The spring opener, Sugano throws a live bullpen, and Holliday is getting ready.
Good Morning Birdland!
It’s Opening Day!…in the Grapefruit League. Look, these games do not come with the stakes or the structure of a regular season game, but they sure do beat scrolling social media looking for a 30-second clip of Gunnar Henderson taking live batting practice off of Keegan Akin from a weird angle in order to get your baseball fix. We’ll take it.
Albert Suárez will start the game on the mound, although it is unclear how long he will stick around. O’s manager Brandon Hyde did say earlier in the week that the team was planning to stretch Suárez out as a starter this spring. That makes sense, since he probably fits this team best as either a long man out of the bullpen, or even a starter should someone else suffer an injury. He is out of options, and considering the season he had in 2024, I would not expect him to make it through waivers if he does not make the Opening Day roster.
We also get the honor of hearing from the MASN announcing crew for this game. That will be something of a rarity this spring as the Orioles and MASN are not committed to broadcasting too many of these spring games.
While many of us may prefer Kevin Brown, Ben McDonald, and Jim Palmer in general, it really makes a difference during the spring. The local announcers tend to actually know the players from the depths of the club’s minors or the fringes of the roster, whereas an announcer from another team just doesn’t. It enriches the viewing experience.
If you are cool with listening or watching spring games presented by non-local announcers, then you will get to enjoy much more Orioles baseball over the next five weeks. That includes Sunday’s game, which will air on MLB Network but feature the Phillies announcing team.
But for today, we get all of the good things: Orioles baseball and Orioles announcers! It’s a good day.
Links
After strong ‘24 finish, Povich ready to ‘earn a spot’ in O’s rotation | Orioles.com
I am personally high on Povich after last year’s finish. His final numbers stink, but there were glimmers throughout the summer, and he looked really good in September. It’s tough to see where he could fit on this roster out of the gate, but you can be sure he will start games for the Orioles at some point.
The scene at Orioles pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano’s first live bullpen session | The Baltimore Banner
I really need to calm myself down about Sugano. All of the news coming out of camp is that he is impressing everyone. That’s great! But there is also a reason the guy got the relatively modest deal that he did. This is no sure thing.
Former Baltimore Orioles Starter Pens Heartfelt Goodbye Letter to City, Fans | SI.com
The landing spot for Means is pretty ideal. Cleveland knows how to develop and improve pitchers. Hopefully that happens for him as well, just not against the Orioles.
Hyde on Holliday: “I just want to see him play” | Roch Kubatko
Holliday is the X-factor of the entire season for me. If he can hold his own, the Orioles offense is going to be multi-dimensional and extremely deep. If he struggles again, well, the entire lineup might be slightly worse than 2024.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Brian Duensing is 42 years old. He appeared in 14 games out of the Orioles bullpen in 2016.
- Kelly Johnson turns 43. The infielder played for all five AL East teams during his 11-season career. That included a 19-game stint with the Orioles in 2014.
- Ramón Nivar celebrates his 45th birthday. He played seven games in the O’s outfield in 2005.
- John Halama is 53 today. The 17 games he pitched in for the 2006 Orioles were the end of his nine-season MLB career.
- The late Steve Barber (b. 1938, d. 2007) was born on this day. A Maryland native, he went on to spend eight seasons with the Orioles from 1960-67. That included all-star appearances in ‘63 and ‘66. The O’s added him to their team Hall of Fame in 1988.
- It’s a posthumous birthday for Ryne Duren (b. 1929, d. 2011). He played just one game with the Orioles, but it was his MLB debut in 1954. He spent a decade in the majors elsewhere.
This day in history
2014 – The Orioles sign free agent outfielder Nelson Cruz to a one-year, $8 million contract.