Balt-transplant

It is hard to handle this well if neither Trey Mancini nor the Orioles have any idea what the diagnosis is. So fans, reporters, the team and even Trey have to be patient before there is something definitive. With baseball related injuries, there is almost a script to describe the body part that is causing a player to sit out a game or practice. The same is true with basketball and football.

For the Orioles, starting stability really means stability though the month of June when trade speculation will begin. If Cobb, Malone or LeBlanc start strong through June, one or more of them could be traded especially if the AAA rotation is knocking at the door. Stability also means that the Orioles have been fortunate that the injury bug has not hit their pitching staff in a serious way as it has for many other clubs. Some teams are starting out with part of their starting rotation on the inujured list or on a suspension and don't expect the full rotation to be available until June. Even if the Orioles starting 5 are not top line pitchers, it is unclear if what the Orioles have are much worse than what many teams have to fill in their starting rotation until starting pitchers that they expect to rely on rejoin the roster.

Given that there is much that we don't know, it is hard to speculate what may be going on. However, based on what we do know, this is my best guess as to what is happening. 1) Trey Mancini's respiratory problem is most likely not related to the Corona virus. However, given how limited testing for the virus has been in general, it is not impossible that one or more players in a spring training camp has contracted the virus. The common cold and the normal flu are more likely causes of the number of respiratory illnesses but until the number of people tested gets into the tens of thousands, no one will know how wide spread the corona virus has spread. 2) Trey Mancini has likely has had all of the blood work and non-invasive radiological tests that can be done to diagnose whatever is wrong with him. If something looked suspicious, then a more invasive diagnostic test is used to diagnose respiratory issues. 3) In all likelihood, Trey Mancini does not yet know exactly what his diagnosis is. If a diagnosis was clear, it is likely that the Orioles would have announced what the problem is. 4) Given that Trey Mancini's primary problem was respiratory, the most likely next step would be a bronchoscopy, a mostly painless procedure that examines the inside of the lungs. The procedure is done while the patient is sedated but awake with a limited amount of local anesthetic. I've had one and thinking about having it was scarier than the procedure itself. This procedure is used to examine a number of lung conditions as well as draw samples of fluids in the lungs in order to better diagnose infections in the lungs that blood tests alone could not identify. 5) The public probably will not know precisely what the condition is until the end of the week due to the time it takes to get results of bacterial cultures. If it is more serious than an obscure bacterial infection, then it is likely the public won't know until Trey Mancini decides on a treatment plan. At this point, the only thing that those of us not involved in his medical treatment can do is pray that whatever is wrong is not serious and pray for his speedy recovery.

Anyone coming from the south should park at the North Lithicum station. There are over 300 free parking spaces and you don't have to deal with stadium traffic. It's where I parked coming from DC

I'm a big fan of Korean and Japanese TV that can be streamed on line with subtitles. Starting on December 13, a new TV show will air called "Stove League" or "Hot Stove Team" will begin which as the name implies is about building a baseball organization during the offseason. The show will air in Korea every Friday and Saturday night until the end of January which means its will air when all there is in baseball is the Hot Stove League. The show will likely be streaming on the website https://www.viki.com or their phone/tablet app. Each episode will last for an hour so the whole show will go from start to finish in 16 hours. It will likely also be streamed on https://dramacool.movie. In general, both sites will stream each episodes without subtitles around noon in Baltimore on the same calendar day it shows in Korea. Episodes with English subtitles are usually available in Baltimore around four to six hours later. The description of the plot sounds a lot like the Orioles. The team, which is called the Dreams, is dreadful and hires a new general manager to direct a turnaround. Based on what I've seen in leaks about the script and the previews, it appears that problems exist in both the business and baseball sides of the organization. My hunch that viewers who are familiar with movies about bad professional baseball teams will see homages to aspects of these movies. Previously, I've seen baseball based TV shows in Korea and Japan that appear to have been partially inspired by Sandlot and the Bad News Bears. This is the first one that I've seen that uses pro ball as the hook for a TV show. My bet is that SBS, the network that green lighted the show, believed that baseball crazy Korea needed a fix during the offseason. Trailers and pictures of the cast. The trailers have no subtitles but I think all readers of Orioles Hangout will be able to get the gist of the story just from the images in the previews. http://asianwiki.com/Hot_Stove_League List of Actors and titles that identify what each character's role will be in the baseball and/or front office side of the team https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Stove_League

One minor league city that outdraws its size is Dayton, OH. The low-A Dragons nearly always sell out. On a different note, it would seem that both York and Lancaster PA would be good alternative sites for the Bowie team if they were relocated. The major drawback for the Orioles is that keeping a minor league team in Bowie is helpful for creating a fan base in Howard, Anne Arundel and Prince Georges County.

Wells has mostly pitched in relief in the AFL, which makes one wonder if he is auditioning for the bullpen in 2020 or 2021

Worth Noting that a number of independent league teams draw exceptionally well. Some though are not geographically well located (Long Island Ducks and Somerset Patriots)given commitments of logical MLB clubs to other cities where they have a strong fan basis (Yankees in Scranton Wilkes-Barre and Trenton and Mets in Binghamton and Syracuse NY). Here are the top 10 independent league teams in attendance Team League Total Games 2019 2018 Change Attendance Avg. Avg. 1 St. Paul Saints AA 394,970 49 8,061 8,178 -0.01 2 Somerset Patriots AtL 344,641 69 5,385 5,110 0.05 3 Long Island Ducks AtL 328,194 70 4,973 4,916 0.01 4 Sugar Land Skeeters AtL 304,753 68 4,482 4,562 -0.02 5 Lancaster Barnstormers AtL 285,441 71 4,391 3,903 0.13 6 Winnipeg Goldeyes AA 195,787 48 4,079 4,477 -0.09 7 Chicago Dogs AA 166,672 46 3,623 2,954 0.23 8 Kansas City T-Bones AA 156,058 45 3,468 3,958 -0.12 9 F-M RedHawks AA 161,857 47 3,444 3,402 0.01 10 Lincoln Saltdogs AA 168,394 49 3,437 3,336 0.03

All four of the Orioles prospects pitching in the AFL have done about what I think the Orioles expected when they were sent there. What I wonder is whether the coaching on Sunrise Saguaros is doing something special as the team's pitchers are pitching well as a group. Worth noting that the Saguaros pitching coach is currently listed as a scout in the Texas Rangers Organization but my hunch is he may be taking on a different role for the Rangers given the experience he is getting in the AFL