Bird's Eye View

Leading Off

On Christmas Eve Eve, Bird’s Eye View gets into the holiday spirit. It’s a very special episode… or something. The show’s opening is a bit heavy hearted, as the guys officially retire The Brian Roberts Watch. Now that Roberts is a Yankee, he is officially dead to us – no matter how hot his wife. After bidding a friend a fond farewell, it’s on to This Week on the Twitters (TWotT), which includes:

* getting to know Ryan Webb (@RyanWebb58)

* Offseason hate from all around

* The horror that was the Ravens game

* Tweet of the Week from @HopeFloats1985

* Terrible Choo puns (no, it wasn’t ‘All I Want for Christmas Is Choo’)

 

Offseason’s Greetings

Are you as excited as we are about the Valencia/Lough trade? It was a swap of two complimentary players – hopefully, the O’s will remember that Lough is not an every day player. Scott is hopeful he can develop into one, Jake is annoyed that Lough’s presence will probably preclude the Orioles from even trying to get a real left fielder.

Scott encourages the #YoLough hashtag. Jake cries a little bit.

The guys take a look at the Balfour debacle, and note that the media is wagging its finger at the Orioles for a situation the media itself created. Whether the Birds were in the right or not about voiding the Balfour deal, making deals contingent on a physical is an industry best practice, and it’s on the media that the deal was announced in what turned out to be a premature fashion.

After a brief (and depressing) discussion of potential closer replacements, the guys agree that a significant signing to improve the pitching staff is unlikely.

 

12 Days of Orioles’ Christmas

We break a longstanding promise, and instantly regret it. Next, it’s a run down of the 12 best Christmas gifts to buy or give for that special Orioles fan in your life – even if that’s you. Spoiler Alert: we think these are pretty rad:

Here’s the list:

* season tickets

* O’s jersey (but be careful who you choose)

* Orioles watch

* O’s jacket/warmup

* personalized stemware (pilsner glasses, wine glasses, double old-fashioned

* O’s themed cornhole boards

* Orioles fat head style decal

* Orioles ear buds (for listening to BEV, of course!)

* O’s tie

* Sunglasses

* Orioles knit cap

* Orioles stress ball

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Who had a great week? Who had a terrible week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly.

 

Listen to BEV on iTunes!

You can find Bird’s Eye View all over the web, including iTunes. Be sure the check for the show, and leave us all sorts of favorable comments and ratings. Flattery will get you everywhere, you know.

 

Leading Off

At the top of the show, the guys conduct a little business – including one of Scott’s patented giveaways. After having one or several Winter Meetings inspired Drinks of the Week, it’s time for This Week on the Twitters (TWotT):

* Sidelinegate

* Ravens/Vikings 4th Quarter Tease

* Tweet of the Week

 

Tales from the Scrap Heap

$1,000,000,000 have been spent on ballplayers in the 2014. The Orioles have accounted for almost none of it.  Gains have been minimal (or more accurately, insignificant), and losses have been painful at times. Whereas relatively few fans will miss Scott Feldman, Nate McLouth had become near and dear to our hearts. His part in the magical 2012 season will be hard to forget. No one said “Goodby Nate, and thanks for the memories” better than our BSRN sister wives, Orioles Spastics:

[sz-youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxiP7sSy5FU” /]

Jake and Scott wonder where the Hot Stove action is, and review some of the comments made by Duquette in the days leading up to the Winter Meetings.  Warning: the natives may get restless in this segment. They hit the big quesitons:

* What moves will satisfy the Orioles fan base?

* Will the club make “the big move?”

 

Scrooge McDuck

Peter Schmuck suggested that Peter Angelos is back to his meddlesome ways, after appearing to finally have turned control over to the baseball people. Were those two consecutive winning seasons were too much to handle? At least fans can go back to hating on Angelos…

Doesn’t winning fix everyghing? Is it possible that Angelos is giving these unpopular decisions some cover? Whether they’re business decisions from a megalomaniac or baseball decisions from the team that brought us 2012… we’ll never know.

 

The Orioles made another PR blunder with its Office Space-inspired announcement. Raising ticket prices late on a Friday is a pretty ugly move, but the guys explain that the price increase is really not so bad. They split on whether the new Dynamic Pricing model is terrible for fans or merely suboptimal. Scott comes down on the more reasonable side (let’s wait to see if it’s terrible), whereas Jake whines, rants, and raves. Scott tries to counter with some signature Buck Showalter optimism, but it falls on deaf ears.

 

Fantasy Boss

Fantasy Boss makes a return, as Scott throws down the gauntlet, and challenges Jake to an offseason edition of everyone’s least favorite fantasy sports contest. This week: Who will the Orioles select in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft?

Scott does his usual preparation, and presents 6 legit candidates:

* Danny Burawa, RHP, Yankees

* Tommy Kahnle, RHP, Yankees

* Brody Colvin, RHP, Phillies

* Ronan Pacheco, LHP, Braves

* Jae-Hoon Ha, OF, Cubs

* Carlos Perez, C, Astros

Jake did his own research, and came up with the only name that made sense for him: Seth Frankoff, RHP, Athletics.

This week’s tie-breaker will be: whether the selection is a member of the Oakland Athletics or not. Jake took the A’s, Scott took the field.

As our friends at MASN would say, Who will own it?

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Who had a great week? Who had a terrible week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly.

 

Leading Off

After running through the serious business (including the Drink of the Week), the guys start the episode by recounting (what they can remember from) the Gobble Wobble. Thanks to Carne Carbeza for putting a fantastic event together that raised a LOT of money for a great cause. After seeing it for ourselves, we’ll definitely be participating in 2014. Get on board – the beer is delicious, and the mustaches are creepy.

We got a very nice email from Norway which surprised the hell out of us. Someone tell this guy we’re hacks, will you?

This Week on the Twitter…

* Ravens tweets (Spoiler Alert: it’s no better when they win)

* MLB – Around the League

* Scott’s goat fixation is getting scary

 

Roster “Notables”

Rumors have swirled over the last couple of weeks include:

* J.J. Hardy

* Matt Wieters

Don’t worry, the O’s have made some underwhelming moves

* RHP Brad Brach

* INF Cord Phelps off waivers (from Indians)

* RHP Egmer Escalona

* LHP Kelvin De La Cruz

Oh, and they tendered contracts to Nolan Reimold and (Who the Hell Is) Steve Pearce. Awesome, right?

 

Orioles Hot Stove

The guys discuss the Free Agent buzz is out there, and debate how much of it is legit, and how much of it is people throwing the Orioles’ name out there to drive up the price. Other topics include MASN money, the mortal soul of Peter Angelos, and the meaning of “mid-market team.”

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Who had a great week? Who had a terrible week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly.

 

Listen to BEV on iTunes!

You can find Bird’s Eye View all over the web, including iTunes. Be sure the check for the show, and leave us all sorts of favorable comments and ratings. Flattery will get you everywhere, you know.

 

Leading Off

The guys open to the sound of humiliation, as they make good on the bet with the guys from Section 336. Don’t worry, Songs from the Moon, in our hearts, we’re Watchin’ the Orioles.

Reminder: Bird’s Eye View will be hosting the Gobble Wobble, part of the Guzzle & Gobble event on November 23rd. Come out to support a great cause, and hang out with Jake’s questionable mustache.

This Week on the Twitter (TWotT)

* Sad Ravens tweets

* Watch out, NFL coaches

* When did there get to be so many damn MLB awards?

* Joe Mauer is now a first baseman

 

Pitching In

The Orioles have pulled their pitching coaches from the Braves organization, as Dave Wallace and Dom Chiti have been named pitching and bullpen coach. Whereas this move shouldn’t make a huge difference, it is a positive sign to see the new coaches come from an organization that has a stronger pitching program than the Orioles. Both should be an improvement.

That leaves the question of what the rotation looks like. Tillman and Chen are the only starters who are assured to be in the rotation. Even familiar names such as Miguel Gonzalez and Bud Norris could end up in the bullpen – particularly if the Orioles break their pattern of not going out and addressing their pitching woes in the offseason (Spoiler Alert: expect more of the same this year). Long shots to make the rotation include Kevin Gausman and even longer shot candidates include bullpen arms TJ MacFarland, Tommy Hunter, and Brian Matusz.

OK, not likely, but, hey, it could happen.

 

The Hills Are Alive

Scott has a serious issue with the use of Seven Nation Army at Ravens games. He feels even more strongly about its use at Orioles games. The guys challenge the listeners to come up with something to replace the otherwise kick-ass song. Jake mocks the proceedings with ridiculous suggestions, and the guys reveal their choice for walk-up music.

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Who had a great week? Who had a terrible week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly.

 

Listen to BEV on iTunes!

You can find Bird’s Eye View all over the web, including iTunes. Be sure the check for the show, and leave us all sorts of favorable comments and ratings. Flattery will get you everywhere, you know.

Leading Off

The show opens up with information on two great events:

Baltimore Sports Report Cornhole Tournament

Come on out and take a shot at winning tickets to see the Ravens/Steelers game on Thanksgiving. Grab some drinks with the Baltimore Sports Report Network, and mock us for our lack of cornhole prowress. Don’t forget – Bird’s Eye View and Section 336 have a bit of a bet going on.

Gobble & Guzzle

Also, Bird’s Eye View will be hosting a portion of Carne Cabeza’s Gobble & Guzzle. This Movember fundraiser is the perfect combination of good cause, and good fun. We’ll be hosting the Gobble Wobble, a bar crawl downtown from 1-5 on November 23, 2013. Come on down and raise money for a good cause while having a few of your own Drinks of the Week.

Offseason Ramblings

We run through some Orioles offseason notes:

* Which of the Orioles’ Gold Glove candidates will end up with new hardware in 2013?

* Pitching coach search… yawn

* Yea/Nay on Brandon Phillips

* Arbitration figures and payroll

* The Arizona Fall League

 

Fantasy Boss

With baseball season nearly over, the guys put their pride on the line one more time: With the Red Sox up 3-2, and the series headed back to Fenway, Jake takes the Cardinals in 7 (because he can’t stomach otherwise) and Scott takes “easy money” with the Red Sox.

Who Will Own It?

 

Listen to BEV on iTunes!

You can find Bird’s Eye View all over the web, including iTunes. Be sure the check for the show, and leave us all sorts of favorable comments and ratings. Flattery will get you everywhere, you know.

Leading Off

Things get a litte weird, as Bird’s Eye View discusses the Ravens in a (mostly) serious fashion for the first time. We may be short The Brian Roberts Watch (so sad), but still manage to come through with the Drink of the Week. The top of the show also features This Week on the Twitter (TWotT):

* The hurt of watching AL East opponents advance in the playoffs

* WHY IS #flaccosucks A THING?!?!

* BSR’s Corn Hole Tournament

 

Watchin’ the Ravens

Baltimore’s Superbowl hangover goes in two directions, as Scott explains why many fans may be feeling… disjointed from disappointment over the Ravens’ slow start. The guys celebrate the fact that the Steelers suck, and explore their feelings toward Pittsburgh in general.

The Ravens are at .500, after a tough loss at the hands of the Green Bay Packers. Some of their woes include:

* The offensive line

* The offensive line (worth repeating)

* The running game

* Punting prowress

* Jimmy Smith

But there are a few bright spots:

* The defense as a whole

* Justin Tucker

* Haloti Ngata’s Royal Farms commercials

 

The Ace of Spades

No, this has nothing to do with Sweat Pea – here, we discusss getting the Orioles an Ace. But first, a quick trip through the Medical Wing uncovers knee surgeries galore. Manny Machado and Wei-Yin Chen will have undergone procedures this offseason. How will this affect the 2014 season? Only time will tell, but the Machado surgery will probably have lasting impacts on the club’s approach to Danny Valencia, Ryan Flaherty (and perhaps a certain salt-and-pepper formerly concussed second baseman with a hot wife).

Moving on to the ace talk: does the possible availability of Max Scherzer or David Price make the Orioles pull the trigger? The guys argue as to whether the O’s have the ammunition in the system to make such a deal, and whether the “price” tag is worth it.

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Who had a great week? Who had a terrible week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly.

 

Listen to BEV on iTunes!

You can find Bird’s Eye View all over the web, including iTunes. Be sure the check for the show, and leave us all sorts of favorable comments and ratings. Flattery will get you everywhere, you know.

Leading Off

The guys get back to their roots for the Drink of the Week, and get a little sentimental about (what could be) the final Brian Roberts Watch. B-Rob had a great week, and may have ridden off into that orange sunset.

This Week on the Twitter (TWotT):

* Let’s stop saying “Manny Machado” and “Dr. James Andrews” in the same sentence

* What is a “Breaking Bad,” and when are the Spastics starting a podcast about it?

* Lots of love for the O’s as their season drew to a close #bittersweet

* The Ravens

* Don’t talk about Tyrod Taylor

* How much can a fan base freak out about one loss (oh right, it’s Twitter)

 

2013 Season – A Success? / Meaningful Games

Jake gets all narcisistic and plugs his own post about the nature of the last week (being meaningful games). Afterward, Jake and Scott trade turns on the soap box, giving impassioned monlogues as to why the 2013 season was or was not a success. Basically what it comes down to is this:

If you set the bar so high that only playoffs/championships will sustain you, you might as well become a bandwagon Yankees fan now. At some point, you need to be able to take the joy that comes with an 85 win season. 2013 had its fair share of disappointments, but there are plenty of reasons to love the O’s in 2013.

 

Our Week at the Yard

The guys went to a lot of games this week, and share a few anecdotes about:

* Leprosy and stadium bathrooms

* Rooting for terrorism

* Characitures (no, really)

* Drunken blackouts

Oh, and there was baseball. Ohhhhh, there was baseball.

 

Fantasy Boss

JAKE WINS! JAKE WINS!!! He thought it would never happen again! Scott put up a valiant effort, but comes up short.

B-Rob outhit McLutch. Season ends 7-5. Check back in 182 days for the continuation.

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Who had a great week? Who had a terrible week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly.

 

Listen to BEV on iTunes!

You can find Bird’s Eye View all over the web, including iTunes. Be sure the check for the show, and leave us all sorts of favorable comments and ratings. Flattery will get you everywhere, you know.

Leading Off

Warning: in this episode, there is crying in baseball. The joy has left Mudville, and Birdland. Buckle Up, this episode has a few dark spots.

The guys open with the big news of the day: Manny Machado’s knee injury. Their medical degrees haven’t come in the mail yet, so they can’t really diagnose the injury, but they can certainly hope for the best, and break down what “the worst” might mean.

This week’s episode features a rather eventful Drink of the Week, but avoids The Medical Wing, as it’s simply too depressing.

 

Triskaidekaphobia

The guys had a perfectly good set of show notes written up, but tonight’s events made them irrelevant. Despite a terrible series, and the end post-season hopes, they were prepared to be a little positive. That just doesn’t seem possible. There’s a pallor over Orioles Baseball right now.

* How bad is the injury?

* Let’s not overreact – our medical degrees haven’t come in the mail, yet

* What if he never comes back at 100%?

* What effect does the injury have on the team?

* What effect does the injury have on the fan base?

* Jake’s take on jerseys…

Our Best Shot at a Normal Show…

This Week on the Twitter (TWotT)

* Community and Support

* Classy reactions from @RaysBaseball and countless players around the league

* Haters gon’ hate

* Ignoring “local media” and their agenda against the baseball team

#TheBrianRobertsWatch

* Not a good week, statistically

* Have we seen Roberts’ last HR as an Oriole? They guys debate #bittersweet

* Will we see Jonathan Schoop as the season unfolds?

* What happens next year – is there a change in the winds?

 

2013 Season All But Over

* Rays series: 18-inning loss took the fight out of the Orioles

* Pitching has been fine, but the offense has been a real problem

* Are we relying too much on our stars? What does 150+ games mean?

* Was 2013 a successful season? You be the judge.

* What do the fans do for the last home stand of the season (shout out to OsSunglassesGuy)?

 

Fantasy Boss

Can you believe that Scott won again? Davis and Jones worked hard to have less WPA than the other. In the end… both sucked. But Scott won. With that, he has the chance to pull into a tie over the last week of the season. For such an occasion, he took it easy on Jake. The next category is hits. Who wil get the most hits?

Jake went with the sentimental pick: #TheBrianRobertsWatch.

Scott took Nate McLouth.

 

Who will own it?

  

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Who had a great week? Who had a terrible week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly.

 

Listen to BEV on iTunes!

You can find Bird’s Eye View all over the web, including iTunes. Be sure the check for the show, and leave us all sorts of favorable comments and ratings. Flattery will get you everywhere, you know.

Leading Off

Scott takes a turn for the worse, as the O’s losses start to pile up. His Debbie Downer persona continues as we discuss:

* Drink of the Week

* #TheBrianRobertsWatch

* The Medical Wing

The guys introduce a new segment: This Week on Twitter (TWoT). Our first TWoT consists of :

* Critical listener feedback (hate Tweets)

* Limericks (bad Irish accents)

* The return of football season

* Current events creep in

 

Through the Looking Glass

A Look Back…

* The O’s have gone 15-16 in the last 31 games. The team keeps giving away series.

* Game 4 of the Yankees series was one of the worst fan experiences Jake has ever had. He treats Scott to a “brief” recount of his evening.

A Look Ahead…

* Despite their best efforts, the Birds are still in the Wild Card race (or ARE THEY?!?!)

* 13 games remain – all against AL East opponents

* Still in “no excuse” mode: the Orioles can’t give away at-bats, outs, or games. If they do, they’re toast.

 

Fantasy Boss

Jake 6, Scott 4

Elvis on the intro means Scott won again. Michael Morse was more hapless than Adam Jones in terms of o-swing%, – which means that Scott has pulled within 2. With two weeks to go, Scott will have every opportunity to catch up and prove that he is, indeed, The Boss.

This week, he’s pulled another “voodoo stat” in WPA (wins probability added). Scott talks Jake through its value, and Jake mocks.

Jake went with Adam Jones, Scott took Chris Davis.

 

Who will own it?

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Who had a great week? Who had a terrible week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly.

 

Listen to BEV on iTunes!

You can find Bird’s Eye View all over the web, including iTunes. Be sure the check for the show, and leave us all sorts of favorable comments and ratings. Flattery will get you everywhere, you know.

Leading Off

We start off Episode 52 with another round of thanks to supporters and friends of the program.

* Can’t show enough love to OBP Apparel, for their amazing work on our logo. If you’re looking for logos, shirts, or one of the best Baltimore sports podcasts around, be sure to check ’em out.

* Songs from the Moon is the band behind our theme song Watchin’ the Orioles. It’s the kind of song that can get stuck in your head in a good way. Be sure to check out the video, and pay them a visit.

* A reminder: Bird’s Eye View is one of the great podcasts on baseballpodcasts.net. Go check them out for great shows on out-of-town teams. They’ve got an amazing lineup, and getting an opinion from “enemy territory” is a great way to prepare for any series.

* And of course, we can’t have a series of “thank yous” without mentioning the Baltimore Sports Report Network. Five great shows, covering the best of Baltimore sports. These are good peeps – go lend them your ears! While you’re at it, lend them your opinion. Take the quick survey to help the network grow, and continue to bring you the great sports talk you deserve.

 

And now, to our  regular programming. The Drink of the Week may have hit a new low – old men on a podcast makes for poor quality weeknight drinking.  The Brian Roberts Watch (#TheBrianRobertsWatch) is also a little disheartening. At least there’s good news in The Medical Wing.

 

RISPy Business

Orioles are one of the best teams in the league, regarding RISP. Lately, they have been horrific. Scott breaks down the numbers, and shows us exactly how far the O’s have fallen. Jake looks at all the squiggly marks and wonders “what are these numbers, of which you speak?”

 

 

The real question is this: how do the Birds fix this? The guys theorize, complain, and hope.

 

Back in the Race

Despite the Orioles struggles of late, the AL Wild Card race is tighter than a… well, it’s close.  As of 9/9/2013, the standings looked like this:

 

 

All the other teams are crapping the bed, too. O’s had the second best record among above with 5-5 record in last 10 games. O’s still play the teams that matter in front of them, can easily erase a 2-game deficit.

Orioles play the hardest schedule of contenders – is this a factor?

Are we happy with 3 of 4 games from Chicago?

o

Fantasy Boss

Jake 6, Scott 3

Remember when we said that Scott would have to run the table toe make take this thing? He’s well on his way. Scott won the Battle of the BABIP, and has a new voodoo stat for this week’s fantasy boss: O-Swing %. Yes, he claims it’s a real thing: swing percentage outside of the strike zone.

Jake went with Adam Jones.

Scott took Michael Morse

 

Who will own it?

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Who had a great week? Who had a terrible week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly.

 

Listen to BEV on iTunes!

You can find Bird’s Eye View all over the web,