i would have sent freddie bynum to norfolk on the last train

I just checked--our pitching staff leads the AL in strikeouts and walks issued. Thanks to Adam's performance tonight, that should not change.

its a religious staff, they giveth and they taketh away

I think Sam has been reading your blog Roch. An interesting departure from previous games. Now several of us said that he should bring in Ray when it was the most critical--let's see what happens. But remember last year when Hawkins would invariably screw up the 8th inning and Ray kept pitching 2 innings? He should be pretty rested now and everyone knows we need a big win here. Regardless of the outcome we have seen some good baseball. I could do with a few less walks though. Why do we always walk the leadoff man?

well R-man, Mr Ray is in the game

We still have 2 more at bats. I don't like walking the bases loaded. I never have liked this move. Now any wildness costs a run. I hope I'm wrong!

this game has unraveled pretty damn quick

...That hurts

I'm thinking getting Ray regular work and keeping him relegated to the 9th is the way to go. Umph. He really blew that one.

how many times has chris ray given up a game losing grand slam in the last 2 years? 4? that must be some sort of record

Holy Lord, that ball was hit a loooooong way...

Freakin' Red Sox, man. That hurts.

Jim66 - Maybe we should tell the FO Byrum isn't a Rule 5 guy. Is he out of ML options?

We're not protecting much of anything anymore.

So much for the bullpen.*

*...small sample size, anyone?

Welcome to reality you pathetic Orioles fans. Back to being the basement dwellers in the AL East. Boston is proving just why the Orioles suck, managerial mistakes, clutch hitting, it is amazing you all show any signs of optimism. it's pathetic really. Roch you need to start following a team that cares about decency. You are wasting your time covering a bunch of bird poop

This has been a week of heartbreak. Back to .500. At least Ray is warm...

This string of 4 losses has been a team effort, I will give them that.

your closer has given up 2 gw grand slams in April. This one to a guy hitting 143. Unbelievable. 78 wins tops. Who the hell feels like playing after this crap.New year,same old Orioles.

...On MASN, Palmer said, "...Right down the middle". I think it was low and on-the-corner. A good pitch.

Now are stopper is scarred for life after these two grandslams.

true heartbreak. Somebody help me.

These are the Red Sox, and we are the Orioles. Protecting a one run lead virtually impossible, not even with the new over paid bull pen. Sure enough, Ray gives up a GS. I know Ray is not one of the new guys. But again, these are the Red Sox, and we are the Orioles

We shouldn't have brought him in for a five out save either. This is gross mismanagement, and I think we have had enough of it. Bring in somebody who knows baseball. I wanted to give him a chance, but I knew the moment we brought in Ray, we would lose.

ray is just like the last few Oriole closers. the only difference being he doesn't throw a tantrum. He throws it in 95, it goes out 105.
You gotta be wacked to give Pena anything good to hit. he's a K machine. Nice job Chris.
It's just impossible to root for this crap.

WHY DID RAY COME IN???

...take a seat Miggy! That was too close to take.

this game shows up the exact reasons that they win 90 and you lose 90. Roch, maybe you can tell us what we know after 22 games?

...I've been switching back and forth on TV - can someone tell me what Gary said tonight regarding SOCKGATE?

I can't take it anymore.......this team goes from giving you hope to depressing the hell out of you in a matter of minutes

terrible

bring burres in to mop up, ray's done a fine night's work. If you can't hit, when its all said and done, you ain't competing in the AL East.
Roch, lots of cheering in the clubhouse?

This makes me sick. I think there should be a club house rule that makes every hitter swing at the first pitch, even if its in the dirt...especially Miggy.

Wait, is it a rule already?

If not I command them all to SWING AWAY! AS MUCH AS POSSILBE!!! Its helped us so far I mean Beckett isn't still in in the ninth is he? The joke is on him...haha.

GRRRRRRRR....

maybe it'll cool down up there, so we can finally win one. man the weeks longer when we keep losing. i so hate boston. i'm not second guessing Sam P, Ray just tossed a fat one to willy mo, a guy who'd swing at anything near harford county. let's go o's, one bad week. one more week and we can be like San Fran, who were last at one point. and just remember..the yankees are in last. so smile.

Yikes, we're back to normal. The Orioles SUCK!!

I will echo that. I knew as soon as Ray came in it was over. How many times does that have to be proven? Ray cannot be brought in with men on base. I swear he puts men on everytime he closes. He's not a spot reliever. Why?? Why?? Isn't Chad Bradford a right hander? Isn't he a ground ball pitcher? Didn't we need a double play? Unbelievable.

If Perlozzo says that Ray needed work I'm gonna flip out. We needed a win over Boston more than Ray needed work. I've been standing up for Perlozzo, but that was just idiotic. Again. UNBELIEVABLE!!

Beckett - 100 pitches, 79 for strikes in eight innings, no walks. That's the kind of pitcher the Orioles need, someone that has good enough stuff and command to throw strikes and let them put it in play.

Loewen - 105 pitches, 59 for strikes in six innings, 5 walks. The Orioles pitching staff tonight 8 walks.

Not good enough to hang with the big boys.

Six out save from Chris Ray?.....ha ha he he......This is the same old team as always. They really suck. See ya next season.

Seriously folks, this isn't the game to complain about managing. The players got beat by a better team. We were lucky to be winning with the number of baserunners they had.

I think Mazzone is stealing paychecks from the ballclub. What really has this guy accomplished with this club? How come other young pitchers in the league managed to improve despite the WBC?

Well, O's fans, in the words of Sammy P, "let's just keep plugging along". That's a good description of what the team is doing.

Hey this might be the same Willy Mo Pena most dismissed as not worthy of wearing the black and orange, when I suggested getting him in a trade. Some compared him to Sam Horn, Calvin Pickering,et al...
He strikes out a lot...but the man can hit. I'd take him in a heartbeat; the upside is better than the downside(and Phelps??/Bynum...)
This game once again highlighted our weakness-lack of offense and control. If Loewen doesn't walk so many, he might have lasted more than 6 innings and if the 'pen doesn't load 'em up, again mostly with walks, no granny.
I guess those advocating using Ray early will now blame Sammy for doing just that! Anybody with a clue knows that a 'pen performs best when all have clear roles. Asking a closer to get 4-5 outs makes as much sense as having a left-handed specialist(Walker) to pitch long relief.
All in all, another depressing loss-hope this isn't a sign of more bullpen meltdowns. Pretty hard to see any bright spots in the last 4 losses-is it going to be a long season or are we going to win a couple soon? The schedule looks tough for the next 2 weeks and our history seems to suggest a long slump. Of course, I hope to be proven wrong but all the tell-tale signs are there_sloppy play, players whinning, blown saves and no clutch hitting, not to mention, rampant discontent from the fans!

At this point, I'm starting to wish the Orioles would leave Baltimore and go somewhere else. It's pretty obvious the majority of their fanbase would rather have them fail and/or suck so they can start bashing Perlozzo and Angelos some more. After all, the Ravens are doing pretty well, Baltimore fans have to [female dog] about SOMETHING. I mean, the O's are in the same division with the two most overhyped fanbases in all of baseball in New York and Boston, we need to catch up in the [female dog] category.

I mean, for the love of God, it's not even the end of April yet, people! I mean, the Twins only have one more win than the Orioles do. Where's their panic? Then there's the Pirates, Angels, Cards, Reds, Diamondbacks, and Marlins who all have similar records to the Orioles, yet I hear few people counting them out of the race yet (well, except maybe the Marlins).

I guess we should just stop the season now and give the Red Sox the World Series trophy now, right? I mean, it's only 22 games into a 162 division, that's PLENTY of time to say who's WS-bound and who's not. Because, you know, no team ever changes as the season goes along.

Heck, just last year the Twins were 9-13 at the end of April. Surely with that team's inability to hit home runs they would never be able to get into the playoffs, never mind get a winning record. Right?

Or how about the Tigers. They lost 2/3 of their games in the second half of the season and coughed up the division. No way a team like that would ever get to the World Series. Not in a million years. After all, they had 15 (note: 15 is more than 9) losing seasons! They're bums!

And then there's the Cardinals, who stumbled into the playoffs with their team completely worn out and losing 7 in a row during the next-to-last week of the season. They'd NEVER get to the World Series, much less win it. After all, they have to get past the Mets, who have all that offense as well as enough pitching to dominate the NL this season.

Or how about the LA Dodgers? They were WELL under .500 at the end of April. Surely they could never come back to get in the playoffs. Or the Padres, for that matter. They had the same record. No way they would be able to do anything.

Nathan, WHY in the world do you post here? Nobody likes you, nobody wants to read your posts, and you're not offering anything constructive at all. Why not save your "The Orioles will be losers until the end of time" BS for New York and Boston. The fanbase is [female doggy] enough without you adding this pile of [poo].

OK, I can fix the O's. We are close now and need just 3 things - Offense, Scissors/Razors and Anger.

I can explain.

1.) Offense: Self-explanatory. You will not beat Major League teams posting 1-2 runs a game.

2.) Scissors/Razors: The bullpen has steadily declined since their group porn-mustache experiment began. Please end this immediately! Between that failed team unity attempt and the unfortunate grooming choices of Jay Gibbons, the only things missing are disco balls hanging from the Jumbotron and perhaps putting The Bird on roller skates.

3.) Anger: You can't blame a lot of the team for not understanding the gravity of the Baltimore baseball situation. Many of them haven't been here long enough to truly understand thanks to the roster that reads like an airport flight schedule. For the core members who've been here for much of our decade of stink, I don't sense nearly enough desperation from game to game. I want to see fire in the eyes of the players but too often I see the "Oh well, maybe tomorrow" look. Get mean, boys... And start taking it out on the little white leather sphere that guys are throwing at you!

Who did or say the most stupid things at the " yard " this week? Thorne, Mora, Roberts, Perlozzo or the drunk fairy [ is that right ] guy?

Well I believe tonight’s game will help mold some opinions as to whether Ray should be used other than to close the ninth?

Maybe it’s just me…but Ray always seems to pitch more effectively when he starts an inning.

Loewen certainly deserved a W tonight….not particularly pretty….but a hell of an effort!

Jim66 – not that it surprises me…but yes it is kind of humorous! Majority of the criticism just needs a good flush….but that’s what makes this blog so enjoyable. Everyone can say what they think….even that piss ant Nathan!

By the way….re: the bloody socks…..Bill Clinton say’s that they have a test that can determine the origin of a fluid stain on almost any fabric. Maybe Mirabelli suggested to Schilling that he keep the sock?

Nathan….at this moment…the only thing I regret more than that grand slam tonight is the fact that your parents didn’t practice safe sex. Come to think of it….I bet they regret it too.

is there anyone at AAA who can hit and drive in a run occassionally? I think the Millar/Gibbons tandem has proved unproductive and costly. Two roster spots filled by the same type of player hitting from opposite sides of the plate, neither doing anything worthwhile. I for one have seen enough of Gibbons.

Pena stats agaisnt Ray lifetime before tonight.

4 AB's, 2 Hits. .500 average. Perlozzo's inverse thinking.

Normally, if a hitter shows he can hit a pticher farily well, you try anoher pitcher. The Perlozzo approach is - oh, this guy hits him pretty well, he's due not to get a hit.

Granted four AB's are not like the Ortiz-Walker and Ramirez-Bradford idiocy last night, but Ray is a fly ball pitcher.

This is a tough one for Loewen and Cabrera last night. Getting quality starts only to be done in by bullpen failures is disheartening.

I really wish Perlozzo was more of a numbers manager than a role player type of manager.

Ray;s got to develop a sinker instead of a stinker.

Boomer, I have no idea how major league baseball is even an option for Mr Bynum. I was confused when they traded for him, and more confused that he's on the team. If he did anything well, do you think it would be that difficult to get playing time on this team? The Orioles must have confused him with Carl Crawford.

what we know after 22 games...o's can beat the rest but can't beat elite. i believe .500 is still doable. afterall it's a looooooong season.

well at least I missed the game because I was at a lecture with Cal. he's a pretty talented public speaker actually.

anyways, haven't seen many interviews or quotes with Ray this year - would like to know how he's dealing, what he says is the problem

shouldn't we put the cartoon bird on the caps again? Maybe that would help this team loosen up in the clutch.

I'm sorry, but you don't load the bases with ONE out. This one is on Sammy and Ray. I'm in Boston and the NESN postgame guys ripped on Chris Ray for not even thinking to throw Wily Mo ONE breaking ball. The guy doesn't hit anything but fastballs, Chris, use your other pitches!

Another head scratcher from sammy on his bullben management. For the 2nd nite in a row our manager goes out of his way to AVOID favorable match ups...instead of saving baez for the 8th, when ortiz and manny are due up (they are a combined 7 for 33 against baez), he drags him out in the 7th.....why not have parrish mow through pena, pedroia and lugo in the 7th (right handers are .087 against him over 6 inning span), and save baez for Youkilis, ortiz and manny in the 8th.

In post game interview, our manager admits to leaning toward using Ray for 1+ innings...prior to the game even starting. I thought you were supposed to let in-game action dictate your managing.

The first pitch to Pena was a slider in the dirt.

OBOY, I agree completely. Why take use Baez in the 7th when he's the setup guy, first of all. Let's stick to our roles, here. And yeah, let Parrish get these guys out. But bottom line: Chris Ray needs to be able to get outs at any time. He's supposed to be the best reliever.

I'll follow up on Dan the Man's good comments. Chris Ray HAD to throw fastballs because he does not have great command of his breaking pitches. So please don't intentionally load the bases so that you cut down on your options when you are still winning. I think Ray has a decent chance of striking out Varitek anyway and then he could go after Pena with all of his pitches. I HATE the idea of loading the bases when you are winning and it is not the 9th inning. Still too much baseball left unless you have zippo confidence in your offense to get another run. That must be it.

Okay--onward and upward. This average month means we are still in the middle of the pack. We can't compete with fundamentally sound teams unless we mirror their work ethic and intelligent play. We can beat the lower teir teams, so like Brian F said I think we will likely hover around .500 or just under it for most of the year. May and June look a little better if we can play with the middle of the road Cleveland-type teams.

Just as Pena being 2 for 4 against Ray proves nothing, one game does not prove the worth of a particular strategy. What the reaction does prove, however, is that Crazy Sammy and the rest of them are absolutely right to believe that trying something different will lead to the vitriol of all those afraid to lead.

i believe Byrum has at least one option left. the O's need more punch not speed. Knott and House need to up here. Byrum could DFA'd or optioned. i might try to swing a trade sending Gibbons,Ray and Penn to FLA for Miguel Caberra and move Mora to 2nd. id try to trade rbob for Ervin Santana straight up if he doesnt have a no-trade clause in his Juice-achieved fat contract. as for last night, WAY TO GO SAMMY !!! you have proven to me you do not know how to MANAGE a game or its players. id try to find Davey Johnson's phone number before this is another lost season.

So much for the $42 million dollar bullpen to get to Ray in the 9th. Why, it's just like last year, just a little more expensive.