An Orioles’ prospect looked good in his debut, the O’s won, Melanie Newman is a role model, and Jorge López may be done for the year.
Good morning Birdland,
Yesterday’s win was big, or at least as big as a September win can be for a team that is 30+ games out of a playoff spot. It was the 44th win of the season for the Orioles. That is bad, but it is not as bad as the 2003 Tigers, who only won 43 games all year. So, while this campaign has been a nightmare, it still isn’t the worst for a big league team this century. That is something.
The other significant happening was the major league debut of Mike Baumann. Entering the season, Baumann was considered the organization’s best pitching prospect outside of Grayson Rodriguez and D.L. Hall., and he was closer to being ready for Baltimore than those two. So, it was reasonable to assume he would get a good run in the team this summer. But injuries derailed much of his season and pushed his debut back to Tuesday night.
Fortunately, it was worth the wait. Baumann didn’t allow an earned run in 3.2 innings of work while serving up two hits, walking one, and striking out one. He did not miss a ton of bats, but his velocity and movement looked really good, better than many of the Quad-A types that the Orioles have trotted out to the mound this year.
The Orioles may handle him with kid gloves for the remainder of this season, but he should be a rotation candidate next spring. Hopefully that goes better for him than it did for some of his prospect friends earlier this year.
Links & Notes
Veteran Matt Harvey keeps giving the Orioles ‘bonus’ starts. Soon, he might give up his rotation spot to a rookie. | The Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles were determined to get exactly what they have received from Matt Harvey this year. A 6.28 ERA is not ideal, but the 123.1 innings he has pitched have been helpful, and they prevented the Orioles from digging even deeper into what has proven to be a shallow pool of pitching at Triple-A.
Young girl meets her hero at O’s game | MLB.com
This was a cool moment to follow along on Twitter last night. It is further proof that representation matters. If you can see it, you can be it, and Melanie Newman is going to be role model for a ton of young people who hope to get into broadcasting.
Orioles Select Manny Barreda | MLB Trade Rumors
This promotion got a little buried in the Baumann call-up. It is a neat story for Manny Barreda. He will be 33 years old next month, and has been in affiliated ball since 2007. That is a long time to wait for your dream to come true.
Hyde on Baumann, López and Harvey, Mancini on oblique | School of Roch
Come for the quotes on Baumann, stay for the unfortunate injury news on Jorge López and Hunter Harvey.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Nick Hundley turns 38 today. He appeared in 50 games for the 2014 Orioles, sharing duties behind the plate with Caleb Joseph after starter Matt Wieters went down with an elbow injury early in the season.
- Another former catcher, Al Pardo, celebrates his 59th today. He was an Oriole from 1985 through 1986, playing in 50 total games for them with a .330 OPS.
- Don Aase is 67. The right-handed pitcher had a 13-season MLB career, which included a four-year stint in Batimore from 1985 through 1988. He was a steady presence in the bullpen, and even earned an All-Star nod in 1986.
- The late George Werley (d. 2013) was born on this day in 1938. He played one big league game, and it came as a 17-year-old for the 1956 O’s.
- Another posthumous celebration for Lou Sleater (d. 2013), who was born in 1926. He wrapped up his career with six games pitching for the 1958 Orioles.
Orioles history
1993 – The Orioles acquire outfielder Lonnie Smith from the Pirates in exchange for two minor leaguers to be named later.
2012 – A 5-4 defeat of the Yankees pulls the Orioles even with their foes for first play in the AL East. However, Nick Markakis is lost for the remainder of the season with a broken left thumb after CC Sabathia hits him with a pitch in the fifth inning.