Looking at more free agent starting pitchers

Looking at more free agent starting pitchers
While we wait to find out how the Orioles intend to improve on a starting rotation that produced a 5.70 ERA last season, today we take a look at three more free agent starters. CC Sabathia: It would sure look strange to see the big guy land in an O's uniform and he will be 38 on opening day. Is it even worth such a risk for a player that should be showing his age? The thing is, his ERA is on a three-season decrease, from 5.28 in 2014 to 4.73 in 2015 to 3.91 in 2016. Over 27 starts and 148 2/3...
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O's Brian Graham on DL Hall, Cody Sedlock, Keegan Akin and more

O's Brian Graham on DL Hall, Cody Sedlock, Keegan Akin and more
Don't be fooled by a 6.97 ERA for the kid. That came in just 10 1/3 innings in five August outings in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League for left-hander DL Hall. The Orioles selected Hall with their first pick in June in the draft. He was taken with the 21st pick in the First-Year Player Draft and signed to a $3 million bonus. Hall, who turned 19 on Sept. 19, was selected from Valdosta (Ga.) High School. He pitched to a 1.36 ERA this season with 105 strikeouts over 51 1/3 innings for...
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Multiple-inning relievers could be big for future O's bullpens

Multiple-inning relievers could be big for future O's bullpens
The average outing by a starting pitcher in the postseason this year was 4 2/3 innings. That is a pretty surprising stat for me. Sure, some early knockouts brought that number down but 4 2/3 innings on average for some of better starters in the game? No doubt the bullpens get more use in the postseason and the off-days in each series made it possible for some relievers to pitch almost every game. The Orioles bullpen is rather important to the team, especially one that gets fewer innings from...
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Overlooked as a prospect, Trey Mancini got some rookie recognition

Overlooked as a prospect, Trey Mancini got some rookie recognition
Did a player that has been underrated most of his career finally get some level of recognition Monday evening? He did. The Orioles' Trey Mancini was named as a finalist for the American League Rookie of the Year Award. It's an all AL East final trio with Aaron Judge of New York and Boston's Andrew Benintendi joining Mancini. Judge is expected to become the easy winner of the award. But will Mancini get second place over the more heralded Benintendi? Even that might be tough for a player that...
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How far away are the Orioles?

How far away are the Orioles?
It seems hard to believe when you look at the Orioles and a last-place finish in 2017, but as the calendar turned from August to September, the team was a couple of games over .500 and very close to a playoff berth. On the night of Aug. 30, the Orioles won their seventh straight game. They were 1 1/2 games behind the Twins for the second wild card and 2 1/2 behind the Yankees for the first wild card. But in going 75-87, the Orioles finished 10 games behind the Twins. Only the White Sox and...
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Week in review: Talking free agent pitchers, realignment and Chris Tillman

Week in review: Talking free agent pitchers, realignment and Chris Tillman
As we look back at the last week of blog entries in this space, today we welcome more comments on some of those said entries. Monday we reviewed another three free agent pitchers in this space, taking a looking at Tyler Chatwood, Andrew Casher and Miguel González. Chatwood is a right-hander that will be 28 on opening day. While he went 8-15 with a 4.69 ERA for Colorado, he posted much better numbers on the road. That provides hope that a team signing him and getting him out of Coors Field...
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Houston takes down the big spenders, plus a look at shortstop

Houston takes down the big spenders, plus a look at shortstop
In winning the World Series, the Houston Astros did so with the No. 17 payroll in the majors and they took down the teams with the three top payrolls in the sport. It was an impressive run of winning. Houston beat Boston 3-1 in the American League Division Series and then won the last two games of the American League Championship Series to beat New York 4-3. They won a seven-game World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers payroll, per Spotrac, was $229 million and tops in the...
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Now a free agent, will O's bring back Chris Tillman?

Now a free agent, will O's bring back Chris Tillman?
It was a terrible year for right-hander Chris Tillman last season. But from 2012 through 2016, he was a very solid starter for the Orioles and they won a great percentage of his starts. It seems that five-year track record could be a big boost as Tillman hits free agency now. Even though he was one of the worst starters in the majors in 2017, yesterday MLBTradeRumors.com predicted that Tillman would sign a one-year deal for $10 million with the Tigers. He was ranked No. 47 on their projection...
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A look at Manny Machado's 2017 season

A look at Manny Machado's 2017 season
Orioles third baseman Manny Machado hit 33 homers and drove in 95 runs in the 2017 season. That was just less than the 37 homers and 96 RBIs he produced in 2016. He was also the American League Player of the Month this past August, when he hit .341 with 12 homers and 35 RBIs. In August, Machado hit three grand slams in an 11-game span. The last one came on Aug. 18 and was a walk-off slam, turning a potential 7-5 loss to the Angels into a 9-7 win. If you don't think hitting three slams in 11...
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A radical realignment plan for MLB (plus Game 7 tonight)

A radical realignment plan for MLB (plus Game 7 tonight)
Major League Baseball could be headed for an expansion to 32 teams while at the same time a reduction in games from 162 to 156. That is the potential plan being considered as written about recently in this column in Baseball America. Author Tracy Ringolsby suggests we could see Montreal and Portland, Ore., recieve expansion teams. That would lead to one league with four divisions of eight teams each. It would be a radical change for the Orioles, who would no longer be in a division with the...
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Are O's ready for a Joseph-Sisco catching tandem?

Are O's ready for a Joseph-Sisco catching tandem?
The Orioles must be prepared to lose catcher Welington Castillo via free agency. He has a player option for $7 million for next year and seems likely to decline that and see what is out there via free agency. Then the question is: Will the Orioles pursue another catcher or are they satisfied with a Caleb Joseph-Chance Sisco catching combo? Castillo did a solid job for the Orioles, batting .282/.323/.490 and set a career high with 20 homers. As expected, he raked versus lefty pitchers, batting...
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A look at more free agent starting pitchers

A look at more free agent starting pitchers
While we wait for free agency to start, we take another look at three free agent starting pitchers. You may have heard the Orioles could use some help in that regard. This past season, Orioles starters ranked last in the American League with an ERA of 5.70, which is the worst mark in team history. It was the highest rotation ERA in the majors since Colorado's 5.81 mark in 2012. O's starting pitchers also ranked last in the AL in innings (846), WHIP (1.52), opponent OPS (.837) and allowed 159...
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Week in review: Talking free agent pitchers, team payrolls and more

Week in review: Talking free agent pitchers, team payrolls and more
In looking back at the last week of blog entries in this space, today we would love to get a few more comments/opinions on any or all of them. On Monday, we discussed flamethrowing lefty Tanner Scott in this entry. The southpaw is one of the top Orioles pitching prospects. He was a sixth-round pick out of Howard (Texas) Junior College in 2014. For Double-A Bowie this season, Scott was 0-2 with a 2.22 ERA. Over 69 innings, he allowed 45 hits with 46 walks and 87 strikeouts. He had ended 2016 at...
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Presenting a top 10 Orioles prospects list

Presenting a top 10 Orioles prospects list
Baseball America started to roll out its latest top 10 prospects lists for major league teams this week. Before too long, we'll see a new Orioles list. But today, I'm taking my own shot at a top 10 list for the club. These are my own thoughts and rankings, and for this one, I didn't solicit a single opinion from a scout or team official to get their take on my list. It is just one man's list and when it comes to ranking prospects, there is no right or wrong, just a lot of opinions. Keep in...
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Talking Joe Girardi's ouster, game times and more

Talking Joe Girardi's ouster, game times and more
There are 30 teams in the majors. As of yesterday, 20 percent are changing managers. As of yesterday, 30 percent of the 2017 playoff teams will have different managers next year. The Yankees' Joe Girardi will not return to the Bronx. He has been the skipper the past 10 years, averaging 91 wins per season and finishing first or second seven times. His teams made the playoffs six times, won the World Series in 2009 and lost in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series this year. By most...
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In major leagues, you need both dollars and sense to win

In major leagues, you need both dollars and sense to win
Each year in October, it is interesting to see if the clubs that advanced to the playoffs are the teams spending the most money on players. As is often the case and again this year, the answer is no. There is no question that having a big payroll is an advantage. How can having the ability to outspend your competitors not be? But having a big payroll is just not a requirement to having a winning ballclub. According to Spotrac and using team cash payroll spending, the World Series will be won...
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A look at a trio of free agent starting pitchers

A look at a trio of free agent starting pitchers
Before long, free agency will be underway in Major League Baseball. As the Orioles look to improve their rotation, that is one area they will be looking at. The club has long been reluctant to chase free agents at the top of the pitching food chain. But maybe there are a few hurlers that could be costly, but also affordable, to help the team moving forward. We'll take a look at several such possibilities over the next few weeks, starting with these three pending free agents today. Alex Cobb:...
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Notes on DJ Stewart and Ryan Mountcastle

Notes on DJ Stewart and Ryan Mountcastle
On their way to a 72-68 record and an Eastern League playoff berth, the Double-A Bowie Baysox were the best hitting team in the league this season. Bowie led all clubs in batting average (.283), on-base percentage (.345), slugging (.436) and runs (697). There were several hitters that had good seasons for Bowie, including Austin Hays, Garabez Rosa, Aderlin Rodriguez, Steve Wilkerson and Cedric Mullins. But when I asked Bowie hitting coach Butch Davis which player improved the most from the...
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Does Bowie flamethrower have future in the Baltimore rotation?

Does Bowie flamethrower have future in the Baltimore rotation?
He has the best fastball velocity of any pitcher in the Orioles organization. On Sept. 20, lefty Tanner Scott made his major league debut versus Boston. He began his career throwing two 99 mph fastballs. The second was hit into right on a checked swing for a single. Welcome to the show, kid. Scott allowed two runs in one inning in his debut, but his fastball, as advertised, touched 100 mph. He averaged 98 mph on his fastball and 88.7 mph on his slider, which got swings and misses on four of 11...
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Who is your all-time favorite Oriole?

Who is your all-time favorite Oriole?
A few times in the past during one of my "10 questions for O's fans" blogs, I ask, "What question should I ask you next time we do this?" Several of you have said ask us about our all-time favorite Orioles. OK. Today is that day. Tell us who your all-time favorite Oriole is and why that player is your favorite. If you can't pin it down to one, mention a few if you care to. Don't hold back and feel free to give us the background story. Maybe you just like how he played or how well he...
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