Dan Duquette talks about the Orioles' international efforts

Dan Duquette talks about the Orioles' international efforts
With over 30 percent of major league clubhouses made up of players born outside of the United States, any team that wants lasting success must sign some promising international talent. Orioles vice president Dan Duquette has said he wants to improve the Orioles international efforts. Signing a player that is making a key contribution like Wei-Yin Chen was a nice first step for him. But the team must also make improvements in signing and developing international amateur players as...
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Dan Duquette on the young pitchers and their struggles

Dan Duquette on the young pitchers and their struggles
When Chris Tillman pitched that great game in Seattle, we later learned that Orioles director of pitching development Rick Peterson had worked with Tillman in Norfolk in mid-May, which helped lead to some of Tillman's improvements this year. Peterson brought biomechanical analysis to the Orioles when he was hired in January and many of the organization's pitchers took part in that during spring training. After a pitcher's specific delivery gets analyzed by those at the American Sports...
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A few Orioles are struggling with the bat as the first half closes

A few Orioles are struggling with the bat as the first half closes
As the first half comes to a close today, maybe fans may have some hope to see an improved O's pitching rotation after the All-Star break that, at least initially, will include Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez. Who could have predicted that even as recently as a few weeks ago? But the Orioles' offense also needs to step it up a notch pretty soon. The Orioles have sure seen a steady diet of good starting pitching in recent weeks, and they were shut out last night for the third time in the...
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Notes from Bowie on Markakis, Teagarden and Welty

Notes from Bowie on Markakis, Teagarden and Welty
The first time Nick Markakis played with the Double-A Bowie Baysox, in 2005 on his way through the Orioles' farm system, he hit .339 with three homers and 30 RBIs to go with a .993 OPS in 33 games. He hit those three homers then in 124 at-bats and last night, on an injury-rehab assignment with Bowie, he hit two in three at-bats, driving in four runs as the Baysox beat Akron 7-1. "He's been with us the last few days and yesterday he had a great BP," Bowie manager Gary Kendall said. "He...
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Nick Markakis talks after his two-homer night at Bowie

Nick Markakis talks after his two-homer night at Bowie
BOWIE, Md. - After playing with the Double-A Bowie Baysox tonight, both Nick Markakis and Taylor Teagarden said they hope they can rejoin the Orioles next Friday when the second half begins. Markakis went 2-for-3 with two homers and four RBIs in Bowie's 7-1 win over Akron. He hit two-run homers in the third and seventh innings. He had surgery on his right wrist about five weeks ago and had it wrapped after tonight's game. "I felt good," Markakis said. "Just trying to get some at-bats and...
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Markakis homers twice at Bowie

Markakis homers twice at Bowie
BOWIE, Md. - Nick Markakis seems to be enjoying his return tonight to the Eastern League, even if it will be temporary. He has hit a pair of two-run homers this evening against Akron as Bowie leads 7-1 in the seventh. In his second at-bat at Prince George's Stadium, Markakis hit a two-run homer off knuckleballer Steven Wright's 3-0 pitch to give the Bowie Baysox a 2-1 lead over Akron. With two outs and none on in the last of the third, leadoff hitter Antoan Richardson drew a walk and then...
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Nick Markakis will bat second in Bowie Saturday

Nick Markakis will bat second in Bowie Saturday
BOWIE, Md. - Fans coming here to Prince George's Stadium tonight will not see Manny Machado play, as he has left to play in the Futures Game Sunday in Kansas City. But they will see two players that have been in the major leagues and who have hopes of joining the Orioles when play resumes after the All-Star break. Nick Markakis and Taylor Teagarden are both in Bowie's lineup. Markakis will bat second and play in right field and Teagarden is batting third as the DH. Markakis has been out...
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D. Bundy, Machado talk about playing in the Futures Game

D. Bundy, Machado talk about playing in the Futures Game
When the All-Star Futures Game, featuring some of baseball's best prospects, is played tomorrow, there will be seven players on the U.S. roster that were teenagers when the calender turned to July. Three of those seven are ranked as top ten prospects and two of that trio are from the Orioles. Pitcher Dylan Bundy, the 19-year-old O's 2011 first-round pick and shortstop Manny Machado, the O's 2010 top pick who turned 20 yesterday, will represent the Orioles in that game tomorrow in Kansas...
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Miguel Gonzalez outpitches C.J. Wilson as the Orioles top the Angels

Miguel Gonzalez outpitches C.J. Wilson as the Orioles top the Angels
With a big eighth inning assist from Troy Patton, Miguel Gonzalez pitched the Orioles to a big win on Friday night, as they beat the Angels 3-2 to even the four-game series after the first two games. Gonzalez gave up just three hits and one run over seven innings. It was his first major league start. Now, he may get a second. Gonzalez improved to 1-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.93. He threw exactly 100 pitches, including 66 for strikes. His outing was impressive in several ways: * He...
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Dan Duquette talks about Kevin Gausman and Seong-Min Kim

Dan Duquette talks about Kevin Gausman and Seong-Min Kim
Orioles vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said the club has spent time this week working on trying to get its first-round draft pick, LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman, to agree to a contract. The deadline to sign this year's draft picks comes up Friday. The Orioles have agreed to terms with eight of their top 10 picks with only Gausman and their fifth-round pick, high school pitcher Colin Poche, still to get in the fold. "We are working on that this week," Duquette said of the...
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Trade talk with Dan Duquette

Trade talk with Dan Duquette
Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said that the Orioles have been involved in some recent trade discussions, but that any talks are in the very early stages right now. "We've talked to a number of teams, probably over half the teams," Duquette said. "Some teams are still trying to decide what they are going to do. I think it's still early and so many teams are still in contention." Is he confident the Orioles will be involved in one or more trades by...
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Jake Arrieta struggles again as the Orioles lose to the Angels

Jake Arrieta struggles again as the Orioles lose to the Angels
There are brutal losses. There are ugly losses. Then there are losses like Thursday's defeat for the Orioles. The Angels starter, Garrett Richards, gave up three homers and seven runs in just 4 1/3 innings and his team won. The Angels improved to 28-12 since May 21 with a 9-7 victory over the Orioles in Game 1 of a four-game series. Orioles starter Jake Arrieta's outing was both brutal and ugly. Arrieta was given early leads of 4-1 and 7-3 and faltered each time. Each time his offense got...
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O's use biomechanical analysis for improvements and changes with Tillman

O's use biomechanical analysis for improvements and changes with Tillman
It seemed like fans and reporters alike were saying the same thing Wednesday - "Where did this come from?" - as they watched Chris Tillman take a one-hit shutout into the ninth inning at Seattle. Tillman's average fastball velocity in his major league starts in 2011 was 89.3 mph and he averaged 95 mph in Seattle and topped that late in the game as his velocity held strong for 125 pitches. Plus, Tillman's delivery was different than what we had seen from him in the past. It was more...
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Baseball America ranks Dylan Bundy as No. 1 prospect

Baseball America ranks Dylan Bundy as No. 1 prospect
If has not been often that we can say an Orioles prospect is ranked as the best in baseball. But today, Dylan Bundy is No. 1. He has been ranked as baseball's best prospect at midseason by Baseball America. Matt Wieters was ranked the game's No. 1 prospect by Baseball America before the 2009 season. In this current listing, Manny Machado is ranked No. 9. John Manuel, Baseball America's editor in chief, told me that when his staff put together a preliminary list ranking their top 50, Texas...
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Looking at 81-game math and the rotation

Looking at 81-game math and the rotation
Today provides a unique opportunity. Since the Orioles have played exactly 81 games with exactly 81 more to go, it is that one day that we can simply double some player and team statistics to project what totals they could finish with. Of course they probably won't exactly duplicate their first-half performance over the next 81 games but we have enough of a sample size now to make those projections with numbers that should at least be in the ballpark. So, at the end of the season, based on...
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Chris Tillman comes up big in his return to the majors

Chris Tillman comes up big in his return to the majors
Well, that was impressive. As the Orioles search for some consistent starting pitching, Chris Tillman, at least for one afternoon, presented a very strong case for himself. In his first major league start of the season and his first since last Aug. 11, Tillman pitched the Orioles to a 4-2 win this afternoon at SafeCo Field. Tillman threw a career-high 8 1/3 innings allowing two runs, both unearned. He walked two and fanned seven. He left after a one-out double by John Jaso put runners on...
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Chris Davis' bat starts to heat up again

Chris Davis' bat starts to heat up again
Chris Davis is getting hot again at the plate. He recently went through a 10-game stretch where he went just 1-for-35 which dropped his average to .267. But he began today at .275 and his RBI single in the third inning gave the O's a 3-0 lead this afternoon at Seattle. Davis is 1-for-2 so far today and that makes him 8-for-21 over his last six games with two homers and nine RBIs in that time. He now has 40 RBIs on the year to tie for second on the team with Matt Wieters behind team leader...
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As strikeout rate increases, Tillman's ERA decreases

As strikeout rate increases, Tillman's ERA decreases
Unlike some fans and analysts, I am not a huge believer that a high strikeout rate is generally a predictor that a pitcher will do well. But I do put some importance on it and it stands to reason that a pitcher with a lot of strikeouts must have something going for him. If you look at Chris Tillman's strikeout rates at Triple-A Norfolk this year, he is ringing up the Ks at his best rate since 2009 when he had an ERA of 2.70 for the Tides. Tillman averaged 9.2 strikeouts for every nine...
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Should we worry about the Orioles bullpen?

Should we worry about the Orioles bullpen?
Don't look now, but after last night's games, the Orioles no longer lead the major leagues in bullpen ERA. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have 'pen ERAs of 2.70 and the Orioles' mark went up to 2.71. That still ranks first in the American League. The Orioles bullpen has now given up runs in eight straight games; before this, five in a row was the longest stretch of the year. Over those eight games, the 'pen ERA is 5.81, raising the season number from 2.30 to that current 2.71. The Orioles...
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This time the Orioles lose the lead, but not the game, at Seattle

This time the Orioles lose the lead, but not the game, at Seattle
A pitcher on a roll takes a perfect game into the seventh inning but doesn't even get a win. A struggling hitter delivers a huge home run. Just another night with the Baltimore Orioles. Wei-Yin Chen lost a perfect game bid when Casper Wells hit a solo homer off him after he had retired the first 19 batters tonight. The O's took a 4-1 lead for Chen into the last of the eighth, but reliever Pedro Strop gave up three singles, hit a batter and issued a bases-loaded walk as the Orioles lost the...
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