Tag Archives: Rays

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.

Taking a second look at the hole at second base

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The void at second base may not be solved in Spring Training for the Orioles. (Photo courtesy of J. Meric/Getty Images North America)

The void at second base may not be solved in Spring Training for the Orioles. (Photo courtesy of J. Meric/Getty Images North America)

Prior to the start of Spring Training, The Birdhouse asked, who’s on second for the Baltimore Orioles in 2013?

With the Orioles slated to face the Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day just one week away, the search for the team’s second baseman is nearing an end.

The best assumptions to fill the hole at second are Brian Roberts, who has played in an O’s uniform in just 115 games since the start of the 2010 season. Alexi Casilla, who played middle infield for the Minnesota Twins between 2006 and 2012. And Ryan Flaherty, who served as a utility man for the Baltimore in 2012.

Roberts is the oldest Oriole on the 2013 roster. (Photo Courtesy of Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press)

Roberts is the oldest Oriole on the 2013 roster. (Photo Courtesy of Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press)

Roberts has played in 14 Spring Training games accumulating a .357 batting average with a home run, 4 RBIs, while drawing 4 walks and stealing 3 bases.

Casilla, who the Orioles acquired off waivers from the Twins on November 2, 2012, is another candidate for the role.

Casilla has appeared in 15 games this spring. He has posted a .289 average, with 2 doubles and 2 stolen bases. However, along with his 10 Ks, he has yet to homer and has yet to drive in a run.

Flaherty started 20 games at second for Buck Showalter and the Birds in 2012. The most games at any position for the 26-year old.

Flaherty is in his second season with the Orioles and the fourth of his career. (Photo courtesy of Jim Rogash/Getty Images North America)

Flaherty is almost guaranteed to make the squad based just on his position flexibility alone. This spring in 23 games, Flaherty is batting .262, with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs.

The battle for the role of second baseman may not be settled this spring. It could carry over to the regular season, where Showalter and the O’s will wait and see who steps up to win the job when the games actually matter.

The Orioles will open the 2013 season in Tampa with a 3 p.m. start on April 2. The Opening Day starter has yet to be named for the O’s.

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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