The Orioles won three in a row again, can they make it four?
Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! I hope you had a nice weekend. The Orioles sure did, as they picked up their first sweep of the season against the White Sox.
I attended yesterday’s game and it was a lovely time. The weather was great, and it was Youth Sports League Day so there were tons of kids having a great time. Pretty much any day at the ballpark is a good day, but seeing a win and a sweep made it a lot sweeter.
I think it’s fair to say that probably the only AL team that the Orioles could have swept this weekend was the White Sox. But as someone who has watched a lot of bad baseball in my life, I have learned to take the good times as they come. And I am never going to feel bad about watching the Orioles get a weekend sweep on a beautiful spring day just because they made some missteps in the process.
I do have one complaint about Camden Yards this year. They have made the absolutely insane choice to play music between every pitch of the game. It’s absolutely nuts, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t mind a lot of the stuff they do as part of in-stadium entertainment.
I like a lot of the between-innings videos they do, especially those with the players answering questions or doing funny bits. When they introduced the host who comes onto the big screen between innings for various activities, I wasn’t crazy about it. But I know it’s not for me, and now I barely notice it. Live hot dog races? Great, bring them on.
But this music thing? Between every pitch? It has GOT TO GO. I understand the appropriately placed “Charge!” or some rally music when it fits the situation. But yesterday I had to sit through five seconds of nonsense music between every single pitch. It is not ok.
Can we give the fans the chance to choose their own feelings about how things are going? Will there never be a chance the entire season, when we’re allowed to just let the moment breathe or the momentum build on its own? Are we destined to be overstimulated to the point of no return?
Is it just me? Do I have a point, or am I just a crochety old lady whose time has passed? Let me know in the comments.
The Orioles are off today as they travel west. Tomorrow, they start a three-game series against the Mariners. Then they will go to Sacramento for a weekend series against the Athletics. Four of the six games being played are 10 p.m. games, so if you want to take a break from the Orioles, this is your chance.
Links
Morton’s 2nd straight quality start makes O’s history & secures 1st sweep since ’24 – Orioles.com
Look, any time Charlie Morton does pretty much anything this year, he is going to set the record as the oldest Orioles starting pitcher to do that. Let’s just hope it’s more good things than bad.
Sunday Notes: Back On Track, Mikey Romero Is a Red Sox Prospect To Watch | FanGraphs Baseball
David Laurila talked to Gunnar Henderson about the evolution of his hitting since making his ML debut.
Orioles face roster crunch with Cowser, Westburg close – Baltimore Sun
I mean, will they? Have you seen some of the guys on the roster?
Morton comes up big again and small-ball Orioles complete sweep with 3-2 win – MASN Sports
Roch Kubatko wrapped up the game and got the team quotes you’re looking for.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have three Orioles birthday buddies, my apologies if you haven’t heard of them. Roger Freed (b. 1949, d. 1996), Bob Saverine (84), and Jack O’Connor (67) were all born on this day in history. Saverine appeared in a total of 170 games between 1959 and 1964. Freed and O’Connor were both one-season Orioles. Freed got into four games in 1970, O’Connor into 29 games in 1987.
On this day in 1958, Brooks Robinson hit into the first of four triple plays in his career. That’s a weird major league record to hold, but there you go.
In 1959, the game between the Orioles and White Sox was delayed due to swarms of gnats. Groundskeepers eventually got rid of them by using a smoke bomb intended to be used as part of the postgame fireworks.
In 1999, the Orioles drafted Brian Roberts in the first round (50th overall) of the amateur draft. The Orioles had a whopping seven picks in the first round and Roberts was the last one player they took. Roberts played for the Orioles from 2001-2013 and was a fan favorite through the dark years.
In 2012, the Orioles purchased Steve Pearce from the Yankees. It was the first of four times the Orioles would acquire Pearce between 2012 and 2016.
One year ago today, the Orioles lost to the Rays, 4-3. They had a three-run lead after four innings thanks to Gunnar Henderson’s 19th home run and RBI singles by Adley Rutschman and Anthony Santander. Cole Irvin pitched 6.1 innings with two runs allowed and Dillon Tate gave up two runs in the eighth to lose the lead and the game. Henderson reached base five times in the game.