I know there isn’t much room for him but he’s ready. I sure hope they don’t trade him. He could DH and play some first and third. He’s only 22 and going to be a great hitter.
Category: Orioles
The Orioles are beating teams with winning records
47.20 hits a home run
Last season, I lost $47.20 because Ryan McKenna of the Orioles dropped a fly ball. See this post: https://wordpress.com/post/sad209898016.com/43576
Yesterday, McKenna hit a very improbable home run. I was at the game. I told the friend I was with that I would have given McKenna the ball if I had caught it and wouldn’t have asked for a bat or a ball. He said maybe McKenna would give you a ticket to a Norfolk game. (I assume he winds up back there.)
Orioles media guides
The Baltimore Orioles media guides from 1954-2023 are online here.
The Orioles, when they were at Memorial Stadium, used to have a sale of leftover giveaways every year for a week in December. They also sold media guides so I have about a dozen of them. Players would be there too, As I recall, Mike Flanagan filled my order in 1979.
One year (1978 or 1979), after the sale, a neighbor and I were waiting at a bus stop by the stadium to head back downtown. We weren’t trying to hitch. A guy stopped and gave us a ride. It was Don Hardeman of the Colts who was going to the airport. That was kind of him to give us a ride.
The Orioles have done a great job drafting position players
Sure, I’ll admit they tanked to get high draft picks. But that doesn’t mean you will hit with those picks. The Orioles have done an outstanding job of drafting. They were second-guessed on Holliday – most people (me included) would have taken Druw Jones who is in A ball now. Kjerstad and Cowser were not consensus picks either.
Thread on Orioles top prospects in 2021 and where they are now:
The Orioles had the highest profit margin in MLB in 2023
They were fourth in 2022. This makes me angry that they pocketed the money instead of spending it on players. Small market teams get benefits like extra draft picks. They shouldn’t if they’re just keeping the profits. The Orioles have been good the last few years because of draft picks that panned out but they could have been even better. They had a lot of lean years, too.
see this prior post:
I saw the Orioles win on Opening Day 3/28/24
The Orioles crushed the Angels 11-3. Starting pitcher Corbin Burnes was great and the offense was outstanding, too.
It was cold and crowded. There were lots of young people which is encouraging since pundits say baseball is largely followed by us old folks. I am very optimistic about the season.
The pictures are:
1 The crowd outside Pickle’s Pub an hour and a half before the game
2 The view from my seat
3 The enormous line for the men’s room
4 The crowd outside Pickle’s after I left in the 6th inning
I disagree with how the Orioles have handled Jackson Holliday
The Orioles sent Jackson Holliday to AAA Norfolk even though he had a great spring. I disagree for many reasons.
- Service time – the Orioles will gain an extra year of him on the roster before he can be a free agent since he’s not up now. That’s good for 2030 but very short-sighted. It will piss him, his family, and his agent off and reduce the chance that he signs a long-term deal with the Orioles.
- He’s clearly better than the people who will play second instead of him such as Tony Kemp or Ramon Urias.
- Mike Elias is a great general manager but he misled Holliday and the fans. When Holliday was sent down, the Orioles said he needed more time at second base. They could have given this to him in the minors. They also wanted him to get more at bats vs. lefthanders. They could also have done this. The best way to learn how to hit major league pitching is to face it.
- It’s time for the Orioles to win now. The window won’t be open forever. They should have the best 26 guys on the roster and they don’t.
Many of these thoughts are not only mine but have also been said by the media and other fans.
The Orioles have the best record in spring training
The Orioles are now 14-2 with a tie, the best record in spring training. I do think it matters. I think the Orioles are doing well because there are so many good prospects competing for roster spots in the infield and outfield. There is also competition for a few bullpen spots.
Projections are underestimating the Orioles…again
The Orioles have crushed the projected win totals for the last two seasons. It looks like they are doing it again. I am going to wait for a while until I post my guess for the Orioles win total but it will be higher than any of these.
FanDuel over/under 89.5 wins
DraftKings over/under 90.5 wins
PECOTA (Baseball Prospectus) 87-75
Sad! 