I am now convinced that NE types, Suxs fans in particular, really don't have a life....

The Orioles lone All-Star rep should be Sherrill or JJ. Or maybe DCab. No one else is deserving.
Have you seen enough of Adam Jones to say that he is not ready yet? True he runs down nearly everything in CF, plays a little shallow, takes away some hits, helps the pitching, but he really is rather lost at the plate. He barely looks competitive most of the time. And why doesn't he beat out more infield or bunt hits? Weird. I say go to Norfolk, get some stroke back, come back in September. Meanwhile use Terrero or somebody who can hit a bit to change the Karma. Every time I look over to the on-deck circle I sigh because there is no threat.
Sheesh!

Hey revJim , Johnson and Davis are paid by Peter the Great , do you expect anything else from them? Any announcer who speaks the truth is run out of town , Palmer gets a pass because he isn't afraid to reveal the real Peter the Great if he let him go................Actually you don't have to be an announcer to get run out of town by the great one , see Davey Johnson , Pat Gillick , Jon Miller , David Wells etc.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

All-Star game is becoming a joke with voting and not too mention the decision to have the outcome decide WS home field advantage. It has become the Red Sox/Yankees vs the NL. I don't think fans should vote, coaches or sports writers should. Should we let the fans cast HOF ballots too?

All-Star voting is a joke. Fan voting has ruined what being elected to the All-Star team should mean. Fans should have no vote, or the fan vote should mean very little, or used for a tie-breaker, or a maybe one fan vote-in. The All-Star votes should be left to the managers, coaches and players, and maybe the writers. Ideally, there would be a system something like the rankings in fantasy sports to determine the absolute best player at each position based on stats.

That's what happens when you let the all-star game be a popularity contest. The O's benefited for years with guys who were career All-stars despite some lean years. Now it is Boston and NY who have a much larger fan-base and in Boston's case, much better players. Pedroia notwithstanding (who is equivalent to Roberts in most statistical categories), I can not think of one position that Boston is not clearly better than us in (though SS stinks for both). I would take Jim Johnson over any of their middle relievers this year however.

I will go to the game tonight and cheer but we are looking at a 25 game deficit come September. That's fine. I'm interested in progress, a good draft, and hopefully some decent trades. I really think that Huff, Millar, and especially Roberts have some value. if you could get some future power for Sherrill, that could also be considered. I'd take a box of soon-to-be outlawed maple bats for Bradford. A few Weiters' autographs on them would fetch a decent return. Time to give Quiznos some more starts-- i like his intensity and hernandez has been, well, hernandez. 20% of runners thrown out... he looked so good when he first got here. how come players look so good in oakland before they are shipped out? enjoy your sack of cash ramon.

Look at the bright side of it. All those Yankee fans at the All-Star Game will be gagging as they are faced with cheering for the Bosox.

Roch. Mentioning All-Star balloting,etc brings us to the annual-who gets to be the token Oriole to go? I can't remember the last time we actually had someone elected legitimately-must have been back in the Ripken years. Even then, towards the end, there were better players at SS & 3rd.
On the subject of tickets/enemy fans etc., money is still a big determing factor. RedSUx fans have an endless supply of cash it seems. It's not cheap to travel anywhere in a big city to see MLB ball. Downtwon Baltimore hotel rooms were in the 150-200/night range when I last went there in '02 so I'm sure we are looking at 200 plus per night for anything decent. Factor in 3 games/beer/eats/etc and you are likely looking at a $1000 weekend just to see your 'gag/gag beloved BoSOX.
It's just an anomaly for them and the Yanks as I don't see a see of navy/red when the Indians are in town or red when the nearby Phillies are either. I'm guessing that Ray Nation won't be happening anytime soon.
Stub hub gives immediate access to most sporting events but the prices are outrageous and beyond reality.
You can still see an MLB game for a decent price if you don't mind sitting higher up and I'm guessing you can walk up 10 minutes before game time in most mid-market teams and get a ticket for 15-20 bucks or even less for bleachers. In Baltimore the only thing keeping local fans away is a lousy product.

Ken Francis – fyi

The reason the ball is “specially marked” for the 500th home run is not due to PR, but for the ball to be accurately identified when and if it is sold on the open market.

There is a lot of fraud in the sports collectibles field, and this prevents 50 people from saying they have the 500th home run ball.

I am no fan of Selig- but this is a good idea.

It will be very interesting to see who the Orioles (lone) representative will be. Jim Johnson? George Sherrill?

Red Sox Nation sure knows how to stuff a ballot box. Good for them, but it won't be so easy if any of them ever get jobs.

No Orioles starter deserves to go to the All-Star Game. If Jacoby Ellsbury gets elected, he might request that Ramon Hernandez catches for the NL, but that's about the only way one of our position players makes it.

The league has to give us one representative and smart money says it's George Sherrill, who will be called in to face one left-handed batter and then depart. That's my prediction.

Thank you for depressing me even more Roch. It's pretty sad when we can barely vote in one of our players into the All Star game. I hope Roberts makes it to the All Star game. It would be nice to see him there as an Oriole just one more time. I really think Sherrill deserves to be there more than anyone else.

PS. Happy Birthday Tracy! Enjoy it!

No mention of the Orioles petitioning the MLB offices today to put back the "Baltimore" on the road jerseys? I'm disappointed.

You have to admit that Red Sox Nation is loyal to their team......................FOR NOW!!! Soon as they start losing again (which could be in more than a couple of years) I would think that above average hitters like Youkilis (Morneau is my pick) and Pedroia (Kinsler is having a better year) would not top the list and be considered all stars. I'm suprised that Lugo is not on the list. :) Enjoy it while you still can Red Sox Nation.

No suprise here, the Red Sox hold a monopoly on 5 states.

It hurts to be honest, but the only player deserving to go to NYC so far is Sherrill.

The Red Sox bandwagon is quite depressing, isn’t it? Now I might have to sit out watching the All-Star Game. Really, like everyone else, I’m tired of watching an O’s-Red Sox game at Camden Yards on the tv and hearing the Red Sox fans cheer more prominently than O’s fans. It’s bad enough to watch the Red Sox hit multiple home runs, but it’s even worse to see that, no matter where the home runs are hit, there’s a gaggle of Red Sox fans cheering and vying for the ball.

Working downtown, I’m tired of seeing Red Sox fans everywhere during game days; the last series a few weeks back, I was standing in line at an ATM and had to remind the Red Sox fans who stepped in line in front of me that indeed there was a line, and judging by the reaction I got, you’d think that I just doused the backs of their Ortiz or Ramirez jerseys with beer. I know it’s really your town, Red Sox fans, and we’re just keeping things running the other 355 days a year you’re not here, but let’s remember the basic conventions of society at least outside the ballpark.

Beyond ranting like I have just done, what can be done about the sad situation at these games? A better O’s team, in theory, solves a lot of this; somehow, an O’s team that wins 90 games regularly and competes will magically create its own bandwagon fans (will these be the same people decked out in Red Sox garb now? You be the judge!). Beyond that, there seems to be too much money involved in the whole enterprise; any sense of civic pride on businesses with a local presence or even the O’s franchise itself seems to be lost. You can look at the towering hotels that are erasing the skyline at the ballpark (they weren’t built for the hometown folks) and the fact the O’s themselves charge more for Red Sox and Yankees game tickets as evidence, with the latter seemingly testament to giving up beating those teams and resorting to just making a few extra bucks off their fans.

I have a few mlb.com email addies, I'll stuff the ballot box. Undoubtably popular teams (Red Sox, Yanks) will always have fans voting multiple times, they hand ballots out at games.

I know I am out of subject, but I could use some help. I've been an Orioles fan for 13 years and next month I am flying from London to Toronto, so I am going to get tickets to watch all 3 Orioles games against the Jays. It will be the second time I'm going to a baseball game, after a visit to the Camden Yards in August 1995, when we lost 8-5 to the Indians. I was wondering whether anyone has any suggestions about where I should sit at the Rogers Centre. Hopefully, I will be able to come soon to Baltimore to watch a home game as well.

Let's be patient with the team. Obviously there are holes, but I think we are doing a lot better than anyone expected before the season.

The way Roberts has been playing I refuse to vote for him. Until he starts playing the way he is capable then I won't vote for him of cheer him. Nick Markakis is the lone Oriole who deserves to be voted in. If any Oriole goes to the game, it might be George Sherrill.