Tony-OH

No, he was a late bloomer who was signed for peanuts. A real good job by Koby Perez.

Have to take the time to let it show up. Then it will stick.

Yeah, not thrilled with the choice, but I wont be there! Haha!

See what happens when you're slow and I have to make the threads?

Don't get me started on Mu$$ina!

Maybe once all the new draftees start playing. Saying that, I'm not a fan of numbering past 30. I like to keep them as bubble players.

Making his professional debut today in CF for the FCL Orioles.

It has. I really need to go back and watch some videos of a good start and a bad one. Either way, looking forward to seeing him with Aberdeen or better yet Bowie since they have better camera's for most affiliates.

I'll be honest, I really don't have a lot of contact with other sites out there so I have no idea what else is going on. I know that MLB made a rule many years ago that online only sites could not be given credentials, but Greg Bader put me under a Grandfather clause that allowed me to continue to get credentials. It was pretty cool to know I was the only online only site to have credentials, but alas, Bader appears to no longer be involved in PR stuff or he's changed his mind. I honestly never got Bader involved since Grondahl has the SR VP role in this area and she made the final decision. Again, I don't agree with her decision, but I respect her decision so I'm not going to say anything bad about her. It would have been nice for someone to have gone to bat for me, but alas, outside of Bader, no one is left that I dealt with through the years and I really don't know where Bader stands anymore or if he has any influence anymore.

I don't think we need to get into all that. Either way, I certainly don't pay attention to other social media trolls out there. This is our place and it's obvious people like the rules here and the community. I've always said I'd rather have a smaller community of well informed knowledgeable fans than a large trollfest. As people know, I don't care about politics here and that's why it's a no no to discuss anything close. I don't hold grudges, and I don't care what your politics are or anything else. All we care about here is if you're a good knowledgeable fan that adds to our conversation. All that other stuff can stay elsewhere.

Thank you.

Wow, you all are really amazing. Thank you so much for sharing what the Hangout means to you and I appreciate deeply the kind words about me and my work here. Sometimes it's nice to know you're appreciated. Some mentioned Mike Elias and the baseball decision makers knowing about me and the PR decision. First, I believe in all the years Mike has been here I've exchanged texts with him maybe 20 times and have had a sit down interview with him twice (pre-COVID). He's always given me a quick answer and has told me I can always come straight to him. I'm not one of those guy who will overuse that kind of access so normally I only went to him about significant issues or concerns with the team. He been nothing but professional and gracious with me personally. Saying that, I'm sure he knows of me not getting press credentials or allowed to be part of online interviews anymore. Do I think he made the ultimate decision, I do not, I think that was done by Jennifer Grondahl. I'll be honest though, I think there is more behind this over a comment that new Director of PR Katie Krause told me when I was first denied. I wont go into detail, but let's just say, I believe the new policy was put in to directly bar me from gaining credential for the 20th year. I can stand proud of my work when I had a prese credential. I reported many things to the fans that they would not have known and just reading these comments I can see how many people have learned more and stayed connected to the team thanks to the Hangout. The best comment I ever got from the Orioles was from former Director of PR, and now Senior Vice President of Administration & Experience Greg Bader. He once told me after I wrote up one of my exposes' on the organization, "What I appreciate about you is that you are always fair. If it's bad, you say it bad, but you also tell the good." Saying all that, as I said, who cares at this point? I don't agree with the decision but I respect the decision. At the end of the day, we're Orioles fans and we care about how the Orioles play. None of this behind the scenes stuff should affect your fandom or my fandom really, but our fandom comes from sharing experiences with each other about the team that we love. Players, coaches, managers, team officials, Pr department people come and go, and we will still be here. We are Orioles fans dammit. We've been through a lot of losing, yet here we are, many of us, every single day. We fight, argue, agree, and cheer together. We learn together. We do this because we are not just a community, but an online family. This community will continue strong and we will always be Orioles fans. Thank you all again! Now Let's go O's!!!!!

I'm on every Wednesday during baseball season with Bob and Vinny on 105.7 the fan at 12:30 on Wednesdays.

Amazing Tribute Roy! Fantastic!

Going into this season, I wasn’t sure I had much more in me when it came to Orioles Hangout. A had lost my close friend, confidant, and managing editor Michael Williams to cancer last year and the Orioles were coming off another last place 100+ loss season. Then, this spring, I put in for my full season credentials with the Orioles, something that I had done every year since 2002 pre COVID, only to be told I would no longer be given credentials to attend games or ask questions during online press conferences. After a conversation with Jennifer Grondahl, Senior Vice President, Community Development & Communications, it was made abundantly clear while they respected what I did, they felt I no longer fit into their definition of the press. To say it was disheartening was probably an understatement. While I was never a daily member of the press, I tried to make at to at least one game a homestand in order keep up relationships with players and coaches that I had built over the 26 years I had run Orioleshangout.com. To be told I know longer counted by the organization, even though Orioles Hangout is the longest running known website (founded in 1996) to cover a major professional team in any sport in the United States, was what I considered a final blow. Now even prior to this, ever since Mike Elias took over, it was hard to get information about minor league player injuries, something I was typically able to get done with a simple text in previous regimes. I used this information to keep the fans informed on the website and message board as well as on my regular spot on 105.7 the fan. Now, text inquiries were met with silence only to get emails from the PR department telling me to ask questions through them, not through Matt Blood. Disappointingly, the truth was that I no longer could get the information fans wanted from me, the team pulled my credentials (one of the few perks I got for all my time and effort), and the regular fandom of the Orioles was probably at its lowest. Page views and visits to the site were at all-time lows. Taking it all in, I finally decided I was done. In May of this year, I put up a post asking if anyone was interested in potentially being part of or buying the site outright from me. Several people reach out and I even entertained a few conversations where we talked what the Hangout would like if I sold the site and stepped away. The one thing consistent was no one wanted me to step away fully, but in the end, I was ready to step away from the Hangout for the first time in my life. My goal at that point was to get into someone’s hands who would love the community as much as I do and would make good stewards. In the meantime though, I still enjoyed doing the minor league scouting portion so I was still watching video and giving people my thoughts on the minor league players as well as doing analysis of Baseball Savant information on the major league Orioles. The response to my work on the message board along with several messages by people who said they understood why I would step away, but hoped I would reconsider, got me more and more interested in the daily grind. Then, the Orioles started to win again and people started to show up to the Hangout who we hadn’t seen in years. New members we’re signing up and the quality and quantity of the posts were starting to really flow. But I’ll be honest, I was still bitter about how the Orioles handled me, and I’m sure my posts showed it. I was starting to get too negative about things even as the Orioles were winning. Then one day I got particularly negative over something and basically said the Orioles sapped my fandom and I was just going to look at things objectively like a non-fan. By doing that though, I stepped away for a few days and kinda let things run its course. I went on a mini-vacation with the family and barely looked at the Hangout other then to make sure everything was up and running. Taking that step back allowed me to think over some things. The Orioles started their run of good baseball and I wasn’t even enjoying it. Why? I’ve been a fan of the team since 1975 (about five years old). I’ve run Orioles Hangout since 1996. Hell, I was certainly the only soldier in Afghanistan and Iraq that would find an internet connection and computer and log on to talk Orioles, and this was in the 2004-2007 timeframe when they weren’t that good. Being an Orioles fan is in my DNA. Why should I let a PR department full of people, most of whom have no understanding of what I’ve done over the years, take away something I’ve always enjoyed? Why should I let them determine my worth to Orioles fans? So as I look at the numbers from yesterday’s trading deadline, over 17,000 visits, 150,000 page views, 1,000 of posts by amazingly smart Orioles fans who call Orioles Hangout their internet home, it dawned on me. It doesn’t matter how the Orioles as an organization feels about me or Orioles Hangout, it only matters how the fans view me and the Hangout. And no, I’m not talking about the Twitter trolls. So you know what? I’m not going anywhere. I’ll continue to have my platform here at the Hangout and as long as 105.7 keeps calling, I’ll continue to give my thoughts weekly over air waves. I’m going to continue to call things as I see them. When something needs to be criticized, I’ll criticize, but when something needs to be celebrated, I’ll do that as well. I’ve always prided myself on being fair and that is what I intend to do, regardless of how the latest leadership/PR of the organization feels about me or the site. I want to thank everyone at the Hangout from the longtime members (heart and soul of the community), to the returning members, to our new members. Thank you for those of you who feel my analysis helps you be a batter informed fan and thank you to those who make me work hard to back up my answers with stats and facts. That’s what we do here at the Hangout for each other and why this is the best community, bar none, to discuss Orioles baseball. Orioles baseball is back baby, and so am I!

I had press passes for over 20 years with the Orioles and met or saw many famous baseball people. Having Jim Palmer walk behind you in line for food in the press lounge was a pretty normal experience, so I was rarely if ever star struck. Saying that, one year, can't remember when, the Dodgers had come to town and there, sitting in the table next to me, wearing a powder blue sports jacket was the legend himself, Vin Scully. I don't know what it was about being so close to this living legend that made me star struck, but for the first time I was just that. I wanted to go up and chat with him, but every time I looked over someone else was taking a little time with him. I never did get a chance to say hello or to thank him for all he's done for the sport of baseball, but I'll never forget that time he sat at that next table. RIP to a legend of broadcasting that will never be topped. A true first class man who treated every person with respect and like an old friend.

Nats got a really good package back. Heck, Abrams might be the worse one of the group and he's a 6th overall pick.

I'm a fan of the split season and think they should find a way to do this in the major leagues. This would be a great way to keep fans engaged and stop teams from tanking on purpose for very long.

Shhhh!!!! PAGE VIEWS are good!

The acquisition of Phillips is a bit of a headscratcher with Vavra on the team since he can play outfield too. So far he's only played LF and has had two chances, one of which was a 3-star catch with a 75% success rate that he made giving him a +5% success rate added in his very limited play. The Oriole have seemed to have made it very clear that Vavra is not going to much if any 2B since they continually start sub replacement level Odor there almost every game. So why get a left-handed McKenna if you have Vavra to also play the outfield?

I'll be honest, I'm not really sure why the Orioles added a left-hitting McKenna on the roster while they still have McKenna on the roster, but they certainly now have two good defensive outfielders. with both Hays and Santander grading out as below average this year by statcast, maybe they look at the chance of a Phillips, Mullins, McKenna late inning defensive outfield as too good to pass up. One thing to remember here, we're just 1.5 games behind the Rays and they basically gave him to us. That kind a tells you what they thought of him overall. I assume this also means they are not impressed with Vavra's defense in the outfield as well.

Diaz was demoted to AAA when they activated Phillips. Now the Orioles have a right and left-handed hitting McKenna. Now if they could find a better alternative to Odor, Chirinos and Nevin, or lineup/bench would look pretty strong.

How did Baker end up in there? Since June 15th, he's pitched to a 1.85 ERA over 19.1 IP striking out 23. Batter have slashed .186/.284/.229/.513 off him during this time. He's been hitting as high as 98 MPH in games. No way he belongs with the other guys you mentioned.

Stowers is the kind of prospect that Elias wants to make sure is ready from day one to compete well at the major league level. I wish I had the minor league statcast numbers then I could tell you a bit more on what they are still looking for, but it appears they are going to use those left over Mancini at bats for Vavra for now. I really, really wish they would give Vavra some PAs at second base because Odor is the only regular now that needs to be replaced. That would open up those PAs for Stowers.

He actually looks pretty good at 3B overall. He doesn't have a rocket arm but it's enough to play there. He reminds me a bit of a left-handed hitting Urias.