OK, this subject is inevitable. So I might as well get out in front of it.

I don’t see it happening for several reasons.

Terry Francona, who led the Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles and a .574 winning percentage in eight big league seasons, is expected to part ways with the Red Sox today after their monumental September choke.

The Orioles will have a managerial spot open if Andy MacPhail leaves his spot as president of baseball operations (which is expected) and manager Buck Showalter moves up to that post (which is possible but not set yet).

Francona is obviously very familiar with both the Orioles and Showalter. Francona interviewed with the Orioles after the 2003 season for the job that eventually went to Lee Mazzilli.

But it just doesn’t seem like a fit this time around.

First, it’s hard to imagine two strong personalities like Showalter and Francona co-existing. The Red Sox and Orioles have clashed plenty this year, and those two competitive men were in the middle of most of the conflicts – as you’d expect with managers.

Secondly, Francona is walking away from $4.5 million options with Boston. There’s no way the Orioles would pay him close to that sum, especially with Showalter reportedly making a third of that.

Third, Francona looks destined to change Sox and end up in Chicago, which has an opening with the departure of Ozzie Guillen. Francona managed in the White Sox system previously, and they’re big-market enough to handle his salary demands.

And let’s not forget that the Orioles are not a desirable landing spot right now for a new skipper accustomed to winning, especially if the boss ends up being a guy who is a successful former manager – those are pretty big shoes to fill, and the ego will have to be checked at the door.

So I say it almost certainly won’t happen. I give it 5 percent, tops.

But let me add one more thing: There is precedent here. The Orioles and Angelos scooped up respected manager Mike Hargrove before the 2000 season when Cleveland canned him because his talented Indians squad didn’t go further in the postseason.

That was then. I don’t see history repeating itself – at least not with Francona.

Although I guess you can never say never.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (52)
        

The baseball season is over, at least for all of you.

At Connolly’s, we keep baseball going all the time. But there is this other sport you may have heard about.

Let’s start with that one. The Ravens have a big game against the New York Jets here on Sunday night. I think it will be a tough one, but I am still not a full believer in Mark Sanchez.

So I say the Ravens win, 17-13. Sanchez gets one TD, but he throws three picks, including two by Ed Reed, who runs one back. Reed is my player of the game, because it’s a Sunday night game and Reed loves the spotlight.

Now it’s your turn on the Ravens-Jets. Give me a score, a winner and a hero of the game. The one closest gets all kinds of fake free stuff next week.

OK, we’ll get back to my proverbial bread and butter. The Orioles ended the season with one of the most dramatic games I have ever seen at Camden Yards. A 4-3 comeback win with two outs in the ninth against the Boston Red Sox that basically ended their season, too, and helped establish the 2011 Red Sox as one of the greatest chokers of all-time.

Pretty crazy stuff.

Things won’t settle down for a while, even with Game 162 in the books. Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail met with owner Peter Angelos and manager Buck Showalter on Thursday.

No official announcement came out of that meeting, not yet anyway. But the best guess is that MacPhail is stepping away and that the three talked about Showalter’s best role for 2012: general manager/president or field manager.

Showalter has been torn about the decision, and I believe it will come early next week after he talks with his family this weekend.

I want to know your prediction, what you think he is going to do – have more direction over the entire organization as a GM type or stay in the dugout, where he’s had success in the past.

Daily Think Special: Prediction Friday: Ravens-Jets

Bonus Think Special: What job will Showalter have next year?

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (51)
Categories: Connolly's Corner Sports Bar
        

We know Orioles owner Peter Angelos met for several hours Thursday with president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and field manager Buck Showalter.

We know they discussed MacPhail and his interest in stepping down from his post after four-plus years and an expiring contract at the end of October. We know they talked about Angelos' interest in having MacPhail stay around the organization in some capacity.

We know they discussed the best role for Showalter in 2012: staying in the dugout or moving into the front office.

But the resolution -- if it has been reached -- of those discussions has not been disclosed.

My guess is we'll get an announcement from MacPhail soon. And then we'll hear from Showalter early next week after he meets with his family in Texas this weekend.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 8:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

Here’s a look at what other media outlets are saying after the O’s beat the Red Sox in the season finale:

• Nando Di Fino of The Wall Street Journal writes about the “five perfect minutes of baseball” played across the major leagues on Wednesday night, including the Orioles’ 4-3 walk-off win at Camden Yards.

The 2011 Major League Baseball season had started approximately 260,632 minutes before midnight struck Wednesday night. Just five minutes later, and the fates of two teams would be decided by swings of two bats 1,060 miles apart.

There was a beauty in the sudden turn in events on Wednesday, which sent Tampa Bay and St. Louis to the playoffs and put a coda on the epic collapses of the Red Sox and Braves. Millions of different scenarios had to play out perfectly for it all to happen, from the short-term (a rainstorm in Baltimore allowed for a delay just long enough to keep the Orioles-Red Sox game on pace with the Yankees-Rays) to the long-term (Dan Johnson’s journey from Oakland prospect to Japanese baseball player to Tampa Bay reclamation project put him in the batter’s box in the bottom of the ninth as a pinch hitter).

There were multiple heroes involved, and when you ask 10 people to re-tell the story of what happened, you’ll get 10 different starting points. “Over five hours on a Wednesday night in late September,” Yahoo’s Tim Brown writes, “when baseball was supposed to be quietly ironing its bunting and hoping people soon would be paying attention again, the game willed itself to incomprehensible greatness.”

• SI’s Tom Verducci says the drama of Game 162 has never been seen before and likely never will again.

They will go down as the most thrilling 129 minutes in baseball history. Never before and likely never again -- if we even dare to assume anything else can be likely ever again -- will baseball captivate and exhilarate on so many fronts in so small a window the way it did September 28, 2011.

Starting at 9:56 p.m. Eastern, the grand old game, said to suffer by comparison from football's siren sisters of gambling and violence, and said to suffer from America's shrinking attention span and capacity to contemplate, rose up and fairly screamed, "Watch this!"

At that minute, the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves clung to twin 3-2 leads and the belief that they would avoid the completion of the greatest September collapses in the history of the sport, even if, in Atlanta's case -- the Braves appeared headed for a tiebreaker game with St. Louis -- it meant a 24-hour stay of execution. Boston seemed home free to October, seeing that Tampa Bay, its competitor for the wild card spot, was getting blown out by the Yankees, 7-0.

But what happened at that moment was the beginning of the end.

• Howard Ulman of The Associated Press writes about Boston’s latest epic collapse.

Move over, Bucky Dent. Step aside, Bill Buckner. Make room, incredibly, for Jonathan Papelbon.

The star closer is the stunned symbol of the latest Red Sox collapse. This one lasted a month and finally ended when there were no more games left to lose.

"This is just maybe the worst situation that I ever have been involved in my whole career," designated hitter David Ortiz said. "It's going to stay in a lot of people's minds for a while."

No team has blown a bigger lead in September -- a nine-game margin through Sept. 3 -- and missed the playoffs. Boston went 6-18 after that and did not win consecutive games at any point in the month.

Stunning.

"This is one for the ages, isn't it?" general manager Theo Epstein said, a blank stare on his face.

• Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports chronicled how the momentum started to swing at Camden Yards.

When the ninth inning began, the Red Sox couldn’t have been dwelling too much on Scutaro’s blunder. They had a 3-2 lead with All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon on the mound.

Papelbon had labored hard all week -- 29 pitches in New York on Sunday, 28 pitches in Baltimore on Tuesday -- in victories Boston desperately needed. Now, manager Terry Francona called on him once more. It was an easy move, really, one that turned Francona into a spectator while his team’s season was decided.

And for a moment, Red Sox fans flipping back and forth between the games had to feel confident that their team would taste champagne in short order. A Yankees rally was taking shape under the dome. In the top of the 12th, they put runners on first and third with no one out. They were one base hit away from taking the lead. After that, the Yankees would get three outs -- just like Papelbon was about to do -- and the Red Sox would be on their way to October.

Papelbon struck out Jones to start the inning. Then he struck out Mark Reynolds. The Red Sox were one out away. Who cared that somehow the Yankees didn’t end up scoring in the 12th? Pap looked great. One more out, and the Red Sox would be assured of playing another game -- even if the Rays managed to come back.

But as the witching hour neared, the plot shifted.

• Rich Dubroff of CSN Baltimore says the season ended spectacularly, but lots of questions remain.

The stunning victory and sudden conclusion of the Red Sox’ season meant a lot to the downtrodden Orioles, who completed their 14th straight losing season.

At least this one ended differently from the others.

The Orioles engulfed Robert Andino, and acted as if they had won the wild card.

“To end the season like this and make Boston go home sad and crying—I’ll take that all day,” Andino said.

While the win was exhilarating, it can’t take away from their sixth straight season of 90 or more losses. There’s still much for the Orioles to do.

[Compiled by Matt Vensel. If you enjoy reading these posts about the Orioles, Ravens and other Baltimore sports, check out Matt Vensel’s Coffee Companion posts every morning, Monday-Friday.]

Posted by Matt Vensel at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: What They're Saying about the O's
        

Today’s a pretty important day for Orioles fans.

At least we think so.

This afternoon, Orioles owner Peter Angelos is scheduled to meet with president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and manager Buck Showalter.

The belief is that MacPhail will officially say he is stepping down from his post, which he has held since 2007. His contract expires at the end of October.

And the sense is that Angelos wants him to remain with the organization in some capacity. Angelos often gets what he wants, but MacPhail isn’t one to make a decision lightly, and if he has already decided to move on – which we believe is the case – he’ll move on.

The other part of this puzzle is Showalter, who has to decide whether to move up to the front office and take on the responsibilities left behind by MacPhail or stay in the dugout. If he continues to manage, he’ll surely be heavily involved in the search to find his new boss.

If Showalter goes to the front office, his first responsibility will be picking a new manager.

The sense is Showalter is genuinely torn on the decision, trying to figure out how he can have the most effect on the organization’s future. He won’t be doing both jobs, but he certainly will have influence on both – no matter which position he chooses.

Showalter is flying back to Texas on Friday to attend to some family responsibilities. He wants to be at the Orioles’ instructional league Monday in Sarasota, Fla. So it could be family-meeting time in the Showalter household this weekend.

The guess – and this is strictly a guess – is that we should have some clarification on the MacPhail situation today or maybe Friday. And an idea on what Showalter is going to do by early next week.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (48)
        

The way the Orioles’ season ended Wednesday night – and the Boston Red Sox's season ended and the Tampa Bay Rays’ season continued and the St. Louis Cardinals’ season continued and the Atlanta Braves’ ended – was nothing short of incredible.

I have been covering baseball at Camden Yards for 11 seasons, and Wednesday’s season finale was probably the most energized one I’ve witnessed here. Trailing 3-2 with two outs in the ninth against the Boston Red Sox, who were tied with the Rays for the wild-card berth, the Orioles’ Chris Davis doubled off Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon. Nolan Reimold followed with a double to score pinch-runner Kyle Hudson to tie the game at 3.

Robert Andino followed with a game-winning single that – coupled with Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria’s walk-off homer in the 12th against the New York Yankees moments later – sent the Red Sox limping back to Boston with the greatest September collapse in baseball history.

Did the Orioles enjoy that?

“End of season like this, [to] make Boston go home sad, crying,” Andino said. “I’ll take it all day.”

Once the 1 hour, 26 minute rain delay hit during the seventh-inning stretch, the attention in the press box and the stadium turned to the Yankees-Rays game and the Rays’ amazing comeback.

Don’t think the Orioles – who were 29 games out of first place coming into Wednesday – weren’t paying attention either.

“It was a crazy night, battling our tails off and the rain delay, have to come in here watching the New York-Tampa game,” catcher Matt Wieters said. “All of a sudden, it’s tied up 7-7, and then to go out and finish the game like that with Nolan and Andino putting together heck of at-bats off Papelbon, it’s pretty special.”

Here are some other quotes from Wednesday’s finale:

Reimold: “It was exciting, we battled to the end, and we came out on top this time. We weren’t playing for the playoffs, but we were playing for pride, and we showed it tonight.”

Reimold on playing spoiler: “We were going out and trying to win. If we were playing somebody else, we would do the same thing, but we had an impact on the playoff picture, so that part was fun. It was a meaningful game for us. We were going to battle to the end, and we did.”

Reimold on whether it can mean anything for next year: “Hey, it’s a positive. We finished strong. It’s good going into the offseason to bring positive feelings to the start of spring training.”

Jim Johnson on the whole situation: "I think that our finish overall is encouraging, though I know we did this last year. A day like today just shows you how crazy baseball can be. They absolutely dominated us for a long time, so this is a little justification at the end of the year.”

And, we’ll end it with manager Buck Showalter: “I think it's the only time I really haven't spoken to the team as a group after a game, the last game of the season, because it's pretty tough to top that. There's not a whole lot to say. Just how proud I am of them and the way they competed. We kind of got our rotation straightened out and started getting deeper in some games this last extended period of time with Tommy [Hunter] and [Alfredo] Simon and Jeremy [Guthrie] and Zach [Britton], and things have been a lot more competitive for us. I was real proud of our fans, how many people hung around here through the rain delay. I don't think anybody thinks about what time it is right now. Really feel lucky to be able to sit there and watch that. Special.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 1:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (40)
        

In another unbelievable finish in this strange wild-card race, the Orioles were down to their last out with no one on base when Chris Davis doubled to right off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, Nolan Reimold followed with a game-tying double, and Robert Andino took the final swing of the season and lined a single to left to complete the walk-off win.

The Red Sox remained technically alive for a couple more minutes, until the Tampa Bay Rays completed an even more unbelievable comeback to defeat the New York Yankees in extra innings and win the American League wild-card race.

Simply amazing. The Orioles celebrated like they had won the World Series, and the Red Sox walked off the field disconsolately. Orioles fans stayed to celebrate, too, and burst into a loud ovation as word of Evan Longoria's second home run of the game at Tropicana Field did in the Yankees and Sox with one swing.

The Yankees led that game by seven runs in the eighth inning, but the Rays scored six times in the eighth and tied the game on a two-out home run in the bottom of the ninth. It was borderline miraculous.

"I can't believe what Boston must be going through emotionally right now,'' Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "We understand that there's an other side to this. Atlanta is feeling the same thing. Baseball is a cruel game."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis was removed from the game in the eighth inning with what club officials called a pelvis contusion. He made the first out of the inning on a grounder to third and seemed to pull up before he reached first base.

Of course, he'll have five months to heal, but he definitely looked pained on the way down the baseline.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Orioles: Andino 2B, Hardy SS, Markakis RF, Guerrero DH, Wieters C, Jones CF, Reynolds 1B, Davis 3B, Reimold LF, Simon P

Red Sox: Ellsbury CF, Pedroia 2B, Ortiz DH, Gonzalez 1B, Lavarnway C, Drew RF, Scutaro SS, Crawford LF, Aviles 3B, Lester P

Posted by Dan Connolly at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Center fielder Adam Jones, who hit his career-best 25th homer on Tuesday, has been named the 2011 Most Valuable Oriole in a vote by media that covers the team.

It’s the first MVO for Jones, who won a close vote over shortstop J.J. Hardy. Matt Wieters was third, and Mark Reynolds, Jim Johnson, Robert Andino and Nick Markakis also received votes.

In 150 games this year heading into Wednesday’s season finale, Jones, has batted .281 with 25 homers (third on the team), 26 doubles, 81 RBIs (second) and 12 steals (tied for second).

He has an on-base percentage of .320 and a .467 slugging percentage while playing strong defense – his 12 outfield assists are the most by any big-league center fielder and tied for second most in the American League among all outfielders.

In August, he was on pace for 100 RBIs, but was slowed by a sprained right thumb, which affected his hitting and eventually cost him to miss six games this month.

Jones, 26, will be honored in a pre-game ceremony before tonight’s season finale.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

So the Orioles have only one game left in the season.

It seems like yesterday we were at Tropicana Field on Opening Day learning that Brian Matusz would be placed on the disabled list with a muscle strain.

OK, no it doesn’t. That seems like it was six years ago. Maybe seven.

Point is the Orioles’ season has one game left. And if they win it, they may have stopped the far-from-beloved Boston Red Sox from continuing their season.

I already know what you guys think of that.

But this is going to be a real test for the Orioles, who have become September’s super spoilers. To win Wednesday, though, they’ll have to at least make it a game against Jon Lester, the Red Sox lefty who is 14-0 with three no decisions and a 2.33 ERA in his career against the Orioles.

That’s the longest winning streak by one pitcher to begin his career against the Orioles in the franchise’s history. It’s also the longest active win streak by one pitcher against a singular opponent in baseball.

But maybe this isn’t the same Lester; he gave up eight runs in 2 2/3 innings in his last start on Saturday against the New York Yankees and he’ll be pitching on three days’ rest. And his previous 14 wins were against those doormat Orioles, not these resurgent, I’m-not-afraida-you Orioles.

OK, I kid again. But this is baseball. We know anything can happen, even the truly improbable. (Remember when the Orioles swept the Texas Rangers in Arlington last July and Cesar Izturis homered off Cliff Lee in his Rangers’ debut?)

So maybe there will be another shock Wednesday. Or are you not buying it?

Daily Think Special: Do the Orioles finally beat Jon Lester?

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Connolly's Corner Sports Bar
        

Buck Showalter played it low-key after the Orioles fell a hit short of upending the Red Sox on Tuesday night, but you could tell he was proud of the way his team forced Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon to pitch the equivalent of two innings to squirm out of the ninth and record his 31st save.

"The potential's there,'' Showalter said. "We put a lot of the phases of the game together, but you've got to do it over a longer period of time like they have. We know where the benchmark is at 90. You come out of Sarasota, if you're not going to approach 90, you're not going to be playing meaningful games late in September. I'm not a big believer that this exactly means this is going to happen in the future, but it's a good experience for everybody."

The Orioles trailed, 8-4, going into the bottom of the eighth, but scored twice in the inning and kept the pressure on right to the end. After J.J. Hardy opened the ninth with a single, Nick Markakis staged an 11-pitch at-bat before grounding out to first. The Orioles closed to within a run and had the potential tying run on second before Adam Jones came to the plate and dueled Papelbon for 10 pitches before finally bouncing out to end the game.

"You already know we ain't going to quit,'' said Jones, who hit his 25th home run of the year in the sixth. "You've got the crowd behind you. We didn't quit."

It wasn't enough to prevent Zach Britton from evening his record to 11-11 in the final start of his rookie year. There's no doubt that the Orioles are satisfied with Britton's overall performance, but Showalter is glad that Britton isn't.

"What did he end up, 11-11?" Showalter said. "If you asked Zach would he have taken that coming out of camp, he would have said 'no,' but that's the drive he has. He'll go home and take it all in and learn from it and he'll figure it out. This guy's 23, 24 years old. The experience that he's picked up this year will be important to him, but it's no precursor to go to another level, and he knows that."

So it comes down to another tense matchup tomorrow night, with Alfredo Simon closing out the season for the Orioles against Red Sox ace Jon Lester, who is 14-0 in 17 lifetime starts against the Orioles.

"That’s not really a topic of discussion that our guys will have tomorrow,'' Showalter said. "He’s had some no-decisions where he didn’t pitch particularly good here either. So that’s why it’s the big leagues. It’s good. They’re good. We’ve got the chance to compete tomorrow and I think with very few exceptions, you’ve got a lot of people looking forward to tomorrow instead of some sense of finality, even though it is."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

The Tampa Bay Rays were on the ropes at Tropicana Field in the sixth inning tonight, down a run with the bases loaded and no one out. But it must be their year, because Russell Martin grounded into an around-the-horn triple play to end the inning and the Rays rallied to score a 5-3 victory.

Scoreboard watching at it's very best. While the Rays were putting the finishing touches on their second straight victory over the Yankees, the Red Sox were trying to hold off the Orioles in the bottom of the eighth inning. They would succeed, but there was still one more tense inning left.

Nobody is happy that the spoiler role is all the Orioles have to motivate them, but give them credit for playing that role for all it's worth.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Most of the educated speculation about the date of the Orioles' front office shuffle continues to center on Thursday, and Buck Showalter did nothing to change that during his pre-game news conference on Tuesday. He was asked about what aspects of the team he felt needed the most work during the offseason, and he seemed to say the process of reconfiguring the organization would start immediately.

"We all have ideas,'' he said, "but I don't know that now is the time to be discussing them. Our season ends tomorrow. I'll make a bet there will be things going on Thursday that will be moving toward next year."

It doesn't seem that difficult to read between the lines. There aren't a lot of players moves to be made this quickly, and the Orioles definitely need to have their front office aligned properly before they can set about the business of improving the team on the field.

"Things move pretty fast in this game,'' Showalter said. "I feel pretty confident we'll be pretty relentless about trying to improve our club."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)
        

With two days left in the season, there’s really just one question remaining at Camden Yards – besides whether the Boston Red Sox end up choking away their playoff berth.

What’s happening with the Orioles’ president of baseball operations position?

I can’t say for 100 percent. In fact, I believe decisions are still being hammered out, so consider this an educated guess based on talking to a lot of people – some who know more than they are telling me and some who think they know more than they do. Understand that before we move on.

My belief is that Andy MacPhail will announce he is stepping down shortly after the season ends (his contract ends Oct. 31). My money is on an announcement Thursday. It could come later, but I can’t see it dragging out much beyond early next week.

My belief is that the leading candidate to replace MacPhail is current Orioles manager Buck Showalter. My sense is that it could be his job if he wants it. I’m not sure he’s totally sold on leaving the dugout at this point, but if he is convinced he can make more of an impact in the front office, he’ll take his bad knees and turned ankle and hobble upstairs.

Neither Showalter nor MacPhail is talking about any of this, both politely declining to comment. But I will say there is one thing of which I am absolutely sure: Showalter will not attempt to do both jobs, nor would owner Peter Angelos allow that to happen. That just wouldn’t work in baseball.

Regardless of what happens, expect Showalter to have major input here – he’ll either pick his replacement as manager or he’ll work with Angelos to find a club president who he feels is on the same page. I’d also be surprised if MacPhail doesn’t have some input, too. He, Showalter and Angelos have a mutual respect, and I believe MacPhail truly wants to see this organization succeed.

There’s no secret that Angelos and Showalter meet on a fairly regular basis, more than the owner has ever met with one of his managers. And I think they’ll work together to decide where Showalter can be of most use.

I also believe that decision will come hand-in-hand with MacPhail’s announcement, so that the baseball world knows whether the Orioles are shopping for a manager or a team president/general manager.

I don’t have any names for you – actually, I have some thoughts, but that REALLY would be speculation – but history tells us that Angelos likes to hire veteran baseball men with experience when he goes after a top front office type. He’s hired, to name a few, Pat Gillick, Syd Thrift, Jim Beattie, Jim Duquette and MacPhail.

So I don’t see that trend changing if Showalter remains in the dugout. I don’t see the Orioles hiring some whiz kid to take over the front office. I don’t see anyone under, say, 45 getting that job. And I’d assume it would be someone that Showalter knows and/or respects and someone with a scouting, player-evaluation background.

I think the safe money is on Showalter, but it could end up being the field. So I wouldn’t take it to Vegas just yet.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (53)
        

Move over, Julio Franco. We have a new all-time major league career hits leader among Dominican-born players. His name is Vladimir Guerrero, but you can still call him Vlad the Impaler if you prefer.

With no outs and the bases empty in the bottom of the sixth inning Monday, Guerrero bounced the first pitch from Boston Red Sox ace Josh Beckett up the middle for hit No. 2,587 in his 16 seasons.

The crowd at Camden Yards, which, per usual, had a bunch of Red Sox fans in attendance, gave Guerrero a roaring ovation when the accolade was flashed on the scoreboard. Standing at first base, Guerrero tipped his batting helmet to the crowd and soaked in the experience.

“I’ve played for a lot of years --16 years -- so it felt very good, very satisfying to get that hit,” he later said through interpreter Rudy Arias as he iced his knees at his stall in the Orioles clubhouse.

Buck Showalter, who left the dugout in the first inning to receive treatment on his injured ankle, worried he would miss the “special” milestone. Thankfully, he was sidelined for only an inning.

“I didn’t want to miss that,” the Orioles manager said. “You want to be there for things like that. I appreciate him waiting a little bit until I got back out there. Everybody's so proud of him.

“You feel so blessed to get to have a guy around you who just loves to play baseball. You can tell. Every day he comes to the door, it's like he's playing his first game in Little League. He's a manager's delight because you know he's going to be there, he's going to post up, he loves to play and it's never going to be for a lack of caring. He'll do as well as he can do. He's slashing and hacking and letting it rip.”

Two batters after passing Franco, the 36-year-old designated hitter resumed his assault on the Dominican stolen-base record. When he nabbed second base, it was his second steal of the season and the 181st of his career. He now trails Cesar Cedeno by just 369 for that mark.

“He takes off and steals second base, and [third base coach Willie Randolph is] making sure he stops right there because he'll take off for third there if you let him,” Showalter said of Guerrero, who later scored on a Chris Davis double as the Orioles, who won, 6-3, scored four runs in the sixth.

Guerrero leads the Orioles with a .289 average, and his 160 hits are second only to Nick Markakis.

The Orioles will formally honor Guerrero before Wednesday’s season finale. His first manager, former Montreal Expos skipper Felipe Alou, will attend the festivities at the slugger’s request. Dominican Republic Ambassador to the United States Anibal de Castro will be at Camden Yards, too.

After stops in Montreal, Anaheim, Calif., and Arlington, Texas, Guerrero said he would always have a special place in his heart for Baltimore. "I’m very happy I did it here,” he said with a smile.

And wherever he is next season, he hopes to keeping swinging at another milestone: 3,000 hits.

“I’m happy I’m healthy,” Guerrero said. “And God willing, I’ll keep on playing.”

Posted by Matt Vensel at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Tim Bascom was just as surprised as you were on Monday when it was announced the Orioles had honored him with the Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award. The right-hander said younger Orioles pitching prospects, including a couple of his Baysox teammates, were deserving of the honor, too, but “at the same time, I pitched well,” he said. “I knew I was in the running.”

After starting the season in the bullpen, the 26-year-old went 9-4 with a 3.11 ERA in 29 games -- 17 of them starts -- for Double-A Bowie. Throw in the six shutout innings he tossed in Frederick, and Bascom had a 2.97 ERA in 2011. Those are the kind of numbers that get you some attention.

"It’s an honor to be in the same breath as Jim Palmer, a Hall-of-Famer," he said.

A year ago, Bascom went 4-7 with a 6.94 ERA in 17 starts for Triple-A Norfolk. Now after an excellent season in Bowie, Bascom said he hopes to be in the major leagues as soon as possible.

“This year I feel like I put it all together and learned from it all,” said Bascom, who was drafted by the Orioles in the fourth round in 2007. “I’ve just gotten better every year I’ve been out there.”

He is eligible for Rule 5 draft -- he was last year, too, but went unclaimed -- and he laughed when a reporter asked him if the organization should protect him by putting him on the 40-man roster.

“Whatever happens, happens. I’d love to stay an Oriole,” he said before joining Jonathan Schoop on the field for the pre-game festivities. “It’s a great atmosphere here. It’s great tradition.”

Posted by Matt Vensel at 9:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Robert Andino's dad was at Monday's game, the first time he has seen his son play as a big leaguer.

He won't forget it.

Andino hit the first inside-the-park home run by an Oriole in the history of Camden Yards (visitors have done it).

The three-run shot to center in the sixth was nearly caught by Jacoby Ellsbury, but the ball bounced out of the center fielder's glove as he hit the wall.

Ellsbury flipped to J.D. Drew, who relayed to Dustin Pedroia, whose throw skipped past catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia as Andino crossed the plate.

It gave the Orioles a 6-2 lead.

It was the first O's inside-the-parker since May 22, 2010 when Adam Jones did it in Washington (the memorable Nyjer Morgan meltdown).

Posted by Dan Connolly at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

With a bouncer up the middle against Josh Beckett in the sixth, Vladimir Guerrero became the all-time MLB hits leader among Dominican-born players.

His 2,587th hit gave him the record over his friend and former winter league teammate Julio Franco.

All of the Orioles came out to the top step and applauded Guerrero as first base coach Wayne Kirby got the ball and threw it into the dugout.

The Orioles will formally honor Guerrero on Wednesday. His first manager, Felipe Alou, will be present.

Guerrero was asked who he would like to have celebrate with him and he said Alou, who is a father figure to many Dominican players.

Almost nearly as epic, Guerrero also stole a base in the inning, his second of the season.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Orioles manager Buck Showalter apparently messed up his ankle after taking out the lineup card before the game.

He was taken down the dugout tunnel and into the trainers' room, where he was treated.

He missed a couple innings, but his ankle is taped and he is back in the dugout.

With two games left in the season, the assumption is he'll just manage through the injury.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

The Orioles host the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards tonight, and the visitors desperately want to pick up a win against the last-place Orioles. The Red Sox lead the Tampa Bay Rays by a game in the American League wild-card race with three games left in the 2011 regular season.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter once again reiterated that his club isn’t necessarily seeking to be spoilers. “We’re trying to play good baseball and represent ourselves and our fans well,” he said.

They’ve been doing that in September, and in doing so, they have at different times made things uncomfortable for each the Red Sox, Rays and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -- all wild-card contenders. The Orioles took three of four games from the Red Sox at Fenway Park last week.

“[It’s] obviously a lot more meaningful for them in the standings. But I imagine most clubs, if they had said [in spring training] that they had three games to play and had a one-game lead to get into the playoffs, they would just about all sign up for it in blood,” Showalter said. “Like I said before, we’re just envious. We’re trying to figure out a way in the future to be in their position instead of ours.”

Here is the Orioles’ lineup for tonight’s game at Camden Yards:

LF Matt Angle
SS J.J. Hardy
RF Nick Markakis
DH Vladimir Guerrero
C Matt Wieters
CF Adam Jones
1B Mark Reynolds
3B Chris Davis
2B Robert Andino

Posted by Matt Vensel at 5:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

The Orioles have announced their 2011 organizational players of the year: Infielder Jonathan Schoop and right-handed pitcher Tim Bascom.

The 19-year-old Schoop, a native of Curacao, has shot up the organizational depth chart since he made his debut last season. He can play second base, shortstop and third.

The 26-year-old Bascom’s inclusion was a bit of a surprise, though he had a strong season at Double-A Bowie where he went 9-4 with a 3.11 ERA in 29 games (17 starts). It’s a testament to Bascom’s fortitude after 2010, when he had a near 7.00 ERA at Triple-A Norfolk in 17 starts.

The two will be recognized before tonight’s game against Boston along with several others. Here is the press release from the Orioles on all of the minor-league awards.

Schoop, the Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year, hit a combined .290 with 13 home runs, 71 RBI and a .781 OPS in 128 games with Single-A Delmarva (51G) and Frederick (77G). The 19-year-old played second base, third base and shortstop this season and was named the Orioles Minor League Player of the Month for August. He was named the Carolina League Player of the Week (August 8-14) and participated in this year’s Futures Game in Arizona as the Orioles’ representative on the World Team. Signed by the Orioles as a non-drafted free agent in August of 2008, Schoop will represent the Netherlands at this year’s International Baseball Federation World Cup competition, which will be held in Panama.

Bascom, the Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year, went 10-4 with a 2.97 ERA (136.1IP, 45ER) in 30 games (18 starts) for Class-A Frederick (1G/1GS) and Double-A Bowie (29G/17GS). His 2.97 ERA was the second best in the organization and his 117 strikeouts ranked fourth. Bascom finished in the top five in the Eastern League in ERA (3.11 – fourth) and WHIP (1.13 – third). The Orioles’ fourth round selection in the 2007 First Year Player Draft, Bascom was also named to the Western Division roster for the EL All-Star Game.

LHP CAMERON ROTH has been named this year’s recipient of the Elrod Hendricks Minor League Community Service Award. Roth made various appearances to schools and local libraries while playing for Delmarva this season and was often seen signing autographs for fans before and after Shorebirds games. The 22-year old was the Orioles’ 29th round selection in the 2010 First Year Player Draft.

Frederick Keys Manager ORLANDO GOMEZ was named winner of the Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development Award, presented to a minor league staff member who exemplifies the qualities of the late Oriole who is regarded as the architect of “The Oriole Way”. Gomez completed his second season with the Keys (seventh with the Orioles and 48th in professional baseball), guiding the club to their fourth Carolina League championship and best record in franchise history (80-59) this season. Gomez has guided Frederick to the playoffs in both of his seasons and is the winningest manager in Keys history, with a mark of 152-127 (.545).

Northeast Regional Crosschecker DEAN ALBANY was presented the Jim Russo Scout of the Year Award, named in honor of the man who spent 33 years in various scouting capacities with the Orioles beginning with their move from St. Louis in 1954. Albany completed his 12th season as a scout and three of his signed selections (Steven Bumbry, Mike Flacco and Glynn Davis) contributed to the Frederick Keys’ championship season. He also signed 10 players from the 2008 draft, including third rounder LJ Hoes and fifth rounder Greg Miclat. In addition to his scouting coverage, Albany supervises Youse’s Maryland Orioles, the 20-year old and under college scout team for the Orioles.

The Orioles will also recognize the Frederick Keys championship club and these members of the organization, rewarded for their outstanding work this season:

• PAT ARMSTRONG (Strength and Conditioning Coach, Delmarva Shorebirds) who was named South Atlantic League Co-Strength Coach of the Year in his first season with Delmarva (2nd season in the organization).
• MARK SHIRES (Head Athletic Trainer, Norfolk Tides) who was named International League Trainer of the Year for the second time (also 2009) in his fifth season with Norfolk (12th season in the organization). He is currently representing the Orioles as the athletic trainer for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 1:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

The Orioles are back home for three games before their 14th consecutive losing season mercifully ends.

I know a lot of you have moved on to football by now.

(By the way, we re-start Prediction Friday and our first winner is the guy who often dominated last year, Barry. The Ravens crushed the St. Louis Rams, 37-7. Barry had them winning 38-17. That’s the closest of our predictions. He also said Joe Flacco would have three TDs -- though he didn’t have Torrey Smith breaking out. But he was close enough to get the open bar tab of the week. Congrats, Barry. Same as it ever was).

Today, I am wondering whether the Orioles’ recent run as a spoiler has piqued your interest. Really, I want to know if you’re going to pay attention this week – even though the Orioles have been done for months – because they can help stop the hated Boston Red Sox from winning the Wild Card.

Orioles players and manager Buck Showalter have been downplaying the spoiler aspect for a while now. But on Sunday, Showalter rested almost his entire starting lineup on a day game after a night game. Maybe that’s the reason. But I don’t think it is coincidence that the Orioles’ best players will be a little more rested versus Boston.

I want to know if you care what the Orioles do against the Red Sox over the next three days. Or can you no longer muster any interest?

Daily Think Special: Do you care what the Orioles do against the Red Sox this week?

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (85)
Categories: Connolly's Corner Sports Bar
        

Brian Matusz’s season is over.

He allowed six earned runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings. He was victimized by two homers, a three-run shot by Victor Martinez and a two-run homer by Miguel Cabrera.

The line was a little uglier than how Matusz (1-9) pitched. Besides the longballs, he did OK. He actually got out of a tough bases-loaded jam in the third when he induced Martinez to ground into a double play.

He was hitting 89-92 mph with his fastball and his off-speed stuff looked a little crisper.

The bottom line, though, is that he gave up five or more earned runs for the eighth consecutive start. His season ERA sits at 10.69, the highest in baseball history for someone who has made at least 10 starts. Matusz, who has started 12 games in 2011, surpassed the mark set by two-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay, who had a 10.64 ERA as a 23-year-old with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2000.

Matusz, 24, said he is determined to put this season behind him – but not forget about it, either.

“For me, I just got to continue getting stronger and healthier and just being able to fine tune my pitches,” he said. “I haven’t really thought too much about how much time I am going to take off. But I’m going to use that time to mentally clear my head. But I don’t want to take time off working out, I want to continue getting stronger and keep at that from the get-go.”

He admitted that this has “been the hardest year of my life, that’s for sure.”

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he thinks Matusz is improving and thinks he can return to the form Matusz exhibited in the final two months of 2010, when he won his final six decisions.

“It’s a work in progress,” said Orioles manager Buck Showalter about Matusz. “I fully expect Brian to be a good option for us next year. I think he’ll go home and … he’ll figure it out. He’s got a lot of things going on that he’s doing right. He’s just not able to get a return for it right now on the mound.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

ESPN's Outside The Lines aired an 8-minute piece today on Brian Roberts' concussions and his rehab.

It was an interesting piece -- though much of what he said is what he's been telling us for a year. That he wants to get back but that the headaches and fogginess make it difficult -- impossible, really -- right now.

Perhaps the most interesting thing is that his concussion specialist, Michael Collins, predicts that Roberts will play baseball again. The doctor said it is not a matter of if he can, but that he will.

Here's the link: http://espn.go.com/videohub/video/clip?id=7005261&categoryid=2378529

Posted by Dan Connolly at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

After the Orioles' 6-5 win Saturday night, manager Buck Showalter characterized the game as such: “Fun, a lot of fun."

Raise your hand if you thought the Orioles would go up 5-0 on Justin Verlander.

Raise your hand if you thought Verlander would serve up Matt Angle's first major-league homer -- on the fourth pitch of the game.

Or that Angle would win the game on a squeeze bunt, a run that was set up by rookie Kyle Hudson's heady decision to go from first to third on a wild pitch.

Jeremy Guthrie allowed the Tigers to get back into the game, but he avoided his 18th loss, too, so that was good.

With a first-inning single, Vladimir Guerrero also tied the baseball's hits record for Dominican-born players with 2,586.

Yeah, the Orioles were pretty excited after that game.

“A lot of good things happened, I’m lucky to be a part of it and get to look at it and watch those things,” Showalter said. “We had a great seat for some good things tonight.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 12:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Pretty eventful first inning for the Orioles on Saturday.

Facing potential AL MVP Justin Verlander, who is going for his 25th win this year, rookie Matt Angle hit his first major league homer to lead off the game. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Angle had 11 homers in 2,054 minor league at-bats. None previously in 64 big league at-bats for Angle.

It was the Orioles' fifth leadoff homer of the season. The first four were by J.J. Hardy.

To make matters worse for Tigers fans against their beloved Verlander? Angle is a Ohio State guy who grew up in Columbus.

Anyway, three batters later, Vladimir Guerrero lined a single to left for his 2,586th hit -- which ties Julio Franco for most by a Dominican Republic-born player.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 7:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Here's what Buck Showalter had to say about giving Brian Matusz one more start this season. Matusz is 1-8 with a 10.68 ERA in 11 big league starts this year.

"He’s attacking a lot of things that have been a challenge for him, and hopefully he can get a return for it. It might be next year, but I’d like to see him end the year on a good note."

How important would that be for Matusz -- to end this disastrous season well.

"It’d be a nice way to end the season for him. But thinking about what could be, we all know he’s capable of better. I just would like to see him get a return for all the hard work he’s putting in," Showalter said. "I said many times, the way he’s attacked this, there’s not any ‘Woe is me.' It’s 'OK, what do I have to do to get better?' And hopefully, it’ll carry over. Unfortunately, the other team, Detroit, Boston, New York, these aren’t places to be experimenting with [things], so they will tell you real quickly how you are doing."

Posted by Dan Connolly at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

Brian Matusz will get one more start in 2011.

He will pitch Sunday against the Detroit Tigers.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he would like Matusz to end the season on a high note. And remember the other choices were Jo-Jo Reyes and Rick VandenHurk, so that played into the decision.

Right now, Matusz (1-8, 10.68 ERA) has the highest ERA for anyone in baseball history with 10 starts or more. He has made 11 starts.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Last night, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers clinched playoff berths, meaning several 2010 and 2011 Orioles will now be heading on to this year’s postseason.

I’m particularly excited for Brewers pitching coach Rick Kranitz and extra coach John Shelby, good men who were uncertain where they were going once they lost their positions with the Orioles last winter. Milwaukee’s new manager, Ron Roenicke, grabbed both, and they have had an excellent run.

A third member of Dave Trembley’s staff last year, former third base coach and interim manager Juan Samuel, is on the postseason-bound Philadelphia Phillies staff, as is former Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo. Trembley, a minor league instructor with the Atlanta Braves, also is with an organization that likely will be in the playoffs.

As for players, David Hernandez, who was somewhat bummed to leave the only organization he knew when he was dealt by the Orioles to the Diamondbacks for Mark Reynolds in December, will get to experience the playoffs as a key setup man. And Michael Gonzalez and Koji Uehara are part of the Rangers’ bullpen after midseason trades.

Another 2010 Orioles reliever, Matt Albers, might get to the postseason, too, if the Boston Red Sox hang on to the wild card.

One quick Orioles note: Tommy Hunter threw a bullpen session and said his right groin feels good and that he expects to start Monday. That, of course, will be up to the athletic training staff and manager Buck Showalter.

Here are the lineups for Saturday’s game:

Orioles: Angle 7, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Wieters 2, Jones 8, Reynolds 3, Davis 5, Andino 4. Guthrie 1.

Tigers: Jackson 8, Ordonez 9, Young 7, Cabrera 3, Martinez DH, Avila 2, Peralta 6, Raburn 4, Kelly 5. Verlander 1

Posted by Dan Connolly at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

In his first full year as Orioles manager, Buck Showalter has had plenty of time to study his players, or as he once called the process, searching for nuggets. Dan Connolly takes a look at which players have established themselves as nuggets, which are usable pieces, which are up in the air, and which are likely headed elsewhere. Check out the photo gallery here.

Posted by Steve Gould at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Prediction Saturday has a terrible ring to it.

But I want you to look into your crystal ball for the second consecutive day.

Tonight at Comerica Park, Detroit’s Justin Verlander is trying to become the first pitcher to win 25 games in a season since Oakland’s Bob Welch won 27 in 1990.

Meanwhile, Orioles right-hander Jeremy Guthrie is trying to avoid his personal worst 18th loss.

Right now, Verlander is leading the majors in wins and Guthrie is leading it in losses. And they face off tonight in Detroit.

I’m sure my colleague, Peter Schmuck, is going to dust off his patented “reverse lock” bet here. I’m wondering if you think the obvious is going to happen or if the Orioles and Guthrie will rally tonight against the odds. Or do they both get no decisions?

Here’s a strange tidbit: If Guthrie picks up his 18th defeat, he’s guaranteed to lead the AL in losses for the second time in three seasons. In fact, it will be the fifth time in six years that an Oriole has led the league in losses: Guthrie (2011, 2009), Kevin Millwood (2010), Daniel Cabrera (2007) and Rodrigo Lopez (2006).

So who broke the streak?

Yep, Verlander, who lost 17 for the Tigers in 2008.

Daily Think Special: Verlander vs. Guthrie: What happens?

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Connolly's Corner Sports Bar
        

Alfredo Simon has probably had the most bizarre year of any major league baseball player, at least this side of Leo Nunez.

On Friday, he gave us another reminder on why the Orioles didn’t give up on him when his legal troubles began on New Year’s Day (he was a prime suspect but never charged in the fatal shooting of his cousin).

Simon has a live arm. He was hitting 95 mph on the radar gun in the eighth inning of Friday’s 4-3, 11th-inning loss to the Detroit Tigers. He threw eight innings of three-run ball against a very good Detroit Tigers offense.

He deserved a win, but the Orioles couldn’t get him his first since Aug. 23.

“It’s a little tough, but I understand sometimes I throw a good game and I don’t get a lot of support with runs in the game,” Simon said. “But I feel happy because I threw a really good game and that team is in the playoffs and they have a good lineup. That happens sometimes, not a lot of support, not a lot of runs tonight, but I still feel great.”

Orioles manager Buck Showalter has been critical of Simon at times this year, partially because he is so inconsistent.

“I would just like to see him do it consistently. It is there,” Showalter said. “He understands it speaks well for him tonight. I’d just like to see him do it more often.”

Showalter needs to figure out whether he can count on Simon in the rotation next year or whether he should be returned to the bullpen, where he pitched in 2010. Regardless, despite a crazy 2011, Simon likely has pitched his way into some role for 2012.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 1:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

We are bringing back Prediction Friday because many of you wanted to keep the tradition going. We are also making it a hybrid, and throwing some Orioles info in, because some of you said you don’t want Ravens talk within Orioles Insider.

I’m trying to make everyone happy at the bar – it seems like college all over again.

OK, so the rules for Ravens’ Prediction Friday are the same as they’ve been the last three years. Predict the winner of the Ravens-Rams game this Sunday, give a score and choose a player of the game. Whoever gets closest gets free fake prizes from this fake bar next week.

I am going with the Ravens to beat the Rams 27-20 in St. Louis. I say Joe Flacco throws three TDs and is your player of the game.

What do you think?

Now, for Orioles’ fans, let’s talk about the 2012 closer for a second. Kevin Gregg is signed through next season. He has saved 21 of 28 this year, but obviously has been shaky for much of the year.

Jim Johnson has looked great as the closer this month. He has eight saves now, and, frankly, has been the club’s best pitcher this season. But the Orioles are knocking around the idea of making Johnson a starter next year.

A longshot – and this is a major longshot, mind you – is Pedro Strop, who saved 11 of 13 for Triple-A Round Rock before the Orioles acquired him. He is a confident kid with nasty stuff and has begun his Orioles’ career with nine scoreless outings.

Alfredo Simon, who closed some in 2010, could also be moved back to the bullpen next year.

Who will close out games for the Orioles in 2012? Does it even matter for a last-place team?

Daily Think Special: Prediction Friday: Rams-Ravens

Bonus Think Special: Who do you think will close for the Orioles in 2012?

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (37)
        

The move couldn’t have been more under the radar, a late-August trade of a minor league reliever for a veteran reliever.

In fact, it technically wasn’t even a trade. The Orioles dealt lefty Michael Gonzalez to the Rangers, received money from the Rangers to make a waiver claim on hard-throwing reliever Pedro Strop.

Now, Strop is starting to settle in as the Orioles’ eighth-inning guy, pitching another scoreless eighth Thursday in the club’s 6-5 win against the Detroit Tigers.

The 26-year-old, a converted shortstop, has pitched in nine games for the Orioles spanning 8 2/3 innings. He hasn’t given up a run.

“I feel comfortable because they are giving me the confidence,” Strop said. “They are trusting me, and so that’s why I feel comfortable. If they are trusting in me, I have to trust in myself.”

Strop was at Triple-A most of this year, converting 11 of 13 save opportunities. But he wasn’t put in close, late-game situations once he was in the majors for the Rangers. The Orioles are letting him do it. And he has responded.

“I really haven’t [gotten] an opportunity to be pitching in those kind of situations, tie games in the major leagues. In the minor leagues, that’s usually what I do, pitch in the eighth, ninth innings,” Strop said. “So I know what I can do. I feel good about it, but I’m not impressed, because I know what I can do. I just haven’t [gotten] the opportunity, and I’m getting it right now and I’m doing my thing.”

I asked Strop whether he looked at this September as an audition for 2012, and this is what he said: “I don’t like to lose. I like to win. And I’m going to do my best. Next year is next year. You’ve got to be impressive, and you’ve got to think now. When the season is over, then you start thinking about what you are going to do whatever next season. For now, I’m just focused on now.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

The Orioles still haven't decided who will pitch Sunday's finale in Detroit. The three options are Rick VandenHurk, Jo-Jo Reyes and Brian Matusz.

So Matusz, who has struggled most of this season, may have one more chance to start in 2011.

In fact, it's possible two of the above three will get one more start. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he believes Tommy Hunter's scheduled start against the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards on Monday is "in jeopardy." Hunter, who strained his groin Wednesday, said he hopes to pitch Monday.

If Hunter can't go, I think it would be surprising if we didn't see Matusz start one more time -- either Sunday or Monday. Yes, that's a departure from my previous thinking, when I speculated that Matusz's rough outing on Monday in Fenway Park would be his last this year.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

Infielder Ryan Adams will see surgeon William Meyers in Philadelphia on Monday, October 3. If Meyers, a renowned sports hernia expert, confirms the sports hernia diagnosis, he’ll operate on Adams on Tuesday, October 4. The recovery period for such an injury is 3 to 6 weeks.

Tommy Hunter (right groin strain) said today that he believes he will make his next – and final 2011 start – on Monday.

Left-hander Troy Patton has left the team for a court-appointed orientation class in Houston that is related to his DUI arrest in the offseason. He is expected back Friday.

Here is the Orioles’ lineup for Thursday: Andino 4, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Wieters 2, Jones 8, Reynolds 3, Davis 5, Reimold 7. Britton 1

And Tigers: Jackson 8, Ordonez 9, Young 7, Cabrera 3, Martinez DH, Raburn 4, Peralta 6, Inge 5, Santos 2. Turner 1.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Here’s a look at what other media outlets have been saying about the Orioles during the past week:

• John Tomase of The Boston Herald says pitching was Boston’s downfall against the Orioles this week.

Feel free to throw up your hands, because it’s one thing when you’ve got no chance to win. It’s another when you’ve got exactly the guys you want on the mound and things still don’t go your way.

For the second straight night, the Red Sox couldn’t have asked for a better situation, leading the Baltimore Orioles by three runs in the sixth inning with starter Josh Beckett in the game and Alfredo Aceves rested in the bullpen.

But as was the case Tuesday night, when the normally reliable duo of Daniel Bard (granted, he’s been shaky this month) and Jonathan Papelbon couldn’t keep the lead in a loss, this time Beckett and Aceves did the Sox in.

• MASN’s Steve Melewski isn’t sure if Alfredo Simon is one of Buck Showalter’s nuggets.

I am trying to figure out if Alfredo Simon is one of Buck's nuggets for the future or not.

Maybe if I'm not sure, that means he isn't. But he sure has games where he looks very nugget-like.

Last year, Simon was, at times, a dependable late-inning reliever. This year, at times, he's been a solid-looking starter.

What he can't seem to do is pitch well consistently or for long stretches. It makes you wonder if Simon will always be that way or if something will click at some point and he will become more reliable.

• Evan Brunell of CBS Sports wonders if Buck Showalter can be both Baltimore’s manager and GM.

There have been multiple reports from multiple outlets lately that [Peter] Angelos could kill two birds with one stone by hiring Showalter as GM in addition to managerial duties. It's a position Showalter would be hard-pressed to turn down as it would give him a very prestigious role, and one that isn't commonly seen in baseball. GMs in the past have also been responsible for non-player operations, a duty that generally falls to the president now. And player-coaches were very common in previous generations -- but someone acting as both a GM and manager? You don't see that often.

It might have been more believable way back when before both GMing and managing were demanding of a 24/7 job. In this day and age, it would be awfully hard for Showalter to pull off such a role.

But it could be done.

Posted by Matt Vensel at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: What They're Saying about the O's
        

Orioles designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero is on the precipice of becoming the major league’s all-time hits leader from the Dominican Republic, and he hopes to build on that record for another couple of seasons.

Heading into Friday’s series in Detroit, Guerrero has 2,583 hits, three behind the all-time Dominican leader, Julio Franco, who was Guerrero’s teammate for two years in winter league ball.

“Right now, I don’t know how to feel,” Guerrero said through interpreter Rudy Arias. “We’ll see when the time comes.”

Guerrero, 36, is finishing strong, batting over .400 in his last 16 games and climbing toward a .300 average for what would be the 14th time in his past 15 seasons. His 13 home runs, however, would be his fewest in a season since he hit 11 in 90 games as a rookie in 1997.

Signed to a one-year deal this winter, it would be surprising if the rebuilding Orioles re-sign Guerrero. But Guerrero is not thinking about retiring.

“I feel I can play two or three more years,” he said. “And I just need to work a little harder this offseason when I go to the Dominican and see what happens.”

Guerrero also is just one homer away from 450 for his career. The only Dominican-born players with more are Sammy Sosa (609) and Manny Ramirez (555).

“Four-hundred and fifty is a big number; I’ll be very happy when I get it,” Guerrero said. “But those numbers just come and you just keep adding. If it comes to me, 450 is a great number.”

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he is hoping that Franco will come to Camden Yards next week to honor Guerrero if he sets the hits record. Guerrero was asked whether he would like to share the moment with anyone else, and he mentioned Felipe Alou, his former Montreal Expos manager.

“He was my first manager; he gave me the opportunity,” Guerrero said. “He was the one who brought me to Montreal, and I’d be real happy if he could see it.”

When asked how he has been able to climb up so many impressive offensive lists in his career, Guerrero smiled and said: “I believe in God, that he gave me the ability to do this, and I work very hard for everything I have done and for my longevity.”

Showalter stressed just how important he thinks the Dominican hits record is for Guerrero and for the Orioles.

“This milestone coming up is a huge deal to us,” Showalter said. “Obviously, it is more for Vlady, but if you think about all the great players who have played here from the Dominican Republic and we have got a chance to have on our team one that’s got a chance to go down as the all-time hits leader. That’s something we are so proud of as an organization.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Tommy Hunter left the Orioles’ 6-4 win against the Boston Red Sox in the seventh because of a strained right groin.

That might be a big concern if it happened a month ago, because Hunter has dealt with groin injuries in the past. He had to be shut down in the spring because of one, didn’t make the Texas Rangers out of camp and didn’t return to the big leagues until July.

Now, though, all it means is that Hunter’s start Monday, which would be his last of the season, could be in jeopardy.

The big right-hander wants to pitch, of course.

“It got pretty tight. It was one of those things, been lingering around all year,” Hunter said of the groin strain. “It got really tight, and it was just one of those things. I needed to come out. That’s when you get hurt. So, it’s one of those things, get some ice, get some treatment and hopefully be ready to go in five days.”

Hunter, by the way, pitched in each level of the postseason for the Rangers last year. And he said he is genuinely excited about his new team, assuming what he has seen the past few weeks – a 10-5 record mainly against contenders – continues.

“We are pretty good. That’s the bottom line. This is a baseball team. These guys come to play every day. … It’s going to be fun, especially if we keep going this way. It’s going to be fun next year.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Manager Buck Showalter talked about rookie infielder Ryan Adams during his pre-game media session. Adams will have sports hernia surgery in the near future -- once he can get scheduled to see a specialist in Philadelphia -- and won't play again this year.

Adams hit while he was in Baltimore -- he batted .280 in 29 games and .303 since being recalled again Aug. 22. He had some defensive lapses, though, and some base-running mistakes.

"I think he has been exposed to different things. You can only tell him so much in spring training or in Bowie or Norfolk. You have to actually see it for yourself," Showalter said. "There are some things he’s got to clean up a little bit, and I look forward in seeing how quickly that happens. I was talking to Brian Graham and some people that have had him, and he’s gotten better every year defensively and at things, at all phases of the game. So that bodes well for him, his aptitude is getting a little better. We’ve seen some things that he has done better up here than he was doing when he originally got here."

Still, Showalter said the jury may still be out, since the 24-year-old has been bothered by groin/sports hernia problems for months.

"I don’t think anybody can say for sure what they’ve seen from him with the health factor, how much that has affected him. I think running, moving around, first step," Showalter said. "So I think I’m still very open-minded about where he might fit in our plans as we go forward. I think there is some unknown until you see him completely healthy."

Here are Wednesday's lineups:

Orioles: Andino 4, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Wieters 2, Jones 8, Reynolds 3, Davis 5, Angle 7. Hunter 1.

Red Sox: Ellsbury 8, Aviles 5, Gonzalez 3, Ortiz DH, Pedroia 4, Reddick 9, Crawford 7, Scutaro 6, Varitek 2. Beckett 1.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Orioles rookie infielder Ryan Adams will definitely have surgery to repair a sports hernia. It likely will happen in Philadelphia within the next week or so.

Adams said athletic trainer Richie Bancells was waiting on a phone call Thursday that would confirm the details, but Adams figures he might as well have it surgically repaired soon and miss the last week of the season.

“I took a few days off and it felt better, and then I played (Monday) and … the next day, I couldn’t even lift my leg out of bed,” Adams said. “So it’s just not getting any better and I talked to Buck [Showalter], and it was just one of those things: Why wait another week? Why not just get it done now?”

Adams, 24, played in 29 games with the Orioles, hitting .281 with four doubles and seven RBIs. Since his last recall Aug. 22, he has batted .303 and hit safely in 14 of his 19 games.

He said the injury bothered him for much of the season while he was in Triple-A Norfolk, but he thought it was a groin pull. He had an MRI about two weeks ago, and it showed a tear. He initially tried to play through it but said it has bothered him in every facet of the game.

“Everything. It’s been bothering me when I swing,” he said. “When you swing, you are using your legs. Anything in the groin area in baseball is tough, especially as a middle infielder, you are always in a squat position, moving side to side. It’s tough.”

He said he’s been told the recovery will be about three weeks, so he should have no problem being ready for spring training. And since he made it to the big leagues this year, he said, he can’t be too disappointed with ending his season now.

“I got to be here, so I just look at it as being fortunate enough to get up here, and I just look forward to getting better and getting it healthy for next year,” he said.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 5:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

The Orioles are collecting ballots from media members for their annual Most Valuable Oriole Award.

I’ll wait as you snicker.

OK, as I was saying, it’s time to pick Most Valuable Oriole. And this isn’t a slam-dunk like it has been in the past.

Around August, I thought it would be. Adam Jones was head-and-shoulders above his teammates, and, if things went right, he could get 100 RBIs and 25-plus homers. But it hasn’t gone right. He slumped and, subsequently, has been sidelined for more than a week with a sprained right thumb (which may have contributed to the slump).

After starting Tuesday, he is hitting .283 with a .324 on base percentage, a .466 slugging percentage, 23 homers and 80 RBIs in 144 games.

Meanwhile, shortstop J.J. Hardy keeps making a case. Despite being out for a month because of injury, Hardy is hitting .262 with a .302 on-base percentage, a team-high .483 slugging percentage, 28 homers and 74 RBIs in 122 games.

Hardy and Jones have been very good defensively at crucial positions.

I could go either way. I am curious how you see it.

The Orioles ask that media members choose three candidates and order them. If Hardy and Jones are 1 and 2 – or 2 and 1 – the third spot becomes even more difficult. Matt Wieters and Mark Reynolds (at least power-numbers-wise) could receive consideration.

I’d probably lean toward reliever Jim Johnson for the third spot; he has been the club’s best and most consistent pitcher throughout the season.

Daily Think Special: Who is your Most Valuable Oriole?

Posted by Dan Connolly at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (77)
Categories: Connolly's Corner Sports Bar
        

Robert Andino, a Showalter nugget

There may be no player on the Orioles that gives manager Buck Showalter more pride than Robert Andino.

It was at Showalter’s suggestion that Andino was promoted last September after being taken off the club’s 40-man roster in March 2010.

Andino was out of options this year, but he made the team based on a strong spring and an endorsement from Showalter.

And Andino, a second-round pick of the Florida Marlins' in 2002, has seized the opportunity presented to him.

Because of Brian Roberts’ concussion, Andino was thrust into a starting role. He has started 73 games at second, 24 at short, 19 at third and two in left field. In 131 total games, he is hitting .269 with a .333 on-base percentage, four homers, 32 RBIs and 58 runs scored.

Modest numbers, but especially solid for a guy who wasn’t claimed by any team last year.

Andino’s 27 now, and Showalter thinks he is starting to realize his talent. He said hitting coach Jim Presley, who had Andino in Florida, and Brian Graham, the organization’s coordinator of minor league instruction, have said the same thing.

“This is the best stretch [Presley and Graham] have seen with consistency,” Showalter said. “And you can just tell the confidence he is playing with on both sides of the ball. Even running the bases, his leads are different, his body language is different.”

Andino had the key hit in Tuesday’s 7-5 win over Boston, slapping a three-run liner into right field against Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon in the eighth.

A few months ago, maybe Showalter would have pinch-hit for Andino in that spot. But no longer.

“Sitting back here, I couldn’t imagine many guys I’d rather have in that situation,” Showalter said.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (31)
        

Orioles manager Buck Showalter was ejected in the fifth inning by third base umpire Chris Guccione.

Showalter came out of the dugout to argue a checked-swing strike three on Matt Wieters, which evolved into a double play when Vladimir Guerrero was caught attempting to steal second.

It would have been ball four, and Guerrero would have been safe, but home plate umpire Mark Wegner pointed to Guccione on appeal and he rung up Wieters.

Guerrero was called out, though he beat the ball to second base. According to replays, it looked like Guerrero missed the bag initially, but it also was unclear whether Marco Scutaro tagged Guerrero.

Showalter ran out of the dugout and was tossed by Guccione. It was Showalter's third ejection of the season -- and second in Boston. He was automatically ejected along with Michael Gonzalez on July 10 after pitchers had been warned in a potential plunking war.

He also was ejected on Aug. 9 at Camden Yards.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Center fielder Adam Jones (sprained right thumb) took batting practice before Tuesday’s game and said he seemed fine, so it looks like he’ll be making his first start since Sept. 9.

First baseman Mark Reynolds passed his cognitive tests and also did some drills with athletic trainer Richie Bancells on Tuesday and was cleared to play. It’s his first start since he was hit in the head with a pitch on Saturday night.

Second baseman Ryan Adams is dealing with a sports hernia. It’s possible he gets shut down for the remainder of the season and undergoes surgery. Surgery has not been scheduled yet. The team expects Adams to be ready for the spring.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he still has not ruled out giving Jim Johnson one start at the end of the season, though, by Showalter’s actions recently, Johnson is clearly his top choice as closer right now. However, the manager said he hasn’t ruled out other possibilities in save chances, and that includes Kevin Gregg and Pedro Strop.

“It depends on what the rest factor is. We might be in a situation where a guy’s pitched enough innings and we’ve used him a couple days in a row and somebody else gets an opportunity,” Showalter said.

Showalter said he is not handicapping the race for the club’s 2012 closer.

Wrestling legend Ric Flair was on the Fenway Park field before the game. Several Orioles were excited about that brush with greatness.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

I am here at Fenway Park, four and a half hours before the scheduled first pitch, and the L.L. Bean tarp is on the field. Or it was. As I type this, the grounds crew has removed it and drained it and now is putting it away.

It’s only drizzling, and the expectation is that there will be a game tonight. It just might be a little cool and damp.

The lineup is not out yet, but my guess is that Mark Reynolds will not be in it. The club is taking it very cautiously with him after he was hit in the head by a pitch on Saturday.

I also think this could be the day that Adam Jones starts despite his sprained right thumb. During Monday’s doubleheader, he was a defensive replacement in the early game and a pinch-runner in the nightcap.

His problem is strictly with swinging the bat – or more specifically – making solid contact with a ball. That sensation really bothers the thumb. And Jones really can’t test it unless he takes live batting practice, which didn’t happen yesterday because of the doubleheader and may not today because of rain.

Jones would like to play, regardless of the pain; Showalter would like him to play, assuming he can’t hurt himself further. So we’ll see what happens.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Brian Matusz has been talking all year about how he’s not going to let himself get frustrated, that he is going to keep working to get over this season-long funk.

He delivered the same message Monday, perhaps in a more subdued, reflective manner, after allowing six runs in 1 2/3 innings in a 18-9 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

“It’s tough going out there, especially when the offense jumps out to a nice start and provides some run support,” Matusz said. “It’s frustrating to be able to go out there and not hold the opponent. It’s tough, but I’m just going to keep building, keep working. That’s all I can do.”

Matusz drew the criticism of some in the organization for not being prepared physically and mentally heading into this spring, and it affected his season. He was hurt – and then ineffective. After 11 starts this year, Matusz is 1-8 with a 10.68 ERA.

He hadn’t pitched since Sept. 5, instead working with pitching coach Rick Adair to try and fix his flaws, specifically what is making his breaking pitches flatten out. He’ll go back to the video room Tuesday.

“Just be able to go through film with Rick Adair tomorrow and be able to make the adjustments in the mechanics where [I was] a little bit off, where my ball was flat today,” he said. “Have to be able to make an adjustment to where I can get depth on all my pitches.”

Now, Orioles manager Buck Showalter is praising Matusz’s work ethic, giving him credit for trying to turn things around.

“This is the first time the guy’s had any failure in the pitching department since probably his Little League days. It’s something he’s going to fight through and he will be better in the long run,” Showalter said. “We know the ability is there, and it’s a matter of getting over some other hurdles that for the first time have challenged him. I like the way he’s trying to fight through it. He’s not giving in, and I’m proud of him for that.”

Asked whether Matusz still has confidence that he’ll return to the form he exhibited at the end of last year when he was 6-0 with a 1.57 ERA in his final eight starts, Matusz doesn’t waver.

“It will come around, it will happen. It’s a matter of just keep working. I know I have the stuff to be able to do it. It’s a matter of finding those weaknesses and finding the points that I need to be able to fix and correct it.”

Showalter thinks this will be a big offseason for Matusz, for him to regroup and come back focused in 2012.

“He will get home for two or three weeks and kind of settle in [after the season ends]. And he’ll think about things, and, if I know Brian, he’s going to come back really fighting.”

It’d be a real surprise if Matusz started again this year, but even after Monday night’s pummeling, he still wants another shot in 2011.

“I’d love to be able to get back out there,” he said. “I’ve been working hard, making a lot of adjustments. A lot of things I feel like I am getting right, I’m just a little bit off. I’d love to be able to get out there, keep working the next few days and be able to get out there again.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (32)
        

Right-hander Jim Johnson entered with a one-run lead in the ninth inning Monday afternoon and threw just seven pitches for a perfect inning and his seventh save of the year.

It was his fifth save in his past six outings dating to Sept. 7 – a span in which he has allowed one run and two hits in 6 1/3 innings.

In the month of September, Johnson has five saves and incumbent closer Kevin Gregg, who has blown three of his past six opportunities, has just one save.

It’s clear Johnson is Showalter’s choice to close out games now, but the manager is not making any proclamations. When asked about going to Johnson on Monday afternoon, Showalter said, “Just the rest factor and, you know, I want to expose people to as many possible situations that will help us make better decisions as we go forward, because they are not going to be here in about 10 games.”

The Orioles have been kicking around the idea of making Johnson a starter next year, with Gregg signed through 2012. But Johnson is showing he can handle the closer’s role now.

“He was ready to go, and he came in and attacked the strike zone. That’s what I liked about it. Here it is,” Showalter said. “You keep talking to guys all the time. Would you want to go back to the hotel or your apartment and go, ‘God, I wish I’d been a little more aggressive?' Or are you gonna let it rip and lie with the consequences. Jimmy is letting it rip.”

Johnson downplayed the situation and how well he has been throwing of late, saying: “Not just me, look at some of the guys in the bullpen. It’s nice. We are trying to all finish the year strong. Guys are pitching well right now.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

Orioles: Angle 8, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Davis 3, Andino 5, Reimold 7, Adams 4, Tatum 2, Matusz 1.

Boston: Ellsbury 8, Scutaro 6, Gonzalez 3, Pedroia 4, Ortiz DH, Lowrie 5, Jackson 7, Varitek 2, McDonald 9. Lackey 1.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Mark Reynolds, who was beaned in the helmet in the third inning Saturday by Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ervin Santana, did not pass his cognitive test and will not play at all in Monday’s doubleheader.

He expects to take another test Tuesday, but the Orioles are being cautious with Reynolds, who also was beaned last August while with the Arizona Diamondbacks and eventually missed three games.

“We’re not in position yet where we feel comfortable, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “He had this happen in Arizona last year, and you don’t try to handicap it or talk about X-Rays or whatever. I think from the limited experience we all have with it, you just kind of take it day by day and see how he feels.”

Reynolds said the spot on the left side of his head was “still sore, but I’m fine.” He was hoping to play in at least one of Monday’s games but now isn’t sure when he’ll get the OK to get back in the lineup. Right now, he is day to day, but it’s unlikely he’ll play Tuesday either.

“I think sometimes people, we forget the guts or whatever it takes just to get in the box against these guys that throw hard and hang in there against a slider. It’s a lot of challenges you have to be focused on mentally in this game,” Showalter said. “If I know Mark, he’ll bounce back and respond well.”

Adam Jones is also not in the lineup for the opener at Fenway Park with a sprained right thumb that is still sore. Showalter said Jones was available to play if needed – leaving the door cracked open for a possibility of the center fielder potentially starting in Game 2.

Here is the Game 1 lineup for the Orioles: Angle 8, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Wieters 2, C. Davis 3, Andino 4, Reimold 7, Bell 5. Guthrie 1.

And for the Red Sox: Ellsbury 8, Pedroia 4, Gonzalez 3, Ortiz DH, Reddick 9, Crawford 7, Scutaro 6, Saltalamacchia 2, Aviles 5. Weiland 1.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Remember how Buck Showalter and his players poo-pooed the notion that they were motivated to beat the Tampa Bay Rays by the desire to play a role in determining who wins the American League playoff spots?

They all insisted that they were just trying to finish strong and were more concerned about themselves than playing the spoiler to the Rays or anybody else. But there has to be a better explanation for how they have risen up to win four of the six games against the contending Rays and Los Angeles Angels.

Maybe it's because they really do want to play the spoiler -- especially this week against the Boston Red Sox. Reserve catcher Craig Tatum let the cat out of the bag after Sunday's 11-2 loss to the Angels.

"It would be nice to go up there [to Boston] and ruin their season,'' Tatum said. "If we can do what we did to the Angels, it would be nice."

They won't have to wait long for their chance. They play a day-night doubleheader today at Fenway Park to kick off a four-game series that figures to be crucial to the Red Sox' wild-card run.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

First baseman Mark Reynolds said he "feels fine" today after being beaned by Angels starter Ervin Santana in the third inning of last night's game, but he obviously doesn't feel that the ball that struck him just above his left temple was an accident.

"I think it was on purpose,'' he said. "I don't think he tried to hit me in the head, but I think it was on purpose. If it was [to the head] on purpose ... "

Reynolds didn't finish that sentence, but a couple of teammates finished it for him ... and neither of their comments can be printed here.

Though Reynolds originally stayed in the game, he was removed for precautionary reasons in the fifth inning and sent for a CT Scan. He said today that there is a sore area where the ball struck him, but he is having no cognitive problems.

So, stand by for some possible beanball intrigue in today's series finale against the Angels. Here's today's Orioles lineup:

Matt Angle CF
J.J. Hardy SS
Nick Markakis RF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Chris Davis 1B
Josh Bell 3B
Robert Andino 2B
Kyle Hudson LF
Craig Tatum C

Alfredo Simon RHP

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

You can question Mark Reynolds' defensive ability at third or his inability to make contact at the plate.

But you can’t question this guy’s toughness.

In the third inning Saturday, Reynolds was beaned in the left side of his helmet by an Ervin Santana fastball. Reynolds had homered against Santana in his previous at-bat in the first inning (and Santana plunked the next Orioles hitter, Nolan Reimold, after Reynolds in the first).

After getting hit in the head Saturday, Reynolds bounced right to his feet and ended up heading to first base. He stayed in the game until he was pulled in the top of the fifth for precautionary reasons. Later, he was taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center for a CT scan.

“He wasn’t having any symptoms; everything was fine,” manager Buck Showalter said. “But [we] just wanted to be on the safe side when you are talking about that.”

More Showalter on Reynolds: “Sometimes caution is the better part of valor. I don't think he was real happy coming out of the game. But you lean on the doctors at that point, and anytime you are dealing with the head, you certainly are going to be cautious.”

Here’s the even more impressive part: Reynolds was beaned in the helmet last August when he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks. And he started the next game. For full disclosure, he then missed three games after that and said he never really got back into a groove.

But for a guy to be hit in the head in consecutive seasons, and not even want to come out of a game the second time – that says something.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

One of the reasons the Orioles sent Zach Britton to the minors in July – besides limiting his service time and controlling his innings pitched – was because they wanted to make sure he wouldn’t be shut down in September.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter thinks it is important for young pitchers to get a taste of what it is like to pitch in the regular season’s final month, when the grind is at its highest and some are playing meaningful games.

Britton will likely get two more starts this month, but Saturday’s gem, in which he allowed three hits, two walks and one run while striking out a career-high seven in seven innings against the Los Angeles Angles, served as the perfect example of what Showalter was hoping to accomplish.

“I believe he's got 15 innings to get to the target mark with him that we hope to get,” Showalter said. “We'd hope to get him pitching with the ball in his hand in September. So, so far, so good. … Hopefully, it bodes well for the future.”

Britton (10-10) is tied with the injured Jake Arrieta for the team lead in wins. He is starting to again look like the pitcher who began his big league career 5-1.

“I know I'm capable of it,” Britton said. “The last couple outings, it just came down to fastball command. It was better tonight. Obviously, it can still improve, but it allowed me to go deeper in the game. So I feel like I've had good stuff. It's about putting it together, and I'm starting to do that.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Adam Jones said his MRI on Saturday showed a sprained right thumb – and no extra damage.

So he said he figures he’ll try to play through it and then rest after Sept. 28th’s season-ender. Jones hasn’t started since Friday, Sept. 9 at Toronto. He was not in Saturday’s starting lineup.

“I can’t hurt it no more,” he said. “It’s painful not to play, too, so I’m going to try and play and tolerate it.”

He has no problem gripping a ball, but when he swings a bat and makes contact, he feels the pain.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said lefty Brian Matusz is the likely starter for Monday’s doubleheader nightcap at Fenway Park.

Matusz is 1-7 with a 9.84 ERA in 10 games this season and has pitched just once this month, when he allowed five earned runs in 1 1/3 innings at the New York Yankees on Sept. 5.

After that, he was relegated to working with pitching coach Rick Adair, and there was a question as to whether Matusz would start again this season.

“It kind of looks like Matusz in Game 2, but we’re gonna see,” Showalter said. “Brian’s worked hard, and he would start one of those games, either Sunday or Monday, anyway. So we’ll see. There are still a couple moving parts, we’ll wait and see.”

Jeremy Guthrie will pitch Monday’s first game at Fenway Park. Alfredo Simon pitches Sunday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Angels.

Showalter said center fielder Adam Jones was scheduled for an MRI on his sore right thumb at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Results weren’t in at the time of Showalter’s media conference, but the manager said there was an outside chance Jones could play Saturday.

Jones hasn’t played since Friday, Sept. 9 in Toronto, and has been scratched from the lineup several times after experiencing pain during batting practice. He was not in the original lineup Saturday.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 5:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Adam Jones is out of the lineup again today. The center fielder hasn't started since last Friday in Toronto.

He is expected to have an MRI on his sore right thumb today. Jones is making the point that he is not shutting it down for the remainder of the season.

Here's the lineup for Saturday against the Angels:

Angle 8, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Wieters 2, Davis 5, Reynolds 3, Reimold 7, Andino 4, Britton 1

Posted by Dan Connolly at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Just when you thought all was doom and gloom about the Orioles’ organization, the High-A Frederick Keys captured the Carolina League championship Friday night, pummeling the Kinston Indians, 11-3, in the fourth and final game of the series.

They were led by Orioles’ top prospect, shortstop Manny Machado, who had a three-run homer and four total RBIs in the win.

It marks the Keys’ fourth championship and first since 2007. It is also the first title for any Orioles minor league affiliate since 2007.

“Congratulations to Frederick; that’s great. I am excited about that,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “Those kids had a great year. I congratulate manager [Orlando] Gomez and staff there. That’s pretty neat. It’s all relevant, too. I am pretty proud of them. Everybody is.”

OK, this may not be the best time to roll out this stat – but stats guru Bill Arnold compiled the list of regular-season minor league records and playoff appearances for all 30 organizations, and the Orioles didn’t fare particularly well (though no AL East team did).

The Orioles’ seven affiliates finished a combined 374-394, a .487 winning percentage, which was 25th of 30. They did have three teams make the playoffs, though: Frederick, the Gulf Coast League Orioles and the Dominican Summer League Orioles.

Here is the list with the organization, number of total affiliates, overall record, number of teams making the postseason and total winning percentage:

Org., Affiliates, Record, Postseason, Win Pct.
Rangers, 7, 431-332, 4, .565
Dodgers, 7, 414-349, 4, .543
Giants, 7, 411-352, 4, .539
Phillies, 8, 437-400, 2, .522
A's, 7, 392-360, 4, .521
Cardinals, 8, 428-399, 2, .518
Indians, 7, 392-369, 2, .515
Padres, 7, 393-370, 4, .515
Pirates, 8, 429-409, 2, .512
Nationals, 7, 387-370, 3, .511
Reds, 8, 420-405, 3, .509
Cubs, 8, 421-409, 3, .507
Angels, 7, 386-376, 5, .507
White Sox, 7, 386-384, 2, .501
Mets, 9, 450-453, 3, .498
Rays, 9, 450-455, 3, .497
Rockies, 7, 389-397, 2, .495
Marlins, 7, 375-383, 2, .495
Yankees, 8, 412-422, 2, .494
Royals, 8, 408-418, 2, .494
Blue Jays, 8, 430-445, 4, .491
Twins, 7, 372-387, 1, .490
Red Sox, 7, 376-392, 1, .490
Diamondbacks, 8, 409-429, 3, .488
Orioles, 7, 374-394, 3, .487
Mariners, 9, 421-445, 2, .486
Braves, 7, 356-400, 1, .471
Brewers, 7, 355-406, 0, .467
Tigers, 8, 390-455, 0, .462
Astros, 8, 337-488, 0, .409

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Minors
        

When the Orioles acquired right-hander Tommy Hunter, they saw him as an innings-eater with a win-first mentality.

Two months into his time in Baltimore, Orioles manager Buck Showalter is still loving the 25-year-old’s attitude.

After he gave up a two-run lead last week in the seventh inning in an eventual 6-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Hunter was kicking himself for not getting through the inning unscathed.

In Friday’s 8-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels, Hunter again got into trouble in the seventh, issuing his only two walks. But he got out of it – and that meant something to Hunter and to Showalter.

“I’ve been coming up short these last couple of outings – getting into the seventh inning and having a rough couple of seventh innings,” Hunter said. “Today, it was a different story.”

Said Showalter: “I thought the seventh inning had a chance to kind of get away from him, and he dialed it back in and made some good pitches. Tommy is 25. Tommy, he is still learning things about himself and about what he’s got to do. His preparation to pitch seems to get better as he gets experience, and I think he has a chance to help us.”

So does that mean Hunter can make that successful seventh inning carry over late in games in the future? “We’ll see. It’s good," Showalter said. "At some point, he’ll say, ‘Should have gotten through the eighth, should’ve gotten through the ninth.’ Believe me, Tommy’s got an attractive, old-school approach to pitching.”

And that is?

“He gets it as far as what’s expected of a starting pitcher and what’s supposed to happen after you score some runs and what is best for a team when a starting pitcher gets solidly, consistently through that sixth and seventh and hopefully eighth and ninth innings,” Showalter said. “Tommy starts every game sincerely with the idea that he’s going to pitch nine innings and be the winning pitcher. He’s got that mentality. He’s not trying to give you X number of innings and X number of pitches; he’s trying to get all 27 outs.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones felt consistent pain in his right thumb after his first swing during Friday’s batting practice and again was scratched from the lineup.

An hour before Friday’s game versus the Los Angeles Angels, Jones was at his locker waiting to be examined by a hand specialist in hopes he can figure out what’s causing the thumb pain.

“I’m mad,” Jones said. “But at the end of the day, I don’t want to hurt myself or the team, and right now, I’d be hurting myself and the team.”

Jones said he tried to swing with maximum effort during pre-game BP – and he hit several balls over the wall – but said the contact aggravated the injury that has bothered him off and on since May. He’s played through it, but it had gotten worse in the last week.

Jones hasn’t played since he fouled a ball off his left ankle last Friday against Toronto. He sat out Saturday and said the knee was better by Sunday, but then he was limited because of the thumb. He’s unsure when he’ll play again – but hopes it is soon.

At this point he doesn’t expect to get an MRI. An X-Ray taken this week showed no real difference from the X-Ray he had taken on the thumb in July.

“I don’t know exactly what it is,” he said. “It is annoying me, and I know I want to be on the field with my teammates.”

Nolan Reimold replaced Jones in the starting lineup, and Matt Angle moved from left to center.

Here is the new lineup: Angle 8, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Wieters 2, Davis 5, Reynolds 3, Reimold 7, Andino 4. Hunter 1.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Adam Jones is in Friday's starting lineup, so the sore right thumb must be a little better. He missed four games with the thumb and a swollen left ankle.

Here is the Orioles' lineup vs. Angels: Angle 7, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Wieters 2, Jones 8, Davis 5, Reynolds 3, Andino 4, Hunter 1

Posted by Dan Connolly at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Some thoughts on this windy Friday:

The Orioles had their first off day in 27 days Thursday. I hope they enjoyed it. They’ll now play 14 straight games in 13 days. And they’re not of the easy variety: three against the Los Angeles Angels, seven against the Boston Red Sox and four against the Detroit Tigers.

The good news is that all they need to do is win three of their final 14 and they’ve avoided 100 losses again. Terrible consolation prize, I know, but worth noting.

I’ve been saying all year that 100 losses is extremely difficult to do and that this team wasn’t bad enough to pull it off (I’ve seen worse Orioles’ clubs in the past 10 years, and they avoided 100). Jeff Zrebiec was adamant that this team would lose 100. Now that it looks like he’s wrong, we had to push him onto a less complex sport, like football.

Seriously, I know many of you are disappointed to see Z switch Insiders and head to the Ravens. Jeff and I worked together for six years covering baseball and the Orioles, and I like to think we were a pretty good team. I’ll be wearing a black armband with a bald head stitched on it for the remainder of the season.

I also will try to do my best to keep you updated with all things Orioles. Obviously, we’ll be down a man for a while, but hopefully you won’t notice it too often. I’ll continue to throw news and observations at you and keep Connolly’s Bar open.

Now, to Connolly’s Bar, here’s a question for many of you: Should we keep Ravens’ Prediction Friday going in this space this season? I skipped it last week – since we had enough complaints last year that people didn’t want Ravens in their Orioles Insider or chocolate in their peanut butter – and then I got crushed by several people this week for not doing it.

It’s up to you. If you want Prediction Friday with the Ravens to return – we pick the outcome and player of the game in the bar each week and revisit the predictions on the following Monday – we can do that. This would be the fourth year of that tradition.

But if you want just Orioles’ stuff, I am OK with that, too. Let your voices be heard (and predict this Sunday’s game if you like. For the record, I am saying the Ravens win, 24-10, against the Titans. And Ray Rice continues what will be his season-long assault on opposing defenses).

OK, back to the Orioles. The Pittsburgh Pirates lost their 82nd game Wednesday, which allowed them to pad their record of 19 straight seasons without getting over .500. The Orioles have 14 consecutive, that’s good enough – or bad enough – for fourth all time, according to my friend, the fine Pirates writer and Baseball Prospectus guru John Perrotto.

Here’s John’s list of biggest losers in modern baseball history.

19 seasons --- Pirates 1993-2011
16 --- Phillies 1933-48
15 --- Athletics (Phi/KC) 1953-67
14 --- Orioles 1998-2011
12 --- Brewers 1993-2004
12 --- Tigers 1994-2005

Posted by Dan Connolly at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (32)
        

Here’s a look at what other media outlets have been saying about the Orioles during the past week:

• SI’s Jon Heyman writes that Andy MacPhail's likely departure is a blow to O's in more ways than one.

Baseball insiders are all but certain that well-respected executive Andy MacPhail will leave his post as president and general manager of the Orioles. MacPhail's expected departure is the latest in a string of blows covering more than a decade for the storied franchise gone south. But the real question now is the interesting one: Will anyone of stature take such a job?

"Who'd want it?'' wonders one high-ranking baseball person.

No one since Hall of Famer Pat Gillick quit in 1998 has been able to get the Orioles to the playoffs, and lately no one has even gotten them close to .500. MacPhail, a true pro, is a loss. But he really never had a chance from the start.

• Patrick DiCaprio speculates that the Orioles may turn the closer's job over to Jim Johnson in 2012.

Assuming that the Orioles do not go out and get a closer this offseason, it appears that Jim Johnson is the heir apparent to the atrocious reign of Kevin Gregg. 

Can Johnson give Orioles fans the hope and change they want? He has garnered saves in his last four outings, so clearly there is at least hope. But what about change? 

There are two things that a closer needs to do to keep the job, get strikeouts and throw ground balls.

• ESPN’s Christina Kahrl listed former O’s pitcher Mike Cuellar as one of the AL’s all-time Hispanic greats.

Cuellar only had an eight-year run in Baltimore, and arrived well after he’d turned 30, but the O’s saw a workhorse, and innings and wins are what they got. Cuellar became the first Latin pitcher to win the Cy Young Award when he split it with Denny McClain in 1969 -- his first year as an Oriole. He went on to notch 143 wins during his time in Baltimore, and also delivered WAR seasons worth 2.5 wins or more in five of his first six seasons.

• Heath Bintliff of Dempsey’s Army is rooting for the Orioles to lose down the stretch. But why?

With the recently concluded series with Tampa Bay and seven games with the Boston Red Sox over a two-week span in such close proximity to one another, it has led some Oriole fans to root against their own team. For some reason, the O's laying down for the Rays and playing tough against the Red Sox is the desired outcome, hopefully allowing the Tampa Bay to catch Boston and claim the American League wild card lead.

Why would I ever root against the Orioles? So that one division rival can oust another? Why should I care which of those teams makes the playoffs? Hell, if I had to pick, I'll take the Red Sox for the playoffs. If the Rays start making the playoffs on a regular basis, they may start to develop a fanbase, something that is non-existent for them now. If that started happening, their revenues would increase and they might really prove to be a more formidable organization than they are already. Boston will continue to be an AL East powerhouse whether they make the playoffs this year or not.

So to root against the Orioles for such petty reasons seems silly to me.

But I will root for them to lose for another reason: the draft.

• Brittany Ghiroli wrote about O’s fan Tim Anderson catching two more homers at Wednesday’s game.

Lifelong Orioles fan Tim Anderson, who made national and local headlines when he caught home runs in three consecutive contests at Camden Yards earlier this season, was at it again Wednesday night. A Calvert Hall senior, Anderson snagged home run balls by Chris Davis and Matt Wieters in Baltimore's 6-2 win over Tampa Bay.

With the Orioles down by one in the fourth inning, Davis sent Rays starter Wade Davis' 0-2 offering over the left-center-field fence for a pivotal three-run homer. Meanwhile, Wieters set a new career high by going deep for the third consecutive game when he connected on Tampa Bay rookie Matt Moore's first pitch in the eighth. Wieters' ball sailed an estimated 382 feet and landed close enough to Davis' blast for Anderson to come away with another multi-catch night.

[Compiled by Matt Vensel. If you enjoy reading these posts about the Orioles, Ravens and other Baltimore sports, check out Matt Vensel’s Coffee Companion posts every morning, Monday-Friday.]

Posted by Matt Vensel at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
Categories: What They're Saying about the O's
        

Matt Wieters was pretty stoked about hitting his 20th home run Wednesday night. He usually downplays statistical goals, but he's been on a power binge lately and conceded that getting to 20 was significant.

"It's nice,'' he said. "It's a good feeling to get to 20. I don't think numbers are going to be what they are at the end of the year, and there's no really controlling them after the fact, but it's nice to get 20 and especially the first time in a career to get there."

So, does this mean that he'll be focused on 30 or 35 next year? He has been the victim of some outsized early expectations, so he wasn't about to feed them by answering that in the affirmative.

"I don't think you can worry about 30 or 35, especially when you just got to 20,'' he said. "It's nice to finish the season strong because that means the work you put in in the offseason has paid off, to be able to stay healthy and keep grinding it out through September. It means a lot as far as you knowing what to do going into the offseason to get yourself ready for next year."

Orioles first base prospect Rhyne Hughes was one of three minor league players suspended by Major League Baseball for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Hughes was suspended for 50 games, beginning at the start of next season, for testing positive for an amphetamine.

Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Cole Green also was suspended for 50 days for testing positive for Methylhexaneamine, and Rockies right-hander Randol Rogers was suspended for the same period for testing positive for a metabolite of Boldenone. The suspensions were announced by Major League Baseball in a news release Wednesday.

Adam Jones will not need an MRI on his sore thumb. Manager Buck Showalter said before the game that Jones is getting better and might have been available to pinch-hit if it had been necessary.

The Orioles are off today before opening a weekend series against another playoff contender. The Los Angeles Angels come to Camden Yards for three games, needing to make hay to catch the Texas Rangers, but Showalter still says he doesn't care about playing the spoiler role.

"I'm not about making statements and all that stuff,'' he said. "Tomorrow our guys have their first true off day in 27 days. I'd just like for them to leave tonight and enjoy tomorrow. The things that they've grinded through this year and continue to, I'm proud of them. For Matty to get his 20th home run in a big situation, be able to open that up and give us some breathing room. Whether it's against somebody that's still in it or not, from our standpoint as an organization and a team, it should be what we are about instead of the exception."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Orioles lineup for tonight against Tampa

Matt Angle -- CF
JJ Hardy -- SS
Nick Markakis -- RF
Vladimir Gurerro -- DH
Matt Wieters -- C
Chris Davis -- 3B
Mark Reynolds -- 1B
Nolan Reimold -- LF
Robert Andino -- 2B

Tampa Bay lineup:

Sam Fuld -- LF
B.J. Upton -- CF
Evan Longoria -- 3B
Ben Zobrist -- 2B
Johnny Damon -- DH
Matt Joyce -- RF
Casey Kotchman -- 1B
John Jaso -- C
Reid Brignac -- SS

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he still hasn't decided how the Orioles will set their rotation with a Monday double header coming up, but that he has several options he's mulling, including giving Rick VandenHurk another start. Jo-Jo Reyes and Brian Matusz are also options, either for one of the double header games or for the following day. The Orioles are off on Thursday, and will likely come back with Tommy Hunter on Friday, Zach Britton on Saturday and Alfredo Simon on Sunday.

Jim Johnson had to leave the Orioles this afternoon because of a family emergency, and he may not be available for tonight's game, Showalter said.

Posted by Kevin Van Valkenburg at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Adam Jones was in good spirits Wednesday before the Orioles' game against the Tampa Bay Rays, saying his thumb -- which has kept him from starting the past four games -- feels better. The center fielder had an X-ray on it Tuesday, and it didn't reveal a break. He said the Orioles' training staff didn't believe he needed to have an MRI. Jones thinks the injury will be behind him soon. He's not in the lineup again tonight, although he said he's available to pinch-run.

"I've been resting," Jones said. "I haven't been trying to hit. I can throw though. It feels better today. With [Wednesday] off, and an extra day off [Thursday], hopefully we can get the swelling down and it will be all good."

Buck Showalter said he hadn't ruled out using Jones as a pinch-hitter Wednesday if necessary.

"We're hoping this is behind him by Friday," Showalter said. "Today is the first day that he's really had some marked improvement."

Posted by Kevin Van Valkenburg at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

I’m not big on goodbyes, especially if I’m not going very far. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t express my appreciation and thanks for your readership on “Orioles Insider” over the past couple of years.

While this blog is not going anywhere and I hope it continues to be a must read for you, I won’t be posting here anymore. With our long-time Ravens’ beat writer Jamison Hensley getting a well-deserved opportunity at espn.com, I’ve been asked to join our NFL coverage team. As of this week, I’ll be covering the Ravens regularly and my work will be appearing in the daily paper, and on baltimoresun.com, and “Ravens Insider.”

I’ve been covering the Orioles since 2005, and despite the organization’s ongoing struggles, I’m going to miss it greatly. I’m going to miss working with close friends and “Orioles Insider” contributors, Dan Connolly and Steve Gould, and all my friends in the Camden Yards pressbox. I’m also going to miss regularly interacting with all of you who frequent this blog.

For a variety of reasons, I fought my editors hard before we finally launched this blog on the eve of the Orioles’ 2010 season. Seventeen months later, I’ll readily admit that I grew to enjoy it, mostly because it gave me the opportunity to write and opine on things that I couldn’t ordinarily get in newsprint, and also because it allowed me to interact directly with the most ardent Oriole fans.

So for that, I say thank you. I look forward to communicating with many of you at “Ravens Insider,” along with continuing to monitor your thoughts on the Orioles.

- Jeff Zrebiec

Posted by Jeff Zrebiec at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (36)
        

Here's the text of the Orioles press release announcing their schedule for the 2012 season:

ORIOLES ANNOUNCE 2012 SCHEDULE

Season opens at home vs. Minnesota on Friday, April 6, exactly 20 years after first game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards

The Orioles will kick off their 20th anniversary season at Oriole Park at Camden Yards with an Opening Day game on April 6, 2012 against the Minnesota Twins, 20 years to the day after the ballpark originally opened. The game is the first of a six-day season-opening homestand that will also see the New York Yankees come to Baltimore.

The Orioles will play each of their AL East rivals three times at Oriole Park. In addition to their opening homestand trip from April 9-11, the New York Yankees will make a two-game stop in Baltimore May 14-15 and play a four-game weekend series, September 6-9. The Red Sox will have three three-game series at Camden Yards – May 21-23, August 14-16 and September 28-30. The Tampa Bay Rays will make their first trip to Oriole Park the weekend of May 11-13, followed by two more three-game series July 24-26 and September 11-13. The Toronto Blue Jays will play in Baltimore April 24-26, August 24-26 and September 24-26.

In Interleague Play in 2012 the Philadelphia Phillies will make a weekend trip to Camden Yards, June 8-10, followed by a mid-week visit by the Pittsburgh Pirates, June 12-14. The Birds will also continue their rivalry with Washington in a home-and-home series against the Nationals. Baltimore will visit Nationals Park May 18-20, then host Washington in a weekend series June 22-24. The Birds will also travel to Atlanta from June 15-17 and New York from June 18-20 to face the Braves and Mets in Interleague Play.

Baltimore will host the Kansas City Royals twice, May 25-27 and August 9-12, and the Oakland A’s will also make two trips to Oriole Park, April 27-29 and July 27-29. Every other non-division AL opponent will make one trip to Camden Yards.

The Orioles will play 17 home games in August, their busiest month at Oriole Park. Overall, the Birds will play 42 of the 85 games prior to the All-Star break at Camden Yards. They have one 10-game homestand, August 6-16 against Seattle, Kansas City and Boston and two nine-game homestands, May 7-15 against Texas, Tampa Bay and New York and June 22-July 1 against Washington, Los Angeles and Cleveland.

The Orioles’ first road trip is a 10-game, three-city journey to Toronto, Chicago and Los Angeles from April 13-22. The team also has a nine-game, 11-day trip from May 28-June 7 to Toronto, Tampa Bay and Boston and a nine-game, 10-day trip September 14-23 to Oakland, Seattle and Boston.

Baltimore will conclude the season on the road with a three-game series at Tampa Bay, October 1-3. The complete 2012 schedule follows, with times to be announced at a later date.

Click right here to look at the month-to-month 2012 schedule over at Orioles.com.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (29)
        

With the score tied at 2 and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Orioles catcher Matt Wieters landed an uppercut on the Tampa Bay Rays, who are chasing the Boston Red Sox in the American League wild-card race. When Rays left-hander J.P. Howell left a changeup high in the strike zone, Wieters cranked a go-head home run into the left field bleachers for a 4-2 lead. The score held up.

Before Tuesday’s game at Camden Yards, Orioles manager Buck Showalter spoke at length about Wieters and his success against left-handers this season. In spring training, the Orioles force-fed Wieters at-bats against lefties, whether it was in exhibition games or simulated game situations. And entering Tuesday’s game, Wieters had been batting .320 with eight homers and 20 RBIs as a right-handed hitter against left-handers. He added to those last two totals with his bomb off Howell.

It was the second straight night Wieters hit a home run. He has five homers in his past 12 games, and he is one shy of 20 on the season. However, he said he hasn’t changed a thing.

“I wish I could figure out what that difference was, but no,” Wieters said after exiting the film room. “It’s just go out there and keep playing and be able to get some pitches to hit hard.”

And boy did he ever hit that one hard. It traveled 396 feet to left field, outdoing Evan Longoria’s sixth-inning shot off Alfredo Simon by 4 feet. But Wieters said at least some of the credit should go to Adam Jones. The center fielder was held out of the starting lineup for the fourth game in a row but entered the game as a pinch-runner after Vladimir Guerrero’s single off Howell. Jones induced a few throws to first base before Howell left the 1-1 pitch hanging up in the strike zone.

“Matty has a chance to hit 20 home runs,” said Showalter, who also noted what Jones did at first base. “It seems like every one of them has been a big home run. You think about it, I don't care if you're 25 or 45, if you're catching -- he's going to catch over 140 games -- that's remarkable. He's just been a rock. I'm really proud of him. He's gotten better every year he's been here. It's pretty easy to look prophetic when you're talking about someone with the upbringing of Matt Wieters.”

The home run was big for the Red Sox, too, who expanded their lead to four games with a win over the Toronto Blue Jays and the Rays’ loss to the Orioles. Asked by reporters how it felt to start the 10-count for Tampa Bay, Wieters said he takes little pleasure in playing the spoiler role.

“We’re just trying to play as well as we can against teams that are going to the playoffs,” said the All-Star, who had an ice pack onto his right shoulder after another game behind the plate. “They can fight it out and go for the playoffs. We’re just going to try and get better and keep working.”

Posted by Matt Vensel at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones will be held out of the starting lineup for a fourth consecutive game tonight when the Orioles host the Tampa Bay Rays at Camden Yards. Jones had an X-ray on his sore right thumb yesterday, and the results came back negative. But he is still experiencing discomfort when he holds a bat -- he said before the game that he can’t even use a pen pain-free -- and Orioles manager Buck Showalter decided to give Kyle Hudson the start in center field.

Showalter praised Jones’ toughness, saying that if Jones was hurting enough to tell the trainers, he must be experiencing a significant amount of pain. However, Showalter said that if this thumb injury had occurred in the middle of the season when the team had just 25 active roster spots, it wouldn’t be enough for the Orioles to place Jones to the 15-day disabled list. He also indicated that Jones is available to pinch-run tonight.

Here is tonight’s Orioles lineup:

3B Robert Andino
SS J.J. Hardy
RF Nick Markakis
DH Vladimir Guerrero
C Matt Wieters
1B Mark Reynolds
LF Nolan Reimold
2B Ryan Adams
CF Kyle Hudson
SP Alfredo Simon

Here is tonight’s Rays lineup:

LF Desmond Jennings
CF B.J. Upton
3B Evan Longoria
2B Ben Zobrist
DH Johnny Damon
RF Matt Joyce
1B Casey Kotchman
C John Jaso
SS Sean Rodriguez
SP David Price

Posted by Matt Vensel at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Frank Robinson’s 500th home run. It was hit at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 13, 1971, against the Detroit Tigers.

I know this because the guy who caught the ball, Leo Resop, emailed me. I figured I’d pass it on to you since Leo incorrectly assumed I wasn’t born at the time. And anyone who thinks I am under 40 is a friend of mine.

Anyway, Frank went on to hit 586, which is now ninth all time. At one point, before you know what happened to baseball, Robinson was fourth on that list, behind only Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.

I once asked Frank about hitting 600 homers, and he said it just wasn’t a goal or recognized milestone back then. Five-hundred was, but 600 wasn’t.

He said he easily could have hit 14 more homers but his jerk of a manager at the end of his career in Cleveland didn’t play him enough.

That manager, of course, was named Frank Robinson.

By the way, Leo Resop wrote about catching that 500th homer. Here’s a link.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

Baseball has become such a business that it’s easy to forget how cool the big league experience can be at times, even to a newly minted millionaire.

On Monday, Nick Delmonico, a high school third baseman whom the Orioles paid $1.525 million as their sixth-round pick this year, was at Camden Yards taking batting practice.

He had been here once before, when he was about 8 and his dad, then the head baseball coach at the University of Tennessee, brought the family to Baltimore. The Delmonicos got onto the field, and Nick had a chance to meet Alex Rodriguez, one of his baseball idols.

“I met Alex Rodriguez in the visiting dugout. It was me, my dad, my two brothers, and we go to go in,” Delmonico said. “He was one of my favorite players growing up so that was something special. That was the last time I was here. I never thought I’d be hitting in this ballpark when I was younger. I’m very blessed to be able to do that.”

Delmonico had another brush with baseball greatness Monday. After his batting session, he went into the home dugout to switch clothes.

“When I was changing, Vladimir Guerrero came [over] and slipped me a chair so I could sit down and change,” Delmonico said. “All around, the coaches were very nice, very helpful and
welcoming. So it was really good to come and feel at home right off the bat.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Rookie lefty Zach Britton is back under .500 after winning three straight decisions to get to 9-9.

Monday’s 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays dropped him to 9-10 with a 4.43 ERA. Just when Britton looked like he had recaptured what made him so good in the first two months of his career, he’s had consecutive less-than-stellar performances.

To Britton’s credit, that really bothers him.

“Real frustrating, because I feel like I have kind of got over that hump and it is just now about throwing strikes and not putting myself in tough situations by walking people,” he said. “So if you eliminate those, I am fine.”

Britton allowed five hits in five innings, but he also gave up a career-high-tying four walks. He struck out two and was charged with four earned runs.

“I left some balls up in situations where I put guys on and made a lot more stress for myself. I didn’t execute a lot of 2-0 counts,” he said. “And it’s a lot easier to hit when you are comfortable and you’re ahead.”

Britton probably has three more starts left this season to get back over .500 and to get double-digit wins. So there’s plenty of incentive for him.

But the competitive rookie wanted to play spoiler Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays, whom he had beaten twice in his first three starts.

“We all know that they’re in the battle for it, they are playing really well. So I actually want to go out them and beat them. You don’t want them to get it on your clock,” he said. “So I was really disappointed that I didn’t put together a good effort and got us in a hole early and we couldn’t put it together.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Adam Jones is out of the lineup for the third consecutive day, but this time it’s because of a sore right thumb and not a swollen left ankle, Buck Showalter said.

Actually, Showalter said, the thumb was the primary reason he was out of Sunday’s game as well, but Showalter didn’t broadcast that information to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Showalter said Jones has been dealing with the thumb soreness for a while – it’s likely a deep bruise – and is similar to what bothered him earlier this season.

“Every guy out there has got something we don’t talk about every day,” Showalter said. “And Adam’s just got one of those things that won’t completely go away. A lot of guys have things that won’t go away until probably a month or so until the season is over.”

Jones will get a “baseline X-Ray” today, and that will be compared to one taken earlier this year in Atlanta when Jones’ thumb was sore.

He is still being listed as day-to-day.

Here’s the lineup for Monday’s game:

Orioles: Angle 9, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Wieters 2, Davis 5, Reynolds 3, Hudson 7, Andino 4. Britton 1.

Rays: Jennings 7, Upton 8, Longoria 5, Zobrist 4, Damon DH, Rodriguez 6, Kotchman 3, Lobaton 2, Guyer 9. Niemann 1.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 5:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

I basically asked this question earlier this year.

But there may be a change in perspective now.

Adam Loewen has made it all the way back to the big leagues – and he hit a key homer Sunday that helped give the Toronto Blue Jays a 6-5 victory over the Orioles.

I spoke to Loewen this weekend in Toronto. He has always been a really good guy, and he was very gracious in our discussion. And, honestly, I can’t help but pulling for him a little bit.

He couldn’t help the fact that his left elbow betrayed him, effectively wasting the $4 million the Orioles gave him in 2002 as the fourth pick overall in the amateur draft.

But he could help the fact that when the Orioles released him – and had a handshake agreement to re-sign him to a minor league deal as a hitter – he instead chose to join the Blue Jays, the only team in his home country.

He said this weekend that he felt bad about ditching the Orioles, but he did what he thought was best for his career. He also wouldn’t rule out a return to the Orioles’ organization one day.

I wonder whether you guys would be OK with that, if you are pulling for him. Or will his sudden departure – after retiring as a pitcher – forever be a point of bitterness for Orioles fans?

And I am wondering whether your opinion on Loewen changed from this summer – now that he is officially a major leaguer and helped cost the Orioles a win.

Daily Think Special: Adam Loewen: Friend or foe?

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (47)
Categories: Connolly's Corner Sports Bar
        

OK, so technically the Orioles didn’t lose Sunday’s game on the first big league homer by Adam Loewen, the Orioles’ former No. 1 pick in 2002 who chose the Toronto Blue Jays after his pitching career in Baltimore fizzled because of elbow injuries.

Loewen, a Canadian, made his comeback as an outfielder in the Blue Jays’ organization and returned to the big leagues last week.

His first homer – over Matt Angle’s glove to deep center field Sunday afternoon – tied the game at 5. The Blue Jays won, 6-5, three batters later when another former Oriole, Jose Bautista, hit a sacrifice fly.

In Saturday’s game, the Orioles lost when former Blue Jay Kevin Gregg coughed up a save opportunity. It just doesn’t seem like the exchange rate in Canada is fair anymore.

But back to Loewen, who was ecstatic after his seventh-inning homer against Tommy Hunter.

“I know so many guys over there, it was special to do it against them,” he said. “This is my life now, so this is probably my biggest moment. I'm a Blue Jay, and just to help the team win in a 5-4 game to tie it up is a great thrill. The fans at the Rogers Centre are loud, and I think hitting a home run compared to striking somebody out is a lot louder and a lot better feeling.”

Loewen compared the thrill to when he was an Orioles farmhand in 2006, had never pitched above Single-A Frederick, then shut down Team USA in the inaugural World Baseball Classic.

“That was my biggest moment till now, just because I came from High-A ball and I was pitching against [Derek] Jeter, [Mark] Teixeira and Derrek Lee, Ken Griffey, guys that I grew up idolizing,” Loewen said. “That was probably more exciting, but this feels good, too.”

No one wants to see the opposition hit a key homer, but Orioles right-fielder Nick Markakis says he is proud of Loewen, his former roommate, for what he has overcome.

“To see him do that, and to see him hit his first home run – you don’t want to see it – but it happened and I got to see it and I am happy for him,” Markakis said. “I hope he has a healthy and successful career. I’m sure I’ll be seeing him, playing against him a lot.”

What Loewen has accomplished – to get back to the big leagues as a hitter after being a pitcher – really is extraordinary. Washington Nationals outfielder Rick Ankiel was the most recent to do it before Loewen.

“When Rick Ankiel did it, I was amazed that that guy could pitch in the big leagues and then turn around and come back and hit,” Orioles third baseman Chris Davis said. “Not hitting for six years or something like that and then being able to put on a big league uniform and doing it up here, there is a lot to be said for that. He hit that ball today, I didn’t really think he got it that good, but [he’s] a big, strong guy and he got it out to center field. So I’ll tip my hat to him.”

Here’s what Hunter had to say: “We have the same agent [Michael Moye], so I’m probably going to hear about this for the rest of the time we are together. But you definitely tip your cap. It’s one of those things that he has gone through a lot of adversity in his life, just in the game of baseball, and to come back and be productive in the big leagues, not only as a pitcher, but as a player, coming back in a different position, is ridiculous. I give him a lot of credit. Rick Ankiel, the same thing. It’s a good story, and hopefully he finishes strong.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

Rogers Centre held a nice ceremony before Sunday’s game to honor the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy in the United States.

It included color guards from Canadian police, fire and rescue units. Instead of a first pitch, Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero placed a ball on the mound and the names of the 24 Canadians killed in the attacks were shown on the stadium’s video screen.

Players from both teams set up on the foul lines instead of their usual spots outside the dugouts.

Before the game, I talked to Orioles reliever Jim Johnson about the 9-11 attacks. Johnson grew up in Endicott, N.Y., about two-plus hours from New York City. He was in his first year in professional baseball, but he also was a volunteer firefighter at the time.

Johnson was asleep at his parents’ home when his mother called and told him to turn on the TV – any channel – and watch what was going on. He tuned in just in time to see the second plane hit the south tower.

Shortly thereafter, Johnson went down to his fire station and waited with other members of the unit, which was put on standby, in case it was needed to help.

“We got put on standby, like pretty much anybody in that area because nobody knew what was going on,” Johnson said. “It was pretty much a precautionary move, but there was no direct link to New York because they were obviously pretty busy.”

Within days, Johnson’s county sent a volunteer search and rescue group to Ground Zero to help. Johnson said he would have gone, but he instead had to leave for the Orioles’ instructional league in Sarasota, Fla., that week.

“I was leaving in the next couple days. I was literally packing up in the next couple days,” he said.

Johnson was a volunteer firefighter in New York state from 2000 to about 2004.

“It definitely felt like I got sucker-punched that day,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t as personal to me as it was to some of the guys I knew and in some of the circles from where I am from. We are far enough removed from the city to where it’s not really a direct link. But state fire instructors all come from New York. Guys have family that were down there. It wasn’t direct to me, but it doesn’t matter. It’s the fraternity. It’s like in baseball where if something happens tragic to one team, it’s felt by every team.”

Here’s what Buck Showalter had to say on the 10-year anniversary: “We all remember where we were. … I remember turning to my family and saying life just changed dramatically for all of us, and not just Americans. A day like today really makes you realize some of the things we think are real important, that we do every day, is not really in the whole [life scheme]. Seems like we’ve had a lot of reminders of that this year. … I think it is still an emotional day for most people. You try to put yourself in people’s shoes, and you just couldn’t imagine. It makes us realize how vulnerable we all are regardless of where we make home.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

OK, scratch that last blog.

Because Adam Jones got scratched again after testing his left ankle before the game.

So Jones is out for the second consecutive day.

Matt Angle has moved from left to center, and Nolan Reimold is now starting in left.

Here's the new lineup: Angle 8, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Wieters 2, Reynolds 3, Davis 5, Reimold 7, Andino 4.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

OK, the Orioles news this Sunday morning from Toronto is that Adam Jones is back in center field today after missing one game with a swollen left ankle.

But what may be more interesting is who is in center for the Toronto Blue Jays: Adam Loewen.

You read that right.

Loewen, who I interviewed earlier this week, is back int he majors and this time as an outfielder. The former Orioles' top pick as a left-handed pitcher made his debut in the field on Wednesday for the Blue Jays -- but that was in right field.

Now he is in center, batting ninth.

Here are the lineups:

Orioles: Angle 7, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Jones 8, Wieters 2, Reynolds 3, Davis 5, Andino 4. Hunter 1.

Blue Jays: McCoy 6, Thames 7, Bautista 9, Lind DH, Lawrie 5, Johnson 4, Cooper 3, Arencibia 2, Loewen 8. McGowan 1.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Closer Kevin Gregg blew his seventh save opportunity in 27 chances – and third in his last six tries -- Saturday afternoon when he gave up a game-winning single to J.P. Arencibia.

Gregg entered with one out and no one on in the ninth and struck out his first batter. Then he walked the next guy, gave up a single and then plunked former Oriole Adam Loewen, who was pinch-hitting in his second game as a big-league outfielder.

Gregg uncorked a wild pitch to tie the game and then Arencibia ended it.

“Obviously, I struck out the first guy and then go out there and end up walking a guy, a groundball base hit, hit a guy and another base hit,” Gregg said. “Obviously, you start strong and then that happens. Yeah, it wasn’t good.”

The Orioles bullpen had thrown six scoreless and hitless innings up until Gregg entered.

“The guys did an outstanding job. The whole team put together a great effort today,” Gregg said. “Unfortunately, I spoiled it at the end.”

Gregg wasn’t available on Friday, when Jim Johnson got the save. Showalter said Johnson and Pedro Strop weren’t available on Saturday, so it was Gregg’s game to lose. He did, but give him credit. He answered reporters’ questions afterward.

“You’ve got to roll with the punches. Save opps (have) been coming at a premium so it is something you’ve got to deal with,” he said. “It’s not the first one I’ve messed up and it probably won’t be the last one.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (33)
        

Center fielder Adam Jones was originally in Saturday’s lineup but has been scratched with swelling in his left ankle.

He fouled a ball off the ankle in Friday night’s game, dropped to the field, got on his feet and dropped again before getting up, walking around and, ultimately staying in the game.

“Initially I got up and then I went back down, when I did that, I was like, ‘That hurt,’” Jones said.

He said the ankle was sore when he went to the team hotel Friday night, and it was swollen when he woke up.

“I almost slipped out of bed,” Jones said. “Last night, I knew it hurt, but I didn’t know it’d hurt this bad.”

He said he expects to play Sunday, though that won’t be determined until he gets to the park for the game. Orioles manager Buck Showalter agreed.

“I was talking to (athletic trainer Richie Bancells) and he could go if he had to (on Saturday),” Showalter said of Jones. “But he probably could use the day with it. Quick turnaround, too. If it’s a night game and you’re sitting with it elevated all day, it might be a different gig.”

With Jones scratched, Matt Angle was moved from right to center, Nick Markakis was moved from first base to right field and Chris Davis was shifted from third to first. Josh Bell, who wasn’t in the original lineup, was inserted at third base.

In other Orioles news, righty reliever Jason Berken (right forearm/elbow) was scheduled to throw a side session in Sarasota on Saturday and then fly to Baltimore and be ready to be activated Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Lefty Brian Matusz threw roughly 30 pitches in a bullpen session Saturday. He said he used all his pitches and felt good afterward. There is no set timetable for his next outing, but Showalter said he almost certainly wouldn’t pitch out of the bullpen for Saturday’s game.

Shortstop Pedro Florimon will make his first big-league start on Saturday.

Here is the new lineup:
Orioles: Angle 8, Andino 4, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Davis 3, Bell 5, Hudson 7, Florimon 6, Tatum 2. VandenHurk 1.

Toronto: Escobar 6, Thames 7, Bautista 9, Lind 3, Teahen DH, Lawrie 5, Johnson 4, Molina 2, Wise 8. H. Alvarez 1.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

When Jeremy Guthrie is mixing all his pitches, getting ahead of hitters and placing his fastball where he wants to, he can be extremely difficult to hit.

Friday was one of those nights.

He allowed three hits and three walks while striking out five in seven shutout innings in the Orioles’ 2-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Guthrie is now 7-17 this season, though he’ll tell you he’s not worrying too much about his record. And his teammates concur.

“I think he is just going to go about doing his business,” said catcher Matt Wieters. “That’s one thing that’s great about Guthrie. He’s going to come in here ready to work every day. It doesn’t matter if he is 2-20 or whether he is 15-3. He is going to get his work done and try to improve.”

It now looks like he’ll avoid 20 losses for a season. That ignominy has only been done once by these Orioles (Don Larsen’s 21 losses in 1954).

If Guthrie loses his next two, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Orioles skip his final start. So the potential of loss No. 20 is unlikely at this point.

One of the things that was most impressive about Guthrie on Friday – and has been a constant in his career here – is how well he plays his position. He helped himself greatly by making a tough play on a bunt and then snagging a comebacker for a key double play.

“Those are big plays,” Guthrie said. “You’ve got to make them if you want to stay in the game.”

Posted by Dan Connolly at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Chris Davis was out of the starting lineup Friday after a three-hit game on Thursday, but Showalter said there is no problem with Davis’ balky shoulder. Instead, he said Davis’ shoulder is better than it has been in weeks and the team wants to keep pushing him to see how it responds before a decision on whether to have surgery in the offseason is made.

“We’re trying to push the envelope to find out where his shoulder is,” Showalter said. “Once the season is over and you make the decision not to do anything necessarily with it, then you move forward.”

Davis participated in a long early batting practice session today and took some fielding practice with the assumption he’d have the day off, Showalter said. Also, the Orioles face lefty Brett Cecil on Friday and then three straight right-handers.

“It is a good spot for him (to have off),” Showalter said. “He’ll be out there tomorrow.”

Showalter said right-handed reliever Jason Berken’s return to the Orioles is “imminent.” Berken (forearm/elbow) has been on the disabled list since Aug. 22, but felt good again on Friday. Showalter said Berken likely wouldn’t join the team in Toronto, but that’s a possibility.

“I think he is ready for that consideration,” Showalter said.

It is more likely Berken joins the team for the upcoming homestand.

Showalter said it’s nice to play a normal night game after consecutive, extra-inning day games in two cities Wednesday and Thursday and a night game on Tuesday that didn’t start until after 11 p.m. due to rain.

“It’s challenging but, with very few exceptions, everybody’s got some part of the schedule that’s a challenge physically,” he said. “I’m real proud of our guys in the last 48 hours. They have really represented themselves and the Orioles well.”

Here are the lineups:

Orioles: Andino 5, Hardy 6, Markakis 9, Guerrero DH, Jones 8, Wieters 2, Reynolds 3, Reimold 7, Adams 4. Guthrie 1

Blue Jays: Escobar 6, Thames 7, Bautista 9, Encarnacion DH, Lind 3, Lawrie 5, Johnson 4, Arencibia 2, McCoy 8. Cecil 1.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

Jeremy Guthrie takes the mound at Rogers Centre tonight in what likely will be his fourth to last start of the season.

At 6-17, he is hoping to win all four and capture double-digit victories for the fourth consecutive season. That’s the way Guthrie is looking at it.

The pessimist may view it as this: He has a chance to lose 20 games, something that has been done just once before in an Orioles’ uniform: Don Larsen lost 21 in the club’s inaugural season in 1954.

After that, the list dips to 18 losses by four different Orioles: Jim Wilson in 1955, Pat Dobson in 1972, Rodrigo Lopez in 2006 and Daniel Cabrera in 2007. 17 losses have been reached eight times.

Guthrie has already tied his career-high in losses with 17, which he first set in 2009. He had a 5.04 ERA that season. This year, his ERA is 4.45 through 30 games (28 starts).

Posted by Dan Connolly at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Infielder Blake Davis, who was designated for assignment in the flurry of roster moves on Tuesday, has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to the Norfolk roster. Davis had to be moved off the 40-man roster along with Mark Hendrickson to make room for the return of Jeremy Accardo and Clay Rapada.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

The tarp is off the field at Camden Yards, some music that predates Peter Schmuck is blaring on the ballpark speakers and players from both the Orioles and the New York Yankees were just out on the grass stretching and playing catch. This is the first time in a few days the tarp has been rolled off the field.

The weather forecast is calling for scattered showers throughout the day, but as of right now, it looks as if today’s one-game homestand will start at its regularly scheduled time of 1:05 p.m.

Told by reporters that Yankees manager Joe Girardi was concerned about injuries on the soggy field, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he worries about his own players, too, even on a dry field.

“You can’t always paint a 75-degree day and no wind. We play in great conditions for the most part,” he said. “It’s part of the challenge, and nobody understands that more than Joe. … I don’t think we consider it hazardous duty, but it’s different conditions and you have to play through it.”

The Orioles have had an interesting week with schedule shuffling, rain delays and extra innings in yesterday's win at Yankee Stadium. After this one-day makeup game, the Orioles travel to Toronto for a three-game set.

“You get in a lot of different situations when you travel and what have you,” Showalter said. “But this is kind of uncharted territory. Take a train in, unpack, repack, come in, go again. By the time we get to go through those … customs -- I’ll leave it at that -- it’ll be a nice challenging day.”

At least the Orioles will be escaping all this rain.

Posted by Matt Vensel at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Here’s a look at what other media outlets have been saying about the Orioles during the past week:

• Marc Normandin of SB Nation writes that Brian Matusz “is having one of the roughest stretches with the long ball in the history of the game, and now finds himself kicked out of the rotation in Baltimore.”

It's been a rough 2011 for the Orioles' Brian Matusz. He's followed up a solid rookie campaign with one of the worst performances in the history of the game. In one way, that nightmare is now over. Manager Buck Showalter has removed Matusz from the Baltimore rotation, citing Matusz's inability to "defend himself properly," meaning Matusz can't get hitters out, and there is no sense in having him face hitters while in that condition.  

Matusz has a 9.64 ERA after 10 starts and 43 innings. Unless things drastically change for the lefty out of the bullpen over the next few weeks, he's going to hold an inglorious record: at this point, Matusz is the only pitcher ever with 10 or more starts and more than three home runs allowed per nine innings.

• MASN’s Steve Melewski is also trying to solve the Matusz mystery.

I can't think of a player that has had a bigger swing in his performance from very good to very bad quite as dramatically as Brian Matusz.

Over his last eight starts last year, he went 6-0 with a 1.57 ERA. In 10 starts this year, he is 1-7 with a 9.84 ERA. His ERA is 11.42 over his past four starts since he returned from the minor leagues.

The question that doesn't seem to have a clear and definitive answer is this: What the heck happened to Matusz?

Maybe it's one mass of a combination of a lack of proper conditioning along with too much tinkering with his delivery along with an injury along with a lack of command along with perhaps a lack of confidence.

• SI’s Mel Antonen writes that Jeremy Guthrie is not shrinking from duty as he nears a dubious mark.

Ask the Baltimore Orioles' Jeremy Guthrie if he's concerned about the possibility of becoming only the second pitcher in the past 30 years to be saddled with a 20-loss season, and he emphatically replies, "No, I'm not.''

Really? Why not?

As an answer, Guthrie pulls a book from his locker in the home clubhouse at Camden Yards and reads a quote from John Wooden's My Personal Best, which explains that the legendary UCLA basketball coach thinks the definition of success should be measured by effort, not results.

"I've memorized it, but not word-for-word,'' Guthrie says.

• Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com wonders how Peter Angelos will replace Andy MacPhail this winter.

Scouts are buzzing about the possibility of Marlins assistant GM Dan Jennings or Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava becoming the Orioles’ next GM, but no one should get too excited over either name — at least not yet. 

If, as expected, Andy MacPhail departs as president of baseball operations, owner Peter Angelos will prefer someone with whom he is familiar, or at the very least, someone who comes highly recommended by a person he trusts. 

That is Angelos’ pattern — he knew MacPhail from their work together in the 2002 and ’06 labor negotiations. And, according to one source, Angelos is not especially well-versed with the current crop of GM candidates. When asked about former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes and Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine, Angelos essentially replied, “Who?” the source said.

[Compiled by Matt Vensel. If you enjoy reading these posts about the Orioles, Ravens and other Baltimore sports, check out Matt Vensel’s Coffee Companion posts every morning, Monday-Friday.]

Posted by Matt Vensel at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
Categories: What They're Saying about the O's
        

Third baseman Chris Davis struck out five times in Wednesday's extra-inning game against the Yankees, setting a career high and accomplishing a dubious feat that hasn't been done in an Orioles uniform since Chris Hoiles struck out five times in a 12-inning game on June 14, 1997.

The last time it was done in a nine-inning game was on the same date as Davis -- Sept. 7, back during the "Why Not?" season of 1989. The record is six in an extra-inning game, set by Sam Horn on July 17, 1991.

Davis took the heat off teammate Mark Reynolds, who struck out four times today for the 15th time in his major league career.

When a player strikes out three times, they call it a Hat Trick. Four strikeouts is the Silver Sombrero. So, is there a name for it when a guy whiffs five times in a game?

Nothing universal, but my favorite is...drum roll please:

The Olympic Rings

Instant update: With Yankees fans chanting, "We want six!," Davis came to the plate with a chance to tie the Orioles record and fell behind on the count 0-2 before grounding out to second.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Let's start with today's lineups:

Orioles

Angle CF
Andino SS
Markakis DH
Reynolds 1B
Reimold RF
Davis 3B
Adams 2B
Hudson LF
Tatum C

Britton LHP

Yankees

Nunez SS
Martin C
Swisher RF
Rodriguez 3B
Jones LF
Montero DH
Laird 1B
Golson CF
Pena 2B

Burnett RHP

Last night:

Now that some of the smoke has cleared after the midnight marathon at Yankee Stadium, we can take a look back at that controversial home run by Francisco Cervelli that was reviewed and confirmed by the umpiring crew in the seventh inning.

We weren't the only ones to make a Jeffrey Maier comparison. The good people at ESPN replayed that infamous Derek Jeter home run during the highlights of last night's 5-3 Yankees victory.

Manager Buck Showalter argued the call before and after the video review, and he still is wondering today what angles the umpires got to see that you didn't see on the television feed. The only replays that the Orioles and the masses got to see were from a home plate perspective, which made it difficult to judge. Still, it looked like the fan reached over the fence to contact the ball

Left fielder Matt Angle was slightly out of position when he leapt for the ball, and said today that he couldn't really tell whether it would have cleared the fence or not. Center fielder Adam Jones, who probably had the best angle on the ball, would not express an opinion on whether it would have cleared the wall, but he was sure of one thing. The fan reached into the field of play to interfere with it.

"I don't know if it would have gone out, but I do know the rules,'' Jones said. "That should have been called a double. The same thing happened in Florida (on the controversial interference call that went against Hunter Pence and the Phillies on Sunday). That should have been called a double, too, but they called it an out. No way you could assume that ball would have been caught."

Remembering 9/11

The Yankees are scheduled to hold a pregame ceremony honoring the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada took part in a news conference Wednesday morning to talk about their recollections of 9/11 and the aftermath in New York.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

Two days after a heavily disputed fan interference call led to the ejection of Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel in Florida, the Orioles fell victim to another strange border call that resulted in the tie-breaking home run by New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli in the seventh inning of Tuesday night's/Wednesday morning's loss at Yankee Stadium.

Cervelli hit a towering fly ball to left field that came down right at the fence, and a fan reached over and deflected it back onto the field. Two umpires signaled home run and upheld their call after Orioles manager Buck Showalter asked for a video review.

That video replay was available to all, and it's hard to figure out just what the umpires were looking at. It seems pretty clear that the ball was still in the field of play, and you would think the umpiring crew would err on the side of not letting the home fans affect the outcome of a game that's important to the American League East race between the Yankees and Red Sox.

You would think wrong. Showalter continued to argue after the replay, since he apparently went back and looked at it himself, but got no satisfaction.

Everyone in Baltimore remembers when 13-year-old Yankees fan Jeffrey Maier interfered with Derek Jeter's fly ball in the right-field corner in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. Umpire Rich Garcia, who ruled it a home run, admitted afterward that he blew the call, but it still may have cost the Orioles the game and a better chance to reach the World Series.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (54)
        

The Orioles and Yankees have finally gotten under way after a delay of 4 hours, 3 minutes, which means their pending roster moves have become official. They activated Chris Davis from the disabled list and recalled four players -- Josh Bell, Jeremy Accardo, Clay Rapada and Pedro Florimon, Jr. -- from the minor leagues.

To make room for Accardo and Rapada on the 40-man roster, veteran left-hander Mark Hendrickson and infielder Blake Davis have been designated for assignment.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Today is the 16th anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr.'s historic 2,131st consecutive game on Sept. 6, 1995, a record that just about everyone agrees will never be broken.

“No. Never happen,'' Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "I’m not real sure how it happened to start with. It’s amazing. I love to listen to Richie [Bancells] – our trainer – tell stories about it. I look at the way I consider Nicky [Markakis] and Adam Jones and some of the people, and I can’t imagine doing that for that length of time. It’s amazing. It’s as impressive a stat as any in sports for me. I don’t think you’ll ever see that approached.”

While we're on the subject of Sept. 6 anniversaries, it is also the 15th anniversary of Eddie Murray's 500th homer.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Manager Buck Showalter just confirmed what everyone suspected -- that pitcher Brian Matusz will come out of the starting rotation for the time being and work on his command issues in the bullpen.

"He's not in the immediate future starting plans,'' Showalter said. "He might pitch some out of the 'pen.

“I think he’s got a pretty good idea of where he is -- mentally, physically and emotionally. Maybe we might get him back out there for some spots where he might pitch an inning or two and kind of see where he is with some of the things that I’m sure he’ll be working on. He’s got a lot of work to do between now and next April. I look forward to him coming back and competing for a place on our team next year.”

Though the decision clearly has some competitive implications for the team, Showalter seemed to be more worried about the possible negative impact there might be on Matusz if he kept going out and getting knocked around.

“There are two sides to it,” Showalter said. “I'm a father first. I don't like to see anybody get beat up on. I don't think that Brian is at a point right now where he can defend himself properly. It's not going to be a matter of him throwing 94 or 93 miles per hour. He can pitch just like he is stuffwise. It's just command issues and repeating his delivery and a lot of things he's aware of.

“I feel for him, but not to the point where ... he knows nobody is going to feel sorry for him in that other clubhouse. He's got it. He understands a lot more than what people may perceive about what's going on.”

Matusz accepted the news without complaint. He's trying to keep a positive attitude at a time when his career has veered dangerously out of control.

“I'm going to work in the bullpen ... work on the things I need to be working on to be consistent with my fastball,” he said. “I'm not going out there and being consistent, but you can't really put it on one thing.”

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

ORIOLES
Matt Angle, LF
J.J. Hardy, SS
Nick Markakis, RF
Adam Jones, CF
Vladimir Guerrero, DH
Mark Reynolds, 1B
Matt Wieters, C
Chris Davis, 3B
Robert Andino, 2B
Tommy Hunter, SP

YANKEES
Brett Gardner, LF
Derek Jeter, SS
Curtis Granderson, CF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nick Swisher, RF
Eric Chavez, 3B
Jorge Posada, DH
Francisco Cervelli, C
Phil Hughes, SP

Posted by Jeff Zrebiec at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

It has been raining fairly steadily throughout the day and no one can say whether tonight's game at Yankee Stadium will be played in its entirety. If it isn't, you would think the game would be made up as part of a doubleheader tomorrow, since the single game is already scheduled for the afternoon. There really isn't another window after all the postponements the O's and Yankees have had this year. They already are playing a makeup on Thursday afternoon at Camden Yards.

Anyway, here's another one of my cheesy cellphone photo to let you know just what things look like at 3:13 p.m. Still plenty of time for the clouds to move on, but it doesn't look too good and tomorrow is supposed to be dicey, too.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

Brian Matusz was understandable unwilling to speculate about his future after Monday's 1 1/3-inning performance against the Yankees. He just stuck to the same theme in response to every maddening question.

First try: "That’s not my decision. I’m going to take the ball when Buck gives it to me, I m going to keep fighting, keep working hard and be able to build off the positive that I’ve had. And to keep going and keep bearing down and keep doing the things I know I can do well, turn my weaknesses into strengths."

Second try: "That’s not up to me. It’s up to me to be able to prepare and work hard and keep staying positive and doing all the things I need to do. And, like I said, when Buck hands me the ball be ready to go and continue working hard. And preparing and doing what I need to do.

Third try: "I’m going to keep throwing my bullpen, keep lifting. I’m going to keep doing all the things I need to prepare to be ready for the game. I’m ready to go going, to keep battling. That’s the only thing I need to worry about."

Manager Buck Showalter initially tried to downplay the importance of Matusz's latest meltdown.

"If you just look at it statistically, I understand what it looks like," Showalter said. "Brian, with our help and with his help, he’s going to show it to us again. It just wasn’t there for him today. He’s capable of better. We know that. It’s not there right now…Rick and I and Brian, we’ll sit down and see what the next step is here."

Showalter said that he would not announce any decision on whether Matusz would remain in the rotation -- or make another start this year -- but it seemed easy enough to draw your own conclusions.

"He’s not going to read about it. I’m not going to say it on TV. Just like I always do, I talk to him about different stuff. Brian knows when things are right and when they’re not. You could do them unspoken, but I wouldn’t do that. We’ll talk probably tomorrow when emotions settle. It’s not for lack of effort."

It seemed like everybody came to the same conclusion at the same time, including teammate Mark Reynolds, who had three hits -- including his 32nd homer of the season -- but expressed concern about his young teammate.

"I feel for the kid," he said. "I struggled just like he does, and so did everyone else in here. You feel for someone like that. I guess he had a pretty good year last year, a lot of people had high expectations for him this year. So hopefully he takes this offseason, regroups and comes back strong and comes back healthy in the spring. And [he] can forget about this year and move forward."

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

Orioles president of baseball ops Andy MacPhail just confirmed that Chris Davis will come off the disabled list and join the team in time for tomorrow night's game at Yankee Stadium. In addition, the Orioles are recalling pitchers Clay Rapada and Jeremy Accardo and infielders Pedro Florimon, Jr. and Josh Bell.

MacPhail said the decision to bring up Florimon was because Cesar Izturis has suffered a setback in his recovery from a groin strain.

Since Rapada and Accardo are not on the 40-man roster, the Orioles will have to move a couple of players off that roster before the transactions are filed.

That's pretty much it for the roster moves this September, except for Jason Berken, who probably will come off the DL soon. Izturis also could be activated at some point, but it doesn't look promising.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

I guess this is why they call it Labor Day. Brian Matusz labored to get through 1 1/3 innings and Freddy Garcia was a piece of work. The Yankees also made short work of reliever Chris Jakubauskas.

It took exactly 90 minutes to play the first three innings, which puts this game on a 4 1/2-hour pace.

On the brighter side for O's fans, Mark Reynolds slammed a two-run homer in the third to pull the Orioles back within a run. It was his 32nd homer of the season.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Well, the Orioles thought they had a handle on this game, but the Yankees have come back with a fury. There's just one out in the bottom of the second inning and they've scored six runs -- the last four on Robinson Cano's grand slam off Chris Jakubauskas.

It was Cano's 24th homer and third grand slam of the season. Jakubauskas, who came into the gam in relief of Brian Matusz walked the first batter he faced and hit Alex Rodriguez with a pitch to load the bases for Cano. He just walked Andruw Jones and gave up a double to Russell Martin. The Yankees have batted around and there still is only one out.

Ouch. Yankees 8, Orioles 5 ... and counting.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Obviously, Buck Showalter is at the end of his patience with starter Brian Matusz, The Orioles left-hander was staked to a 5-2 lead in the top of the second, but walked the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the inning and gave up back-to-back one-out doubles to Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson to reel the Yankees right back into the game.

That was enough for Buck, who has gone to his bullpen and brought on Chris Jakubauskas in relief.

Matusz's line: 1 1/3 innings, five hits, five earned runs, two walks, two strikeouts.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Brian Matusz got off to another rocky start today, giving up two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first inning, but the Orioles struck back hard at Yankees right-hander Freddy Garcia in the top of the second.

Nick Markakis already had gotten them on the board with a solo homer in the first, but six of the first seven batters reached base in the second. Vladimir Guerrero started the rally with a leadoff single; Mark Reynolds hammered a one-out double off the fence in left center; and Robert Andino tied the score with an RBI single.

Kyle Hudson registered his first major league RBI on a chopper to first when Mark Teixeira tried to make a play at the plate and Andino slid under Russell Martin's tag.

The score: Orioles 5, Yankees 2. But there's a very long way to go and Matusz has been fighting with his control.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Here are the lineups for today's series opener against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The sky is slightly hazy, but there's a nice breeze and it looks like it's going to be a fine day for baseball:

ORIOLES LINEUP

Kyle Hudson LF
J.J. Hardy SS
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Matt Wieters C
Mark Reynolds 1B
Robert Andino 3B
Ryan Adams 2B

Brian Matusz LHP

YANKEES LINEUP

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Andruw Jones RF
Russell Martin C
Jesus Montero DH
Brett Gardner LF

Freddy Garcia RHP

Buck Showalter held court a few minutes ago and said that Chris Davis probably will be here in time for tomorrow night's game. Davis is scheduled to play third base today in a rehab game for the Bowie Baysox.

Davis probably will play third base when he gets here, but Showalter also wants to see him at his other positions.

Jim Johnson still hasn't been scheduled for a spot start, but Showalter said that it is still a possibility. The presence of a couple of new starters over the past several weeks has reduced the urgency surrounding the possibility of preparing Johnson for a possible place in next year's rotation.

"I can get him multiple innings in other ways,'' Showalter said.

JoJo Reyes has rejoined the team after rushing home to be present for the birth of his second child. His wife and new son, Hudson Joseph, are doing fine.

Look for another pitching move in the next day or so. The Orioles will bring up a pitcher from the Norfolk roster. I'm guessing Mark Hendrickson, but it's just a guess. Chris Tillman is still down there. Jason Berken also could be back from his rehab assignment this week.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

The 141st and final game of Double-A Bowie's season this afternoon certainly carries some meaning.

With the Baysox's 10-1 victory over Erie yesterday, coupled by Richmond's 1-0 loss in 11 innings to Altoona, Bowie enters today a half game behind second-place Richmond for a spot in the Eastern League playoffs.

The Baysox, who play their regular-season finale against Erie this afternoon at 2:05 at Prince George's Stadium, need a victory and another Richmond loss to Altoona to make the playoffs. Richmond and Altoona play at noon today.

Right-hander Tim Bascom (8-4, 3.21) will start for the Baysox, opposing Erie southpaw Jay Voss (9-6, 3.67).

Chris Davis (right shoulder strain) is also expected to play his second rehab game for Bowie, starting at third base.

Posted by Jeff Zrebiec at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Now 6-17 on the season after getting a loss in the Orioles' 8-1 defeat to the Tampa Rays today, Jeremy Guthrie is now tied for the sixth most losses in a single season in franchise history, and he still has as many as four starts remaining.

Guthrie also lost 17 games in 2009, and he’s now the first pitcher since Kip Wells (2005 and 2007) to lose that many games twice in his career.

Guthrie also now has 48 losses from 2009-11, nine more than any other pitcher in the big leagues during that span. Guthrie’s former Cleveland Indians teammate, Fausto Carmona, is next at 39.

He also remains a decent candidate to become the first 20-game loser in the big leagues since Detroit Tigers’ left-hander Mike Maroth dropped 21 decisions in 2003. The last Oriole to lose as many as 20 games was Don Larsen, who went 3-21 in 1954.

“My main goal coming into the year was hopefully to win double-digit games for us,” Guthrie said. “As it stands, I got four more chances to win four games and that would put me at 10, which is a small accomplishment for the season. That’s what I’ve been shooting for. That’s where my focus has been since Day One, to try to win and I haven’t done a good job of that.”

After excelling defensively the past couple of weeks as the regular first baseman, Mark Reynolds returned to third today and made two more errors.

Reynolds, making his first start at third since Aug.14, booted Brandon Guyer’s two-out groundball with the bases loaded in the Rays’ four-run third inning. That allowed one run to score and prolonged the inning for Reid Brignac to hit a three-run double. Reynolds then allowed Evan Longoria’s hard groundball to get through his legs in the eighth inning.

The two errors gave Reynolds 26 for the season, a club record for a third baseman and the most for an Oriole at any position since Cal Ripken Jr. made 26 errors in 1985. The 26 errors are also tied for the sixth most in a single season in Orioles’ history. Infielder Willy Miranda heads the list after making 34 errors in 1955.

“I mean, it sucks,” said Reynolds who has started 111 games at third this season, and 24 at first. “I have been putting in a lot of work over at first. I haven’t been back at third in a while. I guess [manager Buck Showalter] wanted to give a couple of guys the day and he asked if I would play third. I said, ‘yeah, no problem.’

“It’s crazy if you don’t work at something how fast you feel a little awkward over there, but it’s no excuse. I’m a freaking big league ballplayer, I should be able to field groundballs. It’s very frustrating. I guess I’ll just put in double work during [batting practice] taking groundballs at third and first.”

Posted by Jeff Zrebiec at 6:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

ORIOLES
Matt Angle, RF
J.J. Hardy, SS
Nick Markakis, 1B
Adam Jones, CF
Vladimir Guerrero, DH
Mark Reynolds, 2B
Robert Andino, 2B
Kyle Hudson, LF
Craig Tatum, C
Jeremy Guthrie, SP

RAYS
Desmond Jennings, CF
Johnny Damon, DH
Evan Longoria, 3B
Matt Joyce, RF
Jose Lobaton, C
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Brandon Guyer, LF
Reid Brignac, SS
Sean Rodriguez, 2B
Jeremy Hellickson, SP

Kyle Hudson is making his big league debut. Nick Markakis is making his second career start at first base.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter really wanted to get left fielder Nolan Reimold and second baseman Ryan Adams a day off while getting Hudson and Angle a start. He thought the best way to do that was to give Markakis the start at first base.

Jason Berken (right forearm strain) threw a bullpen session today. He'll throw another one Tuesday and possibly a simulated game at Camden Yards on Thursday.

Jo-Jo Reyes is scheduled to rejoin the team in the next couple of days in New York.

Posted by Jeff Zrebiec at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

I know, a 14th straight losing season for the Orioles has been a formality for weeks, if not months.

But the day when it is clinched still usually carries some significance, especially since the Orioles haven't had a winning season since 1997. That day came tonight, when the Orioles dropped their 82nd game, falling, 6-3, to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Starter Alfredo Simon didn't give his team much of a chance, allowing a career-high six earned runs on seven hits and four walks over five innings. All the Rays' runs came with two outs, and five of the six were driven in by B.J. Upton, who hit a two-run double in the first inning and a three-run double in the fifth.

"“It’s one of the reasons why he’s had those inconsistencies in his career,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Simon. “He has a couple of really good outings and then a couple that are just not anything we [need]. We’re looking for people that you know what you are going to get, day in, day out. Command of the fastball has to be there to pitch at this level, and tonight wasn’t one of those nights.”

It was just the Orioles’ second loss in eight games here, and it ended their five-game road winning streak. Of greater significance, the franchise streak of losing seasons will extend into 2012, not that there was any lingering doubt that would occur.

“You don’t want to continue a trend like that,” center fielder Adam Jones said. “Fourteen years is a long time. We got to do something about it, change it up.”

The Orioles look down at only the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are working on a 19th consecutive losing campaign, the longest for any professional North American sports team. The Pirates won today, thanks to former Oriole Derrek Lee’s ninth-inning grand slam to beat the Chicago Cubs, but they are still 64-75 and in need of an amazing turnaround to avoid extending their dubious streak.

As for the Orioles, they can now focus on trying to avoid a 100-loss season. The Orioles have to go no worse than 8-17 over their final 25 games to avoid what would be just the franchise’s second 100-loss campaign since 1954.

Eight wins over the final 3 1/2 weeks of the season doesn't sound too difficult, even for a team that has struggled as much as the Orioles, but consider that they still have four more games against the New York Yankees, seven against the Boston Red Sox, four against the Detroit Tigers and Rays, and three each against the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels.

“This last month is where it can really show the [guts] that everybody has, basically,” Jones said. “We got the last three weeks ahead of us. We know that there is no playoffs in our future this year, but we still have 20-something games to go out there and prove something to the rest of the league. We need to take it upon ourselves individually and as a team to go out there and play the game as hard as we can until that last out is made of the season.”

Posted by Jeff Zrebiec at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
        

As it turns out, Brian Matusz won't have to wait long before getting back in the Orioles' rotation.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said today that Matusz will start Monday's series opener against the New York Yankees in the Bronx. Showalter said he wanted to give Matusz one more bullpen session before his next start to work on some things.

Tommy Hunter, who has been sick, threw a bullpen session today, and he'll start Tuesday in New York. Zach Britton will likely go in Wednesday's series finale.

Jo-Jo Reyes, whose wife yesterday gave birth to a boy, Hudson, is expected to rejoin the club in New York. Showalter hasn't decided when he'll be slotted back in the rotation.

Injured first baseman Chris Davis (right shoulder strain) will play for Double-A Bowie on Sunday and Monday. He'll start at first base one day and third base the next.

Posted by Jeff Zrebiec at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

ORIOLES
J.J. Hardy, SS
Nick Markakis, RF
Adam Jones, CF
Vladimir Guerrero, DH
Matt Wieters, C
Mark Reynolds, 1B
Robert Andino, 3B
Nolan Reimold, LF
Ryan Adams, 2B
Alfredo Simon, SP

RAYS
Desmond Jennings, LF
Johnny Damon, DH
Evan Longoria, 3B
Matt Joyce, RF
B.J. Upton, CF
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Sean Rodriguez, 2B
John Jaso, C
Reid Brignac, SS
Wade Davis, SP

Tommy Hunter, who has been sick, has rejoined the team and is throwing a bullpen session. He should be good to go for his next start.

Posted by Jeff Zrebiec at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Shortstop J.J. Hardy, who once again bailed out the Orioles, both with his glove and bat last night, has at least put himself in the conversation of joining elite company. Robin Yount (1982), Cal Ripken Jr. (1991) Alex Rodriguez (2002-2003) and Derek Jeter (2006, 2009) are the only American League shortstops to win a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger award in the same season. I’d be shocked if Hardy pulls off that feat, but he at least has a case. Among AL shortstops, Hardy is seventh in batting average (.270), first in home runs (26), third in RBIs (67) and first in slugging percentage (.505). Defensively, he leads qualifying AL shortstops in fielding percentage (.990) and has the fewest errors (five). I think it's more likely that Hardy gets shut out of both awards, especially with all the well-deserved attention on Asdrubal Cabrera’s breakout season, but it is interesting nonetheless to see where his numbers stack up.

About a month and a half ago, I was resolute in saying that as shaky as Kevin Gregg was at times, I didn’t see his standing as the team’s closer as one of the main issues confronting the Orioles. That was based on the idea that the most unnecessary commodity for a last-place team is a high-priced and dominant closer. I still believe that, but I also now believe this has become a major issue for the Orioles and the closer spot is something whoever will be the team’s GM will have to address again this offseason. Gregg is 20-for-26 in save opportunities, and I can think of three more just off the top of my head that he would have blown if not for superb defensive plays (Nick Markakis on Ben Zobrist, Adam Jones on Denard Span and J.J. Hardy and Mark Reynolds on Brandon Guyer last night). He has also allowed 87 base runners (including 36 walks) in 52 innings. Oriole fans used to cringe during George Sherrill’s high-wire act in the ninth inning, but watching Sherrill was a walk in the park compared with some of Gregg’s outings. Nobody wants to hear this, but Gregg has been absolutely terrific in the clubhouse and in the bullpen. He has spent a ton of time with the young pitchers, and Zach Britton is effusive in his praise of Gregg. His ongoing dialogue in the bullpen has really helped Jim Johnson. And Gregg, on a couple of occasions, has had things to say to a fellow pitcher if he feels he is not preparing well. However, on the field, it has been a huge struggle. It takes so much for the Orioles to put themselves in position to win a game that when a lead is squandered in the ninth inning, it really is demoralizing. I don’t think it’s coincidental that a couple of Gregg’s blown saves have started extended losing streaks.

I forgot to mention this yesterday, but the Orioles' player development department named Single-A Frederick infielder Jonathan Schoop Player of the Month for August and Keys left-hander Jacob Pettit Pitcher of the Month. Pettit went 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in five starts for the Keys during that period, while Schoop batted .336 with eight doubles, a triple, four homers and 21 RBI in 28 August games. I’m not exactly going out on a limb here in suggesting that this may not be the last piece of hardware Schoop picks up from the Orioles this year. The 19-year-old has emerged as one of the favorites to capture the Brooks Robinson Award as the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year. Cases could probably also be made for Manny Machado, L.J. Hoes and maybe even Joe “Big Irish” Mahoney, but my vote goes to Schoop, who has batted .290 with 13 homers and 71 RBIs in 125 combined games for Single-A Delmarva and Frederick. When the next Baseball America prospect rankings are released, I suspect Schoop will be third with the Orioles, behind only Machado and Dylan Bundy.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you could have a good discussion on which Orioles minor leaguer has been most disappointing this year. The three that jump out to me are Matt Hobgood, Josh Bell and Chris Tillman.

At this point, I don’t think anything could salvage this season for the Orioles, but Zach Britton’s turnaround lately has been a good sign. It hasn't always been pretty for the rookie lefty, but I think he’s learned a ton this year, and that was obvious last night in the way he rebounded from a tough first inning. It’s also clear that he’s learning how to pitch more, rather than just relying on his sinker, which isn't always going to be there for him. My colleague, Dan Connolly, said even before spring training that by year’s end, Britton would establish himself as the Orioles' best young pitcher. I think it’s clear that he has. Ten or more wins and an ERA in the low 4.00s for a last place team in the AL East isn’t a bad rookie season by any means.

Still lamenting the nontendering of Matt Albers? In his past 12 outings for the Red Sox spanning 12 2/3 innings, the burly right-hander has allowed 19 earned runs, 21 hits, four home runs and eight walks. If it sounds familiar, it should.

Quick observations: I don’t know whether it is because he is eyeing a 30-homer and 100-RBI season or he’s trying to make up for the time he missed with the chest injury, but Adam Jones is clearly pressing at the plate right now. … Nobody should be surprised any time you hear or read about another Orioles front office member being let go or leaving on his own over the next five weeks. I’ve been saying this for a couple of months, but I would be shocked if there wasn’t a front office overhaul. … As maddening as it is to watch Mark Reynolds strike out three times a night – he now has 15 K’s in his past 24 plate appearances – his defense at first is stunning to me. It sounds ridiculous, but I’m not sure he’s not playing the position at a higher level than Derrek Lee was earlier this year. I always thought Reynolds’ problems at third were a result of poor focus, not poor fundamentals. Perhaps being involved in nearly every play and learning a new position on a regular basis has negated some of those focus issues. … I’ve covered Brian Roberts since 2005, and I’ve never seen him more emotional than what I saw yesterday. And for him to admit how hard it was to even get in the car, drive 45 minutes and meet up with his teammates, I think that says a lot about where he is at this point.

Posted by Jeff Zrebiec at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (39)
Categories: Minors
        

Even by Kevin Gregg's standards, the ninth inning tonight at Tropicana Field was pretty hairy.

The Orioles, who put together a stirring comeback, scoring three times in the top of the seventh off an otherwise dominant David Price, took a one-run lead into the bottom of the ninth.

Gregg gave up a leadoff single to Sam Fuld, then retired B.J. Upton and Sean Rodriguez, leaving the Rays with a man in scoring position and two outs. Gregg walked Casey Kotchman and pinch-hitter Matt Joyce to load the bases and bring up rookie Brandon Guyer.

That's apparently the matchup Gregg wanted. "You got to pick and choose your battles of where you go," he said. "They are going to chase pitches out of the zone, then I put myself in a good spot."

The strategy -- if that's what you want to call it -- worked, but only after J.J. Hardy fielded Guyer's ground ball deep in the hole and first baseman Mark Reynolds dug out the shortstop's low throw to end the game.

“I said in my head, ‘We are either winning or we’re losing,’” said Reynolds, who had the option of coming off the bag and making sure the ball stayed in front of him rather than taking an aggressive swipe at it. “I’m going to pick it. If I don’t, we lose. I just had the glove in the right spot. I guess I’m just getting pretty lucky over there.”

Said Hardy of Reynolds: "The way he’s played for how many weeks that he’s been over there, he’s been a Gold Glove first baseman. I looked at that on film with him afterwards, and that was not an easy pick at all. I think it clipped like the dirt or grass, so it was right in-between, probably the hardest pick that there is. He made it look easy.”

Gregg did not in picking up his 20th save, but he rarely does. He has blown six saves and allowed an eye-popping 50 hits and 36 walks in 52 innings.

"The bottom line is you obviously haven’t acquired my taste in pitching yet,” Gregg said. “It’s what I do. It’s what I’ve always done. And yeah, it’d be nice if I was like [Jim Johnson] and went 1-2-3, every inning I’m out there. But I’m not J.J. I don’t throw 97 [mph] with sink.”

Asked about his patience level with Gregg, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said: "There is a method to what he’s trying to do out there. I understand it. It’s not real comfortable all the time. He’s had some of those, but obviously the end product, he wasn’t going to let certain situations beat him."

Posted by Jeff Zrebiec at 11:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (40)
        

ORIOLES
J.J. Hardy, SS
Nick Markakis, RF
Adam Jones, CF
Vladimir Guerrero, DH
Matt Wieters, C
Mark Reynolds, 1B
Robert Andino, 3B
Nolan Reimold, LF
Ryan Adams, 2B
Zach Britton, SP

RAYS
Desmond Jennings, LF
Johnny Damon, DH
Evan Longoria, 3B
Ben Zobrist, 2B
B.J. Upton, CF
Sean Rodriguez, SS
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Jose Lobaton, C
Brandon Guyer, RF
David Price, SP

Brian Matusz threw a bullpen session today, but he's not scheduled to pitch in this series. The struggling lefty was originally scheduled to start tomorrow, but he's being skipped. Manager Buck Showalter didn't rule out Matusz's starting in the coming Yankees series in New York.

Starter Tommy Hunter, who went to the hospital after his start yesterday because he was feeling ill, has joined the team here. However, he's still not feeling great and has been told to stay back at the team hotel.

Starter Jo-Jo Reyes left the team to be with his wife, who has gone into labor. Showalter isn't sure when he will return.

First baseman Chris Davis (right shoulder strain) will be sent out for a rehab assignment Sunday, Showalter said. It's possible he'll join the team at some point in New York early next week.

Pedro Strop, the player to be named from the Texas Rangers in the Michael Gonzalez deal, has joined the team and will be available to pitch tonight. Strop said he was pleased to join the Orioles and called it a "great opportunity" for his career.

Posted by Jeff Zrebiec at 6:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts made the 45-minute trip from Sarasota, Fla., to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and saw many of his teammates for the first time since he last played May 16.

Consider it another necessary step in his return from his second concussion in as many seasons.

"It was a huge step for me to get in the car, yeah, and I don’t mean that in a negative way," said Roberts, whose voice cracked several times. "I mean that because I take a lot of pride in wanting to be here doing what I’m supposed to be doing. Mr Angelos has put a lot of
investment into me and my family, the Orioles have tried to count on me for a lot and I haven’t been there, and that’s hard for me. It’s hard for me to walk in there and look guys in the eye, especially knowing what they’ve been through the last five months. I’ve been there and I’ve done it, and it's hard and it's rough. Coming to the field today is difficult for me, but I felt like
it’s something I needed to do today, but I felt like its something I needed to do to kind of break that barrier."

Roberts has played just 39 games this season, and he was limited to 59 last year, mostly because of a herniated disk in his back. Roberts still hasn't given up on returning to the club this season, but he acknowledged that's getting more and more unlikely as the days pass.

"I don’t think we’ve ever sat down and necessarily ruled out anything," said Roberts, who met with manager Buck Showalter for about an hour today. "It would probably take, at this point, everything to go really, really, really well for the next couple of weeks. But I think all of our goals is just to get healthy, 100 percent symptom-free for an extended period of time, and be ready to play whenever that is."

Asked whether he still has concerns that his career could be in jeopardy, Roberts said: "I think anybody who is on the disabled list for an extended period of time has those thoughts, unfortunately. But I’m no doctor, and the doctors have assured me that’s not the case. They are the ones who have been through a lot more training, a lot more schooling and seen these cases over and over and over again. That’s very reassuring when you are dealing with people where that’s all they do. When they tell me that I’ll be ready to play again and I’ll be fine, I trust that opinion."

Roberts said he has pretty much done every baseball activity and is running and working out. But he probably wouldn't start playing in any games until he's completely symptom-free.

"It’s been the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to do when it comes to baseball," Roberts said. "We all go through a few things in life in general that are hard. I’m not trying to say that this is as hard as what some people go through in life, but for me, baseballwise, this has been very difficult to not be able to push through something, to not be able to grind it out and keep going. You play through hamstring injuries, you play through back pain and you play through all those things when you play 160 games in a season for years and years. To have an injury that they say this is not one you can do that with, it’s very frustrating, it’s very hard. In some ways, it’s humbling because you realize how, I guess, fragile your career is and how fragile life is in some ways when you talk about what you are doing with the brain."

Posted by Jeff Zrebiec at 5:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

Jeremy Guthrie is slated to start Sunday’s game at Tropicana Field.

He will again wear uniform No. 46 and will continue to do so

Guthrie had contemplated choosing another number as a way to pay tribute to former Orioles great Mike Flanagan, who wore No. 46 during his Orioles playing days.

Flanagan died Aug. 24, and Guthrie learned of Flanagan’s passing that evening while he was pitching the Orioles to a victory against the Minnesota Twins.

Guthrie pitched again Monday, and in the meantime, discussed the idea of what to do with the uniform number with various people, including friends and family of Flanagan, who, incidentally, was the club’s top executive when Guthrie was claimed off waivers by the Orioles in 2007.

“I spoke with as many people as I could -- most importantly, I talked to the family -- and I’m trying to do what they all wanted to do and what they thought Mike would want if he were still here,” said Guthrie, who has worn the number since he came to the Orioles. “The most important thing is, what Flanny meant was so much more than a number.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Orioles starter Brian Matusz has had his turn in the rotation skipped and isn’t sure when he’ll pitch again.

Manager Buck Showalter said his five-man rotation will remain on regular turn – Zach Britton pitches Friday, Alfredo Simon on Saturday and Jeremy Guthrie on Sunday – and that Matusz is not currently scheduled for a start.

Showalter said Matusz, who is 1-7 with a 9.07 ERA in nine starts, likely will have a workday Friday in Tampa. He is not expected to be used out of the bullpen, so he’ll just continue to work out with the team before getting another opportunity.

When asked whether he knew when he’d be pitching again, Matusz said, “I have no idea.”

The issue is performance-oriented and not health-related. The Orioles begin a nine-game road trip to Tampa, New York and Toronto on Friday. They currently have five pitchers, not including Matusz or reliever Jim Johnson, who may be switched to the rotation before the season ends.

In other rotation, Tommy Hunter, who went to the hospital following his start today because he was feeling ill, has been released and will meet the team tomorrow in St. Petersburg, Fla. He is doing fine.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

The Orioles officially announced that they had claimed right-handed reliever Pedro Strop off waivers from the Texas Rangers and he will join the club in Tampa.

Strop was the player to be named later in Wednesday's deal that sent Michael Gonzalez to the Rangers.

Basically, the Orioles received cash from the Rangers, which they used to make the claim to get Strop.

It's one of those baseball procedural things, but the bottom line is that Strop is an Oriole and the Gonzalez trade is completed.

Strop, 26, was 0-1 with a 3.72 ERA in 11 games with the Rangers in 2011.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

Here’s a look at what other media outlets have been saying about the Orioles during the past week:

•After a strong finish in 2010, the O’s have reverted to their losing ways, writes ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.

Six months are just a snapshot in the life of a sports franchise, but that's more than enough time to kill the buzz in a city and turn a swagger into a crawl. Consider the Baltimore Orioles, who were brimming with enthusiasm in spring training, but wake up to a harsh reality today. The landscape includes lots of empty seats at Camden Yards, a run differential of minus-126 and a starting rotation with Jo-Jo Reyes and Alfredo Simon smack in the middle.

The 2011 season has been a letdown for baseball fans in Cincinnati, Colorado and both sides of Chicago, but the word "disappointment" can't begin to describe what the remaining diehards in Baltimore must be feeling. As the Red Sox and Yankees take part in yet another high-stakes American League East staredown this week, the Orioles are once again playing out the string in obscurity. They're 27½ games out of first place and on track to surpass 90 losses for the sixth straight year and finish below .500 for the 14th consecutive season.

That's still five years short of Pittsburgh's .500 futility streak. But the Pirates at least enjoyed a brief fling as media darlings this year -- and spent five days in first place in July -- before running into the adult portion of their schedule. The Orioles, in contrast, continue to put the "b" in "beleaguered."

• Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News gives the Texas perspective on the Michael Gonzalez trade.

In acquiring Baltimore's Mike Gonzalez on Wednesday, a few hours before organizational playoff rosters must be set, the Rangers feel they helped the bullpen on multiple fronts.

Gonzalez gives the Rangers a second left-handed option in the bullpen, which could be important in upcoming games at Boston. He has closing experience and would allow the Rangers a chance to give Neftali Feliz a day off if he's pitched three days in a row. And he has two years of experience pitching in the AL East, which means plenty of experience against Boston and New York left-handed hitters.

"We weren't necessarily looking to add a left-hander or 'just any' left-hander," GM Jon Daniels said. "We feel like our winning pieces have the ability to get both lefties and righties out. But Mike was an 'above the line guy,' who has pitched in meaningful spots, who closes, who has pitched in the AL East and who seems to be locked in right now. He's the hot hand so to speak."

• Scott Miller of CBSSports.com writes that the last-place Orioles are stuck in a familiar late-season rut.

Where the Orioles are, of course, is where they usually are as September begins: Trapped in the purgatory that is located somewhere between the bottom of the AL East heap and the Triple-A International League, losses stacking up the way season-ticket orders once did (sigh), heads shaking like a Cal Ripken bobblehead doll.

Disheartening doesn't even begin to cover it. This time last year, the MacPhail-Buck Showalter leadership team had pulled the Birds up off the mat. They went 34-23 from the time Showalter took over, second-best record in the AL over the final 57 games.

• PressBox’s Matt Palmer wonders whether the Orioles have gotten better during the Andy MacPhail era.

I'm amazed looking around the Internet lately how many times it's stated as fact that the organization is on firmer ground. When MacPhail was hired, relatively early during the 2007 season, the Orioles were treading water and sinking. Under the co-general manager model of the early-to-mid 2000s, the Orioles were a mess, but one that was winning at least 70 games per season from 2003 through 2006. They were exceptionally bad. Don't get me wrong.

Since then, the Orioles have failed to reach that mark and could be on a pace to tie last year's 66-win total. Of course, the Orioles have gone through a rebuilding effort that was supposed to culminate with this season. Losses are a small cost to pay for eventual victories in rebuilding efforts.

But there's one problem. The Orioles have never gone wholesale rebuild. During MacPhail's tenure, the effort has been half-hearted. While the core of their team is young, they've never been bad enough to get baseball's top pick. At the same time, the Orioles appeared as if they feared the publicity backlash of being historically terrible and spent money on players they thought would make fans feel safe. Former All-Stars like Derrek Leek and Vladimir Guerrero were supposed to distract fans from how bad the team really was. Only, they worsened the problem by also being terrible, but not quite bad enough.

[Compiled by Matt Vensel. If you enjoy reading these posts about the Orioles, Ravens and other Baltimore sports, check out Matt Vensel’s Coffee Companion posts every morning, Monday-Friday.]

Posted by Matt Vensel at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: What They're Saying about the O's
        

Buck Showalter met with the media Thursday morning, which was a pretty hectic time for anyone trying to get to the ballpark because of traffic gridlock created by closed roads in the downtown area in preparation for the Grand Prix.

Showalter said he had at least three guys he wasn't sure would make it to the ballpark in time for the 12:35 p.m. start.

"We've got three I've heard about so far from different parts of Baltimore trying to get in," he said.

The club put Thursday's starting pitcher, Tommy Hunter, up at a downtown hotel Wednesday night in anticipation of the mess.

Showalter said it took him an "hour and 15 minutes" to get to the park from northern Baltimore County and "I thought I was leaving way early."

Several Toronto Blue Jays left the team bus in stopped traffic to walk the rest of the way to the stadium.

Some other notes:

Pitcher Rick VandeHurk and outfielder Kyle Hudson were the club's two call-ups when rosters expanded today (Zach Phillips was recalled Wednesday). Showalter said one more might be coming soon from Norfolk, depending on health. That could be infielder Josh Bell.

Chris Tillman will not be called up right away. He will make his scheduled start Friday at Norfolk.

Short-A Aberdeen pitchcing coach Scott McGregor will join the Orioles in New York City as interim bullpen coach and remain in the position for the rest of the season.

Here's the lineup. You'll notice Adam Jones, not Vladimir Guerrero, is batting 4th:

Andino 5
Hardy 6
Markakis 9
Jones 8
Guerrero dh
Wieters 2
Reynolds 3
Reimold 7
Adams 4

Hunter 1

Posted by Dan Connolly at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Minors
        

We only got to see Michael Gonzalez in the clubhouse for about a half-hour after he was traded to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday afternoon. His locker was already packed up when the doors opened at 3:30 p.m., so he chatted with reporters and exchanged goodbyes with his former teammates.

When I was watching, he got hugs from a couple of fellow relievers and traded phone numbers with shortstop J.J. Hardy. Alfredo Simon, who has a close bond with Gonzalez, lingered by the lefty’s locker for a few minutes and was visibly bummed out about his friend's being traded.

“He was a really good friend of mine and helped me a lot,” Simon told my Baltimore Sun colleague Dan Connolly. “I feel like I am sad, but that is baseball, you have to handle things. Sometimes things, trades, happen.”

Simon, whose legal issues in the Dominican Republic have been well-documented on this blog, said he might stay with Gonzalez in Texas — that’s where Gonzo is from — for a while this offseason.

Gonzalez’s time with the Orioles was a roller-coaster ride, one with many dips and a few peaks, including his current stretch of 13 consecutive scoreless appearances that dates to July 22.

Simon, a stocky starter who knows a thing or two about facing adversity, will be pulling for Gonzalez now that he is leaving Baltimore for the playoff chase in the American League West.

“I just hope he does good over there and he has good luck over there and keeps his head up,” he said.

Posted by Matt Vensel at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)