Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! I hope you enjoyed this lovely fall weekend.
After a brief flurry of activity around the first of the month, things have gone quiet around MLB. Despite the short timeline due to the impending owners’ lockout, not much has taken place. No notable free agent signings have occurred, no interesting trades have gone down. We’re less than a month from baseball shutting down, so these teams better get hopping!
Maybe we will see some action this week, as the General Manager meetings
kick off in Las Vegas tomorrow. The GM meetings are usually about laying the groundwork for off-season deals, but the tone could be different this year due to the unusual circumstances. At least, I hope it will be different. We’re looking at a bleak winter for baseball, so I’d like to have some things take place in the next week or so. I would recommend the Orioles sign Trevor Rogers to a contract, if they’re looking for my advice.
While we wait on the Orioles and the rest of the league to start doing things, we can focus on the baseball that is happening now. Namely, the Arizona Fall League. Last night, the Fall Start Game took place as the AFL winds down for the season. Four Orioles prospects were selected to represent the AL: pitchers Braxton Bragg and Patrick Reilly, and outfielders Vance Honeycutt and Ike Irish.
I can’t tell you who won the game. It was tied 3-3 in the seventh inning when I turned in for the night. But I can tell you how our prospects did, and that’s all the really matters.
Reilly started the game for the AL team, and it did not go well. He didn’t allow a hit, which is great! But he walked three batters and allowed a run to score on a wild pitch. Not what you want to see from the starting pitcher. Bragg pitched the third, and fared better. He struck out the first two batters, one called and one swinging. Then he induced a groundout to end the inning.
Honeycutt, who has had an outstanding fall season, went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. He did take a walk. Irish had a more successful night. He singled in a run in the third inning, which at the time gave the AL a 2-1 lead. He also walked.
The Fall Star game is at weird time in the schedule. The AFL is off today, then has two more days of “regular season” games. Thursday through Saturday is a quick playoff round, with the championship taking place on Saturday night.
The Peoria Javelinas, which is home to the Orioles’ prospects, are currently tied for first place at 16-10.
Links
Braxton Bragg joins fellow Oriole prospects Honeycutt, Irish, Reilly at Fall Stars Game – Baltimore Baseball
Rich Dubroff spoke to pitcher Braxton Bragg ahead of last night’s Fall Stars Game.
Rotating some statistics among Orioles starters – MASN Sports
In which Roch Kubatko looks back at key numbers from last season’s starting rotation.
Looking For A Match In A Steven Kwan Trade – MLB Trade Rumors
I have seen comments in the Camden Chat community advocating acquiring Steven Kwan. MLBTR looks at the possibilities, and the Orioles are one of them.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have two Orioles birthday buddies, Al Severinson (b. 1944. d, 2015) and Whitey Herzog (b. 1931, d. 2024).
Severinson had a short Major League career, just 88 games. He played 12 of those with the Orioles in 1969, a bullpen pitcher with a 2.29 ERA in 19.2 innings.
Herzog was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010 for his performance as a manager, most notably with the St. Louis Cardinals. Before he became a manager, he spent eight seasons in MLB as a player. That included 212 games with the Orioles in 1961-62.
On this day in 1988, the Orioles traded minor leaguer Pete Bohm to the Pittsburgh Pirates for first baseman Randy Milligan. Milligan spent four seasons with the Orioles, starting with the Why Not team of 1989. That year, “Moose” Milligan hit .268/.394/.458 in 124 games and made up the heart of the batting order along with Cal Ripken and Mickey Tettleton.
Milligan was even better in 1990, with an OBP over .400 and a .900 OPS. Unfortunately, the Orioles weren’t as good that year. In four seasons with the Orioles, Milligan had an OPS+ of 130 with 59 home runs and 81 doubles. Pete Bohm never made it to the majors, so I’d say the Orioles won that trade.
Milligan was a prominent member of the Orioles during my formative years. 1989 is the first year I remember watching baseball, so I always remember him fondly.
