Now that the Tampa Bay Rays have been officially eliminated, will they be easier for the Orioles to beat? Don't count on it, and I would imagine no one in the O's clubhouse is, either.
Just the fact the Rays are pitching James Shields and Jeremy Hellickson the next two nights makes them tough to beat.
Don't you think that it is somewhat ironic that last year the Rays were praising the Orioles for how hard and well they played late in the year against Boston, and now the Rays could keep the...
I can remember back at the end of last year's baseball Winter Meetings. The Los Angeles Angels were hailed as smart and aggressive, and given the mantel as 2012 American League favorites.
They spent nearly $320 million on Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. New general manager Jerry Dipoto and owner Arte Moreno really wanted to win. Their fans loved that duo. Why didn't Dipoto come here, some O's fans wondered. The Angels had a press conference that was basically a pep rally to introduce...
Nothing is decided for the Orioles with two games to go. They fell back into second place last night, but they could still win the AL East outright over the next two days or tie the Yankees. They also could wind up the No. 5 seed in the AL and have to play a road wild card game.
They are not as fortunate as Detroit. While 92 wins hasn't even guaranteed the Orioles a home game at this point, the Tigers clinched their division with 87 wins last night and now can relax over the last two...
It was a stat that likely couldn't hold up too much longer. But after the Orioles held Tampa Bay to two runs or less for seven straight games, going 6-1 in that stretch, tonight the Rays scored three runs in the last of the seventh to go on to a 5-3 win over the Orioles in Game 1 of a three-game series.
Coupled with New York's 10-2 win over Boston, the Orioles dropped to second place, one game back of the Yankees in the AL East with two games remaining. Also, should Oakland beat Texas later...
There is no doubt that some Orioles fans may be a little nervous with Wei-Yin Chen on the mound tonight. The left-hander has been so good for most of this year for the O's but has shown signs of wearing down in recent starts.
Chen is winless at 0-3 over his last six starts. In five September starts, he is 0-3 with a 5.90 ERA. Chen is now at 186 innings after throwing 164 2/3 last season in Japan.
Chen was able to pitch seven innings or more, eight times over his first 22 O's starts, but has...
For the Orioles, the 2012 season has represented such a team effort. So many players making so many key contributions. When it came time for reporters to vote for the Most Valuable Oriole Award, it was not easy to make the choice of that one player that deserved to be atop the ballot.
In the end, Adam Jones was a repeat winner of the award. Catcher Matt Wieters, another player who got MVO votes, felt Jones was a solid choice.
"I think Adam is a great choice for that award," Wieters said....
Anyone that stuck with the Orioles for the last 14 years, and that is a long list of diehard and loyal fans I know, should take some time today to enjoy the fact that the Orioles are going back to the playoffs.
It has truly been a season of Orioles Magic. The team got off to a fast start and stayed in the hunt the entire year. Not even injuries to key players like Nick Markakis and Jason Hammel could keep this team from moving on.
Now the Orioles continue their No. 1 goal: try and win the AL...
The Orioles' team charter flight bound for Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. tonight had to make an emergency landing near Jacksonville due to a fire on board, sources say.
Everyone is reportedly OK, but maybe a little shaken as the plane apparently had to make a rather rapid descent in landing. The fire was reportedly in the kitchen area, and it appears that no one with the club was injured.
The incident was confirmed by Ned Rice, of the Orioles' baseball operations department who posted this...
In the Orioles clubhouse, where the plastic covering was ready to be placed over the lockers today for a celebration that will have to wait, Adam Jones said it was not a big deal that the Orioles are still waiting to clinch a playoff berth.
"That is cool. I'd rather our win had sealed our fate, but it didn't happen," Jones said. "We have to worry about ourselves. I don't care. Do it home, road. We can clinch on the plane. We're going to party somewhere."
Jones said it was exciting to...
The Yankees rallied to win. The Angels rallied with two outs in the ninth and won. It spoiled what would have been a pretty special on-field celebration for the Orioles and their fans today.
"There was a chance there," Jim Johnson said. "Now is the time we are paying more attention to the scoreboard. We were going to be doing the same things that the fans were doing, so we might as well stay out with them. We know this means a lot to the city and we wanted to celebrate with them. But we'll...
The Orioles have reduced their magic number to clinch their first playoff berth since 1997 to one after today's 6-3 win over Boston in front of 41,257 at Camden Yards.
The Orioles would have officially clinched a playoff berth if Los Angeles had lost to Texas, but the Angels rallied in the ninth for a 5-4 win. They play the night portion of that day-night doubleheader at 7:05 and the O's will earn a playoff spot with an Angels loss.
The Orioles began the day tied with the Yankees for the AL...
A couple of mid-game notes as the Orioles hold a 5-1 lead after three and a half innings against Boston, on a day they hope they can clinch their first playoff berth since 1997.
* Jim Thome is 2-for-2 today with a pair of RBI singles. That gives the veteran eight hits over his last 15 at-bats with two doubles, a homer and four RBIs. Yes, he's been a nice pickup.
* From Sept. 17-25, Manny Machado had just one extra-base hit, a double, over a nine-game stretch. Now he is 6-for-11 over his last...
Chris Davis has put together a three-game run where he has hit four homers. He is 5-for-11 with nine RBIs during that stretch. OK, he is not Mark Reynolds' homer hot, but he hit No. 30 last night.
"Just like him (Reynolds) earlier this year, you get hot," Davis said. "When a power hitter gets hot, they have a tendency to go deep. I've felt good at the plate the last few weeks and feel like I've really capitalized on pitches maybe I was missing earlier this year. When I simplify it and go...
After winning his second straight Most Valuable Oriole award, Adam Jones spent a good portion of an interview on that topic discussing the other players on the team that could have earned that honor.
"I think there are some other deserving guys," he said. "I've lobbied for Jim Johnson and our entire bullpen. But, at the end of the day, I appreciate it. But I couldn't do this without my teammates. They are the reason why we are where we're at. It's getting named to me, but it's a team....
Manny Machado has made several big plays and delivered a few big hits since he joined the Orioles from Double-A Bowie. Tonight he produced one of his biggest when his solo homer to left led off the last of the seventh, broke a tie and carried the Orioles to a 4-3 win over Boston and back into a first-place tie with New York.
"I was just looking for a fastball," Machado said of his at-bat versus Felix Doubront. "He threw me a two-seamer away, trying to get that corner. So far, that is the...
On the night they honored Brooks Robinson, the Orioles' 20-year-old third baseman, Manny Machado, started a nifty double play and drove in two runs as the Orioles beat Boston 4-3 to move into a first-place tie with the Yankees. The eighth sellout of the year of 46,311 roared its approval at Camden Yards.
Both the Orioles and Yankees are 91-67 with four games to play.
The Oakland A's won today and remain one game back of the Orioles for the AL's top wild card spot. The Orioles' magic...
In typical Brooks Robinson fashion, he spent most of a roughly 17-minute speech after the unveiling of his statue today, talking about others and thanking them, much more than himself or anything about his career.
"You know Paul Blair, the last six or seven years we played together, he'd always say 'when is your next Brooks Robinson day?' This is it Paulie. You won't have to do that anymore.
"I just want to say to all the fans here. I don't like to call you fans, I like to call you...
Adam Jones passed by Matt Wieters' locker a few minutes ago with a congratulatory handshake and a question.
"Where's my cigar?" he said.
"They're coming," Wieters said back.
Matt and his wife, Maria, are the proud parents of a baby boy. Maverick Luther Wieters, weighing 8 lbs and 2 ounces and just more than 21 inches long, arrived at 5:11 a.m. yesterday.
Wieters is back with the team today and will bat fourth and catch tonight. Now about that name.
"It was not because of Top...
It happened in the last of the eighth inning on Wednesday night. The Orioles were well on their way to a 12-2 win over Toronto and L.J. Hoes, the Orioles minor league Player of the Year, walked to the plate for his first major league at-bat.
The crowd rose to its feet to give the 22-year-old Bowie, Maryland native a very warm welcome. It was quite a moment for the young man.
Here is what Hoes posted on his Twitter account about that:
Still shaking from last night. The "let's go hoes"...
For a franchise that has produced many special players over the years and seen many others pass this way, to generations of O's fans, no Oriole is beloved more than Brooks Robinson.
Simply stated, he was a Hall of Fame player and is a Hall of Fame person.
Over the years, thousands upon thousands of fans must have had a chance to meet Brooks, and probably every one came away blown away by the man's kindness and warmth. He's from Little Rock, Ark., but we have long since claimed him for our...
