Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

A couple of notes on the offense

A couple of notes on the offense
Earlier today, I posted an entry about the Orioles' starting pitching struggles. They have been significant and probably the biggest reason for the club's 6-21 record over the past 27 games. But the O's inconsistent offense has been just that recently as well. During that 27-game stretch, the O's are batting just .195 (43-for-221) with runners in scoring position. The Orioles have had just one game with 10 or more hits over the last seven contests and scored just 33 runs on the 10-game...
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Steve Melewski

For starters, the Orioles need better starting pitching

For starters, the Orioles need better starting pitching
Too bad a baseball season is not like a Saturday round of golf with your friends. Maybe the Orioles could take a mulligan on their first half, when they went 36-52. Over the last few weeks, each time I thought things could not get worse for the team, they did. That said, I am almost afraid to say that, in losing 12 of 13 to end the first half, that the O's hit rock bottom. It would be hard to imagine the starting pitching getting worse than it was in recent weeks. Here are some stats. *...
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Steve Melewski

Taking a look back as the first half comes to an end

Taking a look back as the first half comes to an end
It is kind of hard to remember the Orioles began this year going 6-1. Or that a month ago they were 30-31 and an out away from getting to .500. Another season is unraveling daily amidst injuries, poor starting pitching, a lack of clutch hitting and some young players that are failing to make progress. With 11 losses in the last 12 games and a 6-20 record over the last month, it's not a pretty picture right now. With that as a backdrop, today I am taking a look back at what has happened since...
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Steve Melewski

More with Showalter on the Orioles' minor leagues

More with Showalter on the Orioles' minor leagues
Now, more of my recent conversation with Orioles manager Buck Showalter about the team's minor league system and player development. Showalter said the minors are where a coach and manager can have a real significant impact on a player. "It's a fun and gratifying job where you can see a return for your work quicker," Showalter said. "In the minors, you can see day-to-day improvement and such an eagerness to learn. I can get jealous of the impact those guys have, not only in their...
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Steve Melewski

Talking with Buck Showalter about the Orioles' minor leagues

Talking with Buck Showalter about the Orioles' minor leagues
Buck Showalter spent seven seasons in the minor leagues as a player and five as a manger. He helped start the Arizona Diamondbacks franchise from scratch. He knows a little something about player development. While he has to be most concerned with the players on the Orioles' 25-man roster, he also spends part of his day checking out reports on the club's minor leagues. That is where hopefully, some future Orioles are currently playing and developing talent in the minors is critical to any...
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Steve Melewski

No runs and no win tonight for the Orioles at Boston

No runs and no win tonight for the Orioles at Boston
No runs, not many hits and no hit batters. That was part of the Orioles' scorecard tonight. At least they didn't give up 10 runs this time. The Orioles were held to just four hits and shut out for the fourth time on the season. John Lackey entered his start against the Orioles tonight with an ERA of 7.47 on the year and a batting average against of .304. He had given up six runs or more in six of his 13 starts and gave up seven in his last outing versus Toronto. His home ERA on the year...
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Steve Melewski

HBP scoreboard tonight: Boston 2, Orioles 0 after Lee gets pluncked

HBP scoreboard tonight: Boston 2, Orioles 0 after Lee gets pluncked
The Red Sox have now hit a major league leading 50 batters on the year after John Lackey hit Derrek Lee with two outs and no one on in the Orioles seventh. It was a pretty obvious purpose pitch and both benches were warned afterwards even though no Boston batters have been hit tonight. Lackey just left the game to a big ovation. He has mostly been an $82 million bust for the Red Sox with an ERA of 5.17 in two years and 7.47 for Boston this year. But he left after striking out Mark Reynolds...
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Simon solid so far plus minor league notes (update, not in the fifth though)

Simon solid so far plus minor league notes (update, not in the fifth though)
For a pitcher making his first big league start of the season tonight, Alfredo Simon has pitched a good game for the Orioles. The Birds and Boston are 0-0 after four innings at Fenway. Simon has allowed four hits with one walk and strikeout so far, throwing 59 pitches. David Ortiz is 0-for-2 as he grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the first and flied out to deep center in the fourth with Adam Jones making a nice running catch near the wall. The Orioles have just two hits...
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Ortiz: Two outs, one pitch

Ortiz: Two outs, one pitch
There was some early drama in tonight's game as David Ortiz came to bat with the bases loaded and one out in the last of the first against Alfredo Simon. After he walked to the plate to a rousing ovation, he took the first two pitches to get ahead 2-0 on the count. But then he bounced one toward second base where Robert Andino fielded it and started a 4-6-3 double play. No bad blood. No inside pitches. No incidents. Just two outs on one pitch and the Orioles and Boston go to the second...
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Will it be Round Two in Boston?

Will it be Round Two in Boston?
Well, this game tonight has garnered a little more interest than it would have before Kevin Gregg and David Ortiz went at it last night. Nothing against Alfredo Simon, but Buck Showalter probably wishes say, Jeremy Guthrie was on the mound tonight. Simon probably doesn't need any extra pressure but now he has some as he takes the mound tonight. His command isn't the greatest to start with and if he buzzes a Red Sox hitter tonight we may have to wonder if it were on purpose or he just missed...
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Steve Melewski

A take from Baseball America on the Orioles' international efforts

A take from Baseball America on the Orioles' international efforts
Ben Badler is a reporter and writer for Baseball America. He covers the minor leagues but also focuses heavily on the international signings front and is among the best at covering that market. Last week I talked with him at length about the Orioles and their international efforts. Here is that interview. Ben, what is your take on the Orioles international efforts? "They seem to be very conservative in the international market, which is understandable given all of the issues involved in...
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Part Two: Andy MacPhail on the Orioles' international efforts

Part Two: Andy MacPhail on the Orioles' international efforts
Earlier today, Part One of an interview with Orioles president Andy MacPhail was published in this space. It is a two-part interview with MacPhail about the O's signing and scouting of international players since he took over in his current position. Tomorrow, I will feature here an interview with Baseball America's Ben Badler with his analysis of the O's efforts on this front. Now, Part Two of the MacPhail interview. Were the O's one of the finalists for Miguel Sano? "Yeah. What we...
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Steve Melewski

Part One: Andy MacPhail on the Orioles' international efforts

Part One: Andy MacPhail on the Orioles' international efforts
One topic that Orioles fans often ask me about is the club's poor record in signing international players. We all know the team has a poor history, for instance, of producing home-grown Dominican talent and that the Orioles have not been among the teams offering big signing bonuses for international talent in recent years. It is believed that the Orioles spent somewhere around $1.2 million on international bonuses in 2010. The most they gave one player was the $300,000 to infielder Hector...
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Steve Melewski

Gregg missed Ortiz, but is a hit with the fans

Gregg missed Ortiz, but is a hit with the fans
So this is what it took for some Orioles fans to get behind Kevin Gregg? Based on calls to my radio show last night and some posts on here since the benches-clearing incident that started between David Ortiz and Gregg last night, most fans are thrilled with Gregg's actions on the field. Some are just as pleased with his post-game comments. When Gregg said "we are not scared of them and their $180 million payroll" you could almost hear more O's fans cheering for him than at any point this...
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Orioles look awful in first inning at Boston

Orioles look awful in first inning at Boston
I guess we learned one lesson from the first inning tonight at Fenway Park: Never think it can't get worse. The Orioles entered tonight as a team that had lost nine of the last 10 games and looked that bad and worse in an awful bottom of the first inning tonight. They pitched poorly and fielded worse as Boston batted 13 men, knocked Zach Britton out of the game after 2/3 of an inning and took an 8-0 lead. There was one error scored in the inning, but clearly was at least one more that...
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Orioles recent record with Boston is solid

Orioles recent record with Boston is solid
Okay, I know how rough the last few weeks of Orioles baseball have been. But I have found a positive stat that may surprise you. The Orioles actually have a winning record in their last 21 games against Boston, going 11-10. They are 2-3 this year against the Sox and went 9-9 last year. They lost the first two games with Boston then but are 11-10 since. Before this 21-game stretch however, the Orioles lost 25 of the previous 28 games versus Boston. Here are a couple of other stats as the...
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Steve Melewski

An Orioles draft update from scouting director Joe Jordan

An Orioles draft update from scouting director Joe Jordan
Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan has yet to sign his first-round pick, pitcher Dylan Bundy, or second-round pick, Vanderbilt third baseman Jason Esposito, but he has agreed to terms with 15 draft picks so far. He has signed six of his top 10 picks, all pitchers, including Mike Wright (round 3), Kyle Simon (round 4), Matt Taylor (round 5), Trent Howard (round 7), Devin Jones (round 9) and Tyler Wilson (round 10). "It's going fine," Jordan said of the progress of the signings. "We've...
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Oliver Drake is not pitching like a 43rd-round draft pick (Bascom note added)

Oliver Drake is not pitching like a 43rd-round draft pick (Bascom note added)
He was just named the Orioles organization's minor league Pitcher of the Month for June: Right-hander Oliver Drake is on quite a roll right now as he heads into his next start for Single-A Frederick tonight at home against Potomac. Drake has put together a current streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings. That counts a two-inning stint on June 23 for Triple-A Norfolk and 20 innings with Frederick. On the year, the 24-year-old Drake is 7-3 with an ERA of 2.24. Over 88 1/3 innings he has...
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No concerns over Machado & Schoop

No concerns over Machado & Schoop
They are two of the best prospects in the Orioles' organization and both are just 19 years old. But, after putting up some big stats in the South Atlantic League, both Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop have struggled in the Carolina League. They will both play in the Futures Game this Sunday. Here is how they have done this year: Machado at Delmarva: .276-6-24 in 38 games with .859 OPS Machado at Frederick: .209-1-3 in 13 games with .616 OPS. Scoop at Delmarva: .318-8-34 in 51 games with...
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Not expecting a repeat of last season for the Orioles

Not expecting a repeat of last season for the Orioles
Can lightning strike twice for the Orioles? Last year they went to Texas for the last series before the All-Star break and swept that four-game series. Tonight they begin a four-game series in Boston that leads into the break. I'm pretty sure most fans are not expecting four O's wins over the next four days, but last year's team did lose six of seven before that Texas sweep. This club has now lost eight of nine and is 6-17 over the past 23 games. In that stretch the team ERA is 5.78, the...
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