V332 Series Wrap-Up - Where Did the O Go?

The bats really let the Orioles down in a very frustrating series loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Tillman and Norris pitched arguably – probably – the best games of their major-league careers and the Orioles only managed to win one of them. 

Wasting Tilman's gem on Friday night created a debt that will need to be repaid. Without getting too philosophical, to contend, a team must win a game they should lose for every game they lost that they should have won. They don't want to be in a position where they need too many of those "miracle wins."

What I liked: Tillman showed that he is an ace. Again. Norris showed that he can be dominant at times. That's more than you need from your fifth starter. Clevenger called a fantastic game for Norris. Wieters continues to look strong the plate. Davis finally hit a bomb, and maybe that will get him going.

What concerns me: the offense is obviously not producing the runs that most anticipated it would produce, and not enough for a contendingball-club. Several of the headers-Jones, Cruz, and Davis come to mind-appear to be far too conscious of the homerun and pitchers are successfully using their aggressiveness against them. The resulst are short innings and an inability to consistently get to the soft part of the opponent's bullpen. I also must mention Jimenez, who has turned in three similarly ugly starts. He is a traditional slow starter, but needs to turn things around in a hurry. The organization has invested too much money for him to pitch like a fifth starter. Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone if the offense gets rolling by the time he takes the mound again and stakes him to an early lead and some confidence.

5-7 is not a disaster, but the Orioles need a series victory against the Rays about as badly as any team can 12 games into the season.

Markakis strikes out

The  of the game is the inability of the Orioles to capitalize on base runners and  huge errors which allowed two runs.

Tillman stands to lose this game by allowing three hits and no earned runs. 

The offense and the defense are letting us down. 

We have three outs left to snatch victory from the jaws if defeat but if we can't this is definitely a demoralizing team loss. 

Ugly inning

I have not seen an uglier Orioles inning in many years.  Two errors and two runs.  Worse, Tillman threw 12 extra pitches which will impact the bullpen later. 

We are definitely missing Hardy and Machado.  We have talent but not experience.  Poor throws, poor decisions. 

The inning thankfully ended maybe we can right the ship yet. 

Light crowd for the game

It is a light crowd for the first game back a Camden Yards. Hopes are high as Tillman retires the first batter with two pitches.  I like the start. 

Toronto Series Preview

Jer, any thoughts on the series starting tonight against the Blue Jays?

...

Jer?

...

Sigh. 

V332 Series Wrap-Up - What a Difference a Series Makes

I type this as I listen to the delicious Yankee Stadium boos following Chris Davis's sac fly in the top of the ninth, but more on that game later. First lets set the stage with a discussion of the first two games of the series. 

The deck was stacked against the Orioles in game one.  It's tough to beat any team in their home opener. Too much energy. The offense showed signs of breaking out, but was still struggling to adjust to Hardy being out of the lineup (see prior entry). Jimenez provided an improved performance, but needs to get that pitch count down.

Game two was beautiful. All the empty seats were nice to see. The O's pummeled New York 14-5. Everyone contributed. Fantastic performances by Young and Flaherty, who both needed it. Wieters showed us with a 100 mega-ton circus-bomb that Chris Davis isn't the only bird who knows the sound a baseball makes when it dies. Chen struggled mightily again, but the Orioles would not let the Yankees off the mat.

All that set the stage for game three's matchup with the Yankees new $175 million import.

Turn thee Tanaka...

Look upon thy death!

Schoop delivered a three-run shot that would have made Earl proud and allowed the Orioles to get into a close game late...where the better team usually prevails and it did here. A clutch double by Flash and some manufactured runs took the series for the O's (they never took one in New York last year) and achieved a 3-3 record on the road trip, which we would take every time at the Tigers and Yankees. Matusz gets a well-deserved victory for bailing the team out of trouble in the 8th.

What I liked: (1) I'll take 2 of three against the Yankees any way we can get it; (2) Delmon Young 6-11 in two games killed New York; (3) Wieters keeps hitting going 4-11 with 4 RBI and a homer in the series; (4) gutsy bounce back quality start from Gonzo despite not having his best stuff; (5) Schoop coming into his own.

What concerns me: I'm finally ready to throw something out here. Three series in, the starters are not pitching enough innings. Jimenez, Chen, and Gonzo left 11.1 innings for the bullpen to absorb in this series.  That's too many if it continues. I'm not a fan of the "quality start" as a stat, but it's worth noting that the Orioles have only two through nine games.

Mr. Duquette: You Gotta Fight For Your Right to Hardy

There are only two things you need to know about Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy. First, all of his home runs look exactly the same. For real. Identical. Google it. Youtube that shit. It's bizarre. It's like when salmon return after years to the same stream to spawn. How do the baseballs Hardy crushes know to always land in the same place? We may never know.

Second, Hardy's recent lower back issues have only served to show why Dan Duquette needs to move on extending him before he reaches free agency at year-end. Want proof? Fine! Here's our lineup against a RHP before J.J. got hurt:

Markakis RF

Lough LF

Jones CF

Davis 1B

Cruz LF

Wieters C

Hardy SS

Flaherty 3B

Schoop/Lombo 2B

And here's yesterday's lineup:

Lough LF

Markakis RF

Jones CF

Davis 1B

Wieters C

Cruz DH

Lombo 2B

Flaherty SS

Schoop 3B

Remember how the Orioles couldn't sustain any rallies yesterday despite appearing to be on the brink of breaking out several times? Well, batters 7 through 1 went 1-for-13 with a walk and four strikeouts. 

With or without Manny Machado, this team needs Hardy to lengthen the lineup. Get him locked up for the next several years at shortstop. He wants to be here and he's good for gold glove defense and 15-20 cookie-cutter bombs every year. 

O's-Yankee Match-up

Until Sunday's game, no Orioles starter had recorded a victory. The Orioles have fallen to a division low record of 2-4 after playing the World Series Champion Red Sox and the AL Runners-ur Tigers.

It doesn't get any easier going into New York for a three game series which includes being part of the Opening Day festivities for the Yankees. The crowd will loud and definitely anti-Orioles.

Despite this, the three game series will come down to three things: pitching, hitting, and defense. The Orioles have the advantage in all three categories.

The Orioles are expected to send Jiminez (0-1, 6.00), Chen (0-1, 6.35), and Gonzales (0-1, 18.90) to the mound to face the Yankee rotation of Kuroda (0-1, 3.00), Nova (1-0, 3.18), and Tanaka (1-0, 2.57).

The stats do not look good, but the Orioles are coming off six games against two of the highest powered teams in baseball. The Yankees are coming off series against two of the worst teams in the AL last year: Houston and Toronto.

The key to the series will be for the Orioles starters to follow up on Chris Tillman's eight inning outing on Sunday and keep the relievers in the bullpen. Weather will also play a factor. The first two games will begin at 1:05 PM EDT, while the Wednesday game will start at 7:05 PM EDT.

The Orioles hitters are finally coming around after getting two runs of Detroit's Verlander on Sunday, the trend seems positive. If they can sustain rally's and get the big bats rolling: Jones, Davis, and Cruz to bring across runs set up by Markakis leading off and Lough or whomever is batting second, they will do fine against Yankee pitching. Davis especially needs a strong series after going 4-12 with 1 homer  in Detroit. At least he will be facing three righty starters in a row which should be exactly the right medicine to get him untracked. Should Davis get rolling, he should work well with Wieters and Lombardozzi who are both hitting more than .300 and have so far been the only bright sports in the hitting order.

I think the Orioles have found their day-to-day second baseman in Lombardozzi. He is hitting great and playing an admirable second base. AND, he is a hometown boy!

Defensively, Sunday's game where back to back plays by Lough and Markakis in the outfield demonstrated that defense can keep the Orioles in the game. The Orioles are tied for the league lead in errors with only one charged singe the season began.

I give the advantage to the Orioles ins all three categories as follows:

Pitching: expect two starter victories (Jiminez and Gonzales)

Offense: Davis starts hitting as does Jones to join Wieters and Lombardozzi.

Defense: Give two outs per game to the defense.

Prediction: Orioles win 2 of 3, the first and last games.

-- -Bob Doan

V332 Series Wrap-Up - The Ace Has It

The Orioles' series loss to the Tigers started with continued frustration, but ended on a high note. The first two games of the series completed the first circuit through the rotation and it went like the first hole of a bachelor party round of golf: the two most experienced players, Tillman and Jimenez, laid up rather than go for the green; the rest followed with three spectacular mulligans.

In their first starts, Miguel Gonzalez and Bud Norris were not up to the task of stopping the hot-hitting Tigers. Meanwhile, the slow-starting offense continued to sputter in those games, offering no more than early-inning hope and ninth inning too-little-too-late rallies. Winning a slug-fest has been out of the question thus far. 

Today, Chris Tillman showed up and did what aces do. He dominated when the team needed him to dominate. 8.1 innings of ENOUGH! The offense still isn't performing the way it will, but 3 runs will stand up with pitching like this. The rumors of Baltimore lacking a "true ace" may be exaggerated. There's not a pitcher in the league the Orioles would rather have had today than Tillman, including his counterpart, Justin Verlander. With any luck, this start will spark confidence through the rest of the rotation.

What I liked this series: Tillman's start (and how Wieters called the game); defense throughout the series; Hunter's save. 

What concerns me: Still nothing. Only three homers so far and none from Davis or Jones are big surprises. Still, this team has plenty of power. Davis and Jones remain solid bets to hit no less than 30 and 25, respectively. Now those dingers will be compressed into 6 fewer games. So be it.

Rotation 2

The Orioles have completed one circuit through their starting rotation. It has not been good. Not a single quality start. Only one six-inning start. You expect a hiccup or two in the first week, but not five hiccups. 

Today, Tillman matches up with Verlander. I'll take any win we can get right now, but a seven-inning start by Tillman would be ideal. Hell, even if he gets out-dueled by Verlander, I'd be very encouraged if he can hold the Tigers to 3 or less over 7. You're the ace; act like it. 

As for the offense, well, it's supposed to be behind the pitching during the first couple of weeks. We have yet to step on a starter's throat this year. Doing it to Verlander would be a good confidence builder. 

Orioles Predictions 2014

On Opening Day, each of the V332 contributors made certain regular season predictions for the Orioles 2014 season.  Here's how they shook out:

1.  Who will lead Orioles pitchers in wins? (how many?)

All took Tillman. Mike: 21; Jer: 20; Bob: 21.

2.  How many home runs will Chris Davis hit?

Mike: 49; Jer: 38;  Bob: 42.

3.  What will Wieters's batting average be?

Mike: .274; Jer: .258; Bob: .233.

4.  What pitcher with at least ten appearances will lead the Orioles in ERA?

Mike: Britton; Jer: Patton; Bob: Matusz.

5.  Date of Gausman's first start?

Mike: 6/14; Jer: 5/15; Bob: 6/3.

6.  Date of Bundy's first start?

Mike: 9/3; Jer: 8/25; Jer 7/12.

7.  Date of J. Santana's first start?

Mike: 6/1; Jer: 6/25; Bob 5/24.

8.  What pitcher will lead the Orioles in September wins?

Mike: Gausman; Jer: J. Santana; Bob: Jimenez.

9.  How many games will the Orioles win?

Mike: 94; Jer: 94; Bob: 96.

10. How many games will the AL East champions win?

Same as 9.

11. Bold prediction (free form):

Mike: Norris will win ten games.

Jer: J. Santana will join the team and win seven games.

Bob: Orioles win pennant with Tillman and Jimenez winning 20+ games.

V332 Series Wrap Up - Orioles Drop Two of Three to Red Sox in Opening Series

I'd be lying if I said this is how I wanted to start the season. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't confident that the Orioles would win this opening series after taking the first game 2-1. With that said, all is not lost in the Orioles 162-game journey to the division title.

Perspective: First, let me give the Red Sox credit for winning the series. They did. And we can't take those two games away from them. Still, I'm struck by how fluky this game was. Chen was not on his game at all, but he was not hit hard. An unusual number of bloopers fell in for Boston hits. In contrast, after a few impressive innings by Doubront to open the game, the Orioles started to hit him hard. And they did the same against the Boston 'pen until Koji came in to shut the door. My point? This game could very easily have gone the other way.

What I liked about the series: (1) Orioles pitching held the current world series champions to less than 4 runs per game; (2) CRUZ!; (3) Wieters 5-for-11 in the series; (4) Britton looks like an unstoppable force this year.

What I liked tonight: (1) Davis and Wieters hit the ball hard tonight — Davis's double to center looked like vintage 2013 Davis and that is a very...good...sign; (2) Jones drew a walk — I think there's a saying about being able to stand an egg on its end on nights when Jones walks so I'm going to give that a shot after I post this; (3) two hits from Markakis in the lead-off spot.

What concerns me: Nothing, because it's too early. That's a cop-out? In that case, here are a couple things I'll be "keeping my eye on." First, the three Orioles starters in this series averaged less than six innings pitched. In fact, only Jimenez pitched six complete. Short outings are not unusual early in the season and particularly in a pitcher's first appearance, but these early departures will destroy the bullpen if they continue (see 2013). I would like to see the average innings increase by one in the second starts by Tillman, Jimenez, and Chen. Tillman and Jimenez need to be horses for this team. Second, Cruz, as we know, is not a good outfielder. If the game continues long-term to expose his shortcomings with the leather, Buck may need to rethink starting him regularly in LF against southpaws.

A look ahead: The Orioles are clearly expecting tomorrow's afternoon game in Detroit to be postponed. Hence, they scratched Gausman from his AAA start to join the bullpen for a potential (read: likely) Saturday doubleheader in Motown. A rainout may be a blessing given that Buck just mentioned in his presser that the Orioles will not fly out of Baltimore until 1:00 a.m. due to plane difficulties. The Tigers are tough, but the Baltimore starters for the first two games, Gonzalez and Norris, are two of the most impressive pitchers we saw in Spring Training last month. Win at least one of those and give me a Sunday rubber match or chance to sweep with Tillman against Verlander.

Thank God baseball is back...

Reflections of Orioles Opening Day

Opening Day Reflections

Opening Day Baltimore Orioles 2014

Springtime arrived, at least for a day. With temperatures soaring into the 60's and skies turning blue allowing the warming rays of the sun to do their work, it was an idyllic baseball day in Baltimore. The stadium was ready and beautiful bathed in the sunlight with the backdrop of the city to complete the image. The Orioles faithful arrived in droves decked out in orange and black enveloping and hiding the few outsiders who tried to represent for the visiting team.

A Sea of Orioles Orange

The home team players ran down the orange carpet to the cheers of the crowd and the excitement in the air was a prelude to the game which was to be played. 

Baseball is back on center stage. Despite it being opening day there was still a lot of talk in the stands about other sports, but baseball was the prime topic. This game pitted the Orioles against the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox and everyone knew that it would not be an easy game. The Red Sox are talented and demonstrated their ability to win close games last year. It was not to be this day as the hometown Orioles took a close, well pitched and played game from the Sox 2-1. 

Conflicted Fan

Highlights? There were a few. Like the conflicted fan. Although I have seen something like this before, I am always astounded when fans want to hedge against announcing which team they are cheering for. I did tell this nice person that I would be using this image in my blog today and she actually posed for the shot. Out of a deep love for the game, I guess I can appreciate her position being from the visitor's city but living here in the land of the Oriole's. It must be a tough life.

Patrick in the O's Maryland flag cap

Another game highlight was the Maryland flag Orioles cap that made its debut at the game. I wanted one of these caps, but by the time I got to the stadium store, they were sold out. Ugh. Why is it that Marylanders love their state flag so much that they want to wear it? I dunno, I guess because it, along with the Texas flag, is the coolest state flag in the country. 

It was a great afternoon of baseball and fun with nearly 47,000 of my new best friends. Sadly, I was late to the festivities and so I missed all of the pregame hoopla at the local watering holes this year with the boys. But, Opening Day is a special day for all of us. More than any other day of the year it is a celebration of springtime looking forward to the hot Dog Days of summer and the many hours of family, friends, and fun that lie ahead.

Walking Eutaw Street in the Stadium

Even better, the Orioles started out with a win! As did all who attended the afternoon game no matter which team they supported. It was a beautiful day after a long and hard winter.

Baseball is back!

Summer is around the corner.

Singing "Take me out to the ballgame" was fun and the crowds were real. Who cares that it took me almost an hour to get home after the game because the traffic was terrible? 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD