SB Nation User Blog: Baltimo

Zach Britton Interview

Baltimo — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:30:56 -0000

Zach Britton Interview

Nice chat.

Orioles 7, Tigers 2: Matt Wieters

Baltimo — Sat, 30 May 2009 11:07:20 -0000

The Orioles won their second straight game against Detroit, and fifth overall, last night as Matt Wieters made his highly anticipated debut. Although it was raining for most of the afternoon, the skies decided to clear up as Matt had a dinner date at 10:30 and wanted to get things rolling.

The action got underway pretty quickly for Wieters as the very first batter of the game, Josh Anderson, bunted up the third base line only to be gunned down by God's son himself. After Wieters' cannon was put on display, the precedent was set, so we weren't able to see any throws down to second from our catcher as the Tigers were quite simply terrified.

In his first at bat, Matt worked the count pretty well before lining out to right, and his subsequent appearances at the plate didn't result in much success either, but there isn't any cause for concern as Wieters caught a terrific game anyway.

There are actually too many storylines to cover in one measly post, but Bergesen would have to be the third best story behind Wieters and Scott. Last night, Brad allowed just 2 earned runs with 7 hits, 2 strikeouts, and no walks over 8 innings pitched. His ceiling previously may have been a number 5, but judging by how he has handled ML hitters thus far, he may be able to reach the middle of the rotation if everything turns out perfectly, with a back-end starter as his midpoint projection.

I agree with Joe Sheehan in that Bergesen, like Koji, seems to fall apart quite quickly, but I'll take 5/6 innings for now with Dave watching Brad closely once the 85 pitch threshold is reached.

By the way, since coming off the DL, Luke Scott is 7 for 13 with 5 homers and 12 RBI, including a 3 for 3 performance last night with 2 home runs and 5 RBI to improve his season line to .336/.421/.664. I really do like the guy, but trade high, Andy.

Poll

Most Birdland Player (MBP) For Last Night's Game Was:

Matt Wieters

45 votes

Brad Bergesen (8 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 3 K, 0 BB)

75 votes

Luke Scott (3 - 3, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R)

250 votes

370 votes | Poll has closed

Orioles 4, Natinals 2: They're Worse Than We Are!

Baltimo — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:01:34 -0000

More photos » by Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP

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The "Battle of the Beltways" commenced tonight as the O's took a short trip southward to play the Washington Nationals in Nationals Park; the "rivalry" couldn't possibly have been more blatantly plugged by MASN.

Rich Hill performed very well once again as he gave up a mere two earned over 5.2 innings. Dave has pulled Hill pretty early in both of his starts this year, likely in an effort to ease him back into the major league routine, but Rich has otherwise looked pretty good with an absolutely nasty curveball.

Hill's struggles last year centered around his high walk rate, and although Rich seems to be improving this season, he does still run many counts quite high, and one of his four walks tonight did come back to hurt him as Nick Johnson reached on a free pass, and was subsequently driven in by Ryan Zimmerman's dinger.

Our top two batters in Roberts and Jones were quite successful tonight, but Nick Markakis, Aubrey Huff, and Melvin Mora combined to go 1 for 14. Credit 22 year old Jordan Zimmermann for pitching a pretty good game, but he left numerous hittable pitches over the plate which our "sluggers" simply missed on.

In the top of the twelfth with two outs already recorded, pitcher Danys Baez reached base on a weak dribbler up the third base line, despite the fact that he practically ran away from the ball as it crossed home plate. Baez was advanced to third on a ground rule double by Brian Roberts, and eventually both Roberts and Danys were driven home on another double by Adam Jones.

Although I am still discouraged by the front office's decision to cut Pie out of the picture prematurely, Nolan has seized the day as he hit his second career home run tonight en route to going 2 for 5. We previously presumed that Nolan would go back down to Norfolk with Luke coming back, but Reimold really is forcing his way onto this team.

Poll

Most Birdland Player (MBP) For Tonight's Game Was:

Rich Hill (5.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 6K)

30 votes

Adam Jones (3 - 5, 3 RBI, GW RBI 2B)

134 votes

Nolan Reimold (2 - 5, 1 RBI, 1 HR)

30 votes

Danys Baez (2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, GW RS)

99 votes

293 votes | Poll has closed

GameThread: Orioles (16-25) @ Nationals (12-28)

Baltimo — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:06:29 -0000

The "battle of the beltways" starts tonight as our O's take on their inferiors to the south.

Rich Hill looks to make his second consecutive quality start as he faces young Jordan Zimmerman in DC.

Lineup

Baltimore Orioles @ Washington Nationals

05/22/09 7:05 PM EDT

Baltimore Orioles	Washington Nationals
Brian Roberts - 2B	Cristian Guzman - SS
Adam Jones - CF	Nick Johnson - 1B
Nick Markakis - RF	Ryan Zimmerman - 3B
Aubrey Huff - 1B	Adam Dunn - RF
Melvin Mora - 3B	Josh Willingham - LF
Nolan Reimold - LF	Ronnie Belliard - 2B
Chad Moeller - C	Josh Bard - C
Cesar Izturis - SS	Justin Maxwell - CF
Rich Hill - P	Jordan Zimmermann - P

I'll actually be going to the next two games, but tonight we get the privilege of listening to Dibble and Palmer in the same booth for as long as we care for.

Go O's.

Royals 8, Orioles 1: Adam Eaton Still Stinks

Baltimo — Sat, 16 May 2009 03:29:47 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

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The first pitch ended up being thrown at 10:45 due to some rain, and while the O's underscored BRob's claim of players being sluggish after delays, Kansas City conversely came out firing as seven runs were put up by the Royals in the first four innings.

The Orioles were able to consistently get their leadoff men on against Greinke, but sans Roberts' double and subsequent run scored, the 25 year old phenom was able to adjust effectively and stifle every other possible rally.

Greinke's counterpart Adam Eaton got away with quite a few pitches in the early innings, but the tide began to turn in the fourth as his hanging breaking balls and badly placed pitches were taken advantage of by Mike Jacobs and Miguel Olivo, both of whom took Eaton deep to break the game open.

With a 6-1 lead and Greinke on the mound, things didn't look good, and in fact they weren't.

Hendrickson came in and pitched pretty well as he only allowed one run over three innings; I can't say that he'll stick, but Hendo looked much more comfortable relieving Eaton than starting in the rotation.

There isn't much else to say as the O's failed to present themselves with opportunities after the first few innings, even with Greinke being pulled in the eigth for Juan Cruz.

On a separate note, it was nice seeing Montanez, Reimold, and Pie all playing over stopgaps like Wigginton, but with Hill coming up, it looks like one of the three is going to have to go down to Norfolk. I can't see Pie clearing waivers, so we'll either have seen Reimold for a brief stint or Montanez will be the odd man out.

Poll

Most Birdland Player (MBP) For Tonight's Game Was:

Aubrey Huff (2 - 4, 1 RBI)

27 votes

Brian Roberts (2 - 3, 1 BB, 1R)

101 votes

Mark Hendrickson (3 IP, 3 H, 4 K, 0 BB, 1 ER)

72 votes

No One

88 votes

288 votes | Poll has closed

The Orioles have optioned reliever Bob McCrory to Triple-A Norfolk and will call up outfielder...

Baltimo — Thu, 14 May 2009 03:12:02 -0000

The Orioles have optioned reliever Bob McCrory to Triple-A Norfolk and will call up outfielder Nolan Reimold tomorrow.

Trembley said the decision to option McCrory was made during the game, and had nothing to do with the reliever's poor outing tonight."

Per Roch

Manny Tests Positive

Baltimo — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:09:24 -0000

Manny Tests Positive

This isn't O's related, but we used to have to play this guy extensively, and Manny is a major figure in baseball.

Ramirez will be suspended 50 games, and it's reported that he'll lose something like $8 million.

Obviously all the details aren't out yet, but if he tested positive this year, then we really can't say that we're past the steroid era yet, not even close.

Update - Boras says it was medication prescribed to Manny for "personal medical use."

"We thought he had the tools in spring training and we've given him a shot here, but any young...

Baltimo — Sun, 03 May 2009 08:28:55 -0000

"We thought he had the tools in spring training and we've given him a shot here, but any young player, you look at all the good ones we have, it takes a long time to learn at this level," Crowley said. "It's not easy. If we were in instructional league or A ball or Double-A, I could tell him some things and he'd be able to take it right into the game. But pichers at this level don't allow you to get on a roll.

"He's coming around. He's hit some balls good. Unfortunately, they've caught them. That has a way of working on a young guy's mind.

"I'm not so sure he's going to be playing on a regular basis anymore. We might take a step back and let him get his feet on the ground. That's up to Dave (Trembley) and Andy (MacPhail)."

Terry Crowley on Felix Pie. That was a pretty short leash.

Angels 3, Orioles 2: Ouch!

Baltimo — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:37:14 -0000

More photos » by Gail Burton - AP

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The Orioles finished their homestand today by dropping their third straight game in a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

By and large, Koji Uehara pitched a very good game, going 6.1 innings and giving up just three earned with seven hits, no walks, and five strikeouts. Koji threw 102 pitches, and although he looked great through the first six innings, it has become apparent after a few starts that when he runs out of gas, things tend to unravel in a hurry.

In the postgame press conference, Dave hinted at the fact that Uehara's location began to waver in the seventh inning, and his control just wasn't the same. After surrendering a home run to Torii Hunter, Baez began to throw in the 'pen; however before Danys was even warm, Koji gave up a second consecutive homer, which put the O's behind 3-1. The bomb given up to Hunter was a hanging breaking ball, and the second jack to Kendry Morales appeared to be a pitch right down mainstreet.

Just when it looked like Uehara was due for the hook, Gary Matthews Jr. hit a sizzling line drive right back at Koji, who was unable to get out of the way in time. Even after taking a blow to the body, Uehara attempted to make a play for the ball, but he soon collapsed to the ground in pain. Although we feared the worst, Trembley, somewhat confusingly, stated in his press conference that Koji's ribs were not hit and it was, rather, his chest, whatever that's supposed to mean.

The O's gave it their last real shot in the bottom of the eighth as Adam Jones led off the inning with an infield hit. After a passed ball, AJ was able to move over to second with none down and Markakis as the plate. Not one to disappoint, Nicky drove in Adam with a single to right and the O's were within a run. Despite LAA starter Shane Loux being taken out of the game, though, the O's continued to struggle at the plate as Huff got under every pitch thrown to him, and Luke Scott whiffed on an unsuccessful apparent hit and run. I may be wrong, but I believe Luke has failed to protect the runner on numerous occasions now, yet Trembley called the play despite the count being 3-1 with only one out recorded.

George Sherrill was inserted into a no-pressure situation in the top of the ninth as his team actually trailed by one, yet even with this change of scenery, Sherrill was still smacked around, giving up two hits in just one inning pitched. I'm really starting to lose faith in George, and if/when he is relieved of his closing duties, it seems as if his worth will be maximized as a LOOGY rather than a set-up man/7th inning reliever as he has vastly underperformed since the All-Star break of 2008.

In an uneventuful bottom of the ninth, Wigginton, Moeller, and Mora went down 1-2-3 to closer Brian Fuentes.

Despite the ineptitude of his teammates, Nick Markakis was able to successfully extend his streak as he has now hit in sixteen consecutive games.

Poll

Most Birdland Player (MBP) for today's game was:

Nick Markakis (1 - 3, 1 RBI, 1 BB)

31 votes

Adam Jones (2 - 4, R)

41 votes

Koji Uehara (6.1 IP, 7 H, 5 K, 0 BB, 3 ER)

149 votes

221 votes | Poll has closed

Red Sox 6, Orioles 4: Adam Eaton Stinks

Baltimo — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:06:20 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

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I've decided to do the post-game wrap-up as no one else with front page privileges was watching the game, or at least they weren't posting in the gameday thread.

The Red Sox continued their dominance over Baltimore tonight by taking care of the O's in a fairly nonchalant manner.

After pitching a scoreless inning to start off the game, it looked like Eaton was on his game and might just be able to get through five or six innings and give the potent Baltimore offense a shot. Once the second inning began, though, it became evident that Eaton still stunk.

Although Boston only scored once in the second inning off of a Varitek double to right field, the Sox were smashing every ball coming out of Eaton's hand. In my opinion, it was only a matter of time until Ortiz, or any other slugger, found the sweet spot and blew the game open.While the O's continued to struggle offensively, the meat of Boston's order came through as both Ortiz and Pedroia reached base, setting the stage for Kevin Youklis. Youklis was able to work the count for a bit, but then he just launched a moonshot over the Green Monster and Boston took a commanding 5-0 lead in the fourth.

The following inning, the Sox were able to continue piling on as Youklis knocked in another run, this time driving home Ellsbury as the Sox led 6-0.

Eaton was pulled after the fourth after giving up six earned, and suddenly infused with a jolt of confidence, the O's loaded the bases with none down and Aubrey Huff at the plate. The horseman clanged a double off the Monster as the bases cleared and the O's closed the gap, trailing by only two runs with four innings to go.

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful; the O's stranded Wiggy on second after a leadoff single/steal, and JJ worked his way out of a bases loaded jam with a 3-2 count to Bay among other highlights.

In the ninth, Roberts was able to fit a ball through the hole between short and third, and Adam Jones was subsequently plunked on the elbow, placing runners on first and second with only one down. Both Markakis and Huff made Papelbon sweat for a bit, but ultimately, the closer from Baton Rogue finished off the O's once again.

On a separate note, Pie was almost as disappointing as the umpiring as Felix stranded runners on base and made numerous defensive mistakes.

Poll

Most Birdland Player (MBP) for Today's Game Was:

Nick Markakis (1 for 3, 1 RBI, 1 H, 2 BB, 1R)

54 votes

Aubrey Huff (1 for 4, 2 RBI, 2B)

48 votes

Brian Bass (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R)

36 votes

Chris Ray (1 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 2K)

21 votes

Jimmy Johnson (1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K)

3 votes

162 votes | Poll has closed