Birds Watcher » Darren O’Day

Like Last Season, Character Defines the Orioles

Amanda Redman — Sun, 05 May 2013 02:13:06 +0000

Friday night’s game against the Angels was ugly. There was poor defense, poor base running, and to top it all off, Chris Davis hobbled off the field in the 4th inning. It was the type of game that can really mess with any team’s rhythm and confidence.

Character leads to Orioles wins. Photo Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

But the Orioles were able to bounce back Saturday afternoon. Behind an extremely strong start by Freddy Garcia, the Orioles carried a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the 7th. Despite an uncharacteristic blown save by Darren O’Day which extended the game to extra innings, unlikely hero Steve Pearce singled in what would be the winning run in the top of the 10th.

Every team is going to encounter some bumps along the way. Twitter was buzzing with negativity after Friday night’s loss. There is no doubt that playing poorly, coupled with the potential loss of Chris Davis could have been a turning point for a team which, to that point, had played quite well. Buck Showalter‘s team does not panic. They do not fall apart. They always maintain their confidence in each other.

As a whole, the team is quite even-keeled. It is only with the leadership of a strong, calm manager that this can happen. Showalter leads by example. When asked about the injury to Davis, and what the team would do, Buck explained that he wouldn’t panic. That he wouldn’t show his players that he is overly concerned. That’s pretty impressive considering that the AL Player of the Month was the injured man. That vote of confidence is what allows this team to continue to win, as they did last year, despite setbacks and injuries.

Every team is going to encounter some bumps along the way. It is how those bumps are handled that determines a team’s success.

Ayala declines WBC; Roberts’ buildup continues

Steve Katz — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:31:27 +0000

Spring Training has been going on for one week tomorrow, and I already need a calculator to figure out how often fans on Internet discussion boards have asked if Brian Roberts will be the Baltimore Orioles’ Opening Day second baseman. The best answer thus far, with not even an intrasquad game having been played yet, is that he thinks he will be, and he says he’s physically up to par.

There will be seven more Grapefruit League games this year due to camp starting so early because of the World Baseball Classic. Anyone who says he would like to get more at-bats probably will just by the nature of things. Buck Showalter will oblige Roberts sooner or later, but if Roberts’ body stands up to it, most of his at-bats will come in the last week or two of camp. An attempt will be made not to bore you with his progress and condition, but with second base and Roberts being such integral components in the team’s performance this year, don’t be surprised if you read a ton about it. A lot is riding on his consistent health and productivity.

Oct 10, 2012; The Bronx, NY; The Orioles’ Darren O’Day pitches against the Yankees in the ALDS. Photo: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Today the team has announced they’ve reached an agreement on Darren O’Day’s contract, two years with a club option for 2015. No, it is not Groundhog Day; I know that was reported recently. It turns out that report was from O’Day’s agency, and today’s news is the club making it official. Apparently his agent jumped the gun previously. So this gives us more than just one story. He agreed to terms, and his agent jumped the gun. Usually it’s the agent letting the negotiations take right up until the last possibly moment to get his client the most money and/or best deal possible. The important thing is that a reliever of O’Day’s caliber will be an Oriole for at least this season and next.

According to MASNSports.com, it was confirmed today that reliever Luis Ayala will not take part in the WBC. He pitched Winter Ball, and how much punishment can a pitcher put his arm through and stay effective for a whole year? Giving his arm some downtime, followed by the gradual buildup involved in camp, is the wise choice for him.

A week ago, we were counting down the days until camp started. Now we count down until the first Grapefruit League game, Saturday against the Twins at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. Can you feel it? More to come.

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O’s sign all arbitration-eligible players

Domenic A. Vadala — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 12:14:53 +0000

The Baltimore Orioles have officially signed all players that were previously eligible for arbitration as of yesterday afternoon. Last season the club went to arbitration with pitcher Brad Bergesen and won, while they came to terms with Adam Jones on the eve of his scheduled arbitration hearing. (Of course later on in the year the O’s signed Jones to a multi-year contract extension.) However in 2013 none of that will be an issue, as the team is set with all of it’s players inked to deals. The club agreed to a reported $6.75 million salary with closer Jim Johnson, while Jason Hammel agreed to a salary of somewhere between $8.25 and $6.75 million.

Courtesy of Joy Abalason

The Orioles also avoided arbitration with sidearm reliever Darren O’Day, signing him to a two-year contract worth a reported $5.4 million. (Reportedly there’s also a $4.25 million team option for 2015 with a $400,000 buyout.) The Orioles only needed to come to contract/salary terms with O’Day for 2013, however they went ahead and took care of him for next year also. In the world of relief pitchers, a two-year contract is a long-term deal. I think this tells us something about the past, present, and future. Dan Duquette recognizes that the bullpen has been a sore spot on the club for quite some time (preceding his arrival). So they felt O’Day did a good job for them last year, and went ahead and signed him potentially through 2015.

Over the years the Orioles haven’t gone to arbitration as often as some teams, however they haven’t necessarily been shy about it either. The club hasn’t lost an arbitration hearing since 1995 with pitcher Ben McDonald, so when they do go that route they generally win. It’s really a tight line to toe because if it’s a player such as Adam Jones the last thing you want to do is cause bad feelings over a player feeling like he’s being low-balled. However in last year’s aforementioned case with Brad Bergesen, quite frankly I thought that he was crazy not to take the salary offer he was given by the O’s (in the neighborhood of $800K) given his history of injuries and ineffectiveness. (Bergesen now plays in Japan.) In that case I don’t blame Bergesen as much as I do his agent, who was the driving force behind him going to arbitration. However regardless of that it’s always better for the team and it’s players to agree on a salary together as opposed to an arbitrator doing so. It makes for better chemistry once the season starts; that doesn’t appear to be an issue for the Orioles this year.