Archive for Mark Blackmar

Quick Thoughts on Recent Roster Changes

Posted in Offense, Pitching, Trades with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 4, 2014 by oriolesprovingground

The Orioles continue to command the AL East, with several media outlets giving them over a 99% chance to not only make the playoffs, but to win the division.  With the playoffs in mind, Baltimore made a couple of transactions (through trades and expanded rosters) to not only help finish the season strong, but to also improve the team for the postseason.  Today at ESPN Sweetspot Orioles blog Camden Depot, I take a quick look at these roster moves and how they’ll help the team moving forward.

Direct Link to Article –> Quick Thoughts on Recent Roster Changes

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Minor League Recap: August 18-August 24

Posted in Minor Leagues, Offense, Pitching, Prospects with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 29, 2014 by oriolesprovingground

I apologize for this version of the weekly minor league update being late, but I was busy…like REALLY busy. The minor league season is coming to an end next week (which may or may not be good news), so there will only be one more installment of the weekly minor league recap after this one.

What was the big story last week? Of course it was the Manny Machado knee injury and the revelation that Machado would miss the rest of the season because of it. The injury is in the opposite knee from the one he injured last year, and isn’t considered to be as serious, as Machado is expected to be 100% ready to go by the start of spring training. The other positive aspect to this development was reported by Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports.

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Minor League Recap: July 28-August 3

Posted in Minor Leagues, Offense, Pitching, Prospects with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 6, 2014 by oriolesprovingground

There hasn’t been too much to report on last week in the minor leagues. Oh wait, there was a trade that happened, and there seemed to be a lot of people that didn’t appreciate my take on it. Other than that, the Norfolk Tides cooled off a bit after an extremely hot 3 weeks and we saw some position player pitching in Norfolk, as third baseman Cord Phelps took the mound in extra innings on July 31 against Toledo. Phelps didn’t last long, pitching 0.1 innings, while giving up two hits and the game-winning run. The fact that the game ended quickly after Phelps entered the game was probably for the best.

Norfolk also saw the additions of Ubaldo Jimenez and Ryan Webb to the Norfolk roster, as Jimenez was there for a rehab assignment (he won’t be there long), while Webb was designated off the 25-man roster (similar to being optioned and different from being designated off the 40-man roster – it’s confusing I know, so you can read more about it HERE). I don’t understand the move by the Orioles to send Webb to AAA, as he has been their third best reliever this year, only slightly less valuable than Darren O’Day. It puzzled me enough that I went on a mini-twitter rant about it the other day. Continue reading →

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