Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

Upward trend: Adam Jones' stats are on a three-year increase

Upward trend: Adam Jones' stats are on a three-year increase
If you look at Adam Jones' offensive stats, they have been trending upward for three years now. It makes you wonder just how good the Orioles center fielder can be and how much better he can get. When MLB Network recently picked its list of the current 10 best center fielders, guest host Bill James rated Jones fifth and analyst and former Oriole Bill Ripken placed Jones third among all center fielders behind only Mike Trout and Andrew McCutchen. Ripken said of Jones that he got a lot of big...
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Steve Melewski

Checking on another pitching prospect: A look at right-hander Mike Wright

Checking on another pitching prospect: A look at right-hander Mike Wright
He is mentioned often as being one of the Orioles' top pitching prospects. After this past season, Baseball America rated right-hander Mike Wright as the club's No. 8 prospect and he ranks fourth among pitchers after Dylan Bundy (No. 1), Kevin Gausman (No. 2) and Eduardo Rodriguez (No. 5). Wright began this past year at Single-A Frederick and went 5-2 with a 2.91 ERA in eight starts for the Keys. He moved to Double-A Bowie in late May, but after just two Baysox starts, he spent about five...
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Steve Melewski

The case for the defense

The case for the defense
So, were there any exciting sporting events over the weekend? I heard there were some. Meanwhile, back on the baseball beat, what if there was a team and only four other teams made more errors than said team last season? What if just three squads had a lower fielding percentage than said team? Could that squad be a good fielding team in 2013? It can if you are talking about the Orioles, and of course we are. Tampa Bay, a team with a recent history of very solid defense, led the American...
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Steve Melewski

Orioles promote James Keller to the position of national pitching crosschecker

Orioles promote James Keller to the position of national pitching crosschecker
The Orioles have promoted scout James Keller to the position of national pitching crosschecker, O's scouting director Gary Rajsich said tonight. Keller actually began working more closely with scouting pitchers before last season's draft. That was a draft where the Orioles took pitchers in the first two rounds, drafted eight in the first 12 rounds and selected 12 pitchers in the first 17 rounds. "That is really James' specialty. He's real good at identifying pitchers and real good with...
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Steve Melewski

10 questions for O's fans

10 questions for O's fans
Today and this weekend, I'm asking 10 questions and looking for your answers. Feel free to provide a take on one, three, six or all 10 questions. If you want to number your answers to correspond with the question that may make it easier to follow. 1: How many games will Nolan Reimold start next season? 2: How many saves will Jim Johnson have in 2013? 3: In three years, will Johnson be a relief pitcher or a starting pitcher? 4: Which team will finish last in the American League East in...
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Steve Melewski

Can the Orioles bullpen be 2012 good again?

Can the Orioles bullpen be 2012 good again?
There is a baseball theory out there, and plenty of evidence behind it, that says relief pitchers and entire bullpens for that matter, are volatile and likely to see big swings in performance from year to year. There sure seem to be fewer relief pitchers than starters who can be counted on to produce top stats every season. Some believe closers are overrated and that you should seldom, maybe never, give bullpen pitchers multi-year contracts because of that volatility. So where does that leave...
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Steve Melewski

Random Hall of Fame rumblings

Random Hall of Fame rumblings
Today a random rumblings, Hall of Fame edition. As per usual, after reading this please leave plenty of your own opinions and comments: * The so-called steroid era is a mass of confusion to me. It is undefined, subjective and talk of it creates many more questions that actual answers. It creates a wealth of strong opinion and spirited debate, which is interesting, but very few absolute facts. It makes each Hall voter judge and jury and that is what a vote is, I guess. You decide what you think...
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Steve Melewski

How to determine a player's trade value

How to determine a player's trade value
Here is an interesting question to discuss and debate as we look out the window on these cold winter mornings and count the days until spring arrives: What is the value of a player? When a few people asked me via Twitter yesterday if the Orioles might include Brian Matusz in a potential trade for the Nationals' Michael Morse, it made me wonder about Matusz's - and all players' - trade value. Now I am not proposing the Orioles trade the lefty but you have to wonder how opponents view the...
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Steve Melewski

A look at another pitching prospect: Pinales shows early promise and potential

A look at another pitching prospect: Pinales shows early promise and potential
In some ways, left-hander Elias Pinales is just like a lot of young pitching prospects over the years from the Dominican Republic. He is tall and lean, and throws hard. He is a decent prospect, but has a lot of developing to do to try and work his way up through the Orioles farm system. Pinales, from Bajo de Haini, turned 20 in November. The 6-foot-4, 155-pounder was signed by David Stockstill as a non-drafted free agent on Aug. 27, 2010. For the Dominican Summer League Orioles in 2011, he...
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The great Orioles winter debate

The great Orioles winter debate
It is not a surprise to me. In fact, I predicted early in the offseason that the theme this winter would be how the Orioles were fortunate to win last year and how it can't happen again. The theory goes that last year everything broke right. The Orioles went 29-9 in one-run games and 16-2 in extra-inning games. What good fortune. But the Orioles outscored their opponents 33-5 in extra innings in 2012. No one talks about that run differential. Opponent batters hit .189 with a .241 slugging...
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Steve Melewski

What is your take on getting baseball autographs?

What is your take on getting baseball autographs?
So what is your take on FanFest and what is your take on getting baseball autographs? With Friday's announcement of the lineups for autographs for FanFest, it's a good time to revisit these topics. Feel free to share some stories and opinions here this weekend. For those FanFest veterans, what do you like most about the day? What advice would you give fans that are going for the first time? How could the Orioles improve the event and make it even more fan-friendly? The aspect of getting...
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Steve Melewski

The Orioles shouldn't have any untouchables, however ...

The Orioles shouldn't have any untouchables, however ...
When a member of the Miami Marlins front office said the club would listen to trade offers for Giancarlo Stanton, it set off a mild firestorm around baseball. To me, all it meant was the Marlins' brass was doing its job. I am not a believer in the concept that certain players are "untouchable" meaning they are 100 percent unavailable via a trade. How can a team say never? Every GM has a price on every player and if some team overwhelms the Marlins with a deal too good to pass up, maybe...
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Steve Melewski

Miguel Gonzalez could be the X factor on the pitching staff

Miguel Gonzalez could be the X factor on the pitching staff
In this space yesterday, I labeled Nolan Reimold an X factor for the Orioles' offense come April. If Reimold can stay healthy, he could be huge for the offense next season. Who is the X factor on the pitching staff? I think Miguel Gonzalez is a candidate for that. He was so good and so poised last year that it could be hard for him to duplicate that performance, but he enters spring training as someone who would really have to struggle badly through March to lose a starting rotation spot,...
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Steve Melewski

A healthy Nolan Reimold could be a real X factor for Orioles offense

A healthy Nolan Reimold could be a real X factor for Orioles offense
The assumption seems to be that the Orioles offense needs to get better and needs a key addition before the start of the 2013 season. This after the club scored just 15 runs in six postseason games and finished ninth in the American League in runs scored last year, 10th in batting average and 11th in on-base percentage. But while those numbers cover the entire 2012 season, the O's offense was better in the second half. The Orioles hit .240 with an OPS of .704 and they scored 4.13 runs per...
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Steve Melewski

What is the next move for the Orioles?

What is the next move for the Orioles?
Happy new year, everyone. I hope 2013 is a wonderful year that makes you happy and finds you healthy. Let's hope it can be as exciting on the field for the Orioles as last year was. So as a new year begins, we revisit an older, lingering question. What is the next move for the Orioles? Dan Duquette has stated that he wants to add a middle-of-the-order bat and hasn't done so yet. He didn't say he would do it quickly, just that he wanted to do it. My guess is the Orioles do add a hitter at...
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Steve Melewski

Random rumblings

Random rumblings
Ending the year with some random takes and thoughts: What made me think of Jake Fox?: It was a comment posted on Twitter yesterday after quarterback Tyrod Taylor made a nice run early in the game for the Ravens. Someone pointed out that could lead to talk-show callers calling for Taylor to play over Joe Flacco. I posted that if you think that is far-fetched, I had callers to my baseball show early in the 2011 season imploring the Orioles to start Jake Fox over Matt Wieters at catcher. Fox...
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Steve Melewski

A 2012 countdown: Ranking the best wins of the year

A 2012 countdown: Ranking the best wins of the year
As we count down to the end of another year, today I take a few moments to count down the best Orioles wins of the 2012 regular season. The list is, of course, subjective. I'd love to read your thoughts and which game or games I left out that make your list. On with the countdown ... 5. Orioles win 1-0 on the road against Tampa Bay, Oct. 2 On a night they needed to win to head to the regular season's final day still with a chance to win the American League East, the Orioles beat the Rays...
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Steve Melewski

A look at a minor league reliever with three solid seasons on the O's farm

A look at a minor league reliever with three solid seasons on the O's farm
Chris Petrini has never started a game on the mound in three seasons pitching in the Orioles' minor leagues, but after putting up more solid numbers again in 2012, maybe he's now starting to make a nice impression on the team brass. The 25-year-old lefty has been overlooked at times because he was not drafted and spent five seasons in college at the University of California. He took a redshirt season in 2007 after Tommy John surgery. Signed as a non-drafted free agent in June 2010 by scout...
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What impact will winning have on Orioles attendance next year?

What impact will winning have on Orioles attendance next year?
The Orioles' home attendance last year was 2,102,240, which was the largest season attendance since 2007, when the team drew 2,164,822 fans to Camden Yards. The per-game average of 26,278 was also the best since 2007. So how much of an attendance spike should the Orioles expect next season after winning 93 games and making the playoffs for the first time since 1997? If the club gains just 10 percent over last year and draws just over 2.3 million, it would be the most fans to attend games at...
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A look at one player that might be able to repeat his very strong 2012 season

A look at one player that might be able to repeat his very strong 2012 season
Is it possible that after such a sensational season in 2012, that Orioles closer Jim Johnson can repeat his numbers in 2013? As good as he was, I think Johnson could put up similar numbers again. Last season he went 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA, a 1.019 WHIP and .220 batting average against. Johnson finished seventh in the American League Cy Young vote, 14th in the American League Most Valuable Player voting and led all of Major Lague Baseball in saves. But the year before, Johnson was nearly as good...
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