:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62295533/954422124.jpg.0.jpg)
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Not much is going on right now with the Orioles — or any other team, for that matter — but we’ll at least have some baseball news to digest this week when MLB announces its end-of-season awards.
The honors kicked off last night with the Rookie of the Year awards, which were won in the AL by the Angels’ two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani and in the NL by Braves wunderkind outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr.
The Orioles, of course, had no finalists for the award. It’s not that they didn’t employ any rookies in 2018 — they actually had 15 players make their MLB debut, a franchise record — it’s just that most of them weren’t much good. The Orioles’ best rookie was, I don’t know, Paul Fry? Not exactly a guy who’s going to beat out Ohtani. No offense, Paul Fry.
Tonight, the Manager of the Year awards will be announced. I regret to inform you that the now-unemployed Buck Showalter will not win. That’ll be followed by the Cy Young awards on Wednesday and MVPs on Thursday, where again the word “Orioles” will never be uttered.
Well, maybe next year. But probably not.
Links
The Orioles could announce next executive soon. Here’s what we know about the candidates. - Baltimore Sun
Jon Meoli runs down the known list of candidates for the Orioles’ chief executive job, and notes that “some candidates were told at the time of their interviews that a decision would come this week.” I’ll believe it when I see it.
Rosenthal: Greinke’s trade value; Canó’s future in Seattle; Yanks seeking background info on Machado – The Athletic
Ken Rosenthal’s latest compilation of notes around the majors includes tidbits on the Orioles’ chief executive search and the never-ending MASN dispute.
Orioles hope there's a market for Trumbo - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Spoiler alert: there's not.
The Orioles tried something with Jimmy Yacabonis, and maybe learned about him in the process – The Athletic
The Orioles' conversion of Jimmy Yacabonis to a starting pitcher turned out...kind of okay, actually. Matt Kremnitzer is as surprised as anyone.
Tanner Scott has been closing the gap between potential and performance - Steve Melewski
Quietly, Tanner Scott made some improvements over the course of 2018 and could be a useful bullpen piece. Between Scott and Yacabonis, start printing those Orioles World Series tickets!
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share your day with four ex-Orioles, including O’s bust-turned-Brewers postseason hero, Wade Miley (32). Miley, after going 10-20 with a 5.75 ERA in a season and a half with the Birds, went to Milwaukee this year and was 5-2 with a 2.57 ERA, then gave up just two runs in 14.2 innings in the playoffs. Could anything be more Orioles than one of their many awful, retread starters finding immediate success after leaving the team?
Your other O’s birthday buddies are 2010-11 infielder Josh Bell (32), who had a two-homer game off Cliff Lee but an otherwise forgettable career; former AL Cy Young Pat Hentgen (50), who spent three past-his-prime years with the Orioles from 2001-03; and 1975-79 outfielder Larry Harlow (67), one of nine position players in O’s history to make a pitching appearance for them.
On this day three years ago, the Orioles’ Matt Wieters accepted the club’s qualifying offer, something no free agent had ever done before that day. The O’s had extended him the QO so that, if he declined, they would receive draft pick compensation when he signed elsewhere. Instead, by accepting it, Wieters returned to the Birds for the 2016 season on a $15.8 million contract. The Orioles didn’t give him a QO the next time around.