A lot of baseball fans think that free agency is to blame for the large guaranteed salaries in the majors. And while there is no doubt a lot of truth to that, salary arbitration may be the real culprit.
During a player's first few seasons, the team holds the cards. Most players work for a salary at or near the major league minimum. Still a nice payday (a little over $500,000 now), but nowhere near what is to come if they continue to play well.
That first year of salary arbitration is when...
No doubt some Orioles fans and local media too are probably a little confused over the situation involving Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette and the Toronto Blue Jays.
There is plenty of speculation, but few actual answers right now. Will he or won't he become the president and CEO of the Blue Jays?
That uncertainty extends north, to Toronto, where reporters are not only not getting answers, they are not getting any comments whatsoever from the management of...
As we continue to wonder if the Orioles will add an outfielder and just who that may be, another interesting question is which player will be the club's leadoff hitter now that Nick Markakis is a Brave.
The odds-on favorite is probably Alejandro De Aza, the likely starter in left field. That is unless manager Buck Showalter has a surprise in store for us or plans to do something unconventional in that spot.
While Markakis served as the Orioles' leadoff hitter 148 times last year, De Aza...
For now, Dan Duquette is the executive vice president of baseball operations for the Orioles and managing partner Peter G. Angelos told MASNSports.com's Roch Kubatko last night that he will continue to be.
Duquette is under contract through 2018 and Angelos denied reports that the Orioles and Blue Jays have begun negotiating a compensation package that would allow him to leave to become president/CEO of the Blue Jays.
This is the story that doesn't seem to go away. Duquette did not put an...
It is a fair question that some fans have been asking: If the Orioles have an outfielder like Dariel Alvarez that is almost ready for the majors, why not turn right field over to him come April rather than sign another outfielder?
After all, Jonathan Schoop won the second base job at spring training last year. Could Alvarez do that in Sarasota this year?
While that seems possible, it doesn't seem likely. Alvarez has just one full minor league season under his belt and has played just 44 games...
It has been a very interesting last few months for Orioles right-hander Eddie Gamboa, who made it back to the club's 40-man roster on Dec. 3 when he signed a major league contract.
That was a real triumph for Gamboa. For the last two years, he's been transitioning to a knuckleball pitcher. Last March, he worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings in big league exhibition games, making a solid impression, and he followed that up by pitching to a 4.06 ERA at Triple-A Norfolk. He seemed to be on a path to...
Since 2008, the Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays have combined to win three American League East titles while the Yankees and Red Sox have combined to win four.
That is not bad for two franchises that spent so many seasons losing and cannot spend at the same level as those teams. Tampa Bay, and then Baltimore, took on and at times passed the big boys on their way to the top of the division.
Can't imagine many O's fans that didn't enjoy that and/or preferred that Tampa Bay won if the Orioles...
Baseball America released its list of the top 10 Orioles prospects at the end of October. Four players on that top 10 are already on the Orioles' 40-man roster and probably six or more potentially could play for the Orioles this season.
Today, let's take a look at what we might see from this group come April.
1) Dylan Bundy, RHP: Bundy is likely to begin the season in Double-A Bowie's rotation. Believe it or not, Bundy has pitched just 16 2/3 innings in his life so far at that level. But...
Among the fun things about baseball are our constant speculation about the upcoming season, and our debates about how the team and certain individuals will do.
Today it might be interesting to look at some O's team stats posted last year and get your takes on whether the club will go over or under that total in 2015? Will they be better or worse in certain stat categories?
Feel free to express an opinion on some or all of these, but here are a few to take a look at and also listed is where the...
Jonathan Schoop is already a rare player in that he was a signed international amateur that made it all the way through the from the lowest levels of the Orioles' farm system to becoming a major league starter.
Now the question is can he stay as a starter, and how will he do with even more seasoning and experience?
Some fans were very understanding of the ups and downs Schoop had last year when he struggled at times playing at 22.
Over 137 games and 455 at-bats, the native of Curacao hit .209...
Former Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina has some work to do in his bid to make the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
In his first year of eligibility in 2014, Mussina was named on 20.3 percent of the ballots with 14 players getting a higher percentage. On Tuesday, Mussina was named on 24.6 percent of the ballots with 13 players getting more votes. A player needs to be named on 75 percent to make the Hall.
If Mussina does someday make it - and I do think he has a good chance eventually - then we'll...
When the Orioles drafted three high school catchers among their top seven picks in the 2013 draft, they knew it was going to take time to develop the trio and for them to advance through the farm system.
So far, the process is going quite well for Chance Sisco, taken in the second round (61st overall) in 2013; Jonah Heim, taken in round four (129th overall); and Alex Murphy, selected in round six (189th overall).
Sisco won the South Atlantic League batting title this season at Single-A...
In a recent post, I took a look at the Orioles' solid pitching rotation and how some of the hurlers fared during the 2014 season.
Today, here are some notes and stats looking back on some of the key Orioles position players from 2014.
Chris Davis: While he hit nearly 100 points lower in 2014 (.196 after .286 in 2013), Davis hit under .200 against both left- (.188) and right-handed pitching (.199). He also hit under .200 both before (.199) and after (.189) the All-Star break. Davis hit two...
Checking in on a few Orioles and baseball topics this morning:
Hank Peters' passing: The Orioles lost a treasured family member and team Hall of Famer Sunday when former general manager Hank Peters died Sunday morning. The O's GM from 1975-87, Peters built the Orioles' last World Series-winning team in 1983.
A few times over the years, I had a chance to meet Mr. Peters and found him to be every bit the gentleman everyone said he was. What a polite and nice man, who managed to stay that way...
Hank Peters, the architect of the Orioles' last world championship team in 1983, died this morning of complications from a recent stroke. He was 90.
Peters was the Orioles' general manager from 1975 through 1987, and the club won two American League championships on his watch, in 1979 and 1983, and beat the Philadelphia Phillies in five games in 1983 to win the club's third World Series title.
He was named Sporting News Major League Baseball Executive of the Year for 1983. Peters also won...
In building a winning baseball team, you need to have plenty of talented players. That part is obvious and a given. But how do aspects like team chemistry and character of the individual players factor in?
Are they important, even if you can't put a stat on those intangibles like you can a batting average or ERA?
When the Orioles acquired Nelson Cruz, who was coming off a suspension, and Delmon Young last year, some fans wondered how the pair would impact clubhouse chemistry. Now some wonder...
If the Orioles do sign outfielder Colby Rasmus, in one sense, maybe he fits right in. He is a player that can deliver home runs while also striking out a lot.
The O's have some players that do that.
But one stat I read about Rasmus was rather surprising and it is how he fared last year in Isolated Power.
In a writeup about Rasmus and his free agent outlook for this winter, MLBTradeRumors.com's profile included this excerpt:
Despite seeing only 376 plate appearances in 2014, Rasmus...
Will there be a mass exodus of Orioles following the 2015 season?
There sure could be and it has some fans very concerned already, apparent by reading some of the comments here. As many as 11 current members of the 40-man roster are potential free agents following the coming season.
Is the O's window to win closing that fast?
There are two starting pitchers in Bud Norris and Wei-Yin Chen that are set to be free agents. There are four relievers that could become free agents, including Darren...
Happy new year, everyone! I hope 2015 is your best year yet.
As for the Orioles, they begin the new year with a pretty solid starting rotation.
If pitching is the biggest key to any season - and starting pitching is even bigger than the bullpen in terms of importance - the Orioles seem to be in decent shape in that regard.
As some readers seem to be focusing almost 24/7 on which outfielder the Orioles may or may not acquire, let's not forget the pitchers.
None of the starters pitched over...
Happy new year, everyone! I hope 2015 is your best year yet.
As for the Orioles, they begin the new year with a pretty solid starting rotation.
If pitching is the biggest key to any season - and starting pitching is even bigger than the bullpen in terms of importance - the Orioles seem to be in decent shape in that regard.
As some readers seem to be focusing almost 24/7 on which outfielder the Orioles may or may not acquire, let's not forget the pitchers.
None of the starters pitched over...