Bruce Chen's Joke of the Day

....must have been his pitching. I am quitting the Bruce Chen fan club.

COREY!!!!

How's that trade for Corey Patterson looking now? 2-4 last night with 2 HR and a SB, 18th of the year...and there was this catch. Top of the ninth 2 out 1 runner on and the ball carries...carries....carries...and Patterson makes the catch and saves the day. Chris Ray gets save number 14, but I wish he'd go a few outings without a walk. Rodrigo was ok. 3-7!!!! WOO HOO!!!

I feel for you, Leo.

"There is an overall lack of passion on this pitching staff." Who said this? Leo Mazzone did Results can take time. But I think soon we should some results. Bedard This season: 5-4 5.67 Last season: 6-8 4.00 Lopez This season: 2 7 7.16 Last season: 15 12 4.90 Cabrera This season: 2 2 5.23 39 BB Last season: 10 13 4.52 87 BB Chen This season: 0 5 7.40 Last season: 13 10 3.83 Benson This season: 6 4 4.80 Last season: 10 8 4.13 The numbers don't look great. Benson so far has looked to be the "ace." Realistically, though Benson's a 3. Bedard had a great start, but lately he's struggled badly. Cabrera's been frustrating before he went down. Lopez and Chen have been disasters. Both did have good starts their last times out though. It's about the time to see some results. I'm not expecting to have five aces,but I want to see baby steps at least. The next few weeks are important. We have a new pitching coach, a new philosphy, and a new catcher. It's not going to happen overnight. But I'd except a little more than what we've seen. It's like Maese said: "You can't give Mazzone eggs, flour, and sour milk and expect a five-course meal." The sour milk has to be both Chen and Lopez. Kevin Millar is showing that clubhouse leadership. Seriously, his stock just went up with me. This is why this guy was signed. I'm not going to sit here and try to speculate on what Orioles he's calling out. I don't know these guys. I just watch them on tv, listen to them on radio, and cheer for them. What happens in the clubhouse needs to stay in the clubhouse. I wonder what would have happened if he was an O last season. I hope gets his point across. I'm wondering if this means a trade or two may happen soon. And with those words, it immediately shifts to Tejada, rightly or wrongly. Will he be traded or will he stay? I hate even thinking of this. Tejada's been one of the few things that have gone right for the Orioles over the past dismal eight years. I'm not completely opposed to a trade IF it's something that's a sure thing. I wouldn't want a bag of magic beans trade. Maybe if we did, we could get some kind of overdue karma for the Davis trade. So hey, our pitchers lack passion, our players don't talk the game, care more about their rims and dressing pimpy, and are their for the check. UGh. It's time to lay the hammer down, Sam. On to more encouraging stuff Thoughts on Nick and his early struggles. He's turned it around lately. Now he's batting .238 with hits in 10 of his last 12. Good player do adjust. Maybe he has. Chris Ray is amazing. Kurt Birkins is overlooked. LaTroy Hawkins is feast or famine, isn't he? The Tigers are the feel good story of the season thus far. 35-16 and a 1.5 game lead in the Central. Good for you. Hope it ends better for you than it did for us. Re-enactment of the Barrett/AJ Figh t ...with LEGOS.

Sam Shows Some Fire!

Didn't see the game and didn't see the play. But good for Sam. Must have worked, the bats came back to life. O's win 7-6. Chris Ray pitches 2 innings for the save, after LaTroy Hawkins didn't record an out in the 8th. Much needed day off tomorrow and the O's are back East and back in my time zone.

Jay Gibbons can not get a break

Did Jay Gibbons try to catch a ball or wrestle an alligator? What a rotten week for the guy. His Mom dies unexpectedly. He now has a Left hip flexor, a Right shoulder strain, and Back spasms from diving for a catch that ended up being an inside the park homerun. He hope gets a few days off to get some rest. It's time to change the black-out guidlines. Since I live in the South and the only team near me (the Braves) has a superstation, I haven't been plagued by this problem. But I feel for anyone who does. Now, I'll see you all Monday.

Tim McCarver is the Master of the Obvious

"Fundamentals are a fundamental part of playing baseball."- Tim McCarver My mind has just exploded. I don't know what to say...even by McCarver standards this is a new low. That's like saying "Food is an important part of eatting." Pause I'm not happy that the FOX Game of the Week is back. I can not express my distane for Joe Buck and Captain Obvious himself, Tim McCarver. No games on Saturday before 7 pm unless you watch their games. There's would have been a picture of Deion Sanders dumping Gatorade on McCarver here, but I couldn't find one. For more McCarver gems go here. That X Men 3 Opening was Wretched wasn't it? About last night...Glad to see Chen have a good outing. Jay Gibbons, not going to pile on the guy, he's had a horrible week. But I think at some point, we'll see him at first or DH. John Donovan revisists the off-season moves. That's going to be it for the weekend. I'm tired, the Orioles play at 10:05 tonight and I've got a long day tomorrow.

My heart bleeds for Carlos Zambrano

No hitter into the 7th...Jacque Jones drops out 3, and Dempester melts down in the ninth inning. I pity Cubbie Nation.

Rodrigo 2 hits M's!

WOW. Where did this guy come from? Rodrigo Lopez knocked 'em dead in Seattle. After a dismal start and many (myself included) saying a trip to the bullpen should be in order, Lopez rebounded with 7 and a third innings of 2 hit baseball, striking out 4 and walking one. Rodrigo threw only 88 pitches-63 for strikes. After issuing his first walk in the 8th, Sam gave him a quick hook and let Chris Ray get the last five outs for his 12th save. Good move by Sam, if the next batter hits a homer and ties the game up, then it's another loss for Rodrigo and everything good he did for 7 plus innings were wasted, and it was good to see Chris Ray go in early. I like that. From now on maybe Javy should catch Rodrigo. I've read that in a couple articles today and if it helps him out, then go for it. DH Ramon those games and rest him up and let Javy catch. Without Brian Roberts, that game could have went in extra innings 0-0. That's why I wouldn't want any other lead off batter in baseball. Here's the game recap. Perlozzo had a closed door meeting with the team after Wednesday's loss to the Mariners. Glad to see he's not afraid to call the team out and apparently it worked. Also, Kris Benson will start instead of John Halama. Since Benson only 2 innings, he can likely go on 3 days rest. It's nothing personal, Halama. Chris Hoiles is among those being inducted in the O's Hall of Fame. The full list: Chris Hoiles (catcher 89-98) Doug DeCinces(3rd base 73-81) Eddie Weidner and Ralph Salvon (1st trainers in Orioles history)will be the recipients of the Herb Armstrong Award, presented to non-uniformed personnel who have made significant contributions to the ballclub and the game of baseball. Is being up in Baltimore good for Loewen at this point? I'm sure when Penn gets back, he'll go back to Bowie or maybe Ottawa. If he's not pitching (starting) then he shouldn't be here. I feel bad for Nationals Catcher and Clemson Alum Matt LeCroy. LeCroy's the third string catcher and last night Frank had to pull him after the Astros stole seven bases on him and he threw two balls into centerfield. Frank was moved to tears about the decision after the game. The Royals have dropped 13 straight. They blew a 6 run lead. This team is sheer pain to watch....even their highlights. Michael Barrett gets a 10 game vacation. Abraham Nunez gets busted for performance enhancers. He's not the Abraham Nunez that played for the Cardinals (now in Philly), this is the one who played for the Marlins and KC and now is in the Giants minor leagues. Geez, two players both with the exact same name....Abraham i might can see, but Nunez? The Durham Bulls have another "ump-related suspension" Lead by example? It's not baseball, but I can put up whatever I wnat. Ivan Maisel has his post-spring top 25. I'm expecting a lot out of my Clemson Tigers, who he ranks at 11. James Davis is the real deal. Looking forward to season, without Bush and Leinhart at USC and Young at Texas, there's no favorites yet for the number 1 spot.

Roberts Returns!!!!!

Brian Roberts is BACK!!!! Ed Rodgers goes back to Ottawa. Welcome back Brian! Jorge Julio TRADED!!! As biased as I am about Julio, after a train wreck of a start, he's had a good stretch since. I like the trade for the Mets. El Duque is a good pitcher. Not a good season so far him: Hernandez has a 2-4 record and a 6.11 ERA with 52 strikeouts and 20 walks in 45 2/3 innings pitched. But I'd rather have him in my rotation that Jose Lima. Anyway, Good luck in AZ, Jorge. Bonds on Bonds is over. I didn't notice.

My Apologies John Halama

I was not looking forward to John Halama's first start. I'll be honest, I thought it'd be a disaster. Another one in the loss column....but I was wrong. Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Halama (W, 3-1) 5.0 4 2 2 2 2 0 4.76 Pitches- strikes-balls 67-40 Here's the sweet recap Though I thought he could have went longer, I understand the quick hook. Halama's been used out the pen all season and after going five innings...asking for six might be overextending him. After this, he looks much better in the rotation Chen and Lopez. Maybe it was one good start, right place, right time. But I haven't seen Chen do anything like this all season, Lopez either. Ramon Hernandez had an awesome game. 3 for 6 2 HR 7 RBI with a GRAND SLAM His average is .316 Corey Patterson has another nice one too. 3 for 3 1 HR 1 RBI 2 BB 1 HBP 2 SB His average is now up to .306 *I don't want Corey moved out of the seven spot. No number 2 spot. No 4. No lead-off. He's comfortable in the bottom of the order, so leave him there. Nick Markakis did too. 3 for 5 2 RBI 1 BB Nick's now batting .230....he's getting there. Loewen didn't look that great, did he? I'll cut him a break. First start. Little rest. Close game...not exactly the best time to bring him in at. The Sun has a good article breaking down the starting pitching.

Made it easier....

I took the extra five minutes and did a poll. Should be easy to find. O's still lead, thanks to Todd Williams. You can start a write in for Todd in the comments section.

Who do I get?

When I go to the Yard in August, I want to have my jersey. If I was made of money, I'd pay 250 bucks and get the Ripken. Of course, I'm not so thus I can't. So I'm debating on who to get... I've narrowed it down to: Tejada Mora Herandez Ray Roberts Markakis and Patterson, well...Markakis will be good over time, but he just didn't make my cut and Patterson will have to have a solid season before he can get jersey consideration. What I'm going to do is put it out there. Whoever gets the most votes in comments section, then I'll get. I would do a poll, but I don't have that knowledge yet. If I have no one in comments, then I'll dig through a dumpster for a Sosa or Palmerio jersey. Maybe I'll spring for that Luis Matos jersey I've had my eye on. Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts put himself through a strenuous workout yesterday at Safeco Field that went well enough for manager Sam Perlozzo to say that his return to the lineup is imminent. -- Baltimore Sun I can't wait...it seems like it's been a couple of months. Welcome to Baltimore Adam Loewen He's on in relief right now....and let's just say he looks raw....very very raw. I'm thinking that the butterflies are pretty big for him right now. Line for the inning... 1 K 1 BB 1 H 1 R 1 HBP 1 out Wasn't pretty, but it's his first time in the bigs. I'm glad Sam went with the quick hook though. That's been a problem this season...the whole working their way out of their own jams. On Hayden Penn: "Maybe in a month, we'll have him back pitching again." Sammy P SI has a piece on Mazzone and his effect on the pitching staff thus far. Not very positive, but since it's also wrote from a fantasy baseball point, it's even less so. I don't do the whole fantasy thing myself. But it's going to take some time befor Mazzone has an effect....it'll happen. It's not as if he has a magic wand. Jake Peavy fans 16 and still loses. Check out the fate for the scout who discovered Albert Pujols. On a much more somber note... Sympathies to Jay Gibbons whose Mother passed today.

Penn Scratched

Penn has appendicitis and won't be starting tonight. The starter? John Halama. Ugh Adam Loewen was called up since Penn's out. He just started two days ago, I think. So he won't be starting tonihgt. John Halama.... New O's mailbag By the way, the O's lost last night. UGh....John Halama

Corey Patterson is really fast

Corey Patterson has had a stellar season. I'm excited about his play thus far, but I'm trying not to get too excited. Comparing his numbers this season is a little unfair because of that .067 start he had early in the season. I say it's unfair because he would pinch hit and never had a chance to establish any rhythm. I want to see how he's doing at the All-Star Break before I get my hopes up. Patterson is striking out less and looking more patient at the base. In DC, he probably had the best weekend of an Oriole, along side Kris Benson. But as the boys at MASN said this weekend "Corey Patterson is really fast".... about 100 times. Penn will take over Cabrera's slot in the rotation. The AJ Burnett deal revisited. In retrospect, It's a great thing this deal didn't go down; Even if Lowell is having a great season. Why? No Kris Benson, No Hawkins, No Penn, and a DL full of Burnett. Q & A with Bowie Baysox Manager Scott McGregor. A highlight or two: Scott McGregor: I believe you will see Adam with the Orioles before the year is up. Yes, I believe our young pitching is definitely the strength of the organization and it goes as deep as Delmarva so we will be in good shape for a while. Jeff Zrebiec answers O's questions A little bit of around the league stuff: There's some bad blood between Ozzie Smith and Tony LaRussa. Looks like Dusty might be getting that extension. That's surprising, I thought he'd get canned real soon actually. Soriano's having a great season. I wonder if he finishes it in DC. He'll get that nice contract in the off-season. David Glass "paralyzes" the Royals with his... well, ownership of the Royals. I heard on PTI that the kid who caught Bond's 714 is going to sell in on EBAY. I wouldn't buy it with your money.

Penn to start Tuesday

From ESPN:

RHP Hayden Penn will be brought up from the minors to start Tuesday for Baltimore at Seattle. RHP Julio Manon was optioned to Triple-A Ottawa.

His Ottawa 2006 Numbers W L ERA G GS CG SHO IP H R ER HBP WP BB SO WHIP 2 2 1.48 5 5 1 1 30.1 21 6 5 1 0 11 29 1.05 Penn's 2005 numbers with the O's. The future starts now, kids. I guess it's Chen to the pen and they're hoping that Lopez will slap it back together somehow soon. Adios Julio Manon, maybe we'll see you again later this season. But after last night...alittle time in AAA might be good for ALL of us. At this point, I hope Cabrera gets back soon and we can have 4 out 5 starters who give us a chance to win every time they pitch. Chen and Lopez seem to be the extra guy for the other team whenever they pitch. by the way, today's loss ties us with Tampa Bay in the AL East cellar. I'm not complaining though. Given the pitching, the injuries, the runners left on base, the walks, and the bullpen....20-24 is mighty good considering. Maybe Brian Roberts will play in Seattle....I hope. I neglected to mention that I finished reading "Black and Blue." It's a great book. It spends equal time on both the Orioles and the Dodgers. One of the best researched baseball books you'll read.

Can Chen possibly get a Win?

As Bruce Chen throws his 30 pitch of the first inning... Last night was a wash. I've come to believe that Rodrigo Lopez can offer 3 to 4 good innings an outing, that is if he can escape the first inning unscathed. Watching him and Chen pitch and determine which one is better is like trying to pick which ugly girl is the prettiest. Here's something from the recap:

"Nobody's working harder than him to get it right, that's for sure," Mazzone said. "I thought he was going to go a long way. His pitch count was down, but the [Fick hit] started a little bit of a slide." Perlozzo said Lopez isn't in any danger of losing his starting spot since the Orioles are already missing one pitcher because of Daniel Cabrera going on the disabled list. The manager wants Lopez to just keep working and try and get everything straightened out. Since the Orioles are already having numerous problems with their bullpen, they need more starters to get deeper into games to take the pressure off the relievers. "He's going to have to keep working at it," Perlozzo said.

Penn's getting the call-up I'm sure. In my opinion, Loewen should not be called up until late in the season. Give him plenty of games to build up his confidence, move him up to AAA and let him face some better quality of batters there. Then if he still looks good, then he can go to Baltimore for the last month of the season. There's not need to trot him out there now and rush him. It's stinks that BOTH Chen and Lopez have decided that this is their season not to shine. Chen's a free agent after the season, so there goes the theory of elevating your play in a contract year. If I had to pick one of the two to send the pen... W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR HBP BB SO R Lopez 1 7 8.07 10 10 58.0 79 54 52 13 0 22 36 B Chen 0 4 8.23 8 7 35.0 52 36 32 13 0 14 22 Eh...so far neither looks especially good, but I guess at this point I'd let Rodrigo hang in the rotation by default, BUT after 4 innings, unless he rediscovers his old magic, I'd only use him as a four inning starter then put Chen in and maybe with their powers combined, they could manufacture a win. BTW Word is Penn gets his first start at Seattle on Tuesday. I'm off Wednesday, so hopefully I'm get back from the game in time to see some of it. Javy gets the start today. Former Oriole great, Richard Hidalgo may be getting a shot with the Yanks. The Twins are getting a new home. A few excerpts that caught my eye:

Plans don't call for a retractable roof, so April and May games will often be played in less-than-desirable conditions -- and some of them will surely be postponed by rain or even snow. That will make it less attractive for fans to travel from outside of the metropolitan area, without the guarantee of seeing a game, and chilly weather also won't help lure customers.

The retractable roof would seem to be a must, I would think. Maybe that's too much for Pohlad.

Major construction probably won't start until 2007, so it's unlikely many -- if any -- of the current players will still be wearing Minnesota uniforms when the new place opens. But the news was still welcome.

True. Barry tied the Babe and NO ONE CARES. Just read some of the quotes here...Bobby Cox, Jim Palmer, Griffey Jr...it's not a big deal for most people. I'm glad this kid caught it. The Cubs finally got a hit yesterday Hopefully this is the last time I'll have to hear these two clowns on MASN ever.

Too good to be true....

Again....the frustrated Rodrigo Lopez pose. Has he earned his way to the bullpen yet Sam?

714

The Nats Announcers are HORRIBLE

Watching this thriller in DC on MASN. These announcers are KILLING me. Absolutely KILLING ME! That's why I'm posting again, I need to tune out these clowns alittle. It's one thing to be an announcer and be a fan of the team. These two knuckleheads are like nails on a chalkboard. I just want a slightly coherent called game without blatant bias. "Daryle Ward....oh man...this guy is sooo great. I'd really like to see him get more at bats." Hate to break it to them, he's really not. Then they criticize Tejada for not hustling to make a triple out of a double, after saying the Nats should hit Tejada after Benson plunked Zimmerman. What? Classless. All this O's trashing is trashy. I hope CSN is on Extra Innings tomorrow. A sweep of the Nats gets us to .500. If you cross the names Expos and Nationals...you get something like the Expositionals. Corey Patterson tripled in a run, on a ball that the almost-to-Cooperstown Daryle Ward completely misplayed. He scored later on a Kris Benson grounder. Geez, I miss the DH. The Ump behind home has not been good....at least he's been consistent though. consistently bad. Daryle Ward is out of the game. He really needs some more at bats. Wiki Gonzalez is a fun name. I went out earlier today (until I called it a day earlier due to my wretched sinus issues)to meet up with a girl I've been kinda seeing. Tomorrow she's moving up to DC for the summer and then to Arlington (or is it Arrington?) in the fall. We had this little exchange: Her:"You'll come up and see me in the fall won't you?" Me: "Sure, I will." Her:"Is that just so you can go to Orioles game." Me: "Oh...of course not JUST to go an Orioles game." Her:"Well, I want to go too." Me: "Of course you're going." Her:"I just want to make sure that the main reason you're coming up is to go to a baseball game." Me: "That's crazy talk." Of course, being that close to Baltimore was the clincher. So I WILL be at one of the Blue Jays/O's games in August. I was eyeing the Yanks/O's game...but she can't that weekend. The next weekend the O's are at Boston and I'll be in Atlanta for the Cubs and Braves. The Jays are the next weekend and the weekend after the D-Rays come to town. I'd rather see the Jays than the Rays...so I'm definately geeked up for my first trip to the Yard. Pavano is likely done for the year. To think we were in the market for this guy. Angelos would have had a stroke with this guy's injury record. Back, elbow, shoulder, butt. Rodrigo says no WBC for him in 2009 Hate to break to you Roddy boy, I don't think you'll be tops on their list at your current rate. Since I posted a bounty today....I may take tomorrow off. But if these two clowns are calling the game, all bets are off. I might just go out instead, once I clean the blood out of my ears.

Interleague starts today

The O's and Nats kick off their Battle of the Beltway tonight. To me, I'm not hankering for the Orioles to beat the arch-rival Nationals. Over time this may become a viable rivarly. Right now though, the Nats are a team in transition with ownership and a front office that's been handcuffed by MLB financially and burden with Bowden as GM. My beloved O's are probably a .500 team this season. So the prospect of a 19-22 team against a team that's 11-28, well...maybe it matters more regionally. I can't say since I live in South Carolina. But I'll watch the games this weekend and over time, both of this teams will be better. The Nationals will be run by Stan Kastan. The same guy who ran the Braves for many years, so they may not be good for a few years, but soon they'll have a young talented team that's full of pitching and outfielders. The O's are going sort of the same route with Leo Mazzone and the fact that their farm system is starting to fill up with some young quality arms. The Post has a great article about the series Here's the offical Mora announcement I'm not thrilled about the full no-trade clause, but I'm betting that Melvin will play at a high level for 3 more years and that won't be an issue. This is also the AL, so it doesn't mean that Mora has to play at 3rd everyday when he's 37 or 38 (option year). He can DH some or play a little outfield, when he's older. But right now, I'm glad we've got Melvin locked up and can all but finish his career as an O. I'm also betting when his playing days are done, he'll have a coaching job with the O's. "That's one of the reasons I signed the contract, because they gave me a no-trade," said Mora. "If I'm going to be an Oriole, I want to be an Oriole forever, not two months." Here's a line from the Baltimore Sun: All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts is signed through 2008, and he appears to be the next in line, following Gibbons and Mora, for an extension. That's right. Sammy P is sick and tired of all the walks Oriole pitchers have handed out and he's not going to take it anymore Kevin Millar delivers another dose of his giddy wit to the internet He's also wanting the fans to start a "Beards for Birds" campaign. Do I have a problem with this? As long as it doesn't get to Johnny Damon levels, it doesn't bother me. As long as they look like pros, it's cool with me. Albert Belle continues his downward spiral Albert says he's clean and I believe him.

Mora deal DONE

Going to work, but had to get the word out on this... Mora's deal is finally done!

The Streak is OVER!

The Orioles finally beat the Red Sox last night, 4-3. Welcome back Kevin Millar and Eric Bedard. Bedard gave up 2 hits over seven innings and looked great after a shaky first. Here's your recap The O's are taking today off and I since I'm wore out, I will too. I'll have more tomorrow as the O's and Nat's kick off their interleague set. I really really hate...

So Close.....

With the half of the team injured, Bruce Chen managed to weasel back into the starting rotation. The results were somewhat uneven, but better than usual. BUT he only went four innings and threw 95 pitches, 54 of strikes, gave up 5 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, 2 walks, 4 K's, and...of course...2 home runs. The two home runs, thankfully, were solo shots. Better outing than usual for Bruce, but that's sort of like staying being stabbed in the leg isn't as bad as being stabbed in the face. Here's your recap. Ramon Hernadez, Jay Gibbons, and Brandon Fahey all homered last night. But it wasn't enough as the O's dropped number 13 in a row to the Red Sox. It was a good game, but it was par for course. Fahey's quickly becoming a favorite of mine. He looks skinny and a tad geeky, but he can get some hits and plays some good D. I think he's staying with the club the rest of the season...and probably taking Gomez's job. I wonder if he can play first? Probably a little too short. Nick Markakis got some very quality at bats last night against Schilling. I was thrilled when they PULLED Schilling because he was coming up. Good to see he's back on track. The Orioles have been banged up at an alarming...alarming rate. Here's my all injury team thus far in the season....and it's basically the regular line-up @ indicates DL stint 1st Kevin Millar (Bruised hand) 2nd Brian Roberts (Hammie) @ SS Miguel Tejada (Gimpy leg) 3rd Melvin Mora (Back) LF Luis Matos (Bum Shoulder) @ CF David Newhan (Broke Leg) @ RF Chris Gomez (Busted hand) @ C Javy Lopez (Back Spasms) @ P Daniel Cabrera(Shoulder issues) @ RP Todd Williams (Leg and arm)@ RP John Parrish (Tommy John) @ RP Tim Byrdak (torn labrum) @ RP Aaron Rakers (torn right labrum) @ There's no DH on the All-Injury team...and I don't want one. There are plenty of O's fans who are at the point in the season where they're already whining about this season being another wash. I figured this would be about a .500 season...actually 1 game over, so at this point I'm not surprised. Actually, with Chen and Lopez stinking it up as they have and the injuries...the record should be worse than what it is. The team is what it is. It's a mish-mash of vets, young players, and aging vets. In the AL East, that's not going to get you better than third unless it's the right mix. The O's aren't there, but I'm hoping they follow the Braves' model, build the farm system on young pitching. If you have boatload of young arms, then you can trade some off and get positional/outfielder prospects or an established player. Hayden Penn Adam Loewen Brandon Erbe JJ Johnson Garret Olsen Rodhames Liz Maybe this is the plan in place that we've been told is going to bring the Oriole Magic back. It is a move in the right direction, but we'll see. Brian Roberts gets a rehab start in Bowie. Cabrera might not be back in 2 weeks. It might be time to call up Penn. Piece on Cabrera and how POTENTIALLY great he can be. I keep hearing the Randy Johnson comparsions as of late. Millar's fighting to getting playing time With Conine becoming a phoenix from the ashes and getting some hits, I find it hard for Millar to get consistent playing time. Maybe when Javy catches and Ramon takes a day off or when they sit Conine for a day or something....but until he can get some hits, I guess his role is team booster. Baseball America has a short piece on JJ..er..James Johnson With Penn and Loewen being trumpeted so much, he can fly under the radar and not be under so much pressure. How do you blow a 10-1 lead? I think Buck Showalter is one of the most overrated managers ever. It's about time for him go fired and find somewhere else to manage for a few years. I wonder if Ben Sheets hangs out with Mark Prior and Kerry Wood? Here's a review of my hometown ballpark. Great park... The worst teams ever.

Rodrigo implodes again.

Rodrigo Lopez is getting pulled in the top of the fifth..no outs and the O's down 8-1. 91 pitches 10 hits 8 runs, all earned, 4 walks, 4 strike outs and 1 homer. It looked like batting practice out there. What happened to this guy? Last season he was rock solid. This season, when I see he's up in the rotation, I cross my fingers and hope the offense can crank out 8 or 9 runs to offset the self-imposed damage from Rodrigo. Barring another come from behind rally, it looks like he's dropping to 1-6. Beckett's been the exact opposite of Rodrigo Lopez tonight. Sigh.

Cabrera goes Down

Cabrera's on the DL Another O goes on the DL. Hayden Penn had best be called up. Kurt Birkins is a nice addition....but I like him in the bullpen. Putting John Halama in the rotation sounds like trouble. Besides, we need to keep the few bullpen lefties in the pen. This won't be an issue to the 23rd against the Seattle Mariners. The soft hitting Mariners seem like a good team for Penn to get his first start against. The extent of Cabrera's injury was not disclosed or the results the MRI. I'm wondering if he's been pitching with this injury before, if so then maybe that'd explain the mass quantity of walks he's issued. I say this because his walk rate for this season at this rate is going to be VERY VERY HIGH. It seems the for each player that comes back (Javy Lopez) another goes down (Daniel Cabrera).

O's Sweep Royals

It wasn't pretty but the O's rallied to sweep the Royals. Daniel Cabrera went only four innings, before leaving in the fifth due to stiffness in his right shoulder. In his four innings, Cabrera gave up 2 hits, 2 runs- both earned, struck out, and walked 7. If he walked 7 in four innings against say, the White/Red Sox, The Yankees, or any other competitive team...he would have left that game trailing 7-2 instead of with a 3-2. I hope his shoulder is ok. Another injury is not what this team needs. Miguel Tejada hit his 11th of the year. Javy Lopez went 3 for 5 today, capping off a nice return to the team. Nick Markakis went 3 for 5 as well, getting his first 3 hit game of his young major league career and pulling himself out of his slump. Though I've said that Nick should be sent down to AAA for awhile, at this point I think he's going to be in Baltimore the rest of the season. Since he's starting to adapt to major league pitching, they might as well keep him around. He looks like he's more confident at the plate and I think by the break, he should be settled in. Kevin Millar drove in the winning run. Millar's been in a bit of a slump, and with the return of Javy, he's the one who's lost playing time. Conine's been hitting a lot better and Lopez is getting paid the big money and wields a heavy bat, so it makes sense that Millar is the third option. In the ninth, Millar pinch hit for Brandon Fahey (who's been a huge surprise) and hit a single that brought in Javy Lopez. Kurt Birkins has had an amazing start in the bullpen. I feel a lot better about the state of the pen now than I have any point yet this season. Of course, there's still some weaknesses in there. But it's looking better. From Ken Rosenthal:

The Orioles and Nationals are similar in one respect: Neither team is getting much out of a pair of starting pitchers that made huge contributions last season. Hernandez and John Patterson have only combined for two wins after combining for 24 a year ago; Patterson, who looked ready to become an ace, is on the disabled list with forearm tendonitis. Meanwhile, Lopez and Bruce Chen have combined for one win with the Orioles after combining for 28 last season; Triple-A right-hander Hayden Penn soon could replace Chen in the rotation.

Missing Anna

The reality for the Mets is that they don't need Willis or A's left-hander Barry Zito; given that Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine are a combined 10-2 with a 2.50 ERA, a middle-of-the-rotation innings-eater would suffice. The Mets had such a pitcher — right-hander Kris Benson — but traded him to the Orioles for reliever Jorge Julio. Nationals right-hander Livan Hernandez would be a logical fit. Other possibilities: the Royals' Scott Elarton, Mariners' Gil Meche and Orioles' Rodrigo Lopez — and maybe Indians right-hander Paul Byrd, if the Tribe falls out of contention.

I figured the Benson trade would bite the Mets. I didn't expect it to happen so quickly though. Randy Johnson has been struggling. The O's game wasn't on Extra Innings today, so I watch some other teams today. I watch the 6th inning of this game and when Johnson gave up that solo homerun to Jay Payton, it sounded as if he had given up to grand slam to the Red Sox in a game 7 ALCS. There are plenty of boos for the Unit in NY. I wonder if he finishes the season there. The next few starts for him are important. If he stinks it up, well...there will be no love for Randy. I really don't see a big market him IF they were to want to trade him. Who would want a 42 year old pitcher who's aging rapidly? Watched some of the Dodgers/Giants today too. Barry Bonds had another 0-fer. He's only batting .217. All right, the Orioles are now 18-20 heading into a three game set against Boston. I'm hoping for sweep and a 21-20 record. The Red Sox have had the O's number lately.

Corey Patterson defeats Royals

When the O's gave up Nate Spears and Carlos Perez, two low level minor leaguers to get Corey Patterson, I liked the move. It was one of those low-risk, high-reward moves. Of course, Patterson got off to wretched start. April 8th, he was batting a meager .067 and was basically glued to the bench. Then injuries to David Newhan and Luis Matos made Patterson the Centerfielder by default. The knock of Patterson is that he's a strike out machine. When he was getting mop up work early in the season, this was clearly true. He'd strike out on 4 pitches or pop out. But he's been working with Terry Crowley and look at the upswing his stats have been on. One of the big reasons in Patterson's improve, I think, is the bunting. This keeps Patterson from trying to swing for the fences every at bat and he has to speed to get on base with a bunt. In Chicago, he would have epic hot and cold cold cold streaks. On such streak prompt the Cubs to demote him to the minors. I love Patterson's speed. He can bunt and get on base. He can steal bases with ease and his defense is terrific, case in point...that amazing grab against the Tigers last week. I think the change of scenery has done him good. He looks more patient at the base and has drawn walks in 3 out of his 5 last games, and only striking out twice in those games. Centerfield has been a glaring hole for the O's for awhile. I hope Patterson can be the answer. Luis Matos certainly isn't. Games like last night, gives me hope. But I'm going to wait and see how Patterson is doing at the break before I crown him our future. The Bullpen is also giving me hope... Rleal (BS, 1) 1.0 4 2 2 0 0 0 3.86 Williams (W, 1-0) 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.00 Ray (S, 9) 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.88 Rleal didn't look graeat, but Rleal 19-13, Williams 25-18, Ray 20-12. He's throwing strikes. I think he'll be a good setup guy...but he's a rookie. So he'll take his lumps. Todd Williams has been nothing short of amazing in his return. I didn't think he would be this good coming back, but I'm happily wrong. Chris Ray gets his ninth save. BJ Ryan has 8...

Link Smorgasboard

RAIN OUT The busted-up Orioles finally get a break. A little run down: Mora got a chance to rest up. Ed Rodgers joins the team Chris Gomez will not need surgery Javy's ready to be back Saturday Roberts can come back Monday, but he may need another couple days

One of the problems for the Orioles, by the way, is the inconsistency of Daniel Cabrera, who has a simple mechanical flaw: He sometimes doesn't separate his bare hand and glove quickly enough to put his arm in an optimal throwing position. When he does this the right way, he's incredible; when he doesn't, he's terrible.

That's from Buster Olney today. Interesting stuff. Where is Sammy Sosa? Who cares? This guy is a jerk Albert Pujols has ruined Brad Lidge I listened to the last innings of this game when I was out last night and he threw something like 40 pitches and had 2 outs and the bases loaded. I hope the guy can get it together and not join the ranks of Mark Wohlers, Mitch Williams, John Rocker, and Heathcliff Sloclumb in the ranks of the closers who lost it (I don't know about Sloclumb, but I remember him and like his name). No Matsui for the Yanks maybe for the season. The Yanks are going to trade for some big name. But who and what can they give up? If they add anyone, I think Abreu and Soriano would the likely ones. But then, who can they trade? The Nats I'm sure would want prospects. Maybe Bowden goes out with a bang and trades Soriano for Larry Bowa and Andy Phillips. Carlos Lee wants to stay a Brewer I don't see how the Brewers can afford him. Pitcher signed Veteran right-handed reliever Jim Brower, 34, has signed a minor league contract with the Padres. He was released by the Orioles on May 3 after compiling a 13.86 ERA in 12 1/3 innings. I wish him well and hope he has a terrific career as a Padre.

No Luck Lopez Loses Again

Rodrigo Lopez got loss number 5 last night against Detroit. I feel bad for the poor guy. It's not like he's Bruce Chen, who was giving up a stead 1,2, or 3 runs every other inning. Lopez actually looked as good as I've seen him this season. IP H R ER BB K HR Season ERA R. Lopez (L, 1-5) 6.0 8 6 6 1 7 2 7.03 He got touched up for 2 in the first, then the seventh inning was where he got rung up and run out. Seven K's and only 1 walk, if he could just lose the one BAD inning he has, he'd be ok. I don't advocate pulling Lopez out of the rotation and putting him in the pen, a la Chen and calling up Loewen (Penn will probably take Chen's spot in a couple weeks). Over the next few starts, Lopez should get things right. It's not like he's going 2 or 3 innings and getting shelled. A little good news... S. Rleal 1.0 2 0 0 1 0 0 3.06 K. Birkins 1.1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 J. Manon 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.69 The bullpen has been much improved. If only everyone can get it all together with starting pitching, the offense, and the pen....things will be better. IF...everyone can stay healthy Melvin's back is hurting Now Chris Gomez has a broken hand and is going on the DL. Looks like Ed Rodgers or Fernado Tatis will be making a Baltimore debut very soon. Though, Sam says he expects Javy back in the line-up Saturday. From Buster Olney today:

Melvin Mora missed a game with a sore back. Heard from a very reliable source that Mora's contract is done except for the dotting of I's and crossing of T's in the language. In other words, you can say they've reached an agreement in principle, and the deal will be announced soon

I've heard this before. I think it gets done.....but I'm waiting for the announcement. I guess it's Fox Sports who does it, but I can't express how much I hate the "Coors Light Fan Forum." During the fifth or sixth inning, I dreadfully await what drunken yokel sounds off about what "gets in their craw about baseball." Some of these guys look like I've seen them on COPS. Picked up some books yesterday, among them Black and Blue by Tom Adelman It's the story about the 1966 World Series between the O's and the Dodgers. So far it's a great book. The Roar from 34 takes a trip down memory lane with some of the woulda-shoulda-coulda O's prospects from a couple years ago. I do think that the current crop of Oriole minor leaguers should fare alot better.

O's top Tigers

After this weeekend, I decided not to watch O's game and go to a Drive game. Nothing personal, just after the past stretch the Orioles have had, I thought I might do my park to help break the skid and not watch. Maybe it worked. Cabrera didn't have his best stuff tonight, going back to handing out more walks than strike outs (7 to 6). The offense though, came to the rescue. Tejada HR Conine HR Mora HR Gibbons HR Glad to see the offense return. Corey Patterson made an amazing catch. I'm more relieved to see the bullpen coming on. Julio Manon has so far looked to defy my expectations and be a quality call up. Todd Williams and LaTroy Hawkins did their thing in the 7th and 8th and Chris Ray finally got a crack at a save and got it. I'm a lot happier to see the offense go against a lefty and NOT look completely inept. Let's see if Rodrigo Lopez can break out of his funk and make it two in a row. Brian Roberts may not be back Monday. I hate that, but I'd rather have him take on trip to the deal and rehab right instead of 2 or 3 trips because they rushed him. The Cubs and O's are at it again? This Conine deal may happen. I know he has "clubhouse presence" but I think Millar, Tejada, and Mora have it too. Besides, I'd rather open up LF for Markakis and start Patterson in CF and have Matos be the fourth. John Eisenberg has a good column. The O's front office's fear of scaring off fans by doing a "rebuilding phase" has ended up drving off some fans. Of course, as he says, he are seeing players come up through the minors and make it to the club. But there's a lack of positional players in the minors. The franchise needs to commit fully to bringing in young talent and losing it's addiction to the Jeff Conines and Kevin Millars of baseball. I know they were signed for their clubhouse presence but we've seen these signings a hundred times before. Even though the Boston sweep got me down, I think this team can be ok, but I want them to be ok using the Markakises, Penns, Loewens (later in the seasons), and the Faheys of the minors at the playing time expense of the Conines, Chens, and Millars. So I went to the Greenville Drive game last night. As we were in line to buy tickets, this guy comes up to us and asks us if we want his tickets...for free. Naturally, we did. They turned out to be season tickets behind home. So free tickets behind homeplaye with the Drive playing the Rome Braves. The Drive ended up going down by a score a 9-5. The Drive's starting pitcher had a great start but was yanked early (I'm guessing he had a pitch count) and after that it was an offensive show. In the 7th, the Braves made happen the most exciting play in baseball: The inside the park home run, due in part to some bad Greenville fielding. Counting that, there were 4 homers. But the play of game has to go to the jerk seeing behind us. They were doing the t-shirt toss and the kid throwing them out points to Chris and throws it to him. This guy behind him gets up and reaches in and grabs it. Then he looked really smug and laughs. With his kids there it was nice to know he was setting a good example. It was only a t-shirt, but I hope it's two sizes too small. The replacement umpires were horrible too. Balls were strikes in one at bat and then the next they were balls were they were just strikes earlier. Several fielding calls were horrible too. Honestly, I thought I could go in a call a better game. I'm surprised no got tossed since I could see they were ticked about the strikes. How about Juan Pierre's catch last night? Amazing grab, though that was one of the few things Rich Hill had to rejoice about. The Cubs drop another...and long for Conine? John Rocker opens his mouth again. Hasn't he learned? no one care anymore. a moment of silence.... Reliever Jim Brower cleared waivers and was given his unconditional release yesterday. He posted a 13.86 ERA in 12 1/3 innings for the Orioles.

Even more classic

Check this story out. I'm not going to get into whether gambling is worse than steriods or vice versa.

Picture time

After that game today....I'm not going to say much. I don't care to say anything about how we're hurt, young, give us time,yadda yadda and I don't feel like whining, so I decided to have some fun with pictures. Hello, my name is Kevin Millar. I swing for the fences and left six men on base since I struck out twice. In the first I left the bases loaded and ended the inning. I ripped out Ben's heart today. Luis Terrero, Jim Brower, and Bruce Chen stand for the National Anthem Barry Bonds adds the final piece of his body armor. I don't care if you got a save. I will NEVER EVER EVER miss you Jorge Julio. EVER. Seriously, I forgot Frank Thomas was still playing. Batting .185 5 HR and 14 RBI I'd rather have him at DH than anyone we have. Is that Terry Francona on that sign? Seriously...have you seen that guy in the dugout? Looks like an exorcism. Certainly not my finest work...but eh, I'll see you Tuesday.

4 in a row....ugh

It was not Eric Bedard's night. It was certainly not Bedard's night, not even the return of Luis Matos could dig them out the hole. Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Bedard (L, 4-2) 2.0 7 6 5 3 2 0 4.54 The Sox batted around in 2nd and that was a hole the O's couldn't get out of. After pitching to three batters in the 3rd, Bedard was yanked. It just wasn't his night, I guess. A few encouraging notes, because after dropping 11 of 14, we need it. *Chris Gomez hit his first homerun of the year *Julio Manon pitched two strong innings *Chris Birkins too *Nick Markakis is breaking out of his slump *Kris Benson pitches today It's official- Chen to the pen. Sam says it's for a week and then he pitches against the Royals. That's a safe rebound start.....if his pen times goes ok. I think it's all to buy time for Hayden Penn. I'm more than fine with this. The next thing I want to see is another minor leaguer rushed up. Give Penn 3 or 4 more starts in Ottawa and then we'll see. He'll be pitching in Baltimore at season's end regardless. After thinking about it, I'd rather NOT use him in the pen. If he throws only 50 inning from the pen this season and then next season we throw him the rotation and expect him to do 200 innings. I'd rather not risk his future just to band aid this season's bullpen. Red Sox fans were classy and gave Kevin Millar a standing O. I was having a discussion with a friend about the ten players playing today that I would pay to see. There is no order or ranking to this though. 1. Albert Puljos 2. Andruw Jones 3. Miguel Tejada 4. Greg Maddux 5. Alex Rodriguez 6. Pedro Martinez 7. Roger Clemens 8. Vlad Guerrero 9. Curt Schilling 10. Carlos Zambrano There's others, but for the top ten that I can think of that's it... I'd pay to see a healthy Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. Speaking of the Cubs, we've had our lumps lately. But the Cubs have been brutal. Since Derek Lee went down, their offense has went AWOL. 28 scoreless innings until last night. vs MIL L 2-16 vs PIT W 2-1 vs PIT L 0-8 ARI L 1-5 @ ARI L 0-6 @ SD L 0-1 @SD 1-2 *The Orioles have 23 Errors, Most in the AL. Cristian Guzman is done for the year. Another great signing by Bowden. I'll miss him when he's fired. Have the game on....bases loaded for the O's and Millar goes down swinging trying to be the returing hero. Bottom of the first, same situation for the Sox...Verateck hits a grand slam...not a way to start the day.

Gotta love Philly Fans

Rodrigo's rough 6th dooms O's

Rodrigo Lopez can't buy a break. He pitched a pretty good game. In the bottom of the sixth inning, he got in a jam. With two outs and a full count, it looked like he got a raw deal on a strike that was called a ball....but the Sox took advantage of it and won 6-3. I was encouarge to see some offense and some players on base after the dead offense in Texas. Also good to see was John Halama going two scoreless innings. I don't like seeing a lot of Halama, but if he can do this most of the time, then I'm fine with it. I'd also be fine with having some healthy players and get some wins. Here's a post I did on Armchair GM on some bad baseball trades. It was inspired by the starting pitcher for the Red Sox last night, if you get my drift. Deadspin has an interview with Jeff Pearlman. I finished reading the "Bad Guys Won" last week. Great book. It's amazing that a team with some much inner-turmoil could keep it together to win the Series. If management would have kept that team together, they'd have won several more. I'm going to pick up this book soon. Jason Kendall's past history will get a few extra games on the usual suspension *He got 4 games and an undisclosed fine. Changes are in store the Royals. It's about time. Of course, it's going to take some time to clean up this disaster. A few things I think they should they do: -Bring in a GM who knows how to build a franchise from the bottom up -Stockpile the farmsystem -Bring in a manager who has patience and can develop young players -Free agents? Young verstile players who can bring defense and make contact -Make sure to have a good catcher, if you're getting young pitching then you need a good catcher to help them during the games. -NO AGING VETERANS... -Cater to the fan(s) Of course, anyone can say "the Royals should do this and they'd be better" and they'd proly be right. This franchise needs a ton of dynamite put under it, blow it to shreads, and start from scratch. Rejoice National Fans It appears this team has solid ownership. I hope they do well and make Angelos jealous. It could be the best thing to happen to Oriole fans. Tom Glavine is amazing Might the Greatest home run hitter ever never got a chance to play in the Majors?

Bruce Chen throws BP for Rangers

Bruce Chen is still winless. It wasn't even close. I'm guessing it's just a matter of time before Hayden Penn is called up and Chen goes to the pen. Chen can't be blamed completely for that loss. The Oriole bats were limp all game too. I miss Brian Roberts.

``He missed his spots by a lot tonight,'' Perlozzo said. ``I thought he missed his spots more tonight than he ever has.''

Indeed, the game was a series of unfortunate events, none more so than Chen's performance. While Perlozzo gave him a lukewarm vote of confidence -- ``I guess we'll just say he's off to a pretty slow start so far,'' the manager said, ``but you've got to have some confidence in him that he can come back and do a better job'' -- Chen knows he is running out of time to piece his game together. ``It's a combination of a lot of things,'' he said. ``I'm not locating well. I'm not throwing good quality pitches. I'm just not helping the team right now. I'm trying my best to help this team win, but it's just not happening right now. ``I wasn't throwing good pitches tonight. I left the ball up, and I felt like I let my teammates down.''

I guess Sam's getting tired of seeing Chen give up a runs too. It's ironic though that Mazzone comes in and Chen completely tanks. Maybe it's a coindence. The two worked together in Atlanta though Chen wasn't a staple in that rotation. I'll give Chen another 2 starts. After that, if he doesn't show any signs of improvement, then bring up Penn and send Chen to the pen. It's just surprising that Chen has dropped off so much. Last year, he was one of our best pitchers. Now when I see his he's starting I get a sense of dread and impending doom, much so that not even a joke of the day can shake it. Chen's career numbers are not amazing in fact, last year was really the one good year he's had. Most of his others were split up between other teams and for low number of innings. Chen's in a contract year and I don't forsee him getting a big deal. In fact, a switch to the pen may help him out more. We'll see. I hope he gets back on track whether in the rotation or in the pen. Sam Perlozzo isn't gushing over the state of the bullpen Though Todd Williams' return has been a bright spot Javy Lopez makes a trip to the DL I never thought I'd be so happy to see Luis Matos back. I hope Luis Terrero and his offense-crippling bat get sent down today. Games aren't the only thing the Royals are losing *Armchair GM needs some Oriole coverage, so I'm going to start doing some posts on there. Not to fear, things will go on as usual here. Whenever I post there, I'll put a link in my posts here. Armchair GM is an interactive site, so anyone can post there. Here's something I put today Obviously it's about the bullpen.

O's lose a close one

Lack of long relief and inability to hit lefties cost the O's a win last night. Cabrera was good and the bullpen put in a solid performance. The only problem with the pen was that there's no one to log them several innings. The one who fits the bill right now is John Halama and he didn't fare that well last night. However, I'm glad Cabrera putting together several performances in a row. He's not throwing as many strikes as I'd like him to, BUT that'll come in time. He only walked two last night and by the break he should be even better. The Oriole batters were handcuffed by John Koronka, as they didn't improve much on their .208 average against lefties. Still though, the bullpen looks better. Hayden Penn threw 7 no hit innings. I'm looking forward to seeing him in Baltimore. Not just yet though. I'm going to change a little on what I said yesterday. Chen or Lopez, whoever's struggling more, to the pen and Penn to the rotation. Both seem to be able to log several good innnings....but after that they find a little trouble. Chen would be the likely canidate.

Bullpen doesn't blow win

Althought it did get dicey in the seventh, the bullpen held on and Kris Benson stopped another Oriole skid. Mora, Tejada, Patterson, Hernadez, and Gibbons went a combined 12 for 20. Tejada, Gibbons, and Hernadez all homered. Tejada now has 8 homers and 26 RBIs. So much for all that offseason talk about his bad second half and how he was declining. He's playing like an MVP right now. Hope he's back at short tonight, because it's the same watching a game and seeing him DH. Luis Matos comes off the DL soon. What does this mean for Nick Markakis? His bat has come back to life with 3 doubles in 3 games. I have to think Terrero would be sent down before Markakis. But when I think about it could go either way. I think some think in Ottawa would do Nick good. He needs more at bats and he needs to get a few things worked out in the outfield. Then when Matos ulimately gets traded for whatever we can for him, bring him back up. I think he had TOO good of a spring training. John Maine got his first start last night. He got knocked around alittle, but he did have some moments. Struck of 6 in 5 and 1/3, 2 walks and 63 out of 102 pitches were strikes. But Alfonso Soriano absolutely murdered one of his pitches. Looking at the box score for the Mets game both Maine and Julio pitched last night. Of course, Benson pitched for us, so all three played last night. In the end, I think the O's made the best out of the trade. Maine, I think, will be an alright bottom of the rotation starter or middle relief guy. Jorge Julio, less than a fan favorite thus far in New York, has actually been ok after a disaster of a start. Truth be told, I would rather have in him our bullpen than a couple characters we've had, including the one who's name I'm not going to mention anymore. Benson has solid Angelos hasn't finalized the Mora contract yet. This is what gets me. Mora compromised and took the Oriole's offer and now Angelos is dawdling. For what Mora's meant for this team, Angelos needs to get this deal done and show him some respect. Schmuck has the solution for the O's pen. I agree, after Penn gets about 10-12 starts. Bring up Loewen after the break sometime too and work both of them out of the pen. Houston is making it's first move for Roger Clemens. I would be surprised if Clemens didn't re-sign with Houston. I read somewhere that Boston and New York kind of cancel each other out. Because all of the fences have been mended with him and Boston fans and if he goes and pitches with NY, then it's all back to the way it was. And if he goes to Boston, vice versa with Yankee fans. I can see it. But Clemens has a good thing going with Houston, so I can't see him giving that up. The Cubs miss Derek Lee. This is mentioned in the article:

Speculation about possible acquisitions has included Baltimore Orioles veterans Jeff Conine and Kevin Millar. Neither is off to a strong start, with Conine, 39, hitting .222 with four homers and 11 RBI and Millar, 34, batting .203 with two homers and 10 RBI primarily as a designated hitter.

I'm willing to trade either. But realistically, what are we going to get for either? The Cubs aren't going to give up much and nor should they, for what is basically a rental until Derek Lee gets back. I think they'll just sign Carlos Pena when the Yankees have to release him. Johnny Damon says the Red Sox are to blame for him leaving. Johnny Damon and his mouth is getting old. Earlier he was trying to recruite Zito and then Tori Hunter. Now he's saying the Red Sox fans need to blame their team he's not there. Whatever happened to the hometown discount? Yeah, the Yankee offer was a lot larger than the Boston one. But Boston was going to up there's. Is Johnny Damon having trouble paying his bills? Damon just needs to shut up and play. David Wells makes sure to get his shots at Joe Torre when he can. I agree with Boomer on this one. But Torre's just sticking up for his player. I wonder if Stuart Scott had a commentary on ESPN after the game about how you shouldn't boo athletes. I have no problem with booing. It's a fan's right. Damon deserved it. Jim Thome was booed the other night in Cleveland, but there was no reason for that. Cleveland chose not to re-sign Thome because they couldn't afford to. Who'd thunk these 3 would be as good as they've been The Reds- Who'd thunk Bronson Arroyo would come to the NL and become an ace? I actually heard those words. Then again, the hitting in the AL Central is brutal and the NL is easier on a pitcher. Alot is going right for the Reds now, as I can attest from last season, the ride won't last all season. They're lack of depth, bullpen, and pitching will catch up to them and order will be restored in the Central I boldly predict 1. St.Louis- until someone takes them down, they get the benefit of the doubt, though this is a weaker team than in years past. 2. Chicago- if they can survive until Lee, Prior, and Wood get back they'll be the wildcard team. 3. Houston- if Clemens comes back and they stay healthy, you might can put them in front of the Cubs. But I'm not predicting another trip to the series for them. 4. Milwaukee- Give this team another year and they'll be a wildcard. 5. Cinninati- I think they'll end up here. 6. Pittsburgh- I'm sure this upsets Michael Keaton The Tigers I didn't think the Tigers would be a good team this year. I thought the Leyland hiring was a bad idea. I thought signing Kenny Rogers was a mistake (he is a headcase regardles). But the Tigers have been strong. Leyland's brought a fire and maybe he's the type of leadership this team needs. Granted Chris Shelton had a hot start and he more than likely won't average that, but he looks like a solid player for the Tigers. another bold prediction 1. Chicago- The White Sox are better than they were last season. I can't see them not winning this division. 2. Detriot- I can see the Tigers finishing second. Rogers has been solid. Bonderman and Verlander are putting up good numbers, but what about Mike Maroth. Remember when he lost 21 games in 2003. But to lose that many games you have to have potential, otherwise why bring him out there? Though that was a bad team. Now he's 4-1 with a 1.78 ERA. 3. Cleveland- They're good, but I think they'll be better next year. 4. Minnesota- I think this team is going to be dismantled at the deadline. 5. Kansas City- Do I need to explain that one? The Rockies I'm not doing a bold prediction on the NL West. The Rockies could win it or finish last. In the weakest division in baseball, anything can happen. Colorado is a better team though. Their bullpen is improved. The starters are doing better and they have a lot of young talent. All right, I'll guess it. 1. LA- This team has too much talent too not win this divison, albeit injury prone talent in Nomar, JD Drew, and Gagne. 2. Colorado- why not? 3. Arizona- wild guess 4. San Franciso- The second half with be filled with injuries and you know who will be on the DL frequently 5. San Diego- I just don't like the make up this team. I'm probably completely wrong and San Diego wins. Regardless, they'll be swept in the playoffs. Had some action in Anaheim yesterday Is anyone going to Marlin games? The O's visit the Rangers tonight. Cabrera goes against John Koronka I think's time for a winning streak.

GOODBYE JIM BROWER!!!!

OH HAPPY HAPPY DAY. Jim Brower has been designated for assignment. This should have happen two weeks ago, BUT at least it's done now. His 13.86 ERA and 37 baserunners in 12 1/3 innings pitched didn't endear him to Oriole fans. But I wish him well. Maybe he can latch onto another team and things may be different. I would suggest that the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays or even the Devil Rays sign him. I'm not going to really mention that game last night. Another time the bullpen has driven a knife in my heart. Of course the fact that Brower hung around for so long isn't a ringing endorsement of the Oriole bullpen. Chris Ray is the only sure thing in the pen it seems. Todd Williams has come back and so far been good. LaTroy Hawkins has been ok even though he blew the lead, though the O's would have been okay if Brower hadn't gave up at 4 spot in the top of the ninth. Sandy Rleal is going to be better. He has had a tendency to give up homeruns lately, this is his first season the bigs and I like him. How will Kurt Birkins and right-hander Julio Manon be? I dunno. But the bar hasn't been set too high. Julio Manon's lone season in the majors Julio's had a fine start in Ottawa From the Baltimore Sun:

Perlozzo said that if the Orioles remain in contention, he believes owner Peter Angelos might make moves to bolster the roster. "I talked to him today, and he's still willing to help us out with whatever we need as long as we hang in there," the manager said. "So we've just got to we just gotta keep our head above water for the next 10 days or so and force the issue." "I think he still feels like we can compete a little bit," he said of Angelos

At the break, I hope the Orioles are buyers and not sellers. Angelos has said stuff like this before. But it really depends on what's available and what the other teams are asking for. Even though the past 8 years have been rough, I'm going to play optimist. The farms system is producing pitching and some outfielders. Nick Markakis will be the future in the outfield, though he'll have his struggles this season. Ramon Hernadez was a good signing. Corey Patterson was a good risk. Brian Roberts, Miguel Tejada, Melvin Mora, and Jay Gibbons are a solid core. What's really needed is some help for the pen, a first baseman, another outfielder (may I mention Carlos Lee?) and some time for the young pitchers in AAA and AA to mature. The team needs a little time and a few good shrewd moves. Saw this on ESPN.com today. I have to agree with Gammons. Whether you love him or hate him, Clemens is one the best pitchers ever. I decided to do my own top ten, only this one consists of players than I have grown up watching. 1. Roger Clemens 2. Nolan Ryan 3. Greg Maddux 4. Pedro Martinez 5. Tom Glavine 6. Randy Johnson 7. Mike Mussina 8. Curt Shilling 9. John Smoltz 10.Dennis Martinez 11.Not Jim Brower Say what you want about Ryan having records because he pitched for so long, but look at his numbers . He went 12-6 at age 44 and did 173 innings. I think he deserves number 2 and I think the rest of the top ten is pretty sound. Oriole Think Tank has the picks for the players of month. Jim Brower was not among them.