A multi-year deal for Guthrie? He doesn't think so

A multi-year deal for Guthrie? He doesn't think so
Jeremy Guthrie just completed his fifth season in the Orioles' rotation and it was a season where he went 9-17 with an ERA of 4.33. Guthrie will be arbitration-eligible again before the 2012 season and after that year he can become a free agent. Last winter, he and his agent approached the Orioles about the possibility of a multi-year contract, but the club was not interested then. Guthrie figures nothing has changed and said recently that no one has approached him about a multi-year...
Continue reading

After solid year at Frederick, Sean Gleason is now pitching in the AFL

After solid year at Frederick, Sean Gleason is now pitching in the AFL
There are probably a couple of ways fans can look at Orioles minor league pitcher Sean Gleason. Because he turned 26 in August, some will write him off as a prospect. But he is also a guy that impressed a lot of people this past season and is someone that could push for time at Triple-A or even Baltimore at some point next season. A right-hander, Gleason was drafted in round 20 in 2007 out of St. Mary's College in California. He was a starter from 2007-2009. In 2008 at Single-A Delmarva, he...
Continue reading

Will Showalter's season two magic work here, too?

Will Showalter's season two magic work here, too?
As Orioles fans look for a nugget of hope (pun intended) that their team will actually be better next year, consider this: Each stop where Buck Showalter managed before, his clubs made a dramatic improvement between his first and second seasons. While Buck managed for two months last year, the 2012 season will be his second full season as Orioles' manager - if he continues in that role, of course. Showalter's 1992 Yankees team went 76-86 and then 88-74 a year later. His 1998 Arizona club,...
Continue reading

"Too Much Moneyball"

"Too Much Moneyball"
This is worth watching, even if you haven't seen the movie.
Continue reading

Orioles AFL notes

Orioles AFL notes
When the Mesa Solar Sox open their season at 2:35 p.m. Eastern Time this afternoon, playing Phoenix in the Arizona Fall League, there will be seven Orioles minor leaguers on their roster. But two players that were slated to play for Mesa are dealing with injuries right now in Joe Mahoney and LJ Hoes, and pitcher Chorye Spoone is no longer on the Mesa roster. Hoes was listed as on the Mesa squad, but for now, he is with the other players at the Orioles' instructional league in Sarasota as he...
Continue reading

Markakis reflects on his 2011 season

Markakis reflects on his 2011 season
The facts are there for everyone to see. Nick Markakis hit .284 this year with 31 doubles, 15 homers, 73 RBIs and a .756 OPS. His slugging percentage has dropped every year from 2008 on, from .491 to .453 to .436 to this year's .406. His 31 doubles is much fewer than recent seasons when he had 48, 45 and 45. That .756 OPS is a career low. It all started with a terrible start. Through the end of May, Markakis was batting just .249 with only four doubles, four homers, 17 RBIs and a .640...
Continue reading

A thought on the future of the Orioles' front office

A thought on the future of the Orioles' front office
As we all await the next few days to see how much gets resolved in the Orioles' front office, I will weigh in today with a few thoughts. I have no doubt that Buck Showalter could do a good job in the role of general manager. But I also realize he has never served in that role. I think the best move here is for Showalter to remain as manager and have the team add someone in the GM's role that he has total trust and confidence in. Then, those two men need to go out and fix the Orioles. They...
Continue reading

Jim Johnson: To start or not to start? That is the question

Jim Johnson: To start or not to start? That is the question
Here are the two best reasons I can think of for keeping Jim Johnson as a reliever next season: * He's an excellent relief pitcher. * He's easily the best option for closer among the current roster. But here is the reason I still think he should be used in the rotation next year: * The Orioles' starting rotation ERA this year was 5.39. That is bad, real, real bad. But there is some hope it can get much better in a hurry. What if Zach Britton improves even a little on his rookie year,...
Continue reading

Someone upset with O's celebration? Give me a break

Someone upset with O's celebration? Give me a break
A couple of thoughts before we head into the first weekend since March without Orioles baseball. * Peter Gammons said of Terry Francona on MLB Network: "Sometimes you measure Boston managers in dog years and Tito managed 56 years." By the way, the Red Sox averaged a robust 5.4 runs per game during their 7-20 September. But here are the ERAs for some of their pitchers during the month: Erik Bedard 5.25, Jon Lester 5.40, Josh Beckett 5.48, John Lackey 9.13 and Daniel Bard 10.54. Ken...
Continue reading

Notes on Dylan Bundy and O's instructional league

Notes on Dylan Bundy and O's instructional league
Here are a few things I have heard about the Orioles' instructional league workouts currently going on in Florida. The first thing I should point out however, is fans should realize instructional league is about instruction, of course and teaching the players. While they do play games there, you can't put a lot on evaulating any stats or results. No scores or stats are released from the games. Orioles 2011 top draft pick, pitcher Dylan Bundy, has been pitching in some of those games. He is...
Continue reading

Baseball America ranks Machado as No. 1 prospect in Carolina League

Baseball America ranks Machado as No. 1 prospect in Carolina League
Even though he hit just .219 his last 33 regular-season games with the Frederick Keys, Baseball America today named Manny Machado of the Orioles as the top prospect in the Carolina League. Earlier Machado was named second-best prospect in the South Atlantic League. He started the 2011 season with Delmarva. At Frederick, Machado elevated his game in the playoffs and drove in seven runs during Frederick's three games to one win in the league finals. He was named the championship series...
Continue reading

Some thoughts and notes on an amazing night of baseball

Some thoughts and notes on an amazing night of baseball
As Orioles fans woke up today, they realized something. That was not a dream last night. That happened. The Red Sox were one out from winning in the ninth and Tampa Bay was one out from losing in the ninth. How about this stat: The Red Sox entered last night's game with a record of 77-0 this year when leading after eight innings. They are 77-1 now. The Orioles can certainly be criticized for another losing season, but they also have a reason to be proud of how they played and handled...
Continue reading

Nolan Reimold talks about the win and his double in the ninth

Nolan Reimold talks about the win and his double in the ninth
Nolan Reimold knocked in 14 runs for the Orioles over his last 12 games this season and he saved one of the best for last. His two-out, RBI double off Jonathan Papelbon in the last of the ninth tied the game at 3-3 and set the stage for Robert Andino's game-ending single as the Orioles beat Boston 4-3. Minutes later, when Tampa Bay won, the loss ended Boston's season short of the playoffs. "It was exciting," Reimold said of the dramatic finish. "We battled to the end. We weren't playing...
Continue reading

Andino talks about his game-winning hit against Boston

Andino talks about his game-winning hit against Boston
Just a few minutes after his game-ending and season-ending RBI single gave the Orioles a walk-off win over the Boston Red Sox tonight, Robert Andino said he enjoyed handing the Red Sox such a crushing loss. "To end the season like this and make Boston go home sad and crying, I'll take it all day. I've got no words for it. You saw Boston's faces," he said. Robert Andino talks about his walk-off base hit that knocked the Red Sox out of the Wild Card race After Chris Davis doubled off...
Continue reading

Reimold and Andino with the clutch hits in the 9th as the O's stun Boston

Reimold and Andino with the clutch hits in the 9th as the O's stun Boston
The last game of the year produced one of the best finishes ever at Camden Yards. Down to their last out, the Orioles scored twice off Jonathan Papelbon in the bottom of the ninth to stun the Boston Red Sox with a comeback, 4-3 victory. With two outs and none on, Chris Davis doubled to right and Kyle Hudson came on to pinch run. Then Nolan Reimold came up with an RBI double to right center to tie the game 3-3. Robert Andino then lined one into left field and Carl Crawford just missed making a...
Continue reading

The starters struggled most of the year and Simon did tonight too

The starters struggled most of the year and Simon did tonight too
The Orioles' starting pitching has been a flop most of this year. The starters' ERA for the season is in the 5.30 range and yes, that is awful. Alfredo Simon struggled in his start tonight, giving up three runs and six hits over just 4 1/3 innings. Simon will finish this season winless in eight starts against AL East teams with an ERA of 5.91. His final season ERA is 4.90 and he won't win his fifth game tonight. You have to wonder how the Orioles will use Simon next year. I still think his...
Continue reading

Can O's resurgent offense get to Lester tonight?

Can O's resurgent offense get to Lester tonight?
The Orioles, in case you have not noticed, have been putting up a lot of runs lately. They have scored six runs or more in four straight, nine of ten and 12 of the last 14 games. The Orioles have scored 84 runs on 22 homers those last 14 games, averaging 6.0 runs per game in that time. They have some batters who are hitting well up and down the lineup as they try tonight to beat a pitcher in Jon Lester, that they have never defeated. Some O's hot hitters heading into the finale: * Nick...
Continue reading

Well, the Red Sox skipper is loose

Well, the Red Sox skipper is loose
His team may have baseball's second-worst September record at 7-19, but Red Sox skipper Terry Francona didn't seem to be feeling any pressure today during his pregame interview session with reporters. If the Red Sox play tonight as loose as their manager was, they probably have a pretty good chance to win here at Camden Yards as they try to secure the AL wild-card berth. Francona cracked several one liners this afternoon in a press room here at Camden Yards. He was reminded that he had...
Continue reading

Hardy on his season and finishing second in MVO vote

Hardy on his season and finishing second in MVO vote
In what was a very close vote, Adam Jones edged out J.J. Hardy for this year's Most Valuable Oriole award. The Orioles don't release the voting results, but it appears that Jones won by one single vote over Hardy. The Orioles shortstop had not yet heard he had finished second and was informed by reporters when the clubhouse opened to the media today. "I haven't heard about it until now," Hardy said. "He's (Jones) very deserving. He's played, pretty much the whole year and I missed...
Continue reading

Orlando Gomez on Frederick's Carolina League title, plus Lester notes (updated)

Orlando Gomez on Frederick's Carolina League title, plus Lester notes (updated)
While Tim Bascom and Jonathan Schoop picked up the top Orioles' minor league awards this week, it was great to see Single-A Frederick manager Orlando Gomez win the Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development Award. Gomez has spent seven years in the O's organization and 47 years in pro baseball. Like Ripken, he is just a solid and unassuming baseball guy. He seemed to relate well to the kids on the Frederick team that recently won the Carolina League championship, beating Kinston, three games to one,...
Continue reading