The Birds just finished a run of 17 out of 20 games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and the results were…well, not too bad! 10-7 in home games and 12-8 overall. Now they need to work on that road record, as they’re currently just 7-7 while playing away from the Yard, and they have nine straight away games coming up, starting with three in Anaheim tonight.
And wouldn’t you know, they didn’t leave town a moment too soon, as it looks like it’ll be another sporting event – The Preakness – in Charm City dealing with the continuing ridiculous amounts of rainfall.
Let’s see what’s up in the Blog O’s-phere this Friday.
The Story Behind Natty Boh’s Disappearance from Camden Yards
Many (though of course not ALL) of you are still peeved about the lack of Boh inside the stadium. It was there, and now it’s not. Sarah Meehan, reporting for The Baltimore Sun, tried to find out why. Turns out that the O’s aren’t completely to blame, as some silly overstepping of bounds on the part of Pabst’s marketing department certainly didn’t help matters.
2016 Broadcaster Rankings (TV): #10-1
FanGraphs ranked all 30 MLB TV broadcast crews, and the O’s team of Gary Thorne, Jim Palmer, and Mike Bordick came in at number five. I can’t help but think that, if Bordy were omitted from the considerations, Gary & Jim would’ve landed even higher. Bunt it right back to the pitcher, but the pitcher throws it away? Bordy calls that a “good bunt!”
Jimmy Paredes smoked a HR in his first AB as a Toronto Blue Jay, because of course he did. Notably, he did it to the opposite field on an outside pitch, an approach that Camden Depot’s Elie Waitzer says benefited him during his hot run to start 2015 with the O’s. Hopefully he doesn’t keep that up – not because I wish Jimmy failure, per se, but because I wish nothing but failure to the Blue Jays.
Baltimore Sports and Life’s Brandon Warne compiled a list of stats about the Orioles offense that he found interesting, from where they rank in grounding into double plays, to how often they’re swinging and missing compared to the rest of the league. Some surprising, and not-so-surprising, numbers in there.
The Orioles’ Almost Forgotten Past
Connor Guercio of Baltimore Sports Report gives us a history lesson on the St. Louis Browns, who would become this edition of the Baltimore Orioles in 1954. Got a team named the Browns? Watch out, Baltimore might take them from you.
And in Ravens News…
Ravens Should Have Known Better
Speaking of Baltimore teams that used to be the Browns, the Ravens are in some hot water with the NFL after breaking some CBA rules by putting players in pads a couple weeks ago. Brian Bower of RSR says they really should have known better. Hear, hear!
