Good morning Birdland,
Hopefully you were one of the fortunate people that did not watch the Orioles 14-0 loss on Tuesday night. It was ugly. Each of the three pitchers that the Orioles used were bad. Chadwick Tromp, who is not a pitcher, was forced to throw an inning. The lineup collected three total hits, all singles. And they failed to create even one at-bat with a runner in scoring position.
It was the sort of loss that was so bad that you almost want to ignore it completely. Sure, the Orioles
have issues, but one particularly bad night isn’t the best illustration of what ails this squad. We have enough data from other games to make that analysis.
The one caveat would be Dean Kremer’s rough night. It was the latest poor showing in what has been a nightmarish month of July for the veteran right hander. He has an ERA of 7.56 this month. Over his last two starts he has given up 14 runs across 10 innings.
It brings up the possibility that the Orioles could turn elsewhere for Kremer’s next scheduled start. The team has two off days in the next six days. So, they could simply skip him. That would buy more time for Chris Bassitt to get fit and then slot back into the rotation while Kremer goes to the bullpen for a bit. Remember, Kremer began the season in Triple-A because the rotation was so full at the time. Maybe he heads back to Norfolk to work on things.
It was a tough loss at such a critical point in the season. It is still unclear if the team plans to buy or sell at the upcoming trade deadline. Another loss like that to a sub-.500 Tigers team could be the thing that pushes Mike Elias and front office towards a sale.
Links
Orioles Have Discussed Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser In Trade Talks | MLB Trade Rumors
Sure. Rumors like this make it seem like the front office is leaning towards some sort of re-tooling. Holliday and Cowser are fine major leaguers, but they haven’t become the difference makers (not yet, anyway) that the team probably hoped for. So why not see what the going rate would be for either one. Holliday, in particular, with his improved approached, could be worth a decent amount.
What’s next for Bassitt after successful first rehab start? | Orioles.com
Bassitt looked good in his first rehab start, and he lasted 3.1 innings, which is encouraging. It seems likely that he makes at least one more appearance in Triple-A before getting back to Baltimore, but who knows. The Orioles need to win games now. If they think Bassitt gives them the best chance, and he feels good enough, then maybe he just pitches in the big leagues sooner than later.
Mountcastle rehab assignment put on hold | Roch Kubatko
This is probably not going to end well. Mountcastle has been out since April 11 with the broken foot. For now, the Orioles are simply saying that the slugger “didn’t feel 100 percent,” so they held off on starting his rehab. How long until he does feel 100 percent? No one knows that answer.
Which Orioles player would be best at catching a squirrel? We asked. | The Baltimore Banner
I though Leody Taveras did a decent job considering he was not going all out to make it happen. If he put in a better effort, then he probably snags that squirrel in Detroit.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
No current or former Orioles players were born on this day, according to Baseball Reference. But it is a celebratory day for a few other notable names, like filmmaker Ken Burns (b. 1953), musician Martina McBride (b. 1966), actor Will Wheaton (b. 1972), and football player Dak Prescott (b. 1993), among others.
This day in O’s history
1988 – The Orioles trade Mike Boddicker to the Red Sox in exchange for Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling
1997 – The Orioles purchase veteran hitter Harold Baines from the White Sox, beginning his second stint with the team.
2000 – The Orioles acquire catcher Brook Fordyce from the White Sox in exchange for catcher Charles Johnson and DH Harold Baines.
2000 – The Orioles send relief pitcher Mike Timlin to the Cardinals, landing first baseman Chris Richard and pitcher Mark Nussbeck in return.
2010 – Buck Showalter is announced as the Orioles new manager. He will take over from interim sipper Juan Samuel on August 3rd.
2015 – In the middle of a doubleheader between the two teams, the Orioles trade reliever Seranthony Domínguez to the Blue Jays. Domínguez tosses a 10-pitch shutout inning for his new club in Game 2, but the O’s win both games anyway.
