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Good morning Birdland,
The final day of February has arrived. Our long wintery nightmare is nearly over. Today is expected to be a sunny one around Baltimore, with temperatures nearing 60 degrees! And while I don’t want to jinx anything, I may have taken a gander at the ever-inaccurate 10-day forecast and spotted an upcoming day with a high in the 70s. The great thaw has begun.
It’s not just the temperatures that are heating up this week. The baseball is too. What a segue!
The World Baseball Classic will get underway in the next few days. There are a ton of exhibition games on Tuesday, including an Orioles game against the Netherlands. On Wednesday night at 10 p.m. ET, Taiwan and Australia will play the first game of Pool Play, and then we are off and running. The United States’ first game is against Brazil on Friday night at 8 p.m. ET.
The Orioles have a rather lengthy list of players that will be taking part in the WBC. Many of them are prospects, but it also includes Gunnar Henderson, Dean Kremer, and Tyler O’Neill, as well as a few bullpen options. Just stay healthy out there, guys!
Speaking of health, we are still waiting to hear more on Samuel Basallo. The latest there is that the side injury he suffered earlier in the week was not a major issue. Craig Albernaz said the catcher could have stayed in the game, but the team was being cautious. For now, he is not scheduled to get any testing done. He’s just resting it.
But these are the Orioles weren’t talking about. They aren’t known for their transparency on the injury front. We’ll believe it when we see Basallo back in the lineup, and not a moment before.
Maybe he will return to the field this weekend. We shall see! The O’s will play the Braves today at 1:05, and then the Red Sox at the same time on Sunday. Both games will be on MASN and local radio.
Links
Baz shows why O’s traded for him with electric 1st outing of spring | MLB.com
If you had to pick one player as “the talk of Orioles camp” it’s probably Pete Alonso, but Shanze Baz might be a close second. All of the reviews of his stuff have been raving, and now he has an impressive Grapefruit League outing under his belt. The Orioles are putting a lot of eggs into the Baz basket, so they need him to pan out.
Blaze Alexander’s slight swing change shows promise; Shane Baz makes Orioles debut | The Baltimore Banner
Whatever the Orioles get from Alexander offensively is a bonus. They really just need him to lock down second base—or wherever he plays—while the lineup gets healthier. Run prevention can be just as important as run scoring, especially while Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday rehab their respective injuries.
Orioles appear to catch a break with Basallo | Roch Kubatko
The indications on this are good. Basallo is saying he feels good. He is still around the team and smiling. Hopefully there are no setbacks and we see him back on the field in the next few days.
Orioles’ Bradfield on playing for Team Panama in World Baseball Classic: ‘A fun opportunity’ | Baltimore Baseball
For players that haven’t made it to the majors yet, the WBC seems like a great chance to play in a competition with elevated stakes and major league-adjacent talent. Bradfield is a player that will probably get to Baltimore sometime this summer, so anything he can do to prepare himself for those slightly brighter lights feels worthwhile.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Mike Milchin turns 58 today. The lefty pitched in 13 games for the Orioles in 1996, accumulating a 5.73 ERA over 11 total innings.
- Dallas Williams is 68 years old. He had a two-game stint with the Birds in 1981.
- The late Dick Kokos (b. 1928, d. 1986) was born on this day. He was on the Orioles team that came over with the organization from St. Louis in 1954. He had spent four seasons with the Browns, but lasted just 11 games with the Orioles.
This day in O’s history
2023 – The Orioles and Pirates play an unofficial bottom of the ninth inning without umpires. The home team Pirates had already won the game, 7-4, and the umpires headed to the locker room. But both teams agreed to play another half inning in order to get more spring reps for their players. Orioles catcher Maverick Handley fills in for the missing officials, receiving the pitches and calling the balls and strikes. No additional runs are scored as Orioles pitcher Ofreidy Gomez allows just one hit before the game ends…unofficially.