Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

Some thoughts from the new Orioles minor league hitting coach

Some thoughts from the new Orioles minor league hitting coach
Part of Dan Duquette's restructuring of the Orioles' player development system was his hiring of Mike Boulanger as the O's minor league hitting coordinator. Boulanger will oversee the batting coaches and instruction of all the hitters on the O's farm. Boulanger brings plenty of experience to Baltimore as both a minor league coach and manager and has ties to both Duquette and manager Buck Showalter. From 2000-2002, Boulanger was a minor league manager when Duquette was the Red Sox GM and he...
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Steve Melewski

Notes on O's prospects, long-term contracts, Angle, Cordero and more

Notes on O's prospects, long-term contracts, Angle, Cordero and more
Here is a question to think about: Are all the top sluggers eventually going to wind up in the American League? After Albert Pujols got a 10-year deal from the Angels and Prince Fielder got a nine-year contract from the Tigers, two of the game's most-feared sluggers have moved to the AL. Fielder was second in the National League with 38 homers last year and Pujols was third with 37. While neither player was signed to serve as a designated hitter, just knowing the DH spot is there for those...
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Steve Melewski

Taking a closer look at the Wilson Betemit signing

Taking a closer look at the Wilson Betemit signing
The Orioles are getting some criticism for signing Wilson Betemit to a two-year contract. Not only is it a two-year deal, but there is a vesting option for the 2014 season. This for a player that has never been a season-long regular for any team and has never had more than 373 at-bats in any one season. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com and MLB Network wrote this late yesterday via Twitter: lost in huge day is how wilson betemit gets $3.25M guaranteed for 2 w/ $3.2M vesting option for '14 w/...
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Steve Melewski

Fielder is not an Oriole and some fans won't understand that

Fielder is not an Oriole and some fans won't understand that
In the end, while the Detroit Tigers have come seemingly out of nowhere to get Prince Fielder, to me it's no surprise that Fielder ended up with a winning team and in the American League. Any team willing to give a player those years and that money - and it's been reported as a nine-year, $214 million deal - better at least have the designated hitter spot ready for him at some point. I think that's an insane contract, but I felt the same way about the Albert Pujols deal with the...
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Steve Melewski

Matt Wieters: New pitchers make for new challenges

Matt Wieters: New pitchers make for new challenges
If there is one player on the Orioles that was tracking the pitching additions executive vice president Dan Duquette made this offseason, it was catcher Matt Wieters. He will have to catch the new pitchers and, in some cases, communicate with players that speak little or no English. "It's going to be a lot of work in spring training, that's for sure," the 25-year-old Wieters said. "Getting to know all the guys that have a chance to make the club or be up at some point during the year,...
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Steve Melewski

The pitchers say they are ready for rotation battle in camp (with update)

The pitchers say they are ready for rotation battle in camp (with update)
I think we heard some comments at FanFest that helped answer some questions about spring training. For one, Nolan Reimold appears to be the clear favorite to be the starting left fielder. It sure seems to be his job to lose, as they say. Buck Showalter confirmed that Mark Reynolds will be the third baseman with Chris Davis at first. And it was pretty much confirmed that Jim Johnson will be in the bullpen, likely as the closer. All of this is subject to a late change, especially pending any...
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Steve Melewski

More FanFest notes and quotes

More FanFest notes and quotes
Another FanFest has come and gone. It was a fun day with around 9,000 fans, slightly fewer than last year, attending at the Baltimore Convention Center. FanFest always gets you ready for another season after a day of talking baseball and talking with Orioles players, coaches and front office staff. Over the next week or two, I'l continue to post some interviews, quotes and stories from the day. For today, here are some quotes from FanFest. Dan Duquette on his fan forum and meeting fans: ...
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Brady Anderson is back where he wants to be

Brady Anderson is back where he wants to be
Brady Anderson was officially hired this week as special assistant to Dan Duquette, even though he has been doing some work for the club before that and did some work for the Orioles last year. "Last year, I had a condo at Triple-A (in Norfolk). You need to go everywhere. We have minor league affiliates close to Baltimore and you have to be willing to grind it out and go back to the minors. I like being in the trenches," he said. "I was around (the big league club) quite a bit last year...
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Steve Melewski

Some more nuggets from Buck Showalter

Some more nuggets from Buck Showalter
No pun intended but here are some FanFest nuggets from Buck Showalter and his latest get-together with the reporters here. Buck on the DH spot in the lineup: "It's a question mark because a guy that has to anchor down there and do nothing but that is not there. I look at that as almost an asset, but if the right guy rears his head we'd go there. But it also allows us to move people around and keep people healthy. "Wieters will be able to DH some and (we can) put some bats in the lineup we...
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Arrieta progressing nicely after surgery

Arrieta progressing nicely after surgery
Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta said at FanFest that he continues to make very good progress after having bone spurs removed from his right elbow on Aug. 12. "I felt as good as I expected to. I haven't had any setbacks, just routine throwing program soreness but outside of that I've been 100 percent healthy and very encouraged with my progress," he said. Arrieta, who went 10-8 with an ERA of 5.05 in 22 starts last summer, said the bone spurs would bother him at times last season. He...
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Steve Melewski

Jones on trade and contract talks

Jones on trade and contract talks
Orioles center fielder Adam Jones knew when he saw reporters today that someone would ask him about all the trade talk in which his name has surfaced in recent weeks. "I knew that question was coming. No one has ever talked to me about it, so I think, rumors are what they are. Leave it at that, nothing more I can say about it," Jones said. Jones was asked if he was open to discussing a contract extension if the Orioles approach him this winter. Adam Jones addresses his contract situation...
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Showalter and Duquette on rotation, Dominican, Machado, Reimold and Fielder

Showalter and Duquette on rotation, Dominican, Machado, Reimold and Fielder
The first fan forum of the day at FanFest is over. Manager Buck Showalter and Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette were on the main stage. They addressed several topics and here are some of their answers. Showalter on the battle for rotation spots this year: "Last year, it was last man standing. Now, it's about the competition and that always brings out the best in people. Last year, we had six or seven guys competing and this year we have 11 or 12, and if you know anything about...
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Boulanger wants Orioles minor leaguers to have productive team at-bats

Boulanger wants Orioles minor leaguers to have productive team at-bats
When Mike Boulanger was hired yesterday as the Orioles minor league hitting coordinator, he was reunited with executive vice president Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter. From 2000-2002 Boulanger was a minor league manager for Boston when Duquette was the Red Sox GM and he later served as Triple-A hitting coach and manager for Showalter when Buck managed at Texas. He had a record of 497-496 in nine seasons with Minnesota and Boston as a minor league manager, taking three teams to the...
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Rick Peterson brings biomechanical analysis to the Orioles

Rick Peterson brings biomechanical analysis to the Orioles
Rick Peterson has 12 years of experience as a major league pitching coach, most recently with Milwaukee in 2010. Yesterday, he officially joined the Orioles as the club's director of pitching development. Peterson will oversee the organization's pitching development program. With Peterson now on board, Orioles pitchers, at both the major and minor league levels, are going to become familiar with something called biomechanical analysis. It's a little more involved than "work fast and throw...
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Duquette on the front office roles for Anderson, Peterson, Norton and Stockstill

Duquette on the front office roles for Anderson, Peterson, Norton and Stockstill
Former Oriole Brady Anderson was officially named today as special assistant to Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette. Even though Anderson has the same title as the recently hired Lee Thomas, Duquette said the duties will not be the same for both men. He also was asked if it was fair to describe Anderson as an assistant general manager. "We don't have a GM, so we don't have an assistant GM," Duquette said on a conference call with Baltimore reporters. "I don't know that you can...
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Jai Miller is out to impress his new team

Jai Miller is out to impress his new team
New Orioles outfielder Jai Miller has had about two weeks now to adjust to the news which came on Jan. 3. He was traded from Oakland to Baltimore for cash considerations. "When I found out, there was some initial shock," Miller said this week. "But then I was excited. It's always good to be wanted. Now I'm ready to move forward. The Orioles are getting a player that is excited to be in the organization and is ready to go." Miller said he got a call from executive vice president Dan...
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How should the Orioles handle the DH spot?

How should the Orioles handle the DH spot?
Here are two questions worth pondering and discussing: Should the Orioles sign one player to handle most of the at-bats at the designated hitter spot this year? Should that player be Johnny Damon? The Orioles appear to have at least some interest in the former Red Sox, Ray, Yankee, Tiger, Royal and Athletic. We've been hearing rumblings that manager Buck Showalter would prefer to not have one player take up most of the DH at-bats like Vlad Guerrero did last year and Luke Scott the season...
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A look at what might come next for Dylan Bundy

A look at what might come next for Dylan Bundy
Now that the Orioles have drafted Oklahoma high school pitcher Dylan Bundy, now comes the development part of the equation, where the organization will work on getting Bundy to the major leagues at a proper pace that will allow the best chance for him to have lasting success. Easy to say, but hard to do. Many fans are skeptical, with some justification, about the O's ability to develop young pitchers after so many have come up short of expectations and/or gotten injured in recent years. As a...
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A core of four in Baltimore

A core of four in Baltimore
Since it's now the dead of winter and the holidays are long since over, I should probably be more down with all the negativity about the Orioles. The Yankees got two pitchers, Tampa is still loaded with pitchers, Toronto is on the rise and Boston is still pretty good, I bet. But after a weekend of reading more doom and gloom, I looked outside to see if the sun had come up and it had. I checked with myself to see if it would be OK to see something good about the ballclub for a few minutes and...
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Steve Melewski

Some minor league thoughts and a look at the Yankees-Mariners trade

Some minor league thoughts and a look at the Yankees-Mariners trade
This weekend, I'm taking a look at some Orioles minor league topics that will be on display and a look back at the Yankees big night of acquiring pitching. * Orioles first-round draft pick Dylan Bundy appears likely to begin next season pitching for the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds. As he begins his first pro season in 2012, he will almost certainly be on an innings limit of around 120 or so. That will lead to the club having to decide how they go about having Bundy get those innings. A...
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