By Weston Bruner, on May 19th, 2012  Adam Jones keeps hitting home runs, but it will take more than that for this team to keep up their pace. (Denny Medley, US Presswire) With their comeback win over the Royals, the O’s maintained their spot atop the AL East standings as they entered an important series against the cross-state Nationals, who have continued their emergence as a contender in the crowded NL East. Every series is important for these Orioles however, who have yet to convince anyone (myself included) that their 25-14 (as of Friday) record is anything but a fun diversion before the division reverts back to the standard order of things. Right now the only thing normal about the AL East is the Blue Jays occupying their usual spot in third.
And there are certainly reasons for concern. The injuries are starting to pile up on this team, and there aren’t any more reserves left in Norfolk that give me reason for confidence. Once Bill Hall was plugged back in at the major league level, you knew things were getting desperate. Mark Reynolds remains out with a strained oblique (which one does not want to risk re-aggravating), and while that gives Ryan Flaherty a good opportunity to develop it strips Buck Showalter of the flexibility to insert anyone other than Nick Johnson into that spot. With Endy Chavez and Nolan Reimold still out, Xavier Avery has performed admirably (his average may be low but he is showing tremendous poise at the plate) but he is not going to be a season-long answer, at least not yet. The current roster is performing well, but there is very little depth for a team that was already thin to begin with. READ MORE >>>
By Matt Sadler, on May 8th, 2012  Hah! I was laughing at Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter as former Oriole 1st Rounder, Brandon Snyder, spanked the Orioles for 6 RBIs last night.
To be fair, Snyder had a hard time showing his promise as a member of the Orioles organization. He killed it in AA Bowie in 2009 when he had a .343 BA, .421 OPS, and 10 homers in 58 games. After that, he went to Norfolk where it seems that most O’s hitters go to die. That massive park seems to suck the life out of the prospects. He had chances with the big league club in 2010 and 2011, and he never seemed to catch the favor of manager Buck Showalter. Was it his Production? Attitude? Perception in the Clubhouse? Who knows except that the O’s were terrible and yet, he wasn’t getting the playing time.
This off season, Duquette and Showalter showed how they really felt about Snyder when they traded him a way for cash considerations in order to clear a spot for the amazing Jai Miller.
I have nothing against Miller. I am just bummed when I see the O’s give up on a #1 Draft pick for a player who can’t stop striking out. Former 1st Rounders, Billy Rowell and Matt Hobgood have been disasters. Snyder still had a chance to make something of himself. He could have been a late bloomer. It kills me to know that Jayson Werth was an O’s 1st Rounder and he didn’t show his mettle until after he left the organization. It wouldn’t shock me to see Snyder do the same and make a nice career for himself. READ MORE >>>
By Patrick Guthrie, on May 7th, 2012 O What a Week
 RIP Nathaniel Hornblower When I started writing this post four weeks ago, I figured I’d be writing “what a great week for the Orioles” about as many times as “That new Adam Sandler movie looks like a return to form” and “I really enjoy the taste of a good olive” (I f***ing hate olives). And yet here I sit, and really: wow. What a great week for the Orioles. On a road trip that would have been a success at 3-3, the Orioles will land at BWI with series wins over two of the better lineups in baseball, and the best record in the sport. In other news, the elevator in the warehouse has a newly installed stop at Cloud Nine.
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By Avi Miller, on May 3rd, 2012  Pitching coach Rick Adair walking along side catcher Matt Wieters Yes, THE Baltimore Orioles. The same Orioles who couldn’t string together much of any pitching last season are currently atop the American League in Team ERA with a 2.83 mark. Before last night, the Texas Rangers held the lead in this category in the AL, but after Toronto scored a whopping 11 runs off of them at the Rogers Centre, the Orioles have taken over.
The only two teams in all of baseball pitching better than the Orioles (in terms of ERA) are the Cardinals and the Nationals, both of which have stacked rotations full of star quality names like Stephen Strasburg, Edwin Jackson, Adam Wainwright, and Chris Carpenter.
The Orioles rotation made it through the month of April without any changes, and includes Jake Arrieta, Tommy Hunter, Wei-Yin Chen, Jason Hammel, and Brian Matusz. The worst of those guys in the ERA category is Matusz at 4.67, which isn’t terrible right now considering the 10.69 he posted in 2011 along with the fact that he has shown major progress in each start over the last month. Hammel leads the group with a 1.97 ERA. READ MORE >>>
By Zach Wilt, on May 2nd, 2012  Rumor has it that the Orioles drank the Red Sox champagne when they bounced them from postseason contention on September 28. I cannot confirm this rumor, but I really hope it’s true because that would be awesome
What I can confirm is that the Orioles celebrated Buck Showalter’s 1000th career win with some bubbly in the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium.
Casey Willett of WBAL tweeted some evidence.
Behind a solid pitching performance from Brian Matusz and some pop at the plate from Chris Davis, the O’s beat the Yankees 7-1. The Bombers have scored three runs in two games this series.
I just jinxed it for sure.
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By Patrick Guthrie, on May 1st, 2012  I keep telling her "stop calling me at work". A west coast trip for the Nationals, and a car accident: What are the reasons this article is up a day late. Now that I have a rental car (almost) and my brain is slowly starting to re-fire after a good night’s sleep, let’s stare at the Scarlett Johansson picture for a few seconds and then dig in.
Preorder your World Series tickets:
My benchmark for the home stand was 4-2, and the O’s went ahead and upped it to 5-1. Now the real test starts with the brutal schedule I alluded to last week. For the next 6 games, the Orioles will be sampling the various chowders of the Northeast. They then return home to face Texas (currently at their Chuck Norris best), and the Rays (currently atop the division unbeknownst to the people of Tampa).
In numbers you already knew without me telling you, those are the top 4 teams in RBI’s in the American League. I’m not saying temper your expectations, because the Orioles are playing well and you should ride the wave until it flattens out. What I AM saying is, be realistic. There are going to nights that starting pitchers get lambasted because the margin for error will be miniscule and the degree of difficulty will be gigantic. Texas and Boston don’t DO pitching duels just like Earnie Shavers didn’t DO decisions.
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By Patrick Guthrie, on April 23rd, 2012 
With the Nationals on a 10 game home stand and MLB.tv blacking out Orioles games, I didn’t get to see too much of the O’s this week. From what I did see, Brian Matusz got a raw deal due to some predictably poor defense in Anaheim, Wei Yin Chen had yet another very strong outing, and the offense looked great in some spots (Jones and Wieters) and rough in others (Reynolds hasn’t had a hit in nearly a week). But despite not seeing much of Baltimore this week, there is one thing I do know.
Cam Cameron is ruining Joe Flacco. How the hell is Joe supposed to build a successful career with shoddy schematics? No one will ever know how good Flacco can be until Cam’s parking spot is empty, and his playbooks are halfway through the shredder. This is how Ravens fans introduce themselves around here, and Baltimore was in the AFC Championship game last year.
At the same time, O’s fans acknowledge that there’s some talent on the pitching staff. Tommy Hunter won 13 games with Texas, Jake Arrieta’s stuff is cough syrup nasty, and Brian Matusz was once considered good enough that people still wonder what’s wrong with him. If Baltimore fans had their way, Cam Cameron would have had an appointment with Ned Stark’s barber months ago. Which leaves me scratching my own head as to why Rick Adair’s is still under an Orioles cap.
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By Ross Gore, on April 17th, 2012 
One of the skills of good pitchers is the ability to get hitters to swing at pitches outside of the strike zone. This week, we’ll look at the Orioles starting staff in this regard. Among AL starting pitchers the median rate for coaxing hitters to swing at pitches outside the strike zone (O-Swing %) is ~28%. But it’s not enough to just get guys to go after pitches out of the zone, pitchers need hitters to miss too. For American League pitchers the median contact rate (O-Contact %) when swinging at pitches out of the strike zone from starting pitchers is ~68%. In contrast the American League median contact rate (Z-Contact %) for hitters when swinging at pitches in the strike zone from starting pitchers is ~87%. Let’s see how the Orioles starting staff stacks up against these averages. It is important to note that it is mid April and increased sample sizes will make these numbers more reliable. However, for now, small samples are all we have and these types of plate discipline statistics stabilize more quickly than more traditional metrics such as strikeouts.
 - Opposing hitters struggle when they chase Jason Hammel’s pitches outside the zone.
Analysis after the jump.
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By Zach Wilt, on April 16th, 2012  If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Baltimore sports fans, it’s that we like to see passion. We want our favorite athletes to care, even if it means they get angry when things don’t go their way.
That’s why when Joe Flacco says he’s the best quarterback around (nothing is going to ever keep him down), we rally behind that ridiculous statement.
Reading Brittany Ghiroli’s postgame comments about Brian Matusz has to make fans want to see the struggling young lefty succeed. ”Brian Matusz met with the small group of traveling reporters and was about as angry and frustrated as I’ve ever seen him after a start,” Ghiroli writes.
Much like the early years of Joe Flacco, fans in Baltimore were previously frustrated to hear some of Matusz’s comments after his struggles in 2011. From the quotes in Ghiroli’s post, I don’t think O’s fans will be concerned any more.
“I’ll remember this feeling, because I never want to have it again,” Matusz said.
You can’t help, but root for a guy with that level of determination.
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By Patrick Guthrie, on April 16th, 2012  Delicious... I learned two things this week. 1) McDonald’s serves breakfast at 4:30 AM. An Egg McMuffin tastes just as good at the ass crack of dawn 2) I hate that small smear of toothpaste that sticks to the corner of your mouth even after you’re done rinsing. You can do things to the sink that would make the most seasoned porn star shudder and it’s still there, waiting for somebody to notice it and call you out for looking like that exact same porn star after wrapping a shoot. Then you’ve gotta wipe it off after you JUST washed your hands (not clean anymore). Oh yeah, and sports. I watched sports too.
How was your week?
Well, at the time I’m writing this, Camden Yards is still home to a winning baseball team, so I’d say pretty damn good. Granted, the Yankees sweep was rough, but that’s going to happen. Them boys from New York are pretty good, and they pick the bones clean against lefties (.360 OBP and .467 SLG vs. LHP in 2011 – both the best numbers in MLB). If Mark Reynolds had thrown the ball from A to B, and if Jones slapped a single up the middle, then we’re listening to Skip Bayless’ genius prognostication of the Orioles winning the World Series.
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By Mark Brown, on April 16th, 2012  Be patient. That’s really the best advice I can give you. Yes it’s fantasy week 3, but most teams have only played 9 games so far. They really haven’t completed two weeks yet. So stop worrying over Pujols hitting .243. It’s a looooooong year. Everyone will have hot and cold streaks. And those young pitchers will continue to get better and better. Instead of giving up on your young guns because of a slow start, try to look and see if there were any positives. Ride it out with them a little and watch them improve. Brian Matusz looked good through 5 innings today. His season ERA is bad, but today’s start was good for the most part. Eliminate the 1 inning and it was a good start. Perhaps next start he can work out that one troublesome inning and have a quality start. The same can be said for most young pitchers. Don’t go dumping them quite yet.
Good Pickups: In order by position, and not order of who you should get.
Carlos Pena (1B-TB)- He’s motivated once again. He will kill your average for sure, but right now he’s playing well. He will add immediate power to your team.
Brandon Belt (1B OF- SF)- He’s been a hot story lately. Huge spring. Struggled in his first two games. Then he was in the doghouse and sat for 5 games. If it was motivational I bet it works. The only way that SF will have a successful offensive lineup is if Brandon Belt breaks out. They have to let him play. Keep an eye on him. IF you cut him, you have to grab him as soon as he’s playing everyday once again and showing life.
Justin Smoak (1B-SEA)- He’s getting better and better. He’s also heating up. He will probably only be good during streaks, but he has a high ceiling to be a good power hitter.
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By BSR Staff, on April 13th, 2012  The MLB season is a week old, the Red Sox have slumped, the Orioles are .500 and the Miracle Mets have taken a small step back.
The guys break down the Orioles start to 2012 and talk about the story lines around the league. They also break down the Capitals postseason series against the Bruins and talk about the possibility of HBO’s Hard Knocks featuring the Ravens.
Join Zach, Patrick and Matt for this week’s edition of the best sports podcast in Baltimore, the BSR Podcast.
Here are some of the topics discussed on this week’s show:
Orioles Season… A Week Later
- Sweeping the Twins, swept by the Yankees. What does it say about the Orioles?
- With the exception of Brian Matusz, the Orioles saw some encouraging things the first time through the rotation. Can Jake Arrieta continue to lead the O’s at the top?
- Nick Markakis has demonstrated more power early on this season than last. How encouraging is that coming off Abdominal surgery and can that trend continue?
- Matt Wieters is a Gold Glove winner who’s offense could take the next step in 2012. The guys discuss that possibility.
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Podcast: Play in new window
By Steve Giles, on April 13th, 2012  Through the first six games of the season, we have seen the potential the O’s have at being a .500 team as well as what O’s fans like to call “the same old O’s.” They looked like world beaters in their first series, outscoring the Twins 15-5 on their way to three dominating victories. The starters in those games (Jake Arrieta, Tommy Hunter and Jason Hammel) only allowed one earned run between them, which came in the eighth inning of the third game. They hit well with runners in scoring position and the bullpen did their part as well.
The second series against the Yankees, however, was very much a different story. Brian Matusz left off where he did last season, allowing four runs in four innings and not having any command of his pitches. His “stuff” looked better and he did have some velocity behind his pitches, but he just couldn’t locate them. The next two games were extra inning heartbreakers as the O’s had bases loaded in the ninth in both games, but couldn’t seal the deal. It’s the same old story, though. The O’s don’t have the clutch hitter they need to get the job done in crucial situations (Prince Fielder would’ve been nice to have at the plate in those situations, but Peter Angelos won’t spend money to make his team better). Anyway, here are a few of the O’s that are hot along with a few that aren’t too hot.
Who’s Hot
Matt Wieters – Wieters leads the team in batting average (.364), home runs (2), RBI (4) and OPS (1.122). He carried his strong spring into the regular season and is looking to repeat the defensive presence he brought last season after winning the Gold Glove. It would be nice to see Wieters continue to hit for power especially with Mark Reynolds and Chris Davis struggling in that department in the early going. READ MORE >>>
By Zach Wilt, on April 9th, 2012  If the first three games of the season are any indication, the Orioles should have a few Cy Young candidates come September. One can only assume that Jason Hammel will get those final six outs and pitch a no hitter this season and as Jake Arrieta builds up his arm strength he should be in the same conversation as Cliff Lee and Justin Verlander.
Unfortunately, three games isn’t an indication of anything in baseball. There’s 159 games left. In football terms, the Orioles are just approaching halftime of their week one matchup. They have a nice lead, but hope that as they enter the locker room, they can keep the momentum against a better second half team who is pissed off about a bad start.
Still, the feeling is different in Baltimore and fans have embraced it so far. Opening Day always brings good crowds to Camden Yards and while they were a bit more sparse in games two and three, the fans were into the action on the field more than the crab shuffle and hot dog race.
Nick Markakis is calling the five starters in the Orioles rotation “bulldogs,” according to Brittany Ghiroli. There’s an inner competition between them and each guy wants to go out and perform better than the previous. Brian Matusz has a lofty task ahead of him tonight against the Yankees. Can he pitch 8 no-hit innings?
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By Mark Brown, on March 28th, 2012  Pitching is deep. How many times have you heard me say that this year? I could probably draft in a 30 team 40 round draft and still find starters that I want on my team.
1. Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
2. Roy Halladay (PHI)
3. Tim Lincecum (SF)
4. Justin Verlander (DET)
5. Felix Hernandez (SEA)
6. CC Sabathia (NYY)
7. Jered Weaver (LAA)
8. David Price (TB)
9. Cliff Lee (PHI)
10. Jon Lester (BOS) READ MORE >>>
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When Brian Matusz Gets Angry
That’s why when Joe Flacco says he’s the best quarterback around (nothing is going to ever keep him down), we rally behind that ridiculous statement.
Reading Brittany Ghiroli’s postgame comments about Brian Matusz has to make fans want to see the struggling young lefty succeed. ”Brian Matusz met with the small group of traveling reporters and was about as angry and frustrated as I’ve ever seen him after a start,” Ghiroli writes.
Much like the early years of Joe Flacco, fans in Baltimore were previously frustrated to hear some of Matusz’s comments after his struggles in 2011. From the quotes in Ghiroli’s post, I don’t think O’s fans will be concerned any more.
“I’ll remember this feeling, because I never want to have it again,” Matusz said.
You can’t help, but root for a guy with that level of determination.
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