Orioles News - Winter Meetings

A slight change has been made to my blog. I will no longer put yesterdays date in the title, a habit that was useful during the season when the O's were still playing games. From now on, my blogs will not include a date in the title.

For all of Major League Baseball, the Winter Meetings will begin Monday in Nashville, Tennessee. So, what are these Winter Meetings? It's where GM's and top executives from all of the Major League teams go and talk baseball. They talk about trades, rumors, etc. So, which Baltimore Orioles players could be moving? Well, Andy MacPhail has said that no Orioles player is untouchable, but there are a few leading candidates to go. Disgruntled Oriole Miguel Tejada will probably be traded at the meetings. Ace Erik Bedard could also be traded. Several teams have offered good packages for him, and since contract negotiations between his agent and the O's have stalled, it is more reason to believe that he will be dealt. Also, Aubrey Huff, Jay Payton, Ramon Hernandez, and Melvin Mora could also be traded. What will the O's be looking for in return? The Orioles will most likely try to add a few relievers. The O's had their worst bullpen ERA in franchise history last year. Plus, Dany Baez and Chris Ray will be out for most of this year, leaving the O's short two more relievers. The O's will probably try to add some young arms. That's a good start... - John T.

Orioles News - 11/25/07 - Random Thoughts On The O's

Sorry I couldn’t write my blog yesterday, my internet went down. Here is my blog for today.

For this blog, I will just spit out my thoughts on the O’s. It just may become a weekly special… Anyway, here it is.

Aubrey Huff recently went on the Bubba The Love Sponge show, and he talked bad about Baltimore. Nice. You can tell Huff was thinking clearly. It’s not like the fans that he dissed on help pay his salary or anything like that…

Miguel Tejada just might be leaving Baltimore soon. My response: Finally. Haven’t the O’s been wanting to trade him for years? Oh yeah, they have, but they’ve never been able to finish the deal. Maybe this is the time… (Fingers crossed)

Ace Erik Bedard could be traded too. Andy MacPhail has said several times that no player is untouchable. I don’t want Bedard to go, but if the deal is that good that Baltimore will trade their Ace away, then I just might believe in it. Then again, the O’s have made some very bad trades before… I’ll leave you with that. – John T.

Orioles News - 11/17/07 - A Look At The Lineup

The Baltimore Orioles haven't made many moves this year in free agency. The O's haven't had any significant players leave either, besides outfielder Corey Patterson. So, will they make any big moves this off season? Probably not. But, if you look, the base of the Orioles roster is still set. Here is a look at the Baltimore Orioles lineup for next year, as of right now.

The O's still have their lead off man, Brian Roberts. He isn't moving spots. The person who is hitting second is still a little iffy, since Corey Patterson is no longer on the team. It's also still iffy due to all of the trade rumors whirling. The man hitting third is pretty obvious - Nick Markakis. He led the team in batting average, home runs, and RBI's last year. Nick stays in the number three spot. Now for the fourth spot. If Miguel Tejada has a change of heart and decides to stay, and that's a big if, he will likely hit here. Miggi can still hit, it's just that his fielding is declining. A lot. In the number 5 spot, Aubrey Huff is a likely candidate. Huff hit .280 with 72 RBI's last year. Those numbers are OK, even if Huff does run his mouth. Now batting 6th, Melvin Mora. Mora, if he is still in Baltimore, should hit about here. Kevin Millar could hit in 7th, with Jay Payton hitting 8th. Rounding out the lineup, Ramon Hernandez should hit about 9th. - John T.

Orioles News - 11/15/07 - Top Priority

The Baltimore Orioles need a lot of things. A new, younger, better bullpen. Some good starting pitchers. A left fielder. A center fielder. A shortstop and a third baseman. A new owner. Oops, that slipped. Some players who aren't always in the news for all the wrong reasons, like steroids, running their mouth on radio shows (Ahem, Aubrey Huff)... Oops, that one slipped again. But what really is the Baltimore Orioles' top priority this off season? The O's obviously won't be able to fix all of these needs, so what should they do? I gotta say that the Orioles should go out and get some new relievers for the bullpen. This would be great. It would make the bullpen younger, instead of the bullpen right now that is aging. The bullpen lost Baltimore a lot of games last year. Too many games to count. But, a new bullpen could change this and actually (gasp), win the O's some games. It's been a while since the O's have had a good bullpen. Hopefully the Orioles could get a few relievers to upgrade the bullpen. - John T.

Orioles News - 11/14/07 - How The Team Is Dealing With Huff's Comments - A Trade For Bedard?

Baltimore Orioles officials are looking into a pretty big issue. The issue is Aubrey Huff. After several comments by Huff on a radio show called Bubba The Love Sponge, including when he called Baltimore a horses--t city, O's officials are upset. The officials are looking into possible disciplinary action against Huff for his comments. That's just a shame that another O's player has ran his mouth. But unlike most other players who run their mouth, Huff won't go back on his comments. (Sigh.)

Baltimore Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail might be lying when he claimed that no Oriole player was "untouchable." Meaning no player was off limits to a trade. Left hander Erik Bedard could soon be off limits if he is signed to a contract extension. The O's are prepared to begin conversations with Bedard's agent sometime before next month's Winter Meetings begin. There is a lot of interest in Bedard via trade, but the O's don't want to trade him without at least trying to resign him first. (Bedard will be a free agent in 2009.) The Yankees, Angels, Mets, and the Dodgers all are reported to have interest in Erik. The Dodgers are considered to be the most aggressive team going for Bedard. The Dodgers could be offering outfielder Matt Kemp, reliever Jonathan Broxton, and minor leaguer Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw is a starting pitcher and is considered to be one of the best young starting pitching prospects in the league. Broxton and Kemp have had some success over the last two years in the Major League. That deal looks as if it would be pretty sweet. But, that would leave the O's without a real Ace for next year. It wouldn't help the O's win a lot of games in the short term, but it could pay off in the long run. I'm tired of the rebuilding that has lasted what seems like forever, but this deal seems to good to pass up. - John T.

Orioles News - 11/10/07 - Huff's Comments

Why? Why do things like this always happen to the Baltimore Orioles? It never fails. Every off season it seems that at least one Oriole player will run their mouth about the team, the city of Baltimore, the fans and so on. So who was the latest to run their mouth? Aubrey Huff. On Thursday, Huff was on the Bubba The Love Sponge show for 90 minutes. The show was being broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio. Huff was asked about the nightlife in Tampa Bay, where he used to play. He was talking, and the focus turned to Baltimore. Huff basically said that Baltimore was horses*it because after games, most bars and other places to go were closed. *That is not an exact quote, just what he said in simpler terms.* Many people took this to mean that Huff was trashing the city of Baltimore. I actually take offense to this. I think it's unfair to say something like that about the city you play in, even if you didn't mean to trash Baltimore. Keep your mouth closed Huff. - John T.

Orioles News - 10/2/07 - Best of the 2007 season

As a part of the 2007 season wrap-up for the Baltimore Orioles, I will write about the Orioles best moment and best players of 2007.

Best Moment in the 2007 Season:

There were few great moments for the Orioles in 2007, but this one really stands out.

- Aubrey Huff hitting for the cycle. This was on June 27, as Aubrey hit for the cycle against the Los Angeles Angels. He began with a triple, his 1,000th hit, followed by a double, his 200th of his career, and then he homered. Only a single to go... And... Huff hit the single he needed, a bloop hit that gave him the cycle! He was the first Oriole to hit for the cycle at home. And what a game! His 1000th hit, his 200th double, and the cycle all in one day! Amazing.

Best Oriole of 2007:

There is 1 player that deserves this award the most. Here he is:

Nick Markakis, Right fielder, Baltimore Orioles, Number 21. That's what his bio says. They forgot to mention "Savior of the Baltimore Orioles." Nick Markakis has provided hope in another losing season. He has given fans hope for the future, that maybe, just maybe, he will be able to one day carry this team on his shoulders out of the cellar in the AL East, and into the playoffs. So by now your probably saying "Yeah right, fat chance." But just look at his stats. He hit .300 with 23 home runs and 112 RBI's this season. And he's only in his 2nd year, as he blew the sophomore jinx theory away with those stats. If these are his stats for his 2nd year, just imagine his stats in his prime...

Runner up:

Erik Bedard. He had a great year, going 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA and 221 strikeouts. He would have had even more impressive stats had it not been for an oblique injury that sidelined him towards the end of the season. He probably would have led the league in strikeouts too, had it not been for that injury. He is still a Cy Young award candidate, but his chances are slim due to him not playing late in the year. Oh well, there's always next year...

Baltimore Orioles Rookie Of the Year:

There's really no question about it. It has to be pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. Guthrie did good, finishing with a 7-5 record and a 3.70 ERA. In 26 starts, that is. Yes, 26 starts. That means Guthrie had 14 no-decisions. Those no-decisions are due mainly to poor run support. Guthrie, like Bedard, got hurt towards the end of the season but still came back to pitch one final game before the season ended. As of right now, he is still a possible Rookie Of the Year candidate, though his chances were hurt by his injury.

Coming tomorrow: The worst of the 2007 season. - John T.

Orioles News - 9/16/07 - A series win!

The Baltimore Orioles won yesterday, 8-6 over the Toronto Blue Jays. This gives them a series win, their 1st since mid-August. This win came in extra innings, 12 to be exact. The game lasted 4 hours and 25 minutes! It was ugly, as both teams went a toal of 5-37 with runners in scoring position. There was a total of 27 men left on base, with 12 of those men playing for the Orioles. They used a combined 15 pitchers and 28 position players! In the game, the Blue Jay's had a 4-1 lead after 3 innings, largely because of back-to-back homers on consectutive pitches by Adam Lind and Russ Adams. Nick Markais brought the Orioles to within 1 after he hit a solo shot to give him a 20 homer, 100 RBI season. This is only his 2nd year in the Majors. That's the kind of young talent we need. The Orioles won the game in the 12th inning, as Aubrey Huff singled to begin the game. Freddie Bynum doubled, sending Huff to 3rd base. Paul Bako up, game on the line, golden oppurtunity, and....he struckout. Ok, lets try this again. Scott Moore up, game on the line, golden oppurtunity, and....he singled, bringing in a run!!! The O's took the lead!! Brian Roberts hit a sacrifice fly after that, sending across a insurance run. For Moore, it was his only hit of the game, but it couldn't have come at a better time. - John T.

Orioles News - 9/15/07 - O's fall to Blue Jays

The Baltimore Orioles lost last night, 8-3 to the Toronto Blue Jays. What's worse is the fact that our starting pitcher, Kurt Birkins, didn't even record an out while giving up 6 earned runs on 6 hits. In his last 2 starts, (a total of 4 innings), he has given up 10 earned runs. That's pathetic. The Jay's 6 run 1st inning began with a Vernon Wells single, which was folloed by a Reed Johnson single. Alex Rios then knocked in both runners with a double. Frank Thomas then crushed a pitch for a homer, giving Toronto a 4-0 lead. Aaron Hill then singled, followed by a double from Matt Stairs that put them both in scoring position. A single by Gregg Zaun scored both runs. The Blue Jay's were finally done scoring in the 1st inning. The Orioles got a run in the 4th inning after Nick Markakis walked, and Aubrey Huff doubled to score Markakis. The Blue Jay's got 2 more runs in the 7th inning after the ball bounced off of Nick Markakis' glove and rolled to the wall, allowing 2 unearned runs to score. The O's eventually picked up 2 more runs in the 8th inning on 2 hits. Freddie Bynum had a great day, driving in a run and making several great defensive plays in left field. Aubrey Huff had a great day also, going 4-4 with an RBI at the plate. But, it was a bad day for the rest of the team, as Baltimore dropped another. - John T.

Orioles News - 9/14/07 - O's win 2nd straight

Two in a row! Yes, 2 straight wins for the Baltimore Orioles. It has been almost a month since the O's won back-to-back games. They won last night, 6-2 over the Toronto Blue Jays. There was a great pitching performance by Brian Burres, which led them to a win. The Orioles nearly shut out the Blue Jays, but reliever Jamie Walker gave up solo home runs to Aaron Hill and Hector Luna in the 9th inning. Those were the Jay's only runs of the night. Burres was awesome last night, pitching 7 scoreless innings, giving up 8 hits and walking none. He stayed focused and did a great job of getting out of jams. He threw 105 total pitches, and 72 of those were strikes. The team was certainly fired up as Tike Redman had 3 hits, and drive in a run. The Orioles scored early, providing Burres with a 2 run cushion before he even took the mound. The O's got another run in the 2nd inning when Brian Roberts homered to make it a 3-0 game. Aubrey Huff had a two-out triple in the 3rd inning, followed by Ramon Hernandez's single that scored Huff. Baltimore also tacked on 2 more runs in the 9th. It was a great game for the Baltimore Orioles, as they needed this win. - John T.

Orioles News - 9/10/07 - Off-season needs

The O's didn't play last night, so here is a look at what the O's need this offseason.

What do the Orioles really need this offseason? They have several young pitchers, (Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Burres, Garret Olson, Radhames Liz) that could be great starters for the rotation in a year or two. So what do they need? Run support. Right now, the O’s aren’t driving in many runs. They are terrible. We need the run support for the pitchers, so we can win games. Also, a power hitting left fielder. Our left field now is Jay Payton, who is good but we need some more runs. If we got a power hitting left fielder, then we would be in a much better spot right now. Also, we need a first baseman. Aubrey Huff is good, but if we had a power hitting first baseman, we would be in much better shape. Preferably Mark Teixara, a free agent soon and a Baltimore native. And a better bullpen. We need a better bullpen, one that doesn’t blow games all the time. Those are our main needs, and the O’s really need to address them this offseason. - John T.

Orioles News - 9/4/07 - O's win

The Orioles picked up a rare win last night, 8-4 over Tampa Bay. The O's had a 5 hit, 4 run 8th inning to help them win. For once, the tables were turned, as it was not the Orioles bullpen that gave up a win, it was the Devil Rays bullpen that gave up a win. The O's gave rookie pitcher Jeremy Guthrie a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning after Corey Patterson hit a solo homer and Miguel Tejada doubled, scoring on Nick Markakis's weak infield single. The Rays fought back in the 2nd inning, earning a run on 2 hits. Tampa Bay took the lead in the 5th inning on a bases loaded single that scored 2 runs. In the 7th inning, Melvin Mora walked on a full count and on the 1st pitch he saw, Aubrey Huff hit a 2 run homer to rightfield. The O's took the lead, 4-3. Tampa Bay tied it in the 7th inning, WITHOUT EVEN GETTING A HIT!!!! In the 8th inning however, Melvin Mora hit an RBI single to give the O's a 5-4 lead. Ramon Hernandez later hit a 3 run double to provide the games final runs. So, the O's finally pick up a win. - John T.

Orioles News - 8/29/07 - O's drop 8th straight

Another game slipped away from the Baltimore Orioles last night, 5-4 to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 12 innings. This was the Orioles 8th straight loss. The O's had a 3 run lead going into the 8th inning, but the bullpen blew another game. (Surprise, surprise.) The D-Rays scored twice in the 8th, with both runs coming off Chad Bradford. Then in the 9th inning, with a 1 run lead, 2 men out, 0-2 count, and 1 pitch away from ending the Orioles losing streak....and pitcher Dany Baez gives up a single to B.J. Upton. A walk to Delmon Young and now there's 2 men on with 2 men out. Brendan Harris then hit a single to left field to tie the game. Fast forward to the 12th inning, and Rob Bell wasn't able to keep Tampa from scoring, as they take the lead. Aubrey Huff had hit a home run against his old team, but it didn't matter anyway. Now for a look at starter Steve Trachsel, who was great in yesterday's game, allowing only 1 earned run. He should have gotten the win if not for a terrible bullpen. But, more on that later.Anyway, Trachsel might be on his way out. Teams must have their final roster set by Friday, and several teams have been interested in possibly trading for him. I can't blame other teams for being interested. Look at some of his stats. He hasn't allowed more then 3 runs in a start since July 26. And yesterday he threw his 2nd straight game in which he allowed only 1 earned run. But the bullpen always ends up blowing it anyway. Here's a look at how the bullpen was before the O's lost 8 straight and how it is now.

Reliever ERA Before ERA Now
Chad Bradford 3.47 3.76
Brian Burres 4.45 5.48
Dany Baez 5.74 6.20
Rob Bell 4.18 6.49
Paul Shuey 6.75 9.82
Jim Hoey 3.38 12.10

Pretty sad huh? I'll leave you with that. - John T.

Orioles News - 8/26/07 - Twins sweep O's - Bedard gets strikeout record

6. Thats how many losses the Orioles have in a row. Let me throw another number at you. 21. Thats how many games back the Orioles are in the AL East. The O's lost again yesterday, 11-3 to the Minnesota Twins. Our ace, Erik Bedard got rocked for 6 runs. It's his first loss since June 10th. The O's have now dropped 8 of their last 10 games. In the first inning Bedard walked the first batter he faced. He then struck out the next batter he faced, giving him the single-season Orioles strikeout record. After that though, Torii Hunter singled sending the runner on first base to third base. Hunter then tried to steal 2nd base and a bad throw from catcher Paul Bako sent the runner on third base, Casilla, home and Hunter to third base. Justin Morneau hit a sacrifice fly to send Hunter home to score the game's second run. Then in the 2nd inning with 2 men on, Bartlett tripled to knock in both runners. The O's fought back in the 3rd and 4th innings. In the 3rd, Tike Redman singled to start things off. Redman then stole 2nd base. Brian Roberts singled after that and that sent Redman to third. On an error, Roberts addvanced to 2nd. Corey Patterson reached second base after an error by Alexi Casilla which scored both runners, Redman and Roberts. In the 4th inning, Aubrey Huff singled to start things off. Freddie Bynum also singled to advance Huff to third. Paul Bako then hit a sacrifice fly and Huff scored. The O's were done scoring after that. But the Twins weren't as they scored 7 more runs. In other Orioles news, Kevin Millar failed to reach base as his Orioles record of 52 straight games reaching base ended. He nearly had a homer that would have tied the game in the 5th inning but Torii Hunter robbed his home run. So, 6 straight losses...- John T.

Orioles News - 8/23/07 - O's lose again

The O's dropped their 3rd straight game, this time to the Twins, 5-2. With the O's leading by 1 run in the 8th inning, the Twins scored 4 times, and the go-ahead run on a fielding error by Miguel Tejada after he dropped a slow ground ball. This rally left starter Steve Trachsel with a loss he didn't deserve. He had given up 1 earned run in 7 and 1/3 innings and left the game with men on the corners. Then came a game tying groundout. After that Tejada made a two-out error that brought in the go-ahead run. Jason Kubel then hit a two run double for the Twins to provide a little insurance. So, another game lost by the Orioles in the 8th inning. What a surprise. The O's only runs came on a bases empty homer by Aubrey Huff in the 2nd inning and a solo shot by Tejada in the 9th. Huff has been doing well, hitting .368 with 10 RBI's in his last 10 games. We desperately need more run support, as that would have won us several more games. For instance, starter Steve Trachsel would have a much better record, had it not been for bad run support. The same with Jeremy Guthrie. Oh well...In other Orioles news, Kevin Millar drew a walk in the 5th inning to reach base for his 50th straight game, breaking the Orioles record that was formerly held by Ken Singleton. Also, Matt Wieters, the 5th overall pick in this years draft, has been assigned to play at the short-season Aberdeen Ironbirds. So, the Orioles drop another one, (No pun intended), this time to the Twins. - John T.