Let’s get this season going!
Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! Of course, it’s not a very happy Monday for the Ravens fans in the crowd. Last night’s playoff game against the Buffalo Bills was a true heartbreaker, It’ll take some time for the die-hard fans to get over such a loss, I know. Luckily for me, I am more a fair-weather fan. So while it was a true bummer in the moment, I am now ready to move on from the Ravens and declare it officially baseball season for Orioles fans….unless of course you are a fan of the Washington Commanders!
Saturday night’s game between the Commanders and Detroit Lions was an exciting victory for the underdog Commanders. They’ll travel to Philadelphia next weekend for the NFC Championship game. In the hours after their win, there was buzz about a potential Commanders-Ravens Super Bowl. But the Baltimore team couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain.
With the Ravens in the rearview mirror, we look forward to Opening Day for the Orioles. It’s just over two months from now with an early March 27th start to the season. The Orioles will be in Toronto where it remains to be seen if they will be opposing their old friend, Anthony Santander.
I think the Orioles are finished making moves. We keep saying maybe they’re not, maybe something else will happen. But as far as the major league roster goes, it’s hard to imagine what else they could do. Everyone will continue to talk about trading for a starting pitcher. But I just don’t see it. Maybe I’ll be wrong. Or maybe I’m just so ready for baseball to begin that I’m tired of the off-season.
Links
Orioles, Red Sox, Blue Jays Had Interest In Tanner Scott – MLB Trade Rumors
You might have heard that the Dodgers signed yet another player, this time Tanner Scott. The Orioles were in on him, which doesn’t mean anything. I personally would not want to be committed to Scott for four years no matter how good he got when he left Baltimore.
Five offseason surprises with Orioles ties – MASN Sports
As the offseason creeps to a close, Roch Kubatko looks at some surprises from this offseason. I agree that I expected Danny Coulombe to sign somewhere else by now. I am guessing there is an injury concern to go along with his age. Coulombe spent two seasons as a high-leverage reliever for the Orioles and I am still never confident about where to put the U in his name.
Banner Baseball Show: Andrew Kittredge joins crowded Orioles bullpen – The Baltimore Banner
This is a few days old, but you can check in on what Paul Mancano and Jon Meoli think of Andrew Kittredge joining the bullpen.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have a bevy of Orioles birthday buddies. Seven, to be exact. Three of those appeared in more than 100 games for the Orioles and none more than 200. David Lough, who appeared in 196 games with the team in 2014-15, turns 39 today. I wonder if he still has those ridiculous abs. Matt Albers is 42. He pitched in 146 games out of the bullpen from 2008=10 and last appeared in the majors in 2019. Gene Stephens (b. 1933, d. 2019) appeared in 116 games in 1960-61.
Also born on this day in history are Luis Exposito (38), Ozzie Guillén (yes, that one – 61), Bill Scherrer (67), and Dave Boswell (b. 1945, d. 2012). These four combined for 40 games with the Orioles.
On this day in 1977, the Orioles traded their longtime player Paul Blair to the Yankees.
In 1994, Lee Smith signed a one-year deal with Baltimore. In his lone season, the future Hall of Famer led the league in saves (33) and pitched to a 3.29 ERA in 41 games. A 3.29 ERA in 1994 was pretty darn good.
In 2017, the Orioles signed Mark Trumbo to a three-year contract after his 47-homer season with them in 2016. It was not a good decision.