It was quite a rough road trip for the Birds, as they weren’t able to cobble together even a single win in six tries in Boston and Detroit. Getting swept in Fenway by the red-hot Red Sox? Ok, sure – not ideal, but we’ll accept it. However, losing three straight in Detroit to the rebuilding (some would say “tanking”) Tigers? Simply unacceptable. That must have been one miserable ride home from The Motor City. A super-sized version of O’s links today, since I missed Wednesday’s edition. What Do You Do […]

When we think of the Orioles, several things come to mind: good bullpen, bad starting pitching, and an offense that is good enough to make up for the latter sometimes, and to give the former a lead late often enough, usually through the use of a large amount of home runs. That’s been the formula in Baltimore for as long as most of us remember, and for at least as long as Buck Showalter‘s Birds have made themselves relevant again in the American League East on a mostly annual basis. […]

Certainly not the weekend any of us were hoping for up in Beantown. The O’s lost all three games they played, and today’s brunchtime tilt has already been rained out. The weather gods are showing the Birds some mercy at least, even if the Red Sox hitters were in no such mood. Hopefully the Birds can regroup a bit today before they head out to face Detroit. This will be just their second series of the year against a team that didn’t make the playoffs in 2017, so it would […]

After a much-needed off day, things get…well, they don’t get easier at all, quite frankly. The Birds travel to Boston to face the Red Sox, who are 10-2, for another four-game stressfest. I hate the MLB schedule-makers, man. To some links… Richard Bleier is the O’s Other Groundball-Generating Machine Camden Depot’s Matt Kremnitzer just can’t get enough of Richard Bleier. And hey, I can’t really say that I blame him. That guy has been incredibly reliable. How’s he doing it? Matt tries to shed some light on the subject. Your […]

For a team to have a successful season – one that includes a serious playoff push, and important games well into August and September – unexpected performances must emerge. Think Steve Pearce in 2014 – 4.5 fWAR in 102 games! Mark Trumbo in 2016 – we expected some power, sure, but 47 home runs worth? Hardly. Whether or not such a player emerges here in 2018 remains to be seen. However, isn’t it also nice when the players a team expects to shoulder the bulk of the load step up […]

Three of four from the Yankees in New York, just as we all predicted, right? How many games will the O's win in NY this weekend? — Eutaw Street Rep⚾rt (@EutawStReport) April 5, 2018 Hey, the Birds only won TWO games in Yankee Stadium all of 2017, and they got dominated most every time they played there. Throw in that dismal 1-5 start – that is now comfortably in the rearview – and you can forgive Birdland for its collective pessimism. Now that we’re all feeling a bit better about […]

It took nearly a week, but the Birds finally picked up their second win of the season. That they did it at Yankee Stadium, where they won only two games in 2017, was a nice little bonus. Here’s to getting at least one more this weekend. Two would be awesome, but I’m not getting ahead of myself. Brad Brach struck out Brent Gardner to end the game, which was also pleasant. Extra satisfying that it was Gardner. pic.twitter.com/opI1ir7bRt — Eutaw Street Rep⚾rt (@EutawStReport) April 6, 2018 To the links. Cashner […]

After a magical Opening Day, where the Magic was on full display, Birdland was ready for a weekend of fun, dongs, solid starts, and shutdown bullpen innings. Alas, that was not to be. Minnesota took the final two games of the series – in distressingly dominant fashion – as the O’s bats were completely MIA, and Andrew Cashner’s egg Saturday night pale in comparison to the one Kevin Gausman poetically laid on Easter Sunday. The Birds now head to Houston and New York, so they’d better find their offense in […]

Another O’pening Day, another walk-off. Ho hum. Buck Showalter moved to 8-0 on Opening Day as the Birds’ skipper, and the O’s became the first team in history to walk it off on three straight Opening Days. The #Orioles are the first team in baseball history to walk-off their opener in three straight seasons. — Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) March 29, 2018 Cool! Of course, it was annoying that yesterday even required a walk-off, as the O’s had a 2-0 lead entering the ninth inning, and it was even still […]

Everybody feeling alright today? It was another great Opening Day at the Yard yesterday, as Buck Showalter moved to 8-0 in such games thanks to Adam Jones’ 11th inning walk-off home run. The weather was great, the beer was very cold, and the Birds started off on the right foot. Let’s hit the links. Gentry’s Clutch Catch an “Instinctual Thing” Most O’s fans were annoyed to see Craig Gentry’s name on the lineup card, a result of Minnesota starter Jake Odorizzi’s extreme reverse splits. As always, Buck Knows Best. Gentry […]

As the euphoria of another Opening Day awaits us, unfortunately this year’s is a bit tempered due to the knowledge, throughout Birdland, that this could be Manny Machado‘s final season as a Baltimore Oriole. Manny, a generational-level talent, has been a pleasure to watch since he burst onto the scene as a fresh-faced 19-year-old back during the magical run of 2012. Dazzling us both in the field and at the dish, Manny has been a one-man highlight reel. We all remember when he elicited the now famous “don’t throw it […]

Not only is Opening Day nearly upon us, but the weather gods have suddenly decided to smile on Baltimore as well. After a week or so of telling us the chance of rain was near 100%, we are now looking at a foggy morning and partly sunny afternoon, with high temperatures nearly 20 degrees warmer than we’ve been dealing with all week. A good omen? I like to think so. Let’s hit the links one last time before the 2018 season begins. Bird’s Eye View Episode 230: Cowboy Monkey Rodeo […]

Darren O’Day. That’s a name that, for a time, was right up there with death & taxes as far as “things you can count on.” In Baltimore, anyway, O’Day coming in in the seventh or eighth inning and quickly advancing the proceedings to allow Jim Johnson or Zach Britton their next save opportunity was nearly as automatic as ol #8, Cal Ripken Jr., trotting out onto the infield every night. Claimed off waivers from Texas in November of 2011, O’Day came to Baltimore and immediately impressed as a key cog […]

Spring Training has come to an end, and the O’s are heading north. They will stop in Norfolk for a game against the Tides, but otherwise Opening Day is basically upon us. You have three days to dig all the orange out of your closet/attic and make sure it’s washed, ironed, and ready to rock on Thursday. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. To the penultimate pre-Opening Day version of links! O’s Could Continue Having Davis Bat Leadoff When Chris Davis has been batting leadoff in Grapefruit league games, we’ve […]

The snow has already completely cleared from the ground in most parts of Baltimore, a fitting sight as we sit now less than a week from Opening Day. Now let’s push that mercury a bit further up, eh Mother Nature? To the links… Bundy “Humbled” to Get Opening Day Start Dylan Bundy spilled the beans in a MASN interview during yesterday’s Spring Training game between the O’s and Red Sox. Good for him! Figured it would have been Gausman again. Roberts and Manfra Elected to Orioles Hall of Fame A […]

While we were all scrambling to stock up on our bread, milk, and toilet paper yesterday evening, the Orioles were finalizing discussions with Alex Cobb to bring the free agent pitcher to Baltimore. Our staff gave their knee-jerk reactions to the signing here. Let’s get into some more Cobb, shall we? Rubbing Mud: Alex Cobb vs. PECOTA You may have noticed (if you’re into that kind of thing) that Baseball Prospectus’s projection system, PECOTA, isn’t a fan of Cobb. In this article from earlier in the offseason, BP’s Matt Trueblood […]

It was a heck of a weekend for Baltimore sports fans, courtesy of the UMBC Retrievers. I’ve gushed about that elsewhere, so I’ll spare you here. On the baseball side of things, we’re now less than two work weeks from Opening Day…so of course it’s supposed to snow tomorrow. Get bent, weather. To those links. Oral History of Adam Jones’ WBC Catch A year ago yesterday, my son Brooks joined the world. Also a year ago yesterday, Adam Jones robbed Manny Machado of a home run in the World Baseball […]

As Opening Day crawls toward us, it seems that Ol’ Man Winter has no designs on releasing his grip on the Baltimore area any time soon. So for now, stay inside, get cozy, and check out these O’s links. Trey Mancini – Role Player or Future Star? Orioles Hangout’s Luke Siler takes a long and detailed look at Trey Mancini from the perspective of a scout wondering what the future holds for the Trey Train. It looks like Trey is set to be an average player, unless he can make […]

I’m really sick of winter, you guys (& gals). The Yard is calling my name. On the bright side, we’re pretty much just March Madness away from Opening Day. It can’t get here soon enough. In the meantime…links! Are the Orioles Done? Trying to improve the roster, that is. Matt Kremnitzer of Camden Depot reflects on what’s been a frustrating and confusing offseason, now that it looks, for all intents and purposes, like the O’s are finished adding to the roster. Free Tickets for Kids is a Great Start. Here […]