Home Run Derby up North, O's Win; Reynolds

Ah, there’s nothing like a good 'ol slugfest.

After being swept by the Yankees this week, the Orioles turned it on last night at the plate and beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-5, to start their three game series. There were seven home runs in the game on Friday night, but Baltimore’s offense turned it on late and the bullpen closed it out.

The Jays have owned the Orioles over the years, but on Friday that was not the case. It’s a nice way to start off a road trip that looks to be very tough on paper.

Both the Orioles and Blue Jays traded the lead a few times and were deadlocked until the eighth inning. Wilson Betemit came through a key moment, as his two-run single put Baltimore, up 6-5, and Nolan Remiold’s solo homer in the ninth inning – his first on the season – gave his team a comfortable cushion.

Closer Jim Johnson pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save on the season. Darren O’Day earned the win relief, pitching a perfect frame in the seventh and giving Baltimore a chance to come back.

Adam Jones – who drove in two runs – and Robert Andino also homered. Jones and Reimold had three hits.

Tommy Hunter – who started the game for Baltimore – labored through his outing as he went six innings on the night. Hunter gave up five runs – four earned – including four home runs. He certainly did not have the stuff he had in his season debut, but he did enough to keep his team amazingly in the game.

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The Jays Are on the Docket

This weekend, the Orioles start a long, ten-game road trip, and their first stop is in Toronto, Canada, as they face the Blue Jays. It's a three-game set up north, and with the Orioles now 3-3, plus mired in a three-game skid, they hope to get things back in order.

The Jays are 4-2 and are atop the American League East along with the Tampa Bay Rays. A small group of experts are pegging Toronto as a team that has an outside chance at the playoff, but not likely. However, they have a lot of young talent and are definitely on the rise within the division. It will be intriguing to watch them throughout the season and see where they end up.

Tonight, Tommy Hunter - who pitched very well in his first outing of the season - squares off against Brandon Morrow on the mound.

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Orioles Sign Veteran Pitcher Joel Pineiro to a Minor League deal

It looks like the Orioles have signed another pitcher with extensive major league experience to a minor league deal. They signed Joel Pineiro yesterday...

From the Orioles.com: The Orioles signed right-hander Joel Pineiro to a Minor League deal on Wednesday, in a continuing effort to add depth to the organization.

The 33-year-old Pineiro, who arrived at Baltimore's Minor League complex in Sarasota, Fla., on Wednesday, was signed by the Phillies in January but released a few days into Spring Training, and the Orioles could use him as a starter or potentially as a long man in the bullpen.

He has a career 104-93 record with a 4.41 ERA. The hurler has pitched for the Mariners, Cardinals, Angels, & Red Sox.

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Equipment Leasing Leads

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Again, if you’re looking to your customer base and make money at the same, pay a visit to VendorGenie.com

Bundy Dominates Again

It would be preposterous to bring Dylan Bundy to the majors right now; however, based on what he did for the Delmarva Shorebirds last night, it might be hard to quiet his buzz.

From the Baltimore Sun: Top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy was dominant again Wednesday night in his second pro start for the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds. He pitched three perfect innings and struck out six, including the last five batters he faced.

His line against Kannapolis was identical to his first regular-season performance. He has now faced 18 batters and struck out 12 of them, while not allowing a hit or walk.

No one is surprised that he is overmatching Single-A hitters, but it remains to be seen how long the Orioles keep him at Delmarva. If he continues to be unhittable, he'll probably be in Frederick before the end of the month.

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The Yankees Sweep Orioles; Kevin Gregg

The New York Yankees have always proven to be a pain-in-the-you-know-what for the Baltimore Orioles over the years, and last night was no exception.

For the second consecutive game, both teams went into extra innings; however, once again, the Yankees emerged victorious as they defeated the Orioles, 6-4, in ten innings.

After starting 3-0, Baltimore is now 3-3. We as fans can feel better that the games have not been blowouts; however, at this point – are the Orioles what they are?

So far, I think the Orioles are better than last year, but mediocre teams cannot give good teams umpteen chances to come back. In this series against the Yankees, they have done it time and time again.

In order to become a good baseball team, the Orioles need to secure a lead and close out a game. That’s the bottom line.

Of course, the Orioles had a golden chance to win in the 9^th inning as Adam Jones – who had a chance to a hero in the clutch – struck out with the bases loaded against reliever Rafael Soriano. That’s fine and well, and there’s no shame in striking out for Jones, but the Orioles have to capitalize on that situation.

Kevin Gregg – who got booed during the Opening Day pre-game ceremony – didn’t help out his public image. I feel for the guy, but last night he did not get the job done. Granted, he pitched two innings of relief, but got in trouble in the top of the tenth as he allowed a runner to reach base and gave up a devastating home run to Nick Swisher.

In the bottom of the tenth, it was game, set, match for the Orioles as Mariano Rivera put them away and earned his second save of this season, and his 605^th of his career.

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AT&T O's Bobblehead Promotion...

From the Baltimore Orioles...

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Orioles announce AT&T Fans' Choice Bobblehead details, five players selected

The Orioles today announced the voting procedures and players selected for the AT&T Fans’ Choice Bobblehead promotion. For the first time in Orioles history, fans will be able to select the player they want to be immortalized in a bobblehead giveaway, scheduled to be distributed during Fan Appreciation Weekend on Saturday, September 29 to the first 20,000 fans age 15 and over.

Fans can vote for any of five players selected by the Orioles who have not had a bobblehead before: third baseman MARK REYNOLDS, shortstop J.J. HARDY, RHP TOMMY HUNTER, RHP JAKE ARRIETA or second baseman ROBERT ANDINO.

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New Additions to CamdenYards20.com

The Orioles today revealed new additions to CamdenYards20.com, the online destination for everything related to Oriole Park at Camden Yards and its 20th anniversary season. New features include an Interactive Timeline, a fan photo gallery called My Yard, and special 1992 throwback pricing for select games in the Eutaw Street Bleachers.

The Interactive Timeline features a look back at Oriole Park's 20 years of milestones, complete with videos and photos to chronicle the construction of Camden Yards through Game 162 of last season. The timeline will continue to be updated for fans to view new key moments as they occur.

My Yard is a photo gallery for fans to upload and share their own Camden Yards memories. Fans are encouraged to upload photos of their friends, family and themselves at the ballpark.

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Chen Has Decent Debut; Orioles Lose Close One Late Against the Yankees...

Last night, the Baltimore Orioles played their longest game of the season – 12 innings – and lost to the New York Yankees, 5-4.

The Orioles have lost two in a row. They blew opportunity after opportunity on Tuesday and the Yankees won the game in the top of the eleventh as pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez drilled a ground-rule double to right off reliever Pedro Strop – who took the loss.

Strop allowed Cano to reach base and advance to second off a groundout by Alex Rodriguez before Ibanez’s fatal blow.

Former Oriole Clay Rapada earned the victory, and Mariano Rivera earned the save, the first of the season and the 604th of his long career. Rivera was flat-out dominant, and even at his advanced age, the Orioles seemingly had little chance once he came in.

Well, the big story of the night was the debut of Wei-Yin Chen. In his major league debut, Chen held his own against the Yankees until the sixth inning. Overall, he gave up four runs – two earned – in 5 2/3 innings, struck out six and walked one. He does not light up the radar gun, but used a mix of off-speed stuff and disrupting the batter’s timing to get outs.

Chen shows you the velocity on your pitches isn’t everything – but location is.


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Birds Drop First Game of Season, Yankees Win; Matusz Struggles

Last night, the Baltimore Orioles dropped their first game of the young season, losing to the New York Yankees, 6-2 at Camden Yards.

For Brian Matusz, who started his first game of the 2012 campaign after a year of struggles, well … struggled on Monday night.

He only lasted four innings, and threw 90+ plus pitches during that time frame. Not good. He seemed to be doing fine through the first three frames, as he only gave up a run; however, in the fourth, the Yankees plated in three runs and Matusz labored through the frame. He was pulled after that. However, he threw with some improved velocity – in the low 90’s – and got some help from his defense, but the New Yorkers were too much.

Overall, Matusz is certainly improved and had some good moments yesterday, but a veteran-filled New York lineup worked him and eventually waited for their pitches and jumped on him. He didn’t help his cause with four walks, and against a team like the Yankees, that’s deadly.

Matusz will probably get a few more starts to figure himself out; however, if he does not, his rope may be short, and with a lot of pitching depth in the organization, he might be sent back to Norfolk.

The bullpen was shaky thereafter, as Darren O’Day and Troy Patton each gave up runs; however, Kevin Gregg and Pedro Strop each kept the Yankees from scoring anymore.

For the Orioles, Matt Wieters hit his second homer of the year – a solo shot in the second inning off Yankee Starter Ivan Nova. Nova was solid, earning the win and giving up two runs in seven innings, although the Orioles got ten hits off of him.

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Matusz Against the Evil Empire

Tonight at Camden Yards, the Evil Empire – aka, the New York Yankees – come into town for a three game series.

Well, the Yankees are winless on the season and after being outplayed by the Tampa Bay Rays, they’ll be hoping for a reprieve in Baltimore.

However, the Orioles have been playing very well – having earned a series sweep over Minnesota.

In an earlier post James did a mini-preview of tonight’s game, but the story will definitely center on southpaw Brian Matusz.

We all know about his struggles from last year and the historic mark he sent. There’s no need to repeat it here.

Then again, Matusz pitched well down in Florida and it looked like that he exorcised the demons from 2011. He’ll face a challenge tonight against the Yankees and their powerful, potent, and veteran-filled lineup.

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Enjoy the sweep, enjoy it!

The Orioles swept the Twins and emotions are running high. They swept the Twins by way of three fantastic starting pitching performances: 22IP/ 3R/ 1ER/ 10H/ 12K/ 6BB. For a team that many national writers expect to lose 100 games and have one of the worst pitching staffs in recent baseball history - that is a very good start. Yet, the refrain I am hearing from too many people is: "yeah great, but it was the Twins and they aren't supposed to be good this year." Well neither are the Orioles right?

I thought the Orioles' best case scenario was 69 wins? I thought that the rotation would be worse then last year's because we traded away Guthrie? If those opinions were true then the Orioles should be celebrating every series win like it's VJ Day. If this team is supposed to be one of the absolute worst teams in baseball then the Twins should not be discounted as some are.

Listen, 3-0 is a great start no matter how you slice it. Sweeping a MLB team in a three-game set is hard enough no matter who you are playing and the Orioles deserve credit for a newly flawless weekend. I understand that no one wants to get too excited and no one should, but let's not discount a great weekend too much.

Tonight the Yankees come into town licking their wounds after being on the wrong-end of a three-game sweep at the hands of the Rays. Brian Matusz will be going up against 2011 wunderkind Ivan Nova, who is trying to forget a fairly underwhelming spring. Matusz has his first big test of 2012 trying to keep the starting pitching mojo working against the older, but still vaunted Yankee lineup.

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Photos: Minnesota Twins vs. Baltimore Orioles, April 8th

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In-House Marketing is Old-School Thinking

There’s a lot of talk these days about functioning in a “new normal economy.” That is, individuals and business owners have begun to bounce back from the massive economic crisis we’ve faced over the last several years, but they’ve also gotten used to doing more with less and finding ways to improve and grow while keeping an eye on the bottom line. That means, even as the economy inevitably bounces back, business owners will likely retain those frugal methods going forward, now that they see how some of the changes they’ve made were actually for the better.

One area small business owners almost universally cut back on during the recession was marketing. Many US businesses found they could no longer afford to have a full-time, fully staffed, in-house marketing department, and as a result, many, including a large number throughout Boston and Massachusetts, turned to outsourced marketing departments and advertising agencies. Boston isn’t unique in this, of course, and neither is the marketing industry. That is, Boston Search Engine Optimization companies and Boston web design providers aren’t the only businesses that are seeing their industries impacted by the new normal economy, nor is this phenomenon specific to the northeast. Everywhere in America today, small business owners are rethinking their old ways and learning how to do business better, even on a budget.

Now What?

In today’s economy, having an in-house marketing department is simply an outdated mode of thinking for small businesses. Why absorb the expense of hiring, consistently training, and managing a marketing department when you can access a wider, more experienced pool of talent by outsourcing? What that means for business owners here in Boston is that, if you haven’t already, it’s time to look at advertising agencies. Boston, like most cities, has more than its fair share of providers, and online searches for things like Boston Web Design and Boston Search Engine Optimization will yield huge results lists. So while online research is important, start looking for a marketing company by speaking to other business owners you know, particularly those who aren’t your competitors and who are having great marketing success.

Once you find and research a few advertising agencies, keep the following in mind:

• With marketing, you truly do have to find a company that has project managers and service providers with whom you really do “click.” You’ll be collaborating with these people a lot. Ask yourself: Would I hire this team if they had to work in the office with me regularly?
• All reputable advertising agencies will provide free initial consultations, and the better ad agencies in the area will always make sure you walk away from those meetings with some solid, actionable items you can pursue, whether you hire them or not.
• Make sure they come to you. If you’re in Massachusetts, and you’re interviewing a marketing agency, they should come, meet you and your staff, and get a feel for your business before making any recommendations about your SEO, Internet marketing, traditional advertising, or other marketing activities.

Good Relationships With Your Customers

Any business owner is going to tell you that it is important to keep regular contact with your customers. Although there are a number of different ways that you can do this, including mailing them postcards and even using social media, email is always going to be one of the most powerful choices that you have available. Of course, it is important for you to ensure that when you are choosing any email marketing tools, you keep the bigger picture in mind. This will allow you to get in contact with your customers in a way that will be non-offensive and will ensure that you are seeing the most benefits as a result. What are some of the email marketing solutions that you have available to you?

One of the most powerful things that you can do with email as a business is to have a newsletter. You can either gather the subscribers to your newsletter online using your website or perhaps by having them give you their email address at your place of business. The best email services that are available will give you an option of getting the email addresses online as well as locally. This will give you the benefit of having a larger list, which means that you will have a better opportunity of marketing to them properly. It is also important for you to understand that once you do have a list, you need to treat them properly as well. Instead of simply sending out marketing messages one after the other, send out interesting information so that your open rate will be higher.

Hammel Flirts With a No-No; Orioles Sweep Twins

It was a glorious Easter Sunday for the Baltimore Orioles as Jason Hammel had a no-hitter going through seven innings, and they defeated the Minnesota Twins, 3-1, to earn a series sweep.

Right now, the Orioles are 3-0 on the season and are tied for first place in American League East with the Tampa Bay Rays. For a team that was expected to be bad and see their pitching struggle, so far the Orioles have gotten one impressive performance on the mound after another.

On Sunday, it was Hammel’s turn. He went eight strong innings, gave a up a run, and retired 21 hitters in a row before Justin Morneau lined a double – that Nick Markakis inexplicably misplayed.

Newly acquired from the Rockies in a trade for Jeremy Guthrie, the fans at Camden Yards gave Hammel nothing but love after giving up the hit. Josh Willingham plated him in a few moments later; however, the significance of the day was not lost on anyone.

It had to be one of the finest performances by an Oriole pitcher that I’ve seen in a long time.

Baltimore once again got timely hits as J.J. Hardy’s homer – a solo shot - in the first inning gave them a 1-0 lead, and Wilson Betemit’s two-run double in the sixth innings raised the score to 3-0.

That being said, Hammel didn’t need much more on the offensive front by the Orioles.

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Orioles win game two, take series

For the second time in as many years the Orioles have won their opening series after taking game two from the visiting Minnesota Twins tonight at Camden Yards.

The 8-2 drubbing of the Twins featured three solo shots from the heart of the Orioles lineup. Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Matt Wieters all connected for solo shots. Robert Andino had a huge two-out two-RBI double in the fourth and Ronny Paulino, making his Oriole debut tonight, had a 4-4 night scoring twice.

Tommy Hunter started for the O's tonight and showed the 31 thousand person crowd what he is here to do: pound the strike zone; let the defense do its job and give the team a chance to win. Hunter lost the strike zone for a bit in the fourth but never broke inducing key grounders to get out of jams. He cruised, more or less, through seven innings of shutout baseball. Well, not quite shutout. In the eighth inning thirdbaseman Mark Reynolds bobbled a grounder allowing Ben Revere to get on. Hunter would give up a couple singles to load the bases before being replaced with Pedro Strop. Strop responded well throwing fire and minimizing the damage. Two unearned runs would score on fielder's choices from Jamey Carroll and Joe Mauer before Strop struk out Morneau on a 95 MPH fastball. Luis Ayala came out for the Orioles in the ninth and he quickly set the Twins down in order to secure the Orioles' second win of the season.

The team looked great tonight, the offense was clicking on all cylinders, Hutner and the rest of the staff was more than serviceable and despite Reynolds' miscue in the eighth the defense was on-point. Also, the Orioles looked good tonight the Orioles debuted their new orange alternate jerseys that they will wear every Saturday game. I love the orange jerseys, they are bright, fresh and distinctive. Hopefully those are three adjectives we can use to describe the Orioles for the rest of the year.

The Orioles have gotten off to good starts in the past, just last year they rattled off six wins in their first seven games before falling off into the cellar of the AL East. But taking a closer look, the O's were hanging right around .500 until June and July when the wheels came completely off the proverbial cart. To me that speaks to a lack of depth in the rotation, bench and bullpen. With the additions of Paulino, Wilson Betemit, Ayala and Ryan Flaherty the O's hoped to have a deeper team that looks to mitigate that usual midseason slide.

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Opening Day Thoughts

Opening Day has come and gone and yet again it was amazing.

It never ceases to amaze me the sheer amount of humanity that descends upon Baltimore on opening day. Every bar, every hotdog cart, every street corner is simply overflowing with people. The various critics of the organization and team always state that no one wants to talk about or really care about the Orioles anymore, yet Opening Day gives us a glimpse of what might be.

Obviously tonight's game against the Twins will not be as well attended as opening day was and not every game would be like that even in a good year but the point remains. After spending a day in the writhing sea of humanity that was downtown Baltimore yesterday you realize that this town wants to love the Orioles again and anyone who denies that is completely lost to their own curmudgeony ideology.

Random Thoughts about the day:

-The new hats make the Orioles look as if they have an entire new uniform, and they are great.

-It is really great to see Brady Anderson in an Orioles' uniform again.

-The new rooftop deck looks amazing, the food service was greatly improved over last year's opener - Natty Boh Brats all the way.

-I question the fence in the flag court. How long before we have a fan interference call out there? If you haven't seen it you are very close to the action in real life.

-The minor touches and aesthetic changes in and around the ballpark are perfect. The powers that be have taken great care to update the look of the park without making any real glaring changes. You look at some of these things and you have to remind yourself that they weren't always there.

-I really hope that the rooftop deck remains a general admission area. The issue is that it does have a seating capacity, of about 300 people according to the Baltimore Sun, and there is no way to really regulate that without 1) a bouncer or 2) selling tickets. So get out now and enjoy the great free view while you can. I can imagine the team keeping it open on non-prime games but selling tickets on prime-nights.

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The Ambiance of Opening Day

What an Opening Day.

The experience - in and out of Camden Yards - would be nothing short of amazing if the Orioles could ever put a winner together. Based on what I saw on Opening Day, people do care about baseball in Baltimore -- it's just that the franchise needs to give people a reason to care.

Case in point: During the pre-game ceremonies, closer/reliever Kevin Gregg got booed without mercy. It kind of bothered me a bit, as I do not boo anyone on teams I root for; however, sports is a what-have-you-done-for-me lately business, and fans do have a voice in the matter.

Plus, this little kid who ran out at the closing of the pre-game intros for both teams left an impression on me. He knew it was once-in-a-lifetime moment and took full advantage of it, as he sprinted down the orange carpet and thenraced by ALL the players, slapping their hands. A very, very cool moment on a very memorable day to kick off the season in Baltimore.

Outside of the park before the game...

This was the scene outside Camden Yards on Opening Day. I took these while I was walking down Russell Street, and it was amazing the sea of people who were out celebrating or hanging out before the game itself. There were crowds of people EVERYWHERE the eye could see near the vicinity of the stadium.

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Orioles Face Twins Tonight, Dylan Bundy, Albert Pujols and Jamie Moyer

Tonight, the Baltimore Orioles play their second game of the season as they face the Minnesota Twins at 7:05 p.m.

This is the second contest in a three-game set. Right-hander Tommy Hunter squares off against southpaw Francisco Liriano on the mound.

Hunter, who came into this season slimmer and more fit is looking to establish himself as the number two starter. Much like with the other pitchers on the staff, he does have some questions about him; however, he has had some success in the majors with the Rangers and let's hope he can tap into it.

I feel confident about tonight’s game. Yes, the pitching may be questionable for Baltimore, and Minnesota’s Liriano can be either very or good bad; however, after what I saw from the Orioles on Friday, perhaps – with a sliver of hope – things may not be as bad as some have predicted.

Well, Dylan Bundy – the team’s first round draft pick in 2011 – made his professional debut, and the impression he left only added to the hype according to MASN’s Steve Melewski. Bundy struck out six of the nine batters that he faced. Amazing.

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