Recap: 2110 Eutaw St.

My wife and I made it to our first Orioles game of the year, which was the 2110 Eutaw St. promotion game against the Toronto Blue Jays. If I was asked to give my first three impressions of the event in under 10 seconds I would say that the promotion was average, Nick Markakis was skinnier than I expected and Brad Bergesen is a stud. Yes, he really does work quickly and economically.

We parked in G lot, which isn’t too much of a haul to OPACY. In fact, I enjoyed the walk. Well, except for the homeless people begging for change. It breaks my heart.

Tillman Turning Heads in Minors

How lofty are the expectations for Tillman? He was one of five players the Orioles received from the Seattle Mariners when they traded Erik Bedard in February 2008. Two of the others, closer George Sherrill and outfielder Adam Jones, have made an American League All-Star team. And Tillman is still considered by some to be the jewel of the deal.

"The ceiling is so high on this kid, I don’t know what else to tell you," said Norfolk pitching coach Mike Griffin. "His ability to adjust or adapt to things very quickly at such a young age is phenomenal. I’ve never had a young pitcher … adapt and correct things immediately the way he can. It’s something you can’t teach, it’s something he has within himself."

Baltimore Sun Full Story

Halfway There – Some Thoughts at the Break

Luke Scott

We’re one series from reaching the All-Star Break, the unofficial midway point of the baseball season. Scheduled to start are two rookies (Jason Berken, Brad Bergesen) and an ailing Jeremy Guthrie – who, in my opinion is actually injured and not ill. Also, the Orioles have finished their last West Coast trip of the season. Thank God.

This past trip against the Angels and Mariners was better than most road trips the Orioles have had this year. Even though they sported a losing record in the 7-game stretch (3-4) they could have easily taken 3 from the Angels – twice losing after blowing 4-0 leads. That would have made The Birds 5-2 and given the fans plenty to be happy about and some higher expectations for the second half of the year. It didn’t happen. Let’s put it behind us and move on.

A MIND FOR THE GAME

Before laptops, spreadsheets and VORP, the wizard of Baltimore was winning pennants by following his own internal baseball calculus.

"TEAM SPEED? GET SOME BIG#$@&*%$*! WHO CAN HIT THE #$@&*%!$* BALL OUT OF THE PARK!"

On a Saturday afternoon in mid-March, the most irascible manager in the history of the Baltimore Orioles is watching an Orioles pitcher get pasted, one hitter after another. This is only a spring training game at quaint Fort Lauderdale Stadium, not something that counted back at Baltimore’s old Memorial Stadium, on 33rd Street. But Earl Weaver, cap pulled low, that leprechaun’s twinkle in his eyes gone dark, does not like what he sees. All of his great teams—and they were all pretty great—were built on a foundation of reliable pitching. ¶ He won the pennant one year by making only 167 pitching changes in 159 games. Another year he won a championship by using 12 pitchers—not just in the World Series but the whole season.

Blue Jays release B.J. Ryan

B.J. Ryan

Jordan Bastian is reporting/tweeting that Toronto Blue Jays have released former Oriole closer B.J. Ryan.

Bastian’s tweet

Technorati Tags: B.J. Ryan,Baltimore Orioles

O’s Could Offer Sano A Deal Soon

Miguel Sano

The Orioles may be close to offering Miguel Angel Sano a deal that could surpass the $2.4MM they awarded top pick Matt Hobgood this year, according to Steve Melewski of MASN.com. ESPN.com’s Jorge Arangure Jr. said Monday that the Orioles were not going to award Sano more than Hobgood or 2008 draftee Brian Matusz, who received $3.2MM. Now, Melewski says the O’s could offer Sano more than $2.4MM, as they value him more than a late first rounder.

The Orioles are expected to wait for confirmation that Sano is 16 years old before committing to the Dominican prospect, who’s also being courted by the Twins and Pirates.

From MLB Rumors

Technorati Tags: sano,baltimore orioles

Baltimore Lineup (Roberts Missing)

Adam Jones – CF
Nick Markakis – RF
Ty Wigginton – 2B
Aubrey Huff – 1B
Nolan Reimold – LF
Luke Scott – DH
Melvin Mora – 3B
Gregg Zaun – C
Robert Andino – SS
David Hernandez – RHP

MASN

The time isn’t now, but soon (part 1)

The Orioles have a long way to go. The game against Boston last night (box score, recap)  revealed the vast gap between contention and the cellar of the American League East (standings), undoubtedly the toughest division in baseball.  With the rise of the Rays and Blue Jays the division is stronger now than ever. How Toronto is doing this with so many pitchers on the DL for a large part of this year is shocking. 4 out of 5 teams from the AL East have 40+ wins. No other division can boast the same.

Boston revealed to the O’s what a complete ball club looks like, and if there was anything to be gained from last night’s loss, it’s that the young and up-and-coming players observed that they will have to work harder than ever. They will also have to be patient with the Orioles franchise and executives until more pieces of the puzzle can be developed and/or obtained.

Still the same old Guthrie

Jeremy Guthrie

It’s no different now than when it was April 27, exactly 2 months and 1 day when the Orioles lost to Texas 6-4 (Box). Well, some things are different, like the outcome. The O’s were fortunate to beat the Gnats 6-3 (Box). But, the outcome should have been the same today as it was against Texas on a Monday night at OPACY, except the Natinals are so bad that they gift wrapped a win for our ace-by-slot.

Comparing the game against Texas on April 27 and today’s game against D.C.’s worst, you’ll find very similar data (Top row Texas, bottom row Washington):

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
5.0	6	3	3	1	4	1	5.20
5.0	5	3	3	3	2	0	5.11

Texas – Pitches-strikes: 101-69, Groundouts-Flyouts: 2-9, Batters Faced – 22

D.C. – Pitches-strikes: 95-58, Groundouts-Flyouts: 7-6, Batters Faced – 21

The big issue, and one that has been well discussed and documented, is Guthrie’s 1st inning troubles. Usually it’s round-tripper issues, but ultimately the biggest problem is high pitch-counts. In April versus the Rangers, Jeremy’s 1st IP was 37. Against the D.C. Nasties it was 38. To me, these two game (and a whole lot of other ones) are remarkable and eerily similar to what he does practically every outing, almost to the pitch! Therefore, when a pitcher’s numbers are that predictable, you know you’re not dealing with a slump. You’re dealing with habit. Guthrie has a mechanics issue – pure and simple.

Now, I’m not Rick Kranitz, so I can’t  explain to Jeremy how to keep his fastball out of the middle of the plate and belt high. I also can’t teach him how to add movement to his fastball other than to tell him not to overthrow the pitch. But, the guy is just serving up juicy meatballs over and over. If the Nationals were hungry they would have enjoyed Jeremy’s buffet.

Hook, Line and Sinker

Orioles 2 – Marlins 5

Baltimore Sun