murph

Hunter definitely seemed like a good guy and he did bleed Orange and Black (yes too much homerism). I agree with others, more Ben sounds great, really enjoy listening to Big Ben. If they bring in someone new, I do want a good baseball guy before an Orioles guy, if that makes sense.

On Twitter several posters said (paraphrasing)....oh come on, he was just saying he likes you and thought you liked him. What an awful take. Lie and tell her you have a trade scoop, get her to your room, immediately make an advance. And some people think that’s the way it should work? My daughter is an inspiring writer. Still in college, not sure yet what path she will take. But stories like this make me cringe thinking of her possibly dealing with male athletes (not all or hopefully not most, but still). And that’s a real shame

Yes. And the Ravens are going to the super bowl and the Terps are making the big dance and the O’s are having a .500 or better season. And you all think Wildcard is optimistic. Pfft.

Man, I thought that was it, winning teams again for the foreseeable future. Many more free agent contracts, with all the stars coming to play in orange and black. A couple playoff runs, a few world series, wow it is incredible how naive I was back then and how little understanding of exactly how awful our pitching was. I am very excited for the future now however and really enjoy watching this rebuild process, even as slow and boring it is and this winter is, but I agree with the OP, this off season has been incredibly boring!

Actually, 60% is pretty impressive and trying to make the throws from the outfield. Are you somewhat ambidextrous? I can bat left handed, but I could never throw a ball more than 20 feet I would guess, left handed. I am also right hand dominant obviously. I agree it would be almost impossible for Carlton to have switched pitching arms at that age, but it would have been fun to watch!

Sorry if this was posted elsewhere and I did not see it. Sort of surprising, isn't it? Branden Kline has announced his retirement from baseball. Kline is only 29 years old, but he wrote on his personal Instagram page Wednesday that he is "looking forward to spending more time with my family and being more involved in spiritual matters." The former second-round pick finishes with a career 5.48 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, and 41/22 K/BB ratio in 46 total major league innings. Source: Branden Kline on Instagram Jan 13, 2021, 9:35 AM ET A little more from the Baltimore Sun: https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-branden-kline-retires-20210113-hoiizqiijvhytltd3ppn2iqtwy-story.html

I actually heard about this from his Twitter and I thought he is ranting about it still/now. Trevor Bauer @BauerOutage It’s almost like it did exist. Wow. The more you know...how crazy latimes.com/sports/angels/story/2021-01-07/fired-angels-employee-bubba-harkins-names-players-illegal-product Trevor Bauer @BauerOutage · May 1, 2018 Replying to @BauerOutage and @drivelinebases If only there was just a really quick way to increase spin rate. Like what if you could trade for a player knowing that you could bump his spin rate a couple hundred rpm overnight...imagine the steals you could get on the trade market! If only that existed...

Yeaaa...should have said "dream", but that was a bit much for my level of interest too. Just hoping he somehow falls to us and needs a rebuild his value year.

Andrelton is my wish.

Only name I really cared about seeing was Mountcastle. Get that guy as many reps as possible! Would be great if he could become an average left fielder.

Is this thread turning into an @Gurgi thread? Is everyone on sleeping pills and Klonopin? Not sure what this last post as to do with anything? I think @OrioleDog is trying to make a point about our chances of a Wildcard berth in 2022 based on what some other teams are doing....I think.

I found the OH with the first Vlad signing attempt. Stayed up until 3am with dejected hope reading everything I could until I gave up and realized he was Angel to be. But lurked and read here for many years before posting anything at all. Not sure I even “joined” those first few years.

What about 88 Donruss? I think that was the year they made like 10 billion cards. I remember picking up a box or two and being all excited until my collecting buddy told me all of the cards were pretty much worthless!

Yacabonis gets another year: Mariners re-signed RHP Jimmy Yacabonis to a minor league contract. Yacabonis made two appearances for Seattle this past summer before getting outrighted off the 40-man roster and electing to become a free agent. He'll return as organization relief depth heading into 2021. Source: Mariners PR on Twitter Dec 29, 2020, 3:59 PM ET

Does anyone else really enjoy Orioledog's posts and spend several re-reads just to make sure they completely got what he was writing? Just me? Even if so, please carry on Orioledog! As for Akin, I am Wildcard optimistic. I am hoping for a two pitch lefty (three if he doesn't spend too much valuable time learning a third at the expense of bettering the two primary pitches in his arsenal. I see you CoC) that ends up as a dominate, can get through the lineup 3+ times starter with a sub 3.00 ERA. 12+K/9 and the beginnings of a HOF career! Oh and the Eggnog was exceptional tonight.

Nestor Cortes is heading back to the Yankees. Have to admit I was pretty excited about him when Luke talked him about his command and deception. And I don't mean that as any slight against Luke. Just enjoyed is analysis and was hoping he was right. Nestor Cortes said on his Instagram account that he's headed back to the Yankees. The team has yet to announce the signing. Cortes appeared in 33 games with the Yankees in 2019 while posting a 5.67 ERA and 69/28 K/BB ratio over 66 2/3 innings. He made five appearances with the Mariners this past season before going down with an elbow impingement. He became a free agent in October after being outrighted off the 40-man roster. Related: New York Yankees Source: Nestor Cortes on Twitter Dec 21, 2020, 3:45 PM ET

Don’t think this has been posted elsewhere. Not a big deal anyway, but another signing: Orioles signed RHP Claudio Custodio to a minor league contract. The 30-year-old has been a two-way player throughout his minor league career, but has never done much with the bat. He turned in an impressive performance on the mound in 2019 though, registering a 2.48 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 72/23 K/BB ratio over 83 1/3 innings primarily at Double-A Mississippi for the Braves. Given the current state of the Orioles' bullpen, it's not outlandish to think that Custodio could get a shot with the big league club at some point during the 2021 season. https://www.rotoworld.com/baseball/mlb/player/62795/claudio-custodio

Despaigne re-signing in Korea. I missed that he was there last year, seems to be quite a few ex O'x in Korea. Odrisamer Despaigne has re-signed with the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization. It's a one-year, $800,000 deal that carries a $300,000 signing bonus, a $500,000 salary for 2021, and another $300,000 in possible performance-based incentives. Despaigne, who spent parts of six seasons in Major League Baseball between 2014-2019, went 15-8 with a 4.33 ERA in 207 2/3 innings this past year in the KBO. Source: Dan Kurtz on Twitter

Maybe realizing he wasn’t capable of making the play even if you were overestimating his abilities ?. And didn’t want to allow an extra extra base! Don’t remember seeing that, but I may have looked away or changed the channel when a ball was hit his way. I did like (moderately like) what little I saw from Mountcastle in LF. If he is even average defensively with his bat that would be great. IMO.

I honestly don’t remember that with Trumbo. Was he “afraid” of the wall or more just not athletic enough to make difficult catches with the wall looming? I know I was never confident with him out there regardless of where the ball was hit.

Didn’t catch the whole segment, but he sounded neutral on the Chris Davis recent quotes and praised Kremer when asked about the up and coming group of pitchers. Don’t remember anything else significant.

Apologies if this was already noted but on the Fan today, Big Ben said Mac may (he wasn’t certain) have been held out of the Arizona fall league because the Reds didn’t want other teams to see what he has. If so; the Reds thought highly of him, albeit not enough to protect him from the rule V.

Didn't want to start another Davis thread, so I will put this here. We can all rest easy that a power hitting first basement will not be needed for 2021! https://www.rotoworld.com/baseball/mlb/player/18768/chris-davis Chris Davis (knee) said Wednesday that he is "100 percent committed" to being ready for the start of spring training. Davis appeared in only 16 total games this past season for the Orioles due to lingering patellar tendinitis in his left knee and batted just .115/.164/.173 when healthy. He has a .550 OPS in 929 plate appearances since the beginning of 2018. The veteran first baseman is still owed $46 million on a contract that runs through 2022.

In his Athletic article today, Connolly lightly suggests Simmons for SS. Looks like his defense is slipping a bit, but still could be a good get for us if the market doesn't bare out for him. Very unlikely I am sure. https://theathletic.com/2248681/2020/12/09/orioles-hot-stove-freeze-alex-cobb/?source=dailyemail If an Iglesias 2.0 is still standing in a month or two — Freddy Galvis, maybe Andrelton Simmons in a depressed market — well, the Orioles would fish in that pool if possible. Even on a pact beyond a standard, one-year term? Maybe, but not likely.

One thing I will forever remember about Hess is that look on his face when Hyde came to take him out during his no no