Also including mattress advice from Jordan Westburg.
Hello, friends.
We are now just three weeks away from Orioles Opening Day. The O’s will be rolling through the Grapefruit League between now and then. They beat the Twins in a 5-2 game yesterday. An evening start time of 6:05 awaits tonight as the O’s once again face the Pirates. Will it be broadcast on Orioles TV or radio? No, don’t be silly. Of course it won’t. Zach Eflin is set as the starting pitcher for the exhibition.
Wednesday was a failure for the one big rule about spring training. You don’t want players to injure themselves. There weren’t any new injuries revealed on Wednesday, it’s more that a couple of previously-known ones turned out to be more serious than they have been indicated so far. Of biggest concern is Gunnar Henderson, whose lower right side discomfort has now been diagnosed as an intercostal strain. That’s the muscles around the ribs.
What made the update concerning is that before we knew about it, there was no question of Henderson promptly recovering and being ready again soon. However, as manager Brandon Hyde provided the update, he said that he’s merely “very, very hopeful” of Henderson being ready for Opening Day. It wasn’t a question, and now it is. That’s not great when it involves a player who was worth 9+ WAR a year ago. For now, it could be worse, but I’m more nervous about this than I was.
One other injury update that came along yesterday was about reliever Andrew Kittredge, who has been out due to knee soreness. The Orioles said that he’s had imaging done and the team will be getting multiple opinions. That probably doesn’t augur good news. One of the risks of signing a guy heading into his age 35 season is that he gets hurt before he can even pitch for you. It might not turn out great for the bullpen if the one guy signed for the back-end mix can’t even contribute.
There was some better news. Jordan Westburg is nearing a return after dealing with a sore back. He said the back spasms cropped up after his spring rental house had too soft of a mattress, which he has helped by getting a mattress topper. On Monday, Hyde had said Westburg would be back yesterday. That ended up not happening. Going into Thursday, Westburg playing is a possibility but not being promised. Westburg said he’s resumed full workouts.
Around the blogO’sphere
Rodriguez “sluggish” in second spring start (School of Roch)
This one isn’t lumped in with the injuries because Grayson Rodriguez didn’t say anything about one, but if you’re a little worried until you see the velocity and control return, I don’t blame you.
Have you heard? Camden Yards getting temporary speakers to improve sound quality (The Baltimore Banner)
The big changes aren’t coming until 2026. For this year, though, speakers are supposed to be attached to the center field scoreboard to try to solve some of the park’s audio issues in the short term.
Elias on building the Orioles and the 2025 draft (Baltimore Baseball)
Some interesting thoughts here from Mike Elias about his evolving role in how directly he gets involved with the draft now that the team’s not picking in the top five any more.
Five under-the-radar Orioles who could make an impact in 2025 (The Baltimore Sun)
Does Trevor Rogers count as being under the radar? I do hope he can find a way to make a positive impact, at any rate.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2010-13 pitcher Jake Arrieta, and 1990-93 pitcher Anthony Telford. Useless fact: I was at the MLB debut for each of these players. Today is Telford’s 59th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: artist Michelangelo (1475), author Cyrano de Bergerac (1619), poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806), Maryland-born Baseball Hall of Famer Lefty Grove (1900), author Gabriel Garcia Márquez (1927), baseball Hall of Famer Willie Stargell (1940), and basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal (1972).
On this day in history…
In 1820, President Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise into law, which provided that Missouri would enter the Union as a slave state, Maine would balance by entering as a free state, and that northern parts of the Louisiana Territory would remain free of slavery.
In 1857, the Supreme Court proclaimed in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case that Black people were not granted citizenship by the Constitution. This decision was part of what destroyed the above-mentioned Missouri Compromise.
In 1951, the espionage trial against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were accused of being Russian spies, began. The Rosenbergs were eventually convicted and executed for delivering secrets to the Soviet Union.
**
And that’s the way it is in Birdland on March 6. Have a safe Thursday.