Baltimore Orioles Blogs

Chipper Jones is out for the year with a torn ACL, but let’s hope this isn’t it for the man who has played his entire major league career for manager Bobby Cox.  Chipper has made it known since last season that retirement could be around the corner, but like Baseball Tonight’s Eduardo Perez, I don’t see Chipper calling it quits now that his season has ended unexpectedly.  He wants to go out on his own terms, and these aren’t them.  At 38, his career is nearing the end, but I find it hard to believe that he will be able to say good-bye after watching from the bench as his team battles for the National League crown.

Continue reading "Will Chipper hang 'em up?"

I just finished watching Buckholz shut out the Orioles for the third time. Gotta love the "Sox in 2" games when they win.

 So, before we talk about Buckholz, let's begin with Beltre. I'm not really sure if that Home run on one knee is his new signature move or not, but it is aweing to watch. Is he really turning on the ball that hard? Is he just off-balance and ending on one knee is a bad thing? What happens when the one knee swing ends up scraping the wall? Is he going to get himself thrown out at second? We'll have to wait until that happens to know. But, for now, it's the best home-run swing in baseball. Now Beltre, you really need to stop running into the left fielder. Did you learn nothing from Ellsbury? Hurting Hermida isn't as big a deal as Ellsbury, but you're going to hurt yourself on one of these crazy collisions. That would be horrible for this team.

Continue reading "10 more runs than Clay needed."

Julio Franco may be the oldest player in Major League history to hit a home run (he also holds a number of other oldest player records), but Jamie Moyer has established himself as the game’s new Ageless Wonder.  In throwing a two-hitter against the Braves on May 7th, the 47-year-old became the oldest player to throw a complete game shutout.

Continue reading "Jamie Moyer: baseball's new Ageless Wonder"

As if Ubaldo Jimenez’s no-hitter was not enough excitement for one day, the Mets and Cardinals took part in a marathon contest, playing a 20-inning game Saturday in St. Louis.  If that does not…, the most remarkable part of the monumental occasion was that the two teams went scoreless through the first 18 frames!  That’s like back-to-back shutouts being thrown by both teams!  In a game that took nearly seven hours and featured an astounding 18 pitchers (two of whom were actually position players that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa sent to the hill), three Met hitters – Jose Reyes, Jason Bay, and Jeff Francoeur – went a combined 0 for 21.  That is an ugly line in the box score for three of the team’s four best offensive players.

Continue reading "Oh, what a night!"

Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas officially announced their retirements this week, ending speculation that either one would attempt a comeback in 2010 after not appearing in a big league game last season.  Glavine was a great finesse pitcher of his generation, and Thomas was a premiere slugger of the nineties.

Continue reading "Two more great careers reach the end of the line"

 Hey, we all wanted another bat, right?   I like Aubrey Huff, but I certainly like the 2008 Aubrey Huff better than the 2009 version. I was lucky enough to go to the old Yankee Stadium in July of '08, and saw the Yanks beat the Orioles on a sweltering Wednesday afternoon. Aubrey Huff was smack in the middle of a potent Baltimore Line-up with Brian Roberts at the top, Adam Jones second, Nick Markakis batting third, followed by Huff in the clean-up slot, and Melvin Mora hitting fifth. Huff was batting over .300 at the time, and drove in his 72nd RBI in that game (in July!) -- I remember, because I just looked it up; July 30th, 2008. He went on to finish the season with 108 RBI's, 32 homers, 48 doubles, 182 hits, 96 runs, a .360 on-base percentage in 598 at-bats and 154 games played. Sounds pretty awesome, right? Well, last year was not so good. His average dipped to .241, with 15 home runs and 85 RBI's in time split between Baltimore and Detroit; following a mid-season trade. He had far fewer at-bats though (430), and only 109 hits, so I think it's a matter if consistency and playing everyday for Huff to be successful. I would say probably

Continue reading ""Is Aubrey Huff the Final Piece to ..."

After the way Cliff Lee pitched against the Yankees in the World Series six weeks ago, I would have been surprised to hear that the Phillies were even listening to offers for their ace.  But when the chance to acquire Roy Halladay comes around, I suppose any team would be crazy not to listen.  Before I knew it, Halladay was a Phillie and Lee was heading to Seattle, where he’ll join his third club in the span of four and a half months.  How often does that happen to the defending Cy Young Award winner?

Continue reading "Phillies take a Halladay"

The 12-inning thriller that was the last regular season game ever played at the Metrodome was exactly what I wanted to see.  When the Twins and Tigers played a four-game series in Detroit last week, I found myself rooting for the Twins to close the gap in order to create an exciting finish to the regular season – ideally a one-game playoff.  When that happened, I decided it would be great for the city of Detroit to send their team to the playoffs, but what I wanted most was to see a great game.  My wish came true when the two teams played a nail-biter that could have gone either way, but eventually sent Minnesota to the postseason.  Props to both teams for giving the fans what they deserved.

Continue reading "Twins-Tigers game was exactly what I wanted"

Braves manager Bobby Cox announced this week his plans to retire after the 2010 season and to immediately take on a consulting role with the team.  Cox has won 2,409 games as a manager and is fourth all-time in the category, behind only Connie Mack (3,731), John McGraw (2,763) and current Cardinals manager Tony La Russa (2,550).  Cox has five pennants and one World Series title to his name, and won the Manager of the Year award four times.  Under his leadership, the Braves have won 100 games six times.  The next manager of the Atlanta Braves will have big shoes to fill.

Continue reading "Bobby Cox has one more season in him"

In the last week, baseball fans have been exposed to a number of unfortunate incidents that involved big-name, All-Star players.  My thoughts on each of them follow.

Kevin Youkilis charging the mound: Youk let his emotions get the best of him on Tuesday night after getting plunked in the back for the second consecutive night.  The Red Sox need Youk’s bat in the lineup and his glove in the field.  Now they have neither for five games.

Continue reading "Poor behavior on and off the field is Bad for Ball"

Since I last posted before my trip to Spain, there have been a number of noteworthy occurrences in Major League Baseball.

The American League won yet another All-Star Game – by a single run for the fourth year in a row.  Manny Ramirez returned from his 50-game suspension.  The Nationals fired manager Manny Acta.  Jonathan Sanchez threw the season’s first no-hitter.  The Braves gave up on underachieving hometown boy Jeff Francouer, and traded him to the Mets for Ryan Church, who hit the foul ball I caught at RFK in 2007.  The most exciting news, however, took place the day I returned from my voyage: Mark Buerhle of the White Sox threw a perfect game.  The following day, the A’s traded slugger Matt Holliday to the Cardinals, who now have protection for Albert Pujols.

Continue reading "While I was out…"

   Pittsburgh Pirates Mid-Season Analysis

     I moved to Western Maryland a couple of weeks ago and this is part of my ongoing attempt to learn about the sports interests here.  Baseball-wise it’s the Pirates, Orioles, and Nationals, and I wanted to get into the one with the best current chance of a playoff push.  The Nats are obviously out and the Orioles are 14 games behind first in a ridiculously hard division, so that leaves the Pirates, a tantalizing Homer-pick at 9.5 behind in the absurdly mediocre NL Central.  On paper it looks possible that any team could take it, and I hoped that statistical analysis would show some obscure Pirates advantage that could take them over the top, but I just can’t find it.  I’m not saying that an X-factor doesn’t exist, just that anyone who claims there is one is obviously from Pittsburgh.  In fact, this team so cries for the use of the “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” comparison that I spent ten whole minutes looking up how I could work it in.  And here it is:  Mario Brega, who played Cpl. Wallace, the big cross-eyed prison guard in the film who beat up Tuco to get the name of the cemetery the money was buried in for Angel Eyes ,died 15 years ago this month.  So to honor his memory, here’s a breakdown of the Pirates in the spirit of that great film (I resisted using a corresponding pirate-based ranking system, i.e.; Avast Ye Maties, Walk the Plank, and Totally Somalian because even I have standards).

Continue reading "Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star Break Analysis"

LeBron James' alleged confiscation of a tape in which Xavier sophomore basketball player Jordan Crawford executed a two-hand dunk on him took on a larger life of its own than it would have had the tape been made public.

Continue reading "Your Worst Face-to-Face Experience ..."

I’ll tell you right now that it’s not better than viewing it as any other person. 

I’ll also tell you that even though it’s the summer, we still maintain some of the college atmosphere here in Salem.  A lot of us Salem Staters have off campus apartments so we get to see each other even when school is not in session. 

Continue reading "A College Student’s Perspective ..."

Boston Red Sox Bullpen Blows a 9 Run Lead!!
So last night the 42 year old John Smoltz would get his second start of the year!!  In the last game he pitched he gave up 3 runs in the first inning, but then he was lights out. So I believe it was because it was his the first start and 1st inning jitters, so I didn't know what to expect. Well he was on point again and looked great. He only gave up 3 hits, 1 earned run and had 2 strikeout-- awesome! But the story is far from over. Meanwhile the Red Sox bats looked like they where going to explode, scoring 9 runs giving Smoltz a 9-1 lead, but that's when the rain came and this was big trouble for Smoltz and the Sox.(rain always seems to be trouble for the Sox).

Continue reading "BoSox Bullpen Blows a 9 Run Lead!!"

http://atdhe.net/7388/watch-mariners-vs-yankees    Yankees vs Mariners

http://atdhe.net/5632/watch-rays-vs-blue-jays : Blue Jays and Rays

  http://atdhe.net/5711/watch-red-sox-vs-orioles   Red Sox vs Orioles

Continue reading "More MLB Links"

  J. Lester and the Sox traveled to Baltimore last night to play the Orioles in what would be the Lester show. He has been amazing in his last 6 starts he hasn't giving up no more than 3 runs and has 4 wins and 48 strikeouts, Awesome!

Continue reading "Lester Amazing Again"

Disgraced former MLB slugger Jose Canseco apparently has one more trick left up his sleeve to help keep himself in the limelight, well beyond his 15 minutes of fame. Canseco wants to get together with fellow disgraced steroid users Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro to file a lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the Players Association to seek compensation for loss of wages and defamation of character.

Continue reading "Jose Canseco to bring full circus ..."

Well, it’s a little over one month into the 09 baseball season, and I figured it’s about time I write something about the my observations of the Baltimore Orioles. Of course, it’s all opinion and we all know what opinions are like.

Continue reading "One major observation after the Orioles' ..."

Someone at MLB must have read my blog post from 5/9/08 and decided that All-Star voting needed to start even earlier this season just to see my reaction.  Keep in mind that the 2009 season began later than the 2008 season.

Continue reading "All-Star balloting reminds me of the Iowa Caucus"

Tragedy struck the baseball world Thursday morning, as Angels 22-year-old rookie Nick Adenhart, hours removed from making his season debut, died in a car crash.  In just his fourth-ever big-league start, Adenhart threw six shutout innings against the Athletics and left with his team leading 3-0, only to see the Angels’ bullpen surrender the lead and lose 6-4.

Continue reading "A sad day for baseball"

If you read through my top five infields post, then you know that a correction was made: Mike Fontenot beat out Aaron Miles for the Cubs' second base job.

This time around, with the outfields, there's the possibility that Felix Pie will start over Luke Scott for the Orioles, and Skip Schumaker may start at second base for the Cardinals. Keep that in mind as you read on.

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Outfields"

After a J.D. Drew-like stint on the disabled list of blog writing, I, like baseball, have returned. For real this time. Let me begin by expressing my sincerest apologies to my readers whom I promised a return to the spotlight weeks ago only to vanish like a ninja once again. Thanks as always for your support and readership. Without getting too mushy-gushy, welcome to the first of a seven-part series previewing each division, day by day, leading up to an all encompassing culmination piece on opening night next Sunday.

Continue reading "The Sports Don Returns with His 2009 ..."

Big baseball news in my life: I recently found out that I will be working as the Press Liaison for Team Italy at the 2009 World Baseball Classic, set to begin next week.

In the second-ever WBC, 16 teams representing countries in all continents other than Antarctica – from the 2006 WBC champion Japan to Australia to the Republic of South Africa – will vie to be crowned true

Continue reading "WBC-bound"

I have to admit, this edition of The Sports Don’s Sunday Musings was harder for me to compile than the previous two weeks. Maybe it’s because I’m still bull over Steven the Black Jack Dealer cheating me out of all of my money at Foxwoods or perhaps it’s because I’m trying to remember to DVR Dark Days in Monkey City. Either way, I still managed to ramble on especially long this weekend so I’ll keep the words typed in the remainder of my intro to a minimum...here it is.

Continue reading "The Sports Don's Sunday Musings: Volume III"

Koji Uehara may not be the answer to Orioles fans’ prayers, but he’s certainly a start.  Though it is hard to judge stats from Japanese baseball (because of the perceived lower level of competition and other factors), Uehara holds a 112-62 record with a 3.01 E.R.A. in his 10-year career in Japan.  In 1998, he won 15 consecutive starts and 20 overall on his way to being named Rookie of the Year.

Continue reading "Orioles finally tap into Japan’s talent"

As the Mark Teixeira saga drags on into a third week, I think it's become clear that Andy MacPhail didn't ever really want to land the free-agent slugger --- it's simply too much to invest in one player when the team is still 2-3 years away from contending.

Continue reading "Do the Baltimore Orioles really want ..."

Francisco Rodriguez just signed a big-money contract with the Mets, who have missed the playoffs the last two seasons.  CC Sabathia chose to become the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history, signing with the Yankees in spite of the fact that they play in what is considered the toughest division in baseball and failed to make the postseason in 2008.  What drew Sabathia to the Bronx and K-Rod to Queens?  It wasn’t a near-guarantee to return to the playoffs, which they could have had with the Angels.  They didn’t grow up in New York dreaming of wearing Yankee Pinstripes and Met blue and orange one day.  There’s only one thing it could be: money – $161 million for seven years of Sabathia and $37 million for three years of Rodriguez.

Continue reading "Greed takes away from the game"

The Orioles still have a huge hole at shortstop, but that doesn’t mean it was a bad idea to trade their highest-paid player last offseason.  Miguel Tejada’s offensive numbers in his first season with the Astros were sub-par and certainly not worthy of the money he is making.  In hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park, a .283/.314/.415 line from one of Houston’s heavy hitters is not going to cut it.  Believe it or not, Miggy’s numbers actually

Continue reading "Looking back on the Tejada trade ..."

Mike Mussina announced his retirement this week.  While I’m glad he won’t be a Yankee anymore, I can’t say I’m happy to hear the news.

Mussina hasn’t been a member of the Orioles in eight years, but he

Continue reading "Say it ain’t so, Moose"

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

Continue reading "Inbound link contest winner announced!"

After the non-waiver trade deadline of July 31st, the next big date in baseball is August 15th. That's the day teams have to have all their amatuer draft picks signed. The Orioles have signed 9 of their Top 10 picks, the only one missing being 1st rounder and 4th overall pick Brian Matusz. Matusz, a left-handed pitcher from the University of San Diego, was thought to be an easy sign when the Orioles drafted him in June. Negotiations stalled, and he remains unsigned. Matusz, a Junior at USD, could return to school in the fall if not signed and re-enter next year's draft.

Continue reading "Another Deadline Approaching..."

After back to back starts where the starter got through only 4 innings, it's time for the Orioles to make some changes to their rotation/bullpen. While the offense keeps clicking along, the pitching continues to be an issue with this club. Here are the internal options that I would go to to try and help out the staff the rest of the season.

Continue reading "Let's See Some Changes"

“The Five Best Teams Since 1995”

I decided to nominate the five best teams that I have seen perform since the 1995 season.

There are a few caveats in regard to the list that I comprised.

Continue reading "The Week That Was In Sports"

The Orioles dealt right-handed reliever Chad Bradford to the Rays today, for a player to be named later. This is surprising because Bradford has been very effective this year, and the fact that we dealt him to Tampa means that no one with a worse record than the Rays (everyone in the AL except the Angels) claimed Bradford. Really? Nobody thought this guy who gets ground ball after ground ball, doesnt walk anyone, and has an ERA around 2.50 was worth taking? It's not like he has a huge contract (he is signed next year for 3.5 million), so I am surprised he got to Tampa. Good luck to Chad down there, and I hope he helps the Rays fend off Boston and New York.

Continue reading "Chad Bradford traded to Tampa Bay..."

I'm going to start my first Orioles blog entry by talking about one of the O's minor league affiliates - the Aberdeen Ironbirds - and an incident I was witness to during their home game on Monday, August 4, 2008.  For those of you who don't know, The Ironbirds are a Single A affiliate of the O's, and they are owned by legendary Baltimore Oriole and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.  The entire operation up there in Aberdeen is really first class.  The stadium is beautiful, the staff is friendly, beers are big and cheap, and best of all, the players are hungry, which makes for some really great ball play.  Well, myself, Kim, her sister and her boyfriend sat down to take in a game against the Hudson Valley Renegades, and no sooner were we getting comfortable than a group of Aberdeen teenagers sat behind us and started heckling one of the Hudson Valley players.  At first, I was annoyed, but then I got to thinking about it.  Heckling is part of baseball - pretty much all sports, in fact - and what right did I have to stifle the good time of four teenagers - two boys and two girls - who could have easily been up to worse on a summer night?  Besides, I knew after a beer or two, I really wouldn't care.  If that thought didn't soothe my nerves, I soon realized that these kids seemingly went to the trouble of research the player they were going to hassle.  They apparently went through the Renegades roster prior to the game and isolated one player - third baseman Jason Tweedy, from Newark, California.  Maybe they thought his name was funny.  Maybe they ran into him out in public and thought he was an ass.  Maybe it was just random...I don't know.  But what I do know is that these kids were participating in time honored rite of passage in sports every time they yelled "Twweeeeddy....Twweeeeddy....Twweeeeddy."  I mean, I can remember being in the stands at the Yard and heckling Albert Belle when he played for the Indians.  "Jooeey....Jooeey....Jooeey."  And I was right, after a couple of beers, the consistent "Tweedy" taunts stopped bothering me.  But then something happened to really irk me.  A man who was sitting two seats down from these fun-loving teenagers interrupted their chanting.  "You see all of these people here?" he asked, motioning to the dozen or so people in the section.  "They're season ticket holders."  He then admonished the teenagers for heckling Tweedy, pointing out that they were the only ones in the section heckling the players and that "It is getting a little old."  Old?  This guy apparently doesn't know the meaning of the word.  Old is going to baseball games and talking about work.  Old is bullying a group of kids into stopping them from doing the only thing they know how to do - be kids.  But I suppose I too am old, as I did not have the balls to say something to the guy right then and there.  But Kim and I made up for it.  As the game wore on, we prodded the kids into continuing there homage to "Tweedy."  I myself was even going to join them when Tweedy came back to the plate, but alas, Ironbirds relief pitchers Joe Esposito and Brandon Cooney did well to quickly get through the 8th and 9th innings and Tweedy didn't make it back to the plate.  If only the Ironbirds bats could have put more runs on the board.  Aberdeen lost 3-2.  But by the time the game was coming to a close, the teenagers were back at it.  "Twweeeeddy...Twweeeedy...Twweeeedy."  So what is the point?  Heckling, whether you do it or not; whether you like it or not, it is part of the game.  And what's more, it helps people blow off a little steam.  Sure, there is a line, and Lord knows I've seen it crossed, but these kids were no where near it.  So I say this to the man sitting in Section 112, Row D, Seat 1 in Ripken Stadium on Monday, August 4th, 2008; you did the game of baseball a disservice that night.  Comfort is for the couch.  Sell your season tickets and stay home.   TWEEDY!

Continue reading "Don't go to the game to be comfortable"

After taking a brief hiatus this weekend from the Orioles-Mariners series (and Game 1 of the Angels set), I'm back. And what do I come back to? How about a 27-year old who has spent 9 seasons in the minors and is not even a TOP 30 Orioles prospect throwing an 8-inning one-hit shutout against the best team in baseball? Wow.

Continue reading "A Debut to Remember for Chris Waters"

New York Yankees Reliever Edwar Ramirez was suspended last week for 3 games after he allegedly threw at Baltimore Orioles first baseman Kevin Millar, July 31st in the Bronx.

With the Yankees leading the Orioles 9-6 after 6 innings, Ramirez (3-0, 3.10 ERA), 27, relieved rookie sensation Joba Chamberlain and promptly hurled a fastball over the former “idiots” head.

Continue reading "The "Idiot" Is Not Wrong...Edwar ..."

    Sure enough, just after I wrote about how I’d like to see Jerry Manuel try to stretch Aaron Heilman for some more two-inning relief appearances, Heilman blew a tie game in his second inning of work on Friday night.  After getting through the seventh inning cleanly, Heilman loaded the bases in the eighth and gave up a game-winning grand slam to pinch hitter Mark Loretta.  To add insult to injury (literally, considering the ailing arms of John Maine and Billy Wagner), Heilman was tagged with the loss again on Saturday in another collapse of sorts from the Mets’ bullpen.  This one was a group effort though, with Scott Schoenweis and Billy Wagner contributing to the blown 4-1 lead.  After yet another solid, but insufficiently long, outing from Johan Santana, Schoenweis allowed a solo home run to Kaz Matsui, who has killed the Mets, hitting .438 against his former team over the last three years.  Wagner then gave up a bizzare two-run single to Geoff Blum with the bases loaded in the ninth to blow the save, as both runners crashed into one another and Ramon Castro all at once at the plate.  Then, in the tenth, Heilman put the first two runners on base before handing the ball over to Pedro Feliciano.  Feliciano actually did not pitch poorly, striking out the first batter he faced and then allowing the game-ending sacrifice fly on a weakly hit liner by Darin Erstad.  Fernando Tatis made an excellent catch on Erstad’s sinking flare, but was unable to throw Lance Berkman out at the plate.

Continue reading "Shaky Pen Gets Mets Swept By 'Stros"

What an All-Star Game!  Though I incorrectly predicted the National League would win for the first time since 1996, I enjoyed the game more than those in recent memory.  My favorite play had to be Nate McLouth’s throw home to nail Dioner Navarro at the plate in the bottom of the eleventh.  I wanted to see Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook named the All-Star MVP despite his team losing the game, but that has happened just twice in the award’s history, the last time being 1970.  Cook survived two errors by Dan Uggla (who made three in total in extra innings after replacing starting second baseman Chase Utley) and tossed three scoreless innings, getting out of a bases-loaded no-out jam in the 10th that his defense got him into.

Continue reading "All-Star Highlights, Snubs, Other Thoughts"

The deadline has passed. All the deals have been made, and the Orioles that are leaving town are: Nobody!

Andy MacPhail apparently felt that no one was offering packages worth dealing for, so he stood pat at the deadline. Now, moves can still be made in August, but players must clear waivers, making it much tougher to make a big deal. Basically, the Orioles big trading chips (George Sherrill, Brian Roberts, Aubrey Huff, and probably Chad Bradford) are now with the team for the remainder of the year. Guys like Kevin Millar, Jay Payton, Jamie Walker and Ramon Hernandez may pass through waivers, allowing them to be dealt.

Continue reading "Trade Dud-line"

While I was doing a mock draft on ESPN, making great picks like usual, I did my everyday thing of scowering the

sports web for moves the O's and everyone did. After going through a number of sites, I became speechless.

Continue reading "No moves from O's at deadline? Interesting....."

Bobby Abreu slides into home, AP Photo/Frank Franklin II.

The Orioles' series at Yankees Stadium has sure been interesting. And yesterday's game was no exception. The Yanks pounded the O's 13-3 to avoid a three-game sweep. The star for the Bombers was designated hitter Bobby Abreu, who hit two home runs and doubled for a total of three RBI's.

Continue reading "touché, yanks get their revenge"

Well then. That certainly takes a bit of air out of the sails. The Yankees clobbered the O's today, 13-3. Joba Chamberlain looked very good for the Yankees, and the Orioles bullpen was atrocious.

Continue reading "So Much For A Sweep..."

To give a little recap of the Cabrera incident last night. It was the top of the eighth and Bobby Abreu was on second with nobody out. WIth a 6-1 lead, Cabrera threw a high-and-tight fastball that hit A-Rod in the shoulder. Home plate umpire Chad Fairchild immediately ejected the starting pitcher. Cabrera's very confused and Dave Trembley runs out of the dugout to argue the call. If you didn't see what went down, these will give you an idea:

Continue reading "cabrera controversy"

Continue reading "o's hold off yank's!"

Talk about two different ways to win a baseball game. Monday night, the Orioles pounded the Yankees, using Adam Jones’ first career Grand Slam to open up a 11-0 lead, eventually winning 13-4. The game was never in doubt, and those types of wins have seemed few and far between for the Orioles this season. It seems that when they do get into the win column, it’s a nail-biter.

Continue reading "Brooms in the Bronx?"

It's pretty ironic (and awesome) that the team in the AL East giving the Yankees the most trouble is the Baltimore Orioles. As of last night's defeat, New York (58-47) is 4-6 versus the last place O's (50-55). 

Continue reading "o's vs. yanks preview, 7.29.08"

    Monday night in Miami was an all-around bad experience for the Mets.  John Maine cruised into the fifth inning with a 2-0 lead, and looked just fine to the naked eye.  But after Maine missed with a 1-0 fastball to John Baker, Jerry Manuel, Dan Warthen and Ray Ramirez, the trainer, jogged out to the mound to consult with Maine.  He appeared to say he was fine, and stayed in the game for the time being.  But after his next pitch to Baker left the yard for a solo home run, and his 1-2 pitch to Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco chased Endy Chavez to the warning track to make the catch, Manuel and Warthen decided they had seen enough, and pulled Maine in favor of Carlos Muniz.  Maine is listed as day-to-day with shoulder stiffness, and Warthen said he was most concerned that Maine might develop further injuries if he tried to compensate in his delivery to protect his shoulder.  In all likelihood Maine will miss a start in order to rest his shoulder, and hopefully pitch again next week.  After the game Manuel was adamant that Maine will not pitch through any pain.

Continue reading "Mets Fried By Fish, Maine Leaves Early"

So many bloggers and fans out there want the Orioles to make a play for Atlanta first baseman Mark Teixeira, who becomes a free agent at the end of this season. As the Major League trade deadline looms (THIS thursday!), O's fans are surely thinking about this Severna Park native who, in a 102-game total for the Braves this season, has been .283 with 20 home runs, 78 RBI's and an OPS of .902. We could use a little of that, I'd say.

Continue reading "teixeira trade talk (say that three times fast)"

Dave Trembley certainly doesn't just let things lie. Yesterday he announced that Dennis Sarfate is replacing Brian Burres in the rotation. This was after the Orioles optioned Radhames Liz to Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday. They haven't announced a replacement for Liz yet, but won't need a fifth starter until August 5. Trembley explained to MLB.com that all the changes are meant to get the O's pitching rotation back on the right track. 

Continue reading "pitching shake-up"

(Adam Jones after his grand slam in the sixth. John Dunn for The New York Times

Continue reading "o's clobber the yanks!"

Orioles are off to a hot start! There has been some dangerous base-running: Brian Roberts got thrown out by a mile at home, but Mora went first to third on Luke Scott's single and both were safe. Then Millar got a three-run home run to make it 3-0. Ramon Hernandez stepped up to the plate and his 1000th career hit was a solo shot out of Yankee Stadium! Awesome. And props to starter Jeremy Guthrie who retired the first six Yankees.

Continue reading "game update"

After yesterday's rejuvinating win, the Baltimore Orioles (49-55) head up to the Bronx to face the New York Yankees (58-46). The Yanks are looking to win their 11th straight home game as they open this three-game series. In May, the Orioles took two out of three from the Yankees, but the pinstripes have been on a roll ever since the All-Star Game. After the break, the Yankees won their first eight games, sweeping a six-game homestand. They also just took two out of three from the Red Sox, so they're probably amped about that. Now they are only three games behind division leaders Tampa Bay. 

Continue reading "o's vs. yanks preview, 7.28.08"

I read about this before yesterday's game. Besides the fact that playing baseball in 90-degree weather in a thong is probably one of the most uncomfortable things ever, I think it's awesome. And no not because I want to get my hands on the undergarments of Brian Roberts or Nick Markakis. But, because it builds morale.

Continue reading "thong song"

Some people out there are saying that yesterday's post-game celebration was a little over-the-top. Yes, we are still in last place in the American League, our pitching is completely unreliable and even our (almost) all-star Brian Roberts sat out because of a recent slump. So some might say it was excessive when the Camden Yards crowd went wild, the word "FINALLY!" was broadcast on the bottom of the MASN screen and Dave Trembley showed up to the post-game press conference puffing on a cigar.

Continue reading "sunday surprise"

(Garrett Olson, AP Photo/Gail Burton)

When I walked into Camden Yards yesterday, I had a good feeling. I didn't want to vocalize it to my father, as not to jinx it. After all, the Orioles had lost their past 15 Sunday games, not winning on the day of rest since April 6 against Seattle. Not to mention the fact that today was my dad's birthday, so he had high hopes that everything would come together just for him.

Continue reading "so long, streak!"

Sid Sherrill is 34 years old and a Licensed Customs Broker for an international freight and logistics company in Texas. Sid’s younger brother also happens to be the Orioles closer and lone All-Star representative George Sherrill. I talked to Sid about what it’s like to have a brother in the majors, how he deals with all the trade rumors, and if he has the same sense of humor his brother shows in his interviews.

Continue reading "Interview with Flat Breezy's Brother"

A win on a Sunday!!! For the first time since April 6th, the Orioles are in the WIN column on a Sunday!

On the pitching side, this was an exact script of what you want to do to win ballgames, something the club hasn't been able to do at all recently. Garrett Olson was very solid through 6+ innings, although it was clear he ran out of gas in the 7th. However, with a lead, they turned to their 1-2-3 bullpen punch of Chad Bradford, Jim Johnson, and George Sherrill to get them to victory lane.

Continue reading "Cue the Band!!!!"

With their losses the past two nights, 6-5 and 11-6, the Orioles have now dropped 5 straight games, all at home. They'll go into today's game looking to snap not only that 5 game losing streak, but a 15 game Sunday-losing streak that ties a major league record.

Continue reading "This Feels All Too Familiar"

Sometimes an entire series can change on one play. Unfortunately for the Orioles yesterday, that play was a throwing error by Kevin Millar that ultimately led to 3 Toronto runs in the 8th inning of the completion of Wednesday nights game.

Continue reading ""Good Thing I Didn't Eat Breakfast""

With the game technically still going, it would be tough for me to do a game wrap. Since there was a rain delay, I went out and checked out The Dark Knight tonight. (OK, maybe I really was going to see the new Batman movie all along. I had a chance to see it at an IMAX theatre, you think I’m passing that up???) Anyways, the rain has helped me out and now I can catch the last 3 and a half innings tomorrow. Oh, and all the hype about the movie? Legit. One of the best movies, all-around, I’ve ever seen. Having a lot of the city scenes actually filmed on IMAX cameras made it so intense, and I thought the whole movie flowed perfectly. Heath Ledger was flawless as The Joker. Incredible. He should win an Oscar hands down, regardless of his death. He made the movie.

Continue reading "Game Postponed"

Tough loss for the Birds last night, as they fell 10-8 to Toronto. Same story as usual, at least of late. Lots of offense, bad starting pitching, and a shaky bullpen, and another defeat grabbed from the jaws of victory. My thoughts:

Continue reading "Blue Jays 10, Orioles 8"

These guys have been nice enough to add a link to my blog on theirs, so I thought I'd return the favor.

The Bad Oriole is one of my favorites. Sean does a great job discussing the team. He is often uber-critical, but always backs up his points with facts and makes solid arguments.  

Continue reading "Other Orioles Blogs"

As I mentioned briefly at the end of last night’s post, Rotoworld came out with their updated list of the Top 150 prospects in baseball. The O’s showed very well, putting 8 players in the Top 150, all of them actually in the Top 110. Only Oakland and Cleveland had more on the list, which is a great sign for the Birds. This list discounted players that are currently in the big leagues (so no Radhames Liz or Garrett Olson for the O’s) and also didn’t count players yet to sign (therefore no Brian Matusz).

Continue reading "Orioles Prospects Getting Some Praise"

It was a nice, easy win for the Orioles tonight, and a very important one at that. Knowing that the next three pitchers for Toronto are all very tough (Marcum, Burnett and Halladay), it was crucial to pick up a victory tonight if we want to have a shot at getting 3 out of 4.

Continue reading "Orioles 8, Blue Jays 3"

In my opinion, the reason a lot of people aren't as knowledgable as they'd like to be (or I'd like them to be, for some, but that's another story) isn't because they don't want to be. It's because they just aren't sure where to look for good information.

Continue reading "Helpful Links"

Welcome Orioles fans, and baseball fans in general, to my very first blog entry. You’re probably asking yourself, who is this guy and why should I care what he thinks? Well, first of all, you’re talking to yourself, so you have more issues than worrying about why I’m taking the time to blog about baseball. More importantly, I am a rare combination of sports fanatic. I love the Orioles, but I’m also not blinded by my fandom. I will openly criticize the team when I feel they’ve made a mistake (or, like, lots of mistakes), and can be rational and realistic when it comes to expectations and the team’s possibilities.

Continue reading "Welcome Aboard!"

To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

Continue reading "Inbound link contest - Win $100!"

The whole “make the All-Star Game meaningful” movement started in 2002, when Bud Selig had to call a tied, extra-inning game when the bullpens were too depleted to continue. In an effort to give each pitcher his one or two innings of work, nobody had anticipated the consequences.

Continue reading "Six Extra Innings of Meaning"

    Mike Pelfrey pitched another gem Sunday night, throwing eight shutout innings in the Mets' 7-0 victory over the Rockies, and won his sixth straight start.  New York cruised through their six-game homestand, outscoring the Giants and Rockies 31-4 with four shutouts to boot.  They now stand just a half game behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East.

Continue reading "Big Pelf and the Mets Take Nine Into ..."

You wish Houston could have games like Sunday's first-half finale against the Washington Nationals all the time. I was pleased to see that Houston decided to stop wearing their glorified batting practice road jerseys and go with the grays instead, but I digress.

Continue reading "Halfway through the baseball season: ..."

As promised, Ill continue to trapeze my way through all 15 American League clubs, stopping and giving credit where credit is due to the biggest blood-suckers in the game-- the All-Underachievers.

Continue reading "All-Underachieving Squad (cont.)"

Amongst a busy week in the life of The Moneyball- I did have to comment on this topic.

Favre leaving the Packers to me is like Derek Jeter leaving the Yankees, Magic Johnson leaving the Lakers, or Cal Ripken Jr. leaving the Orioles.

Continue reading "Brett Favre Leaving Green Bay"

For some of you who don't know, I am a fantasy sports fanatic. I enjoy the crunching of number, and the drafting of players. This is an example from one of my leagues (my team is SPeff Starz, having an unusually bad season for my standards.)

Continue reading "All Stars and Winning Fantasy Baseball: Relation?"

 The country's favorite rivalry of all sports is entering Game 4 tonight, with the Red Sox having taken 2 of the 3 first games in Yankee Stadium. What used to be national news is a mere afterthought at the moment, and the question is why?

Continue reading "Yanks-Sox Rivalry...Just missing something."

The 2008 season is halfway over, and there are plenty of stories to follow: the Rays’ newfound success, Josh Hamilton the hitting machine, and Chipper’s quest for .400 have all kept baseball fans watching ESPN and reading the sports section 24-7.  The following are the ones on my mind.

Continue reading "My Midseason Report"

First things first, the Dodgers won a game against the American League! Not only that, but it was a complete game shut out by “blink and you’ll miss him” starter Eric Stultz, who is making Brad Penny, Hiroki Koruda, and Jason Schmidt look as worthless as their arms (in all fairness, Koruda is pretty much EXACTLY what the Dodgers and fans expected him to be). Without knowing when or how the Dodgers will win again, considering that this team is as inconsistent as an Tommy Lasorda’s bowel movements, I spend today rejoicing as the Dodgers are now 2-6 against the American League and the National League is a combined 12-infinity against AL as well. While it feels that there has been a dominance of the AL over the NL has been progressively consistent since the new millennium, although the exact opposite is true with the NL posting a 1,104-1095 record over the AL. Since the 2005 season however, the AL hold the advantage with a 292-213 advantage. Never is it more clear in any sport that baseball is held pretty strictly to the “law of large numbers”.

Continue reading "IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY 06.26.08: ..."

The Cubs once again wielded the same big lumber they have all year in beating the Orioles 7-4 on Wednesday.

Geovany Soto was two for three with three RBIs, Jim Edmonds had a homer, two runs and two RBIs, and Aramis Ramirez, Ryan Theriot and starting pitcher Ted Lilly each had two hits in the game.

Continue reading "Cubs back on winning track"

Continue reading "Cubs look to sweep the O's as well"

On the eve of the Dodgers winning three games in a row (Joe Torre: “We won a game today, if we win again tomorrow, that’s called a ‘winning streak’”) for the first time roughly a century, the great Jeff Passan over at Yahoo! Sports has his annual “All-Overpaid and Underpaid Team”. He is spot on with his selections that I can see, but this seriously should have been labeled “The Los Angeles Dodgers”. Out of every player in the league mind you, the Dodgers manage to crack this list a whopping 4 times out of an available 9 positions. Jeff is right by stating what the Dodger contracts lack in length, they make up for in girth (how many guys have actually tried to claim that, by the way?), and that in no way makes them better. The Dodgers have the enormous problem of overpaying for mediocrity, and a glimpse further on this list shows that the Dodgers already added, or tried to add (if you believe the rumors, and of course I do, for this argument) another 6 of these players. While Dodger stupidity with the pocketbook is nothing new, let’s look at these players and see why they aren’t Dodgers or won’t be for long. Since Jeff already astutely pointed out the flaws of Andruw Jones, Nomar, Kent, and Schmitt, I’ll avoid rehashing his points and add anything else I can to the conversation. 

Continue reading "IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY 06.20.08: ..."

There are two ways to look at the Rays' sweep of the formerly high-flying Cubs. You could say that Tampa Bay is a very good team that has now swept the Red Sox, Angels and now the Cubs at home and have a solide shot at the wild card if not the AL East title.

Continue reading "Cubs flub, Rays shine"

Curt Schilling deserves it...

Whatever that may be.  Curt Schilling has been the most loyal and most dependable to the Red Sox organization since he joined the team in 2004.  What Curt Schilling did through the 2004 post-season just comes to show that pitchers like Mr. Schilling come only once in a blue moon.  Not many pitchers will pitch through the amount of pain that Schilling went through.  Only a few names come to mind that could do something like that, besides Schilling (currently playing): Kevin Youkilis, Derek Jeter, Jon Lester, Jeff Francoeur, Carlos Zambrano and John MacDonald.

Continue reading "Curt Schilling deserves it..."

Manny and JD went back to back in the 5th to put the Red Sox on top and potentially hand Beckett his 7th win.  But then Okajima took over the mound.As I said back on June 3rd when Okie blew that

Continue reading "Okie Blows Another One"

The Twins have lost two of three and are showing signs they might not be able to stay in the race in a weak division.

The bullpen lost a home game against the Orioles, with Brian Bass losing the game after Scott Baker had pitched so well. Bass had a 5.30 ERA and it's worrisome that the bullpen has shown cracks. Losing Pat Neshek was a big blow.

Continue reading "Sliding"

Jay Payton’s release is way overdue.  As an Oriole fan, I can honestly say I would rather have any other major league player – even a journeyman minor leaguer who does not play the outfield, for that matter – on Baltimore’s roster.  Payton is a poor hitter and a mediocre defender at best, but has managed to remain on the active roster for the last season and (almost) a half.  In 2007, he hit .256 with a pathetic .292 on-base-percentage and a measly .376 slugging percentage.  So far this season, he has managed to put up even worse numbers - .239/.289/.372.  Part of the problem is that Orioles manager Dave Trembley for some inexplicable reason finds it necessary to start Payton a couple times every week, which only magnifies the team’s weak bench.  A fourth outfielder should be someone the manager knows can deliver in the clutch, a guy he calls on to pinch-hit for the pitcher or in the American League, for his offensively-challenged Gold Glove catcher or middle infielder.  Jay Payton is a far cry from a heavy hitter who puts fear in the opposing manager’s eyes.  On defense, he doesn’t make a ton of errors, but no major league outfielder does or else he’d find himself either a) at a new position or b) in the minors.  Payton doesn’t make any great plays, nor does he rack up outfield assists, as he doesn’t have a cannon for an arm and his limited throwing accuracy fails to make up for his lack of strength.

Continue reading "Time for the Birds to cut their losses, ..."

The Twins are Jekyll and Hyde.

They end up strongly against the Yankees, coming from behind to split a series. Monday's 6-5 win was of their most dramatic of the season. It seemed to portend great things.

Continue reading "Here They Go Again"

Hi, my name is Jennifer and I Tivo baseball games.  It's something I've been doing for the past three or four seasons because with 162 games a year, most played every single day between April 1st and September 30th (not including the post season), it's impossible to sit down for 3-4 hours every day and watch the game straight through.  I just don't have the time.  Most people don't.  So, I Tivo.  If I can, I watch the game that night when I get home, but in all likelihood I'll just watch the game the next morning. (That's why my blogs usually happen the day after.)  Normally it's not a problem.  'Course yesterday's game against the Orioles was anything but normal. And the most upsetting thing: what I missed number 500 for.

Continue reading "Manny Hits 500... And I Missed It"

You may ask why I'm using quotes in my title today. It's because that's how Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy started to refer to last night's game in about the 7th inning.

See, the NESN commentators refuse to call a game a no-hitter until the last pitch has been thrown. They did it last year when Buchholz threw his gem and they did it again last night. As the game goes on, Don and Rem Dawg will start to comment on the crowd, the tension, the fact that no one is sitting anywhere near the pitcher in the dugout... they'll make every implication possible but they will never ever call the game exactly what it is. Fans know what they're implying, but the idea of calling a game a no-hitter before it's over is like putting an automatic jinx on the pitcher and the game. And while Don and Remy didn't jinx last night's game, they did come pretty close.

Continue reading "Another "Historic Night" for the Red Sox"

Yes, it's over. Thanks to four people - Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin Youkilis.

Lester had his best outing yet this season as he went 8 innings and gave up just one hit. Several of those innings were of the 1,2,3 variety as he struck out six batters. There were four innings where the Jays saw four of their batters get to first due to walks, but thanks to superb defense, Lester would get out of each inning unscathed. Lester probably could've pitched into the 9th, but he'd already thrown 98 pitches and we didn't want a repeat of Saturday night. So with 98 pitches under his belt, Lester would walk off the mound to a standing ovation and an ERA of 4.31.

Continue reading "Streak Ends in Walk-off"

Two weeks into the 2008 season and the Boston Red Sox must be pleased with how the season has gone thus far. Granted they are only two games over .500 at 8 and 6 and have split their last 10 games, but things could be much, much worse. When the Yankees went to Japan to open the season, they proceeded to go 11-19 in the first month of the season before finally snapping out of it and going on to win the division. Boston is only half a game out of first place in the tightly packed American League East which is currently lead by the surprising Baltimore Orioles who do not figure to hang around much longer.

Continue reading "Red Sox Should Feel Good About The Season So Far"

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.

Continue reading "College Ball, Schedules, Overachievers ..."

Here is part six of my preview of the 2008 season for Major League Baseball. This time I’ll look at the key questions for each team in the American League East.

Baltimore Orioles

Is Adam Jones ready to be a star?

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: American Leauge East"

Jay Gibbons proved to be quite an expensive mistake for the Baltimore Orioles.
The 31-year-old outfielder was released on Sunday with two years remaining on the four-year deal that he signed with Baltimore in 2006. The Orioles still owe Gibbons $11.9 million and will essentially pay him to go away. The organization made the decision after Gibbons struggled to a .189 batting average in 16 games this spring.

Continue reading "Gibbons draws a walk from Orioles"

The American League East has been a two horse race for as long as I can remember but I think this year it becomes three-team battle.  The Toronto Blue Jays are as talented as most teams in the league and if they can stay healthy they can definitely contend.  The Rays and Orioles will again bring up the rear of this division but the top should be a fun and wild ride all year long, beginning with the Yankees-Blue Jays to open the season next week.

Continue reading "Part VI: AL East"

Juan Uribe has been released…on waivers. It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s gone but I’d say it’s the Sox saying they are ready to give Alexei Ramirez the job. Apparently the waivering of Uribe could just be to “test his market value”. He just signed that $4.5 million dollar contract so if that can be lost I think they’ll go for it. I doubt that .250 hitting shortstops with 5 million dollar contracts are in that high of demand. I’m not 100% clear on how it all works, but if they don’t pull him back and nobody claims him, he’s just a free agent after that, but Kenny will have to pay his contract anyways. I wouldn’t go so far as to call that worst case scenario but paying something for nothing certainly isn’t the best thing that could happen. The Orioles are apparently without a serviceable shortstop and looking but I don’t know what they would want to give. They want pitching for Brian Roberts. That’s one thing we definitely don’t have extra of.

Continue reading "Waive good-bye or waive hello?"

The big news of the week is coming from Angel's camp as they have lost yet another top starter to injury for at least the first two months of the season.

John Lackey has now joined Kelvim Escobar on the DL to start the season for the Halo's. These are the top two starters from last year who put up huge pitching totals for a division championship team and both will miss probably the toughest stretch of there schedule to start the season.

Continue reading "Angels Falling From the Sky in AL West?"

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/03/chan_ho_park_on_the_comeback_tr

The South Korean baseball star is trying to re-establish himself with the Los Angeles Dodgers. From the Chosun Ilbo-

Continue reading "Chan Ho Park on the comeback trail"

So Uncle Lou has moved Soriano to No. 2 and Fukudome to No. 5, sounds good on the surface doesn't it? We all enjoy the leadoff homers but those leadoff strikeouts don't help. Will Soriano get the same amount of fastballs in the 2 hole, probably with D-Lee behind him but Soriano needs to be hitting fifth in this order.

Continue reading "Lineup changes, what's the next move"

I am thoroughly looking forward to the Hank Steinbrenner Era. It seems he is hell-bent on replacing his father as the most obnoxious loudmouth, know-nothing owner in baseball. After watching the display he put on this winter in the Johan Santana Sweepstakes and his recent comments about the existence of Red Sox Nation, I don’t believe there is a bigger blowhard in sports today. All we need is for him to revive the Billy Martin routine with Joe Girardi, a possibility that may not be that farfetched as it appears Girardi not necessarily that easy to get along with. Little Stein seems to be unpredictable and impatient and not only expects the team to win now, but to do so in spectacular fashion. Earlier this year, Hank implied that general manager Brian Cashman would be on the hot seat if the plan to hold on to their young pitching instead of going all in for Santana didn’t pan out. If Steinbrenner allows his arrogance and impetuousness to take over the organization, I envision a return of the Yankees to the "glory" years of the 1980's when George was the show.

Continue reading "Looking Forward to the Hank Steinbrenner ..."