Category Archives: Sports
Ravens Cut Down To 75. Updated Roster Projection.
The Ravens have completed their first round of cuts by the August 26th deadline to get under the 75 man roster limit. They placed DL/DE Dwan Edwards, LB Terrence Melton and DT Kelly Talavou on the injured reserve and cut WR Darnerien McCants and TE Aaron Walker. Except for the move to put Edwards on the IR, non of these moves were unexpected. This appears to open the door for Dan Cody to make the team as a pass rush specialist, or one of the other backup defensive tackles like J’Vonne Parker to make the team.
Read more for my updated roster projection:
Ravens Looked Ugly Against The Rams.
The Ravens lost 24-10 to the Rams in their third preseason game. Kyle Boller and Troy Smith both ended up missing the game despite the expectation that Smith would start and play three quarters. Boller has a shoulder problem that caused him to miss practice all week and Troy Smith had flu-like symptoms and problems with his voice that kept him out of the game. With the line problems that the Ravens have been having I don’t blame either player for sitting this one out. Adam Terry is having issues coming back from injury and playing right tackle. Jared Gaither is still injured, so I think that the Ravens should move Terry back to left tackle and possibly move Marshal Yanda back to right tackle. The interior line has played well so it might not be such a great idea to upset that continuity by moving Yanda, but I don’t think the Ravens have any other options.
Ravens Projected Roster #3
This is the newest 53 man roster with most errors corrected (I was missing the long snapper) and most recent changes to the roster.
- There are rumors about the Ravens interest in Fred Miller which would clear up the picture on the offensive line.
- The running back situation is tough to call, but I think the Ravens will go with Ross who can contribute on special teams, can be a feature back and/or be a 3rd down back.
- I do not include Gary Stills and Dan Cody in this list, but you could include them and cut a corner or wide receiver instead, but I think this is pretty close to how the roster would shake out if cuts were today.
Jim Johnson is awesome…
The Orioles are considering the future of Jim Johnson on their pitching staff. He was brought through the majors as a started but finds himself entrenched as the O’s current setup man after his spectacular season in the pen. The O’s options are to leave him as the setup man, move him back to starter, or transition him from setup man to closer. There are other moves that may sway the O’s decision one way or the other like if they trade George Sherrill, the health of Chris Ray, and/or the status of our starting 5. My preference would be for the O’s to trade Sherrill while the demand is high and move Johnson to closer and ease Ray or Matt Albers into the setup role. Earlier in the year I was in favor of Johnson moving to take over one of the spots in the starting rotation, but the injuries to our bullpen changed my mind for this year. I wouldn’t be against moving him to starter if Sherrill remains an Oriole.
Orioles Trade Bradford
The Orioles did make a move in trading Chad Bradford to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later. This takes $4.5 million off of the books for the O’s. Hopefully the O’s will be able to get some other waiver trades done before the end of August. Bradford was a good specialty pitcher for the O’s so it isn’t a good thing to see him go, but the money saved and the spot opening for other younger prospects is a good thing. The emergence of Jim Johnson and Matt Albers in the bullpen probably left the O’s pretty confident that they could get opposing righties out with more regularity.
Ravens Roster Prediction Update
This isn’t really a new edition to the prediction, but some players were cut and added (CB Phillips cut and RB Haynes added) so I figured that I’d update my roster as well. Expect more significant updates after the preseason game this Thursday against the Patriots:
Ravens Roster Projection #2
Below is my updated Ravens roster projection. This installment has players listed by what I think their future holds based on my opinion of their current camp performance and place on the depth chart. I have given them a designation of lock, solid, and bubble. I have also added notes on who I think could be signed to the practice squad or could be cut. I have 37 locks, 9 solids, 11 bubbles, 8 PS and 12 cuts.
Orioles quiet at the deadline
So far the Orioles have made no moves before the July 31st trade deadline. Whispers from the warehouse are that they won’t make any moves for the waiver deadline, but will attempt to make some moves before the “real” deadline on August 31st. The O’s have some players that they might be able to move in August (like Millar, Payton, and/or R. Hernandez), but they probably will not net the big return that a July 31st or offseason trade would. I suppose that the O’s will probably be active during the offseason again, so it isn’t anything to get all upset about. Andy MacPhail is in it for the long haul, I guess I’d just prefer that he were picking off some more prospects right now to keep it fresh in my mind.
My initial Ravens Roster Prediction
The following is my initial draft of the Baltimore Ravens players that should make the 53 man roster. The 45 players with an asterisk next to their name I think are going to make the club, so by my estimation there are eight spots are up for grabs. I think those remaining spots are going to come from the remaining linebackers, running backs, and D-Linemen.
Update: Ravens24x7 posted their own stab at the roster based on performance in camp so far. Their list includes some players they think are on the bubble. I intend to post my bubble list as well in my next update.
Orioles Roster Set. Gibbons released!
The Orioles finalized their 25 man roster for opening day today. One surprise was the 11th hour release of Jay Gibbons. Gibbons has had issues of late putting together a few sub par injury plagued seasons, being suspended by the commissioner and having a terrible spring training, so Gibbons release is an action that most fans and media were hoping would happen, but thought was not realistic due to the $11.9 million dollars of guaranteed money left on his contract that the O’s would still have to pay him if he was released. Somehow Andy MacPhail managed to convince Peter Angelos to get over his personal affinity for Jay Gibbons and to swallow the expense at the same time. This action alone will earn Angelos some good will back from the fans that he has lost over 10 straight losing seasons.
Baltimore Sports Post 