The Payoff Pitch (Audio)

Anthony Santander has finally joined the Orioles (it was revealed that he had tested positive for Covid19), but Dwight Smith Jr. is still nowhere to be found. Richie Martin suffered an injury requiring surgery and will be out for a few months. In the finale of The Payoff Pitch, Paul runs down those stories and more as we are now just over a week from our delayed MLB Opening Day. 

In this week's episode of The Payoff Pitch, Paul goes over the Orioles' truncated 60-game schedule, wonders why a couple Orioles haven't been seen on the field yet, and tears into the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network for their refusal to show us any O's intrasquad or other summer camp action.

Two weeks, two installments of The Payoff Pitch! It seems Major League Baseball and the Players Union got their heads out of their own posteriors long enough to reach an agreement on a 60-game season to be played in 66 days beginning July 23/24. And while excitement for the first live American team sports since March abounds, the future of the game of baseball, with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement on the horizon, is cloudier than ever. I delve into the details of the new season, while also looking at the gloom-and-doom that will inevitably be the 2021/22 offseason. Plus, a look at some Hall of Famers that are, and some that never were. Why is Derek Jeter treated like Babe Ruth when he's nothing more than Paul Molitor? Just hit play and find out on The Payoff Pitch.

We're back! Hopefully MLB will follow shortly...why don't they already have a plan in place? Well, let's spend a few minutes talking about why Rob Manfred is the worst thing to happen to Major League Baseball in my lifetime. Maybe we'll have a shortened season and can talk about some real baseball soon...or maybe not, because Rob sucks. For now, let's talk about the guys the Orioles drafted in the 2020 Amateur Draft.

In this first episode of The Payoff Pitch of 2020, Paul goes over the recent Hall of Fame honorees, then gets into the Astros' sign-stealing scandal and the fallout from that report. After that, he of course talks Orioles, including their jettisoning of Jonathan Villar, some prospects to get excited about, & more. Dan Connolly of The Athletic joins Paul to talk about his HoF ballot, Adley Rutschman being invited to big-league camp this spring, other young Birds that will be competing for spots, and more. 

In this offseason episode of The Payoff Pitch, Paul talks about the O's Winter Warmup, the recent trades, and more. He is joined by Orioles Hangout's prospect analyst Luke Siler, and they discuss the players the Orioles acquired in the Jonathan Villar and Dylan Bundy trades, as well as their Rule V selections. 

In this offseason edition of The Payoff Pitch, Paul congratulates the team down 95 on their World Series win, goes over the Orioles' moves to date, and previews the owners meetings. The Baltimore Sun's O's beat writer Jon Meoli then joins the show to discuss the O's puzzling decision to cancel FanFest, Chris Holt's role, those aforementioned moves, and more. 

In the final episode of the 2019 season, Paul is joined by Dan Connolly of The Athletic to put a bow on the Baltimore Orioles' 2019 campaign. Which players made a case to be back in 2020? Who will be non-tendered? Who will be traded? And what can fans look forward to this offseason and into 2020?

On this week's show, Paul plays GM and looks ahead to the decisions the Orioles will have to make this offseason regarding a long list of players. After the break, our old friend Adam McInturff of 2080 Baseball joins us to talk about the O's playing in the Arizona Fall League. 

This week, we are again honored to be joined by Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun. Jon and Paul talk about the Most Valuable Oriole award, the logjam at first base (including Ryan Mountcastle), Chris Davis, Alex Wells, Adley Rutschman, and plenty more!

On this week's episode, Paul is excited to be joined by longtime O's beat writer Roch Kubatko. Roch talks about covering the two losingest seasons in franchise history, players that need to be moved to the 40-man roster, Jonathan Villar's future, Austin Hays, and the 2020 first overall pick. 

In this episode, Paul is once again joined by ESR's Matt Pyne. Paul & Matt discuss Chris Davis's future (or lack thereof) in Baltimore, September call-ups, the decision to not call up Ryan Mountcastle, and plenty more. 

In this episode of The Payoff Pitch, we are once again joined by Eric Arditti of Barstool Sports. We talk about the current state of the rebuild, Hunter Harvey shutting down the Gnats late in a game, next year's draft, Anthony Santander's promise, and more. 

On this episode of The Payoff Pitch, Paul is joined by Eutaw Street Report Senior Editor Derek Arnold. The guys talk about the "mercy rule," relegation, and other silly ideas, as well as where some O's prospects will start 2020, and plenty more. 

In this week's episode, we have a very special guest, in Aberdeen IronBirds third baseman Toby Welk. We talk to Toby about his record-breaking pace in Aberdeen, being teammates with the #1 overall pick, and more. Later in the show, Russell Street Report's Vasilios Nikolaou joins us to talk about Jon Heyman's trash takes and plenty of other O's topics. 

On this week's show, Paul is joined by Dan Turner, former producer for The Big Bad Morning Show on 105.7 the Fan. Paul and Dan talk about Jonathan Villar's future, watching a rebuilding team, home run derby baseball, terrible umpires, and plenty more. 

On this week's show, Paul rants about some truly terrible takes from Steve Phillips and Thomas Boswell. Then he's joined by the voice of the Bowie Baysox, Adam Pohl. Adam fills us in on the progress of some of the players driving Bowie, who have been on a huge hot streak since getting off to a slow start. 

In this week's episode, we are joined by Todd Karpovich, who writes for several sites including Press Box, Russell Street Report, Forbes, and more.  We talk about Asher Wojciechowski, the potential next Orioles to be traded, Mark Trumbo's impending return, and more.  (Note: We apologize for the feedback/poor audio during the call with Todd. We'll do our best to make sure it doesn't happen again!)

On this week's show, Glenn Clark of GlennClarkRadio.com and PressBoxOnline.com joins the show once again. Glenn and Paul talk about the upcoming sellouts at Aberdeen, the Andrew Cashner trade, whether or not it makes sense to trade Trey Mancini, and what fans can do going forward to stay sane during the early stages of this rebuild. 

The Baltimore Orioles were more active in the International signing period than they've been in years thanks to Mike Elias. Matt Taylor of Roar from 34 joins us to talk about that and much more on this episode. 

On this week's episode of The Payoff Pitch, ESR's Matt Pyne joins us once again. We talk about Manny Machado's return to Baltimore, the signings of Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson as well as their immediate futures in the organization, and whether or not the Orioles can punt 2020 like they did 2019. 

The Orioles are offensive to the senses, yet still boast a punchless offense. On this week's episode, Paul is joined by Eutaw Street Report Senior Editor Derek Arnold. The guys talk about the disappearing Orioles offense, Chance Sisco's future in Baltimore, and the joys of watching awful pitching year in and year out. 

On this week's show, Paul is joined by fellow Eutaw Street Report writer Dillon Atkinson. They talk about the recent turnaround from O's pitchers, especially Dylan Bundy, and the way John Means and Gabriel Ynoa are stabilizing the rotation. On offense, they discuss Richie Martin's sudden surge, Dwight Smith Jr.'s injury, Anthony Santander's call-up, and more. 

Adam McInturff of 2080 Baseball is back to review the Orioles' 2019 Draft. They took Adley Rutschman first overall, but what about the rest of their haul? Adam breaks down a bunch of different draftees who could be future Orioles. 

With only five days until the 2019 MLB draft, who will the Orioles pick first overall? Most assume it will be Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman, but Texas high schooler Bobby Witt Jr. and Cal first baseman Andrew Vaughn could still be in the mix. Joining me today to talk about the draft, and give great scouting reports on all three players, is Luke Jackson from Press Box.

This week, Paul is joined by Baltimore sports talk icon Stan “The Fan” Charles of Press Box and PressBoxOnline.com. How much longer can the Orioles keep running David Hess & Dan Straily out there to get beat around? Where are the potential future relievers on this team? What’s up with the lack of fundamentals? Stan and I disagree about Trey Mancini’s future in Baltimore, and plenty of more great O’s talk!

On this week's show, Paul is joined by Eric Arditti of Barstool Baseball. We talk about Ken Rosenthal's doom and gloom article, watching a bad baseball team, prospects like Grayson Rodriguez, Blaine Knight, Ryan Mountcastle, and others, what Mike Elias will do in the draft, and plenty more.

On this week's episode of The Payoff Pitch...should fans freak out about rumors the Orioles might be moving to Vegas? Let's get into that ridiculous brouhaha. After that, we're joined by Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun to talk about the Birds so far, his niche with advanced analytics on the O's beat, John Means, some prospects, and more.

The Orioles have been, as expected, a bit tough to watch in 2019. So this week, we head down on the farm with Adam McInturff, Assistant Director of Pro Scouting for 2080Baseball.com. Adam updates us on some pitchers in the Birds’ system, like DL Hall, Zac Lowther, Keegan Akin, and more. We also talk about some bats like Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays.

Is Chris Davis noticeably smaller? Paul gets into that nonsense, along with the fact that it's been a rough week for the Orioles overall. Dillon Atkinson of Eutaw Street Report also joins him to talk about the surprising John Means, Miguel Castro's struggles,juiced baseballs and more.

Chris Davis got a hit! Several, in fact. In this episode of The Payoff Pitch, Paul Valle is joined by Glenn Clark of PressBox and Glenn Clark Radio to talk about Davis, Trey Mancini's future, some baby Birds, and plenty more.

In this episode of The Payoff Pitch, host Paul Valle goes over the Orioles' latest roster moves. He is then joined by fellow Eutaw Street Report writer Matt Pyne, who talks about the O's early leaders in some select advanced analytical stats.

In the last episode of The Payoff Pitch before the Orioles' home opener, Paul is joined by Jeremy Conn of 105.7 to talk about the Birds' hot start. They get into Chris Davis' ongoing struggles, pulling a guy having a no-hit bid, trusting the process, and more.

In episode 3 of The D&L Professional Window Tinting Payoff Pitch, Paul Valle talks about surprises on the Orioles' opening day roster. Later, he is joined by Scott Magness of Bird's Eye View to talk about what O's fans can look for as progress in 2019, and get into the nerdiest of "nerd stats," WAR.

In the second episode of The Payoff Pitch presented by D&L Professional Window Tinting, we go over some of the recent roster moves, including the somewhat surprising demotion of Austin Hays to minor-league camp. We’ll also try to figure out what’s going on with the Birds’ rotation, and then we are joined by Ken Weinman of 105.7 The Fan to get his thoughts. Later in the show, we debut a new segment: Nerd Stat of the Week.

In this inaugural episode of The Payoff Pitch (new version), Paul catches everyone up on Spring Training to this point. Later in the show, fellow ESR writer Dillon Atkinson joins him to talk about roster decisions, Chris Davis’ status, and plenty more.