Matthew Taylor: Revolving rotation usually doesn't end well

Matthew Taylor: Revolving rotation usually doesn't end well
How many starting pitchers did the Baltimore Orioles use during the 2012 season? That's the question that came to mind for me this week when I learned that the Los Angeles Dodgers are on course to make the playoffs for a second consecutive season while using 15 or more starters. This year's Dodgers would join last year's Dodgers and the 1989 San Francisco Giants as the only teams ever to use that many different starters and still qualify for the postseason. The Orioles have come to know a...

Matthew Taylor: History shows August is a do-or-die month for Birds

Matthew Taylor: History shows August is a do-or-die month for Birds
They used to speak of August swoons in Baltimore. During the dark decade (and a half) for the local nine, the only thing more oppressive than the late-summer heat was the late-season treatment our beloved Birds received at the hands of opposing big league rosters. August was, after all, the month of 30-3. Things have gotten better in recent years, to say the least. Nevertheless, August baseball still creates anxiety in Charm City. I've written before that the August swoon, as originally...

Matthew Taylor: Players have statistics, so why not fans?

Matthew Taylor: Players have statistics, so why not fans?
There are literally billions of data points about baseball available each season, thanks to the rise of pitch tracking and player tracking technologies. We have more objective measures than ever before regarding player performance. Fan performance, however, is difficult to examine objectively. We need to put baseball fan bases, including our own, to the test. In the best of times and in the worst of times, what is the tale of each baseball city? The wonderful term "fanalytics" is already...

Matthew Taylor: This year's O's squad reminiscent of 1996 team

Matthew Taylor: This year's O's squad reminiscent of 1996 team
The Orioles are marking the 20th anniversary of the team's first wild card entry into the playoffs by looking very much the part of that 1996 team in terms of their power at the plate as well as the struggles of their starting rotation. Two decades after winning in, spite of their pitching and slugging their way into the postseason, the Orioles are looking to repeat that effort this year. The good news is they're better positioned to do so now than they were back then. The Orioles' current...

Matthew Taylor: Which Oriole could pull off major hitting streak?

Matthew Taylor: Which Oriole could pull off major hitting streak?
Hitting streaks have been on the top of many minds in Major League Baseball lately. Jackie Bradley pieced together a 29-game hit streak that ended Thursday night. That left him five games short of the Red Sox team record, held by Dom Dimaggio, which he could have been tied when the Red Sox visit Camden Yards next week. Meanwhile, MLB started its celebration of the 75th anniversary of Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hit streak on Sunday and is pushing out daily notifications about his hit(s) on...

Matthew Taylor: O's boasting more power than ever

Matthew Taylor: O's boasting more power than ever
We are currently witnessing the most powerful era in Orioles history. It is not only that this year's team is sending baseballs flying out of the ballpark in bunches before the temperature even heats up. Baltimore's power surge has run for five seasons now after a relative drought of home runs in the early 2000s. It is a period that rivals any stretch in team history. The Orioles have had at least one player with 30 home runs in every decade of their post-St. Louis Browns existence. It has...

Matthew Taylor: Jake Arrieta isn't the only former Oriole to throw no-hitter

Matthew Taylor: Jake Arrieta isn't the only former Oriole to throw no-hitter
Call it something old, something new, with both players wearing Cubbie blue. Milt Pappas died this week. He pitched for the Orioles before being trading away to the Cincinnati Reds in the Frank Robinson deal and ultimately tossed a no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs. Last night, Jake Arrieta, whom the Orioles traded away, tossed a no-hitter for the Cubs. The opponent? The Cincinnati Reds. That, my friends, is baseball. I can't imagine many O's fans actually resent Arrieta for throwing his second...

Matthew Taylor: Orioles' homers, young and old

Matthew Taylor: Orioles' homers, young and old
Alex Rodriguez made headlines this week by becoming only the fourth player in baseball history to have homered both as a teenager and after turning 40. The others to have done it are Ty Cobb, Rusty Staub and Gary Sheffield. Surely you know that if I mention Alex Rodriguez in an Orioles blog post, there has to be a favorable connection to the hometown team. And there is. Brooks Robinson was roughly a month shy of joining the group of players listed above in the pre-20/40+ home run club....

Matthew Taylor: Closer look at young Orioles who rivaled Machado's outstanding season

Matthew Taylor: Closer look at young Orioles who rivaled Machado's outstanding season
If you're looking for bright spots in a disappointing season, look no further than the hot corner where Orioles third baseman Manny Machado continues to take on the look of a superstar in the making. After some unexpected early season defensive struggles, Machado has reclaimed his form in the field and taken on a new form in the batter's box. It's fair to say that Machado is having one of the best offensive seasons a young Orioles player has ever had. To make that kind of statement, we need...

Frederick pitcher Matt Taylor hospitalized after hit by liner (Taylor tweets he is OK)

Frederick pitcher Matt Taylor hospitalized after hit by liner (Taylor tweets he is OK)
Single-A Frederick Keys pitcher Matt Taylor was taken by ambulance tonight to a hospital in Salem, Va., after he was hit by a line drive in a game against the Salem Red Sox. "He got hit by a line drive on the side of the head, just above the temple," Orioles director of player development Brian Graham said tonight. "The doctor on site feels he definitely has a concussion, but he was conscious and they took him to the hospital for further review. Now the doctors will do further tests to see...

Comparing Orioles' Aprils, Chris Davis heating up and take on home games in St. Petersburg

Comparing Orioles' Aprils, Chris Davis heating up and take on home games in St. Petersburg
The Orioles ended April of last year with a 12-12 record, and they were 2 1/2 games out of first place. They have ended April 2015 at 10-10, and are two games out of first place. So far, they have hit better than last April but the pitching stats have been behind the April 2014 numbers. April 2014 batting: .265 avg., .319 OBP, .393 slugging, .712 OPS, 17 homers, 4.5 runs/game April 2015 batting: .286 avg., .345 OBP, .482 slugging, .827 OPS, 29 homers, 5.6 runs/game The Orioles lead the majors...

Matthew Taylor: Hoping to fulfill parade promise to my son

Matthew Taylor: Hoping to fulfill parade promise to my son
Baseball is the World Series and a championship team! Celebration and parades, confetti in the streets. And maybe, just maybe, this year that team is your team. Because in baseball, anything is possible. I promised my son a parade. We've read the book "Baseball Is ..." several times ever since my father purchased it as a gift for his grandson. That grandson has always loved the section quoted above, which begins on a page illustrated with players in a pileup, the word "Champs!" on the...

Matthew Taylor: Postseason moments aren't always savored

Matthew Taylor: Postseason moments aren't always savored
When you think of great postseason moments, which ones come to mind? Chances are there are a fair number of home runs in the mix. Carlton Fisk. Kirk Gibson. Kirby Puckett. Joe Carter. David Freese. Playoff home runs are tailor-made for highlight reels. They tell quick, dramatic stories that often come to define a game and even a series. As the Orioles approach the 2014 playoffs, I've spent time wondering about the postseason moments that await. My daydreaming about the good things that could...

O's game blog: Miguel Gonzalez on the mound at Pittsburgh

O's game blog: Miguel Gonzalez on the mound at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh's PNC Park is the latest stop where the Orioles will try to get their offense going with some consistency. The Orioles scored 12 runs in a four-game series split at Kansas City and have scored three or fewer in 12 of the last 21 games. The Orioles scored 11 runs on 21 hits with three homers in a doubleheader sweep of the Pirates on May 1 at Camden Yards. In fact, the Orioles have won five in a row against Pittsburgh, scoring a total of 38 runs. But you have to go back to 2012 for...

Matthew Taylor: Charm City fantasy has become a reality

Matthew Taylor: Charm City fantasy has become a reality
Two years ago, with Buck Showalter new in town and leading a late-season Orioles resurgence that saw the team go 34-23 in its final 57 games, then-Baltimore Sun writer Kevin Van Valkenburg outlined what he termed "a Charm City fantasy" - two winning professional sports teams playing in Baltimore in September. "The Orioles' late-season stretch of stellar baseball has been such a welcome surprise that it has allowed fans to fantasize about a scenario that hasn't occurred in more than three...

Matthew Taylor: Before last night, Bedard had been at his best in interleague play

Matthew Taylor: Before last night, Bedard had been at his best in interleague play
The Orioles tagged Erik Bedard for seven earned runs in 3 1/3 innings Thursday night, hanging a rare interleague loss on the former O's lefty. For his career, Bedard was 9-3 with a 1.86 ERA, 1.011 WHIP and 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings in interleague play prior to last night's game. Some of his finest interleague outings came in Baltimore, including a dominating run through the senior circuit in 2006. Bedard went 3-0 against the National League in 2006 with a 1.29 ERA, 0.714 WHIP, and...

Guest bloggers to return to MASNsports.com for 2012

Guest bloggers to return to MASNsports.com for 2012
Last season, MASNsports.com expanded its voice and added different viewpoints by welcoming guest bloggers to our site. The rationale was simple: There were so many dedicated fan sites out there that we wanted to give them a platform to share their thoughts, opinions and observations about the Orioles with the rest of Birdland. The initiative got rave reviews, in cyberspace and beyond. We must have hit on something, because our guest blogger program was quickly mimicked - by our competitors in...