pitched a shutout ninth inning as his UCLA squad beat TCU, 6-3. It was his tenth save of the season as UCLA improved to 2-0 in the series.
Klein, showing a 93-MPH fastball, along with a change and curve, gave up a one-out single but nothing else in closing out the win.
The Orioles will not be talking contract with Klein or the other two players they drafted from UCLA...
Here are a couple of roster moves from the Orioles farm system today:
*RHP Zach Clark goes from Bowie to Norfolk.
*LHP Chris George goes from Norfolk to Bowie.
*SS Pedro Florimon joins Aberdeen on an injury-rehab assignment.
Clark, who has been with the O's since 2006, was 1-1, 3.41 with Bowie. George pitched in 14 games, nine as a starter at Triple-A and went 2-2, 4.28 in 61 innings with the Tides.
The 23-year-old Florimon has struggled this year at Bowie in his first full season at the...
It's been a tough season for first baseman Tyler Townsend, the Orioles third-round pick out of Florida International in the 2009 draft.
It began with Townsend suffering a hamstring injury during winter workouts. But he felt fine when spring training began. Then, he hurt the hamstring again and didn't report to Delmarva until April 20.
He would go 5 for 10 at bat with 2 RBI over the next three games. Then, he hurt that same hamstring in his left leg again.
He returned to Sarasota for...
Win two in a row?
It's been a long time coming for these 2010 Orioles. Win a road series? That hasn't happened all year. Couldn't do it today either at San Diego.
I thought with a 4-0 lead and Jake Arrieta on the mound, maybe, but........
Since winning three in a row vs. Seattle and Cleveland from May 12-14, the Orioles have not been able to win even two in a row.
Here is what happened after each recent win:
5-18: Beat KC 4-3 in 11 innings, then lost two in a row.
5-21: Win 5-3 at...
It was for sure a pleasant sight to see Matt Wieters rip a three-run double to left center to give the Orioles a 4-0 lead after a half inning at San Diego.
Wieters began today hitless in his last 13 at bats and with just one hit over his last 22 at bats as his average dipped to .222 and some fans were calling for him to be sent back to Triple-A.
Maybe that one swing, having come in a real clutch, two-out, bases loaded situation, can get him going.
Wieters had just 3 RBI over his previous 19...
The Orioles top pick in last June's draft, right-hander Matt Hobgood has not pitched for the Delmarva Shorebirds since June 11, but is expected to make his next start when the Shorebirds season resumes later this coming week after the upcoming All-Star break.
Hobgood was skipped one turn due to slight shoulder soreness that is not believed to be anything more serious than that. When the Shorebirds reset their rotation after the All-Star break, the 19-year-old hurler is expected to be in...
The latest Orioles draft pick to agree to terms is fourth-round pick Trent Mummey, an outfielder from Auburn that was taken with the 118th overall selection.
Mummey is expected to take his physical in Baltimore on Monday and, if all goes well there as expected, he will then officially sign and soon after likely join the Aberdeen IronBirds.
Mummey missed the first 28 games of Auburn's season with an ankle injury, but then hit .366-17-54 in just 36 games. He was a first-team all SEC selection...
Kevin Millwood is finally a winner in 2010.
Wonder how his stomach was feeling in that last of the ninth. It had the look of many others that got away from the Orioles this year and the latest was in that park just last night.
But Alfredo Simon stranded the tie run at third as he picked up the final two outs, and, even though he gave up a run in the ninth, the O's got a 5-4 win to even the series.
Millwood, after giving up three runs in the first with the help of a botched rundown that...
The four starting pitchers tonight at the O's full-season affiliates combined to give up just one earned run and pitch to an ERA of 0.38 this evening.
Here is the rundown:
Norfolk's Troy Patton: 5IP, 6H, 3R, 1ER
Bowie's Zach Britton: 6IP, 2H, 0R
Frederick's Ryan Berry: 5IP, 2H, 0R
Delmarva's Kenny Moreland: 8IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER
That is 1 ER and 12 hits over 24 innings for the four.
Patton has now pitched to an ERA of just 1.84 over his last five starts, lowering his ERA for the year...
Well, you knew San Diego would score after the Orioles botched that rundown between second and third in the last of the first.
Cesar Izturis was chasing the runner toward third base and just needed to keep running at him and there likely would have been two runners at third and an easy third out. But he made a throw he didn't need to make and a return throw was too late and the O's botched a basic rundown.
Jim Palmer and Eddie Murray sounded amazed and stunned in the booth.
Nick Markakis...
Delmarva and Frederick play games today and tomorrow and that will end their respective first halves and bring those two clubs to their All-Star breaks.
Delmarva is playing well and takes a five-game win streak into tonight's home game vs. Lexington. The Shorebirds have allowed just nine runs during their season-high win streak. Delmarva has now won eight in a row at Perdue Stadium, its longest home win streak since taking ten in a row there in July and August of 2005.
Kieron Pope...
The latest Orioles draft pick to agree to terms is fourth-round pick Trent Mummey, a lefty hitting outfielder from Auburn that was taken with the 118th overall selection.
Mummey is expected to take his physical in Baltimore on Monday and, if all goes well there as expected, he will then officially sign and soon after join the Aberdeen IronBirds.
A Baltimore Sun report said Mummey was signed to a $252,000 bonus.
"It was a slot signing," O's scouting director Joe Jordan said. "We feel...
When I hear the term "two-strike approach" I think of a batter and how they want to protect the plate and swing at anything close when the count is 0 and 2.
But maybe O's pitchers need a better "two-strike approach."
The stats say the O's hurlers are among the worst in AL when the count is 0-2.
Worst batting average against, 0-2 count:
.227 - Oakland
.205 - Orioles
.204 - Minnesota
Only Oakland gives up a higher batting average this year on an 0-2 pitch than the O's. The Yankees...