Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

O's have "payroll flexibility"

O's have "payroll flexibility"
A recent Baltimore Sun article projected the Orioles' current payroll for 2010 at about 45 million dollars. That is looking at players already signed for next season and projecting arbitration-eligible players and other contract renewals. In an interview on Tuesday, O's president Andy MacPhail would not confirm the O's current figure, but said a projection in that area is likely accurate. "People are free to speculate about what (our payroll) it is. You can make educated guesses on...
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Steve Melewski

Turkey Day takes

Turkey Day takes
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today, I am very thankful I have such great family and friends. Also thankful that I get to cover my hometown team, the team I grew up rooting for in the Orioles. Also, thankful so many of you have found this blog, read it often and even take the time to offer comments. Thanks to all! Now some Turkey Day takes:
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Steve Melewski

MacPhail talks starting pitching

MacPhail talks starting pitching
When looking ahead to the 2010 season, it seems the O's have four starting pitchers pretty set in their rotation with Jeremy Guthrie, Brad Bergesen, Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman. That would leave the O's needing to add just one starter to the rotation. But O's president Andy MacPhail isn't ready to say that just yet. "I would say we are in far better (rotation) shape than we have been in years past because of those four. But they are not necessarily assured of anything. We could...
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Steve Melewski

Closing Time

Closing Time
So just how important is the closer on a baseball team? The closer may be the most important player on a good team. If you've beaten a team for all or most of eight innings, there is seemingly nothing more devastating than blowing the lead in the ninth. If you've come from behind late to get the lead, you need to seal the deal. But is the closer critical on a losing and/or rebuilding team? Here's my take on the O's and the closer position for the 2010 season.
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Steve Melewski

The Beast of the East

The Beast of the East
The question came up on the Wall to Wall baseball show that airs Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. on MASN. Why aren't any Major League Baseball officials concerned about the payroll and competitive disparity in the AL East where the Yankees and Red Sox are on one level and the other three clubs are at another? I guess the biggest reason is because this impacts three clubs and not the other 27 teams. Why should anyone in MLB or a team official from Minnesota or Kansas City or Texas care?
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Steve Melewski

The O's minor league All-Stars

The O's minor league All-Stars
Let's take a look at the O's minor leagues today. I present Melewski's 2009 Orioles minor league All-Star team. I didn't consider a player that made the Majors before August 31, eliminating players like Brian Matusz and Matt Wieters. I didn't consider players that played in fewer than 50 games, eliminating Josh Bell, among others, from consideration. This isn't necessarily a listing of the best prospects, just those that had good years at those positions. For the outfield, I did not...
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Steve Melewski

Talking glovework

Talking glovework
When the Orioles were consistent winners in the 60's and 70's, they did it with pitching and defense. That's not pitching and homers or pitching and a good on base percentage. That's pitching and defense. If you can standout in those two areas, you will be in a lot of games and probably win your fair share of them.
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Steve Melewski

For now, Johnson is staying in the pen

For now, Johnson is staying in the pen
Dave Trembley mentioned late last season that there was some sentiment in the O's organization and even among the coaching staff, to move Jim Johnson into the starting rotation After all, that was his role throughout his entire time in the minors. But, with spring training now less than three months away, that talk has cooled according to the O's manager.
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Steve Melewski

Trembley talks Winter Meetings

Trembley talks Winter Meetings
The Orioles have made their needs pretty clear for this offseason. Now the time to make acquisitions is near with the Winter Meetings starting Monday. O's skipper Dave Trembley expects the Birds to be active in Indianapolis and on into the offseason. "I think the Orioles will be aggressive. But I also think some decisions throughout baseball may go further into the offseason than they have in the past, simply because of the economic situation and [because] the non-tender dates are later...
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Steve Melewski

One vote against trading O's young pitchers

One vote against trading O's young pitchers
As baseball's Winter Meetings are set to begin on Monday, some fans are stoked to see what the O's first move will be. There seems to be a segment of fans who just want a move, the bigger the better, to create a little excitement around here. I can understand that, but if the O's make a trade, I hope they don't deal much if any of their young pitching.
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Steve Melewski

Talking about the batting order with Dave Trembley

Talking about the batting order with Dave Trembley
As the baseball off season moves on, O's manager Dave Trembley never keeps that legal pad too far away. On it he makes notes about the upcoming season and writes down different possible lineups for his 2010 Orioles. Of course, Trembley is hoping there is player that will be in that lineup that he can add later, a middle of the order type hitter that the club will acquire. The skipper saw rookies Nolan Reimold and Matt Wieters deliver at the plate last year and both should have prominent...
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Steve Melewski

Are free agents looking at Baltimore in a different light?

Are free agents looking at Baltimore in a different light?
ESPN's Buster Olney recently wrote an article praising the Orioles young base of talent. Baseball America listed Josh Bell as the fifth best prospect in the Arizona Fall League. That same publication listed six Orioles among the best players in their Double-A and Triple-A leagues from 2009. A picture has emerged that some national media think the O's have top young talent to build around. The Orioles are not talking up their own players, others are doing it for them.
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Steve Melewski

Would short-term gain be shortsighted?

Would short-term gain be shortsighted?
There are a mountain of stories you can read on the internet about baseball and each team in the Majors. You can be online all day and still not come close to checking it all out. But the other day, I read an article in the Boston Globe that was very interesting to me. It was written by Sox writer Amalie Benjamin and is filled with quotes from Boston GM Theo Epstein.
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Steve Melewski

Pondering Millwood

Pondering Millwood
We don't know for sure how hot or cool the O's trade talks are for Kevin Millwood. That doesn't stop us from expressing a few opinions and facts about the right hander. One reader suggested (without any documentation I may add) that the pitcher the O's are considering sending to Texas for Millwood is Brandon Erbe. If that is true, no thanks to that deal. Especially after Bowie manager Brad Komminsk told me recently he had Erbe as rated better than Jake Arrieta. If it would be a...
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Steve Melewski

Not overwhelmed by the Granderson deal

Not overwhelmed by the Granderson deal
Let me understand this, or try to. The Yankees, who are looking to cut payroll some this year, acquired a player owed $23.75 million over the next three years and gave up three young players earning less than $1 million combined so far. Oh those misers in New York. I know that as an O's fan we might look to criticize anything the Yankees do, but I'm not sweating their Curtis Granderson acquisition.
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Steve Melewski

Chris Ray: "I haven't heard anything"

Chris Ray: "I haven't heard anything"
Chris Ray has now been mentioned as an Oriole that could possibly go to Texas in a deal for Kevin Millwood. But that's news to Ray himself. "I haven't heard anything. I'm not surprised I haven't heard anything. I don't think my agent would know anything about this either," Ray said by phone from Baltimore's ESPNZone where today he took part in the O's annual Christmas party for kids.
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Steve Melewski

A Rangers' broadcaster talks about Kevin Millwood

A Rangers' broadcaster talks about Kevin Millwood
To find out about more about the likely soon-to-be newest Oriole Kevin Millwood, I put in a call to my friend Josh Lewin, former Baltimore radio broadcaster. Josh, one of the top broadcasting talents in the game, is the Texas Rangers' TV play-by-play broadcaster so he knows Millwood well and has seen him pitch often. He provided some excellent insight. Here is what Lewin said about the right hander.
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Steve Melewski

Steve Johnson awaits the Rule 5 draft (taken by Giants)

Steve Johnson awaits the Rule 5 draft (taken by Giants)
Thursday morning Johnson was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 draft. The next few hours will certainly be interesting for O's minor league hurler Steve Johnson. Traded by the Dodgers to the O's in July in the George Sherrill deal, Johnson has not been placed on the Orioles' 40-man roster and he could be taken by another team in Thursday's Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings. "It's exciting, because if I do get picked I have a chance to stay on...
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Steve Melewski

Duran's stats (updated)

Duran's stats (updated)
With the third pick in the Triple-A phase of today's Rule 5 draft the O's selected RHP Jose Duran from the Houston organization. Duran is a 6'1", 205 pounder from the Dominican Republic. He is 16-19, 4.08 in his career in 101 games, 39 starts. Duran is 24 years old. Last year, with Lancaster of the California League, he went 2-5, 8.06 in 27 games, 7 starts. Over 63 2/3 innings, he allowed 89 hits with 29 walks and 43 strikeouts.
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Steve Melewski

Talking to the newest San Francisco Giant

Talking to the newest San Francisco Giant
Steve Johnson, it turns out, was playing it rather cool today during the Rule 5 Draft. So cool that he was sleeping when his name was called by the San Francisco Giants. His dad, MASN broadcaster and former Oriole Dave Johnson, was listening live to the draft and rushed upstairs to tell his son he'd been taken by a Major League team. "I got up kind of early the last few days, so I was sleeping today and he came in and jumped on the bed and woke me up to tell me. It was confusing when I...
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