By Matt Sadler, on May 16th, 2010 In a not so surprising move, Rhyne Hughes was sent back to Norfolk yesterday. After a hot start a few weeks ago, Hughes struggled at the plate as his average dipped to .213. The O’s have not set a corresponding move but it will most likely be Alberto Castillo. Roch Kubatko is reporting that Kam “The Almighty” Mickolio is suffering from a sore back and Dennis Sarfate is on not currently on the 40-man roster. That makes Castillo the likely choice.
Was the Hughes Experiment too short lived?
Also, Roch Kubatko is reporting that David Hernandez is going to miss his start today because of a sore back. He will be replaced by the lanky Mark Hendrickson.
Would you have rather seen Berken get the nod?
By Zach Wilt, on March 3rd, 2010 I hope you’re feeling warmer already because today the Orioles took the field for the first Spring Training game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Sarasota, Florida.
It was homerun derby for the O’s. They ended up with six, but here’s how the game played out.
Baltimore took an early 1-0 lead in the third when Josh Bell drove a solo homer over the right-center field fence off Matt Garza. It’s fitting that the prospect got the Orioles first run of the spring with such a shot. Andy MacPhail was in the radio booth with Joe Angel and Fred Manfra and his excitement for Bell’s at bat was heard over the airwaves. Bell hit another homer in the sixth inning, there was no question about his second one.
In the fourth inning the Orioles increased their lead to 3-0 after Nick Markakis led off with a double, followed by a Miguel Tejada single. After a Matt Wieters‘ fielder’s choice, Luke Scott drove in Tejada and Josh Bell got his second RBI on a sacrifice fly.
Cla Meredith recorded a one, two, three inning when he retired three straight on ground ball outs. Then in the sixth David Hernandez sat three down in a row as well, but he gave up a solo homer in the seventh.
The Rays put one on the board in the fifth inning when Dennis Sarfate gave up two hits and a walk.
Then the airhorn sounded again in the fifth inning when Nick Markakis hit a solo homerun to center field giving the Orioles a 4-1 lead.
Rhyne Hughes got the Orioles third homerun of the day in the sixth inning, giving Baltimore a 5-1 lead, he hit another one in the seventh to secure an 11-2 lead.
Baltimore finished the day with 12 runs scored, topping the Rays 12-2. Their next scheduled broadcast is March 5th at 7 PM against the Pirates.
By Zach Wilt, on July 26th, 2009 Yesterday, I read Drew Forrester’s blog on WNST.net in which he stated that the his Orioles’ source told him that Chris Tillman will not be called up for the start.
Forrester bashed Andy MacPhail, saying that he’s not even trying to win with the team here in Baltimore and I believe that simply isn’t true.
Image Courtesy of the Baltimore Sun
Look at what MacPhail has done. He’s turned a whiny injury prone pitcher (Erik Bedard) into an All Star center fielder (Adam Jones), All Star closer (George Sherrill), and that top prospect pitcher Forrester wants to see (Chris Tillman). By the way, that deal got Seattle’s general manager, Bill Bavasi, fired.
He’s turned a steroid using shortstop who is past his prime (Miguel Tejada) into a left handed hitting machine (Luke Scott) and four arms (Troy Patton, Matt Albers, Dennis Sarfate, and Mike Costanzo).
Recently, he traded a 31 year old career minor leaguer (Oscar Salazar) into a young submarine ground ball reliever (Cla Meredith).
MacPhail also secured the Orioles’ center pieces, Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis, to long term deals, and he’s got the O’s out of their garbage spring training facility in Fort Lauderdale and into a start of the art complex in Sarasota.
I commented on Forrester’s blog and all he had to say in response was negative things about Adam Eaton, Felix Pie, Ryan Freel, and Rich Hill.
Eaton helped eat up time before the young arms got called up, Felix Pie still is a highly touted young talent that wouldn’t clear waivers, Ryan Freel was admittedly a bust, and Rich Hill is a fastball away from being a decent starter in the toughest division in baseball.
You want to complain about Andy MacPhail? Come back in a few years and tell me how bad he’s done.
By BSR Staff, on April 20th, 2009 All I’m going to say is thank goodness it’s finally over.
The Red Sox finished their four game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Monday morning after another devastated blow to the O’s pitching.
Different day, same story. Mark Hendrickson was the man on the mound today. For a fourth starter he didn’t play too bad. 5 innings of work, 3 earned runs, and 6 six strike outs. But of course, he was pulled in the 6th because he threw 103 pitches (I hate pitch counts).
All hell broke lose when the bullpen took over. Dennis Sarfate gave up an RBI single to Dustin Pedrioa and (thanks to some horrible defense by Felix Pie) an RBI triple to David Ortiz. When Ortiz gets a triple you know someone messed up in field…badly. I could run the bases three times before Ortiz reaches third.
Radhames Liz came in and pitched his way right to the Norfolk Tides rotation. Liz hit 2 batters and surrendered 6 earned runs. His ERA is higher than Mark Teixeira‘s IQ (67.5) and he single-handedly ended the series for Baltimore.
The bats were quiet, but the series is over. Let’s put it behind us and go to Camden Yards to ace the White Sox. That series starts tomorrow at 7.
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By BSR Staff, on April 15th, 2009 The Orioles secured third series win in a row in the young 2009 season against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night. It is the first time since 1998 that the O’s have started with three series wins and they did so in a dramatic 10 inning game.
Image Courtesy of the Associated Press
Alfredo Simon made the start, but he left in the 2nd inning with right elbow discomfort. After giving up 3 earned runs, on separate solo shots from Young, Cruz, and David, Simon was out.
Dennis Sarfate took over for the next 3.1 innings and kept the Rangers from crossing the plate. Despite a collision with Aubrey Huff in the bottom of the third, Sarfate’s stuff was virtually un-hittable and his play kept the O’s in the game.
Chris Ray, Jamie Walker, and Jim Johnson finished the next 4.1 innings and shut down the Rangers through the 9th inning.
It looked as though the high scoring game O’s fans enjoyed on Monday was a thing of the past against the Rangers, but the bats heated up in Arlington later in the game.
Adam Jones picked the perfect time for his first homerun of the year, that came in the 10th inning, a 2 run shot to left field. Then Luke Scott hit a 2 run double to give the O’s a 7-3 lead after 10.
George Sherrill gave up 2 runs in the 10th and with runners on the corners Nelson Cruz hit a deep shot to the warning track, but it wasn’t enough.
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By Zach Wilt, on April 11th, 2009 The first week of the Orioles’ 2009 baseball season has been an exciting one, to say the least. The Birds are now 3-1, as they have defeated the jewels of the American League East, New York and Tampa Bay. These wins did not come easy, though; however, we will take them any way we can. Let’s look back at the first four matchups of the year.
Image Courtesy of the Associated Press
Opening Day: O’s beat Yankees 10-5
What a grand Opening Day it was in Baltimore. The odds were surely against the Birds as the Yankees sent newly acquired ace CC Sabathia to the mound against Jeremy Guthrie, but the O’s shocked the baseball world. The offense looked alive as they murdered Sabathia. He gave up 6 earned runs, 5 walks, and no strikeouts in only 4.2 innings of work, a sickening sign for many Yanks’ fanatics. On the other hand, Guthrie impressed. He went six innings, giving up three earned runs, three walks, and recording three strikeouts as he earned his first “W” of the 2009 season.
The real story in this game, though, was the offense. The top-3 in the O’s lineup was solid, as Roberts had three hits, Jones hit a booming 2-run triple, and Markakis finished with a .500 average. Moving down the lineup, Cesar Izturis drilled a two-run homer in the eighth, followed by a bases loaded double by Aubrey Huff that sealed the deal.
Game 2: O’s beat Yankees 7-5
The long awaited debut of Japanese native Koji Uehara made this game exciting from the start, and the final outcome only made it better. Koji faced off against the Yankees’ Chien-Ming Wang, who went 3.2 innings, giving up seven earned runs and three walks. Uehara proved why he was such a valuable acquisition. The 34-year old went five innings, giving up one earned run and one walk. He would receive his first win of his MLB career.
On another note, the O’s offense broke out for the second game in a row. The top-3 hitters once again shined, going 5-10 with four of the team’s seven RBI. Staying with the top of the lineup, Nick Markakis bombed his first homerun of the ‘09 season, as he drove a towering shot over the right field wall. After two games, Orioles’ starters were 2-0, a stat that was unexpected by many analysts. One concern was the bullpen, as Matt Albers and Dennis Sarfate surrendered four earned runs, yet Danys Baez pitched two scoreless and George Sherrill (A.K.A. “Flat Breezy”) threw in the ninth to record his first save of the year.
Game 3: Yankees beat Orioles 11-2
The fun in Baltimore ended with a “bang”, but not in a good way. Alfredo Simon made his season debut for the Birds, going five innings, surrendering four earned runs, two walks, and recording three strikeouts as he took the loss. The O’s faced off against Baltimore-native A.J. Burnett, who dominated in 5.1 innings of work. He gave up two earned runs, with one walk and six strikeouts. The O’s offense was silenced, with the only production coming off the bat of Luke Scott, who connected for his first homer of the season.
Once again, the bullpen struggled. Brian Bass came in to relieve Simon in the sixth, only to see his chances of staying with the big league club slowly crossing the plate. He gave up three earned runs, and Chris Ray didn’t fare much better. Ray came into the ninth, only to surrender two earned runs. It was a rough day for the Birds, and they needed to rebound against the Rays in the next series.
Game 4: Orioles beat Rays 5-4
Speaking of rebounds, how about the O’s going in against the reigning AL Champions and getting a victory? Mark Hendrickson made his first start with the Orioles, going 5.1 innings, giving up one earned run, two walks, and recording two strikeouts as he picked up his first win of the season. Like in Game 2, Baez came into the game and dominated. He went 1.2 innings and struck out four of the five batters he faced. Jim Johnson relieved him in the eighth, and Evan Longoria took advantage of it. The youngster launched his second homerun of the contest, slicing the O’s lead in half. George Sherrill would come in for the save in the ninth, when he struck out the side, but not before surrendering a one-out homer to catcher Dioner Navarro.
The O’s offense was on and off, scoring runs in both the first and fifth innings. The top-3 were impressive once again, as Roberts and Jones both finished 2-4, and Nick Markakis drove in a run with an RBI single into right field. The main man with the bat was Melvin Mora, who had three RBI on the day. The O’s go into game two of the series on Saturday as Jeremy Guthrie faces off against Rays’ rookie Jeff Niemann.
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