Dan Connolly Archives - Page 40 of 78

December 31, 2016 at 7:00 am

Thanks for 2016 — and here’s hoping for an even better 2017 at BaltimoreBaseball.com

Happy New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day to all of our BaltimoreBaseball.com readers. It’s typically a slow week or two in the baseball world from around Christmastime to shortly after New Year’s Day, and we’ve taken advantage of that down period to spend a little time recharging the batteries. We’ll get...

December 29, 2016 at 7:00 am

Post-New Year’s Day buys are now more important than pre-Christmas shopping in baseball

Well, you’ve made it past the Christmas frenzy and are limping your way to New Year’s Day. Congratulations. I hope you still have some cash left in your wallets or purses. I’m a father of three. I don’t. Theoretically, baseball’s general managers still have some money to spend. Or at least the dozens...

December 23, 2016 at 7:00 am

A tale of love, loss, adoption and Oriole legend Brooks Robinson

This isn’t a baseball story, not really anyway. It’s a people story, a love story, a tragic story. And then, just when you want to scream from the rooftops about how life is so damn unfair, this becomes a story of heart-warming hope, with an all-time Orioles’ great providing some of that...

December 21, 2016 at 7:00 am

Which team doled out the largest free-agent contract of calendar year 2016? The Orioles

I’ve noticed a familiar refrain in the past few weeks as free agents are signing with teams. “When will the Orioles spend money? I’m so sick of everyone else opening their checkbooks while the Orioles never do anything in the offseason but dumpster dive.” I just smile and nod. Why let facts...

December 19, 2016 at 7:00 am

Is Matt Wieters the best all-around catcher in O’s history?

Although it won’t be official until he signs elsewhere, the reality is Matt Wieters’ career as an Oriole is over. He’ll almost certainly play for someone else in 2017, after being behind the plate for the Orioles since 2009. It seems like this news has been met with shrugs by a lot...

December 16, 2016 at 1:22 pm

Thoughts on Castillo and Wieters after Friday’s teleconference

Catcher Welington Castillo passed his physical and was officially announced as a member of the Orioles on Friday in a teleconference with local media. Three things struck me about what was said by Castillo, manager Buck Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette. ** Castillo mentioned several times about wanting to join...

at 7:00 am

Random Tomo Ohka signing deserves random Ohka facts

Every now and then, I realize the good fortune I’ve been afforded in covering Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette. There really isn’t anyone like him in this sport. Forget about marching to the beat of a different drummer, Duquette marches to music only he hears. Take this week for instance. On...

December 15, 2016 at 6:06 pm

The most Duquettian of moves: Tomo Ohka signed to minor deal

We know Dan Duquette, the Orioles’ executive vice president of baseball operations, often abandons convention in adding player inventory to the organization. We know he is a fan of foreign players, obscure leagues, Boston/New England connections and unorthodox pitchers. Well, he hit for the Duquette Superfecta with one move Thursday. The Orioles...

December 14, 2016 at 5:00 pm

O’s reach agreement with Castillo to fill catcher’s void

The Orioles have agreed with free-agent catcher Welington Castillo to a one-year, $6 million deal with a player option for 2018, pending medical review, according to an industry source. The decision likely ends the Orioles’ tenure of Matt Wieters, who has been the club’s primary starting catcher since 2009, but is a...