We’re two months out and the roster is mostly set. Now we wait.
Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! My condolences to the Commanders fans in the crowd after their loss yesterday. But now the only thing standing between us and baseball season is the truly uninspiring Super Bowl matchup of the Chiefs and Eagles.
In some ways, it still feels like baseball season is far away. But it’s not! We just have to get to the other side of Valentine’s Day and then we’ll see pitchers and catchers reporting. And Opening Day is two months from today on March 27th. It takes place in Toronto and Anthony Santander is definitely going to hit a home run for the other team.
Last week, season ticket holders were allowed access to purchase tickets to the home opener. It takes place on Monday, March 31st vs the Red Sox. They don’t usually do a good job announcing when tickets go on sale to the general public, but keep an eye out if you’re interested.
What are you looking forward most to seeing when the new season starts? For me, it’s less about being excited and more about being curious. And I’m really curious to see what happens with Tomoyuki Sugano. There are reasons to be hopeful, such as his incredible career in the NPB. And there are reasons to be wary. He’s 35 years old and there are questions on how his stuff will transfer over to MLB.
Sugano is only on a one-year deal so the risk is low. But given the questions surrounding the rotation as a whole, having him succeed is pretty important to the health of the team as a whole. So I am curious and a little nervous to see how he does. There is a similar thought about Charlie Morton, but I don’t have much confidence in a positive outcome on that one.
Links
Orioles ranking in AL East offseason 2024-2025 – MLB.com
Jake Rill says the Orioles probably need another move to be set up for success this year.
How will the O’s rate on offense and defense? How about the pitchers? – MASN Sports
Steve Melewski takes a look at each dimension of the Orioles team. The rotation section makes me most nervous.
Orioles cultivating ‘fresh feel’ for minor league coaching staffs in 2025 – The Baltimore Banner
Jon Meoli takes a closer look at the minor league staffs for this season.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have four Orioles birthday buddies, including beloved former player and broadcaster John Lowenstein. Lowenstein played for the Orioles from 1979-85 and became a broadcaster for the team shortly after. We named him the 41th best player in Orioles history along with his platoon partner, Gary Roenicke. He turns 78 today.
Also born on this day are Jonathan Heasley (28), Tim Beckham (35), and Ken Huckaby (54).
On this day in 2015, the Orioles traded pitchers Stephen Tarpley and Steven Brault to the Pirates for Travis Snider (Brault was a PTBNL). Snider was not good. There was some hand wringing over parting with two pitchers, especially once it was clear Snider was not going to pan out. Both Tarpley and Brault had multi-year major league careers, though neither was what I would call good.