Good blog Roch....

I agree on Walker there too. No other choice & that is why they signed the man.

Good pt on Baez. Many here have to decide which side of the fence they are on with this guy. Line me up with him & his 95 MPH fastball. I wouldn't be so happy if he had been signed up as the closer but I love him as a setup man & closer insurance if Ray's arm falls off.

Brower was cut by the Atlantic League huh?

Ponson is getting closer & closer to opening up that waverunner shop in Aruba. Maybe he can slip back into Balmer now & then to see his kid.

It's about time that Dan Cabrera is given credit for the improvement he has made this year. He has only walked 12 men in 33+ innings which is a major improvement over last year. Also, he has been pretty steady each time he has been sent to the hill. With any luck his 4.09 ERA would be a lot lower, as in his last two starts his relievers haven't been able to get the last out and have given up hits that caused him to be charged with additional runs. Without those runs, his ERA would be in the 3.00+ range which is more than acceptable in today's day and age.

I'll never be on the Baez bus...send him to AAA. Or even better, trade him and bring up Williams.

Go O's today. Make some noise...

John Galt: I heartily agree with you regarding using your best reliever in the 7th inning if the situation calls for it. But is there anyone in baseball who currently operates this way? It seems like most teams operate with the specialists/setup guys in the 7th and 8th innings and the closer pitching the 9th (and often, the closer can only start the 9th inning, not enter in the middle of the inning). Managers seem to be slaves to this conventional thinking. In many ways, as you’ve suggested, all managers pretty much all make the same dumb moves, so no one is willing to be daring and try something different, even if they really have nothing to lose (except for their jobs, of course). Of course, if a manager does something different and it doesn’t work, everyone will ask, why didn’t you just do what everyone else is doing?

I don't usually say much about the managers strategy but last night was bad. I don't care about the match ups when multiple batters are hitting .500 plus against certain pitchers. Cabrera would have had a better chance with Ortiz.

Thats 3 games in a row where bad strategy or mental errors have played a role in the loss. Hope someone can get these guys to focus.

I would have thought that Corey's catch would have ranked higher as well. Not many people can track a ball like that.

I am hoping that the O's get back on track tonight and hand Beckett his first loss of the season. They need to get a rally feeling going again and "cowboy up." If we worked Johan Santana, we could definitely work Josh Beckett.

JPA: Just about anyone from that list of players you supplied would’ve made this team better (assuming, in theory, we could’ve had anyone from that list if we were willing to pay whatever it took to get them). A lack of such players, among other factors, is why this team is generally projected to be a fourth place team. Now, a lot of people are going to say, Carlos Lee and Soriano, for example, were overpaid. But if you want the benefits of 35-40 home runs and 100+ RBI in the middle of your lineup, you have to pay for someone who has a track record of doing that. You can hope that players like Jay Gibbons or Aubrey Huff will explode and provide this at a cheaper cost, but chances are they won’t.

I think the front office did a solid job this offseason fixing the bullpen and bringing in Huff. What they did was an improvement, though it wasn’t the type of improvement that catapults them to the top or near it. Now, considering the full makeup of their roster and the relative inexperience of most of the rotation, perhaps going full in and signing someone like Lee or Soriano did not make the most sense this year and might make more sense after Cabrera, Loewen, and Bedard get another year of experience. That’s definitely debatable. If that’s the case then you have to accept incremental improvement over a monumental one (the team improving to 75-80 wins instead of competing for the playoffs).

Thank you, Roch for calling out the people who go up and down on their opinion of a player than a seesaw! Sitting there last night I can tell you that I couldn't have felt more comfortable to see anyone else but Walker to come in to get that big out that we needed. Jamie fought him hard and the almighty Big Papi got a lucky bloop that fell in...it happens.

It would be nice to see the O's get a couple of breaks in their favor this year at some point. Not taking anything from the Jays, but they get to face Wakefield and Tavarez...we draw Schilling and Beckett.

I still say law of averages states that Beckett is going to get a loss tonight!

That Jake Peavy line was funny!

First of all Roch, that Peavy line was priceless.

True, Ortiz wasn't 37 for 38 lifetime against Walker, but he still was 5 for 9 with 3 HR... that is pretty lethal. So I guess Parrish could not have come in for one batter after throwing 33 pitches the previous night?

Plus, unmentioned, Manny was 7 for 12 with a HR against Bradford lifetime.

I want to know the numbers for Baez and others against these guys... I also wonder about bringing in Johnson tonight in a three run game. But then again, I guess we wanted to save the 'pen arms for tonight just in case Loewen can't harness his control better.

By the way Roch, isn't Josh Beckett due for a blister? NY and BOS fans that I know don't call him "Blisters Beckett" for nothing.

it could be worse we could still have aaron rakers and latroy hawkins in the pen...

I meant to place this under this blog.....

I still say give Perlozzo a break guys, I am quite certain we don't know all the facts with what is going on, how could we?
It got on my last nerve seeing all those Suxs fans waving at the camera, holding up signs, RIGHT behind BOTH dugouts, during AB closeups from the dugout side cameras. How in the hell do they get those tickets? I thought they were the in sole grasp of potter's privledged? His suits, his flunkies, his annointed minions? He should revoke their seats for selling them to the Suxs & Spanks fans. Banish them to the OF or upper decks at least! If they are so rabid, they'll buy those as well.
In any case, take note Suxs fans, when you do get those seats, at least try to act like you have been there before or have some clue how to act, waving at your beer buddies watching on TV or holding up signs to Aunt Flatulence back in Revere makes you look idiotic.
Gotta love Walker, I wish we had some more with a pair like he apparently has.
Ramirez should catch one in the ribs for showing up the P that way, not just heat. He should know better, he isn't a rook.
Sounds like the Atlantic League might be a tough one this year...
Salads Roch, add some grilled chicken if you like, but no more taco bell! Don't you recall the hazing you took over that picture in the wife beater shirt & the tatoo this spring? :)
Suicide watch on nathan please, it sounds like that is one miserable existence....

At least we got to see the Red Sox fans put on the orange rain ponchos. Thanks to MASN they looked like O's fans for a while.

Also, Roch, Why don't the O's have a captain? Since the hated Yankees and the Red Sox do, maybe that's whats missing.

I can't resist.... so Lou who would you pick as the Capt.?

Wow, I just found out this morning Red Sox fans are flipping out about Thorne's throwaway joke regarding Schilling's sock.
It must be awful tough to act persecuted when your team has the second-highest payroll in MLB and six playoff appearances (and one title) since the wild card was implemented. Stay self-loathing, Boston!

Don't pick on the new girl who just started to post.

It can't be because there is noone worthy.

Has anyone noted the exchange with Julio Lugo and Umpire Angel Hernandez yet. I have to admit i found some amusement in it. I could see it happening to us mroe than the Sox.

Roch, you are completely right. I was sitting lower deck LF right behind Payton. When Ortiz hit that ball I thought the inning was over. He took the worst angle I've seen yet from an OF (except for maybe Gibbons). He misplayed that ball which he should have been able to make a play on...or at least attempt a dive.

I'll be at the game tonight and cheering as loud as I can to drown out the Sox fans - hopefully it doesn't rain too much! Roch, I know you said there was a large presence of Boston fans last night, but how loud were they really?? From the little bit of game I was able to catch on tv, I saw a lot of empty seats...

That "C" on Varitek's uni looks ridiculous-what sport does he think he's playing-hockey???
What exactly does a captain do in baseball-show his teammates how to whine to the umps?
One' feel good 'moment in last night's game was seeing Lugo get 2 strikes called on him when he wasn't in the box-The RedSox announcers were crying about that!! I would have loved to see the ump do that on Big Papi or Manny-both those guys take forever...

The captain, guys, if the Orioles are dumb enough to do this (what exactly does a captain do? Separate from what the recognized leader in the clubhouse does, I mean...) would have to be Tejada. It his his team.

Again, with apologies to Dave, JOHN GALT again proves the joy and blunder of the Bill James method of baseball analysis.

Of course Chris Ray in the 7th innnig makes sense!!!! It is ingeneous. And why didn't anyone think of this before?

Of course, the fact that the closer - any closer - is a guy geared for, oh, 22 pitches max andthen is DONE really doesn't matter because this is such an ingenious plan!!!!

OK, so let's think about this a moment:
1) Is Ray going to be able to throw 97 over 3 innings.
2) Ray's out pitch is the heater - the more he throws it the more other guys get to time him. So now he needs to master other pitches, which are not as superior as his heater. He has to throw his raison d'etre less - so we are going to have to hope his 3rd best pitch and his 4th best pitch are affective.
3) If Ray pitches 3 innings he will not need 1 day off he will need at least 3. So, OK, now your best pitcher is not available for the next 3 games. Huh?
4) The more he throws the more the wear on the arm. The more he has to throw curves and sliders the more extreme wear on his arm.
5) What is the rationale of bringing him in for the 7th inning? Why not 6th? Why nmot 5th? Hey, I know - let's START him!
6) OK, we won't start him, just kidding, but what if Ray loses it in the 8th or 9th? Then who do you bring in?

I was a litle surprised to see Cabrera back out for the 7th after escaping his failing command induced jam in the 6th. And celebrating it too - did you see his reaction?

Anyway, I was more surprised to see hm still in there after walking the leadoff hitter.

Still, Sammy hooked him afer the next baserunner and you do like to see your starter go 7 if possible. Walker was fine to bring in there. He pitched extremely well to Papi. The left fielder had to get a lousy jump on that bloop, and Miggy must have gotten a crummy jump too. It hung up there a long time and was still not close to being caught.

How come no one wants to complain about the other 4 runs they scored on the bulpen?

No excuse for Gibbons not being in there against Schilling. not like Millar been too hot over past few games. And Gibby does best against power righties. Either you believe he is going to right himself and hit again (a la Millar until recently and Huff) or you give up on him and trade him away., Perhaps that is what we are doing? But too early to give up on your left-handed power hitter from whom you had likely penciled in 20-25 HRs.

Bullpen looking very mortal now (last 4 games). But mortal is way better than awful as in prior years.

Future is bright bright bright. (Lowen, Cabrera, Bedard).

Mora should never have mentioned his playoff knowhow. What a foot-in-mouth that was. Brian Roberts was the model for what you say after that kind of game.

I am not sure why the Red Sox are still so sensitive about the fact that Schilling put red paint on his sock in the World Series.

This has been gone over in detail by many sources including ESPN.

The Sox are acting like the husband who is caught with naked pictures of another woman in his sock drawer and continues to insist he does not know how they got there.

Or, more related to the game, they are acting like the Chicago White Sox after Albert Belle's corked bat was stolen from the umpire's room.

Except the sock wasn't cheating. Boston is just acting that way.

If they really do not want this to keep coming up, Schilling should just man up and admit what everyone already knows happened.

Ok, I understand bringing in Walker. But there's no excuse for brining in Bradford with his record against Ramirez. I'd rather leave in Walker and give him a chance to stop the bleeding.

I am glad someone has finally brought up the bloody sock for discussion. I had always thought that is what not as dramatic as the TV cameras would have liked us to believe. I always thought that Curt Schilling knew exactly what he was doing by letting the blood show to the cameras. Was it fake blood? I don't know about that...but it was definitely overplayed and overdramatized. It is a shame, because he will probably go to the HOF based on this dramatization.

Gary Thorne in an idiot!! i do NOT like the Red Sox in any way am love the O's but when he mentioned that Mirabelli told him that the bloody sock in 04 was a puplicity gimick, it made me cringe. first of all, i don't believe him. second, you don't out a player for saying that regardless. it would be like thorne saying after Miggy finally hit his second homerun last night "oh i'm glad to see he can still hit a HR...especially after Mora told me he did in fact take steroids." It's that ridiculous. I hope Thorne makes a statement and cries while he says it. it was absurd, unwarranted and inappropriate.

What will he say tonight? "don't feel sorry for Bill Buckner anymore, Ray Knight told me that he told him he'd miss that ball on purpose because he didn't wanna end the curse yet"

I almost always uncomfortable with any move Sammy P makes. The man is shaky at best calling the shots. That being said, he probably had few other moves than to bring in Walker to face Ortiz. Then again he also forced him and Bradford into no win situations by sending DCab out in the seventh. DCab was staring to unravel and he set the tabel for Ortiz and Manny.

Also greet point about the Red Sox fans. They cry about the Yankee payroll and Boston spends almost as much. In 2004 I was somewhat rooting for them to finally get over on the Yankees, not any more though. Red Sox fans are a bunch of hypocritical crybabies.

By the way where is Roch's hard hitting six part investigation into why MASN refuses to broadcast in HD? That bad boy would have Pulitzer written all over it. I'm just saying.

Now on to more important things: the “controversy” over Gary Thorne’s comments about Curt Schilling’s sock! Ooooooh! Real blood or painted on, and what does this mean? From one fan in the Orioles microstate to the legions in Red Sox Nation: who cares? If you want to see real blood, check the Orioles batting/pitching statistics or watch replays of Orioles games from 1998 to the present. There’s some real carnage for you. You won the World Series in 2004, make it to the playoffs just about every year, and your games against the Yankees, in the eyes of the national media, seem to be the only ones that matter. If some paint could get the O’s to .500, I’d say Angelos should place an order for it with Home Depot by the truckload.

I have to say, though, if Gary Thorne, a new broadcaster who, other than his current employment as O’s broadcaster, has no association with Baltimore whatsoever, is successful in (a) ticking off the poor, beleaguered Red Sox faithful, many of whom are taking the trip down south to Baltimore to catch ball games in the middle of the week in April (what kind of vacation plan do workers in Red Sox nation get anyway?), and (b) keeping them away from our stadium (highly doubtful), then let’s enshrine his likeness on a plaque.

TomD -

Your post mistakes what John Galt is saying: you bring your closer in for the most important inning of the game...but just that inning. You make a value judgment on a case-by-case basis of when the closer is most needed (last night, with the bad match-ups and the tight game, it would've been the seventh.) You then use your other relievers in the innings after - that's WHY you have someone like Baez on the squad with closer-like stuff. You use Walker and Bradford against 6-8 and 9-2 the next couple of innings. Having your best pitcher pitch at the most crucial time makes sense, in the end. And the fact that you have lesser pitchers pitching after is okay...because those innings are "less important." How that works in a tie-game like last night, however, is difficult to know. It's one of those occasions that problematize the strategy: determining "most important" mid-game is hard. Foresight, after all, is hardly 20/20.

You can argue the merits of that approach all you like, but at least understand it before you do.

I would say that the argument against it goes something like this: that predicting mid-game what the most important inning is difficult and, in the end, leads to a lot of mistakes. By confining your closer to the 9th you preserve him a bit, avoiding those errors (though there are error costs to NOT bringing him in, too.) In the end, for most managers, "formalism" wins. It's a safe way to go about things that minimizes criticism: everyone knows when the closer is going to come in, after all.

Of course, the one team that HAS taken this approach has used it very well: the Tigers use Joel Zumaya exactly like that, no?

Just a "last" note on the bullpen "controversy":

I agree with Roch 100% - Walker in here to do a certain job and he needs to be put in the position to do that job. But Walker was not signed to exclusively face Ortiz so anyone saying the O's wasted $12 mil because Ortiz had a bloop hit in 1 at bat is a little extreme.

Similarly, Baez may have great stats against Ortiz, but he has not faced the guy since 2005 and Ortiz took him deep them, too. Still, I would have brought in Baez over Bradford to face Manny.

Meanwhile, Ortiz is hitting righties for .321 and lefties for .200......

Earl Weaver would have had a 4 or 5 man bullpen and would be expecting his starters to go into the 7th inning as a minimum.

Johnson, on the other hand, had his bullpen set up so that, except for Randy Myers, he had a day 1 staff and a day 2. Guys who went tonight would not pitch tomorrow. He kept this up pretty consistently. But, he also said that you need the arms to do this.

I remember when Earl walked George Brett with the bases loaded and the tying run on 2nd to get Stoddard to the slumping Hal McRae (and Hal grounded out). But I cannot recall Earl deliberately avoiding a left-left or right-right match up.

He would leave a guy in to face the first batter in the 9th to get that match up before bringing in Stoddard (or Jackson or Tippy or Aase or Stanhouse..)

Jamie really battled Ortiz pitch for pitch, he just couldn't get that third strike. Still, Ortiz didn't hit one ball solidly the whole at bat.

While I have no problem with bringing Walker in and he pitched well enough to get the out nine times out of ten, he wasn't the only option, as some have suggested: What about John Parrish?

Gotta wonder if Payton would have gotten to the ball if the field hadn't been wet. (Thanks, Roch, you were the one hoping for rain. ) Had he caught it, the O's might have gone on to win; for sure they would have still been in the game.

I guess Schilling was just trying to place extra emphasis on the Red part of Red Sux? Or maybe he thought everyone would start calling him Hobbs?

Roch, I heard the "sock" discussion on ESPN this morning and didn't know it was a hot topic. Now I read the story and I just want to know why it was so important to say that on the air. Is it true or false? If you don't have that facts, dont' say it. Glad Jim Palmer didn't get into it.

And, while I’m at it, I have to take issue with Maese’s most recent column. First, if Gibbons, a player with a nebulous role, is to be considered part of the club’s nucleus, then the nucleus is unstable and we should be ready for a nuclear explosion. His performance thus far is not that big of a surprise and I’m just waiting for him to land on the DL. Second, if, in April, you’re thinking that Roberts and Mora will end up hitting .230 and .240, respectively, for the season, I think you’re worrying about the wrong thing. I’d worry more about the starters pitching deeper into games and the bullpen getting a breather before they get burned out.

Third, Hernandez got hurt and is on the DL—it happens to just about every player not named Cal Ripken, and it’s probably even more likely to happen to a catcher than other position players. While it’s unfortunate and is stretching out much longer than anyone anticipated, I’ll be more concerned if, upon his return, he struggles for a protracted period of time or he keeps getting injured.

Fourth, three games of blunders and lack of performance in April is no reason to be writing an epitaph to this season. It’s going to happen every now and then, even to the most seasoned professionals, and it’s better that it happens early in the season. I’d be more concerned if it happens in August (regardless of where the team is in the standings). Of course, this is the kind of thing that can build to a long losing streak, but you have to hope that the manager or the veterans are able to stop it before that happens.

If the O’s go a mini tear starting today and win 3 or 4 games in a row, what will the stories be? O’s poised for playoff run? 2007 O’s show shades of 1983 champions? There just seems to be a lack of perspective, from fans and the media, which is puzzling for a team that stands on nine straight losing seasons and has three of its rotation spots (not counting Guthrie at this point) filled with relatively inexperienced homegrown pitchers. Moods are swinging from game to game, series to series. Does anyone realize that this is a 162-game season and the O’s are most likely a fourth place club?

Thie thing about blogging at the library is when your time is almost up, you have to type reeeeeeal fast and post. I was glad Palmer stayed his classy self and didn't fuel that "Shilling sock" conversation. I've always liked Jim. Passed by him in the lockerroom one time and decided not to open my mouth in fear of saying something stupid to him like "Aren't you Jim Palmer?" when I knew he was. Anyway, MASN shouldn't have kept out that fifth inning rebroadcast and then say it was because of time constraints. I pay extra money just so I can watch MASN so please don't make up a line like that. Just be man about it and say why your leaving the fifth inning out the rebroadcast.

When I watched ESPN , Corey's catch WAS ranked #1.

Wow! The Boston Globe online sports page (www.bostone.com/sports) is hot about the "Shill sock." Reading one of their blogs though was someone named Shafty who called Shilling a "blowhard" and that Curt likes to make himself out to be a hero. Personally I always liked Curt since he was with the Orioles. I've met Curt and he seemed like a really nice fellow. He's good for the game and wish him the best of luck in Boston. He's a cool dude.

I was at the game last night, so I had no idea about this whole sockgate part 2 until I read about it in the Sun this morning. I still didn't think much of it until I heard Mike and Mike talking about it on my way to work. So many questions, like why was Gary Thorne bringing it up so nonchallantly and why does he say Doug Mirabelli told him but Mirabelli claims to not know Thorne. But my biggest question, Roch, is how did the reporters find out about it before the game ended? Is the MASN audio piped into the press box? Regardless, this story is two and a half years old and I can't believe it's still being talked about. It's all ESPN Radio has been talking about all day. (For the record, Kevin Millar told Mark Viviano that it was definitely blood, he saw it himself.)

As far as Ortiz's hit off Walker goes, from where I was sitting, it looked like it may have died in the wind, which appeared to be blowing in a little bit. When he hit the ball, I thought it was gonna be caught too. But Payton can't dive on that play - if he misses and it gets past him Youkilis scores too and Ortiz ends up with extra bases.

SPENCER, thanks for the clarification. I agree it is very difficult, in game, to determine the "key situation" - that is something best done post-mortem.

But, even so, there are serious flaws to the logic.

If you can divine the moment and you bring Ray in for the 7th, is it just for the 7th? That makes no sense. So you either have to follow Ray with a lesser pitcher by design or hope Ray can last 3.

What if the Sox had Cabrera on the ropes in the 3rd? Let's say the O's got 4 off of Schilling in the 1st 2 innings and then, after Cora hits the HR, the Sox load the bases. You have divined THIS is the crucial inning. Do you bring Ray in here? Then what?

While Dennis Eckersley could have gone 3, 4 or 5 innings, and maybe Zumaya can, too, name 3 other closers in MLB now who can last pitching like this?

Papelbon, who the Sox wanted to make a starter, broke down last season - and he was not used in any exceptional way.

The regrettably best AL closer over the last decade, Rivera, is showing affects of all of the 2 inning saves he had last year even as we speak.

The whole thing that makes a great closer as opposed to a good pitcher is as much the routine.

Ray knows he will not be needed until the 8th inning at the earliest. He can relax, stretch out, whatever and then start getting ready to pitch. None of this shows up on a stat sheet so the James fans miss it entirely.

When everyone in the 'pen knows their roles and are used predictably it is a much better situation for the team. Is this formalism or is it intelligence? You can supply the label. I just know, from watching unimaginative guys like Earl, Sparky Anderson, Bobby Cox, Dick Howser and Felipe Alou that it seems to work pretty well.

Also, it all seems pretty iffy.

The whole Bill James thing is that the essence of baseball can be reduced to the statistics and, having this understanding, the game can be run accordingly.

There would have to be some formulaic way to tell when to bring your closer in.

I do not see how you can do that in situ.

Couple thoughts.

The most important pitch of the night was DCab's ball 4 to Youk. Just missed low...

Walker was the right pitcher for Ortiz though I was not in favor letting DCab pitch the 7th at all. I would rather give the bull pen a clean set of bases to work with.

Still, Schilling was lights out and his pitch count was so low he could have pitched 15 innings. We simply had zero room for error until Schilling and Paplebon were done for the night.

Also, I never thought I would say this but Paul Bako OWNS Schilling! Owns him... Bako should bat lead off the next time we face Schilling.

Good one CRB! You made me laugh.

F the Suxs fans & their micromanagement of whatever. Put this in your clam chowder .... Schilling & his red sock might be pitching here next year... or NY.

let's test the darn red sock and get it over with. i'm not a fan of tall tales. if it's not fact, it's crap.

CRB--good comments about Thorne's comments. Wasn't necessary in the first place and I think he did breach Mirabelli's trust, but seriously, it doesn't detract from the WS victory at all. All of us thought the story was over-dramatized garbage anyway.

Roch--tell Maese to relax a little on the negative bias. Sure, the O's FO treats the press like crap unless you are in the CBS inner circle of friends, but his stories are getting a little whiny and redundant. Like another poster said, our infielders may be lacking in fundamentals but they are not the reason we are not winning ballgames overall unless you weight 1B heavily. Anyway, good bullpen posts folks.

It's refreshing to see how Gary Thorne "tweaked" the Red Sox Nation, particularly since we have to put up with their obnoxious, drunken antics at Camden Yards on a regular basis. All knowledgeable fans know that the history of baseball is full of yarns that became legends as they are passed from generation to generation. In fact, wasn't it Boston's favorite Yankee, Babe Ruth, who once predicted a homerun as he pointed to the outfield fence? Hopefully, the "Curse of the Bambino" will cause another 86 years to pass before we have to "celebrate" another Beantown World Series victory. Go O's!

Just a note on an earlier post saying that the Orioles should have gone after Soriano and Lee.

The O's DID offer Carlos Lee a lot of money. The only reason Aubrey Huff & Jay Payton were even signed was because Lee wouldn't sign.

But even if Duquette and Flanagan threw $300 million at Lee, he wouldn't have come to Baltimore. He only entertained the option in order to get more money from the Astros.

Wow guys you are still talking about the Orioles? Can we focus on the NFL draft, or women's swimming, or anything BUT the blundering bird poop? They will get shutout tonight, GUARANTEED or your mattress is FREE!

For those of you who whine about MASN, its volume problems and absence of HD…

I agree. But…

I’ve been a devoted O’s fan since 1954. I only get to one or two games a year at The Yard. Each game is a 1,000-mile (round) trip. But, win or lose, it’s worth it.

From 1968 through 1973 I had to rely on the Stars and Stripes while I was in Southeast Asia, near Asia and then Europe. That’s how I kept up on my team. In October 1971 I was stationed on a mountaintop in Turkey – living in a tent, bathing in a stream, and eating from tin cans and boxes. The O’s were playing the Pirates in the World Series that October and one night our radio operator connected with a HAM operator in the DC area. The HAM transmitted the broadcast of the World Series games to us as about a dozen of us huddled in the cold around the radio van. My O’s lost that Series in game 7, but my memory of just getting to hear those games will never fade.

Today I’m a lot older and not a whole lot wiser. But I still love my O’s. I have to watch them on MASN (when it’s not blocked out in Vermont). I’m thankful for MASN and the fact that I can receive it (via DirecTV and Extra Innings). Appreciate what you’ve got!

A tip of the hat to whomever it was that put Nathan down. The kid needs to have his diaper changed. Or, if he’s grown out of diapers (doubtful), then he needs a spanking.

About our MASN announcers: Who talks more? Jim Palmer extolling his past or Joe Morgan on ESPN? Both are there to provide “color” and, as such, are supposed to take second seat to the announcer. Both bore me with their over-analysis of every little thing. You want a good second man in the booth? Check out Jerry Remy with ESPN. Worst announcer ever is Ken Harralson for the White Sox.

Who said Gary Thorn was another Ted Baxter? Man, I agree. Get Amber off the field. Her inane questioning of players is just too sad.

O’s Fan in VT

Spencer, Last night, Joel Zumaya took a comfortable lead and turned it into a save situation. He did not look like the best option in the Tigers bullpen.

Had Parrish had a quick inning the previous day, say 12 to 16 pitches, we may have seen him against Ortiz.

Your bullpen is a strong as the pitchers that are available in the context of the season, not the game. A manager must manage for the season. Yes, you make decisions to "give away" some loses. And you put players in pressure situations to see if you can use them later in the season.

A Captain in Baseball is just plain stupid. If you notice only a couple of moronic teams have them.

I like how all of the Red Sox fans flipped out over Thorne's comments, but during NESN's broadcast of the game, its announcers had a conspiracy theory on how the Orioles were stealing Varitek's signs through a construction worker behind Camden Yards.

The "big deal" about the bloody sock stems from the Yankee- Red Sox rivalry. Yanks got beat, their fans began "well that wasn't really blood". At the time, the RS joked it was a sharpie.

I'm kind of incensed that Jerry Remy blatently stated the Orioles wasted $41 million on their bullpen, based one one poor performance out of 20. He should know better than most not to write off players based on one game.

I'd like to think that I addressed - and agreed with - the idea that picking out a "most important inning" mid-game is difficult.

I agree - I don't think there's much of a gain one way or the other. And SABREmaticians aren't the best (no one is, actually) at measuring psychological value...does a team derive utility from having a closer? It's possible, even if unquantifiable (or nearly unquantifiable.)

But your criticism that it would mean "lesser" pitchers coming in after Ray doesn't wash: they'd be lesser pitchers coming in at "lesser" times, of less import. It's no different then working off the arbitrary determination that the 9th inning is the most important inning.

The theory, outside of application, is sound. But that's been true of a lot of theories. In a tie game, I don't think you can CLAIM a "most important" inning. They're all crucial. And bringing your closer in the moment that something becomes "crucial" doesn't seem all that prudent.

Two men on, Ortiz batting, Ramirez on deck, tie game...seems pretty damn crucial to me.

The point is it doesn't matter if you run into another crucial inning later, if you don't get out of this one.

As to what inning, the fifth?, why not start Ray, yada, yada, yada...Yeah, i'd bring him in the 5th in the same situation, again, because if you don't get out of the 5th, what does it matter what happens in the 7th?

Closers can't pitch 3 innings? I wasn't suggesting this, but will tackle Tom's strawman anyway. Tell that to Rich Gossage, Mike Marshall or Joe Page. This limiting of your best releif pitcher to one inning stints is relatively recent. And, btw, the closer never came in to start the inning (unless the starter had been pinchhit for) his job was to get the team out of a tough spot.

I think Spencer (and others) may have hit on why it doesn't happen this way, managers are afraid to make any kind of in game judgement call, because it may backfire and then the press will have a field day.

That's leadership for you!