Some impressive stats from the Tampa Bay series

Some impressive stats from the Tampa Bay series
Here are some of the impressive stats for the Orioles after they won today 6-3 against Tampa Bay to take two of three in that series. * Chris Davis had an amazing series, going 7-for-11 with three doubles, three homers and 11 RBIs. He somehow managed to work a single in there. He exits this series batting .636 with a slugging percentage of 1.727 and a 2.420 OPS. * Davis has hit 10 homers over his last 10 regular season games. He hit one in each game this series and has homered in nine of...
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Three Orioles affiliates play season openers tonight

Three Orioles affiliates play season openers tonight
Three Orioles minor league affiliates play season openers tonight, while Single-A Frederick is set to open Friday night at home against Salem. Zach Clark, who was added to the Orioles' 40-man roster over the winter, pitches tonight at Harbor Park as Triple-A Norfolk hosts Durham with Chris Archer on the mound. The Tides have lost five straight season openers. Clark went 3-1 with an ERA of 0.36 in four home starts for the Tides in 2012 and Norfolk went 44-30 at home last year. Norfolk used...
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Will the bats have a third straight good day against Tampa Bay? (updated)

Will the bats have a third straight good day against Tampa Bay? (updated)
Earl Weaver used to wonder how many games constitute a good start to a season. Is it just a few games or maybe 10, 20 or 40? Well, for two games, the Orioles' offense has certainly been clicking. In their first two games in St. Petersburg last June, the Orioles scored two total runs off the talented Rays' staff and they have 14 in the first two games of this series. Last year in nine games on the road against Tampa Bay, the Orioles scored 16 runs total. At this early stage, the Orioles...
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Opening day rosters for Norfolk, Bowie and Delmarva

Opening day rosters for Norfolk, Bowie and Delmarva
Here are the opening night rosters for the Orioles' Triple-A Norfolk team, along with Double-A Bowie and Single-A Delmarva. You'll notice Dylan Bundy has officially been placed on Bowie's disabled list with mild elbow tightness, but remember the minor league DL stay can be a minimum of seven days. Each roster can have 25 active players. Players are listed alphabetically. Frederick opens tomorrow night and that official opening day roster has not been released yet. NORFOLK P Jairo...
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Can Chris Davis become the fifth player in O's history to hit 40 homers? (AAA roster)

Can Chris Davis become the fifth player in O's history to hit 40 homers? (AAA roster)
Let this stat sink in: Chris Davis has hit nine homers over his last nine regular season games. He has homered in eight of those nine games. He homered in six in a row late last year, took game 162 off and is now 2-for-2. I guess that is pretty good. I also guess talk that Davis could hit 40 this year is not just hype. He clearly is capable of it. And it does seem he is a bit of a streaky homer hitter. Last season, even before that late-season homer barrage, he homered in back-to-back games...
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Veteran O's minor league skipper Kendall talks about the depth and upgrades on the farm

Veteran O's minor league skipper Kendall talks about the depth and upgrades on the farm
If you want to talk about the changes, upgrades and improvements in the Orioles' minor leagues over the last, say, 10 or more years, Baltimore native Gary Kendall is a great guy to talk to. The 2013 season is his 14th in the Orioles' organization and he has managed at Bluefield, Delmarva, Aberdeen and Bowie. This will be his this third year as Baysox manager after he led the team to a record of 75-66 in 2011 and to a mark of 78-64 last year. In 2012, he guided the team to an Eastern League...
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Joyce homer ends wild game as Rays earn 8-7 walk-off win over O's

Joyce homer ends wild game as Rays earn 8-7 walk-off win over O's
What a wild game. What a bad ending for the Orioles. Matt Joyce hit a solo homer off Tommy Hunter leading off the last of the ninth as Tampa Bay beat the Orioles 8-7 to leave both clubs 1-1. Joyce entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh and had a key bunt single then. Last year, the Orioles were an AL-best 14-2 when the game was tied after eight innings. They were also 29-9 in one-run games but now are 0-1 in 2013. The Orioles bullpen allowed six runs in this game as the O's blew...
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The Orioles have not had much success against Jeremy Hellickson (update)

The Orioles have not had much success against Jeremy Hellickson (update)
The O's reward for winning a game started by 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner David Price is a game against right-hander Jeremy Hellickson. He is 6-3 with a 2.30 ERA in 12 career games against Baltimore. Such is life against the Rays' talented pitching staff. Hellickson faced the Orioles a whopping six times last season, going 2-2 with a 2.38 ERA over 34 innings. Hey, at least they got a good look at the guy. In six career home starts against Baltimore, he is 4-2 with a 1.58 ERA at Tropicana...
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After eventful 2012 year, Avery begins this season with Double-A Bowie (updated)

After eventful 2012 year, Avery begins this season with Double-A Bowie (updated)
After being named a Carolina League postseason All-Star in 2010 and earning a spot in the Eastern League midseason All-Star game in 2011, Orioles outfield prospect Xavier Avery had a rather wild 2012 season. It started with him playing his first season at the Triple-A level on opening day and by May he was already in Baltimore for one of four stints in the majors last season. He spent time in May, June, July and September with the O's. He flashed some nice skills with the Orioles after his...
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The importance of AL East games, plus another national writer likes the O's

The importance of AL East games, plus another national writer likes the O's
The so-called experts have it figured out that there are some areas where the 2013 Orioles can't duplicate the 2012 version. Areas like their 29-9 record in one-run games and 16-2 record in extra inning. The experts might actually have that one right for a change. Another area that may be hard for the Orioles to duplicate is the 2012 record of 43-29 and .597 winning percentage in American League East games. You have to go back to 1980 to find an O's club that had a higher win percentage in...
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Did we see the potential for what the O's offense could be today?

Did we see the potential for what the O's offense could be today?
When I made my season predictions earlier today, my take on the Orioles' offense was that it could be league average or a tick or two above that this season. One game is a rather small sample size, don't you think, but it was an impressive start this afternoon with seven runs, six extra-base hits and 13 overall hits in the win over Tampa. Anytime you can win a game started by David Price - who was 7-2 with a 1.81 ERA at the Trop in 2012 - it's impressive. It sure was. With all the offense...
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O's seventh-inning explosion produces win over Tampa Bay in season opener

O's seventh-inning explosion produces win over Tampa Bay in season opener
With one big swing in the first inning and two huge swings in the seventh, the Orioles beat Tampa Bay 7-4 today to win their opener for the 10th time in the last 13 years. Last season, the Orioles scored six runs total in their last four games at Tropicana Field. Jason Hammel had allowed just one run on 56 pitches through five innings until Tampa Bay scored twice in the sixth to take a short-lived 3-2 lead. The Orioles then quickly exploded for five runs in the seventh against lefty Jake...
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Will the O's be able to buy a run off Price today? (update)

Will the O's be able to buy a run off Price today? (update)
Well, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best, right? Today the Orioles face one of the American League's best on opening day in Tampa Bay lefty David Price. He went 20-5 with a 2.56 ERA last year and won the AL Cy Young Award in a close vote over Justin Verlander. He was the first AL East pitcher to win the award since Boston's Pedro Martinez in 2003. Price was dominant against the Orioles last season, going 2-0 with a 0.40 ERA, allowing just one run and 13 hits in 22 1/3...
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Baysox set season-opening rotation, plus checking in with Kevin Gausman in Bowie

Baysox set season-opening rotation, plus checking in with Kevin Gausman in Bowie
BOWIE - Double-A Bowie manager Gary Kendall has set his season-opening pitching rotation as the Baysox are working out today in the wind and cold at Prince George's Stadium before they open on Thursday at Harrisburg. Mike Wright will start on Thursday and pitch the opener and be followed by Jake Pettit, Kevin Gausman, Eddie Gamboa and Julio Rodriguez. "Mike Wright was here last year and threw a big game for us in the playoffs last year," Kendall said of his game one starter. "I know he...
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Fearless predictions

Fearless predictions
These are fearless predictions because, if I am wrong, the sun will still come out. Well, unless it rains. But here are my American League East predictions for the 2013 season, where I am predicting a one-game difference at the top and only an 11-game difference from top to bottom with every team at .500 or better. Baltimore: 92-70 Tampa Bay: 91-71 Boston: 86-76 Toronto: 85-77 New York: 81-81 I was feeling pretty confident about the Orioles and then the words of Buster Olney and Jayson Stark...
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Orioles baseball is ...

Orioles baseball is ...
Well, it is almost here, another season of Orioles baseball. There is always excitement for opening day and the rebirth we feel with a new season. I think one of the neat things about last year's Orioles playoff appearance was hearing many writers and broadcasters around the country say it was great to see the O's winning again. "Baseball is better when the Orioles are contending," some said, or words to that effect. They don't have to convince most of us. I have over 40 years...
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Dylan Bundy dealing with mild elbow issue

Dylan Bundy dealing with mild elbow issue
Right-hander Dylan Bundy, considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, is dealing with a mild elbow issue, Orioles vice president Dan Duquette confirmed tonight to MASNsports.com "Dylan has some mild tightness in his right elbow which he is resting until it's resolved, which we expect will be in a couple of days," Duquette wrote via text. Bundy went 9-3 with a 2.08 ERA in 23 starts this past season at three minor league levels and then pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in two...
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Minor league break camp rosters

Minor league break camp rosters
The Orioles have set break camp rosters for each minor league affiliate. The final and official opening day rosters will be announced later next week. The four opening night starters will be Zach Clark for Triple-A Norfolk, Mike Wright at Double-A Bowie, Devin Jones at Single-A Frederick and Parker Bridwell for Single-A Delmarva. An earlier entry on this was deleted in a brilliant move by yours truly and is now being recreated so keep checking back for more. Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia is...
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Can the Orioles bullpen repeat late-inning success?

Can the Orioles bullpen repeat late-inning success?
The Orioles, like just about any team, have question marks. Can some of their starting pitchers repeat last year's success? Can Nolan Reimold and Brian Roberts stay healthy? There are others, but one area of the team that looks very strong again is the bullpen - and particularly the back end of the 'pen. The Orioles, on many nights, can send out Pedro Strop to pitch the seventh, Darren O'Day in the eighth and Jim Johnson in the ninth. And that is without even mentioning the lefty matchup...
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Taking a guess at the minor league rotations and some position player assignments

Taking a guess at the minor league rotations and some position player assignments
The Orioles' four full-season minor league affiliates will open their seasons soon with Single-A Frederick starting next Friday and the other three clubs - at Triple-A Norfolk, Double-A Bowie and Single-A Delmarva - beginning new seasons on Thursday. Before the rosters officially come out, here are some guesses about some of the pitchers we could see in each rotation and some possible position player assignments. I've listed the 2012 draft picks by round. Norfolk: Dan Duquette confirmed...
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