Or, heaven forbid, they could have a starter go deep into the game.

Roch, Don't do anything crazy.

i hate to see r hernandez battling l hernandez in the BA department....getting too painful to watch.
Who thought that would be happening?
Ok, Tom D maybe...

14 games in and the pen is wracked...how could this be?

The Canadian play by play guy was blowing smoke on this Jesse Carlson and how he has retired the first 9 hitters he has faced in the majors blahblahblah

then Mora dinger and Markakis single.

Roch...you can find this guy...give him 10-1 on the Jays winning the pennant. Easy Money. Pay your taxes

Roch, I think you've nailed it. A fresh arm may already be on the way. How could Aquino go from being so impressive in the spring to the opposite once the season began. Have you spotted anything? What would Kranitz have to say?

Need a vacation, Roch? With this team, it might not be a bad idea. Invite a few guest bloggers and go hang out with a happier crowd.

Developmentally, it doesn't seem wise to send Aquino down just yet. Give him some appearances here, perhaps just two, to see if he can sort things out and (re)gain some confidence.

I just wish Aquino could wear a hat correctly. I will be to my 4th home game tomorrow. I was thinking of buying a round for the entire house on me. $100 should cover it, I think.

As presently constituted, the Orioles can never afford to surrender 9 runs in any contest, especially if their intentions are to contest the outcome of the game.
f for Future Famous Baseball Scribe using the word 'contest' 2 different ways in the same sentence.

Roch,

Let me start this off by saying I am a lifelong O's fan. Although like the rest of the fan base I am terribly disappointed in the team's performance over the last ten years I still consistently watch every game when I can which is hard considering that I am a Marine who has been stationed in several different places over the last 7 years. The fact that the O's can't draw a consistent crowd at a ballpark like Camden Yards drives me nuts. I understand that the team has fallen on hard times but if anyone is paying attention these are exciting times for the Orioles. In my very humble opinion they are finally starting to build something the right way unlike in years past when we chased our tails signing free agents who weren't worth the money. The foundation is there with guys like Markakis, and Jones. We need to support these guys more!

mr sarfate has not exactly distinguished himself the last few outings...the world's full of folks that can throw it fast and straight. Unless things have changed, the object is to have them swing and miss.
It'd be great if kranny could turn him into a pitcher, 'cause it looks like he has a decent arm.

The Norfolk Tides dropped a 4-1 decision to the Bats here in Louisville tonight. Jon Leicester started for the Tides and looked ready for a promotion to Baltimore up until the 5th inning when he surrendered a three run homer to Jerry Hairston Jr. Up until that point, Leicester worked quickly and stayed ahead of the hitters. I think he went to a full count on only two hitters. For the night he yielded 3 earned runs, 3 hits, 1 walk and recorded 6 strikeouts. Ryan Bukvich and Alberto Castillo looked good in relief roles. Roberto Novoa was another story. He started by bouncing a pitch about 6 feet from the catcher. He gave up 2 hits and everyone hit the ball hard. The Tides held Jay Bruce to a single in four at-bats.

The Scott Moore shortstop experiment should come to a merciful end. He sailed a throw over Salazar's head at first and later botched a rather routine grounder. In the second situation the runner tried to run home and Moore managed to get him out with a weak throw. Tides catcher Omir Santos definitely deserved some credit on that play and he exhibited a strong throwing arm.

It looks like Mike Costanzo might lead the world in strikeouts--although he did draw one walk.

For the most part the game was a pitchers duel and there wasn't much of an opportunity for dazzling defensive plays. Boucher (playing center field) did make a nice, running over-the-shoulder catch.

I'm so tired of seeing Ramon Hernandez not run to first base.... today he grounded out to first and it took him a while to actually decide to run... then in the ninth quiroz hits one to third and only gets thrown out by a step... i'd much rather pay to see quiroz play and actaully act like he cares about baseball

gary thorne said the paid crowd was 15,000 and change. so only about 5,000 more paid to get in than the number of people who received the adam jones shirt being given away. oh, well, i won't keep beating a dead horse.

The obvious: Trax and Aquino looked dreadful.

The positive: Nick's HR was an absolute shot. Nice to see AJ get on the board as well.

The ugly: The Hernandez twins (in terms of BA) better show some serious defensive skills this year because they are doing zippo with the bats. I fear Luis is not long for the bigs.

Oh well, thankfully this only counts as one loss.

It's not only the pitching. There are huge holes at 1B, SS, C, 3B and DH.
Other than that, it's not a bad team.
C is on the way. That's it.
At least we know what the O's need.

Seattle's Arthur Rhodes (O in 91-99) came in the 9th went 1/3rd giving up two hits for his first appearance of the year against the Royals.
Julio Franco, 49 years old, playing for Atlanta's AAA team Quintana Roo in the Mexican League, will be 50 in August. I would pay to see him play. If he does make it back at 50 I'll have to go to Philly to see him as the O's aren't playing the Braves after his birthday.
Franco just hit his first home run a few minutes ago and his fourth double of the year with 11 rbi's.

Buying a round for everyone at the stadium with only $100 dollars? Ridiculous!

There will be way more than 2 people there!

Actually, Aquino reminds me of a mini-Julio or Benitez the way he mops his brow with the cap on while standing on the mound.

Perhaps Trachsel is available out of the bullpen tonight?????

Aquino concerns me--has he had a good outing yet? One, maybe...

Sarfate is starting to worry me, too. I sure hope he can return to form soon.

Maybe we need to stretch Walker and Bradford a bit.

Blow outs happen...let's not panic...yet.

or, this is the night that you tell Loewen he needs to be a horse and take it for the team. I know he is just recovering form after the surgery, but these starters need someone to act like a man about their jobs.

Seems like the saying "I'm not willing to pay a player that much to start once every five days" should be changed to "Why should we pay you that much to pitch for 2 innings every five days?"

It's ridiculous that Trachsel couldn't get anyone out. That guy looked like the only pitcher anchoring this team to the ground.

Sarfate is finally showing us what his minor league numbers already told us but refused to believe: He can pitch fast but has no control. He's basically the second coming of Daniel Cabrera, but he's young enough to where I hope Kranny can straighten him out.

Aquino is a mess, not sure about his options, but they need to send him down and bring up someone else. I'm thinking it will be Novoa with Cherry on the DL... but who knows... they may sacrifice the Tides rotation and put Penn up here to be the long guy for a little bit.

The offense is a completely different story. What happened?

Golly , everyone has taken all my topics for posting today..........looks like I'm not the only one skeptical these days...........
at least I still have the 'dot' key to play with..................................