The Orioles have a young pitcher on their roster who could be a candidate for next year's starting rotation. He is only 24. He's left-handed. And he now has a year of major league experience under his belt.
T.J. McFarland went 4-1 with a 4.22 ERA this season and he finished well, going 3-0 with an 0.80 ERA in 10 September innings and pitching in some key spots.
As a Rule 5 pick from Cleveland in December 2012, McFarland could have been returned to the Indians at any point during the season,...
When Chris Davis met with reporters Sunday to discuss his 2013 Most Valuable Oriole award, he was asked if one of the 53 homers he hit this year was his most memorable.
His answer was interesting. It wasn't No. 1 or No. 50, which tied Brady Anderson's single-season club record. It was not even No. 51, which broke that record. It was a homer he hit Friday Sept. 6 against the Chicago White Sox and lefty John Danks.
"When I was getting close to 50, I hit one off Danks," Davis remembered....
Some have said they think the wild card playoff game should be more than just one game. That it should be a best-of-three series and that would be more fair after playing 162 games - or even 163 as Tampa Bay played.
My take: Leave it the way it is, as a one-game playoff. I prefer that for the drama, the tension, the pressure and all that a one-and-done scenario creates.
O's fans probably can still remember the butterflies dancing in their stomachs as the Orioles played in Texas last...
Orioles first-round draft pickHunter Harvey, is no longer pitching in any games during the club's instructional league workouts at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla.
"He just has a sore lower back and it's from running and conditioning and doing PFPs (pitchers' fielding practice)," O's director of player development Brian Graham said. "We're not pitching him in a game, but it's not a concern, not an injury.
"He had a great year and threw the ball well and did everything we wanted...
So in 2014, will Jim Johnson pitch more like the 2012 closer that saved 51-of-54 or the 2013 version that saved 50 of 59?
Johnson said it will probably turn out to be somewhere in the middle.
"The actual truth is probably a combination between what you saw last year and this year," he said Sunday in the Orioles clubhouse. "Last year was probably a tick up from what was expected and this year was maybe a tick down. So in between these two years I think is probably what to expect."
Johnson...
So now what do we do?
Well, here on this blog we quickly transition to offseason mode which sometimes can be pretty fun, too, as we both look back and ahead, speculate on what might happen, report on what does happen and get your input on it all along the way.
If you are new here, you should know that our blogs stay active all year long and we never stop talking about the Orioles. MASNSports.com is one place you can always come for O's news and always come to discuss O's news. I want to...
Chris Davis said his left wrist got bent back a bit, but he is relieved he suffered just a sprain when Jacoby Ellsbury hit his glove hand running to first base in the fourth inning. Davis came out of the game, but X-rays were negative.
"You know, right there, that is a tough play with a guy who runs well," Davis said. "Tough play for Clev (catcher Steve Clevenger). Thought I had a chance to maybe sneak in there, but he hit my wrist and bent it back pretty good. But they said no fracture, no...
On the final day of the season, the Orioles fell behind Boston 5-0 in the fourth inning. But they came back with seven straight runs to win 7-6, ending the 2013 season with a 85-77 record.
Nate McLouth and J.J. Hardy had two-run doubles during a five-run fifth inning as the O's tied the game 5-5. They went ahead with a two-run sixth as Jonathan Schoop scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch and took a 7-5 lead on a Ryan Flaherty RBI double.
Chris Davis left today's game in the top of the...
After winning the Most Valuable Oriole award for 2013, Chris Davis spent some time thanking the players around him who he said helped him have such a big year.
"I realize how fortunate I am, not only to be wearing this uniform but to be around the people I am," Davis said. "I wouldn't even have gotten close to where I was this year without Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Nate McLouth, Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters, J.J. Hardy. I could go on and on all day. It's a special group of...
Darren O'Day is a pitcher with peace of mind these days. He's not happy the Orioles won't be in the playoffs, but he is very happy that the medical issue he was dealing with recently got resolved.
O'Day pitched just twice between Aug. 28 and Sept. 19 as he was dealing with some issues in the index and middle fingers on his right hand. For a time, he was concerned this could be something serious possibly requiring surgery. But that did not turn out to be the case and a relieved O'Day...
After a season where he dealt with some injuries, it was satisfying for Steve Pearce to have a big night tonight, driving in three in the O's 6-5 win over Boston.
"It was almost hard to picture anything good coming out of this year on a personal note," Pearce said. "I was fighting a wrist injury. Considering the kind of spring training I had, the start of the year, and I had setbacks all year, so on a personal note, it's definitely gratifying.
"It's definitely something I can build on....
It was a two-run double that gave the Orioles the lead tonight after losing a pair of two-run leads earlier in the game. The double came off the bat of Steve Pearce in the last of the eighth as the Orioles rallied to beat Boston, 6-5 in front of 36,556 at Camden Yards.
Pearce's double scored pinch runner Nate McLouth and Danny Valencia, who slid in just ahead of the relay throw as the O's moved ahead. Pearce had two doubles and three RBIs.
With the win, the Orioles have won 10 of 18 games...
The Orioles scored nine runs on Wednesday night against Toronto, ending a 21-game stretch where they scored five or fewer runs.
But that did not exactly open the floodgates, as the Orioles have scored just three runs in each of the last two games.
It has not been a September to remember for the O's offense. They are scoring just 3.8 runs per game this month, which ties their July output as the worst months of the season for the offense.
A common theory is that the players just tired out and...
Brian Roberts could be down to his last two days in an Orioles uniform. But then again he may not. It is a unique situation with a season ending, but we don't know if Roberts, who has been in the organization since 1999, will return next season.
Roberts said today, if it turns that the Orioles move on without him, he would understand that.
"Oh sure. It's business," he said. "It is going to come at some point, whether it is now or later. I'm sure they would have good reasons for both,...
Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said Friday he plans to tender a 2014 contract to closer Jim Johnson, who has 99 saves over the last two seasons.
He made the right move.
Johnson is arbitration-eligible again and if the Orioles elected not to offer him arbitration - and "non-tender" him - he would become a free agent.
At that point, any team could sign Johnson at any price and his critics should know that a lot of teams likely would have come calling. Maybe even a few in the...
Scott Feldman made a quick exit tonight, giving up eight runs and eight hits over just 2 1/3 innings as the Red Sox beat the Orioles 12-3.
Feldman gave up five runs in the first, the most runs he has allowed in the opening inning in his 30 starts.
"I just wasn't very good," Feldman said. "Seems like I made a lot of mistakes behind in the count and they hit them. Anytime I made a mistake, they pretty much put the good part of the bat on it.
"Would have been nice to finish up stronger...
Whatever momentum O's starter Scott Feldman had going in recent starts sure didn't last long tonight.
Feldman gave up eight runs and eight hits over just 2 1/3 innings as Boston beat the Orioles 12-3 in the first game of the last series of the year in front of 30,774 at Camden Yards.
Chris Davis hit a solo homer in the sixth, his 53rd of the year. Davis is the first player in the the majors with 53 homers and 138 RBIs since Alex Rodriguez in 2007. Davis also moved past Frank Robinson with...
It wasn't that long ago that the Orioles won just two games all year against the Boston Red Sox. They went 2-16 against Boston in 2009.
But if they win one game in this season-ending weekend series, the Orioles will have won back-to-back season series against the Red Sox for the first time since 1991-92.
The Orioles went 13-5 against Boston last year and are 9-7 in 2013, going 4-3 in Baltimore and 5-4 in Boston. Going further back, the O's are 28-15 over their last 43 games against Boston....
After a strong finish at Triple-A Norfolk that has carried over into a solid September with the Orioles, right-hander Josh Stinson hopes he has finally found a permanent major league home.
He pitched 13 innings for the Mets in 2011, 9 1/3 for the Brewers in 2012 and 16 for the Orioles this year.
Late in spring training in March, Stinson was with three teams in about the span of a week. On March 29, he was claimed by Oakland on waivers from Milwaukee and then on April 4, he was claimed by the...
Remember when Kevin Gausman made starts in May and June and gave up seven runs each in outings against the Nationals and Rays?
Gausman does and he says he's better for the experience.
"I had some struggles as a starter here and I'm thankful for that," he said yesterday. "That definitely kind of humbled me and I wanted to get back out and work on things to become consistent. Right now, I feel my delivery is as clean as its been all year and I have some great sink on my fastball. My stuff...
