Tag Archives: joeyadams

The surging Pedro Strop

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Pedro Strop was a key member of the Orioles bullpen when they made the postseason for the first time since 1997.

Pedro Strop was a key member of the Orioles bullpen when they made the postseason for the first time since 1997. (Photo Courtesy of Keith Allison/ Flickr)

The Baltimore Orioles were a selling team in 2011. As they had been for the better part of the last decade and a half, until 2012.

On August 31, 2011, Andy MacPhail sent reliever Mike Gonzalez to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later. The next day, that player was Pedro Strop.

The trade didn’t seem like much to Orioles fans then. Strop had a 3.72 ERA for the Rangers in 11 relief appearances. But since the trade, Strop has become an integral part of the Baltimore bullpen.

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Checking in with the O’s in the WBC

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Adam Jones celebrates with Jimmy Rollins after scoring a run against Canada on March 10. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

The World Baseball Classic is nearing the Championship Round and three Orioles are still in the thick of things.

The three members of the Baltimore Orioles organization still playing in the tournament are Adam Jones (USA), Pedro Strop (DR) and Jonathan Schoop (NED).

Schoop has played in seven game for the Netherlands, batting .250 with a couple homers and six RBIs. He played an important role in a stunning 6-2 win over the heavily-favored Cuba. Schoop was 3-6 and drove in four runs, including three on this home run:

Strop has appeared in four games for the Dominican Republic. His record of 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA ranks among the best in the tournament. In his 4.2 innings of work, Strop has allowed two hits while striking out five batters.

Jones has struggled for the United States, collecting just three hits in 14 at bats. Jones has managed to drive in four runs in his four games with the U.S.A.

Strop and Schoop have punched their tickets to San Francisco, the location to the Championship Round of the WBC. Jones and the Americans will play Puerto Rico on March 15, the winner of that game will join the Dominicans, the Dutch, and the Japanese in the Championship Round.

Everybody likes a winner: Successful 2012 pays O’s dividends

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In 2012, the Orioles had their highest attendance per game in five seasons, due in large part to their position in the standings (Baltimore Sun Photo).

Before the 2012 season, the attendance at Oriole Park at Camden Yards was on a steady decline. Attendance had decreased 11 out of the last 15 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles.

According to Baseball-reference.com, the Orioles drew 2,102,240 fans in 2012, an increase of more than 350,000 fans from 2011. Granted when you divide it up, that’s an increase of just more than 4,600 fans a game.

Kevin Cowherd of the Baltimore Sun criticized the attendance on the night of Aug. 27. In a game where the Orioles trailed the New York Yankees by 3 1/2 games in the AL East — the announced crowd was 10,995.

It’s understandable that after a few years of unexpected success through May, only to collapse in June or July, that O’s fans may have been hesitant to fully invest in the 2012 birds.

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