Holliday learning, spring observations, and Contreras as a starter.
Good Morning Birdland!
It’s March! Regular season baseball starts this month, but that’s still a 3.5-week wait for the Orioles. Before that, we have a whole bunch of practice games and cold weather to get through. There may be no longer stretch of the entire offseason.
If some of the games left on the Grapefruit League schedule play out like Friday’s 13-10 win over the Twins, that will make it more bearable. The O’s entered the ninth inning down 10-5, then scored eight unanswered runs to win going away. Jackson Holliday had two hits, including a two-run homer, and stole a base.
It does not sound like there will be any additional updates on Gunnar Henderson this weekend. The shortstop was still sore on Friday after leaving the team’s Thursday game with discomfort on his lower right side. So they are giving him the whole weekend off.
The team does not seem alarmed, as they are not even getting an MRI done on the injury. But side/oblique issues are known to linger, so it will get worrying if the injury carries too far into next week.
Thankfully, as I whined a few paragraphs ago, these is still a decent chunk of the spring left ahead of us. That gives Henderson—as well as Jordan Westburg, who is battling lower back soreness—the time they need to get fit and back into the flow of things.
There is some Orioles action to check out today. They will be hosting the Pirates at Ed Smith Stadium, first pitch coming at 1:05. And there will even be local radio and TV coverage. We are really being spoiled on this Saturday afternoon.
Links
How important is Martinez’s high-speed fastball? | MASN
It’s still tough to see where Rodolfo Martinez could fit in this bullpen. The big fastball is great, but the O’s relief corps is deep and quite proven. Martinez would be a gamble that might not be worth taking.
In year 2, Holliday looks to O’s legends for infield advice | Orioles.com
There has been a whole lot of Jackson Holliday love this spring. It makes sense. He struggled last year, but there is no doubt about the talent. If things click for him, the Orioles suddenly have their lead off hitter and everyday second baseball for the next five years. That would be a big deal.
A dozen observations from Orioles spring training | Roch Kubatko
Some nice quick hits to get you up to speed on the O’s camp so far. It’s all quite positive, as you would expect for a team that plans on being back in the playoffs this year. I’m interested in anything about Grayson Rodriguez. The Orioles really need him to be coming into form. So far, it sounds like that is happening.
Orioles Building Up Roansy Contreras As Potential Starter | MLB Trade Rumors
The Orioles liked Contreras enough to claim him twice this offseason. That doesn’t mean he is making the team, but there’s something interesting about him. If there is an injury to Albert Suárez, Contreras feels like the likely guy to step in as a multi-inning/long man bullpen option.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Omar Daal is 53 years old. He pitched in 19 games for the 2003 Orioles, representing the end of his 11-season MLB career.
- The late Larry Brown (b. 1940, d. 2024) was born on this day. The infielder played 17 games for the Orioles during the 1973 season.
- It’s a posthumous birthday for Bert Hamric (b. 1928, d. 1984). He played just eight games for the Orioles during the 1958 campaign.
- The late Howie Fox (b. 1921, d. 1955) was also born on this day. He pitched in 38 games for the Orioles in 1954.
This day in history
March 1st has been a slow day in Orioles history, according to Baseball Reference. So here are a few things that have happened on this date beyond Birdland:
1692 – The Salem witch trials begin when Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba are brought befor local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts,
1781 – The Articles of Confederation go into effect in the United States.
1867 – Nebraska is admitted as the 37th U.S. state.
1896 – Henri Becquerel discovers radioactive decay.
1998 – Titanic becomes the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide.