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Tim Kurkjian Talks with Orioles Hangout


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Have to think Ubaldo and Davis have can only do better than last year.
One of many, many factors that made Buck Showalter the AL Manager of the Year is how he handled Ubaldo. Buck didn't worry about that huge contract; he simply took Ubaldo and stuck him in the pen, with the opportunity to work out his problems. I don't think that any past manager in any team did that with Ubaldo, no matter how badly he performed; they were afraid of that large salary. Buck didn't care if he had a $40 million mop-up man, as long as it would help out the team. And it looks as though Ubaldo responded. Instead of whining and complaining, he worked to fix up his mechanics so that Buck could give him another chance, and Ubaldo came through.

Now, you can't obviously stick Chris Davis in the bullpen. I'm sure that Buck will find something that will shake Chris up so that he'll truly realize how bad things were with him and his performance, plus his drug use. Chris has to realize that his old numbers won't happen magically. He will have to work hard to get back to where he was. I think that he can do it, but he'll have to work at it.

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Kurkjian is a class act. However nobody knows a thing but the mad scientist DD. He always surprises us. Sit back and enjoy the ride. I don't think any one player is a "must" to lock up or sign this offseason. Miller and Cruz would be nice but would be very shocked if either happened.

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I really like TK and not just because he's a long-time O's fan (okay, maybe that is why I like him). Tim is very knowledgeable of the game and keeps closer tabs on the O's than most national reporters. I agree with what he said in the interview, which is basically that DD and Buck have a handle on the situation. O's will make the right decisions this off-season whether they seem right at the time or not to us fans...TRUST...

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Kudos to OH for getting this interview! Well done guys - direct access to and recognition from another national writer.

Like to see his optimism about the current state of the team and the future contributions from Davis.

Credit goes to Fernando Delgado, our former Frederick Keys writer who came to us with this idea! Great job by Fernando.

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Nice get. Cool to see an interview with a national sports guy.

Something that continually frustrates me is the sportswriter attitude where if someone / something was good at one point the only way to be good in the future is to keep having it.

It just seems so superficial to look at this team and the future and say the big keys will be resigning Chris Davis, Matt Wieters and Nelson Cruz - especially given the 2014 season. Those are the only ways to be good? Isn't this like looking at the 2013 Yankees and saying what they really need to be good in 2014 is to go out and sign Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran? Or for the 2014 A's to really compete in the playoffs they need to acquire an ace?

I feel like year after year the sportswriter advice is to do the same obvious tactics - sign the guys that were stars the year before or guys whose names you've heard of, make a big trade for a TOR starter or a MOO bat. And then they're surprised when the Tigers and Dodgers lose in the first round.

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I've been obsessed with Baltimore accents as of late.

Maybe it's been because I've been watching American Horror Story and Kathy Bates puts on a really heavy one for her character. I'd say it's overly exaggerated, but I swear, if I close my eyes it sounds just like some great aunts of mine. You know, without the beard.

I'd

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Tim's not the one who predicted the Orioles would be lucky to win 70 games in 2012, is he? Or was that somebody else.

I would hope not...he seems smarter than that.

I haven't found his preseason prediction yet, but here's a snippet from May 25, 2012:

Tim Kurkjian Believes the Orioles are the Real Deal

I think the Orioles are for real in every way and I think they are going to be in this thing, if not for the whole year, a really long time. When you have pitching this good and lead the league in homers, I am not saying this is the Giants of two years ago, but that is how the Giants won- with great starting pitching, certainly better than the Orioles have now, a good bullpen and basically nine guys in the order that can beat you with a home run. It looks like staying power to me.
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Tim's not the one who predicted the Orioles would be lucky to win 70 games in 2012, is he? Or was that somebody else.

I would hope not...he seems smarter than that.

I'm almost certain Tim didn't say anything like that.

If I remember correctly, Tim was one of the few Baseball Tonight guys high on the Orioles before the 2012 season. I believe he spent time with the team in Spring Training and came away impressed. He worked with Buck on Baseball Tonight before Buck took the Orioles job, so Tim's always been one of Buck's biggest supporters. Tim also took notice (again, if I remember correctly) of the how the Orioles finished 2011 strongly.

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I'm almost certain Tim didn't say anything like that.

If I remember correctly, Tim was one of the few Baseball Tonight guys high on the Orioles before the 2012 season. I believe he spent time with the team in Spring Training and came away impressed. He worked with Buck on Baseball Tonight before Buck took the Orioles job, so Tim's always been one of Buck's biggest supporters. Tim also took notice (again, if I remember correctly) of the how the Orioles finished 2011 strongly.

Just curious, how did you score this interview? Is TK someone you know, or did you just contact him cold?

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