Offense is nice, but pitching and defense rule the day

Offense is nice, but pitching and defense rule the day
Some fans may have been surprised this week when manager Buck Showalter was asked about Jake Fox. A reporter wanted to know if someone with seven homers (Fox) could still possibly not make this team come Opening Day. "Yes," Showalter replied. I would guess he said that for a couple of reasons. One, he knows there are still almost two weeks of games left and a lot can still happen. Two, he knows defense is still such a big part of the equation. Not a knock on Fox's defense, but it seems...
Continue reading

Orioles lineups present and past

Orioles lineups present and past
When watching the MLB Network's "30 Clubs in 30 days" show this week on the Orioles, they listed the club's potential starting lineup. 2B - Brian Roberts RF - Nick Markakis 1B - Derrek Lee DH - Vladimir Guerrero LF - Luke Scott CF - Adam Jones 3B - Mark Reynolds C - Matt Wieters SS - J.J. Hardy This lineup makes a lot of sense in that it puts several players in spots where they figure to be quite comfortable and where they have succeeded before. When batting second last year, Markakis...
Continue reading

A special NCAA tourney memory

A special NCAA tourney memory
Non-baseball entry alert! I promise I will get back to baseball talk with another entry in a few hours, but I want to start off today with a memory from an NCAA tourney 20 years ago. If it matters, it involves a kid from Maryland and Cole Field House. Hope you take the time to read on. If you're not interested and only want a baseball entry, I will file one in a few hours, so check back. Anyhow ... Watching the Richmond Spiders beat Vanderbilt Thursday afternoon reminded me of a special...
Continue reading

MLB Network talks Orioles

MLB Network talks Orioles
The Orioles were the featured team last night on MLB Network's 30 in 30 club previews. Analysts John Hart and Dan Plesac had several positive comments about the club and its outlook for 2011. "There should be a lot of excitement with the finish they had with Buck Showalter," Hart said. "There used to be a time when the Oriole Way really meant something. I see that coming back with Showalter - attention to detail, fundamentals. I think they are really going to make an improvement, even...
Continue reading

Draft could be focus in baseball labor talks

Draft could be focus in baseball labor talks
No one is talking about any strikes or lockouts in Major League Baseball, but the collective bargaining agreement in the sport does expire after this coming season in December. The sides have already had labor talks in Florida and they are expected to resume soon in Arizona. Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan expects discussion about the First-Year Player Draft and the possible changes to it to be on the table over the next several months. "Yeah, I do. I don't know necessarily what...
Continue reading

Joe Mahoney: It was a good first impression

Joe Mahoney: It was a good first impression
After producing seven hits in 17 at-bats for a .412 batting average in his first major league spring training camp, Orioles' first base prospect Joe Mahoney seems to have made the most of his initial chance to play for the Birds. "It was a great experience. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot," Mahoney said last night. "I was fortunate enough to play well and hopefully make a good first impression with both the coaching staff and management." "I think he's primed to have that year...
Continue reading

Zach Britton: Can he make this team now?

Zach Britton: Can he make this team now?
Heading into spring training, I had assumed that Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Matusz, Brad Bergesen and Jake Arrieta were pretty much locks to make the starting rotation and that, if healthy, Justin Duchscherer would join them. That would allow for Rick VandenHurk to compete for a bullpen role and Chris Tillman and Zach Britton to begin the year at Triple-A. Well, those plans could be changing. The Orioles knew Duchscherer making the opening day rotation was a gamble, thus the...
Continue reading

Some weekend quick takes

Some weekend quick takes
A few impressions and opinions on the happenings at Orioles camp in Sarasota. *The injury news about Brian Roberts and Derrek Lee reminds us of the biggest issue facing this team this year. It's not how much Vladimir Guerrero has left, the progress of the young rotation or the development of Matt Wieters. It's the health of this team. They can't afford to lose many players and certain guys like Roberts and Lee are pretty critical to the hopes that this team is better and a good year is...
Continue reading

When it comes to drafting high school or college, do O's have a preference?

When it comes to drafting high school or college, do O's have a preference?
When it comes to the June draft, do the Orioles have a preference when it comes to drafting a high school or a college player? Some teams have been said to have preferences, but O's scouting director Joe Jordan said the Orioles do not. "For me, I don't care. It's the best player, what fits the best for that round. That's really how we look at it. If there's a 21-year-old player that we have a lot of looks at and they're available and that's a good solid pick, that's a good decision...
Continue reading

Third-round pick Klein out to show his stuff in 2011

Third-round pick Klein out to show his stuff in 2011
Coming off some dominating performances late last year and after a winter of workouts near his Orange County, Calif., home, O's minor league pitcher Dan Klein is now ready for his first full professional season. Klein, the O's second pick in last June's draft, which came in round three, reported to minor league camp at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota, Fla., on Sunday Some O's fans had to be excited about Klein's potential when he pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings in five appearances for Short...
Continue reading

Yeah, Zach Britton was pretty good vs. Yankees

Yeah, Zach Britton was pretty good vs. Yankees
When we all got to see Zach Britton pitch so well on the MASN telecast Monday night, many O's fans may have been thinking the same thing: I hope this is a glimpse at a future when young pitcher after young Orioles pitcher takes the mound and shuts down another American League East opponent. Despite the fact it was just an exhibition game, you probably got excited also watching Britton buzz through Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira on just 13 pitches in that first inning. Whenever...
Continue reading

Check out this interview with Dave Trembley

Check out this interview with Dave Trembley
When Dave Trembley was dismissed as Orioles' manager last year, a good man lost his job. I think O's fans realize that Trembley is a good guy who put everything he had into a very difficult job. I wish the guy nothing but the best in his new role with the Atlanta Braves and hope our paths cross at some point during the coming season. Feel free to check out this long interview that David Laurila did with Trembley about his time managing the Orioles. Here are some excerpts: "The first...
Continue reading

After mechanical adjustment, Steve Johnson is excited for the new season

After mechanical adjustment, Steve Johnson is excited for the new season
For pitcher Steve Johnson, it had to be frustrating and confusing and a little difficult to deal with. First, he was traded to the Orioles, his hometown team as a kid from Baltimore, and that was exciting. Then, after the trade with the Dodgers, he pitched to a 2.84 ERA over seven starts with Double-A Bowie late in the 2009 season. Then he comes out in 2010, with the same club and halfway through the year is 3-6 with an ERA of 6.14 over 17 starts. "I can deal with getting hit around a...
Continue reading

Are the fans too hard on Jones?

Are the fans too hard on Jones?
As we get set for our second MASNsports.com chat with fans tonight at 6 p.m at Hightopps Backstage Grille in Timonium, I am reminded of part of the conversation there the last time. We had a question or comment from someone about Adam Jones. It probably sounded a little to the fans there like I was coming to Jones' defense, but I said that night, "Hey, Jones hit .284 last year with 19 homers. You don't just fall out of bed and do that." I was really reminded of those words reading Buck...
Continue reading

Higher expectations: Brian Matusz or Manny Machado?

Higher expectations: Brian Matusz or Manny Machado?
Here is an interesting question to ponder and debate. Do Orioles fans have higher expectations this season for Brian Matusz or Manny Machado? Matusz will, of course, pitch in the major leagues while Machado is set to begin his first full year in the O's minors. A lot is expected from both. Each are among the biggest stars currently in this organization. Matusz showed perhaps a glimpse of his future in his final eight starts last season when he went 6-0 with an ERA of 1.57. The club went 8-0...
Continue reading

After hand and hamstring injuries, Townsend could be poised for big year

After hand and hamstring injuries, Townsend could be poised for big year
If you wanted to pick an Orioles' minor leaguer that could put up some real solid numbers this year, you could probably do a lot worse than Tyler Townsend. The 22-year-old first baseman, the O's third-round pick out of Florida International in 2009, hit very well last year - when he could get on the field. The lefty hitter was limited to 52 games because of a recurring hamstring injury, but in those games, most of which came at Delmarva and Frederick, Townsend batted .325 with six homers...
Continue reading

It's the bullpen for O's third-round pick Dan Klein

It's the bullpen for O's third-round pick Dan Klein
If you were under the impression, as I was, that O's pitching prospect Dan Klein would be used as a starting pitcher this year, that is not the case. The decision has been made to use Klein, the O's third-round pick in the draft last June, out of the bullpen this season in the minor leagues. The biggest factor seems to be the fact that Klein pitched just 58 1/3 innings last year. The O's don't feel he can or should be asked to handle the number of innings needed for a starting pitcher...
Continue reading

Jim Callis and Joe Jordan on high school vs. college in the draft (with update)

Jim Callis and Joe Jordan on high school vs. college in the draft (with update)
It's a topic that followers of the first year player draft in baseball have debated for years: Should a club draft more high school players that may have a higher ceiling with their talent or more college players that they have scouted more and are closer to the majors? In the recent listing by Baseball America of its top 100 prospects in the game, there was some interesting math worth discussing. Of the game's current top 100 prospects on that list, 50 were drafted out of high school and...
Continue reading

Ken Rosenthal takes a shot or two at the Orioles

Ken Rosenthal takes a shot or two at the Orioles
Well, it wasn't Keith Law this time. A frequent critic of the Orioles over the years, Ken Rosenthal takes a few pokes at the team in a column today. The former Baltimore Sun reporter and columnist, who now works for Fox Sports and MLB Network, makes some valid points and remains, in my opinion, one of the top writers/analysts that covers the game. However, Rosenthal does seem to often have a little extra zing or two heading the O's way. To me, the timing of today's posting, on the same...
Continue reading

Passing along rehab advice: Spoone has been where Erbe is going

Passing along rehab advice: Spoone has been where Erbe is going
As Brandon Erbe continues to progress from his surgery last August to repair a torn labrum, he can turn to Chorye Spoone for advice. A fellow Maryland native, Spoone had shoulder surgery in September 2008 and has pretty much made a full recovery after pitching 132 innings last summer for Double-A Bowie. "I told him there will be days when you feel like something is hurt in your arm and it hurts to throw, like during your throwing program," Spoone said. "But you need to realize that the...
Continue reading