The Birds took three of four over the weekend in Toronto, but there was a bit of bad news in there as well, as before Sunday’s game we got word that Zach Britton was headed toward the 10-day DL with left forearm soreness. As we O’s fans know, it’s a very slippery slope from “forearm soreness” to “Dr. Andrews” to “PRP injection” to…well, you can fill in the rest. Hopefully our imaginations are as far as that particular scenario ever makes it.
To the links.
Mancini Has Two-Homer Day, Britton Talks About his Injury
MASN’s Steve Melewski has all sorts of quotes in this column. He talks to Trey Mancini about tying an MLB record for home runs in his first 12 games, Buck Showalter about seeing something the Skipper had never seen before, Dylan Bundy about shutting down the Blue Jays again, and Britton about that damn forearm.
FanGraphs’ Sunday Notes column has quotes from Mancini about Brady Anderson helping him change his swing back in 2015. On your way to scrolling down for that section though, stop by Buck talking about Chris Sale, in which he tosses some shade at our ol’ buddy Rick Peterson (I’m pretty sure).
Bullpen will Have a Different Look as Long as Britton is Out
And now to the nerve-wracking stuff. It was all good on Sunday, as the O’s decided to bash their way out of needing a closer. However, they’ve played a ton of close games already this year, so yesterday is very likely the exception, not the rule. Which means, of course, that they’ll need somebody to work a tight ninth inning very soon, probably before Britton is back. How will they manage that (and the ripples it will send throughout the pen)? Camden Chat’s Mark Brown gives his best guess.
International Reviews: Baltimore Orioles
Ben Badler of Baseball America takes the O’s to task for their continuing neglect of the international free agent market, an example of which was just on display last week when Dan Duquette dealt an international signing slot away (again). It seems that this is more of an edict from ownership than DD’s own choice, but either way, the Birds continue to put themselves at a huge disadvantage by ignoring the Latin American market.
The Orioles Have Positional Depth, Lack Positional DEPTH
Camden Depot’s Nate DeLong says that if any Orioles infielder were to suffer an injury, the team would be in some dire straights as far as replacing them. At least as far as replacing them with a guy who is even replacement level.
