Tag Archives: Brian Matsuz

Finalized Opening Day roster

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The Orioles finished 19-9 this spring, second in the Grapefruit league and third best overall. (Photo courtesy of James Gordon/Baltimore Sun)

The Orioles finished 19-9 this spring, second in the Grapefruit league and third best overall. (Photo courtesy of James Gordon/Baltimore Sun)

With Spring Training coming to a close and the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros playing baseball that actually matters last night at Minute Maid Park, the MLB regular season has officially begun.

The Baltimore Orioles are in Tampa Bay, Fla. and are preparing to open the 2013 season against the hometown Tampa Bay Rays.

Below is the Orioles’ finalized 25-man roster by manager Buck Showalter:

Starting Pitchers

  1. Jason Hammel
  2. Wei-Yin Chen
  3. Miguel Gonzalez
  4. Jake Arrieta
  5. Chris Tillman

Bullpen

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Early this spring The Birdhouse speculated about the Orioles pitching rotation. It’s a bit of a surprise to see Matusz tabbed as a starter once again after he dominated out of the pen last season.

The Birdhouse posted on March 26 about Pearce and the possibility of him cracking the roster after Wilson Betemit left a Spring Training game against Boston with a knee injury. Pearce did indeed beat out Conor Jackson for that bench spot.

The Orioles and Rays kick off the season tomorrow with a 3 p.m. first pitch at Tropicana Field. Hammel gets the Opening Day start for the O’s and he will match up against David Price.

Meeting the birds: The 2013 Orioles starting rotation preview

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Feb. 11 is just five days away. The first notable date for baseball fans and players alike, the day pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.

Manager Buck Showalter will have plenty of choices when it comes time to create a starting rotation for the Baltimore Orioles. Aside from possibly Jair Jurrjens, the O’s starting staff will be full of familiar faces from last season.

The 2013 starting rotation for the O's hope to stay healthy as opposed to the 2012 rotation. (Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron)

The 2013 starting rotation for the O’s hope to stay healthy as opposed to the 2012 rotation. (Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron)

In 2012, the Orioles had eight different pitchers start more than 10 games. Showalter would probably prefer a healthier 2013 season for his rotation.

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Revisiting: 2012 Orioles magic

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“Something magic happens every time you go…”

The opening lyric of “Orioles Magic,” what has been the Orioles’ anthem for over 40 years, definitely applied to the 2012 Baltimore Orioles. Last season’s Orioles team defied all odds by staying competitive in, what is usually deemed Major League Baseball’s toughest division, the American League East, with a negative run differential for most of the season, a 20th ranked team batting average, and an 14th ranked team ERA.

In the March 2012 edition of ESPN the Magazine’s MLB preview, Buster Olney wrote that the best-case scenario for the 2012 O’s was:

“Left-handers Brian Matsuz and Zach Britton make major strides before the team is crushed under the weight of a powerful division. For the sixth straight year, Baltimore fails to win 70 games; for the 15th straight year, the team has a losing record. Yes, this is the best-case scenario.”

That wasn’t the case.

The Orioles stayed competitive by winning close games. The team posted a 29-9 record in one-run games. The .763 win percentage to go along with it was the third best in MLB history, trailing only teams from the late-1800’s.  Baltimore was 16-2 in extra-inning games, all of those wins were consecutive. The MLB record for such a streak — the 1949 Cleveland Indians won 17.

Baltimore finished second in the AL East, trailing the New York Yankees by just 2 games. Their team record of 93-69 was the best record posted by the franchise since their last playoff appearance in 1997. The O’s were participants in MLB’s newly-expanded playoffs. In the first wild card playoff, the Orioles traveled to Arlington, Texas to face the back-to-back defending American League champion Texas Rangers.

Behind a gutsy pitching performance by Joe Saunders and the Oriole bullpen, the O’s defeated the Rangers 5-1 and advanced to the American League Division Series for the first time since that ’97 playoff run. In the ALDS, the Orioles met the Bronx Bombers and eventually bowed out after a five-game series.

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