Oriole Central

I am GOOONE!

2006-07-19T20:58:00.000-04:00

Don't worry, I'm just moving the site. My new site is here. I'll still have my patented sense of humor, plenty of links, and of course, ton of Orioles stuff. Update your bookmarks and links and come on by. Got some GOOD STUFF going here in the coming days. You'll thank me later!

Bobby O-breu

2006-07-19T19:05:00.000-04:00

The O's front office's crush on Bobby Abreu continues. Getting Abreu or Pat Burrell for Rodrigo Lopez and a middle of the road prospect on the surface would a steal. Lopez isn't the future for the O's and Abreu/Burrell would provide protection in the line-up for Miggy. This seems completely unlikely. The Phils could get a lot more for Abreu than Rodrigo and a double A kid. I think this is more rumor than fact. If this deal was the table, I’m sure it’d be done already. . From the Sun:

Abreu, a 32-year-old right fielder and two-time All-Star, is in the third season of a five-year, $64 million deal. He is making $13 million this year, with $15 million due in 2007 and a $16 million club option in 2008 ($2 million buyout). Another source, however, said the club has received no indication that the left-handed-hitting Abreu would waive the clause -- especially without receiving a contract extension or a guarantee on the 2008 option).

Burrell is owed 32 million dollars and has a no trade clause. Apparently, he isn't eager to waive it to come to Baltimore, which doesn't upset me much. If we get Abreu, does this usher in a higher payroll team? Or will it be adding a big name to appease the fans? Give me some AAA kids (I doubt Lopez would net you a top prospect....but it depends on the market) will high upset and can be a foundation for this team. I won't be upset if we somehow get Abreu, but I think we need to get younger, not older. For the record, I don't think this deal will happen. Watch Rodrigo go to the Rangers or the Mets. Even as I type this, ESPN is saying that the Tigers are making a big push for Abreu. So I don't think we'll see Abreu in Orange and Black. "Hi, My name is Eddy Rodriguez. My control last night made Daniel Cabrera look like Greg Maddux." I disagreed with Perlozzo putting Eddy in after rain delay. Taking Ortiz out after the delay was not a bad move. In fact, I applaude it. But Rodriguez hasn't pitched in ten days and pitching him in the third isn't exactly to spot to pitch him at. What about Birkins for a couple innings. At least he didn't put Chen in.

"What's round, white, and can travel 450 ft?"

2006-07-18T12:24:00.000-04:00

A ball thrown by Bruce Chen. Feel free to use it today, Bruce. I'm running out of room, dude. Seriously, what does this guy have to do to be released? He's stunk all season, though stunk is certainly not a strong enough word. I've composed a list of things that is amply titled... Things Bruce Chen has done and still not been released for: -Bringing his pet ferret,Ernesto, into the locker room -Throwing chin music to the kids at the kids game -Putting Flintstone Vitamins in with Miggy's B-12 -Regularly wearing a Sammy Sosa jersey during warm-ups -Experimenting with switch pitching during a game -Pitching underhanded -Text messaging Jason Grimsley -Proclaiming that he's using pitching techniques taught to him by Jim Brower -Telling lame jokes last and not least... -Giving up 22 homers in 68.1 innings -and not winning a single game Another win last night, I missed it..but looks like Loewen did his best Daniel Cabrera impression. IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA 5.0 1 2 2 6 5 0 6.62 92 pitches, with 48 for strikes and a balk. It's a promising start....with that nice one hit. But just got ahead and insert everything I've said about Daniel Cabrera in here and that's my thoughts on Loewen. I'm staying in tonight and I get to see a clash of titans on the mound tonight... Esteban Loaiza vs. Russ Ortiz. Loaiza has not given up less than 4 runs in any start this season. Oritz has once. Even though it was only 2.1 inngs over the Giants with 3 walks. I'm predicting an offensive firework show tonight that'll rival your Fourth of July celebration. Anyone catch A-rod's show last night? 0-4 and 3 errors. Kind of funny when bad things happy to obscenely rich Yankees.

Ranger's/O's series thoughts

2006-07-16T19:08:00.000-04:00

It's funny how the Orioles play with my emotions. I missed Thursday's game because I was out with some friends and I'm glad I did. When I saw the score, I was disgusted. 15-1. That's when I was thinking this team is horrible. I'm still completely befuddled...yes, BEFUDDLED by Daniel Cabrera (I hope some time in Triple-A gets his control and his head right). When I saw that Bruce Chen gave up 3 Homeruns, I was not surprised. But I am stunned he's still an Oriole. What does he have to do to be released? Friday's game was a heartbreaker. I got home to listen to the last 5 innings on XM. Kris Benson pitched his guts out, but for the second straight night the offense was DOA and that's when I was convinced an axe needed to be taken to this team. Pitching beats good hitting nine times out of ten, but when there's NO hitting for the team that has the good pitching, well...that's a tough loss to take. I was stuck at work all day Saturday and all of today, so I missed the two wins. Bedard was lights out again in an 8-1. I was down on Bedard at the end of last season and I was too upset when his name was mentioned in trade rumors. Could you image how things would have been if a Tejada/Bedard for Prior/Pie/Cedeno trade happened? It would be truly dark days for the O's...and us. Our offense would be as weak as a wet paperbag full of pennies and Kris Benson would be the lone bright spot of our rotation. from MLB.com

During his six-game win streak, Bedard has a 1.07 ERA. He's given up 23 hits and walked nine over the 42-inning span, striking out 44. When Bedard began the win streak, his ERA was 5.60; it dropped to 4.02 after Saturday's victory.

Crazy good sick numbers. Today Rodrigo Lopez upped his traded value going 5 and 2/3 scoreless innings as the O's topped the Rangers 4-0. Tejada and Markakis hit homers today. Hate that I missed these the last two games. I'm getting excited about Markakis. He's struggled alot, but he's starting to really find his own now, batting .274. Although, if I see that Rodrigo is pitching, it's usually a green light to see what any of my friends are up to that day (though I do watch or listen to as many games as possible). So the series ends this weekend with a split, that was plenty ugly and plenty fine. This team's Jekyll and Hyde thing is wearing on me though. For a game or two they can't hit the water if they fell out of a boat and then the next night they'll crank out the hits. It's a very uneven...or rather inconsistent team. I really think this team could be a really good team if it addresses a few holes, as it stands now though, they could be .500 if a lot things go right. Hey, Former-Oriole Luis Matos is now a member of the Washington Nationals. No matter what he does there I'll never miss him because I know if he stayed an O, he'd bat .190 and stink it up if he stayed in Baltimore. Adam Loewen starts tomorrow against the A's. Should be an interesting watch. I'm watching the Mets and Cubs on ESPN and I have one question... DOES ANYONE CARE ABOUT THE ESPYS?

Ottawa or Bust

2006-07-14T18:59:00.000-04:00

Big news today Daniel Cabrera and Sendy Rleal go to Ottawa and Adam Loewen and Eddy Rodriguez get called up. I think this is great move. Cabrera needs to get his head right and pitching in the minors would allow him to. Maybe he can get his control down and get his change up down. Loewen's pitched great in Triple-A, 2-0 and 1.27 ERA in 3 starts. Some other moves I think the O's should make 1. Release Bruce Chen. 2. Plug in Ortiz in the mop-up role 3. Trade Rodrigo Lopez. The Mets need a starter or two, so how about Diaz for Lopez? 4. Re-sign Brian Roberts 5. Keep Todd Williams on a short lease, and if he continues to give up runs, release him. 6. Wait on any Miggy trade til the off-season. 7. Trade Javy Lopez, LaTroy Hawkins, Jeff Conine, and Kevin Millar. 8. Trade for Ryan Shealy or another 1st base talent 9. Call up Hayden Penn as soon as he's healthy. 10.Shop Kris Benson around. You don't HAVE to trade him...but at this point the O's need to get younger and build w/ young talent. I missed last night's game and I'm glad I did.

Carlos Lee or Soriano

2006-07-13T15:08:00.000-04:00

I LOVE the Sports Illustrated Truth and Rumors.

The Orioles have strong interest in free-agents-to-be Carlos Lee of the Brewers and the Nationals' Alfonso Soriano, but it's uncertain whether either of them will have interest in Baltimore. -- Washington Post

Here's the article. I don't know if this means if we are interested in trading for them or waiting til after the season and going after them. For the sake of what I'm writing, I'm going with via trade route. Carlos Lee in an Orioles uniform would make me a happy happy guy. BUT what are we going to trade for him? Are we going to mortgage the future for a couple months of Lee or Soriano? If a deal could get done, that's awesome. But if Lee or Soriano don't resign with the O's in the offseason, then we have nothing to show for it. Will they ever want to come here? Do I think it's likely? No. Loewen would HAVE to be a part of deal involving Lee or Soriano. If it could net either of these two and they could resign them, then I'd do it a heartbeat. The Nats and the Brewers want young players, so Rodrigo Lopez, Bruce Chen, and Javy Lopez wouldn't get them to pick up their phone. I think Soriano is a bit of a headcase, but after that horrible fiasco in Washington to start Spring Training, he's done and said the right things. Left Field for the O's has been a void for years. A Carlos Lee or Alfonso Soriano would be a Godsend. An unlikey one, but there's always a chance. Here's what our batting order would look like if this fantasy trade could somehow come true (I CAN NOT STRESS HOW UNLIKELY I THINK THIS IS TOO HAPPEN) and the Ryan Shealy trade. 2B Brian Roberts 3B Melvin Mora SS Miguel Tejada LF Carlos Lee C Ramon Hernandez DH Jay Gibbons 1B Ryan Shealy CF Corey Patterson RF Nick Markakis *In case of Soriano, I'd bat him second and move Mora and Tejada down a spot. Bench Fahey, Conine/Millar(whoever's left),Gomez (if not traded for spare parts),Terrero and whoever our back-up catcher is going to be once Javy Lopez is gone. That is a dream. Here's your obligatory Tejada rumor.

The Angels have made no secret of their interest in supplementing the offense with a powerful veteran hitter, with Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee, Miguel Tejada and Bobby Abreu among the candidates. To get one, though, Stoneman probably would have to surrender several top prospects. -- Los Angeles Times

If a trade(or fat contract in the offseason is waiting for) for Lee or Soriano is being tossed around, I say a Tejada trade would never happen. Carlos Lee or Soriano would be acquired to get Miggy happy.

Rebuffed in attempts to trade Sidney Ponson, the Cardinals are expected to officially part ways today with the pitcher. Ponson has attracted significant interest from the Yankees and Red Sox and could accept a bid from either club if he clears waivers. -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Sir Sid on the Yankees or the Red Sox? I hope it happens. I hope whoever signs him gets Matos too. I could hate them more.

Some members of the national media have speculated that Sam Perlozzo could be on the hot seat, but several high-ranking Orioles officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the rookie manager has grown into his job and done nothing to put it in jeopardy. Orioles players also say they are firmly behind Perlozzo. -- Baltimore Sun

Perlozzo is safe. I'm sure for several reasons. 1) No Sam, then no Leo Mazzone. 2) If Perlozzo gets canned this quick, what manager in their right mind would want to come here? 3) Sam hasn't even managed a full season.

Why the Royals Stink

2006-07-12T16:35:00.000-04:00

Went to the Drive game today. I love a day game. The Asheville Tourists and their crazy manager were in town. No outbursts happened. But it was an offensive show. The Drive won 11-5. In his first game for the Drive, infielder Mickey Hall homered twice and had another that was almost number three. Nice debut. If he keeps that up, he won't be in Greenvile long. The All-Star game was OK last night. I worked a long day yesterday and decided to watch it. I thought the score would have been higher, but it was a good game. Brad Penny, who I was surprised was starting, was impressive striking out the side to start the game. Chin music to Jeter at 99 mph? priceless. The Trade Deadline is coming soon and the Huff to the Astros trade for prospects happened today. Good deal for the Astros. I'm sure Huff will help their anemic offense. The D-Rays got prospects, and I'm sure the Rays made sure they got some talent. I'm sure the O's are looking to make some deals, some involving young prospects. It's a crapshoot sometimes with prospects, some pan out, some don't. Look at the case of the Royals. They had Jermaine Dye, Johnny Damon, and Carlos Beltran. What did they get for him? Nothing much. Of course, the Royals have a front office that makes the Orioles front office look like geniuses. An outfield of Damon, Beltran, and Dye and you can't get a single star for them? Embarassing. What did the Royals get for these three All-Stars? For Beltran, Mike Wood, Mark Teahen, John Buck and Cash For Dye, Neifi Perez For Damon, Angel Berroa, Roberto Hernandez, and AJ Hinch AJ Hinch played 2 forgettable seasons in KC. So unforgettable that I haven't heard of him until today. Here's proof that he did play in KC Berroa is still with the Royals. Five seasons, .272 average. Hernandez recorded 54 saves over 2 seasons with the Royals before hightailing it out of there. Neifi Perez is not a good player. His glove has gotten him by over the years. Over a season and 1/3rd Perez batted .238 for the Royals. John Buck is still with the Royals. I don't know much about Buck, but he's batting a collective .239 over the past two seasons. He's a catcher, so maybe he's a good defensive catcher. I'd hope so at least. Mike Wood is still with the Royals. But his numbers definately didn't floor me. Teahen is still in the minors. Batting a robust .380 in Omaha. You want to know why the Royals are bad? Stuff like that.

Let me clean the blood from ears...

2006-07-10T20:14:00.000-04:00

I HATE BIG AND RICH. What is this? A clown in a stupid hat and some other idiots who can't sing? What a coup snapping these guys up. I can not believe they were available. Where the Rembrandts booked already?

Mid-Term Report Card

2006-07-10T14:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's sloppy 5-4 win over the Indians marked the half-way mark for the season. The O's now sit at 41-49 at the All-Star break. Injuries have taken their toll on the Orioles. Brian Roberts, Jay Gibbons, Daniel Cabrera, Javy Lopez, Todd Williams, Chris Gomez, and David Newhan are the most notable on the O's DL this season. Outfield- Corey Patterson has been a surprise in center. When we got him for Single A spare parts, I thought it was a nice low-risk pick-up. Then the season started and he got off to a wretched start, part of which was due to being glued to the bench. With injuries to David Newhan and Former Oriole Luis Matos (How nice it is to type those words), Patterson got playing time by default and ran with it. With the exception of yesterday, he plays great defense. He's made several spectacular catches this season. He's been a nice surprise, but I want to see how the second half of his season goes before I get too excited. Nick Markakis has finally found his groove in Right. His average has jumped to .268 over the course of the last few weeks. I think his strong spring rushed him to the O's when maybe he should have started the season in Ottawa, but that's too late now and it looks like he's gonna be ok. So where does Nick play when Jay Gibbons comes back? Jay's been plagued by injuries since that crash into Anahiem's outfield wall. I like Jay's bat (10 HR and 29 RBI in 48 games), but his defense is average at very best. I hope the second half ushers in the era of Jay Gibbons-DH or 1st baseman. Nick looks like he's found his groove in Right Field and that's where he should stay. Left field is a revolving door with Jeff Conine, Ed Rodgers (who was thankfully sent back to Ottawa today), Brandon Fahey, the ex-Oriole Luis Matos, Luis Terrero, and Kevin Millar have played there this season. Conine's defense scares me. Ed Rodgers can be an error waiting to happen. Terrero is 0-17 so far. Fahey, I like. Outfield is not his position, but anyway to get him in the line-up, I'm in favor of. the former Luis Matos? Good luck in KC, Pittsburgh, or wherever you end up. Grades- LF- D CF- B RF- w/ Markakis Incomplete w/ Gibbons- B- DH Javy Lopez has been a disappointment this season. The great first base experiment ended abruptly and has been the primary DH, except when he catches for his bro Rodrigo. A recent a surge has him at a .280 average with only 7 dingers and 29 RBI. Javy has been on the DL for a stint and won't be an O much longer if the front office can find any takers. I've been a fan of Javy since his Braves days, but I think his stint as an Oriole has been less than memorable. When and if he gets traded I'll delve into this more. Grade- C- (the Cleveland series kept him from getting a D) Kevin Millar has DHed when Javy hasn't. a .248 average w/ 6 HR and 33 RBI isn't impressive, but I like Millar. He's second behind Brian Roberts (31) for walks with his 30. Say what you will about his average, Millar can work a count. Besides, this was a CLUBHOUSE PRESENCE signing. Anything else is supposed to be gravy. Grade- C 1st It's been first base by commitee. Javy Lopez was supposed to be the first baseman this season, but that didn't work out in spring training. So it's been the two-headed monster of Conine and Millar or better known as Conlar. Conlar is an aging two headed monster at first. I remember the epic depths Conine started the season with. With a .050 batting average and an eye for a pop-out, I seethed at the meer mention of the name of Jeff Conine. BUT Conine has fared well of late. I hope this ups his trade value and he'll be able to fetch the O's some spare parts at the deadline. Millar's defense at first has been a little spotty. Conlar is a stop-gap for the fact that we have no other solution at first. Grade- C 2nd Brian Roberts so far has a .298 average with 1 HR and 33 RBI (and 22 games missed) has put in another fine season. There's no one else I'd rather have batting lead-off and playing second base. Roberts has 22 stolen bases (second to Corey's 31) has shown that he's healed from his injury. Grade- A SS Will he be traded? Is there a Grimsley link? Is he hurt? I'm tired of all the Tejada questions. Tejada has been great on offense with a .315 average 17 HR and 61 RBI, his defense has been lacking. His range has suddenly become limited. I wonder if there's an injury that he's not talking about. Why would his range so suddenly shrink? There's not much hustle either. He runs about as fast to first sometimes like he's got a piano tied to his back. The next few weeks should be interesting. Grade- B 3rd Good old reliable Melvin Mora. Maybe the contract extension was a year too much, but hey, it's Melvin. He plays good defense at 3rd and swings a pretty good bat. He's been a little more prone to the slump lately, but he's still on pace for 22 HR and 88 RBI, which would equal last year's total of RBI. Grade- B C Well to Baltimore, Ramon Hernandez. Ramon's been a welcomed addition to the Orioles. Not really known for his offense, he's heading towards a career year in all offensive catagories. He's got a cannon for an arm, throwing out 28 of 56 steal attempts. He's going to have career highs in errors and passed balls, but that's the price you pay for working with Daniel Cabrera. Grade-A Tomorrow or Wednesday I'll run down the pitching.

My Mascot is a Sleazeball

2006-07-07T16:59:00.000-04:00

The Greenville Drive's Mascot, the Reedy Rip-It, got arrested for getting..eh..a little too friendly with a female fan. Hey, Sports Illustrated has it on the front page The Greenville News has the mugshot. Disgusting. The News tonight said he's suspended with pay, but this happened in April, and until the woman filed the complaint with the police...they had this sleazebag working still. Nice. But now that the story's out, they suspended him and I'm sure he'll get fired. But this should have happened in the first place, once the team investigated the inicident. Mascots are stupid looking by nature. They're for kids and usually, like this one, designed by kids.If the guy underneath the suit is a felon or a perv...well, that's no good at all. I tired to find a picture of this stupid looking frog but I couldn't. That's good I suppose. Anyway, I've hated the frog before and now I'll hate him more.

Rejoice Rejoice beleagured O's fans

2006-07-06T17:58:00.000-04:00

Luis Matos is getting DESIGNATED! This makes me very happy...too happy. I'm all but sure this will lead to an outright release. This is a really happy day. No more 2 on, 2 out pop outs No more 6 at bat strike out streaks No more .207 batting average No more smug Luis Matos pictures Happy happy day. Luis Terrero has to fill the mighty shoes of Luis Matos. Terrero didn't exactly dazzle me in his first stint, but I'm more than willingly to overlook that if it means Matos is gone. The O's and top draft pick Billy Rowell agreed to terms today too. Good news EVERYWHERE, huh? Oh and about last night....the closest the O's getting to be clutch right now is if their driving a stick. Javy Lopez and his wretchedly ugly tatoo (saw it on the pre-game puff piece at Turner Field) killed me with that pinch hit strike out. One thing Javy can do it make some wind. I'm not going to post with my usual regularlity for the next couple days because I am a tired tired boy. If I go a day or two without then just take comfort in the fact that I'm sleeping and will come back with some quality posts.

Mr.Perfection gets shelled

2006-07-05T09:55:00.000-04:00

IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Lopez, R (L, 5-10) 2.2 10 9 9 1 0 1 6.92 Not exactly perfection yesteday. sigh. Bruce Chen coughed up homer number 19 this season. Bad news though...with his move to the pen, Chen's lost his major league lead in HR allowed. Bruce is still a solid 4th But he doesn't even lead the O's at this point, that honor goes to Mr.Perfection. The biggest joke of the week has to be Mark Redman being named an All-Star. The whole business about every team having to have an All-Star is ridicilous anyway. It a team like the Royals stink, then there's not really an All-Star there usually. Sometimes you might get lucky and have one player surrounded by medicority or youth, but that's not the case in KC. Look at these numbers. SEASON TEAM W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV SVO IP H R ER HR HBP BB SO 1999 Minnesota Twins 1 0 8.53 5 1 0 0 0 0 12.2 17 13 12 3 1 7 11 2000 Minnesota Twins 12 9 4.76 32 24 0 0 0 0 151.1 168 81 80 22 3 45 117 2001 Detroit Tigers 0 2 6.00 2 2 0 0 0 0 9.0 11 6 6 1 1 4 4 2001 Minnesota Twins 2 4 4.22 9 9 0 0 0 0 49.0 57 26 23 6 0 19 29 2002 Detroit Tigers 8 15 4.21 30 30 3 0 0 0 203.0 211 107 95 15 6 51 109 2003 Florida Marlins 14 9 3.59 29 29 3 0 0 0 190.2 172 82 76 16 5 61 151 2004 Oakland Athletics 11 12 4.71 32 32 2 0 0 0 191.0 218 110 100 28 6 68 102 2005 Pittsburgh Pirates 5 15 4.90 30 30 2 1 0 0 178.1 188 100 97 18 2 56 101 2006 Kansas City Royals 5 4 5.59 13 13 0 0 0 0 74.0 82 46 46 10 2 30 30 Career Totals 58 70 4.55 182 170 10 1 0 0 1059.0 1124 571 535 119 26 341 654 Stellar numbers there...if you were pitching on a church league team. I'm all flash and no substance today. Let's hope good Cabrera shows up tonight.

A few more pictures...

2006-07-02T19:47:00.000-04:00

If I had known that the pictures would have turned out as they did (if you click on them that is) I would have taken more. I'll remember this since I'm planning on going to a couple more Braves game plus I might be making a trip up in August...but nothing's set yet, so I don't want to get my hopes up There's Buck Martinez interviewing Sam Perlozzo before the game. Talking about how medicore Luis Matos is likely. That's the site of the dump formerly known as Fulton-County Stadium. That's where Aaron broke the Babe's record right now. When I go back later this month, I'm gonna go earlier and get some better and more pictures...It looks like the Mets at the Braves. I forgot to mention this earlier and hate myself for it. During BP one of the O's benchwarmers who I've never seen before...He was number 14, which is Chris Gomez's number, but he's on the DL...regardless though, he hit a foul line drive down the first baseline, took a hop, and ricocheted off a security guy's head. It was a moment of greatness because I was looking at it when it happened, the guy was ok and worked the game....I'm sure he's sore. But it was a priceless moment. If only I had on tape.

Orioles win and I'm there to see it

2006-07-02T16:10:00.000-04:00

I picked the wrong day to go to the right game. Originally the plan was to go to today's game, but I made a mistake and got tickets for Saturday. The problem with tickets for Saturday was that we had to work. I had to go work early....really early, 4 am to be exact..and yes, I may have a new job at months end...and of course with a call-out and being shorthanded I had to scrape it together and kill myself to get out at 12:30. After running home, grabbing a shower, and getting myself together I picked up Chris and we hit the road. My caffefine high was still in effect at this point, but nowhere near the peak I had earlier. Traffic in Atlanta was nowhere near the hassle I had last year. Granted traffic in Atlanta is NEVER easy, but it kept moving and there were gaps this time. Every time I think Greenville's a big city, I think Atlanta and it makes G'ville look like po-dunk Mayberry. We found the ramp for Turner Field and go off. I then took a wrong turn and ended up in a part of town that I'd make sure to lock my car in...in fact, I'd never leave my car in this part of Atlanta because I'd never have business there. My favorite business in Atlanta was a hair salon called "Oh, My Nappy Hair!" On to the game... The seats were great. Had a great view, we had seats 1 and 2...which is great usually except for the people in 3 thru 6 having the bladders the size of pennies and apparently appettites like crazed hyenas having to go out every inning. Russ Ortiz...eh..didn't digust me, but didn't impress me either...with his pitching anyways. He went 2-2 with 2 RBI and a run scored, so if he flops as a pitcher maybe he can DH. Russ threw a LOT of balls. Granted the guy hasn't pitched in 3 or 4 weeks and didn't get a start in Ottawa or anything to get his stuff back. He didn't look impressive, but he pitched good enough not to lose. Tim Hudson though looked BAD. The O's tossed him around and threw him out after 2.2 innings to a chorus of cheers and boos from the crowd. I gave him a cheer because I apprectiated his contribution to the game. Tejada looked good. He had 2 K's, a hit, and got hit by a Chris Retisma pitch AND he had two really good defensive plays. Speaking of defensive plays, Andruw Jones made a terrific catch to rob Jeff Conine. Jones is such an amazing player. Markakis had another good night too. I was surprised to see the number of O's fans there. It wasn't a sea of Orange and Black by any means, but we were there and we were happy. It's always good to be around O's fans since I'm one of the few around in SC. I do have pictures, most of which are too far back. I'm not good with the zoom on the camera. My view was better than the pictures turned out. I'll get to those later. LaTroy Hawkins scared me pitching 2...yes 2 innings of tightrope walking daredevil baseball. The attempt tagout/late throw on Chipper Jones was horrible...after which he loaded up the bases, which no runs scored...but that's your typical LaTroy Hawkins outing. I love Turner Field. Going to try to get down to a couple more games. Going down in September to see the Cubs as the agreement went between Chris...He sees the O's, I see the Cubs. Probably going down at the end of the month and see the Mets and Braves play. I can boo the Mets. Chris Ray pitched the ninth, though it was not a save situation. Chipper homered off him to bring the Braves one run closer, but that was it and the O's ended up with a win. Which made a 2 and a half hour drive home easier, though the effects of my exhaustion were slightly more apparent. I got home by 2 am and after being up for 23 hours, I slept easy. If we had ended up going to today's game though it'd be a different story. Here's a photos... Turner Field has an awesome HD Jumbotron. BP before the game. Millar's down the in the warmup...I think he was eatting a piece of fried chicken. Indisputable photographic evidence of the start of the Russ Ortiz Oriole era. Despite a giant hat blocking his line of vision Brian Roberts hit a triple, though he tagged out when he overslid.

Robert's wrong number

2006-06-30T15:23:00.000-04:00

Raffy speaks! This is sad. Personally, I think Raffy knew what he was going and he's sticking with his story to the bitter end. It's also sad that the entire team hates his apparently, but throwing your teammates under the bus like he did will do that to you.

Palmeiro said the only former Orioles teammate he has spoken to recently is second baseman Brian Roberts, whom Palmeiro called last weekend after Roberts had inadvertently text messaged Palmeiro instead of another friend. "It was like a two-minute conversation," Roberts said. "But it was good to see how he was doing."

I wonder how that conversation went. "Hey there, You looked hot tonight. Whatcha doing, sexy?." "What?!? Who is this? Why can't I be left alone?" "Uh...oh...hey...Raffy...how's it.er..going?" "Oh, Brian..it's you. I'm doing All right." "So...you get any calls to play?" "An independent league team offered me a try out, but I'm not fooling around with that...only Major League ball." "I heard that." Akward silence "I've really taken a shine to whittling." "What?" "You know, with a knife and a piece of wood. I whittled a tiger yesterday." "that's...awesome." "I do a lot gardening too." "Well, I hate to do this..but I gotta run. We all miss you, big guy. We got an early flight tomorrow." "Trust me, I know how it is. Tell them all I said hi." "I will." "Bye." "Goodbye." Click. "I really need to clean out my phonebook." Rick Maese isn't giddy about the O's second half prospects. Killjoy. This is the negativity I hate. Yeah, the O's aren't the best team and yeah we're not not going to win the division this year...but geez, this stuff gets me ill. -The Benson, Patterson, Hernandez acquistions were good, but they haven't translated into wins. -The farm system turnaround is a myth. -More Tejada talk -Fan apathy Reading that was like hitting myself in the face with a hammer. Thanks Rick. He does have some good points, but just the sheer "our team stinks" air of it ruins it all. btw, I think I think this team would be a lot worse without Benson, Patterson, and Ramon and I think our farm system is vastly improved....but don't reap the rewards overnight. Jose Canseco will not fade away. Pitching and DHing? I wonder how long this lasts a week...maybe 2? Canseco is a car wreck that's wrapped in a trainwreck and covered with a chemical spill. Keep on driving, folks...the only things left to see here is tragedy and arrogance. I have no pity for Jay Mariotti. I just do not like this guy. Ozzie Gullien needs to use his words more carefully, if you pick someone to call somebody some kind of name, well...Jay's probably your guy. I got a kick out of this part...

he could have gone looking for Guillen in the clubhouse. He thought about it. “But what would have happened? He could have hit me. He could have choked me. He could have just screamed at me—best-case scenario. What exactly does that serve? I refuse to be part of this flying circus. If he wants to call and meet like a man and not in front of his frat house, I’m available. But not in that circus. That’s the jock mentality, and I don’t buy into it.”

That whole bit about St.Jay not going to the clubhouse out of fear, I think it's more out of arrogrance. Ozzie Guillen is an ass I'm sure...but I bet Mariotti is an even bigger one. In fact, I'm sure of it. At least Guillen doesn't have those creepy waxed eyebrows. That's it, I'll be back Sunday. Hope the O's can extend the Braves' woes and Russ Ortiz can prove me wrong.

Slick Nick hits BIG

2006-06-29T15:26:00.000-04:00

I love doubleheaders. Nick Markakis loves them more, I'm sure. Nick went a combine 5-7 in yesterday's 2 games and he looked good. He looked a pro. I'm backing of my earlier stance that I thought he should spend a couple weeks in Ottawa. At this point, he should start everyday. The only way he's going to keep improving is to play him everyday and PLAY him against lefties. My ideal scenario is to put him in right, move Gibbons to DH (once Javy is traded...that'll happen) or maybe first base, and then start Newhan there after the break or trade for someone. No Luis Matos. PLEASE. Since 1954 is a good new O's blog. Drop on by. Did anyone watch the NBA Draft? Back in the day before the High Schoolers(who are now ineligible) and International players got involved, I loved the NBA Draft. That was also when I used to love the NBA. I knew the players and new the teams. In case anyone possibly cares...here's the top ten. 1 Raptors PF Andrea Bargnani Benetton Treviso (Italy) Who? Jurrasic Park is early 1990's...how about updating that name? Are there Raptors in Toronto? If so...well, don't advertise it you chumps. 2 Bulls PF LaMarcus Aldridge Texas I have absolutely no opinion of the Bulls. none. nada. nothing. 3 Bobcats SF Adam Morrison Gonzaga Great. The Weeper is coming to the Carolinas. Hope he leaves the lame mustache behind. If he puts on a flannel shirt, dirty jeans, and an old cap, he'll fit right in. I miss the Hornets. 4 Blazers PF Tyrus Thomas LSU I wonder what Isiah Rider is doing now. Is he drinking beer and playing dice? Is he sending text messages on stolen cell phones? Is he finding better uses for Sprite cans? Babysitting for Shawn Kemp? 5 Hawks PF Shelden Williams Duke One thing hasn't changed since I stopped watching the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks are a bad team. I'm sure all ten of their fans agree with me. 6 T-Wolves SG Brandon Roy Washington Is that a good pick? I have no idea. 7 Celtics SG Randy Foye Villanova Too bad Roy and Foye couldn't be on the same team...Roy and Foye. 8 Rockets SF Rudy Gay Connecticut He took a drop. 9 Warriors C Patrick O'Bryant Bradley I can't comment on every pick when I've never seen Patrick O'Bryant from Bradley play. I regret that now. 10 Sonics C Saer Sene Pepinster (Belgium) Saer Sene from Pepinster? That sounds like acid fiction. I'm down on the NBA in case you couldn't tell. THE Stephen A. Smith getting heckled at the NBA Draft. Saw this on Deadspin and laughed til I stopped. Probably the best bit of television from the NBA Draft in years. And for the record, I'm eatting Cheese Dooooodles right now. That's the most attention I'll ever give to the NBA here. One more against the Phils and the sweep is complete and then it's on to Atlanta.

Mazzone Effect?

2006-06-28T18:59:00.000-04:00

The O's won game 1 of the double header. Erik Bedard has really turned it on. 3 straight wins and a 1.29 ERA over that span. He also hasn't allowed a run over the last 16 innings. Maybe Mazzone's finally having an effect...because lately a lot of our pitchers have been having a lot of quality starts. June Total: Bedard W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO NP-S G O-AO 3 2 3.09 6 6 35.0 28 13 12 2 10 39 599-397 40-26 Benson W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO NP-S GO-AO 2 1 2.65 5 5 34.0 29 11 10 4 10 14 520-327 39-46 My boy...the engima known as Daniel Cabrera W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO NP-S GO-AO 2 3 4.94 5 5 27.1 26 15 15 4 21 32 533-315 23-26 Lopez W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO NP-S GO-AO 2 1 5.18 4 4 24.1 28 14 14 4 8 16 388-242 30-26 Guess who's June line this is? W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO NP-S GO-AO 0 1 2.45 6 0 11.0 13 3 3 1 2 5 171-103 7-19 Bruce Chen...surprise surprise. If he can keep those numbers, then if looks like he could be answer to our 6th and 7th innings. I'm gonna wait out June, July and August though before I make that statement on the record. Not really a great month for Cabrera, but he's streaky...up and down...and unpredictable. Once he gets better control though, he'll be lights out. I wonder how Russ Ortiz's numbers will look. All in all, it looks like June has been a great month for our pitchers. Get well soon Peter Gammons. The National Post article about Tejada has made a big flap. I discount a lot of stuff for the Post because....because they care more about the Nats than the O's. But the fact remains that Tejada is getting fined. That's not good leadership from someone who's supposed to be our team leader. As for these trade rumors, Peter Angelos said today: "The Orioles have no interest in trading Miguel Tejada ," said Orioles principal owner Peter Angelos. "He is an exciting and exceptional athlete and a great baseball player." Geez, well that increases the chances he gets traded if Pete says that. For the record, I'm not one of the O's fans who are saying "Trade Tejada, Trade Tejada," I just think if an offer that comes our way where we can get three players that will make us a better all around team...then I think we should seriously think about it. If we can get a 1 or 2 starter, a real everyday first baseman, and another young player, the Front Office would be fools not to consider that. Ramon Hernandez just got hit by a pitch the for the second time today, taking the Plunked Award from the battered grasp of Melvin Mora. I don't think that's an accident. Have I mentioned that I don't think Charlie Manuel is a good manager? Commercials I am sick of Rico Copiers (I get it...you're a procrastinator) Red Roof Inn (Multitask somewhere else) Taylor Hicks/Ford (Do me a favor and fade away quickly) Geico Caveman (It's not funny after the millionth time) Geico Lizard (You think you're witty lizard...but you're not) Man, I love double headers.

Shoeless Joe and another Tejada Trade Rumor

2006-06-27T14:46:00.000-04:00

There's not much business with the O's right now...a little but I'll get to that later. I was reading Buster Olney's blog on ESPN.com and he mentions a new book about Shoeless Joe. Since I needed something to post about, I figured this was a golden opportunity to talk about Shoeless Joe. Joe in his playing days. I really liked this. Joe in his later days at his liquor store. There's a new book out that might clear Shoeless Joe Jackson. Jackson was born a few towns away from me in Pickens and he would die in Greenville, so the debate on whether Jackson should on shouldn't be in Cooperstown is rather one-sided here. I'll definately have to read this book. It's been my opinion that he should be in. He was accused of taking money to fix the series....but if you look at his numbers for the 1919 World Series, he batted .375 with 1 HR and 6 RBI. That's not numbers of someone trying to rig a series. Management and ownership of baseball were more corrupt than the players were back then. The contracts were horrible towards players and guys like Kenesaw Mountain Landis were in bed with the owners. Jackson never got a hearing...just the boot from baseball. I know you can say guilt by association, but I don't think he's guilty. He might have been backed into a corner by the mob, his teammates, whoever...but he obviosuly didn't go along with it in the end. I'm not just giving him the benefit of the doubt because he's a hometown boy.. I think it's cool that he's from my hometown, but I don't get my jollies out of it. Unlike the city of Greenville does. I'm glad they've embraced a tragic historical figure....sometimes though, they seem to overdo it. Before we got the name "Greenville Drive," the city and ownership were going to go with the "Greenville Joes." I would have rather have had that than the drive...but baseball didn't go for the name, since he has the ban and all. Here's the statue downtown...which is a classy touch. Here's the Jackson house. It's new home is by the ballpark where it's being turned into a Shoeless Joe mueseum. It's not opened yet, but when it does I'll post some pictures. For everything you've ever wanted to know about Shoeless go here. On to the O's and trade rumors. The Washington National Post says the O's are willing to trade Tejada partially because he's always shows up late and won't pay the fines he's levied for being late. That's the first I've heard of this, but if it's true...that's not good. I really think this is his last season as an O. I hate it...but I'm moving more towards the trade Tejada camp. If we were a player away from being a contender, then I'd be against. But we're several players away...sad thing is we might could get those players by trading him. Here's the follow up chat to the article. I'll just post spectualtion and we'll see if what happens. If anything does, I'll bet it's to the Angels. And further more.... From FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal

The Orioles stopped entertaining offers for Miguel Tejada after the shortstop rescinded his trade request last off-season, but they almost certainly would listen if teams inquired again. A ninth consecutive losing season, which appears inevitable, should be enough for Orioles owner Peter Angelos to figure out that his team won't improve until it trades Tejada for players who could fill multiple holes. Frankly, it might have been a good idea for the Orioles to also move third baseman Melvin Mora and right fielder Jay Gibbons rather than sign them long-term. It certainly wasn't a good idea to grant Mora a no-trade clause. The Orioles are less likely to trade Tejada before July 31 than they are during the off-season, when they could market him to a greater number of clubs. At that point, Tejada will have three years and $38 million left on his contract

. Asheville Tourists manager Joe Mikulik got his penalty for his awesome tirade. Ending on a positive note, I got the Brian Roberts jersey today and it rocks.

Hilarious beyond words

2006-06-26T13:54:00.000-04:00

Was going to take the day off, but I must...I am required to share this video. The Asheville Tourists were playing the Lexington Legends. Tourist Manger Joe Mikulik went out to dispute a call. Lexington's Koby Clemens was leading off on second base after hitting an RBI double when Asheville pitcher Brandon Durden tried to pick him off. Umpire Andy Russell called Clemens safe, sending Mikulik barging out of the dugout like a drunken boar and then came an epic performance that would make Earl Weaver jealous. You MUST..YOU HAVE to see this!!!! That's it for the day.

Lucky me....

2006-06-25T17:31:00.000-04:00

From Yahoo Sports: Before the game, Baltimore signed RHP Russ Ortiz, who had been cut by Arizona, which still owes him almost $22 million. Ortiz will start July 1 in place of LHP Adam Loewen, who was optioned to Triple-A Ottawa. I will be able to see Russ Ortiz's first start for the Orioles...in person. Lady luck has smiled on me and planted a wet on my face. I had thought I'd be seeing Cabrera, but I guess my figuring was off by a day. In retrospect, I should have waited on the buying the jersey. How cool would an Oriole Russ Ortiz jersey be? But I had to buy a Brian Roberts jersey... Sometimes I hate myself. All sarcasm aside... Here's the details. It's for the minimum...so there's no big investment in this guy. Classic buy low situation. The guy did great with Mazzone in Atlanta, maybe by being reunited they'll rekindle that old magic. If he pans out though, we better start saying our goodbyes to Rodrigo Lopez. I think the mouthing off about the skipped start sealed his fate. If Ortiz gives up 6 runs in the first Saturday though, I'll have no mercy on this guy. I'll be there and I know how to boo. Did you notice in the Post article where it mentions that the O's and Rowell are at stalemate over 100 k on the signing bonus? The O's offer 2 mil and he wants 2.1 mil. We got til August to work that out...as silly as it looks. If you have John Rocker backing you... do you need anyone else? The O's took 2 out 3 from the Nats this weekend. Good job, boys.

Russ O-rtiz?

2006-06-24T16:37:00.000-04:00

John Boggs, agent for Russ Ortiz, told ESPN that the O's are the leaders for the services of Ortiz. Ortiz's numbers those don't factor in this season's numbers Look at these babies.... GM W L BB K ERA 6 0 5 22 21 7.54 AARGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! If those numbers were an animal, they'd be road kill. ugly ugly roadkill. Those are ugly numbers. With those numbers you could combine Russ and Chen and make a ultra-super bad pitcher. I shouldn't call him bad yet. I'll like him if he signs with the O's until he ruffles my feathers with some bad games. Arizona owes him a lot of money....22 million bucks to be exact. So Ortiz can be signed for the pro-rated portion of the major-league minimum salary of $327,000. He flourish under Mazzone's system, so I don't have a problem with this. If the Orioles do sign him, one of two things happen. 1) Rodrigo Lopez gets traded. to the Rockies for Ryan Shealy? I can only hope. 2) Adam Loewen goes back to the minors. I don't have a huge problem with this either. Another month or two in the minors for the kid would probably do him a lot of good. But if Ortiz comes in and Browers it up, they'd better cut the cord quickly. It could be another of thoese Patterson/Benson low risk/high reward moves. He could turn to be a nice pick up that translates into a good 4 or 5 pitcher, decent tradebait (if he puts up some good numbers), or he could just stink. I have no exceptations for him if he WERE to sign. By the way, great game last night. Good job by Rodrigo and good to see Chris Ray get three quick outs for the save after bloody Thursday. A week from today at this time I'll be in Atlanta gearing up for the O's and Braves!

Let the "Rivalry" resume

2006-06-23T20:56:00.000-04:00

I want to hate you...but you're so dang jolly. Events that would make the Nats and O's a real rivalry *Earl Weaver attacks Screech the Eagle with a Louisville Slugger *Todd Williams hits Alfonso Soriano (who's in the dugout) while trying to intentionally walk Ryan Zimmerman. *Sammy Sosa comes to bat amid a cloud of smoke and sparks for the Nats in a pinch hit situtation in the bottom of the ninth. Chances are he'd strike out or hit a ball towards the warning track. *Matt LeCroy beans a Baltimore ballgirl while trying to throw out Patterson on a steal attempt for second. *Ed Rodgers comes to bat and the bases loaded.The ball disappears. All three runners score on what is thought to be a very very wild pitch. It would turn out later that Rodgers hid the ball in his jersey. *The Nats steal Brandon Fahey's lunch money and lock him in his locker after giving him a wedgie. *Jim Bowden and his girlfriend drive into the front of Camden Yards after "a couple drinks." *Luis Matos was Screech the Eagle's long lost son. *Peter Angelos eggs and rolls RFK with some Angel Soft. *Jeffrey Maier starts in Right Field tonight.

DISGRACEFUL

2006-06-23T16:29:00.000-04:00

From MLB.com

Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez led off the 10th with a bunt single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. With first base open, the Orioles decided to intentionally walk cleanup hitter Miguel Cabrera -- but were unable to. Reliever Todd Williams, who normally throws from the side and not directly over the top, has trouble trying to throw intentional walks. He softly tossed the first pitch of the sequence too close to home plate, and Cabrera alertly swung and hit an RBI single into center field, giving the Marlins the lead. "He has a little trouble with his intentional walks," manager Sam Perlozzo said. "It's something that shouldn't happen

." I don't know what to say about last night's game. Chris Ray blew the save, but you know what...I'm fine with that. A closer will blow saves sometimes. It stinks...but it was going to happen at somepoint. I think Perlozzo warming up Ray 3 seperate times didn't do the kid any favors. But Todd Williams? How can anyone have a problem throwing an intentional walk? If he's having a problem walking someone...maybe you shouldn't put him in. Maybe if Williams has trouble giving up a walk, Cabrera can give him some pointers. I like Williams, I'm not calling for his head. But I want to see less of him... a lot less. This was an embrassment. an absolute joke. We snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Maybe this is the apex of the last 8 years. In the span of a week we had Ed Rodgers have a ball in play go into a jersey and now we have Todd Williams giving up a hit on an intentional walk. I fell asleep during the cursed tenth and I awoke to "Williams blew the walk." Too bad I woke up. This is brutal. At this point, maybe it's time to bring up the same question... Is it time to trade Tejada? I say yes. The front office would be stupid not to be putting out feelers. Who'd we be talking to? The Angels for starters. The team we have now could be .500 if the breaks went their way, but let's not kid ourselves and say this is a playoff team. There's a void at first. LF is a black hole. Jay Gibbons is a DH, not a RF. There is not a 1 or 2 in the rotation. (But the starters have improved in June) Tejada can help us more at this point by being traded. His value is only going to go down because of his declining defense and B-12 connections. A lot of teams can use him, but he'd serve a contending team better than he would the O's. At this point, I say make this team younger and do an actual rebuilding. Not a patchwork job like we've had the past 8 years. No Sosas. No Raffys. No Conines. Just commit to the youth and get it over with. Here's one deal that needs to happen. Ryan Shealy is drawing interest from the O's Would Javy and a pitching prospect do? Buyers and Sellers? Let's just call it rebuilding. I guess that's it. The Nats are in town...maybe tonight will be a shame free night or maybe Luis Matos will give up an RBI by accidently swallowing a baseball that took a bad hop.

Bedard toils with my emotions again?

2006-06-22T14:46:00.000-04:00

8 innings 2 hits 0 BB 1 HBP and 12 K's. Great game to watch, but Bedard has been Jekyll and Hyde this season. From the ESPN recap:

"It was just tremendous performance against a hot team that had won nine straight," Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone said. "I give all the credit to Bedard. He had the courage to go to a new changeup in the middle of a major league championship season. This was his third time out with it, and tonight he really threw it exceptionally well." "He located in such a way that there was really no way you could hit it," Perlozzo said. "That changeup he's been working on, I think that was a big part of his game tonight. When you have to look for three pitches instead of two, it makes a difference."

The pitching has been much improved this month. I think we might finally be starting to see the Mazzone effect. I don't want to declare it just yet, but I knew it was going to take time and it might be getting through now. A moment of silence and a stale pound cake for... Left-hander John Halama, who was designated for assignment Friday by the team, cleared waivers and refused an assignment to Triple-A Ottawa, and was given his outright release. Here's some O's odds and ends. Halama was 3-1 with a 5.02 ERA in 16 games with the Orioles this year. This move was long overdue. Halama gave me plenty of headaches and heartaches though he did give me one glorious performance, that start against the Mariners. Sadly, that was the apex of his Oriole career. Hey John, I hear they're hiring in KC. I'm going to the O's/Braves July 1st...so this bit of news is a huge relief and I ordered the Brian Roberts Jersey Tuesday.

hGH, Matos, and Ozzie

2006-06-21T16:43:00.000-04:00

Been busy since I got back. Got stuff working 8 straight days at work and stayed out too late last night to top it off, so my posting will be varied for the next week, week and a half. Here's a few things I looked at today. David Seugi wants to be the hGH poster boy. Just when I thought I was rid of you, David Seugi, you come back again. Schmuck has a good column about all this. Good article on roommates Markakis and Loewen. Luis Matos isn't going away yet. I wish he'd go away. With a change of scenery he'd probably turn into Andruw Jones and then I'd dislike him more. Smoltz getting traded? It could happen. The Braves are 30-41. LAST in the East. East W L Pct GB Mets 44 26 .629 -- Phillies 35 36 .493 9.5 Marlins 30 37 .448 12.5 Nationals 32 41 .438 13.5 Braves 30 41 .423 14.5 I think the streak might end this season. I can't picture Smoltz in another uniform. I hope he retires a Brave. Speaking of the Braves, I'll be in Atlanta July 1st for the O's and Braves game. During which game I'll be wearing my Brian Roberts jersey which should be here in a few days. I am really looking forward to it. Ozzie Guillen's act is wearing thin. At first, I liked Ozzie. I thought he was a breath of fresh air. Now his ranting, name calling, and obnoxiousness is getting old. Hey, I think Jay Marrotti and his waxed eyebrows are horribly pompous. I don't care for him. If Ozzie wants to say whatever he wants to say about Marrotti, do it behind closed doors, not to a pack of reporters who are looking for a good quote.

Guillen was still talking about it Tuesday, getting defensive about a column written by Ron Cook in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Cook wrote that Guillen, "has become the biggest creep in baseball -- at least on the days Barry Bonds takes off.

I get sick of his "that's how we do things back home" or "that's how we greet friends back home." You've lived in America 25 years, dude. You should have some social common sense. If that's how you talk to your friends....I'd turn down the invitation to the Guillen Cookout. I'm officially tired of Ozzie. I'm sure he'll just get a slap on the wrist for this, but I think he should sit out a couple games to make a point to this knucklehead.

Ben's back

2006-06-19T10:41:00.000-04:00

Back from my mini-vacation. Feels like it's too soon. While I was gone the O's took 2 out of 3 from the Mets. When I was coming back down the insanely winding roads of the Arkansas back roads, I picked up bits and pieces of game 3, but my patience wore out quickly with the reception. I tried again later, but the game was over and I listened to some of Mark Prior getting shlacked until the reception went out again, I half expected this is we were seriously in the middle of nowhere. The nearest actual town was about 30 to 40 miles away, I'm not counting those little towns that consists of a few houses and a gas station with one pump and a pickle barrel. Arkansas has some weird names for towns, I should have wrote some of them down, but my favorite was 'Toad Suck Park,' which is an actual state park. I'd like to know how that one came about, but then again maybe I wouldn't. Went through Memphis, which has a beautiful shoreline....I guess you call it a shoreline. Driving over the Missisippi River and seeing Memphis was a great sight. Went on a hike Saturday that was rough on the body. Crawling on my belly in a cave and the couple dozen times I banged my head made me sore, but seeing the chamber with the waterfall it lead to was awesome. My cousin's husband and I made mistake doing a trail adventure. We followed the dried-up river that we thought led to a smaller cave where the rest of our party would meet us....which when the river bed ended, caused some problems. Half-walking, half-tumbling down a 50% incline and a little bit of wandering, we found the trail and our party....but in retrospect it wasn't the smartest thing to do. The ride back was grueling. We left at night going there, so we made awesome time 13 hours, minus 1 for the time change..but had daytime traffic and gained an hour so it ended up being 15 on the way back. But tomorrow it's back to work..ughhh. but there could be some positive changes in store there. I'm tired and have to do the back in town stuff, so I'm keeping it simple and linking to some stuff from the O's website. Kris Benson had an awesome return to Shea didn't he? David Segui went public yesterday about his legal hGH use and his name being in the Grimsley affadavid Rodrigo gets pushed back and now he's mad. I think it's kind of funny. When he was 1-7 and getting knocked around, Perlozzo kept him in the rotation and he didn't miss a start. Now he decides to skip him and he's irrate about it. I think this means he'll be gone soon. Melvin Mora talks about his gratitude towards Steve Phillips, who was a bad GM and is equally bad on ESPN.

Ben is on Vacation

2006-06-14T19:05:00.000-04:00

If by angle, you mean ankle...then Perlozzo will give you a start in the outfield tonight. Leaving sometime tomorrow, but I won't have time to post because of all that last minute trip stuff that I've put off. Looking forward to some time away. Won't be back til sometime early Monday, so take it easy and stay classy til then.

Fixed....

2006-06-14T18:12:00.000-04:00

Got things pretty much back to normal. Had to re-enter all the links, if I missed anyone... lemme know. Still need to get the email back up, but it's about 90% back to norma.. I'll try to fix that tonight and be less ambious in the future.

I hate it too....

2006-06-14T17:52:00.000-04:00

Changed templates because I wanted a change. I didn't realize that I would lose all of the links, polls, feed, and everything else. I'll try and get it right tonight, but if not, it'll get righted until I get back. but yeah.... I hate it.

Rambling....Rambling on...

2006-06-14T10:31:00.000-04:00

I'm wondering what, if any, the Orioles will make as trade season will trade up. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few positions that the O's need addressed. 1st Base Left Field DH SP Right now at first we have the 2 headed monster of Kevin Millar/Jeff Conine. I've got few problems with Millar this point, with the exception of the occassion big strike out he'll rack up. Millar was signed more for his clubhouse prescense, not his bat. 6 HR 29 RBI .241 BA 23 BB and 25 SO (He has gotten some quality at bats lately) Anything his bat can give us is gravy. Conine though, has been a deep fried fiasco smothered in disaster gravy. Niner was brought in, like Millar, for some leadership and for a little offense. I think little would be the right word. 5 HR 17 RBI and a paltry .229 BA It's not a shocker though, last season with the Marlins, Conine had 3 HR and 33 RBI with a deceptive .304 BA. Conine's better defensively at first than Millar, but watching Conine play left at this point is like watching two trains run in head on. One train carries toxic chemical waste and the other is carrying kittens. Just like Conine's defense, it's going to be uuuuuuggghhhllleee. At this point, I want Markakis in Right. I'd rather see Gibbons moved to first or DH. Who do I want to see in leftfield? Let's start with who I don't want to see. .188 BA .258 OBP 2 HR and 5 RBI yeah, it's not Luis Matos. Brandon Fahey, Luis Terrero, Ed Rodgers, and David Newhan are the others we have to play in left. Fahey is a nice utilty guy and I'd rather have start than Matos, but I don't think he's the solution to Left. Terrero... I can't say much about Rodgers because I only saw him playing once. That was the day Johnson no-hit the O's except Tejada. Newhan will be back off the DL after the break. I like Newhan, but I think he's more of a 4th outfielder. DH Javy Lopez and his expiring 7.5 million dollar salary will more than likely be traded, which opens up DH. It would be easy just to put Gibbons here after Lopez is traded. Gibbons' defense in the outfield is a concern and a move to DH or maybe 1st would make sense. Markakis can play his regular position of right and with 2/3rds of an outfield of Patterson and Markakis, that's a good defensive outfield. SP We can always use a starting pitcher. Chen's pitched his way out of the rotation and I'm assuming Rodrigo is trade bait. The Loewens and Penns are starting to come up, but a solid veteran pitcher is always something a team can use. One thing I've gone back and forth on is the Tejada thing. Do we trade him or do we keep him? Last winter I was ready to ship him off, then when he and the O's kissed and made up, I was giddy with him again. He's having a good year offensive, but defensively....his range is looking more and more limited. Whether they trade him or keep him depends hinges on two scenarios, in my opinion. If ownership is willing to commit the money and do a big trade and the big signing this off season and build a team that can win now, then keep him. Using mlb4u here's a few select free agents that could provide a spark for the O's, or could be the equal of putting a fork in an electrical outlet. Moves I would suggest for the win-now, spend big scenario Carlos Lee- I've made my feelings known on Carlos Lee already. Jermaine Dye- one of the most underrated players in baseball ever. Yeah, he's 32. But if you're building a veteran team to make a run, Dye's a great addition. Nomar Garciaparra- I think he's staying in LA and going to make a lot of money, but you never know. Mark Mulder- A return to the AL would do him good. Barry Zito- never going to happen, but I can dream. Ray King- He's awesome. Fat relievers with a bit of mean streak are the best. Kerry Wood- Incentive laded deal based on starts, innings, and staying healthy only. maybe at this point, he might be better suited for the bullpen. Sean Casey-maybe. Moves I would not suggest for spend big. Soraino- great season yeah, but he's going to be wanting top dollar. Is he going to want to play outfield in Baltimore? He's not going near second. His attitude is one that I don't want either. Griffey Jr.- He's a walking injury risk. Great player, yes..but an injury prone 36 year old centerfielder who won't move to the corners is not what we need. Jose Gullien- Headcase. no way. Torii Hunter- good player, yes...but I think he's overrated and he'll get a lot of money..from the Yankees. Jeff Weaver- I won't be fooled again by this chump. Juan Pierre- 0 HR and 7 RBI this season. That's 2 RBI more than Matos and he barely plays, whereas Pierre plays everyday. Poking a fork in an outlet might Gary Sheffield- I have no use for this guy. Top dollar for an aging journeyman with a big bat and a nasty attitude. Hey why don't you go back to Milwaukee...oh that's right, they hate you. San Diego? Los Angeles? Atlanta? Florida? Barry Bonds- Speaking of someone everyone hates.... the day the Orioles sign him, I'll buy a Jason Varitek jersey. Preston Wilson, Rondell White, Cliff Flloyd. I'm sure the O's will sing one of this stiffs...to which I'll say collectively "PPPPFFFFHHHHTTTT!!!" If we're going to go with a youth movement that can win down the road (argh), Tejada will have to be traded. If it was to happen, I don't want a bag of magic magic beans for him, we don't need a beanstalk. We need a winner. This scenario is so much less sexy. I can't really rattle off names to sign or not to sign like I could with the big money scenario. This scenario involves trading for AAA and AA talent and signing lesser known free agents. With this scenario, if you do it right, you have a team with a young core than can win for many years, whereas the win now, you have a much shorter window. I want a team that's good for awhile, not a team that'll tease me a two good years and one really good year and that's it. Maybe playing Jay Gibbons in the outfield wasn't a smart idea now he's back on the DL. Albert Belle is still in jail. Y'know...Stuart Scott really gets under my skin with his whole "we shouldn't boo or critcize athletes and only kiss their butts" act. Quote of the week, I was out last night and I was doing a score check on my phone. The O's of course, were getting stomped, Chris asked me to check the Cubs score and it was 5-1. "Phil Nevin probably hit another worseless homer." I checked the scoring plays and indeed, Phil "too good for Baltimore" Nevin hit another worthless homer. I'm going out of town tomorrow night. There's a huge family shin-dig in Arkansas. So I'll be getting together with the family...and having a 15-16 hour drive. A lot of my family lives in Missouri and Tennesse and we've got some lodges that we're renting out in the middle of the Arkansasian wilderness. Looking forward to some time away, but not the drive.

Off Day

2006-06-13T19:21:00.000-04:00

Monday Smorgasboard

2006-06-12T13:37:00.000-04:00

Maybe next time you can pitch at a little league game, Rocket. I've got to rant about the big deal the media is making about Clemen's performance in A,AAA, and soon to be AAA ball. It's wearing thin with me. The Rocket would be a fine AA pitcher at least. Roger Clemens strikes out 11 in AA ball. It ties a Corpus Christi Hook's record. The AP is already pushing for Clemens' to win a CY Young..

Chalk up another record for Roger Clemens, who looks as dominant as ever less than two weeks from his scheduled return to the majors.

WHaT? No sir, I won't chalk this one up. That's the equivant of me playing kickball against middle schoolers. I'd probably set a couple of recess records in kickball that day. Honestly,Roger Clemens must really be a special pitcher to strike out 11 in AA ball. I don't get the big deal that's being made out of this. Clemens is one of the best (if not the best pitcher) in my lifetime. The fact that he struck out 11 Double AA boys, at WHATABURGER FIELD, of all places, shouldn't be a big deal. When he gets back to the majors and strikes out 11 Cardinals, Mets, or even Royals. Then we'll chalk one up for the Rocket, but for now, I won't chalk one up. I understand the fact that he's pitching to get back in game shape, but the publicity this is getting is making me sick. WHATABURGER FIELD...WHATASHAM FIELD should be more like it. I'm surprised how little love is given to the stolen base. I love the stolen base. Manufacturing runs is an art in my opinion. Everyone loves home runs, so that's what lead in the decline of the stolen base. Stealing a base is a fundamental skill in baseball and as Tim McCarver says "Fundamentals are a fundamental part of baseball." I hope Corey steals 100. With Roberts, Patterson, and Newhan (back after the break), the O's could steal a lot of bags. • ESPN.com asked 60 players, executives, managers and coaches the following question: Which active major-leaguers have the skills to be good managers one day? Here are the leading vote getters: PLAYER VOTES Jason Varitek 11 of course. Brad Ausmus 11 Mike Matheny 10 Mike Redmond 6 Julio Franco 5 By the time he retires from playing, he might be too old to manage. Luis Matos 5 Todd Pratt 5 Alex Cora 4 Sandy Alomar Jr. 4 This guy is STILL playing, with the Dodgers. Can you believe it? Mark Loretta 4 Craig Counsell 4 Tony Clark 3 Mark Sweeney 3 Scott Hatteberg 3 Paul Lo Duca 3 Greg Maddux 3 I'd be surprised if Maddux was ever a manager. He doesn't seem the type to me. Where is A-Rod, Jeter, Damon, and Ortiz on this list? Clearly this is bias. *oh yeah, I threw Matos in there myself. ha ha ha. Benson vs. Janssen....AGAIN. It's like "Groundhog Day." By the end of the season these two will have faced each other 47 times. Maybe this is a good time to take a shot at the MLB schedule. So far the O's have played about 30 games against the Jays, 40 against the Rays, 20 against BAWSTON, and 15 against the Yanks....that what it seems like anyway. Chris Ray needs more save chances. RIP Moe Drabowsky I suggest reading "Black and Blue." It has some great stories about Moe, his pranks, and his amazing World Series performance against the Dodgers. Rick Ankiel is CURSED. Can anything ever go right for this guy? I'm scared to even say his name aloud out of sheer fear. The Giants are WRETCHED on the road. You realize that the Giants are setting themselves up to be a bad bad team soon. Moise Alou, Steve Finley, Barry Bonds, Omar Vizquel...this is an old team with very little youth and limited money to spend on free agents. I'm going to say in 3 years tops, the Giants will be a cellar team. They're not exactly knocking them dead right now though. Paul Byrd and Bob Wickman got into a scuffle... ..not a fight, because if it was a fight, Wickman would have snapped Byrd in half. Seriously, Wickman is not a guy I'd chose to fight with it was Paul Bryd. Rejoice Cubbies Derek Lee is swinging a bat again. If the Cubs offense still stinks...what happens? When Lee gets back and if their starting pitching can stay steady (anything from Wood and Prior is a bonus)I think they could be this year's Houston Astros. Consider: Zambrano's a freak Maddux will give more good starts than bad starts Sean Marshall will be a good pitcher Their bullpen is pretty strong, aside from a couple of blown saves. *the pitching and bullpen was the Astros' strength last season The Cubs' offense (like Houston's offense) is spotty. With Lee coming back that can change, though. Seriously, who's going to be the Wild card? and with that, I'm out like a Misson's batter caught looking at pitch thrown by a Hall-of-Fame pitcher "tuning up" for his return to the Astros.

Let's play...DESIGNATION!

2006-06-11T16:22:00.000-04:00

Jay Gibbons is coming off the the DL, so the question is.... who's going away? Remember, whoever wins, gets to play baseball and live in Ottawa (for home games)for an undetermined amount of time. All expenses paid... Let's meet our contestants Canidate number 1 is a medicore pitcher who's just been demoted from the starting rotation to the bullpen. He's played for as many teams as most people have fingers. This season he's 0-6 with 7.76 ERA. He's given up 18 home runs in 51 innings. Hold your nose and clap your hands for BRUCE CHEN Candiate number 2... He's started 2 games and has 2 no decisions. He's got 12 K's and 8 walks in 15 innings with a 7.80 He's faced both the Yankees and the Blue Jays and didn't lose. He's a young raw pitcher from Canada who needs to get his control down. He's Adam Loewen. Number 3 is an outfielder who's been with the club since spring training. Maybe he's been a little bit rushed into his role as the corner piece of the Orioles' outfield of the future. His defense is good, but his bat has yet to really find its rhythm in the majors. Batting only .224... Nick Markakis Number 4... Is Webster's defination of 4th outfielder. No bat. good glove....ah forget it...I'm tired of him and his smug medicority. Luis Matos. (I can dream can't I? If I could see Luis Matos designated for assignment, I'd do cartwheels in my living room. Honest I would.) Candidate number 5 elected not to attend. He's already made several trips to and from Ottawa this season. Batting .231 and appearing only in 6 games this season... It's Ed "Round Trip" Rodgers. The favorite... He is the Journey man pitcher. Last season he pitched for 4 different teams. This season, he's only pitched for one. A set-up man...who hasn't set up much for the birds. This 34-year-old has allowed 21 hits and 14 runs in his last six outings, which totaled 15 2/3 innings. His ERA during that has been 8.04 After selling his soul for a good start against the Mariners, it's John Halama And in a landslide....It's Johnnnn Halammmmaaaaaa Hope you have a passport John, you're going to need it As an added bonus, you get to share a room with none other than our last winner, Raul Chavez! Enjoy your free meal at Waffle House, Ned's Oil and Lube Duffel Bag, and a week's supply of Lance crackers, hope you like Canada. For the record, I think Markakis could benefit from playing EVERY day in AAA for a few weeks. I have faith in Nick....I just think that strong spring training maybe hurt him by having him make the team. Loewen'll probably go back when Penn gets back. I want to see him get his control down in the minors and then get a late season call up.

New Feature

2006-06-10T21:42:00.000-04:00

I'm unveiling the Bruce Chen home run tracker. By blowing that game last night, as you can tell by the little Bruces, it's at a robust 18. Here's a joke for Bruce to tell next time.... "What's white, round, and goes about 400 feet?" "What?" "A Bruce Chen pitch." btw...I need a name for this Chen Homer tracker....any suggestions?

CLEMSON WINS

2006-06-09T20:47:00.000-04:00

What a game. Rub the rock, Tiger! (for those of you who know nothing about Clemson, that's Howard's Rock.... named after the Legendary football coach Frank Howard. Football Players run down the hill and rub the rock before the game.) The Clemson Tigers won a complete thriller on a walk-off grand slam. I don't watch much college baseball, but as long as the Tigers are in it, I'll listen to the magical sounds of aluminum bats. It was a great game to watch. I hope they win it all. Don't judge O's draft pick Jason Berkin on his start today...a foot in the nose can mess up a pitcher's concentration by a touch. Jay Gibbons says "I'm feeling great!" I'm wondering what happens to the outfield when Jay comes back Corey's a lock in Center I like Fahey much much much much much much much better than Conine in Left. Markakis is still struggling. Do the O's send Markakis down when Jay comes back? I think he perhaps was a little rushed...I'd like to see Jay get moved to first. The only way Gibbons wins a gold glove in right, is if all the other right fielders have their hands fall off. He's ok defensively....but there's a reason you see Markakis/Matos/whoever else come in during the ninth for him in the ninth innings of close games. I like Jay and I'm glad he's on our team...but I'd like him better if he was at first base. Maybe they can just keep Markakis and release Matos or trade Matos to the any team that's in need of good fielding outfielder, with a bad bat, likes to strike out, and sports a trademark sour expression. You will never believe this... Kerry Wood is back on the DL. "Kerry Wood is hurts?" "Shocking isn't it." "Kerry Wood is a workhorse, isn't he?" "If Kerry Wood was a horse, he'd be glue." "What do you think Kerry's got in the basket?" "Band-aids and asprins." "Make sure he shares....Mark Prior's a bottle of Elmer's too, y'know." "I'm sure those two are part of the reason Carlos Zambrano punches holes in the walls of his house every day with screaming curses in Spanish." "That and he's crazy..." "He's crazy and he is GOOOOOD." "I won't argue with that." "What I'd give to have that crazy Zambrano on our staff." "True..." Quality start for Rodrigo Lopez... 100 pitches (after 7) 7 hits 3 runs (all earned) 3 BB and 6 K's. the O's lead 5-3...let's hope it sticks. It's doubtful I'm be around much this weekend. Catch you Sunday evening, more than likely.

Lopez to Lopez again

2006-06-09T18:10:00.000-04:00

The Lopez brothers look to go 4-0 together against the Twinkies. Brad Radke has the same record as Rodrigo, that fat 4-7. Rodrigo is 4-7 with a 6.75 ERA and Radke is 4-7 with a 6.42. By the way, I've always though Radke was always a touch over rated. After last night's thriller, let's do it again tonight boys!

NBA Playoffs translated to Baseball

2006-06-08T22:27:00.000-04:00

The NBA Playoffs have finally begun! There was a point were I was really into the the NBA. I was a huge Charlotte Hornets fan. Alonzo Mourning, Larry Johnson, Mugsy Bogues, and Dell Curry...I loved that team. After George Shinn turned out to be a real scuzbag and moved the team to New Orleans (now he's talking about moving the team again...great guy). I like Miami for awhile (on account of Mourning) but the NBA lost me. The playoff system stinks. 16 teams in playoffs? That rewards medicority. How would it apply to baseball? Using last season's final standing, I devised the MLB seeding system ala NBA style. American League East W L x-3New York 95 67 .586 - - x-4Boston 95 67 .586 - - x-8Toronto 80 82 .494 15.0 - Baltimore 74 88 .457 21.0 Tampa Bay 67 95 .414 28.0 - Central W L PCT GB x1-Chicago 99 63 .611 - - x-5Cleveland 93 69 .574 6.0 - x-7Minnesota 83 79 .512 16.0 Detroit 71 91 .438 28.0 - Kansas City 56 106 .346 43.0 West W L PCT GB x-2Los Angeles 95 67 .586 - - x-6Oakland 88 74 .543 7.0 - Texas 79 83 .488 16.0 Seattle 69 93 .426 26.0 - #8 Toronto at #1 Chicago #7 Minnesota at #2 Los Angeles #6 Oakland at #3 New York #5 Cleveland at #4 Boston National League East W L PCT GB x-2Atlanta 90 72 .556 - - x-5Philadelphia 88 74 .543 2.0 x-6Florida 83 79 .512 7.0- x-7New York 83 79 .512 7.0 x8.1-Washington 81 81 .500 9.0 - Central W L PCT GB x1-St. Louis 100 62 .617 - - x-4Houston 89 73 .549 11.0 x8.1-Milwaukee 81 81 .500 19.0 - Chicago 79 83 .488 21.0 - Cincinnati 73 89 .451 27.0- Pittsburgh 67 95 .414 33.0 - West W L PCT GB x-3San Diego 82 80 .506 - - Arizona 77 85 .475 5.0 San Francisco 75 87 .463 7.0 Los Angeles 71 91 .438 11.0 - Colorado 67 95 .414 15.0 #8 Milwaukee/Washington at #1 St.Louis #7 New York at #2 Atlanta #6 Florida at #3 San Diego #5 Philadelphia at #4 Houston "A longer post-season wouldn't that be great?" "No....that would be horrible." "Why? The more the better, right?" "Yeah...I'd be chomping at the bit to see an 80-82 Toronto team play 99 win Chicago team. That would be dramatic." "The underdog could pull it out though." "Sure. 99% of the 8 seeds in the NBA get slaughetered in the first round. One more season why the NBA is a bad product." "It's not as long as Isiah Thomas has a job." "Yes, that man is a savvy businessman and a genius." Last season, there have needed to be 10 seeds for the O's to make the play-offs. If that was the case, you might put all of them in. Lee McCall, new bullpen coach Welcome aboard. Had a short day at work, so I got to come home at watch my Clemson Tigers play host Oral Roberts in the college Super Regionals. Jason Berken, the starter for Clemson was drafted by the Orioles this week, has a rough start. He last only an inning and a third, but got kicked in the face fielding a bad throw to first. After that he gave up a 3 run shot....which might happen if you get ran over. In the 4th...4-4 tie. Pujol's trainer speaks Ex-Yankee Jim Leyrtiz fesses up to using greenies.

Looks like we got some Grimsely names

2006-06-08T21:28:00.000-04:00

What do these names have in common? former Royals general manager Allard Baird. Sammy Sosa Chris Mihlfeld Deadspin is pretty certain they are some names from Grimsley's affidvat. Mihlfeld is Albert Pujols' personal trainer. Uh-oh...this could be BAD. Very Bad... I hope it's wrong about Pujols. But if it turns out Puljos is taking hGH? Could you imagine the enomrous blackeye it would be baseball if Albert Puljos was connected to this? I've criticized the mentioning of Pujols and illegal substances. He's just a great player, I said. The linking of him to steriods, hGh, and all the like I attributed to the fallout of Barry Bonds. Nothing good in baseball could by without the question being raised "Is he juiced? Is it steriods? hGH? the Clear?" It's troubling. very troubling. If there's one player in all of baseball that MLB has hope isn't on anything, it has to be this guy. But please remember, as Deadspin said:

We repeat: We are not claiming that Pujols has taken HGH. We are simply pointing out that Milhfeld is reportedly mentioned in the affidavit, and that he has connections to be Grimsley and Pujols. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to go back to our silent screams of pain.

I'm not going to let a mention of the possibility of Tejada and greenies go without a reply. I hope it's not true. But him popping a few in the shadow of a possible Pujols hGH scandal is small potatoes. I'm not excusing it by any means, but greenies have been around a long time. If Tejada has taken them, he's not the first... practically the entire 86 Mets were on them. Read "the Bad Guys Won" if you don't believe me. About Sammy Sosa... Judging from Sosa's season last year, maybe hGH doesn't work all the time. "Sammy Sosa...illegal substances? Say it ain't so Sammy?" "Sorry kid, I don't speak english. Gimme a translator." It's hard to believe that a medicore set-up guy can create absolute mayhem in baseball. Buster Olney has this on his blog today:

A couple of years before, I had written a small story for the Baltimore Sun that Grimsley was the player who had crawled through the bowels of Comiskey Park and pilfered teammate Albert Belle's cork- filled bat from the umpires' dressing room in the midst of the 1994 season. But Grimsley had never acknowledged his participation and the story had never been fully told from a first-person point of view, so after talking with Grimsley a few times early in the spring of '99, I edged into the conversation about the Belle bat, about Feb. 20 or so. "If you happened to be the guy who allegedly took the bat from the umpires' room," I asked, "and I were to ascertain that the statute of limitations has passed [regarding what] would happen to the person who did this, would you talk about it?" "If I happened to be that guy," he said, smiling, "then that would be great." But Jason had another condition: He wanted to make sure his situation with the team was settled. Either he wanted to wait to find out whether he made the major league roster, for sure, or he wanted to wait until he was assigned to the minors. Jason Grimsley's biggest concern was that his story would not be some kind of distraction for the team. He officially was placed on the Yankees' roster at the end of spring training, and during the first week of the season, he sat down and told the story of climbing up through a ceiling tile while holding a flashlight in his mouth and doing a mission impossible to switch Belle's illegal bat during a game; Grimsley and the other Indians knew that Belle's bat was corked, so he did everything possible to save his teammate from suspension. And the only reason he didn't get away with it was that all of Belle's bats were corked, and the replacement bat left in the umpires' dressing room was a Paul Sorrento model, rather than a Belle model. I'd bump into Grimsley every once in a while after he left the Yankees, and he was as gregarious and as funny as ever, a really good and easygoing guy, chatty; we'd mostly talk about his three young boys, who seemed to have the same kind of reckless, fun-loving personality as their father.

I'm suprised that anyone would stick their neck out for Albert Belle. Grimsley does seem to be a bit of colorful guy, but Yankees Outfield Gary Sheffield is is out til September. "How many teams do you think Shef has played with?" "A player of Shef's caliber? Two...the Yankees and the team he sold out to go the Yanks." "No, 6 teams...2 stints with 2 of them." "Really?" "Yeah...and he has be rumored to be a little bit of a jerk at times." "But..he was friends with Barry Bonds. Surely, if he can befriend Bonds, he must be a jolly fellow." "Maybe they're two of a kind." *For the record, I think Shef's played his last game as a Yank. I bet his option doesn't get picked up and he signs a deal with the Blue Jays. Just want to put a plug for ArmchairGM.com. Great interactive sports site. It's free to register. Do an article...do any opinion..or post a comment. Let me get this straight... Gameboy is a gateway drug?

Tim, a gamer who is currently under treatment, agreed to discuss his addiction on condition of his last name not being used. He said he began playing video games three years ago at age 18. Soon he wouldn't leave his room for dinner. Later, he began taking drugs to stay awake and play longer. Finally he sought help and picked up other hobbies to occupy his time. Symptoms of addiction are easy to spot, Bakker says. Parents should take notice if a child neglects usual activities, spends several hours at a time with the computer and has no social life. Bakker said parents of game addicts frequently echo the words of partners of cocaine addicts: "'I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what it was."

"Hi...my..name is..Ben..and I'm a Gameaholic." "How did it start?" "When I was 6...my parents got an Atari at a yard sale. Space Invaders. Frogger. Pac-Man. I started out on the light stuff." "What happened after that?" "They got a Nintendo. Mario Brothers. Duck Hunt. Rampage. I was hooked using that gun to shoot that duck, but I never could shot that laughing dog. Then I got the PowerPad, that triggered my downward spiral into the bowels of my gaming addiction . Living in gutters, sneaking in Best Buy to play Demos, digging quarters out of sewer drains to play arcade games.I'm not prepared emotionally to talk about Mortal Kombat." "We'll save that for the next session." I can still waste a few hours with NCAA Football, MLB, or Madden, but I lack sympathy for this. The World Cup? Apparently the entire World is excited about something that I just can't get into. Maybe it's me... I think that's enough...but

Jason Grimsley makes me worried.

2006-06-08T15:43:00.000-04:00

I'm afraid of what will come of this whole torrid Jason Grimsley thing. I'm afraid it could possibly be Raffy 2. Here's why I'm worried.

According to the affidavit, which was uncovered by The Arizona Republic, Grimsley tells Novitzky that last season he and three other players discussed the challenge of playing without amphetamines in 2006. By using the word "his," the affidavit implies he was talking about a trio of Orioles teammates, though specific names and the word "teammate" are redacted. Grimsley also suggests in the affidavit that one Oriole "talked openly" about his amphetamine use.

On the day Palmeiro returned to the Orioles last August, Grimsley was one of the players vocally in his corner, saying: "He's my teammate. I'll go to war with him any day."

The names will come out soon. I'm going to cross my fingers and hope the only Oriole names that comes up are Raffy, Sammy Sosa, and anyone else who isn't on this team. If it is, let be Luis Matos. I can't believe that I'm going to get into this....but this is the part that bugs me. In no way am I a defender or apologist of Barry Bonds. I think I've my positions on Bonds clear. But Feds wanted Grimsley to wear a wire and use that to bust Bonds. That bothers me. What is Barry Bonds? He's a baseball player. I have a problem with the goverment going to all this trouble to nab a baseball player using steriods. I'm not saying that he should get a pass on this. The fact is, that Bonds hasn't failed a drug test yet and until that day comes, he is clean*. It just seems to me that the government and the FBI should have bigger priorities than this. I'd love to see Bonds get busted, but I think this getting into witch hunt terrority. But in the scope of the great steriod hunt, Barry Bonds is the Moby Dick. When and if he ever does get busted, I won't feel any pity for the guy. He's made his bed and he'll have to sleep in it...but if I'm stealing stuff at work, my boss will take care of it. He won't call the feds and put a sting on me. Granted I don't have the stature, acheivements, or sheer nastiness that Barry Bonds possesses, but still. It's true that baseball's drug testing has been an absolute joke until Congress put pressure on them to put some teeth in their toothless testing system. There's no test in MLB for hGH and that needs to happen. What will happen and how bad will this be for baseball? Who knows...I just hope any steriod, hGH, or whatever else user isn't still on the O's. I'm not going into doomsday scenarios until they happen. I see the cup as being six games from being half full. For the record, Grimsley has nothing but a spare part in his baseball career. But he's been a spare part for a lot of teams. The Angels, Yankees, Phillies, Royals, Indians, Diamond Backs, and..sadly..Oriole. On thing I sort of wish to edit from my post yesterday on the mockery that is the All-Star game...

“You should have voted for Damon or Manny.” “And after I do that I’ll stick a spoon in jalapeno pepper juice and then firmly plant in my left eye.”

It should read "You should have voted for Damon." I really don't have a huge problem with Manny. He's got the numbers and he'd be one of the Red YankSox that would actually belong in the All-Star game. But if there's a phrase in baseball I hate, it's the "Manny being Manny." I hate that phrase. That ranks above the whole A-Rod, I-Rod, and all abbreviated name junk. What do I hate more? Red Roof Inn Commericals on Comcast. I hate Red Roof Inn Commericals...and "MULLLTTITTASSSKING!" My ears burn even when I type that. I pretty much despise Johnny Damon. Playing for both the Red Sox AND Yankees doesn't help this guy, but the fact that he was the face of the "Idiots" and he jumped the Yankees for more dough. I do remember a regrettable moment of this past offseason, where the O's had made no moves...with the exception of the LaTroy Hawkins trade. Scuttlebutt was Damon was talking to the Red Sox, Yankees, AND Orioles. "We should just go ahead and sign Damon." I said to my friend Chris. "We have the money and haven't done notable this offseason. Why not?" I'm ashamed to have uttered these words, and it makes me lose a little respect for myself in retrospect. Translated my words would have meant: "I want the O's to make a splash in the free agent market. I want them to spend 50 million over 4 years on a medicore centerfield, with a weak arm, decent bat, and looks like a vagrant." Corey Patterson is working out find for me right now. Oriole Think Tank reviews the later draft picks. The O's lost another loss game last night and Melvin Mora made a horrible decision to tag up and try to score with two outs on Ramon's pop fly...which ended the game. Somewhere, Kris Benson is scowling.

All-Star voting is a joke

2006-06-07T20:36:00.000-04:00

All-Star Game voting is a joke that doesn't make me laugh. I've heard it before and I'll say again...why don't we just let the Yankees and Red Sox play an exhibition for everyone. Following each category is dialogue with my non-existent intern Esmeralda Catcher 1. Jason Varitek, Red Sox 448,894 2. Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers 398,852 3. Jorge Posada, Yankees 337,969 4. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox 256,308 5. Victor Martinez, Indians 256,148 First off, where's Ramon? If he's not leading the voting, then he should be top three. Varitek is batting .236 for the year. If Ramon was wearing a Red Sox uniform he'd have 500,000 votes right now. “You didn’t hear the news that they’re building a golden statue of Varitek outside Fenway Park?” “No. But it makes sense.” “Anyone who votes for someone other thank Tek will be sacrificed to it.” “I’d better watch my back then.” Second Base 1. Robinson Cano, Yankees 404,416 2. Mark Loretta, Red Sox 368,226 3. Tadahito Iguchi, White Sox 348,691 4. Placido Polanco, Tigers 184,928 5. Brian Roberts, Orioles 176,630 Robinson Cano?!?! What?!? I think Cano will actually be a great player and has had a pretty good season, but if he was putting those same numbers up in say...a D-Rays jersey or a Twins jersey, would he really be leading the voting? I think not. Yes, Loretta has had a good year. Iguchi and Polanco, I'm not familiar with . I voted for Roberts. Robinson Cano sounds like a dress shoe or a hiking boot. “Hey, Ben. I like those boats.” “Thanks Esmeralda , I got them at the outlet mall.” “Are those…” “Yes, they’re Robinson Cano’s.” “I am soooo jealous.” “They go great with my khaki shorts when I don’t feel like wearing my Teevas.” First Base 1. David Ortiz, Red Sox 631,787 2. Jason Giambi, Yankees 433,308 3. Paul Konerko, White Sox 295,489 4. Travis Hafner, Indians 228,758 5. Chris Shelton, Tigers 208,045 Ortiz has made some great defensive plays at first this season hasn't he? Actually, there's no DH in this game, so where will all the DH's play? Ortiz is batting .257...but has 17 HR and 51 RBI. Giambi has 16 and 47 and a .283 average. Konerko has 15 HR and 42 RBI and a .293 average, plus he plays first every day. Hafner's another DH...he's batting .308 with l6 and 51 Chris Shelton, after his torrid start, has been exposed to be a solid to average player. Do I think he deserves an All-Star nod? No. If he can put great numbers for the rest of this season to this point next time, then sure. With all the numbers being similar, I voted for Konerko. 1) He plays first everyday 2) He's not a Yankee or a Red Sox Third Base 1. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees 731,811 Why does everyone hate Rodriguez? Only 731,811? Embarrassing. An absolute DISGRACE. 2. Mike Lowell, Red Sox 317,803 3. Joe Crede, White Sox 236,260 4. Eric Chavez, Athletics 227,140 5. Troy Glaus, Blue Jays 223,636 Where is the love for A-Rod at? 13 HR and 44 RBI Lowell has 7 HR and 31 RBI But I voted for Melvin Mora. A-Rod has plenty of votes and Lowell is making good for himself too. There needs to be a little Oriole ballot box stuffing anyway. I just saw Melvin Mora make a great out on Benji Molina. That’s the clincher. “Alex…get off that ledge.” “I can’t…I’m going to end it all.” “Why? Because you’re not clutch?” “Uh..no..Because Ben voted for Melvin Mora over me.” Shortstop 1. Derek Jeter, Yankees 765,110 2. Miguel Tejada, Orioles 526,622 3. Michael Young, Rangers 197,386 4. Alex Gonzalez, Red Sox 173,307 5. Juan Uribe, White Sox 162,875 I can't bellyache over this one. Jeter's Jeter and he's a good player...and he is better defensively than Tejada. I voted for Tejada anyway. “You should have voted for Jeter.” “I could.” “Why didn’t you?” “Because he’s got plenty of votes….besides, Buck and McCarver’s man crush on him costs him my vote. Tim McCarver said Derek Jeter created baseball.” “But McCarver played baseball before Jeter was born.” “Tim McCarver is a buffoon. Ignore him and one day he’ll go away.” Outfield 1. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels 745,397 2. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox 738,168 3. Johnny Damon, Yankees 529,770 *I don't like Johnny Damon. 4. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners 413,737 5. Vernon Wells, Blue Jays 365,466 6. Gary Sheffield, Yankees 360,973 7. Hideki Matsui, Yankees 283,312 *these two haven't played in a little while. 8. Scott Podsednik, White Sox 268,599 9. Jermaine Dye, White Sox 262,008 10. Coco Crisp, Red Sox 248,485 *he hasn't either. 11. Torii Hunter, Twins 237,308 12. Trot Nixon, Red Sox 233,099 13. Magglio Ordonez, Tigers 195,475 *I'd have him a little higher 14. Grady Sizemore, Indians 194,857 15. Jonny Gomes, Devil Rays 175,629 I voted for Vlad, Wells, and wrote in Corey Patterson. “Why Patterson?” “Why not?” I replied “You should have voted for Damon or Manny.” “And after I do that I’ll stick a spoon in jalapeno pepper juice and then firmly plant in my left eye.” There you have it. My AL All-Star ballot. In the end, though, I'm about as objective as most of the Red Sox and Yankee Fans, but I did vote for 3 non-Orioles. Hey, at least I didn't vote for Luis Matos. My NL ballot went like this. C-Michael Barrett 1st-Nomar (Albert's got plenty of votes at this point.) 2nd-Chase Utley ss-Edgar Renteria 3rd-David Wright OF Andruw Jones, Carlos Lee, and Alfonso Soriano “Where‘s Barry Bonds?” “Not on my ballot.” Ramon is cleaning up at the clean up slot. There's a shake up with the coaching staff. Lee McCall moves from Ottawa pitching coach to bullpen coach Rick Dempsey moves from bullpen coach to 1st base coach Dave Cash goes from 1st to being reassigned. Odd move to happen. But maybe it means that Dempsey is not a good bullpen coach. Orioles Think Tank breaks down the O's early draft picks.

Assorted Mess

2006-06-06T23:12:00.000-04:00

The Draft was today. Billy Rowell was selected ninth overall by the O's. Rowell is said to have a powerful bat and will be likely play 3rd or RF. Here's the total first day recap. Notice there's a lot of infielders drafted, which good, since we have none in the farm system. Also of note, No signs of Jeffery Maier yet. There's another day tomorrow though. Let's give props to Daniel Cabrera. Nice outing. Loewen will start again. No Bruce Chen? Great. Michelle Wie threw out the first pitch tonight. Wonder if she'll try and make the team. She can't be worse than Luis Matos. Peter Gammons had this interesting chart on his blog, which shows you how the baseball draft is. Sometimes the guy who went undrafted can be better in the majors than your first round pick. It's an exact, yet very fickle, science. Where The Starting 30 Catchers Came From 1st round Mike Lieberthal, Michael Barrett*, Jason Kendall, Joe Mauer, Jason Varitek 2nd Brian McCann 3rd A.J. Pierzynski 4th Yadier Molina 5th Brian Schneider, Jason LaRue, Danny Ardoin 7th John Buck 8th Mike Matheny 9th Toby Hall 17th Russell Martin**, Mike Napoli, Johnny Estrada 20th Damian Miller 24th Jorge Posada 25th Paul Lo Duca** 48th Brad Ausmus 62nd Mike Piazza*** Undrafted Pudge Rodriguez, Bengie Molina, Miguel Olivo, Ronny Paulino, Kenji Johjima, Rod Barajas, Victor Martinez, Ramon Hernandez *Drafted as SS **Drafted as 3B ***Drafted as 1B • From 1984 to 2004, 33 different catchers were selected in the first round (Charles Johnson and Varitek each were selected twice). • Of those 33, six turned out to catch 130 games in a major-league season: Craig Biggio, Johnson, Dan Wilson, Mike Lieberthal, Jason Kendall, Mauer. • Thirteen never caught in a major-league game Gammons is solid. Even if he does wear Red Sox Pajamas. D-Backs and Former Oriole, Jason Grimsley is about to get the black ball. This is more widespread than I think most of us have thought. It's not just the Bonds, McGwires, Giambis, and Raffies doping..it's the Grimslies, Lawtons, and others on down. Get this quote:

He added that amphetamine use was prevalent in pro baseball, and that it was placed in coffee in clubhouses, marked "leaded" or "unleaded," Novitsky wrote.

Great. I'll keep that in mind if I ever join him and Raffy for breakfast. Went to Drive game tonight. It was a pretty solid game. If Chris Turner, Outfielder for the Drive, can learn to take walks and hit a single... he'll be a major leaguer. But when you have 12 homers on the season and you're batting .222, you need to develop your game a little. If he does learn and makes it, I hope it's not in Boston. Clemens pitched A ball tonight. I think the Drive play the Lexington Legends. It would have been sweet if it would have happened here...but it's not a home game. It probably would have locked the entire downtown down. Roger Clemens' Career Stats for the Lexinton Legends Innings pitched: 3 Batters faced: 13 Pitches: 62 Strikes: 41 Balls: 21 Hits: 3 Home runs: 1 Earned rums: 1 Strikeouts: 6 Walks: 0 Hit batters: 1 Maybe if he makes it the majors, they'll retire that kid's number one day. The O's and Eric Bedard lost tonight to the Jays and BJ Ryan got the save. Irony...cruel irony. Jays 6, O's 4 Bedard, you frustrate me. I'm going to order the jersey after I get back in town (June 19th),

so if you haven't voted and care about what jersey I buy, vote.

There's a tie that needs to be broken. *I'll be out of town for a big family shin-ding June 15-19th. Enough of this. I need to go to bed.

Cabrera's Back

2006-06-05T20:00:00.000-04:00

I feel complete again. Daniel's back and I can experience his "dirty brilliance." With 5innings worth of work: 2 Hit 9 k's 5 BB 0 Runs Welcome back old friend. Some filthy filthy stuff indeed. If you shut them out, the walks mean nothing. Luis Matos has now struck out in his last 5 straight at bats and counting. UPDATE (Robert Stack Voice): The streak is over with a bunt single in the 4th. In celebration, if you're ever in greater Upstate SC area, I'll treat you to Chili-Cheese burger at Carolina Fine Foods...on me. UPDATE UPDATE (Robert Stack Voice): And now a stolen base. I'll buy you a Chili-Cheese Plate w/ a sweet tea now, Luis. If you get a 2 fer tonight, I'll give you the option of fries, onion rings, OR the half and half. The Angry Yanks tossed around Josh Beckett. 1.1 innings, 7 hits 8 runs 7 earned 2 BB 1 K 2 HR 13 batters faced. Maybe they pretended Beckett was Corey Patterson. If Larry "screwloose" Bowa did, he'd be jailed right now. After work tomorrow, I'll be attending my own mini-Yankee/Red Sox clash. The Charleston (SC) Riverdogs face the Greenville Drive. The Riverdogs are the Yanks single A team, as the Drive are the Red Sox. Everytime I see them play, I think, today I cheer team...one day I'll boo them. Tomorrow, multiply that by 2. Charlie T. Riverdog sort of looks like a llama. I'll see you all Wednesday.

How I became an O's fan

2006-06-05T15:12:00.000-04:00

Not much happening today, so I guess this as good as time as any to tell how I became an Oriole fan. I've lived in South Carolina all of my life, so I don't have any roots in Baltimore. When I was about five, my Dad got me an Oriole hat. At the Wal-Marts in South Carolina, you always have options for hats. They have the Braves hats, the Yankee hats, the Red Sox hats, Cubs, Cardinals, and Oriole hats. In fact they still have that same selection plus those ever trendy Nats hats. I always assumed he got it there, but he may have got it at a yardsale or a sports store. I dunno. It was the old hat, with the cartoon bird, which I wish they'd have now instead of that "O's" they have now. I was only 5 or so, but I grew attached to the hat because of the cartoon bird and once I actually began to know the sport, I became be a big Cal fan. So I guess a cartoon bird hooked me to put me where I am now. Of course, the Orioles were never on television then and so I watched a lot of Braves game. I always have a soft spot for the Braves, but I won't July 2nd when I go see the O's play. So the Yankees and Red Sox play again tonight. You know...I'm getting tired of this rivalry. True, they have played some classic games against each other, but they're division rivals. They're going to play alot. Let's not make it into the World Series each time they play. I guess ESPN thinks that MLB is the Yanks, Red Sox, and everyone else. But you're talking about two of the teams that I hate the most and saying I should watch. I'll pass. If I stay home tonight, I'll watch the Orioles play the Jays. I might go end up going to the Drive game tonight, if not tonight, then tomorrow. If Perlozzo has a mental lapse and somehow decides to start Chen tonight then I'll go. I can't watch Chen pitch anymore. I can not. From the Washington Post:

Cabrera to Get Nod -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Perlozzo announced that starter Daniel Cabrera, on the DL with right shoulder inflammation, will start on Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays. Bruce Chen, scheduled to start on Monday, likely will now pitch on Thursday against the Blue Jays

I'm hoping Cabrera comes back sans his love of the walk. As for the aforementioned Bruce Chen, Loewen MUST start over Chen. Bruce may just as well start the game with his back to home and just start throwing balls over the fence. Corey PHATterson Rick Masese sends you his praises even that mental case Larry Bowa doesn't. Roch Kubatko has a better take on the Patterson/Bowa incident in his blog. Scroll down to the heading "Your 11-4 final." Mora's quote is priceless. For the record, Corey has 25 stolen bases on the season and steals in 8 straight games. If Benji Molina plays at catcher for the Jays tonight, I say Corey gets adds 2 more to that total...he'd get two off Zaun too. I love watching Patterson on base. No Bonds for the O's next year? That's an epic relief. Is Loewen here to stay? I say give him a couple more starts. He did better than Chen. Saw this on Baseball Musings and Deadspin, Former Ump Eric Gregg had a massive stroke. I remember Gregg from his umpire days, say what you will about his umpiring, but I felt bad for the guy when he was part of the group of umps who weren't allowed to get their jobs back. To do something for so long and then be told that you can't do again due to labor dispute, must be horrible. Says he worked concessions for the Phils after he couldn't get his job back. Hope he makes a full recovery.

O's BLAST Yanks

2006-06-04T15:42:00.000-04:00

I guess we can say Rodrigo Lopez is back. Lopez went 6 and 2/3 innings gave up 7 hits 4 run all earned walked 2 struck out 2 and popped the God amongst mortals Derek Jeter on the wrist. Turns out he's bruised and nothings broken, that's good...I don't root for injuries to the other team...even if they are Yankees. Javy Lopez redeemed himself for yesterday with 2 homers and drove in 4 Kevin Millar hit a sweet 3 run homer. Brandon Fahey made everyone forget about Luis Matos (as hard as thay may be) with a 3 for 4 day (1 HR, 2 RBI) Corey Patterson went 2 for 4 and stole 2 bases (25 for the season) Glad to see Melvin Mora break out his slump with a 2 for 4 Glad to see an O's win...but too bad we couldn't have pulled the sweep...or gotten 2 out of three. RIP Grrrreenville Grrrrrrrowl The Greenville Grrrowl folded this week, that's the city's East Coast Hockey League team. I think they're affilated with the Boston Bruins. I went to one game in the 7 or so years they were here and that was this season. I'm not a big hockey guy, but I went on a date there...explaining a sport I know nothing about to a girl who knew about as much as I did. Hockey's just not for me. I tried, I've watched some parts of games on television over the years to try to like the sport. I really have tried to make the effort over the years, but it's just not for me. Gimme a baseball game or a football game anyday. Aside from my feelings about hockey,It's a shame to see another sport leave the town. We lost the NBDL (National Basketball Developmental League) Greenville Groove after their first season (which they won the championship in) and the Arena Football2 League's Greenville Rhinos after their only season here too...I think they were in the championship game. People in this town will only show for baseball, high school football, and races down at the racetrack, and that's what killed the Grrrrrrrrrrrowl. Along with the Greenville Drive, you notice that this city can't have a team with a half-decent name. Groove? Drive? Grrrrrrrrowl? Rhinos is ok, but what does a Rhino have to do with this city? I remember at the game I went to..they played the Pennsicola Ice Pilots and the Grrrowl won in a shoot-out. If you knew hockey it would have been a fun game. But there may have been a 1,000 people...maybe. A lot of them were kids. We were sitting in a section that was full of loud unsupervised kids, which added to the fun. The Drive is having about 3,000 a game lately I've read.So this it, Grrrrrrowl...I can't miss something I didn't really notice..but for the real hockey fans, I do feel bad for them, because the only way this city will see hockey again is on television. Gggggoodbye Grrrrrowl, I barely knew theeeeeeee.

NOT AGAIN!!!!

2006-06-03T20:25:00.000-04:00

Another day, another 1 run loss to Yanks. Javy "Rally Killer" Lopez flied out with 2 on, 2 out in the bottom of the tenth to end it. Luis Matos went 0-4, with 4 K! He should have been wearing pinstripes today. Corey Patterson stole his 23rd base today. Adam Loewen made his first major league start. I was pretty happy with the results. 5 innings worth of work 6 hits 3 earned runs 4 K and 4 BB It's something solid to build on. And...unlike Bruce Chen, he did NOT give up a home run. Though I think he should spend the bulk of this season in the minors, I hope he gets a couple more starts in the majors. Shoot, what do we have to lose? Are we going to put Chen back in the rotation? Loewen's the future, so we might as well let him get a little time in now. from MLB.com...

Right-handed pitcher Daniel Cabrera was short with reporters on Friday, answering every question in a one-liner. The right-hander has spent two weeks on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation, and he said that he has no pain in the joint. He also said he doesn't know when he'll pitch next, but the Orioles are eyeing a Monday return. Cabrera threw on the side Friday and last pitched in a game on Wednesday, which was also Bruce Chen's last appearance. Chen is currently penciled in for Monday's game, but that could change. At worst, Perlozzo said that Chen would pitch a few days later -- he's not being skipped and he's not being removed from the rotation.

Please Sam...just admit that Chen is stinking it up and leave him in the pen. Jay Gibbons is on the DL ....and the hits keep on coming.

BEAT THE YANKEES

2006-06-02T18:05:00.000-04:00

I am not kidding about this...

2006-06-02T10:02:00.000-04:00

OH MY.... The Orioles are giving serious thought to drafting one of the most notrious villians in Oriole history....no, Sammy Sosa isn't in this year's draft....Jeffrey Maier. Yes...that one. The kid. Tony Tarasco. Dererk Jeter. Richie Garcia. Yankee Stadium. Interference. RUINED POSTSEASON. Jeffrey Maier. Irony, huh? I'm actually hoping they do. He owes us one. I was just a kid when that catch happened and I resented that kid. Being on TV and Regis and Kathy Lee, and having Regis completely drool over it all, It can make one sick. For a few days, that kid was everywhere. No one seemed to care about the fact that He interferred with the ball!!! I've gotten over it, I think it was easier since I was just a kid then. But I hated this kid for a while. The fact that here was this kid, a Yankee fan, interferring with my Orioles...ruining the game. And then, they celebrate the fact that he did. He got tickets, free Yankee stuff, got on TV, he was everywhere for a few days. Regis Philbin, you have the journalistic integrity of the Weekly World News. Actually, is this guy even considered a journalist? HAHAHAHAHHA. In the end though, I blame umpire Richie Garica more. He blew the call. After that catch, he owes the O's...and what better way to pay us back than to play for us and play against his beloved Yankees? If the kid has talent and can help us somewhere down the road. As the wise sage Peter Angelos said "To forgive is divine." And if he can help get the Orioles out of the downward spiral he helped create, why not? Now, if he gets drafted by the Yanks, then it's a completely different story. Some interesting quotes in the article.

"I wouldn't be at all opposed to [drafting Maier]. In fact, I'd say it's a very interesting development," Angelos said. "You can say the Orioles are very seriously considering him. I know this much: I was at that game, and he certainly did seem to be a heck of an outfielder. Sure, we'd take him. In fact, I like the idea more and more, the more I think about it."

"I could still be in Baltimore if that didn't happen," said Davey Johnson "It was a real big game, and we were going to win it," Johnson said. "It changed a lot of things. It got me fired -- not immediately, but it got me fired. I didn't win [it all]. I won a little bit, but not enough."

Pitcher Scott Erickson said he hopes Maier makes it to the major leagues, "just so I can drill him -- I'd like to get one shot at him."

"I don't blame the kid," Ripken said. "It was a reaction. It was not premeditated. Why harbor any resentment? If the Orioles draft him, great. I'd look at it as, 'Here's a kid trying to fulfill a dream.' "

"Sure, we'd take him. In fact, I like the idea more and more, the more I think about it." Oh man oh man... I'd never thunk up this scenario. No Bruce, that homer hurt me more than it hurt you. Bruce Chen, out the rotation? How could this be?

Chen is 0-5 with a 7.71 ERA in 11 games, with 70 hits allowed in 49 innings. The 17 home runs against him are the most in the majors.

The O's site has an article about the rotation as well. Cabrera looks ready to return and torture my emotions with his great stuff and his unpredictable control. Hope he's back in 5 days...and I hope Chen and his amazing gopher ball is in the pen. Apparently the Bruce Chen Fan Club has lost interest long long ago. Adam Loewen starts Saturday against the Yankees. If that isn't trial by fire, I don't know what it is. Now, say if he happens to do awesome tonight, what happens? Benson's safe in the rotation. Rodrigo has won two start, so I assume he's ok. Cabrera comes back soon. Bedard has been on a downward spiral for the past four starts and Chen has been Mount St. Helens with a jock....a walking disaster. Penn should be back in a week...maybe two. Of course, Loewen has to DO good Saturday for this situation to arise. In his favor, the Yanks are really banged up right now. Sheffield is back on the DL Matusi is on the DL Damon and Jeter are both banged up Posoda's hurting If there's ever a time to start against them, I guess this is it. Then again, they did crank out 12 hits and 6 runs and come 2 outs from sweeping the Tigers...while leads me too...Kyle Fansworth. Mariano Rivera is out for a few days with back spasms, so it looks like Fansworth will be the closer this weekend. I'll take having this headcase against the O's in the ninth anytime. Disgraced D-Ray Josh Hamiltion gets yet another chance. Jeff Blauser was one of my favorite Braves back in the day He might be Bobby Cox's heir in Atlanta. Speaking of the Braves, Closer Chris Retisma is the public's whipping boy for a bullpen that is struggling.

Mother Nature is a Cruel Mistress

2006-06-01T22:18:00.000-04:00

I was pretty pumped up before the rain delay. Now I wish it would have kept raining. What happened Eric? What's happening? I'm going to link to some random stuff since this game is a downer. Gambling on the spelling bee? Then you my friend it is possible that could just MIGHT have a serious gambling problem. I could use one of these. I love this site. I have a regular gig doing resturant reviews for the city paper. Easy gig. Been doing it for over a year. They buy my food and I write a couple sentences. Sadly, I wasn't able to get to the Olive Garden this past week. Oasis' "Defiantely Maybe" was picked as the BEST ALBUM EVER. Great album, but come on. Read the article and bear in mind 95% of the vote comes from Britain, where they think Oasis created everything from peanut butter, elastic, and RC Cola. When I think of Newsweek....I think sports. It's about the good stuff in baseball. But it's an average piece. I was just surprised Newsweek had anything about sports. I'm still getting subscription offers for Newsweek at the "student rate." It's been a few years...and I don't want to spend the 10 bucks. Really need to get to the movies... X men 3 is I'm wanting to see. Really don't care about the Da Vinci Code. Haven't gotten around to reading the book...probably won't. I'm not caught up all of that. Since Tom Cruise is number 2 on my "Smite List," there's no way I'm going to see Mission Impossible 3. I'd rather eat broken glass. I didn't like the first 2 anyway. Superman Returns might be good...but it looks like one of those movies that will be good or really really bad. The worst movies of the summer? I'm betting on "Miami Vice" and "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift." I think that's enough...and enough of this game. The O's need a miracle in the ninth.

3 game WIN streak!

2006-06-01T17:34:00.000-04:00

All right, let's try this again. Last night was a great game. What's happened to our beloved Orioles? 3 games.... 3 wins as dramatic as they come. Sunday...Chris Ray gets a double play in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and a one run lead. Monday...Corey Patterson nabs a homer over the fence to save the game from getting tied up in the ninth. Last night...Melvin Mora drives in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th. Chen gave up homers and the bullpen...*grin*...what a job. How about that bullpen? After Bruce Chen's early exit:

The Orioles' effort reflected a stunning trend. The team's relievers had a 6.47 ERA a month ago, but they've pitched to a 3.28 clip over the last 25 games, fueled by strong performances from their youthful contingent of Britton, Birkins, Rleal and first-year closer Chris Ray

. source: MLB.com Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Chen 4.0 6 5 5 0 0 3 7.71 Britton 1.2 2 0 0 1 0 0 1.93 Birkins 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.61 Williams 0.2 0 0 0 1 2 0 4.50 Hawkins 2.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4.30 Rleal (W, 1-1) 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.38 Great performance for the pen. Chen completely frustrated me last night. Of his 72 pitches, 52 were strikes. He issued no walks...and no strike outs. I don't know what this guy's deal is. A lot here... *Luis Matos meets with Perlozzo about his playing time. I can't see how this guy could be anymore LESS in the O's plans. He's a pretty good defender, with the exception of that one catch that he didn't really pursue well last night. The outfield is crowded as it is. Patterson's not going to lose any playing time unless he reverts back to his form from last season. Jay Gibbons is not a great defensive outfielder, but his bat vs Matos' bat... well, Luis loses on that one. Markakis looks to be here to stay. I think he gets traded w/ Javy Lopez. Then this would be the outfield: LF Conine/Newhan CF Patterson RF Markakis DH Gibbons *Jay Gibbons will be back this weekend. Glad he's able to take his time. A three game win streak allows that. *The All-star voting is a joke. Here's the proof Where is Ramon Hernandez? Johnny Damon and Gary Sheffield 3rd and 5th? Alex Gonzalez...4th? *Daniel Cabrera pitched 4 no hit innings. 7 K's, 1 Unearned Run, 1 WP, 1 HBP and that one number that we all worry about with Daniel.... ready? 1 BB! He'll be back in Baltimore this weekend and Adam Loewen will be back in the minors where he should be. Corey Patterson has an article on MLB.com. I hope this would be a regular feature. How the mighty have fallen. Juan Gonzalez...will you be sharing a room with Ricky Henderson? Maybe they should hire him and bring Fred McGriff on as an assistant coach. The only part of American Idol I care about are the audition episodes. This guy has taken it way too seriously. IN MERE MOMENTS....the O's go for the sweep. Scott Kazmir vs. Eric Bedard. Kazmir is going to be a great pitcher for a long long time. If I was a Met fan, I too would hate Steve Phillips. What a horrid trade. But I hope the Bedard we saw early in the season returns and not this guy who can't get through the 3rd or 4th in his last few. I hope he hasn't been getting tips from Bruce Chen. Things seem to be good with the internet for now...it comes and goes and drives me insane.

Bad News....

2006-06-01T16:04:00.000-04:00

Having issues with the Internet. Been on the phone with tech support for an hour after work and after dealing with the computer-voiced walk thru twice before speaking to a real person, I'm a touch ill. The cable company can't send anyone out til Tuesday. My modem is hit and miss in the extreme, so if the site isn't updated until Tuesday...well, just know that I suffering with you. btw, awesome game last night. Great job Melvin and AWESOME job Joey Gathright!

Bruce Chen's Joke of the Day

2006-05-31T20:19:00.000-04:00

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

COREY!!!!

2006-05-31T12:19:00.000-04:00

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.

2006-05-29T19:01:00.000-04:00

"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!

2006-05-28T20:02:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-27T18:03:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-27T13:32:00.000-04:00

"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

2006-05-26T19:09:00.000-04:00

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!

2006-05-25T17:38:00.000-04:00

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!!!!!

2006-05-24T19:25:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-24T16:03:00.000-04:00

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....

2006-05-24T00:22:00.000-04:00

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?

2006-05-23T22:29:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-23T07:28:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-22T17:45:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-21T18:56:00.000-04:00

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?

2006-05-21T13:31:00.000-04:00

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....

2006-05-20T21:23:00.000-04:00

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

714

2006-05-20T18:37:00.000-04:00

The Nats Announcers are HORRIBLE

2006-05-19T20:44:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-19T16:10:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-19T08:38:00.000-04:00

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

The Streak is OVER!

2006-05-18T16:50:00.000-04:00

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.....

2006-05-16T20:23:00.000-04:00

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.

2006-05-15T20:43:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-15T18:01:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-14T18:29:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-13T16:10:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-12T15:22:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-11T14:46:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-09T23:13:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-08T18:36:00.000-04:00

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

Picture time

2006-05-07T19:30:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-06T23:11:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-06T22:19:00.000-04:00

Rodrigo's rough 6th dooms O's

2006-05-05T16:22:00.001-04:00

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

2006-05-05T14:09:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-04T19:44:00.000-04:00

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

2006-05-03T09:37:00.000-04:00

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!!!!

2006-05-01T15:16:00.000-04:00

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.

New Prospect List

2006-04-30T20:18:00.000-04:00

Oriole Think Tank has added a top prospect page. Check it out Hopefully, we'll be seeing some of these guys finding success in Baltimore soon.

Mash Unit

2006-04-30T19:06:00.000-04:00

It's been a rough weekend for the O's The O's are hurting Miguel Tejada has a "balky left hamstring" Brian Roberts is on the 15 day DL with a strained left groin Kevin Millar got hit in the wrist with a pitch and is day to day Javy Lopez is day to day with back spasms Of course, with all this pain and misery, substitutions have had to been made. *Corey Patterson is the new lead off hitter. This didn't work in Chicago, probably won't work here...but who else can we bat lead off? Once Roberts gets back, he'll be back to lead off and Patterson can drop back in the order. *Brandon Fahey is our temp 2nd baseman. Here's his season numbers from Ottawa *Tejada may be doing some more DHing It's going to be a tough couple of weeks. The bench is very thin without Millar and Lopez. We can only hope for some strong pitching, those who are healthy to stay so and hit, and those who are hurting to get well soon. It's depressing that all this hit at once. Saturday was a grim day, but it started out good. Corey Patterson hit a 3 run homer, that was a MONSTER shot...to put the Orioles up 4-0. Then our friend Jim Brower comes in and gives up the game. I feel bad for Brower because it's not like he's trying to give up walks, throw wild pitches, give up runs....but if he's struggling, then I have more of a problem with Perlozzo putting him in at crucial point in the game. Why not put him in during a blow out win or loss. It's frustrating whenever I see him warming up. I feel bad for the guy, but he has a job to do and he's not doing it. Of course, I can trash Brower for blowing that game or you can look to the fact that Orioles had the bases loaded 3 times, maybe 4 and only got 1 run out it. So if the O's could cash in a couple of runs, then the damage Brower caused wouldn't have mattered. So we got Toronto for a two game set Monday. Ted Lily pitches Monday and last week the O's couldn't really get to him. 5.0 6 2 2 1 2 3 92-59 6-6

Corey Patterson

2006-04-29T15:50:00.000-04:00

Last night marked the second straight 3 for 4 performance. During his mini-tear, his average has jumped from .156 to .275. Will this last? Patterson has great speed and defense, but he strikes out so much....is it worth it to keep him in the line up? I have noticed in the past two games that he hasn't been swinging on the first pitch. Which is a good sign. I like the bunting for singles. During last night's telecast, Buck Martinez said that if Patterson successly bunts one game a week, his average will be 50 points better at season's end. Here's Patterson's career numbers Games KO Avg. 153 142 .253 83 77 .298 157 168 .266 126 118 .215 If Patterson can go 2 for 4 consistantly and take some walks, then he'd be the every day Centerfielder no questions asked. But his hacking has made him a liability. Let's hope the past two games can become a habit and not a freak occurance. Daniel Cabrera had a good night. Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Cabrera (W, 2-2) 7.0 4 2 2 1 6 1 5.68 If that home run ball had come Corey Patterson's way instead of Nick Markakis I think he would have made that catch and saved Cabrera the only two runs he gave up. Regardless, Cabrera had a good game. Going seven innings was huge. Even though Seattle isn't exactly a murderer's row of bats, He still shut them down. It's something to good to build off of. Rumor has it the Cubs have asked about Jeff Conine. I have my fingers crossed. I'm guessing once Luis Matos comes off the DL, Nick Markakis is going to get some quality time in Ottawa. G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG 20 57 8 10 0 0 2 4 16 7 15 0 0 .277 .281 .175 I think it'll do him some good. Last night he went 0 for 4 with 3 K's and did not look good. Naturally, he's going to have some bad games as a rookie. I understand that. But I think he's been a little rushed. Give him a lot of at bats in Ottawa and by the break, Trade Matos and let him play out the year. At the rate he's going now, his confidence will be in the toilet soon. He still has a lot to learn, like last night when him and Patterson were going for the fly and had Patterson not got out the way, there would have been a collison. The Left Fielder yields to Center. Rookie mistakes, yes. But I think a little time at AAA will do worlds of good for him. Welcome back Todd Williams! Goodbye Jim Brower? Bruce Chen gets the start against the Mariners today. It's huge for him today. If he gives up another 7 runs in 4 innings, or something like that....It would not be a good sign. But I'm hoping for the best and he can get that first win today.

.500

2006-04-27T15:46:00.000-04:00

Back at .500.... This isn't completely unexpected. As much as I love the O's, there are holes on this team. The rotation is young and with a new pitching coach, results won't be seen right away. The offense is inconsistant. The bullpen is half young and half patchwork. The outfield is an issue *Before he got hurt, Matos has been a disappointment *Markakis may need alittle more time at AAA to get some at bats and to get the defense tweaked. He'll be good, but I think he got rushed a little and if you rush a player, well...look at Corey Patterson. *Corey Patterson? I love his speed and defense, but he's been a guaranteed out thus far at the plate. He needs more at bats though. *Jeff Conine...seeing him in left is not reassuring. *Newhan and Gibbons are the two who I've been happy with. Solutions for the outfield? Wait til Newhan comes back Give Patterson at bats and give him plenty of rope, so he can hang himself (hopefully he'll improve) Trade Matos for an arm in the pen. Luis Terrero, I have no idea. I've only seen him in two games. But I doubt he's the next Brady Anderson Bring up Markakis back up after the break. Carlos Lee. Trade for him and re-sign him or wait til he gets the market. That would solve left field and put a great bat in the offense. This season is going to require patience. We'll win some and then drop some. If things can go right, this team can be .500. But when you have Kevin Millar and Jeff Conine as every starters, that means you have little depth. That'll come back and hurt even more as the season progresses. The season is still young and there's plenty of ball left to be played, anything can happen. I do like the new batting order. B Roberts 2B M Mora 3B M Tejada SS 4 J Gibbons RF R Hernandez C J Lopez DH K Millar 1B (I could handle Conine starting here if he can keep up his "hot streak") J Conine LF *N Markakis L Terrero CF *C Patterson The * is indicating what I'd like tonight's line-up to look like. Mora is better in the 2 spot. Drop Conine towards the bottom and let him find his swing. I think we'll get a win tonight, but even if we don't, just remember Seattle's next and if Seattle out hits us, then it'll be time to call for Terry Crowley's head. I Suzuki RF .263 W Bloomquist CF .286 R Ibanez LF .315 R Sexson 1B .224 C Everett DH .232 K Johjima C .284 A Beltre 3B .175 J Lopez 2B .266 Y Betancourt SS .257 Delmon Young is an idiot. I hope he has to sit out the rest of season. Completely classless. The NFL Draft this is weekend. I don't have the patience or the 15 hours to spare Saturday to watch. Watching the draft is brutal. Here's hoping the Carolina Panthers can snag DeAngelo Williams or get some more help in the secondary.

Day at the Ballpark

2006-04-26T17:15:00.000-04:00

Last year we got a new minor league team to replace the AA Greenville Braves, who left to Missisippi after a dispute with the city over a new ballpark. The old ballpark was a dump in the strongest sense of the word. They didn't get their park and left town, so last season the city got the Columbia Bombers up here and they played at the old dump. There were several teams wanting to come here, but the Bombers, a single A Red Sox team were here to stay. They got a new stadium built downtown. Parking is a bit of an issue. The name was changed...to the Greenville Drive, a salute to the auto industry. We have BMW and Michelin down here. It's a lame name, I could have dealt with the Green Sox or the Spinners (which was what the team was called back in the textile days) but the Drive, I'll end up dealing with it. They originally wanted to call them the Greenville Joes, after Greenville's own Shoeless Joe Jackson. Baseball did not allow it. The mascot is lame too, the Reedy Rip-it. The Reedy River runs through downtown. But a group of second graders designed it....and it's just minor league baseball. We had double A teams from the Cubs and I believe the Mets wanting to come to town. I would have preferred Double A baseball. The Met group wanted to built a park way out. I didn't like the idea of cramming a park downtown at first. But after today, I'm fine with it. Parking can be an issue, but that's the way it is. You can catch some Major Leaguers doing rehab assignments and the regular players have a good chance to play in the bigs. Like with the Greenville Braves, Chipper Jones played here awhile. You aren't going to see as much of that with single A ball. But I'll take it over nothing. Wednesday's noon game, so I went with my friend Chris. Parking wasn't an issue since it was a day game. The Drive was playing the Kannapolis Intimidators. It was my first time at the new park. I have to say I was impressed. They built the park to mimic Fenway. For 6 bucks and 50 cents I had a front row seat on the first base line. Perfect view. They have a mini-Green Monster with buildings behind it. It's go a real retro-feel for a minor league park. Here's what the stadium looks like Jackson's actually house is outside of the ballpark where it's being made into a muesuem. It's just a little rickety brick millhouse. Greenville won, Here's the actual game recap. It was a nice day to be at the park, minus the rain delay. For a single A team, the Drive's pitching was good. I think there was problem with the radar gun. There were pitches that went from 73 mph to 53 mph....I think the fastest pitch was at 83. I'll go to some games this summer. I'm always off Wednesdays, so I'll make it down to some day games. Though I thought about it and if the guys on this team pan out, one day I'll be booing them if they ever make it to Boston. It's nice to have a minor league team back in town.

Player of the Game

2006-04-25T22:10:00.000-04:00

For Toronto: Jim Brower 1/3 inning pitched 3 Runs 3 Earned Runs 2 Walks and 11.45 ERA For the season... In 10 games and 11 innings 17 Hits 14 Runs, all earned 3 hit batters 11 walks and 8 K's I think it's time that the Orioles quit tormenting and release this guy. He's had two decent outings the last time, but after last night's game I've determined the Jim Brower is the equivalent of Russian Roulet. Only there's one good outing in the gun and the rest are bad bad outings. I don't have the same resentment towards Halama, but I definately want to see a lot less of him than I'm seeing now. It's ironic since I rambled about the bullpen yesterday.

"In New York, I felt good -- just a play away from an easy inning. Then this happened," said Brower, who has also had his share of struggles thus far. "The linescore's going to look real bad. I clearly didn't get the job done, but all I can do is make pitches and try to repeat. I just didn't repeat to Wells on the sixth pitch of the at-bat.

Sigh Rodrigo Lopez had an uneven performance. Much improved...yes. More work to yes. 107 pitches, 58 for strikes over 6 innings is a lot and 58 is a low number for that many pitches. Maybe he's having some growing pains with Mazzone's ways, maybe he's just struggling. Forunately, Lopez' next start comes against weak hitting the Seattle Mariners If he struggles Saturday, then I'll worry a little. Speaking of Seattle, Think they regret this signing now? I like the title of this movie. I would recommmend a sequel called "I hate Rich Garcia." Has Albert Pujols rattled Brad Lidge beyond repair?

The Bullpen and Big Money

2006-04-25T16:46:00.000-04:00

The Post has a good article about Chris Ray's big Friday. We're really lucky that Ray looks to be the real deal. Imagine how things would look if he wasn't. That would make LaTroy Hawkins closer by default, and I don't care to see him in the ninth again. Not after the Angels game. Some times you're lucky and some times you're good, in this case I think the O's front office got lucky that a young player could handle being a big league closer without a lot of minor league experience. With Ray closing, Hawkins doing the 8th, Rleal, Williams, Parrish, and Parrish, the Brower of late, and Halama...the bullpen will be good. Not the best in the league, but it would be pretty solid. The bullpen has become a huge part of baseball. Complete games aren't as common anymore. Pitchers usually make it through the 7th. Maybe the 8th. There's set-up guys who'll through the 8th inning. The Closer pitches the ninth. There's your middle relief, who'll pitch the 6th and maybe some of the seventh if you're starter stinks that day. Then there's specialists, who'll just pitch to one righty just to get an out. I went to Baseball Reference.com and looked at some stats. Mariano Rivera made $10,500,000 last season for 78.3 innings worth of work BJ Ryan signed a 5 year 47 million deal pitched 70.3 innings Billy Wagner is making $10.5 million this season pitched 77.7 innings last season Jason Isringhausen made 7 mil for 59 innings Trevor Hoffman made 7 for 57.7 innings Keith Foulke 45.7 innings and 7.5 million Eric Gagne made 8 million, but he was injuried most of last season If I had the time, I would figure out how much that was per inning, but I have neither the time not the math skills. But it would be a lot. You've got starters who pitched 200 innings last season who didn't make that money. If a team has got a top closer in the pen who can get the three outs in the ninth and keep the bags clear, then you have to keep him. The O's tried to low ball Ryan last season and it could have backfired after got a huge deal with the Jays. There's several levels of closers The young generation- Chris Ray,John Papplebon, Huston Street The solid but unsung- Ryan Dempster, BJ Ryan, Brag Lidge The old- Tom Gordon, Jose Mesa, Bob Wickman Top Dogs- Wagner, Rivera, Hoffman *Gagne was...we'll see how he comes back. Though the O's pen isn't the best in the majors right now, I think when Williams and Parrish comes back it'll be better. Over the offseason this should be an top priority. The starting pitching can be top notch, but if the pen can't hold a lead, then it doesn't matter. Isn't it amazing how ESPN and the media has latched onto Papplebon? This kid is going to be a really good closer, but you'd think this kid is Rivera, Lee Smith, Gossage, and Sutter rolled into one. He'll definately be good, I'm not denying that, and I'm going to have really learn to hate him since I'm sure he'll be a Red Sox for a long time. This was from Buster Olney on Monday:

Daniel Cabrera has already issued 22 walks in his first 18.1 innings, but new Baltimore pitching coach Leo Mazzone spoke positively about Cabrera the other day. "I think he's doing fine," said Mazzone, who has talked to Cabrera about not dwelling on previous mistakes during games. Cabrera allowed one run in five innings to Tampa Bay on April 12, with nine walks and 10 strikeouts. After the game, Mazzone walked up to Cabrera and asked, "How many runs did you give up?" One, Cabrera replied. "I rest my case," said Mazzone. The Orioles are also pleased with the early showing of young closer Chris Ray. "He's got a mound presence that's above and beyond that of a first-year closer," said Mazzone.

Fans think MLB still hasn't gotten it right with steriods. The Giants and Rockies played some basebrawl Sunday. Maybe the next book I should read is "Omar!" by Omar Vizquel. Any book that anyone famous writes and uses their first name with an exclaimation mark is usually a book that I won't read. Besides, what really had Omar Vizquel done at that point or this point to require an autobiography? The Yanks want Clemens. I could see this happening....but I still say Houston has the inside track, especially with their strong start to season (which in my opinion, won't last). If he signs with the Yankees or Boston it would make me sick to my stomach. The O's get some love from John Donovan Rodrigo Lopez pitches tonight. Here's hoping that he gets things back on track and the O's get back into the win column.

Bonus Post

2006-04-24T17:37:00.000-04:00

Here's a bonus post.... Bruce Chen's performance has been rough to watch thus far this season. 0-3 7.84 ERA 20.2 innings pitched 29 hits 20 runs 18 earned runs 8 homers 8 walks and 13 Ks Rodrigo Lopez's numbers are comparable to Chen's numbers 1 1 7.20 25.0 30 21 20 7 8 14 I'm not really concerned about Lopez. I think he's going to rebound in his next couple of starts. Chen does concern me however. The season is still young though. This is a contract year for Chen, so he has a couple million reasons to pitch hard. I still say give him some more starts. Let Hayden Penn and the other arms in the minors get some starts under their belts and if Chen keeps averaging 4 innings and an 8 spot for an ERA...then maybe the O's should think about sending Chen to the pen and bring up Hayden Penn. But I think it's way too early for this. Give him some time. Though I think he'd make a great middle relief/emergency starter if he does struggle. From the Washington Post: The Orioles have yet to be caught stealing in 15 attempts. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no team had started a season with that many stolen bases since 1987, when the Chicago Cubs had 19 straight to begin the year. The San Diego Padres have also been successful on their first 15 attempts. Gonna get a little deep here. Had some baseball conversations this weekend and I thought they were worthwhile: Miguel Tejada is the player of the week As well he should be. I've had this discussion with two friends who are Cub fans. "Now that Derek Lee is out, do you wish had swapped Prior for Tejada, straight up?" Both said no. When healthy Prior's as good as any pitcher in the game and they place a priority on pitching. I generally agree. You don't trade good pitching. You lock them up and get your batting through the farm system, free agency, and trades that don't involve the good pitching. But Prior spends as much time on the DL as he does on the field, lately even more time on the DL. Sure there's freak injuries like last season, but at what point do you say "I'll get what I can for him and let the fill in the blanks worry about his arm?" They didn't want Tejada, they wanted prospects and pitching. But with Derek Lee out, Tejada's red hot .425 average would look nice in that line up tucked between Todd Walker and Armais Rameriez. In the end, we all were happy the trade wasn't done. Cubbies hold out hope for Prior and of course, I'm glad we still have Tejada. I'm never opposed to the idea of trading a player. But if we were to trade Tejada, it had better be a deal where we stock up the farm system with some prime talent. I should have asked what about Kerry Wood for Tejada? by the way, I would NEVER trade Tejada for Kerry Wood. In that same conversation, my friend Chris asked me this question. (I had commented how much I hated Jason Giambi. I hate Giambi because of the whole steriods thing *I cheered for him during the derby when he was an A, so I felt cheat* and then he signed with the Yanks.) "If Giambi was an Oriole, would you forgive and forget?" Of course, we had this issue with Raffy last season. I never really forgave Raffy, mainly because he tried to pin it on Tejada and destroyed an otherwise promising season. I'll get over it, but it taints an otherwise fine career. If Giambi was O.....I would probably be more forgiving. Though it does break that bond of trust a fan has with a player. You have doubts whether they're off the juice or whether they moved onto something else. Something that MLB doesn't test for, like HGH. Big contracts put big pressure on players to perform at sky high levels. I'm not justifying steriod use by an means, but I understand why a player would end up doing. It's the pressure.It's either surpass other players or get passed. The new testing policy is a step in the right direction, but it needs to be something that expands as science does. But whether an A, a Yank, or an Oriole, He'll always carry a big scarlet S on his chest and I think all of his career records should be asterisked. His levels of steriod use aren't fully known, though Author Jose Conseco called him "out of control." I have not had the pleasure of reading "Juiced" yet, but a friend told me that one. Adminstering punishment to the violaters from the steriod era will be tricky because there were so many gray areas and so many things weren't banned. I'm going to see what Selig's little committee figures out and see what kind of punishment they deem fit. *Speaking of steriods, Barry Bonds* hit his first home run of the season* I'm not linking to it though. This is a pure fantasy trade I think Wright will be an MVP someday, so I think they were wise not to do it. Though some point in the season the Mets' rotation will bite them hard. Speaking of Mets Keith Hernadez put his foot squarely in his trap Just a tip, the ladies dig the Just for Men more than sexist comments. The Mets are everywhere, I just started reading "The Bad Guys Won" by Jeff Pearlman today. Only 40 pages into it and I'm amazed at what bunch of animals these guys were. I'm catching up on my reading, have about two years worth of reading to catch up on....I finished "3 Nights in August" last night. Awesome book. Tony LaRussa is one stoic man, love him or hate him, but he lives and breathes baseball.

Mora extended?

2006-04-24T14:49:00.000-04:00

It appears that the Melvin Mora extension is immenient I don't know what to think on this. Mora's one of my favorite Orioles right up there with Cal, Eddie, Moose, and the one and only BJ Surhoff. I can't say anything bad about Melvin. He was the only active Oriole player to attend Elrod Hendricks funeral this summer. He was the one who bridged the situation with Tejada. Melvin's always been a team guy and has had good numbers to back him up. The problem I have is 3 years and 26 million bucks. I doubt he would get that much on the open market this summer. In fact, I think this could be the first time in a long time the Orioles have overpaid for somebody. Mora's 34 right now. I think it's a lot of money to be paying for an aging player. The Orioles need to get younger, not older. I'm wondering how the wear and tear will hit him as he gets older. I'm not saying that we should not resign Mora. I hope Mora retires an O and can be be their manager one day. How many third baseman can you name? Alex Rodrigez > Chipper Jones < David Wright > Miguel Cabrera > Scott Rolen = Troy Glaus < Aramis Ramirez > That's right off the top of my head. The arrows indicate whether I think Mora's better than, not as good as, or equal to it, in my opinion. Mora's a very good third baseman. Good defense and good offense. Really good third basemen are hard to come by...so I can see why the front office would want to lock him up. I guess the more I think about it, I'm OK with it. I'm glad we can have Melvin for three more seasons. There's just two things I hope happen. 1. We draft or trade for a solid third base prospect and get him ready, so when Melvin's done. We have someone ready to anchor third down for the next decade. 2. That as a result of this, Angelos uses this as an opportunity to spend money. This past offseason, the O's did what they could. The free agent market was weak and you have to be smart with the trades. I hope that by this we see the payroll upped a little and breaking the habit of signing mulitple aging vets. It's a good move PR wise. Having Mora walk would have been a black eye for the team. I'm all for it.....just the money is pretty high. What's your thoughts? Am I too hard on this?

Playing catch-up

2006-04-23T13:08:00.000-04:00

Haven't posted much this week, so I'm going to post a few articles that I haven't gotten to this week. How about that game Friday night? If there was any doubt about Chris Ray being able to be the Orioles closer were answered. There's no bigger stage in baseball than Yankee stadium. Bases loaded, full count, 2 outs and a 1 run lead....that's high drama. The Yanks have a line up that from top to bottom can be a pitcher's nightmare. I heard former Yankee and current ESPN guy, Tino Martinez say that Ray's strike three should have been a ball. The call was close, You get some that go your way and some don't. The pitch looked close.....so naturally, I'm very comfortable with that call. On the opposite side though, the O's had some pitches that didn't go their way on 3-2 and 3-1 counts, that's just the nature of the game. Benson pitched good enough not to lose. Rleal and Brower had great outings and Hawkins got me a little worried, but made it through the eighth. Really big win for the O's. I figured we were due for a letdown Saturday and it was. A big soggy mess of a letdown. Daniel Cabrera was medicore....5 walks 5 Ks 5 hits 6 earned runs over 5. I know some people are going to jump on Cabrera over the the following quote: "The people talk about the walks, but I've walked people all my life," Cabrera said. "I don't feel frustrated about it." There's going to be folks who say he should be upset and be concerned. I sure he isn't happy with the walks, but I don't think he has to proclaim it to the press. The ERA of the Orioles' starters is 5.47, though Perlozzo and pitching coach Leo Mazzone maintain that it is too early to be concerned. Again, Wait until the All-Star break until the starters get judged. Bedard has been great. Benson has been OK. Cabrera has been Jekyll and Hyde and Lopez and Chen have been struggling. Give them all some starts and wait. Finally a use for Sammy Sosa jerseys besides burning them, of course. You had to figure there would be Lee Mazilli articles this weekend Though I'm not a fan of his, he did hire his firing in a classy way. If he was anywhere other than New York, I might even wish him well. I like the Kevin Millar signing Even for just the Yankee boos alone. Looks like the O's are making money I'm willing to bet that Jim Bowden will not keep his job when new ownership takes over the Nats. This is pathetic.

Good start to the season

2006-04-20T14:41:00.000-04:00

It's been a good few days for Orioles. Tuesday's game was a big downer, but after that....it's been great. I'm pretty optimistic right now. Just look at how the season's gone so far. Won 2 out of 3 against Tampa Ugly sweep against Boston Won 3 out of 4 at Tampa Won 3 out of 4 from the Anaheim Angels Won 2 out of 3 from Cleveland Say what you will about Tampa, whether those wins mean anything or not, but they're wins. Tampa will be a better team, but they're bang up now. The wins against the Angels and Indians mean a lot more to me though. The Angels were a playoff team last year and the Indians were a game away from being one, so those were quality wins. Aside from the 2 loses, the offense looks good. That performance Wednesday night was unreal, every starter getting a hit and cranking out 18 runs. Cleveland's bullpen situation might be worse than ours from what I've seen the past two games. Glad to see Corey Patterson getting on base and not swinging at every first pitch. The good things about the season far: Erik Bedard getting to 4-0. 2.77 ERA Daniel Cabrera's latest outing Chris Ray and his 5 saves in 5 chances and a 0.00 ERA Brian Roberts...healthy again. Hitting .305 and stole 5 bases in the last 3 games The offense in general so far looks good. The clutch hitting that wasn't there in the Boston series is here. Miguel Tejada seems happy and his swing does too Ramon Hernadez looks to be a terrific addition, for his bat and defense Jay Gibbons is earning his contract extension right now Nick Markakis is doing ok The Mora and Lopez contract situations don't seem to be messing up their play or attitude right now David Newhan was having a great season The Kris Benson for Jorge Julio trade looks like getting a nice car for a broken mo-ped Then there's a few things that have not been as good so far this season: Rodrigo Lopez, de facto staff ace...7.20 ERA, 25 innings and 21 runs (20 earned) and he's given up 7 homers Bruce Chen, 0-2 with a hefty ERA of 8.10 Daniel Cabrera's first outing has to be mentioned here as well of half of his Jekyll and Hyde second game The bullpen outside of Ray, Hawkins, and Rleal, has been lacking (though help is on the way) David Newhan's injury Jeff Conine's batting until the past few games Lopez and Chen may just be getting off to bad starts. It happens, so I'm not going to call for their heads until, eh, the All-Star break and if they still have ERAs over 7, then I will. But you have to figure Penn and Loewen will be with the club next season and Lopez and Chen would be the two that be extendable. Cabrera and Bedard are two pitchers that you can build your staff around. Benson has been good thus far and he's a solid 3 starter. Chen's a free agent, I could see him getting dealt before the break and Penn getting a call up. Today marks the first game the Orioles play the Yankees this season. Man, I hate the Yankees and here are there are at least three, but probably a million, new reasons why this season. Lee Mazilli, Yankees bench coach Crazy Larry F. Bowa 3rd base coach Johnny Damon, Center Field Glad to see Lee land on his feet. I really thought after his stint on Cold Pizza, he'd be a tv legend. Benson, Cabrera, and Chen pitch this series. I really think the O's can get 2 out of 3 and that would be huge. I'm really excited about about this series. The season is still very young, but every win counts and at the end of the season, those wins in April matter. I really think the streak dies this season. I'll get back to the links next week, but it's been a busy week, that's why I haven't post as much. Let's go O's and let's all hate the Yankees.