Lunch with Jeremy Guthrie this week

Lunch with Jeremy Guthrie this week
While he won't ride his bicycle to Owings Mills the way he travels to work at Camden Yards most days, Orioles ace Jeremy Guthrie will be at the Wendy's on Lakeside Boulevard in Owings Mills Friday afternoon to sign autographs and spend some time with Orioles fans before the Birds take on the Blue Jays at home at 7:00 p.m. Adam Jones was the first Oriole to hit an area Wendy's as a part of the autograph series, and Guthrie will follow suit, signing autographs and posing for photos over...

"Play like the pros...with the pros"

"Play like the pros...with the pros"
Orioles Baseball Summer Camps use the slogan "Learn how to play like the pros...with the pros." Sounds good so far, doesn't it? The Orioles have established dates in July and August during which they'll hold three, four-day summer baseball camps for boys and girls ages 7-16. Each of the camps, which will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, includes appearances by a current Oriole and at least one former Bird, as well as autograph and photo opportunities, lunch and an afternoon snack...

This and That

This and That
Fireworks Friday Fans out for the first game of the Orioles' last series before the All-Star break should remember to take advantage of Student Night if it applies to you and also to enjoy postgame fireworks after the O's face the Blue Jays at home. Student Night makes $6 left field upper reserve tickets available to students with a valid ID and Fireworks Night is free for all fans following the game. Check out the ceremonial first pitch Saturday Thanks to @FrancescaGuiou for reminding me...

Orioles and the All-Star Game

Orioles and the All-Star Game
This might be Adam Jones' first All-Star Game, but in addition to the rule that ensures each team sends a representative, the Orioles are no strangers to the events of All-Star week. The Orioles have hosted the All-Star Game twice in the event's history, and the American League came out on top both times. The first Midsummer Classic held in Birdland was in 1958 when the AL took the All-Star Game from the NL 4-3. The second Oriole-hosted All-Star Game took place in 1993, one year after...

Orioles events to look forward to

Orioles events to look forward to
Following the All-Star break, most fans realize the baseball season is basically halfway to its end. But what also comes along with that awareness is the realization that the summer is essentially halfway over as well. So as the Orioles look to the second half, you're making plans for the rest of the summer in order to "fit all in," either before school or before the weather turns colder or maybe before the baseball season comes to a close. So in planning your second half, check out...

One for the books

One for the books
After editing Jim Hunter's latest blog (The prospect is exciting), and after having posted entries from Rick Dempsey (The possibilities for a better second half) and Amber Theorharis (Bergesen's contributions loom large), I'd spent a fair amount of time in the Orioles' photo system looking for pictures of one guy or another from the O's group of promising pitching prospects. Say that five times fast. But one picture that struck me was this one of the whole group together. Barring...

Baseball shouldn't break the bank

Baseball shouldn't break the bank
I felt a fan's pain when I read his thread on a Baltimore Sun message board: "2 hot dogs, 2 beers = $31...That pretty much sums up my experience at Yankee Stadium last night." That fan went on to complain that the prices at Yankee Stadium are "astronomical," and if you're a regular fan at the ballpark these days, it's no secret that a baseball game is a more expensive event than it used to be. When purchasing tickets to the Red Sox-Orioles game at Fenway Park this Saturday, I...

What to expect at Orioles spring training in Sarasota, FL

What to expect at Orioles spring training in Sarasota, FL
After much anticipation over the Orioles' new spring training home, you won't have to wait long to see what it could look like. Before the first photos appear in a newspaper or online, before your first glimpse in person when you make your inaugural visit, you can see exactly how the designers imagine the structure falling into place, as Sarasota County has released artists renderings of what the O's new spring home could look like. According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune, the state of...

Maximum access to stats you want to know with MASN to GO

Maximum access to stats you want to know with MASN to GO
Baseball is a lot of things: nostalgic, fun, traditional, exciting, challenging, both intricate and simple, historical... It's a game that takes skill and precision and one that evokes emotions and memories, but it's also one that falls back always on the tradition of numbers. You've heard people say, "Baseball has a statistic for everything." And it's true. And you might be one of those people with all those gritty facts committed to memory. Or you might be someone who's...

The Birds are back in town

The Birds are back in town
The Orioles' schedule in July has left the Yard painfully quiet for the bulk of the month. Though the Birds returned home for a short and sweet three-game set against the Blue Jays heading into the All-Star break, the O's haven't been home for a single series since. In fact, in the two weeks including and following the All-Star break, the Yard has sat still enough to give the grounds crew plenty of time to transplant a patch of Kentucky Blue Grass from the sod farm just beyond center...

Competition at the plate

Competition at the plate
There seems to be an unofficial theme at the Inaugural Orioles Cook-Off at the ESPN Zone Tuesday, so hopefully you're in the mood for Spanish tortillas, fish tacos, and chicken enchiladas. Three of your favorite O's, ace Jeremy Guthrie, 2B Brian Roberts, and veteran CA Gregg Zaun will be trading their bats and gloves for recipes and oven mitts in the Orioles first-ever cook-off competition at the ESPN Zone in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. According to Rob Kasper of the Baltimore Sun,...

Inaugural Orioles Cook-Off crowns Zaun as best cook in Birdland

Inaugural Orioles Cook-Off crowns Zaun as best cook in Birdland
The next time you visit the ESPN Zone in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, say for an Oriole player Q&A, you'll notice a special new addition to the restaurant's menu: Orioles Catcher Gregg Zaun's famous Chicken Enchiladas. As the winner of the Inaugural Orioles Cook-Off at the ESPN Zone this afternoon, Zaun earned a black and orange spatula plaque and his recipe, which includes shredded chicken slow-simmered in taco seasoning, beans, cheese and enchilada sauce, earned a place on the ESPN...

Big news and a few small ceremonies

Big news and a few small ceremonies
If the name Steve Johnson sounds familiar, you might remember reading about O's broadcaster Dave Johnson's son in an article here in the Orioles Buzz back in February. That far back, Steve Johnson's only connection to the Orioles was his father, Dave Johnson, who was nice enough to include me on emails updating Steve's progress in the Dodgers' minor league system. That connection looks like it might now extend further than mere interest in the progress of a former Oriole and MASN...

Fantasy Baseball makes it to MASN & a reminder for the weekend

Fantasy Baseball makes it to MASN & a reminder for the weekend
It's part of the nature of a sports fan. Every fan, no matter how loyal or faithful, has his or her own ideas about what might work better than what's already been tried. So if you think you could GM better than the rest of 'em, the job offer has arrived at MASNsports.com. MASN announced its first Fantasy Baseball contest today, challenging fans to put together their own Major League Baseball roster and compete with other fans for weekly prizes throughout the second half of the baseball...

OPACY vs Fenway

OPACY vs Fenway
Looking out over Eutaw Street from the catwalk that connects Aramark to the Club Level of the ballpark this past weekend, I had to shake my head at the sheer smattering of red. "I can fly here, stay in a hotel and get better seats for the same price I can see at game at Fenway," one Red Sox fan told me. Does that make Oriole Park especially affordable or Fenway Park especially expensive? I'd say a little of both maybe. But as the Orioles faced the Red Sox for two straight weekends, I...

Steve Johnson scheduled to start Saturday at Fenway (Updated)

Steve Johnson scheduled to start Saturday at Fenway (Updated)
New Oriole Steve Johnson's first outing with the organization was a pretty quick turnaround with an unfortunately quick ending. Johnson didn't join the Baysox until the evening before his first start with the club--without wasting any time, he took the mound during his first full day with Bowie and pitched 4 ½ innings, all in the rain, before the grounds crew pulled out the tarp to end his outing. After a two-hour delay, Johnson wasn't able to finish what he'd started...

Orioles announce 1989 "Why Not?" O's added to Alumni Autograph Series

Orioles announce 1989 "Why Not?" O's added to Alumni Autograph Series
The Orioles announced today that several members of the 1989 "Why Not?" O's team will take part in an approaching Alumni Autograph Series on Friday, August 14. The previously unscheduled autograph signing is being held in honor of the 20th Anniversary of the celebrated O's team that created so many unforgettable memories for Orioles fans. Former catcher Mickey Tettleton, outfielder Mike Devereaux and pitchers Dave Schmidt and Dave Johnson will sign autographs for an hour, from 5:30 to...

Christina Markakis to promote Right Side Foundation at Camden Yards

Christina Markakis to promote Right Side Foundation at Camden Yards
You might remember back in March when Nick Markakis and his wife Christina announced the launch of their charitable foundation, The Right Side Foundation, which they explained was dedicated to helping distressed children across the state of Maryland. As the Foundation's first big event, The Right Side Foundation's 5K Run and One-Mile Fun Walk, draws nearer, Christina will be doing her part to promote both the Foundation and the 5K Run and One-Mile Walk by visiting the ballpark on Monday of...

Plenty of promotions during the O's next homestand

Plenty of promotions during the O's next homestand
July was a quiet and lonely month around Camden Yards. If you'd have asked anyone who worked in the Warehouse, they would have told you it felt like "forever since the team has been home" at just about any point during those 31 days. The Orioles were in town for just nine days that entire month, with the All-Star break punctuating the absence of the team and the buzz that goes along with it when they're here in Baltimore. The O's schedule in August isn't quite as extreme, but somehow...

Lunch at Wendy's with O's reliever Brian Bass (Updated)

Lunch at Wendy's with O's reliever Brian Bass (Updated)
Right in the middle of the "dog days" of August and the baseball season, Orioles fans have an exciting weekend to look forward to, starting with another Wendy's one-hour Orioles player appearance coming up this Friday. Look for O's reliever Brian Bass at the Wendy's at 9243 Lakeside Boulevard in Owings Mills from 11:00 a.m. to noon on Friday, August 14. Fans will have about an hour to grab lunch, an autograph or a photo (or maybe all three!) with the Orioles reliever at Wendy's this...