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It was an absolute landslide.
Michael Dukakis thought it was the worst blowout he had seen.
Baltimore loves the cartoon bird, or at least this bar does.
I asked Thursday about the best Orioles’ bird logo, and there was no question that you people loved the cartoon bird.
I remember a few months ago when we discussed “Baltimore” on the road jersey and some of you said the next step should be bringing back the cartoon bird.
I agree it was the best logo -- absolutely classic. But do you really want it back now? Or should it be left to a different era?
I think I’m OK with having it retired, maybe at least until the Orioles are more relevant in Major League Baseball. But I’m sure some of you feel going back to the cartoon bird will trigger good karma.
I was going to do a golf post today, but we’ll let this run all weekend. We’ll make it an informal poll.
Maybe someone in power pays attention. Or maybe not.
Daily Think Special: Would you like to see the cartoon bird return full-time to Orioles' hats next year?
In two days we have managed to talk about fat and slow players and guys who just didn’t look like they belonged in the majors.
And we did a little trashing of Alanis Morissette.
Not bad at all for a midweek.
Since you guys have been especially impressive this week, I am turning the floor over to you today. Or to TJ, anyway.
TJ, one of our patrons, has suggested a pretty interesting topic. He wants to know which is your favorite Orioles bird logo?
There are probably three main choices here: the classic ornithologically correct one from the old days, the original cartoon bird of the 1950s or the late 1970s-80s cartoon bird.
Because I am a child of the early 80s, it’s an easy choice for me.
I remember once talking to now deposed lefty Jamie Walker last year about the 1970-80s cartoon bird. He told me he won that hat at a carnival in Tennessee when he was a kid and refused to take it off for weeks.
It was just too cool, he said (actually, he used much more colorful language but this is a family fake bar).
I am in agreement with Walker.
Daily Think Special: Which is the best Orioles bird logo of all-time?
A huge day at the bar Tuesday.
Which is a tad ironic considering the topic was slow.
Or maybe that’s not ironic. There was a day when I knew the difference, but then Alanis Morissette screwed everything up. You’ll never find that woman in this jukebox. I’ll put the Bee Gees in before her. I mean it.
Anyway, great discussion Tuesday. Several belly laughs – often about Orioles with ample bellies -- on this end.
We’re going to try to build on that momentum and steal from the topic a little. We’ve discussed something similar before, but I don’t mind repeating a bit – especially if you guys are on your fourth drink before I make the suggestion.
Building on the fat and slow thread that dominated Tuesday’s conversation, I want to know who you think was the most unlikely looking baseball player ever to wear an Orioles uniform.
It could be a big guy such as Sid Fernandez or Sal Fasano. Or a little guy such as Willie Harris or Don Buford.
Back in the day. my friends and I used to joke that Tim Hulett looked like the guy that pumped gas at the full-serve station on Loch Raven Boulevard.
And pitcher Travis Driskill – a good-looking fella who slightly resembled a certain dashing blogger/bartender – once was prohibited from re-entering the Camden Yards clubhouse in street clothes because the attendant didn’t realize he was a player – and had pitched that day. The media had to vouch for him.
There are plenty of those types out there, since baseball is played by a lot of Everymen. But is there one that strikes you the most? Who absolutely, positively did not look like a big-league player?
Daily Think Special: Which Oriole least looked like a pro ballplayer?
We’ve gotten the accolades out of the way for base runners, mentioning the best in Orioles history Monday.
Let’s take a bit of the flip side Tuesday.
The obvious question is who is the worst base runner in Orioles history, but that is such a tough call.
Certainly, we remember specific boneheaded plays from the likes of Jack Cust and Melvin Mora.
But are they the worst base runners in club history, or makers of memorable gaffes?
So let’s just analyze the slowest Orioles position players over the years.
Catcher Gus Triandos is legendary. He had one stolen base in a 13-season career, but he was a perfect 1-for-1.
Boog Powell was a big man who had to carry a cement bag behind him. And Lee May in his later years was the Big Bopper for a reason. Then there was Harold Baines, for whom the term “balky knees” was created.
For my money, I am going with a guy I covered: catcher Geronimo Gil. He did have two stolen bases (and twice was caught stealing) in his six-season career. But that was early on. By 2005 I am convinced I could have beaten him from home to first, and I am not exactly Ben Johnson (before or after stanozolol).
Gil was that slow. For giggles, I looked to see if “The Chief” is still playing ball, and he is in the Mexican League, batting .303 with eight homers, 11 doubles and a triple (wonder if that one is on You Tube).
He has attempted to steal four bases and has been thrown out three times -- in the Mexican League. He is now listed at 240, which was about his playing weight in 2005 when he was listed at 200.
Anyway, the Chief is my call, with an asterisk for Triandos, who I never saw play.
Daily Think Special: Who is the slowest Oriole of all time?
Watching Robert Andino steal home Sunday afternoon is today’s inspiration.
I’m not sure I have seen that a whole lot. Corey Patterson was the last one to do it for the Orioles, back in 2007. Andino did a nice job anticipating the fielder and taking advantage of his mental lapse.
It got me thinking about who was the best base runner I have covered in the Orioles’ last nine seasons. Not the fastest guy necessarily -- that probably is Patterson. Although Jay Payton went from first to third as quickly as anyone I can remember.
But great base runners combine speed with baseball instincts; they are the ones that can go from first to third safely in nearly every opportunity. It doesn’t hurt if those guys mix in a nasty edge, too.
For me, Jeff Conine had all of those attributes. He was a gifted athlete and an incredibly instinctual ballplayer, but he also had good speed and enough power to waste a catcher at home plate if he had to. Brady Anderson fits that description as well.
I asked local radio guru Craig Heist about who was the best Orioles base runner he has covered in his career here, and he says Roberto Alomar.
Tough to argue with that one.
If you want to go old school, Frank Robinson will always be in the conversation, as will Paul Blair and Al Bumbry. And I am sure there will be some names thrown out from pre-Frank days.
Stealing bases doesn’t automatically make you a great base runner – we’ve seen that over the years. But, for argument’s sake, know that Anderson is the organization’s career steals leader followed by Bumbry, Brian Roberts and Blair.
Luis Aparicio holds the club’s single-season record with 57 stolen bases. I couldn’t find an all-time organizational list for stolen base efficiency.
Listen, this one is about as subjective as they come. And that’s what we like in the bar. It’s all about opinions here. So offer up yours.
Daily Think Special: Who is the greatest base runner in Orioles history?
There’s been a pervasive thought for much of this young Orioles season.
This club doesn’t have the pitching to compete with the big boys of the AL East yet. But the belief has been that they could swing the bats with anyone.
Not lately.
The Orioles offense is in an absolute funk. How bad is it? They have scored 20 runs in their last 11 games -- that’s fewer than two a contest.
In that span, they are 2-9 and have scored three or fewer runs 10 times.
Orioles manager Dave Trembley has tried lots of things to jump-start the group, especially the top hitters. He’s swapped Adam Jones and Nick Markakis in the lineup, he has rested Aubrey Huff and Brian Roberts. He has moved Luke Scott, the hottest hitting Oriole, into the cleanup spot.
And these professional hitters just aren’t hitting.
Not sure what more changes need to be made. Maybe move Melvin Mora out of the fifth spot? There really doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of options.
Trembley keeps saying that he knows his guys will hit again. He says they are too good to continually struggle this much. He’s probably right.
But I’m sure you people out there have some moves in mind that could jump-start the offense. So let’s hear them. It’s your turn to manage the Orioles.
Daily Think Special: How would you jump-start the scuffling Orioles offense?
We are going to move beyond the baseball draft today, because, let’s face it, none of us really knows what we are talking about.
That’s never stopped me before, of course, but I am not too old to try new things.
Today’s subject is courtesy of Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie (with an assist from my colleague Peter Schmuck, who whipped out his notebook when he realized that a bullshooting session was turning into something interesting and quotable.)
After Guthrie’s loss to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night, Guthrie was chatting with a few of us, when he said this:
“The one good thing about tonight,” Guthrie said, "facing Ken Griffey Jr. I grew up a big fan. Had all his rookie cards. It's almost like you want to step off the mound and tip your cap to him. There are only a few out there like that."
It was the first time Guthrie had ever faced Griffey. The future Hall of Famer was hitless in three at-bats against him and 0-for-4 for the night. His average is down to .208.
But it’s what Griffey has done in his career, and the way he has carried himself, that struck Guthrie. When I pressed him on whom else in the game today he has that kind of respect for, he mentioned Derek Jeter.
It’s not a long list for most of us.
It got me wondering. If you were a current player, who would you hold in that regard? I say Griffey and Jeter and Mariano Rivera. Maybe Chipper Jones and the remaining ex-Brave hurlers, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine.
Am I forgetting anyone? Someone who was not just great, but seemingly did it right. Is there someone I mentioned who doesn’t belong in that group?
Daily Think Special: Which current players would compel you to tip your cap?
I spent much of the evening paying attention to the minor league draft. Boy, have times changed.
The Orioles made three selections Tuesday: California high school pitcher Matt Hobgood with the fifth pick overall, Tampa-area high school shortstop Mychal Givens in the second round (54th overall) and Florida International University first baseman Tyler Townsend in the third (85th pick).
Another 27 rounds will follow today with the remainder ending up Thursday.
Let’s start by saying this is not the NFL draft. I’ve never seen any of these kids play. Not one. So I can’t properly evaluate the picks.
That said, because Hobgood was listed as the 18th right-handed pitcher by Baseball America in their draft preview and, because he wasn’t in the top 10 in mock drafts, some fans are bemoaning this as a terrible reach.
This kid was the Gatorade National Player of the Year this year, however. He went 11-1 with a 0.92 ERA at Norco High School in suburban Los Angeles. He struck out 101 and walked 26 in 68 1/3 innings while hitting 21 homers and batting .475 as a first baseman.
He’s huge – 6-foot-4, 245-pounds – and throws in the mid-90s. He’s apparently got a great attitude, which in part comes from the fact that his father died of cancer when he was 13 and he had to grow up quickly.
And he's a good interview already, pleasant, upbeat and well spoken.
So I am more than willing to give Joe Jordan and his staff the benefit of the doubt on this one. Are you? I am curious as to whether you were disappointed when you heard the pick or if you formed no opinion because, well, it’s the baseball draft.
Daily Think Special: What’s your take on the Matt Hobgood pick?
Major League Baseball’s draft kicks off Tuesday night, and it is now a made-for-TV event on the MLB Network.
God help us all.
I remember back in 2001 standing around a writer’s cell phone -- the only one with a speaker phone -- asking questions of the Orioles’ scouting director at the time about the new first-round pick, Chris Smith, who was a mystery to all of us (and still is).
Now, the draft has its own show. Progress, I guess.
Anyway, the Orioles are on the proverbial clock with the fifth pick. It looks as if all-world San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg will go to the Washington Nationals, and then the Seattle Mariners likely will select University of North Carolina first baseman Dustin Ackley with the second pick.
If either of those two falls, the Orioles will grab one. But they won’t drop that far.
With Ackley off the board, there really isn’t a position player that is a slam-dunk at No. 5. Georgia high school star Donavan Tate (who has a dual football/baseball scholarship to UNC) is risky but intriguing. USC shortstop Grant Green had an uneven collegiate season and may have dropped out of the top ten.
That means with the fifth selection in the first round, the Orioles will take ... a pitcher.
It could be a high schooler. It could be a collegiate one.
But they are going to get another pitcher. Bank on it. It goes with Andy MacPhail’s philosophy of “growing the arms.”
Still, the organization is devoid of top hitting prospects, and that is a concern.
So, if it were you, would you go with the best hitter out there, even if he is not as much of a sure thing (as if there is a sure thing in the baseball draft) as the top pitchers?
Or is MacPhail right and you keep piling up the arms?
Daily Think Special: Would it bother you if the Orioles took another pitcher in Tuesday’s first round?
Bonus Think Special: Any idea on which player you want the Orioles to draft?
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