Rivalry? I don't know Roch. I certainly feel something as an Orioles fan, and i'm sure others feel something as well. If--and it's a big if--they can keep this up for the next quarter of the season, then i think the O's are going to have quite a few rivalries.

I guess I’ll have to stop giving Jay Payton such a hard time. Ha ha. Great job, Jay. Don’t sweat it on the curtain call—I don’t see it as such a big deal, and I’m not sure how you couldn’t be sure that’s what it was as long as he’s been around—but you might want to consider just how many times that’s going to happen to you. I’m not an extrovert, but I would love to take a curtain call for a major league game (or a minor league game, or even a pickup game at the local school field). I still think Payton is best suited as a fourth outfielder, and I still think he’s best suited performing that role with another team. But thanks, Jay, for a great moment and a great win.

Forget the lefty-righty thing—the thing about Okajima is that his numbers, like his pitching delivery, are deceptive. He has a 0.93 ERA, batters are hitting .191 against him, and he now has 4 blown saves? Sounds like he’s great at allowing inherited to score, and if you look at his stats involving runners on base, that seems to be the case (in all situations where runners are on base, batters are hitting at least .308 against him). Doesn’t sound like the guy you want in there with the bases loaded and the game on the line.

Who knows where this team will go, but beyond what appears to be resiliency and not giving up, what’s more valuable than Cabrera giving a performance like he did? Seven solid innings, no walks. He gave up a bunch of hits, but it’s not so bad when you don’t walk anyone. Those seven innings and then the bullpen putting in a solid two innings, as it’s done often this year, is what wins you games.

Trembley put Payton in the 2 hole and he drives in 5 runs--brilliant!

The Hoey injury is a shame. Here’s hoping a speedy recovery. This injury, Patton’s, and other inevitable ones to follow are easier to stomach at the organizational level when you have a multitude of quality young arms. Just a few years back, such injuries would’ve devastated this franchise. Now, while it’s a shame for the guys involved, we can look to other good young pitchers.

Roch, there is no O’s-Nats rivalry, and there won’t be one until several of the following conditions are met. One, many years have to pass to build up not only a rivalry identity but an identity for the Nats as a team. A few historic games or series would help this along. Two, the national media has to pick up on it and make it a big issue, like they do with Yankees and Mets (this is probably not likely to happen until both teams are consistent winners). The Yankees and Mets can get fairly nuanced with discussion of baseball history, the old Yankees-Giants-Dodgers connections and loyalties that are broken down by neighborhoods and families and are still well entrenched 50 years later, and even things like the NYC subway system. Three, one of these teams has to win a title; yes, the O’s have three, but they were well before the Nats existed (as the Nats, not the Expos). There has to be some claim to regional bragging rights These two teams facing each other in the World Series, as improbable as that is, would forge an instantaneous rivalry. Four, there need to be fights and player, manager, or executive defections. Nothing gets a rivalry going like brawls on the field, an ongoing war of words in the paper, and traitors putting on the other team’s uniform.

The only thing I hate about the Nats coming is that it is just another team whose fans come in mass to our ballpark and act like they own it. I just hope more O's fans start coming, wearing O's colors, and maybe even turned up hats!

Holy losing steak Batman.... did anyone hold the Red Suxs fan's hands as they filed out yesterday????

Anyone catch ESPN's baseball tonight last night? QUITE annoying.... they started the story with..."and the Nation was in Baltimore today...." they showed many Manny clips, the play he made, various other "highlights" of the Sux during the game, Markakis' catch, then QUICKLY showed Payton's HR, then cut to the stats page, they just glazed over the O's in the whole piece! That story should have been about the O's winning their 5th of 6th & SWEEPING the "Nation", not just giving the baseball world a State of the Suxs report! Totally Outrageous

I'll bet having the Nats promo team in the Inner Harbor has potter feeling real warm & fuzzy.....

Thanks for the minors updates Roch.

Brady wants to talk Bonds huh? Roch, I'll bet you a night of beers that he defends Bonds or dismisses the roids rumors. He has a vested interest in that.... I have little doubt Brady was roiding or at the least using Hgh prior to & during his 50 HR season. DON'T throw him softballs today. Tell Anita to get tough too & not just talk about herself.
You HAVE to ask Brady about that story that appeared on TMZ a few months ago! You recall that, I emailed you the details. He picked up some young kid that was a friend of a Producer for TMZ for a one nighter & she outed him on the details. It was on their TV show & the entire staff was laughing at him over the details.

I can't believe I actually laughed out loud at "Liquid Cheers". *shakes head*

Okay, I know we still have a couple more home games and a road trip first, but I don't think it's too early to start urging the fans on to some action. As we all know, at the end of this month we have the Yanks and Sox coming in for back to back series at the Yard. We've done a great job so far at not letting the enemy fans outnumber us at our own place this year, but we need to keep it up!

It's up to our boys to take care of business on the field, but it's up to US to take care of business in the stands!! We can complain about things all we want to, because we've earned the right...but this is OUR home and they need to learn that it's called "Camden Yards", not "(insert dumpy stadium name) South"!!

I just went back over the last few blogs....

I am not a Payton guy & have roasted him before over his defense & attitude, but I have to agree with his decision to stay in the dugout. His not coming out was not that big of a deal. I have seen that before after a big homer. The situation dictated it somewhat as well with the next hitter at bat. He made the right call not coming out. In further defense of him, he has been hustling this year most of the time & he did do a somewhat lengthy post game interview on the radio & was quite well spoken. I did hear one thing that I disagreed with though, he fancied himself an everyday player & said he had always been one. Always I thought? Not always, more like sometimes. That is the rub right there, he THINKS he should be & is an everyday player, even at this stage of his career. Not.
The O's should trade him soon while his value is at it's peak. ASAP honestly. Any "magic" or team goals will not be changed by his leaving. Terrero or Salazar could fill his role easily & have far less attitude over playing time as well.

CRB,

Your comment is quite interesting. It just surprises me that in this age of computers (especially the lap top computer) that these managers do not have a coach sitting on the bench figuring out the best match-up. (Maybe they do, I'll plead ignorance.)

They tend to look at the surface stats without any regard for digging up data beneath that. Your post has a great example. Another one is bringing in Jamie Walker to face David Ortiz just because he is a lefty. Ortiz owns Jamie Walker.

I'm just surprised that more managers don't utilize this extra information. (Or maybe they do and just ignore it.) It would be interesting to see what Earl Weaver would have done with this kind of instant access to statistics.

No rivalry. A rivalry requires having some kind of common goal-in this case that would be Metro DC Maryland fans who for year travelled the 50 minutes from Montgomery County to Camden Street as our only source of baseball.
Based on attendance, I don't think that there's really competition. The ease of getting to Camden Yards as compared to Nationals Park with all the ins and outs of parking vs. Metro make Baltimore a no-brainer even if they were having a lousy season.
The Nats have yet to develop a team personality beyond their home stadium which seems to be the big draw. And that silly looking "Screech"? Come on!!
I think that we should be happy that we have interleague play and move on.
The rest of the AL East is waiting to see us on the field.
It's that "magic of Orioles baseball".

Jeff
"Rochville" MD

Tides game on TV? I would love to watch that. I hope the media pressure doesnt cause Moore and Costanzo to strike out 4 times a piece.

So Orioles officials should allow kids from his high school free passes to every game? Is that what you are telling us Roch?

Imagine how good this team would be if they had a good clean-up hitter to protect Markakis and drive in some runs? At least 3 more wins probably.

I really think that in getting rid of Bedard they got rid of the clubhouse cancer...I mean, look at the Mariners now. I don't know that Tejada was that bad of a presence on the club, but he just didn't want to be in Baltimore.

Hopefully Roberts can turn around his production and the O's can get some good return on him at the deadline or in the offseason. I say keep Sherrill until the end of the year because Ray might not be all that ready to pitch in the 9th till next year. Sherrill racks up 50 saves, trade him to a contender and get a ML ready SS or 2B that can play either position depending on the return for Roberts, and hopefully Ray and Johnson can take care of business next year.

"Brady Anderson will be calling into The Anita Marks Show today at 4:20 p.m."

********************************************

Really, 4:20? Is Brady down with the wacky-tobacky?

Puff, puff, give Mr. Sideburns.

Roch--Thanks for all the minor league updates and for the uplifting report on the 90 students and staff from Zanesville High being on hand to see Jay Payton's grand slam at Camden Yards.

Connecting like that in front of kids and teachers from his high school is story book stuff. It's as if they brought Jay Payton Field with them from Zanesville, Ohio to Baltimore Maryland.

I've got a big smile today for Jay, Daniel Cabrera, and the Baltimore Orioles.

What the heck would Brady know about what is and what is not accurate about Barry Bonds? And what is his dog in that fight? Are they best friends? Do they hang out? Do they purchase their "supplements" from the same vendor? Did they spend some quality time at one of Canseco's pool parties? Who knows? I know they've never been teammates. Maybe they have been BFF's all this time? So while it will be interesting to hear what Brady has to say, I kind of think he's not going to drop any "bombshells" to the three people listening to the Anita Marks Show. If he really had something to say, I'm sure he would look for a much bigger audience?

I wasn't at the game yesterday but I was wearing out the refresh button on the Sun's live scoreboard haha........I cant listen to the radio because I work on the phone all day so I love that the Sun provides that....when I saw it written in red that Payton knocked that ball out I almost jumped up and cheered right at my desk hehe.....even better was the light rail ride home from work with all the dejected red sox fans on their way back to the airport hotels....what an awesome commute home

I don't feel so much of a rivalry as a bit of disgust...
Would it help create the rivalry if I pushed their mascot INTO the harbor?
What's up with letting them distribute promos up here?!? The O's don't go into downtown KC with a buncha free hats, or leftover Bob McRory sweatbands...

I was just checking out the O's 40 man roster on orioles.com and there are only 39 players listed. The press release announcing Cintron's contract being purchased stated that the O's now have a full 40 man roster. What's up with that?

Also noticed that Baez, Ray, Hoey & Patton are only listed as being on the 15-day DL even though they will be out most of the, if not the entire, season. If they are put on the 60 day DL, does this open up spots on the 40 man for additional call-ups?

Tillman is dominating for Bowie today through 6. he has 8 strikeouts in a 3 hit shutout. even though I probably just jinxed it. here is the link to the free live radio broadcast if anyone is interested:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t106

Brian,

I have to agree with the majority of your Jay Payton comments except one. I don't mind that he thinks he is an everyday player. My guess is that belief keeps him motivated and drives some of that effort that you are seeing on the field this year. He wants to prove to the Orioles (and probably more importantly, in his mind) to other clubs that he is a starting outfielder.

Now, you, me and most bloggers realize that the guy is a solid fourth outfielder (at best) on most clubs (and even on the Orioles this year), but I don't mind that he strives to be a starting outfielder. (Now, I do wish he would not plead his case so often.)

He's not my favorite player either, but according to Trembley, he's been a solid mentor for Adam Jones and a team player this year. Plus, it was great that Jay sent some obnoxious Sox fans home to cry in their Chowdah.

Roch,
I have personally spent some time in the windowless Kubatko Detention Center at Old Mill. I asked to have the room renamed for me, but all I could get was the waiting area outside of an Administrator's office.

Thanks for the heads-up on the Brady Anderson interview. I'll be sure to tune in at 4:20, while I take care of the normal routine. Will you be on Anita's show today? If so, give Brady a hard time about his appearance on Pros vs. Joes. He kept hitting HR's and had the first contestant running all over the place for nothing.

Geographic rival. Nevertheless, a rival is a rival....so we must destroy them!!!

I went to a Nats game last year, and I gotta say the Racing Presidents were fantastic! I'm a fan.

On the scoreboard they posted states, and apparently Teddy Roosevelt always lost the race. But if they were gonna have one person always lose, William Jennings Bryan would've been more appropriate.

Are detergent jokes your way of keeping the blog clean?

ZING!

Why are the Nationals promoting their team in our backyard? What does Peter the Great have to say about that?

At the quarter pole point Daniel Cabrera, Jim Johnson and George Sherril get A's.

Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis have been disappointments.

Just watched the O's Magic video , man i love it !
One interesting about Millar , he bats right-handed but in the video he plays bass guitar left-handed ?
I was just curious

Go O's

Posted by: Allan | May 15, 2008 10:24 AM

-----------------------------------------------------

I don't think the video was entirely accurate. Adam Jones was "playing" the drums but really just swinging his arms in the air, I think Loewen was playing the keyboard behind his back and in the beginning Jeremy Guthrie was playing a clarinet or oboe to a trumpet sound. HAHA! Oh well, it still makes me laugh.

When you look at Daniel Cabrera's last 6 starts, you have to be really impressed. A 2.45 ERA and 28 Strikeouts with only 8 Walks. On top of that, yesterday, he showed a little personality when he jumped out of the dugout and waived to the fans after Payton wouldn't come out. With a 4-1 record, he is on his way to an outstanding season, if he can continue this trend.

There's no rivalry.

The only hint of a rivalry is the fact that Nats fans (and the DC sports media) hate when Oriole fans yell "Ohhhh!" during the National Anthem at their park. It drives them nuts.

It seems crazy for me for anybody to be counting on Ray for anything at this point.

I've got him lumped in there with Loewen. Low expectations and a whole lot to prove.

Regarding Dcab, I think in his head he's starting to realize that a lack of walks means a lack of runs given up, even if he doesn't pitch quite as "nasty," it's a great realization for him to be making at this point in his career. And it's even better to see that he can actually keep the walks down. That is two straight outings without a walk...whadyaknow? 2 straight wins!

Hey Roch-
I'm really excited about the direction this franchise is going in, regardless of wins/losses on the field this year.

But there is just one thing that has me a bit on edge as I try to completely buy in to "the resurrection".

Longoria, Kazmir, Braun, Hanley Ramirez, etc...have all been signing long-term extensions lately to achieve financial security. They reach their goal and their franchise gets the benefit of not having to lose these guys to free agency.

One name I haven't noticed is Nick Markakis. And this worries me. I understand that Nick may be ever so slightly below the aforementioned players in terms of superstardom, but hitting .300 with 112 RBIs on this team in your second full year seems to say it all.

You can tell that Baltimore is just itching to get back on board with the Orioles, we are so close to wanting to believe again.

McPhail's reasoning behind not signing Markakis long term seems to hint to me that things are not fully what they seem in "Birdland".

I need to see that the O's truly get it. Lock up your franchise players before you either can't afford them or before you alienate yourself from them.

Show this town that things have truly changed and you really know what you're doing, Peter/Andy!

We all want to believe in you, take care of your boy.

And to be honest, take care of Cabrera too if he does this for the entire season. If the light has gone on for him, don't let it shine bright for the Red Sox or Yankees.

Roch, does this worry you at all??

If you squint hard enough, you can try to imagine that the Nats are inheriting that great Senators' tradition ("first in war, first in peace, last in the AL . . .""). Too lazy to look this up, but they must've won a few games from the O's the year Ted Wms came in and kicked ass. And then there's always the rivalry of who came out better in their trades: Mike Epstein for Pete Richert or, if we consider the Nats' true ancestor, Singleton and Torrez for McNally and Coggins, a deal which surely would be the Glenn Davis curse of the franchise if it were still up there.

Ok, I can see that what I said about Jay Payton didn't set well with some of the bloggers here. Well, most of you are the types that ride the bandwagon then. I am not. He swings at the first pitch almost every time,whether its a strike or not, and the ones that said something about me are the same ones that knock him all the time.
Winston, I never said a bad thing about Eddie Murray, and Eddie was never a slacker. One homerun doesn't make Payton an Oriole. He has not showed a thing in his other 80 at bats.
As far as a curtain call, maybe I was being a little over the top, but its for the fans, not him. Its show appreciation,not showing up the other club, and believe me, it was and will be a rare moment for Jay Payton.
I have been an Oriole fan since 66, so don't question my loyality to the Orioles.

Roch: Does Daniel Cabrera's outstanding pitching up until now make him a candidate for the "Si" Young Award?

Charlie R: I assumed that all managers since Tony LaRussa were privy to highly detailed stats. Perhaps Boston’s acting manager couldn’t find the stats book (the only consolation for Boston fans is that this guy won’t be the manager much longer). I’m guessing that in many cases, though, they get stuck thinking that Pitcher X is my go-to guy at this point in the game for this situation so I have to go with him, and even though he’s not doing so well this year, he’s going to turn it around because, well, he’s the guy we have for this situation. If Okajima was completely shutting everyone down in that sort of situation, it would be a no-brainer no matter the lefty-righty situation. Of course, even then when it doesn’t work, the manager would be criticized because he didn’t follow the lefty-righty rule. If you buck conventional wisdom and fail, you’re open to more criticism.

Jayson Stark on Tillman:

• FOR THE BIRDS: You often hear Chris Tillman, obtained by the Orioles in the Erik Bedard deal, referred to as a "future ace." But one scout who covers the Eastern League -- where Tillman is currently 3-0, with a 2.87 ERA and a .173 opponent batting average -- says the 20-year-old right-hander has been over-ballyhooed. (Imagine that.)

"I don't see him as a front-of-the-rotation guy," the scout said. "I see him as more of a solid No. 4, No. 5 type guy. Don't get me wrong. He's got a good feel for pitching. He throws strikes. He's got a very good feel for what he's doing. But to me, he's kind of like an Ian Kennedy -- a guy who's advanced for his level, as far as knowing how to pitch. But his stuff isn't that dominating. I don't see enough power pitches to call him an ace."

Chuck. Calling Bedard a 'clubhouse cancer' is far fetched to say the least! What exactly are you basing this on? He's gone so why not leave it at that? His trade did bring us some decent players and may make us better in the long run but to lay the blame of the Mariners lousy start is really stretching it. Take a look at their lousy batting averages...
Brian. We share the same feelings about Payton but until he goes anywhere he's all ours!! I'm going out on a limb and say that he doesn't get too many curtain calls so he didn't know what to do. I don't care what he does after he gets a game winning hit and I'll jump into my own dance when he leaves town.

Roch,
Braun, Longoria, Kasmier, Tulowitzki...all signed long-tem deals. I know it makes arbitration more expensive but in teh long run with FA, it is cheaper. When are the O's going to do this with Markakis? Hearing anything?

Hey Mick

Got to correct you on Tillman, he pitched today, went 6 innings, no runs and 9 k's. You were just not up to date, Stark is an idiot. The kid just turned 20 in April. Does Stark think the kid has peeked at 20? Just more of the O's getting Dangerfield by the national press.

Orioles Magic....please don't mention Baez's name. I cringe when I think of him coming in from the O's bullpen.

It seems like deja vu all over again. Didn't the fans want Mora and Gibbons signed to long term deals to lock them up for the long term. Definite buyer remorse on those two deals. One season does not make a career. The league catches up with one season wonders. Look at the second year slump of any number of players including the above mentioned Tulowitzki who started his slump in the playoffs last year before he got his big contract. He's on injured reserve right now but in 26 games he's batting .152 with one home run. That makes Luis look like a hitting machine.

Here is the link for the "new Orioles Magic" video.
I don't know if its been posted yet.

http://deadspin.com/5009129/orioles-magic--uh-catch-it-or-something

Jason Stark and the scout he quoted are idiots... Tillman is dominating at AA and he is only 20 years old, they are talking about the kid like he's 30 and is just a lot more mature than everyone else he's playing against. he finished with 9 strike, 3 hits and 0 Runs in 6 innings today. That is a dominating pitcher and he will be a solid 2-4 pitcher for us.

Sudir , i have to agree with what you said nick and brian have been disappointments so far. Now you have to ask your self why. Could it be that the reason nick is struggling is because he doesn't have anybody in the lineup to protect him, or is it the fact that he is still upset with what he thinks was a low ball contract offer by the orioles. Now In roberts case he really doesn't want to be here and although he keeps saying the right things about the orioles i think with all that trade talk and cloud hanging over his head i don't think he is 100% mentally into every game.I am going to go back to Nick and play devils advocate if i can. You have noticed in the last couple of days teams in this league have given there young stars long term contract extensions Tb, milw,just to mention a few. Doesn't it seem very strange to you why the orioles haven't done the same thing with nick. Look andy is a very solid baseball guy and what he has done with this team so far is exceeded all expectations,so i just think there might be a small problem with nick that no body wants to talk about.

If we want to help create a rivalry, a small, simple way would be to put "Baltimore" on the road jerseys. The people in DC can't stand Baltimore the same way we can't stand them. Let's "alienate" their fans by putting a different town on our jerseys.
Regarding Jay Payton, I don't mind him thinking he is an everyday player as long as his attitude stays in check. It seems like Trembley has been very open with him and the rest of the club in regards to playing time. I haven't seen anything to suggest that he has an attitude this year. I'm all about second chances if his head is screwed on right. Baltimore has seemed to forgiven Huff and Millar for their off-season transcretions. I forgave them the minute they walked on the field on Opening Day.

Charlie R.... I agree with your post & can't argue with your logic.

Rich D... I am certainly not a Payton fan & don't have any issue with your pt of view. Right now, all is going well, he is playing more than he probably expected, etc. I fully believe we will see a different Payton when or if the circumstances change.

TerryP, funny post & I agree with you as well.

Thanks for the link Jake! It was great to see the video. This has been a good year to be a fan, eh?

Cardwell you are half wrong. Most people in Washington could care less about Baltimore, it's fans, & don't have much of an issue with their teams. The feeling of can't stand is mostly one sided....
I have lived in both areas, have friends in both areas... I root for the O's & the Skins. I was a Colts fan as a kid, until about the age of 21, when that @ss Irsay took them away. My past experiences have led me to the above belief. It could not be more true with the football team(s) situation. Most Skins fans don't care one way or the other about the ravens, but for some reason the raven fans dislike the Skins. I think it all goes back to the long suffering self confidence level of the Balt area in general & how they have been perceived by the rest of the country & I can understand that feeling.

"Cardwell you are half wrong. Most people in Washington could care less about Baltimore, it's fans......"

Posted by: Brian

*****************************************

Sorry Brian but the correct usage of the expression is "could not care less" or "couldn't care less."

No need to thank me for the correction.

The dislike/hate of the Foreskins goes back to the early 50's when their owner tried to block Bmore from getting the defunct Dallas Texans, renamed Colts, and was further fueled when Edward Bennet Williams, onetime Foreskin part owner, bought the Orioles with intent of relocating to DC. However the increased attendance stopped that. They did get the Bullets tho'. "Hail to the Foreskins" I know the sissy boys in DC like that song!

Are they planning on bringing another catcher up, if Ramon can't go tomorrow???

Maybe Chris Heintz???

Ramon hasn't played in a week, so if they DL'd him he wouldn't really miss much more than another week.

It's better than the short bench, especially for inter-league play.

Now see, a high school crack like foreskins proves my pt. I actually think deadskins is funnier. You browns fans crack me up....
The O's never really drew well on 33rd St. Your theory about increased sales stopping EBW's attempted move is off. 15K was a big crowd & the team was good then! I could go to any game, any night, & get seats behind home plate from the walk up ticket window when they were there. Since they moved to the Yawn...fat chance.