The longest week of the year is over, Birdland. Hopefully four days without Orioles baseball is something we won’t again be forced to endure until darn near Halloween or even later. The second “half” of the season starts tonight, as the Birds head to St. Pete to take on the Rays, who are mired in one of the worst stretches in franchise history. Here’s hoping the break did nothing to rejuvenate Kevin Cash’s squad.
To the links. But first…
#Orioles announce Dylan Bundy will start Sunday at Tampa. That's kind of a wow.
— Jon Meoli (@JonMeoli) July 15, 2016
Wow indeed. Alrighty then.
The Outlook for MLB’s 50-Win Clubs: Who’s the Team to Beat?
Eight teams have 50 or more wins; the O’s are one of them. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick runs down the list, giving reasons why each will keep it going, and why they might slip. Surprise! The former answer for the O’s is offense, the latter starting pitching.
Hyun Soo Kim: Expectations Going Forward?
What should we expect from Kim in his second half-season of MLB play? Baltimore Sports and Life’s Chris Stoner says that the power will probably increase, though the average may dip a bit. Still, Chris and I agree that there’s no reason to expect Kim’s great, professional at-bats – a breath of fresh air in this lineup at times – to continue.
Justice Marks Opt Not to Send the Case Back to the RSDC
Matt Perez of Camden Depot gives us another of his updates to the ongoing MASN court case. Unless you’re a lawyer or some kind of amateur law buff, I can’t imagine reading these updates without falling asleep. Still, if you want to know what’s up with the case, Matt’s updates have been as thorough as any I’ve seen. The summary: The Nats lost another motion, but that doesn’t really matter. At least that’s my understanding. Click on over and try to decipher for yourself.
A Change in Mechanics Could Bring Ubaldo Back from the Grave
Camden Chat’s Nick Cicere holds his nose and watches some film on Ubaldo Jimenez, trying to figure out what the hell is wrong. He concludes that Ubaldo’s release point has become more vertical, which has sapped movement from all of his pitches, and that for some reason, he’s nearly abandoned his two-seamer. It should would be nice if he could make a couple tweaks and just be OK, wouldn’t it? I’m not holding my breath, but stranger things have happened.
Four Potential Stadium Sponsors for Camden Yards
Wouldn’t it suck if the O’s sold the naming rights to OPACY? Yes, it would. However, there are some companies who would suck a little less, if they bought the rights, than others. Over at Charm City Sports Network, Phil Gentile names three that would be cool, but who would never have the financial resources, and one that could afford it, and would also be the lesser of many evils.
And in Ravens news…
RSR’s Tony Lombardi answers some Ravens questions in his latest mailbag, including which training camp battles he’s going to be watching most closely, whether or not Leslie Frazier can help the secondary, and his biggest concern for the 2016 season.
