Lefty Blake Snell was cruising. In a game the Tampa Bay Rays had to win, he was dominating the Los Angeles Dodgers and trying to pitch the Rays to Game 7 of the World Series.
Then, in a span of just four pitches in the sixth inning, he was out of the game. He had not given up a run, his team had a 1-0 lead, the hitters coming up had not touched him that night. He had swing-and-miss stuff, but he was gone.
Soon after, so was the Rays' lead. Los Angeles moved ahead 2-1 against the Rays bullpen...
It was all a bit of mystery. They were playing baseball at Double-A Bowie this year but there were not any games that counted. No other Eastern League teams came to town. Bowie was an important place however, as it was the site of the Orioles' alternate camp this summer.
No media or fans were allowed to watch and/or chronicle the happenings. But it was clear that some good instruction and work was going on out of the limelight and the major league spotlight.
We saw Ryan Mountcastle come from...
When fans look to grade how successful the 2020 season was when it comes to the Orioles rebuilding, what is the best way to do that? Is it just noting the won-loss record and looking for progress there? Or is it about looking more at individual players, especially those that came up from the farm and finding successes there?
Since we don't have to choose just one standard, it was nice to have a little of both during this past season. But which one is more significant: an improved record or...
The 2020 season for Orioles outfielder Austin Hays included a few firsts. He made the opening day roster for the first time. He hit his first inside-the-park home run and he went to the injured list because he was hit by a pitch for the first time.
The last few seasons have seen Hays battle various ailments and injuries. A player that has said he didn't deal with injuries in high school and college has had a steady stream in pro ball. He spent time on the injured list at Double-A in 2018,...
There were quite a few things that went right and/or showed some promise during the 2020 season for the Orioles. They provide areas to build on as the club rebuilds and tries to work its way up in the American League East standings.
Today, I list three things that worked or showed promise and I rank them in importance.
1) The bullpen was quite solid: This was an area of marked improvement for the 2020 Orioles. They traded three key 'pen members during the year and still got better. So that...
Here is something pretty remarkable. Nelson Cruz, who remains a feared hitter at 40, is about to sign his third contract since leaving the Orioles. In the offseason following the 2014 season, the Orioles, coming off an appearance in the American League Championship Series, had big decisions to make.
One was whether to re-sign Cruz and how far to go to get him. They made a significant three-year offer, but were reluctant to go four years on the deal. The Seattle Mariners however, would go four...
Even though one season was 60 games long and one was 162 games in length, O's bullpen lefty Tanner Scott threw a similar number of big league innings in each, tossing 26 1/3 in 2019, when he spent some time at Triple-A, and 20 2/3 innings this season.
But what he did with those innings was very different.
The pitcher long considered a top bullpen prospect lived up to the hype this year. His ERA was down while results against his fastball were up for him. We've talked often about his...
Major League Baseball is closing in on completing a unique 2020 season. One that featured 60 regular-season games, 16 teams in the playoffs, but zero fans in the stands.
While everyone hopes the fans return next year, we could also see some rules that we saw for the first time in 2020 returning next year. This could include the extra- innings rule for one. We could also see more than the previous 10 playoff teams next year, although it may not be 16 that make it.
This season, when extra innings...
Should the Orioles look to establish one pitcher as their closer in the 2021 season? Baltimore had five pitchers record saves in the shortened 60-game season in 2020.
The short answer for me is definitely not. No reason to try and find one established closer right now. In fact, on a rebuilding team, why not give several players a chance to save games next year?
Find out which players seem to handle the ninth-inning pressure well and which do not. Closing games is hard and there are pitchers...
If absence does make the heart grow fonder, can something similar work when it comes to baseball attendance?
I've heard from a few fans lately that basically said they can't wait to attend another Orioles game when they are allowed back into Camden Yards and it's safe to do so. They missed going to games. I can tell you that applies to some of the media as well. Speaking only for myself, I greatly missed the daily in-person interaction with O's players and staff. And seeing some media...
They are both infielders the Orioles claimed off waivers. They've gotten a golden chance to show they can play at the big league level with the Orioles since the start of the 2019 season.
But after the performance of both fell off in the second half of the shortened 2020 season, their futures are maybe more uncertain today than they were heading into last year.
I am talking about 26-year-old Rio Ruiz and 28-year-old Hanser Alberto. Both have been regulars in the lineup for most of the last two...
The American League East champion Tampa Bay Rays are headed to the World Series. They won the first three games of the AL Championship Series against Houston, but then lost the next three.
But behind right-hander Charlie Morton, they won 4-2 in Game 7 last night to head to the World Series for the second time in team history. In 2008, they lost, four games to one, to Philadelphia. Now they will chase their first title against the winner of tonight's National League Championship Series Game 7...
Last November, the Orioles added four players to their 40-man roster to protect those players from being selected in the December Rule 5 draft. They added Ryan Mountcastle, Keegan Akin, Dean Kremer and Ryan McKenna.
How many players will the Orioles add next month?
They've got a list of quality players eligible for this year's Rule 5. But even with a lengthy list of players who they clearly like, it is still hard for a player to make the 40-man roster. Every year, it seems there is much angst...
There was no announcement or press release from Major League Baseball. But numerous outlets this week reported that the order of the First-Year Player Draft is set for 2021. The Orioles will have the No. 5 pick in the first round. After speculation that MLB would use the reverse standings, as always, for the draft order, several outlets confirmed this week that will be the case.
After selecting No. 1 overall in 2019 and No. 2 in June, the O's will pick after Pittsburgh, Texas, Detroit and...
When spring training for the 2021 season begins, the Orioles could be looking at a logjam. It presents a bit of a problem, but yes, it is a good problem to deal with.
They may have too many quality outfielders for too few spots, especially if you add in players yet to make it to Baltimore. This is not a surprise to us, as it's been coming for a while. And this problem, if we do even call it that, could sort itself out as many baseball roster crunches do. There could be injuries, players sent...
As the summer was rolling on, it became apparent it would be a year without minor league baseball. Around the country, that hit some teams and their local communities pretty hard.
No games for the fans to see, no revenue for the teams to generate. But that didn't keep Orioles farm teams from reaching out in their local communities to host events that brought some normalcy to fans and staff alike late this year. I've covered the minors long enough around Birdland to know that these clubs are...
It was just a four-start sample and that's not a lot of innings. But it was a stunning four starts. For the Orioles, it was a stretch of games where they realized their ace was back. And while an injury kept left-hander John Means from making the opening day start this year, if they had to pick that guy for 2021 today, it would be Means. An easy call.
A year that began with Means dealing with left shoulder fatigue later produced the emotions surrounding the passing of his father. On the field,...
The catcher position is historically one that does not produce much offense. Of course, there are always exceptions, but generally speaking, teams are happy if they get modest offense from their catchers.
For a good portion of the shortened 2020 season, the Orioles had to be delighted with the offense coming from their catchers. They used three players at the position with Pedro Severino making 32 starts, Chance Sisco 22 and Bryan Holaday six.
In late August, the O's catching trio was...
So, it's been two weeks since the last Orioles game and we are definitely moving into full offseason mode around here. The American League Championship Series begins today with the Houston Astros facing the Tampa Bay Rays.
While we move along this offseason and go through the holidays and wait to find out if there will be a Winter Meetings this year, we take time today for the latest edition of "10 questions for O's fans."
Answer one question, a couple or all 10. Give short answers or long...
When some young talent came up from the Orioles farm system this year and performed well in the major leagues - players like Ryan Mountcastle, Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer - it was a real positive for the organization in many ways.
For one, it showed that the organization did have some nice talent down below and knew how to develop it. It was a credit both to the former regime of Dan Duquette, who drafted and/or traded for those players, but also for general manager Mike Elias and his staff. It...