The Maryland Sports Blog

News broke over the weekend via MLBTradeRumors.com, that twice former Oriole, Miguel Tejada, was in conversation to potentially rejoin the Birds!  As Roch Kubatko tweeted, Tejada will sign tomorrow (a minor league contract), and report to Sarasota for workouts.  This took many, including myself, by surprise.  I knew Mark Reynolds was struggling defensively and offensively, but who would have guessed.

While Tejada is in the twilight of his career at 37 years old, Dan Duquette must have seen something in him to think he can still contribute at the major league level.  As mentioned previously, this will be Tejada’s third stint with the team.  He left the Oakland Athletics and signed via free agency with the Orioles to a 6 year $72 million contract after 2003.  He had a career year in 2004, his first with the Orioles, leading all of baseball with 150 RBIs while hitting 34 home runs.  The Orioles traded him in 2007 to the Astros and news broke quickly after about performance enhancing drugs in The Mitchell Report.

Tejada found his way back to Baltimore in 2010, signing a 1 year contract for $6 million.  Late that year, he was traded to the San Diego Padres.  He last played in 2011, with the San Francisco Giant, appearing in 91 games.  His full career stats can be found here.  Tejada had big power for the SS position, coming up around the same time as A-Rod, Nomar, and Jeter.  At this point, he may still have some power left, but he is far from the player we first saw in 2004.  I feel like he and Reynolds may split time, and he could fill in at shortstop if Hardy needs rest.  With that said, he has to be promoted first.  Tejada is remembered as a former Oriole, who has had controversy in his career (steroids, false age).  Let’s see what he has left!!

Feel free to comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Should he be welcomed back with open arms?  Do we need him? Keep it here for more updates on this story!

 

The Baltimore Orioles made some moves today while the Baltimore Ravens were off. The biggest news to come out of the Orioles organization is the hiring of new manager Buck Showalter. Showalter will take over the Orioles on Tuesday, this gives him time to evaluate the organization before next season.

I personally love this move, I was beginning to worry that the Orioles would wait too long and let Showalter get away. Showalter has a career record of 882-833, he is known for his attention to detail and bringing losing teams and making them winners.

Also, third basemen Miguel Tejada was traded today to the San Diego Padres for minor league pitcher Wynn Pelzer and cash. Pelzer will report to Bowie the Orioles AA affiliate.

I think this is another good move because it gives Showalter a chance to see what third basemen Josh Bell can do. Oh and Bell was also recalled today but can not play until Saturday because of the 10-day rule.

It will be nice to see Josh Bell get some actual playing time with the big club.

What do you guys and girls think of the moves today?

The Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays battled back and forth for nearly five hours on Tuesday night, but it was the O’s that ended up on top with an 11-10 victory in 13 innings at Camden Yards.

The Birds jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with three consecutive solo home runs in the second inning…after Luke Scott got things started, Ty Wigginton and Adam Jones followed with blasts that put the O’s on the board and brought the crowd to its feet. It was the first time the Orioles had hit back-to-back-to-back homers since 1995. Scott connected for another round-tripper in the third inning.

Tampa Bay hit solo home runs off starter Jake Arrieta in both the third and fourth innings, and with the O’s ahead 4-2, all six runs had come from solo shots…Tampa Bay added another run on the eighth inning on yet another solo homer. Strangely enough, all seven long balls hit on Tuesday night came with the bases empty…

The two teams battled back and forth over the later innings…the O’s lost the early lead in the sixth inning but continued to keep the game close with timely hitting. Down 9-7 heading into the ninth, Miguel Tejada connected for his second two-run double of the night, knotting the game at nine and sending it into extra innings.

After the Rays scored a run in the top of the 12th, the Orioles answered right back with a run to keep the game alive. Koji Uehara shut down Tampa in the 13th and picked up his first win after the Birds methodically took down Lance Cormier (remember him?) in the bottom of the inning…

Cesar Izturis led-off with a walk, and Felix Pie advanced him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Julio Lugo, who had entered the game in the ninth as a pinch-runner for Tejada, slapped a single to right field to score Izturis and give the O’s a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

With the win, the Birds are now 30-63 for the season and have won their first game of the second half. After playing until almost midnight, both teams will take the field early Wednesday afternoon for the series finale. Brad Bergesen gets the start for the O’s…

Adam Jones- The power has been there but sometimes he looks like a catcher playing center field. He has regressed in the field and has not improved at the plate. He swings at too many balls to be elite. Grade: D+

Nick Markakis- Markakis has done everything he can for this team. The home run numbers have dropped but he is still hitting doubles and has a career high in batting average. Grade: B+

Corey Patterson- Who would’ve thought Patterson would be intentionally walked so the pitcher could face Miguel Tejada; this happened against the Texas Rangers several nights ago. Patterson has provided more than a spark, he has been one of the best hitters for the Orioles. Grade: A

Ty Wigginton- Ty might’ve been the lone Orioles All-Star, but his offense has dropped since the start of the season. He has been a great team player for the Orioles and provided power. Grade: B

Luke Scott- Stats-wise, Luke may be hitting well, but he does not always show good plate discipline. He is a veteran that should know what pitches to swing at and in what counts. Striking out after getting a 3-0 count makes it hard to give Scott a high grade. Grade: C

Matt Wieters- His defense has been great but his offensive numbers have dropped from last year. He started off the season well so maybe his offensive struggles are from wear-and-tear. Grade: C

Cesar Izturis- He gets a higher grade than some players that have higher offensive numbers because his job is to play good defense. His bat has been better than I expected and he has had to work with a lot a variety of second basemen. Grade: C+

Miguel Tejada- Miggy’s defense has been terrible and his offense has not been consistent. Not the player he used to be. Grade: C

Nolan Reimold- This one hurts, I almost want to give him a pass with all the things that have been going on with him. Grade: F

Felix Pie- He would be getting a solid A+ if he could stay healthy. Grade: B

Kevin Millwood- He started off the season pitching great, but was let down his teammates lack of run support. Who knows, his inability to secure a win early on might have worn on him. With that being said, he has been good at eating up innings. Grade: C+

Craig Tatum- For a backup catcher Tatum has done everything anyone could ask of him. Grade: B+

Jeremy Guthrie- He has pitched better than I thought he would and like all the other Orioles pitchers has had little run support. Grade: C+

Brian Matusz- Again, in what seems like a recurring theme: has had very little run support. Matusz has had his ups and down but for the most part, he has been average to above average. Grade: C+

Jason Berken- Is there a higher grade than A+? I’ll admit it, I wrote this guy off last year after getting rocked as a starter. Without a doubt, he has found his niche in the bullpen. Grade: A++

David Hernandez- Much like Berken, he could not make it as a starter but has found a home in the bullpen. Grade: B

Alfredo Simon- For a starter to be thrown into the closer’s role right after Tommy John surgery, you can not ask for much more from Simon. Grade: B+

Chris Tillman- He showed huge improvement in his last start, taking a no hitter into the seventh inning against a vaunted Rangers offense. If this success continues in the second half, an A might in store for him. Grade: D+

Julio Lugo- This guy represents everything that is what is wrong with the Orioles. His attitude has got to change. Grade: F

Mark Hendrickson- In short, he is worse than last year. His responsibility is to be an innings eater and has failed to do so many times this season. Grade: D

Garrett Atkins- It pained me to even type his name. If it was a number rating it would be in the negatives. Power hitter that can not hit for power or average. Grade: Z

Matt Albers- If only he could pitch the way he eats. In all honesty, Fatt Alb…I mean Matt Albers has pitched better lately. Grade: E+

Brad Bergesen- Two freak injuries have really messed up his mechanics. What a shame. Grade: D

Jake Arrieta- He has had his struggles but has also shown great potential. Grade: B

The O’s tied a season-high with five homers on Wednesday night, beating the Oakland A’s 9-6 at Camden Yards.

(It’s hard to believe, but the Birds hit five homers against the Red Sox on May 1st…)

Just like the previous wins over the past week, it wasn’t easy…the Orioles had to come from behind yet again…

The O’s went up 3-0 thanks to Adam Jones. Jones blasted a two-run shot in the second inning and followed that with an RBI double in the third.

The Birds played sloppy defense in the fourth…two errors in the inning helped the A’s put up six runs and take a commanding 6-3 lead.

The bullpen was spectacular yet again, shutting down Oakland for the rest of the game (five relievers through four innings surrendered just two hits, one walk and no runs), and the offense sprung to life to give the O’s yet another come-from-behind victory.

Jones, Ty Wigginton and Miguel Tejada all smacked two-run blasts, while Corey Patterson and Luke Scott each had solo shots. After Wigginton tied the game, Scott went deep to give the Birds a 7-6 lead in the seventh inning that they would never relinquish…

The bad news: Scott injured his hamstring rounding first base (not thinking the ball was gone, Scott hustled around first), and will probably be out until after the All-Star Break…

The O’s finish the homestand Thursday night…Jake Arrieta takes the mound…let’s see if the Birds can take two straight series! Go O’s!