Birds Watcher » Orioles http://birdswatcher.com A Baltimore Orioles Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Fri, 24 May 2013 11:59:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 Baltimore Expected to Call Up Top Pitching Prospect Kevin Gausman http://birdswatcher.com/2013/05/22/baltimore-expected-to-call-up-top-pitching-prospect-kevin-gausman/ http://birdswatcher.com/2013/05/22/baltimore-expected-to-call-up-top-pitching-prospect-kevin-gausman/#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 07:08:10 +0000 Margaret Hooper http://birdswatcher.com/?p=8063 Last season, much was made about the masterful job Orioles manager Buck Showalter did with the patchwork starting rotation in order to use the strong bullpen to his advantage. This season, life at Camden Yards for the pitchers has come back down to earth, it seems, so reinforcements are being called in, or in this [...]

Baltimore Expected to Call Up Top Pitching Prospect Kevin Gausman - Birds Watcher - Birds Watcher - A Baltimore Orioles Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

]]> Last season, much was made about the masterful job Orioles manager Buck Showalter did with the patchwork starting rotation in order to use the strong bullpen to his advantage. This season, life at Camden Yards for the pitchers has come back down to earth, it seems, so reinforcements are being called in, or in this case, called up.

Mar 9, 2012; Fort Myers, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (75) pitches during the game against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park. The Orioles defeated the Red Sox 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

According to MASN.com & FoxSports.com, the team is preparing to call up highly touted starting pitcher & 2012 top draft pick Kevin Gausman to make the start in Toronto on Thursday against the Blue Jays.

Gausman, 22, rated as the team’s overall #2 prospect, may be coming up to the big leagues earlier than expected, but it doesn’t come as a huge shock, especially with the pitching struggles the team has dealt with this season. The team’s number one rated prospect, fellow pitcher Dylan Bundy, has been dealing with some lingering arm soreness and isn’t scheduled to start throwing again for a couple of weeks.

According to Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com,

Entering Wednesday, the Orioles had received three consecutive starts of six innings or more, but prior to that, the club endured a seven-game stretch in which it got five innings or fewer from its starter six times. The O’s have already used 10 starting pitchers, and Gausman would be taking the turn of Jair Jurrjens, who allowed four runs over five innings in his one start before being optioned on Tuesday.

While he is only 2-4 with a 3.11 in eight starts for AA Bowie this season, his current strikeout to walk ratio is the stuff that makes scouts drool, 49 : 5. It is that stat, according to FoxSports.com, along with Gausman’s command, that gives the team confidence that Gausman is ready to make the leap to the major leagues. He has pitched just 64 1/3 pro innings, but he has been pitching well as of late, fanning 10 batters in his most recent outing.

Gausman did spend a lot of time with the major league club during spring training, but here’s a quick video the Baysox put together to introduce him to Orioles fans.

It’s tough NOT to think about a comparison between Gausman and wunderkid 3rd baseman Manny Machado, who made the big league jump at age 20 last season and has started extremely well this season in the field and at the plate.

May 19, 2013; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado (13) throws over to first base to get out Tampa Bay Rays first baseman James Loney (not shown) in the sixth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Gausman will need to be afforded some time to work out the kinks and butterflies that accompany being called up for the first time, but there’s a reason the O’s selected him so high last year. Be sure to check out the Orioles this Thursday, May 23 against Toronto as the seemingly never-ending game of musical pitchers continues and Gausman makes his first major league start.


For those of you on Twitter, Gausman’s handle is @KevinGausman.

]]> http://birdswatcher.com/2013/05/22/baltimore-expected-to-call-up-top-pitching-prospect-kevin-gausman/feed/ 0 Orioles Notable Quotables – May 20th http://birdswatcher.com/2013/05/20/orioles-notable-quotables-may-20th/ http://birdswatcher.com/2013/05/20/orioles-notable-quotables-may-20th/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 05:09:12 +0000 Margaret Hooper http://birdswatcher.com/?p=8032 Another game, another tough loss. While this one may be remembered for yet another “was or was that not a home run?” the fact is, the O’s have lost five straight, and while it’s a little early to be hitting the panic button (this team is young, all things considered, average age of 27.9), I [...]

Orioles Notable Quotables – May 20th - Birds Watcher - Birds Watcher - A Baltimore Orioles Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

]]> Another game, another tough loss. While this one may be remembered for yet another “was or was that not a home run?” the fact is, the O’s have lost five straight, and while it’s a little early to be hitting the panic button (this team is young, all things considered, average age of 27.9), I thought I’d check in with the Twitter vibe about the O’s. Below are a few notable quotables from the past couple of days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a tough stretch, 53 games into the season and heading into the hot summer months. The offense and the pitching have both had stretches where they’ve been superior, maybe just not necessarily at the same time. Look at the positives, though. According to ESPN.com, the Orioles are 3rd in runs scored (212), 5th in slugging percentage (.440) and 5th in team batting average (.267), continuing the team-wide improvement. Pitching has been dealing with injuries and lack of a consistency starting rotation, but Jim Johnson has been (almost) lights out. Tomorrow, the team is in primetime on Monday Night Baseball at home against CC Sabathia & the division-leading Yankees, it’s a solid chance for players to shake off the tough start to the homestand and finish May on an upswing.

Ending on a fun note, the 13th seeded Orioles are in the finals(!) of the ESPN.com Battle of the Uniforms. They’re facing off against the top NL seed St. Louis Cardinals after knocking off the top AL seed Tigers and the 2nd seed Yankees. Like Jim Caple said, “As fans of the comedy series “Portlandia” know, the secret to merchandising is to slap a bird on it. And apparently, the same holds true for baseball uniforms.” Here’s the link, vote O’s!

Battle of the MLB Uniforms

 

]]> http://birdswatcher.com/2013/05/20/orioles-notable-quotables-may-20th/feed/ 0 Like Last Season, Character Defines the Orioles http://birdswatcher.com/2013/05/04/like-last-season-character-defines-the-orioles/ http://birdswatcher.com/2013/05/04/like-last-season-character-defines-the-orioles/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 02:13:06 +0000 Amanda Redman http://birdswatcher.com/?p=7880 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. But the Orioles were able to bounce back [...]

Like Last Season, Character Defines the Orioles - Birds Watcher - Birds Watcher - A Baltimore Orioles Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

]]> 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.
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