Maybe you also have anxiety about the soon-to-come Oriole Park at Camden Yards renovations ruining things.
Hello, friends.
We’ve made it! We’re into the year where the next Orioles Opening Day will occur. It is still two months and 25 days away from today, with the start of spring training about a month and ten days from now. These will both arrive before we know it.
It is a challenge to write down thoughts about the Orioles offseason twice per week for months without sounding like a broken record. Now that the calendar has turned into 2025, not much is different about the state of the O’s rotation than it was two months ago, with the obvious exception that you can now conjure up far fewer options that the Orioles might sign to help out at the top of the rotation.
If you’re pessimistic about Jack Flaherty – which I am – then there are, in fact, no remaining domestic free agent options. I don’t think it’s worth going down the dream path for Roki Sasaki. As far as why, that’s because my life experience of being an Orioles fan is that on balance, good things do not happen.
What does it all mean for the chances of the 2025 Orioles to return to the postseason and achieve greater success than they have done over the past two years? As evidenced by the comment section of this website for some time now, for many people, contemplating this question is an express train to agony.
It could go quite poorly, if Zach Eflin looks more like 2024 Rays Eflin than 2024 Orioles Eflin, if Grayson Rodriguez gets hurt again, if Tomoyuki Sugano’s late-career jump to MLB doesn’t go as well as Mike Elias is betting it will, if Kyle Bradish takes a while to return or is bad when he does, if Trevor Rogers is counted on for anything… you know? I get it. I get the agony. I would like to think about the coming season more if Elias had addressed the apparent hole at the top of the rotation the easiest way he could, by spending some of David Rubenstein’s money. I don’t know why he didn’t do that.
(Speaking of Sugano, via Reddit, you need to look at this picture of him wielding a samurai sword against the backdrop of a large American flag. IKUZO!)
For me, it’s worth keeping in mind that this time last year as humanity marked its most recent orbit around the local star, you could have been just as concerned about the Orioles rotation. Heck, the rotation picture was even more concerning than we knew on January 2, 2024, because we didn’t know that Bradish or John Means were dealing with elbow problems. The picture changed for the better when Corbin Burnes was acquired late in the offseason and Burnes proved to be exactly what the Orioles needed him to be.
Is there another Burnes-like deal out there to be made? That’s tough to envision. If Dylan Cease of the Padres is available, he might be the best one-year rental candidate. But maybe you find the idea of another one-year rental unsatisfying. I get that. It is! They can’t be trading prospects for guys who are only here for a year every year. That’s going to fall apart eventually. I don’t know how this will all work out, but I won’t have the thought sink in that nothing more will be done until the players report to spring training.
Around the blogO’sphere
As Orioles plan Camden Yards upgrades, they face task of protecting its timeless legacy (The Baltimore Sun)
There are at least $400 million worth of renovations coming to our favorite baseball team’s stadium over the next couple of years. Can they keep its retro charm blended well with modern amenities for another generation of stadiums?
Three changes we’d make to Camden Yards, inspired by other great stadiums (The Baltimore Banner)
The Banner contemplated the coming renovations in the context of cool stuff at other stadiums. The mostly-empty left field upper deck area turning into a vague bar area feels like one thing where OPACY will inevitably follow other stadiums.
Reunion anyone? Orioles may be pursuing Jack Flaherty (Steve Melewski)
MASN’s Steve Melewski reacts to the same rumor that people have been reacting to since earlier in this week. What is essentially a giant shrug emoji is one of the more positive thoughts about the idea.
One prediction for each team in 2025 (MLB.com)
They predict that the Orioles will end their postseason winless drought. Let’s hope!
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2022-24 outfielder Kyle Stowers, 2023 two-game pitcher Reed Garrett, Maryland-born 1996 three-game pitcher Garrett Stephenson, and 1975-76 reserve Royle Stillman. Today is Stillman’s 74th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: zoologist Jack Hanna (1947), baseball Hall of Famer Edgar Martínez (1963), and Twitch personality Tfue (1998).
On this day in history…
In 533, a priest who was born to the name Mercurius was elected pope, taking the name John II. He was the first pope to use a separate papal name. The current pope, Francis, was born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
In 1492, the Emirate of Granada surrendered to the kingdom of Spain. This was the last of the Moorish strongholds on the Iberian peninsula, ending an era of history that began with their 711 invasion.
In 1942, occupying Japanese forces captured Manila, securing their complete control of the Philippines.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on January 2. Have a safe Thursday.