First order of business: this weekend Williams College takes on Amherst College in the 149th anniversary of the first-ever intercollegiate baseball game. Weather-permitting, that is. The forecast, unfortunately, calls for rain all weekend in Pittsfield, MA, where the anniversary game is scheduled to be played.
Who designed the Orioles’ schedule this year? Given the unbalanced schedule, isn’t it odd that the O’s do not play Boston in April, but take two separate trips to the west coast (one to Seattle and one to Oakland) and their first and only trip to Texas before they play the Sox in 2008? On top of that, the Rays visit Baltimore twice in the month of April. What gives? I know Baltimore and Tampa Bay are more evenly matched than Baltimore and Boston, but why do you think the Orioles had the smallest crowd in the history of Camden Yards on just the second game of the season?
I was pleased to hear about the roster move the team made just before opening day, releasing Jay Gibbons and keeping Scott Moore. Rather than waste a roster spot on him simply because he is owed money over this season and next, the team made an excellent decision in cutting its ties with Gibbons. When he wasn’t on the Disabled List last year, Gibbons hit a meager .230 with an even more pitiful .272 on-base-percentage and .348 slugging percentage. If he were a gold-glove outfielder it would be one thing, but the guy is supposed to be known for his bat, and between his poor performance and the steroid allegations against him, it was simply time to let him go.
As for Baltimore’s strong start to the season, perhaps the lack of pressure to win has helped the players relax and perform better. Expectations – as they should be – are low; everything the Birds do right is considered an accomplishment. While they have overachieved thus far, I’d be happy if they somehow managed a .500 record.
On the underachieving side, Detroit has really struggled in Curtis Granderson’s absence, getting swept by the Royals in the opening series and starting the season 0-7. Not that Brandon Inge hasn’t performed adequately in his place – he is slugging over .500 and has yet to make an error in centerfield. But Granderson, who broke his finger after being hit by a pitch during Spring Training, is the team’s catalyst. The Tigers’ lineup is loaded with talent so they were expected to get through the injury to their leadoff hitter, but through their first seven games, they had scored just 15 runs – slightly more than two runs per game. While I am not a Tigers fan, for the sake of baseball fans everywhere, I hope Granderson will be back on the field soon. Web Gems are just not the same without him.
