Midday Mailbag

Will Orioles make big moves at trade deadline? / MAILBAG

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.

Question: Do you think it’s more likely this year that the Orioles will make big moves at the deadline, and if so do you think it has to do with David Rubenstein? From: Daniel Frankel,

Answer: Daniel, I think the Orioles will be aggressive at the deadline because they believe that with the addition of another starter and a stronger bullpen, they’ll have the chance to advance farther in the postseason than they did last year.

I’m confident that David Rubenstein will encourage Mike Elias to do what he needs to do to improve the club.

Question: I have heard that Aberdeen is a tough hitters’ park. It seems to me that hitting is hitting and the park shouldn’t make a difference. What makes a park like Aberdeen a tough place to hit? From: Carl Sallese from Baldwin

Answer: Carl, some current Orioles — Colton Cowser, Gunnar Henderson and Heston Kjerstad — did struggle at Aberdeen.

I think it’s a combination of pitchers with poor control, a sometimes difficult hitting background, which I understand has been improved, and inexperience in professional ball.

When pitchers have poor control, it’s hard to get in a rhythm, and some players have a tough adjustment from Delmarva to a higher level.

Fortunately, for the Orioles, Cowser, Henderson and Kjerstad did much better at Bowie on their way to the Orioles.

Rich Dubroff

Rich Dubroff grew up in Brooklyn as a fan of New York teams, but after he moved to Baltimore, quickly adopted the Orioles and Colts. After nearly two decades as a freelancer assisting on Orioles coverage for several outlets, principally The Capital in Annapolis and The Carroll County Times, Dubroff began covering the team fulltime in 2011. He spent five years at Comcast SportsNet’s website and for the last two seasons, wrote for PressBoxonline.com, Dubroff lives in Baltimore with his wife of more than 30 years, Susan.

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