you mean to tell me ESPN took red sox vs yankees tomorrow nite over Os vs devil rays?

some things boggle the mind.

As always, thanks for the update Roch - but why the change in broadcast stations?

Why can't WHFS broadcast all of the games?

Fans will surely will point to the new deal with HFS (I'm sure the station informed the Orioles of a need to not broadcast all of the games or it would have been in the contract) and just another example of disrespect to the fans.

Besides ... I may be too old-school, but I miss the crackle of static you get by listening to the Orioles on AM Radio like we got with WBAL and WFBR.

Oh, also Roch — if you don't think The Moose-enary is capable of winning 20 games this year, how do you think he's going to win 2,008?!? ... ;-)

Ditto Lauren and Kevin: Why the change? I am confused.

I don't wish Penn to be a bona fide ace. I just want him to get his career on track and solidify himself as a solid starter in the rotation. When the Marlins were willing to trade AJ Burnett for him, it was clear that the Marline thought highly of him. It is encouraging to see that he has done well in his Norfolk starts.

Roch, Pulled the trigger too soon on Trembly. Now Phil "I'll kick your ass" Garner is available. Is there any chance Flanny would try to bring him in? Flanny iss too nice. Don't need anymore "nice guys". This club need "bad aa" character.

Actually the O's traded Chris Richard for Jack Cust.

Hey Tom D--

Before calling someone out, please be accurate. Scroll through my posts again and please identify where I say that this team has "the worst bullpen in ML history". Besides the fact that whoever used that quote was using hyperbole (therefore you should relax), it wasn't me. I happen to think this bullpen was put together in a patchwork fashion to plug last season's holes. I think they have underperformed and the failings of a few key components has led to problems for the entire corps.

Anyway, before you get all cranky and bent out of shape--make sure you are criticizing the right person.

No sympathy for Moose...ever. And I love that he has never won a ring for the Yanks. Even through the nasty Baltimore years of late, at least he hasn't gotten a ring.

Almost Former: Why be disappointed with Markakis? His percentages are almost identical to last year’s, he’s avoided the dreaded sophomore slump, his fielding is solid other than a mistake or two, and, at only age 23, he’s clearly one of the club’s best hitters already (though with the crew we have, that may not be saying much). I guess if you’re expecting the numbers you indicated for a player in his second season, you would be disappointed, but I’m not sure it would’ve been reasonable to expect that. I see a solid young ballplayer who hopefully continually improves his game. We need more like him.

Roch, I would say the team can’t count on Penn for next year’s rotation. I think the club is in the same situation next year with him as they were this year before he got hurt: hope he does well in spring training, have him start the season in the minors, and, provided he does well, call him up midseason. He’s still way young, but he’s setting up a disturbing track record of disappointment.

Mussina’s career could very well be coming to an abrupt finish, though I wouldn’t count him out just yet. He’s going to take his shots here, given the resounding success the O’s have had since he left, but, in his 17 seasons, this is the first time he’s faced such adversity and that’s impressive. He’s dealt with some injuries the last few seasons, not uncommon for an aging pitcher, but until now, he’s been serviceable and capable of pitching well. Now his ability to get hitters out is in question. Ironically, if he had an injury as an excuse, that might be better than just losing his stuff without injury since he could recover from that.

The reason given by the Orioles for the station change involves Maryland football programming.

Conflict issues with the Maryland Terrapins may be part of all of the reason for this. Please let us know if there is anything new on this.

Mike D, I echo your venom for the traitor. I am so pleased Mussina still has no 20-win season or a World Series ring.

There's a little karma out there, after all, I guess.

I'm guessing that JACK-FM is carrying the O's games on Sept. 1, 8, 13, 22, and 29, becuase the Terps football games will be broadcast on HFS those days. However, I'm not sure why tonight's game as well as the O's games on Sept. 5, 12, 19, and 26 are being shifted, unless it has something to do with HFS' simulcast of the new Ravens programming on ESPN1300AM?

I think the best play of the year was made by Markakis in Anaheim where he almost had to part with his legs to grab a ball that was headed over that short fence in right. At the time it was in a close game. I forgot who hit it, but it was a truly amazing play.

If more people played with his fire, we would not be enduring this terrible stretch.

WJZ has the press release. The first moved O's game is Wednesday, not tonight.

Why the venom for Mussina. The O's allowed him to get away. Syd Thrift said that Mussina had given the O's right of last refusal so that he'd come back to the team to match any proposal. The Yankees short circuited that with their offer by conditioning it on 1) a quick acceptance and 2) not comparing it with any other offer.
Only an idiot would not forego his guarantee at that point. The Yankees wanted him and got him. The Orioles management was lackadaisical and lost him. Don't blame Mussina for the front office's malfeasance.

I've asked it before and I'll ask it again: what is this fascination with Hayden Penn? Seems to not have any pitch that's noticeably above average and in every game I've seen him pitch in, he's void of any command of these pitches. He still seems like more of a thrower than a pitcher, missing his target sometimes by feet. I've read scouting reports that have projected him as a 4 starter in the future. Plus, doesn't it seem bad when a kid who's not even 23 has already shown a lack of dedication/committment to his job? Someonejust explain to me why I should envision him as an effective major leaguer someday. What am I missing??

I corrected the entry. The first game on 102.7 is, indeed, tomorrow.

TMNA-- good points about Penn. He is no longer in the top 150 prospects list. He doesn't throw very hard and his command from what we have seen is below average. What is he the answer to besides the question: who is one of 5 highly touted prospects that the O's refuse to package in a deal to get a legitimate hitter?

Markakis is an interesting case. He was clutch early on and probably exceeding expectations. It seems like he has been leaving a lot of ducks on teh pond recently, but in the grand scheme of things he would be the last person that I would criticize. To be fair, I think Almost Former was just bringing up the fact that Markakis is not the dynamic player that can carry a team for a sustained period of time. He is not "explosive" though this does not mean he is not extremely talented and a sound ballplayer. Please, don't let the others taint he (and Roberts who has already stopped running out ground balls).

Tom D, I think you may have mistakenly hammered JPA for his constant repetition of the mantra "The Worst Bullpen in Major League Baseball History". That hammering probably should have been directed at me.

It only goes back about a week or so when, unfortunately and completely out of the blue, I snapped during one particularly poor bullpen display. But it also was the result of a season long frustration with this bullpen consistently blowing late leads and losing games.

Most of what I say here is for fun, way less than serious, and probably is of no real use to anyone. I'm not a stat guy and don't particularly care much for math in general. I leave that up to you guys. I'm fully aware that I have no real power or qualifications to trouble shoot and solve this team's problems.

Anyway, I apologize for being hyper critical. I'm feeling better now anyway after the off day. And thanks to your crack research, it's a real load off my mind to know that were not really The Worst Bullpen in Major League Baseball History. Had me fooled.

Karma? The O’s have been horrible since Mussina left. While Mussina hasn’t won a World Series with the Yankees, he’s made the playoffs every year since. Some karma for us O’s fans. At least we haven’t even sniffed the playoffs beyond July every year since he left. I suppose it’s much better to not even be close than to be good, make the playoffs, but not win it all.

I’m not going to defend Mussina because his leaving is now ancient history and I’ve grown tired of defending someone wearing pinstripes. All I can say is, watch for the same thing to happen to Bedard after 2009 (though it may not be the Yankees). The O’s will drag their feet trying to extend him, he’ll be more and more enticed by free agency as it draws near, and a team better than the Orioles will be more than willing to give him a huge contract. We’ll demonize good players like Bedard wanting what they’re worth and wanting to play with winning teams while Angelos and co. fill another roster with average or worse players and continue the now commonplace mediocrity.

Penn is the young pitcher who should be dealt. The O's could probably get a good offensive outfielder or top outfield prospect in a deal that includes Penn, who hasn't shown much in his major league trials thus far, but is still considered a top prospect.

People want to trade Cabrera, but he's shown he can win, and even dominate, in the majors. His problem is keeping his delivery constant. Penn is younger, and has shown less, but still has high trade value.

i would argue that most of us fans have sort of dismissed Hayden Penn as being a legitamate part of this team's future. I was never sold on the guy mainly because all of the hype that was generated by the organization and announcers each and every spring training. i believe Liz has moved ahead of Penn, as has Doyne, Hoey, Olsen, etc. It's not solely on performance, but while they have improved and at least worked towards fixing the problems that have hindered them in the past, Penn seems to have a perpetual negative force around him. he doesn't improve, doesn't seem to challenge himself, doesn't stay healthy. Dare i say he's turning into a new version of Matt Riley?

I'm ready for the orginization to find a new kid to cherish that might have an above average fastball and some command...

I've been out of the loop for almost a week, but just noticed that the Colorado Rockies optioned Geronimo Gil to Colorado Springs. Has he been playing for the Rockies? It's good to know he's still catching.

Can anyone enlighten me as to what kind of tools Hayden Penn actually has that gave him that label of "highly touted prospect"? I mean, he doesn't appear to have a great fastball or superb stuff or anything. He's not a lefty. What makes him good, anyway? We should have definitely jumped on AJ Burnett, but hindsight is 20/20.

Mussina deserves venom...at least BJ Ryan didn't go play for the Bankees. Mussina could have signed with Boston and I wouldn't have the venom I have for him now. Schadenfreude is in full bloom this year...hope it continues.

As to Penn. Years ago the O's would have some players consult with a doctor at Shephard Pratt. Focus was one of the issues. If my memory is correct, in high school Penn was involved (witness?) to a shooting in his school. A professional might be able to help him bring some things into perspective.

Hey soccer dad,

The venom for Mussina is rooted from the timing of his departure. The Orioles weren't (then) too far removed from the success of the mid- to late-90s when they were constantly in dogfights with the Yankees. To see him sign so quickly with the team’s long-time rival was a big act of betrayal for fans who were used to seeing him as a hero against the Pinstripes.

You see it with other sports and teams and the easy movement of players through free agency. Johnny Damon is still vilified by RedSox Nation in a similar money move.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I still choose to root for the name on the front of the jersey — despite who's in the front office — and not the name that’s on the back. None of the apologies you make for Mussina hold any water.

There are plenty of players who I still root for who have moved on, but none in the way Mussina did. It was the way he did it. I’d probably still root for him if he went to Cleveland or Boston (and that's saying a lot, if you've seen any of my earlier posts about my hatred for RedSox Nation).

Besides, I saw first-hand how much of a pompous a$$ Mussina was when he was here. It’s too bad his career hasn't crashed and burned before now. ... But at least that mini-Yankee dynasty crapped out upon his arrival, right?

Soccer Dad -

You asked and answered your own question. Why the venom towards Mussina? He committed to give the Orioles the last chance to match any offer (something he owed the fans here, if not the front office). Then he succumbed to a bribe or extortion or blackmail or whatever you want to call it when the Yankees said "this offer has to be accepted right now or it is off the table".

And no, not only an idiot would stick to his promise at that point. Anyone guided by principle or honor or fairness or loyalty to the fans would have stuck to his promise. Anyone who didn't want to work for extortionist/blackmailers would have told the Yankees to shove their insult. It was an insult, after all - they were implying that he could be bought off of previous promises.

Anyone who understood that once you are guaranteed tens of millions of dollars either way and you are set for life financially, it should be even easier to abide by your word and your commitment. Anyone like that would have kept their word.

You can say Syd and the front office were naive to assume he would do the honorable thing and they should have been cutthroat cold-hearted b@st@rds like the others. But you can't say that only an idiot would turn his back on his fans, his word and his honor to grab a few percent more than the obscene riches already on the table.

Moosenary someone called him. Perfect. Screw him and the horse he rode out on all the way from Montoursville. I like him the way I like Irsay.

I hope the Stanford, smileless, joyless, mercenary, calculating, spiteful,thin-skinned, disloyal, knucklecurve-headed, prettyboy, whining, cold-hearted, teammate-screwing, ungrateful, rich, intellectual effite SOB leads the Yankees right down the tubes to mediocrity.

Is that what you meant by venom?

JPA, TMNA –

The odd thing is that a lot of posters are already placing Penn, Liz and Olsen into the 2008 starting rotation! Although I was semi-impressed with Liz….one start does not an evaluation make.

While I believe that all three will be on the staff at some point….I feel that it’s dumping
overly aggressive expectations during a stage in their careers where they don’t qualify.
My concern for 08 will be how Guthrie handles the second time around and how Loewen comes back post surgery. We definitely should consider keeping Trachsel next year if we don’t acquire another arm. I don’t think we have the talent on hand to replace him.

Penn is a good pitcher. He just needs to learn to repeat that changeup and arm action...the speed differential is good...and the fastball has a lot of life to it...the problem when he was in the majors is that MLers quickly realized he was a fastball-changeup guy so they started sitting on the fastball...meaning, that, as soon as they could recognize the changeup delivery/arm action, Penn telegraphing that pitch made it difficult to get the same kind of out-in-front swings he gets in the minors...

...Changeup/fastball guys sometimes take a little bit to get acclimated to the majors...making a living throwing changeups for strikes is a scary and intimidating thing to ask of a youngster...it's very counter-intuitive for them...that being said, you don't find many guys like Penn who has that kind of potential changeup AND velocity on his fastball...

Maybe this should be under the 'number crunching blog' but the following certainly qualfies for some sort of bad bullpen stat..
Our big 3 of Baez, Shuey and Bell have so far combined for 100 IP,allowed 177 baserunners and a 7.47 ERA.
UGHHH!!!

Let's see what Penn can do in ST, have an open mind.

WHY basically cut Shuey now? I would have understood it better if they had done it a week or 2 ago. Why bother with rosters expanding in 3 days? In 3 days they can have all the arms they want here. They could have kept Shuey around as an extra arm in Sept. This especially makes little sense when the guy they are bringing up to replace him is really a starter & has worse stats with the O's than Shuey does! Another nice move for Mr MacFail.

Mussina , who cares....

First, Kevin on the Shore, you were correct, I should not have counted Houses stats with the Catchers as he was a DH at the time -- so zero HR's in August from that position -- Big OUCH!

Second, no disrepect to Birkins, but why do you trade one 9+ ERA for another 9+ ERA. I know Birkins is pitchiing okay at Norfolk and he pitched better with the O's last year, but I am not sure I like the move. I would have rather seen Johnson stay with the team and Shuey DFA when Liz was brought up.

Is anybody else wondering why the Orioles aren't trying to acquire Bob Wickman from the Braves? Seems to me that he's much better in the 9th inning than Danys Baez, and quite honestly, he'd be a huge upgrade in the bullpen. Just my opinion.

Hayden Penn is probably still our best pitching prospect. He's younger than Olson or Liz and he's performed at every level, except for a couple of nasty starts last year in the big leagues. He's had injury problems but that's not his fault. When he's healthy, he reminds me of Jim Palmer. He'll be 23 at the start of next year and I think he should be given every chance to make the rotation.

Well the O's finally did something they needed to do..

Designate Shuey for assignment and bring someone else up, in this case Birkins...

Probably didn't have a choice bringing up anyone else...

Does this mean the O's have 10 days or so to trade him..

JPA - You are correct and I owe you an apology. I am not sure how you got conflated into this, but it wasn't from careful reading on my part.

Again, sorry.

daytona boy - I did not say the O's pen was good or even acceptable. As long as we have to keep depending on the "Killer B's" Bradford and Baez to keep us in games we are hurting.

So the Orioles designated Shuey and his 9.82 ERA and recalled Birkins and his 9.95 ERA. Now I can finally sleep at night again.

I agree with you about Markakis CRB. And JPA interpreted what I was saying well. I'm very happy we have Markakis and think he has been great in the field and good at the dish. Its just that, after last August, I thought maybe, just maybe, maybe just this once, the Orioles had developed a player that was a star from the beginning like Pujols, David Wright, Jose Reyes, etc. I thought it was our turn. It was more a case of getting my hopes up than anything else. I never thought Markakis would cool down. But with all the bumbling members of this team, Markakis shouldn't be criticized for his performance this year, and I wasn't trying to do that. I'm just bummed that we're in this position, AGAIN.

I'll be the first to admit, I was once really hyped up about Chris Richard, really thought he'd turn out to be a regular player. Shows you what I know sometimes! There's probably a connection between my thoughts about Richard, and my wish not to be fooled by Penn's so-called promise.

I think Penn has, first, questionable talent, and second, a great deal of ambivalence about competing at the big league level, if not about playing baseball altogether. I hope this assessment of him is as wrong as my prior assessment of Richards.

Re Mussina: that he hasn't won 20 games in pinstripes -- even once, let alone three-plus times -- solidifes his status as a significant disappointment since he's been a Yankee. The bottom line is even with all the run support there and the greatest closer in the history of the game behind him, he hasn't performed like a #1 starter in New York.

As an O's fan, would I have taken him on our team these last six years? Gladly. But that's more a testament to our dearth of talent than his excess of it. (He never came really close to 20 games, hasn't given them 200-plus innings the last several seasons, has performed terribly inconsistently -- and sometimes simply terribly -- in the post-season.) Twenty games is practically out of the question for next year. Twelve is about as high as I'd expect, though right now he's got to worry about even getting to next season.

This is off the subject....last night I watched last week's episode of The Bronx is Burning....I thought it was great to see a World Series game played in the afternoon! I know they have to play them all at night now for the $$, but even a 4pm game would be neat to see.

The Yankees lost 16- 0 to the Tigers. Their $200 million team mustered up measly 3 hits. A Yankee 30-3 loss & knowing the Birds are still the only MLB team that hasn't been shut out puts things in a different [brighter] perspective.

Other than the forgotten equipment bag, what is it that has given Penn the rep for having a poor commitment level? Any specifics? I didn't see that incident as such a big deal...

the people who are defending Penn are saying things like "he's been good at this level" or "has good stuff"...but where's the proof. plenty of players can dominate lower minor leagues. plenty of guys apparently have good stuff. just because he's slightly younger than Liz doesn't mean he has any real advantage. the age difference is tiny and unimportant. Liz consistantly hits 97-99 which can help him with other mistakes he might make. you cannot teach a fastball like that to Penn and he has YET to come close to commanding his slightly above avg pitches.

don't forget that Matt Riley also was very young and promising...and as he got older, his pitching digressed. Why are people so reluctant to think that Penn could turn into this?

We were at the games last night in Norfolk. Looked liked the kind of inconsistency one expects in the minors. Saying reliever Jim Miller couldn't find the plate "with a GPS system," Tides reporter Rich Radford summed it up neatly. We were stunned when he suddenly threw 2 strikeouts. How did he find the plate ? 3b Mike Cervenak provided the trip to the mound that turned Miller around. My husband and I were asking each other "what can he possibly say to the guy now ?" after everyone else had visited the pitcher that inning. The winning answer: "I'm just here for the rosin".

Cervenak was the one player who looked impressive, both fielding and hitting - what's his story ?

Moving from first base, Terry Tiffee did a fine job finishing up at pitcher in the 2nd game. Was that his first strikeout ? Maybe he'd like a chance in Baltimore.

If there's anyone that reminds me of Jim Palmer in the big leagues today it's Cole Hamels...it's actually sort of scary when you see him wind up and deliver...the look of him and physique sort of is there...I wouldn't call Penn a Jim Palmer just because of their pitching repetoire is a lot different...but both guys have/had live fastballs at a young age...

...let's consider just recent history and take an example of John Maine...Maine's stuff on any one of his pitches is not nearly as good as Penn at any point, and, Maine went onto post shaky AAA numbers at an older age...he finds extra velocity and buckles down the command just enough to contribute well for the Mets AFTER we traded him....now let's take a look at a pitcher we DIDN'T trade, Erik Bedard...Bedard had a stellar minor league career but derailed by a TJ layoff...after a series of seasons that showed steady improvement, only until around last season did that improvement reach an above-average level...this year, he's really an All-Star caliber SP no matter what the voting was...just based on the track record of minor leagues, age, stuff, and physique, I don't see why Penn can't have a Bedard-like degree of improving seasons...how good will he get is a question mark, but, if Bedard and Maine deserve a shot then so should Penn...he's done nothing but post competitive numbers to Bedard's minr league career in his minor league career...

...even right now we have on our staff a former Indians top prospect who has found success elsewhere when he was finally given a shot...it would be a shame if it takes a change of scenery for Penn to find that kind of success...we've already seen Maine do it...Penn has the potential to be much better than Maine...

has it ever been considered that Maine "matured" because he got to start as a number 5 starter on an offensively gifted team? seems if oliver perez or Trachsel can win in NY, anyone can. perhaps, this was the environment needed for Maine to figure things out.

If he was just improving his win total then sure...but enuff SP additions have come to the Mets before Maine and flopped bigtime...off the top of my head the Victor Zambrano-Kazmir trade might be in that category...so, it's not enuff to say that just stick any ole warm body on that good offense of theirs and they'll turn into a quality pitcher...

...granted that a good offense will help the win total (Ask Bedard)...but it does nothing for improved control and additional velocity...I think that's a bigger reason for his maturation in NYC...