A little more Vlad talk

A little more Vlad talk
What is that game we played as kids, was it musical chairs? You know where you dive for the seat as the music stops. At the end there is one kid and one chair. Is Vlad Guerrero the kid and are the Orioles the chair? Is what seemed like a remote possibility now more likely after yesterday's other moves in baseball? If reader response on our blogs here and other message boards and call-in shows is any barometer, it seems a lot of fans are clamoring for this to happen. There is nothing wrong...
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MacPhail: Guerrero report "is not accurate"

MacPhail:  Guerrero report "is not accurate"
In an e-mail this morning, O's president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail responded to a report that the Orioles are close to signing slugger Vladimir Guerrero. "Report is not accurate," MacPhail wrote to MASNSports.com. Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio reported last night, via Twitter, that Guerrero was close to accepting a deal from the Orioles. Guerrero, who turns 36 in February, hit .300-29-115 last year with Texas and is a free agent. He finished fourth in the American League in...
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Who will be the next Oriole to sign a long-term contract?

Who will be the next Oriole to sign a long-term contract?
It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that the Orioles moved to lock up two of their better home-grown players and signed Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts to long-term contracts. Who will be the next Oriole, home grown or not, to sign the next megabucks deal? The Orioles have signed four of their six arbitration-eligible players to 2011 contracts but there hasn't been any indication the club is moving to lock up any of them to longer deals, at least not right now. After three seasons...
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Buckball: Will O's skipper continue turnaround in 2011?

Buckball:  Will O's skipper continue turnaround in 2011?
No doubt, Orioles fans quickly became believers in manager Buck Showalter last season. He took over an O's club that was 32-73 and then went 34-23 from Aug. 3 through the end of the year. The O's winning percentage was .308 before he got there and .596 after he took over. The O's posted winning records in both August and September for the first time since 1996. But, will this truly be Showalter's second season as O's skipper? Well, Steve, duh, of course it is. Silly question,...
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More with Jordan on Matt Hobgood

More with Jordan on Matt Hobgood
Here are some more quotes from my conversation with Orioles' scouting director Joe Jordan on the selection of Matt Hobgood with the O's 2009 first-round pick. The 20-year-old right-hander, who was taken with the fifth overall pick, is 4-9, 4.48 in 29 starts covering 120 2/3 innings the past two seasons with Bluefield and Delmarva. Hobgood has been criticized by fans for his performance and conditioning and Jordan has received criticism for his selection of the former California high school...
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Joe Jordan on Hobgood's selection: "I am due scrutiny on that."

Joe Jordan on Hobgood's selection: "I am due scrutiny on that."
Recently in this space, Matt Hobgood, the Orioles' first-round draft pick in 2009, talked about his shoulder injury. Hobgood has a strained rotator cuff and has begun the process to rehab the injury. He cannot pinpoint exactly when the injury occurred, but does know that the fastball velocity he had as a high school senior has been missing in his two pro seasons. On Tuesday, O's scouting director Joe Jordan spoke candidly and at great length with MASNsports.com about his selection of...
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Reynolds on Ripken, his defense and life in the American League

Reynolds on Ripken, his defense and life in the American League
In my recent interview with Mark Reynolds, we spent time on many topics, to include all his homers and all his strikeouts, but we also took time to visit on other aspects of his play and career as well. For instance, did you know that Reynolds is still somewhat a newcomer to third base? In college, at the University of Virginia, he was a shortstop before a guy named Ryan Zimmerman showed up a year after him. The head coach needed to move one of them off short. Reynolds felt that since he...
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Will Adam Jones have a breakout year in 2011?

Will Adam Jones have a breakout year in 2011?
Among all the Orioles, the player that seems to evoke the greatest disparity of opinion on his play and his future from fans is center fielder Adam Jones. The commentary can range from fans writing in to say they think Felix Pie - not Jones - should be the center fielder to others saying that now is the time to sign Jones to a long-term contract. Some see Jones and see future greatness, while others see a player with holes in his swing who frustrates fans with moments of less-than-heads-up...
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Tackling a few O's topics

Tackling a few O's topics
You get it. Tackling a few topics - an appropriate term for the weekend of football that is now here. But back to the topic at hand for this blog, here is a take or two on an O's topic or two. A tale of two players It has been pointed out before - many, many times - that some players don't seem to want to come to Baltimore through free agency. I can only conclude now that Adam LaRoche was one of those players. At his Nats press conference Friday he said Washington was "a place I wanted...
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The story of one fan that will miss the 2011 season

The story of one fan that will miss the 2011 season
By now most readers of this blog have probably come to learn that I have had a life-long passion for my favorite baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles. My close friends and family know that later in life I developed a passion for a college baseball team, the Florida State Seminoles. For two seasons, in 2005 and 2006, I was the radio play-by-play broadcaster for FSU baseball. It didn't take me long to learn of the program's amazing history and many remarkable traditions along with its...
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Mark Reynolds talks about the K factor

Mark Reynolds talks about the K factor
Since the Orioles acquired third baseman Mark Reynolds more than a month ago, fans have gotten excited about his home run potential. But others have expressed concern about his league-leading strikeout totals, as well. Reynolds doesn't shy away from the topic of his strikeout total of 638 over the last three seasons. He led the NL in strikeouts all three years and would like to cut down on the whiffs when he joins the O's lineup in 2011. "Growing up and in college, I'd never been a (big)...
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O's need to be good hitters, but also smart hitters

O's need to be good hitters, but also smart hitters
The Orioles scored just 613 runs last season and that was next to last in the American League. Many fans are expecting that total to make a major jump after the additions of Derrek Lee, Mark Reynolds and J.J. Hardy. Plus, the O's hope to have Brian Roberts for a full season and perhaps see hitters like Nolan Reimold and Matt Wieters hit more like they did in 2009. If all that happens, the club could score a lot more runs in 2011. But in addition to being better hitters this coming season,...
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After dealing with injuries, Coffey is hopeful for health in 2011

After dealing with injuries, Coffey is hopeful for health in 2011
Lefty Cameron Coffey finally made his anticipated minor league debut for the Orioles last August in the Gulf Coast League and he went 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA in seven games. Some fans may have assumed, as I did, that it just took time for Coffey to make it to the mound following his elbow ligament replacement surgery in March 2009. But while Coffey's comeback from Tommy John surgery progressed fine and he was throwing well last spring training, his delay in getting in a game last summer was due...
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O's re-sign Castillo, four others

O's re-sign Castillo, four others
When this offseason began, the Orioles had more than 20 of their players become minor league free agents. Some have re-signed with the club. According to Matt Eddy, in his minor league transactions listing on Baseball America's Web site, the O's re-signed pitchers Jose Diaz, Alberto Castillo and Chris George, and catchers Steven Lerud and Michel Hernandez in December. An O's source has confirmed these signings. Diaz, a right-hander, went 4-0 with a 1.92 ERA last summer between Single-A...
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Some pitchers have bad mechanics, but produce good results

Some pitchers have bad mechanics, but produce good results
When I was the play-by-play broadcaster several years ago for the Aberdeen IronBirds, I can remember watching a young right-hander from the Dominican Republic join our team in 2005 and start dominating New York-Penn League hitters. I can still remember a warm, July night in Burlington, Vt.,when he struck out 15 without a walk in six brilliant, dominant, shutout innings. That year with the IronBirds, he went 5-4, 1.77 in 11 starts and over 56 innings allowed just 36 hits while recording 82...
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Could Reynolds do what Albert Belle once did in Baltimore?

Could Reynolds do what Albert Belle once did in Baltimore?
When looking at new O's corner infielders Derrek Lee and Mark Reynolds, you could make a case for either as the club's best power bat acquisition. Lee has a career OPS of .865 to Reynolds' .817. While Reynolds has never had an OPS over .900 in his four big league seasons, Lee's OPS was .972 with the Cubs in 2009. But if you talk strictly homers only, Reynolds moves to the top of the charts. While Lee hit 35 in 2009, Reynolds has averaged nearly 35 over the last three seasons at...
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Is the demise of the AL East being greatly exaggerated?

Is the demise of the AL East being greatly exaggerated?
Many readers on this and other blogs have mentioned two things that fuel their optimism for the Orioles in 2011: The O's have improved while several American League East teams have not. While I, like most of you, feel the Orioles can be much improved with their additions in the field, their young pitching, their strong finish and a full season with Buck Showalter, I am not yet willing to concede that this division is starting to lose its clout. No doubt, right now, Boston is the clear...
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He's angling for a shot in the majors

He's angling for a shot in the majors
Since he was drafted by the Orioles in round seven out of Ohio State in 2007, outfielder Matt Angle has made steady progress through the minor leagues and, in November, he joined Joe Mahoney and Zach Britton in being added to the 40-man roster for the first time. "It was a great day," the 25-year-old Angle said. "It's an honor and for them to think enough of me to be a part of that it's just an honor and was a great day overall. "It's just another step in the ultimate goal of winning...
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Are there issues with the Hall of Fame voting process?

Are there issues with the Hall of Fame voting process?
There are some things I just don't understand about the Hall of Fame voting process that elected Robbie Alomar and Bert Blyleven yesterday. How can a player like Blyleven not be good enough for election for 13 straight years, yet make it on the 14th try? Don't get me wrong, Blyleven deserves to be in, and this was long overdue. Clearly, some voters who didn't vote for Blyleven before did this year. Did he win 18 games last year and I missed it? At least, in his case, the voters eventually...
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Pondering a few Orioles questions

Pondering a few Orioles questions
If you talk to yourself on the bus or at a restaurant, people might stare. But in a blog, I can ask myself some questions and then answer myself. You are most invited to respond with your answer or answers to one or all of the following questions about 2011 O's baseball. What was the Orioles most significant acquisition? No it probably won't be the addition of pitcher Casey Lambert in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. It could be the pickup of third sacker Mark Reynolds. At 27,...
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