Granted, the Orioles were plagued by walks and hit batsmen during that resounding three-game sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays (and you can't get much more resounding than scoring in double figures three straight times for the first time in franchise history). Granted, the Orioles continue to struggle on Sunday. But I really didn't think of Dave Trembley as a particularly spiritual man until he waxed biblical after today's game.

"You reap what you sow,'' he said, when Jim Hunter and Jim Palmer were questioning him on the MASN postgame show about the outlook for some of the young pitchers who have been struggling to hold their places on the major league staff. "The opportunities you get, you'll be evaluated accordingly."

Now, I should have suspected Dave was a religious guy, since he says "Oh God!" whenever a ball is hit to Alex Cintron, but I hope he doesn't go all Pulp Fiction on somebody when he and Rick Kranitz meet with the pitching staff before tomorrow's game at Fenway Park.

"We're going to talk to the pitching staff, Rick and myself,'' Trembley said during the same postgame interview with Jimmy and Cakes. "I'd rather have them throw the fastball right over the plate and let them hit it than walk four guys and hit three or four guys."

That probably won't place Dave (left) alongside Knute Rockne (right) or Vince Lombardi in a compendium of great pep talks, but -- at this point -- what else is a manager to do?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)
        

It doesn't matter how many major league baseball games you've seen in your life, every game provides an opportunity to see something you've never seen before. The latest, for me, was provided by reliever Alberto Castillo (right) when he hit batters with back-to-back pitches to drive in a run. The two bases-loaded walks that came next were just gravy.

Dave Trembley is getting that "Why me, Lord?" look on his face, and who can blame him? This pitching staff has fallen harder than Hasim Rahman in the second Lennox Lewis fight.

Haven't seen Fernando Cabrera since his little indiscretion on the mound on Friday night. He was fined for flipping the ball at Trembley on his way out of that game, but there was some speculation that he might spend some time in bullpen exile. That wouldn't surprise me, but I'm starting to think the best way to punish the guy might be to make him pitch against the Red Sox.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)
        

On paper, it certainly doesn't look like September is going to go well for the Orioles, who face another apparently mismatch today when Brian Burres faces Tampa's James Shields in the finale of the three-game series against the Rays, then head to Boston to open the month at Fenway Park.

I'm already over today's game, and it hasn't even started yet. The Orioles have lost six of the last seven games that Burres has pitched in, so what exactly are we supposed to expect when he faces the team with the best record in the American League on the road. If you have to watch, at least bring some reading material.

The O's have lost nine of their last 11 and, with four of the six games remaining on this road trip, I'm guessing you wouldn't get even money if you bet they'd win one of them. They're going into the notoriously hitter-friendly Fenway with a starting rotation of Garrett Olson, Radhames Liz and what appears to be a tired Jeremy Guthrie.

Guess I'll have to go with my old friend Jim Henneman, who loves to pick the underdog when absolutely everything points in the other direction. I'm picking the O's to win two of three in Boston.

Radio Free Schmuck: If you're not water skiing or something, join me at noon for "WBAL Sports Sunday" on WBAL (1090 AM). If you're out of the area or your radio is on the fritz, you can go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Could the worm have turned any more dramatically than it has for Aubrey Huff, who hit his 30th home run yesterday and now has 98 RBI. This is the guy you all loved to hate coming into spring training. This is the guy who was so overpaid there was no way to get rid of him after he dissed Baltimore on the air with shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge.

Yeah, that guy.

So, now I'm hearing people use Huff as the reason the Orioles don't need to pursue slugger Mark Teixeira in the free agent market this coming offseason. Now, some of the same people who thought Huff was the most overpaid guy since Jay Gibbons are talking about what a bargain he'll be next year at $8 million.

That might be true, but today is the deadline for traded players to be eligible for the postseason, and you'd think there would be some interest in a hitter who is a good game away today from entering September with 30 homers and 100 RBI.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

When Ravens safety Ed Reed revealed that he's suffering from a "nerve impingement' in his neck that has affected his shoulder and could threaten his career, I had a nasty Orioles flashback.

The Ravens are loathe to give real specifics on injuries, but it's fair to wonder if the problem that has sidelined one of the NFL's best defensive players is similar to the one that forced a premature end to the baseball career of former Oriole Glenn Davis.

Davis, every Orioles fan unhappily recalls, was acquired by the Orioles in a trade for Curt Schilling, Steve Finley and Pete Harnisch, three players who all went on to better things after the supposed blockbuster deal. Davis never lived up to his reputation as one of the most dangerous power hitters in baseball, because of a nerve injury suffered during his first spring with the Orioles.

He damaged the spinal accessory nerve in his neck during an exhibition at-bat in March of 1991, the severity of the problem only becoming apparent when the trapezius muscle in his right shoulder began to wither. He spent a couple of years trying to regain his powerful swing, but was never the same.

Hopefully, there's no such parallel with Reed, but he's all but certain to miss the season opener next week and could be out for the season. He even speculated Friday that if surgery is necessary to correct the problem, his career might be over.

Baltimore Sun photos

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

Today's featured comment comes from a wise guy named eric, who looked at this picture of Kevin Kennedy in one of my earlier posts and couldn't help himself:

Eric's take: Is that picture Ron Burgandy or Bruce Cunningham?

Pete's take: Good question. I don't think it's Bruce, because the guy in the picture isn't trying to convince me he birdied the hole after driving into the water three times.

Fox Sports photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Trying to keep up with three games at the same time. The Orioles are trying to score in double figures to give themselves a decent chance to win with their seemingly helpless pitching staff. It's almost gotten to the point where the Ravens have as good a chance to win scoring 13 as the O's.

Meanwhile, the Terps just finished grinding out an unspectacular victory over the post-Flacco Delaware Blue Hens on ESPN, and my USC Trojans are busy crushing Virginia on national television ABC. I've been switching around so much I'm starting to worry about carpel tunnel syndrome. I'm proud that Southern Cal played a real opponent on the road while top-ranked Georgia took on Georgia Southern and Ohio State played Youngstown State.

Georgia was ranked first in both major polls. USC and Ohio State flip-flop in the next two places. That'll be settled when my favorite team mugs Stan White's favorite team in LA on Sept. 13.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

The Fernando Cabrera incident was replayed duriing the pregame show on the national Fox broadcast today and stimulated an interesting conversation between studio analysts Mark Grace and Kevin Kennedy.

Grace teed off on Cabrera and said he would be surprised if the O's middleman made another appearance on the mound this season. Kennedy (right) went even further. He said if a pitcher disrespected him in that manner when he was managing, there would have been a fist fight on the mound.

Trembley promised the situation would be dealt with. His quote to that effect was in an earlier post. Baltimore Sun beat writer Jeff Zrebiec is reporting that Cabrera has been fined an undisclosed amount. Wouldn't be surprised if he also has some trouble getting back to the mound.

FOX photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Roberts 2B
Payton CF
Markakis RF
Huff 3B
Hernandez C
Scott DH
Millar 1B
Montanez LF
Castro SS

Waters SP

Roster move: Shows how much I know. The Orioles did not bring up Brandon Fahey to provide infield depth in the absense of injured Melvin Mora. The club called up Oscar Salazar from Norfolk and sent out Radhames Liz, though Liz will simply be re-activated on Monday when the rosters expand.

Rotation update: Liz will pitch on Tuesday night in Boston. It appears that Garrett Olson will come up to make the start on Monday at Fenway Park.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

The Orioles may not be able to wait for Monday's roster expansion, now that Melvin Mora will miss at least the next couple of games with a hamstring strain. The team figures to call up an infielder -- Brandon Fahey, most likely -- to provide some depth for the rest of the weekend.

Look for Aubrey Huff to fill in at third and the two left-fielders -- Luke Scott and Lou Montanez -- to both be in the lineup. Of course, one of them will be the DH, though you could have made a case for putting both of them in left field at the same time in last night's 14-3 loss.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

It was one moment of frustration and disrespect, but it could cost reliever Fernando Cabrera, who showed up manager Dave Trembley on the mound last night by flipping the ball to him on the way off the field after giving up back-to-back home runs in Tampa's seven-run fourth inning.

One of those homers was a grand slam by Ben Zobrist after Lou Montanez misplayed a fly ball in the outfield, so the frustration was understandable. Cabrera just took it out on the wrong person and apparently heard about it from a couple members of the coaching staff when he got to the dugout.

"He was frustrated that he gave up the home runs, and he thought that Montanez could have caught the ball,'' Trembley said. "But still, that's not an excuse for what he did. I'll deal with it, and when I say I'll deal with it, it won't mean I'll ignore it. I'll deal with it, which means I'll do something about it."

Cabrera regretted it afterward, and -- with a 5.33 ERA -- he's vulnerable to the possible consequence, which could be either a fine or a plane ticket.

"That was just a bad action that I do," Cabrera said. "It's not something that I feel good doing. It was all frustration."

Media update: If you'd like to actually talk to me, I'll be doing my show on WBAL (1090 AM) from noon to 2:30 today. If you're outside the area or not near a radio, you can also listen on WBAL.com by clicking on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

When ESPN.com decided to rank the fan bases of all the NFL teams, you could see this one coming a mile away. The Ravens faithful, despite more consecutive regular-season sellouts (96) than 19 of the 32 teams, ranked only 17th and got a fairly tepid evaluation by the ESPN panel of experts.

Here's an excerpt: The loyalty factor is pretty good. But with the Redskins to the south and Eagles to the north, the Ravens geographically have a much smaller, boxed-in fan base than most NFL teams.

Here's a link to the entire survey, but don't go there if you have a low tolerance for the absurd. When you see that the Raiders, with their hordes of trick-or-treating wannabe bikers, rank in the top ten, you might lose your lunch. Their sellout string is a resounding four.

That bothers me way more than Steelers fans being ranked on top or even Eagles fans being ranked fourth. I've banged heads with the Eagles faithful for years, but I've never disputed their passion. Their IQ's and their BAC, of course, would be another story.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)
        

The Frederick Keys still entertained playoff hopes until last night, when the Winston-Salem Warthogs bounced them from postseason consideration with a fairly resounding 12-4 victory at Grove Stadium and clinched a postseason berth for themselves. Brandon Tripp hit his 16th homer of the year for the Keys.

It wasn't a great night for the Norfolk Tides either. Andy Mitchell gave up four runs over 3 2/3 innings in a 7-2 loss to the Richmond Braves. Mike Costanzo and Chris Roberson had two hits each.

The Baysox were rained out last night in Harrisburg and will play a twi-night doubleheader today starting at 5:05 p.m.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Jeremy Guthrie's uncharacteristic mound meltdown was just the beginning of an ugly evening that also has featured Melvin Mora limping off the field with a hamstring injury, Ramon Hernandez getting ejected for arguing balls and strikes and some apparent friction between reliever Fernando Cabrera and manager Dave Trembley.

In other words, it's late August and the Orioles are falling apart, which isn't going to be pretty. That's one of the reasons I made such a case for Trembley's contract extension. I know it's supposed to be a foregone conclusion, but the players are getting tired and grumpy and the fans are getting restless. The longer his job security is considered a non-issue, the more likely it is going to become one.

Somebody told me the other day that there are some players in the clubhouse who are not so enamored with Trembley's management style anymore, and I couldn't help but laugh. There isn't a major league team -- and that includes the three teams with 80-plus wins -- that doesn't have a player or two who thinks the manager is an idiot. The farther you go down the standings, the more of those players there are likely to be.

If you want the best example of that I can come up with, it would be the Rays near the end of Lou Piniella's tenure with the team. The guy is a proven winner and the Rays had never won anything, but you'd be surprised how many players thought that Piniella was the problem and weren't afraid to go off the record to tell that to a national baseball writer they had never met before.

The point I'm trying to make is this: The 2008 season was supposed to be a washout from the start. Now that's it's finally washing out, it's not fair to start pointing fingers and trying to evaluate everybody based on revised expectations, especially in a rapidly deteriorating competitive environment.

AP photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
        

Today's frustrated featured comment comes from TerryP, who had a front row seat in his living room for Jeremy Guthrie's meltdown tonight:

Terry's take: Wow. Even Guthrie seems to have been inflicted with ineffectiveness. Maybe bad control and serving up fat pitches is contagious. Not to be outdone, Fernando comes in and serves up a couple of long ones. Too bad there isn't a mercy rule!

At least the handful of Rays' fans will go home happy tonight. What's tonight's attendance,10 thou? Pretty pathetic for a first place team, they don't seem to draw any better than when they were in last. And it's not like it's expensive to watch a game in Tampa so what gives?
So when does Tampa nation start making it's presence known around MLB? Can they fit the four of them in a Honda Civic?

Pete's take: That's a good question. It's not like the Orioles are a big draw right now, so I'm not surprised that more people don't attend an indoor baseball game in the Tampa Bay area with a tropical storm looming. I was more shocked when they couldn't draw 20,000 for a playoff preview against the Angels recently.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Give me a break. I threw a question out earlier today asking whether Jeremy Guthrie is a legitimate AL East pitching ace or just a solid guy who stands out in very thin Orioles starting rotation. So what happens?

He sets a season high with six walks in three-plus innings and gives up seven runs to pump up his ERA from 3.28 to 3.57 in little more than an hour.

Guess it wouldn't be the O's pitching staff if every single pitcher didn't have a question mark hanging ominously over his head. Guthrie is entitled to one bad outing, but it couldn't have come at a worse time for the perception of the team...and this is the time of year when you start wondering if all the innings are taking their toll.

He could be forgiven if he's starting to feel them. He threw a career high 175 1/3 last year, but missed some time late in the season with a strained oblique. He's already 10 innings past that this year with a full month to go in the season.

Injury update: Reliever George Sherrill came up sore again after playing catch the other day, so his return will be further delayed. And the Orioles are going to play it very conservative with Chris Ray, so he will not be activated for the final month of the season.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
Hernandez C
Millar 1B
Scott LF
Payton CF
Castro SS

Guthrie SP

Rotation update: Chris Waters will be the starter tomorrow night and Brian Burres will get another chance at redemption on Sunday. Radhames Liz will start on Monday and Tuesday's starter is TBA. Could be one of the September call-ups.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Daniel Cabrera's six-game suspension has been upheld and he will begin serving it today, which means that he should have ample time to rest his sore arm, especially when you consider that he could have dropped the appeal days ago when it became apparent that he was going to be moved back in the rotation anyway.

Dave Trembley was asked about that possibility the day he announced that the MRI on Cabrera's elbow was "clean," but he didn't really address it. Which means that one of three scenarios played out -- either the Orioles whiffed on the timing, Cabrera was holding out hope that the suspension would be overturned and he would save nearly a week's pay or the soreness is significant enough that the timing doesn't make any difference.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

I was all set to talk about Jeremy Guthrie and how he might be the biggest steal since the Louisiana Purchase when John McCain's choice for vice president leaked out. Sadly, it's not Jeremy, who would do quite well in command and control situations, but he isn't old enough anyway.

It's Alaska governor Sarah Palin (right, of course), a gun-toting, former beauty queen who officially becomes the first vice presidential candidate I've had a crush on since Walter Mondale.

I mean, we all know Dick Cheney is an attractive man, but has he ever been on the cover of Vogue? This is a big coup for the GOP, which has been looking for a vice president who can hunt without hurting anyone. The Miss Alaska runner-up thing is just a bonus.

OK, back to baseball. Guthrie goes tonight against Scott Kazmir and the Tampa Bay Rays in one of the better pitching matchups of the weekend. Both pitchers have numbers that aren't totally representative of their abilities (Guthrie because of poor offensive support; Kazmir because he was hurt for a significant chunk of the season), but they are two of the premier starters in the American League.

If the game plays to form, Guthrie will lose, 2-1. Sorry, that's just the way it is.

Question for the day: Is Guthrie a legitimate No. 1 starting pitcher in the American League East, or does he just benefit from the stark contrast with the rest of the Orioles starting rotation?

Shameless self-promotion: Pardon the political goofiness, but Friday is my day to talk politics and other non-sports stuff on "The Week in Review" with Clarence Mitchell IV on WBAL radio at noon. Today's guest panelist is former governor Robert Ehrlich, whom -- I suspect -- is in for a whuppin'.

AP Photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (27)
        

Joe Flacco didn't knock anyone's socks off during last night's 10-9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at M&T, but he made quite an impression in the interview room after the game. When he was asked if he felt like he was ready to start the first regular season game against the Bengals on Sept. 7, he didn't lapse into typical athlete-speak and defer the question to the coaching staff.

"Yes," he said, and did not elaborate.

So, somebody asked him what he thought of the conventional wisdom that a rookie quarterback should sit for a year to learn the ropes at football's highest level of competition.

"How are you going to learn if you sit,'' he answered. "I think the best way to learn is to go out there and experience it."

Not sure that John Harbaugh and the Ravens braintrust agree, but they may not have any choice? Flacco is on the verge of winning the starting job by default, though there still is a chance Troy Smith will get healthy over the weekend and take over in time to face the Bengals on Sept. 7.

The QB soap opera is far from over. Casey Bramlet may stay around only long enough for the team to get some definitive information on Kyle Boller's shoulder, which may not be as badly damaged as it has been portrayed. The Ravens are holding out hope that both the Boller and Smith situations will clarify by Monday, though that wouldn't seem to leave sufficient time to get Smith to the point where he's a better option for the opener than Flacco.

Don't expect any announcement until late in the week. No sense giving the Bengals a heads up, but I'm sure they're assuming it's Flacco, too.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

The Akron Aeros lost the nightcap of that doubleheader with Altoona, 1-0, securing the Eastern League Southern Division for Bowie, which will have home-field advantage in the best-of-five first playoff round that starts next week.

The Baysox, who lost 9-3 to Trenton and had to wait out the Akron twinbill to celebrate the clinching, reached the playoffs for the first time since 1997 and won the division title for the first time in team history.

Tickets to all potential playoff games at Prince Georges Stadium are available on the Baysox Web site.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

John Harbaugh remained non-committal about the starting QB for the opener against the Bengals, but I don't think you have to be the reincarnation of Vince Lombardi to figure the thing out.

Joe Flacco is the only quarterback who has played well enough to be considered at this point, though the coaching staff wants to get Troy Smith back on the field as soon as possible to establish how he fits into the equation.

"Even if we planned to name a starter, we couldn't right now,'' Harbaugh said at halftime. "We'll find out more about Kyle in the next couple of days. We don't know about Troy. He was starting to feel a little better, but he couldn't play tonight. We'll see what the next few days bring."

There aren't a lot of days left. The Ravens have little more than a week to prepare for the opener, so it's hard to imagine anyone but Flacco being the starter at this point, unless some secret organizational decision has already been made to hold him back. Can't imagine that either.

The new era begins Sept. 7.

Sun photo/Gene Sweeney, Jr.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (37)
        

The Baysox may have to wait another day to clinch their first-ever division championship. Their magic number is down to one -- a Bowie win or an Akron loss -- to clinch the Southern Division title, but they are getting waxed by the Trenton Thunder (8-0 after six) and the Aeros won the first game of a doubleheader. So, it's status quo for the next couple of hours, at least, since the Aeros are just getting underway in their nightcap against Altoona.

The Baysox and Aeros are going to play each other in the Southern Division playoffs. It's just a matter of who gets home-field advantage in the best-of-five series. That will be Bowie, unless the sky falls this weekend.

While we're on the Baysox bandwagon, three members of the team have won Eastern League postseason awards. Lou Montanez was named Most Valuable Player, which wasn't a hard choice since he's leads the league in just about every relevant offensive category. Brad Bergesen was named Pitcher of the Year for a season in which he is 15-5 with a 3.11 ERA. And Brad Komminsk was named Manager of the Year.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Didn't take long for Casey Bramlet to show up on the field. He replaced Joe Flacco with about 11 minutes left in the second quarter, and zipped his first pass to Daniel Wilcox for 21 yards. His second pass appeared destined to be a touchdown over the middle to Wilcox again, but the ball was tipped up in the air and eventually intercepted by Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud just short of the goal line.

Bramlet, who was claimed off waivers from the San Diego Chargers, has some history with Cam Cameron's offensive scheme, so he looked fairly comfortable running the offense one day after flying in from the West Coast.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Maybe someday we'll be watching Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco going head-to-head in the Super Bowl, but tonight was just more classroom time for the two top quarterbacks in this year's draft.

Ryan didn't look particularly sharp in his first couple of a series and Flacco was wild with a few throws, though he did pass for a couple of first downs on the Ravens' opening drive. Just as he did in the last game, he seems to be gaining confidence as he goes along.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Remember all that outrage when Kevin Millar went up to Boston and threw out the ceremonial first pitch during the postseason last year? It was considered by many to be a show of disloyalty to the Orioles, even though Millar was commemorating his role in the first Red Sox world championship in 86 years.

So, what are all those disgruntled fans thinking now...after Cal Ripken donned a Rays jersey and threw out the first pitch at last night's game in St. Petersburg?

Cal was at Tropicana Field because Ripken Baseball announced the purchase of a Single-A minor league team that will be affiliated with the Rays and play in Port Charlotte, Fla, the site of the old Texas Rangers spring training site.

My take: I thought Millar's "first pitch" was appropriate to the situation and so was Cal's. I'm wondering if anyone thinks that Cal's was OK but Millar's wasn't, or vice versa.

AP photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (48)
        

Since the Orioles are off, it's raining outside and the Ravens have asked me to rest up in case they need me to take a couple of snaps tonight, I find myself in a reflective mood. I think it's important to count your blessings once in awhile, so I'm debuting a new feature that allows me to express my appreciation for being able to live in a country where...

...Major League Baseball has finally fixed the problem that cost the Orioles the 1996 American League Championship Series.

...Navy beat Notre Dame last year and still can fit Towson into it's schedule this season.

...Dave Trembley can be seven games under .500 and still have a local columnist crusading to get his contract extended.

...Orioles fans can forgive Aubrey Huff for his offseason transgressions, as long as he keeps hitting.

...Bill Clinton is one of the most popular speakers at a Democratic National Convention where John Edwards is not welcome because he cheated on his wife.

...John McCain has so many homes he can't remember all of them.

...Dennis Kucinich is from so many other planets he can't remember all of them.

...Amber Theoharis has to act like she respects my opinion twice a week on MASN.

...I don't have to be able to pick you out of a police lineup for you to be the No. 3 quarterback for the Ravens.

...they can't see your face on the radio.

...they pay you to blog.

It's your turn: Feel free to add to this list.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

Today's featured comment is from Jack, who -- like many of you -- is a little overwhelmed by all the bad news that has come out of Ravens training camp the past week or two:

Jack's take: I gotta say, at this point I am less optimistic about the Ravens chances this season than I was about the Orioles in March.

Pete's take: I totally understand. I don't think the Ravens are going to win 70 games either.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

There's still a chance that Troy Smith will be healthy enough to start tonight's final preseason game against Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons, but the notion that Joe Flacco might start the regular season opener has gone from pipe dream to probability, at least in my book.

The apparently loss of Kyle Boller for at least a few weeks (and probably more) and the decision to sign San Diego Chargers castoff Casey Bramlet only increases the likelihood that Flacco ends up starting against the Bengals 10 days from now. Even if Smith plays tonight, he's not likely to play much, which means that Flacco will get another extended look.

It's still possible the Ravens make a run at Daunte Culpepper, but Flacco clearly is growing on the coaching staff...and it is largely a new coaching staff that isn't haunted by Boller's bad experience as a rookie.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Sweet vindication. I took a little heat for having some fun at the expense of Michael Phelps on one of my radio shows during his Olympic medal-fest. Got lectured by several talkshow callers (and my wife) for not treating our hometown hero's magical quest with sufficient reverence.

Well, I can't wait to see how Michael spoofs himself as the host on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live come Sept. 13. No word on how far the show will go to squeeze every laugh out of Phelps' appearance, but I'll make a prediction. Mark Spitz will show up to spoof himself, too, perhaps heckling Michael during his monologue.

The musical act will be Lil Wayne, one of the artists Michael listens to on his IPod before races.

Here's a thought: Why don't we brainstorm and come up with an idea for a skit.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Bowie defeated Trenton, 4-1, last night behind another strong pitching performance -- this time from Zach Clark, who worked 7 1/3 innings and gave up five hits. More importantly, the Baysox reduced their magic number to one and can clinch their first-ever division title with a victory tonight or a loss by the Akron Aeros, who are in second place in the Southern Division of the Eastern League.

The Orioles have assigned Matt Wieters, Blake Davis, Nolan Reimold and Frederick's Brandon Snyder to the Arizona Fall League. The O's also will assign three pitchers to the AFL, but have not announced the names yet. Top draft choice Brian Matusz is expected to be among them.

Norfolk's Mike Costanzo had three hits last night, including the 10th-inning hit that gave the Tides a 5-4 victory over the Durham Bulls. Costanzo short-hopped the left field fence with the bases loaded to score Tike Redman. The three hits raised his average to .261. Kam Mickolio got the win while he waits to return to the major league club on Sept. 2.

The Keys were rained out.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

The Ravens finally gave up on injury-ravaged linebacker Dan Cody, releasing him on the same day they reacquired defensive lineman Marques Douglas from Tampa Bay for a late-round draft pick in 2009 and a conditional pick in 2010.

It's a sad conclusion for Cody, who came to the team with great promise as a second-round pick in 2005, but suffered a series of debiliitating injuries that limited him to just a handful of plays over three seasons. He ended his Ravens career by playing 10 snaps at the end of Saturday night's preseason loss to the Rams.

Cody (right) suffered a sprained anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during his first year with the team and a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in 2006. Last year, he proved to be both fragile and snake-bitten, tearing cartilage in his right knee and a suffering a foot injury in a charity run.

Schmuck media overload: Watch me tonight on the MASN pre-game show with Amber Theoharis and then listen at 7 p.m. when I join Steve Davis on Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM). If you're out of the area, you can also listen to the radio show by going to WBAL.com and clicking on the "Listen Live" icon.

Sun photo: Gene Sweeney, Jr.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Orioles

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
Hernandez C
Millar 1B
Scott LF
Montanez CF
Castro SS

Liz SP

White Sox

Cabrera SS
Pierzynski C
Dye RF
Thome DH
Konerko 1B
Griffey CF
Ramirez 2B
Swisher LF
Uribe 3B

Danks SP

Lineup update: Alex Cintron originally was scheduled to start at second base and give Brian Roberts back-to-back days off (with the offday), but he had to be scratched with a case of food poisoning, which forced Roberts back into the starting lineup.

Roster update: The Orioles activated reliever Greg Aquino from the disabled list and designated him for assignment, which will gain the club another spot on the 40-man roster for any non-roster September call-ups.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Daniel Cabrera apparently has no structural damage in his elbow, but manager Dave Trembley said today that Cabrera is feeling some discomfort in his forearm near the elbow. The date of his next start depends on how he feels over the next few days.

"We'll see what we're going to do,'' Trembley said. "We might have to give him an extra day. Our think is, maybe he plays catch tomorrow and we see how he is."

Trembley also confirmed that Adam Jones and George Sherrill will be activated when the roster expand on Monday if all continues to go well with their rehab programs.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Fresh off his appearance in the Beijing Olympics, Jake Arrieta has been named Carolina League Pitcher of the Year, becoming only the second Frederick Keys pitcher ever to win the honor.

Here's a sampling of previous winners: Dwight Gooden (1983), Randy Myers (1984), Kent Mercker (1988), Charles Nagy (1989), Julian Tavares (1993), Bartolo Colon (1995), Rick Ankiel (1998), Zack Greinke (2003), Zach Duke (2004).

Arrietta was 6-5 with a league-best 2.87 ERA in 20 starts with 120 strikeouts in 113 1/3 innings. His strikeout total led the league when he left for Beijing, where he threw six shutout innings (two hits, seven strikeouts) against China in an Aug. 18 victory.

USA Baseball photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Okay, so it's not as big a deal as the July 31 waiver deadline, but there's another trade deadline coming up this weekend and we're not hearing anything in the way of buzz around the Orioles.

Last time I looked, Aubrey Huff was having a terrific year and would seem to be the kind of player who would draw some interest at this point in the season. His run-production numbers have risen to the point where his $8 million salary for next year no longer seems like the albatross it once was.

Huff (right) reportedly cleared waivers, but all remains quiet on the front office front. Maybe other clubs are still skeptical about him after several years of declining numbers. Maybe it's just that nobody sees him as the perfect fit as the last days run out to be eligible for the postseason with another team. Maybe the Orioles changed their main switchboard number to 1-800-WELOVETHERAVENSNOW and forgot to tell anybody.

I'm guessing Huff isn't complaining. This couldn't be a worse time for trade speculation in his life, since his wife is very close to delivering the couple's first child.

AP photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

If Kyle Boller's sore shoulder ends up forcing him on injured reserve, do the Ravens go looking for a veteran quarterback to compete for the starting job at this late date, or do they sign a veteran to hold a clipboard and mentor young quarterbacks Troy Smith and Joe Flacco?

I'm guessing Ozzie Newsome would do what he does in the draft, which is go for the best available player. Hopefully, he won't get confused and sign a tight end. The big name out there is Daunte Culpepper, who wouldn't be content to just provide insurance and help bring along a green QB. The Ravens might also consider making a draft choice play for Miami Dolphins backup John Beck, who played a bit for Cam Cameron last year.

Personally, I like the clipboard idea. The Ravens could sign someone like Trent Dilfer (left) to serve as a sort of player/coach on the sidelines. Notice I said someone "like" Trent. Not necessarily the actual Dilfer. When he announced his retirement last month, he cited an Achilles injury as one of the reasons for his decision to walk away, and it was enough of an Achilles injury to cause him to withdraw from the American Century Celebrity Golf Classic just three weeks before NFL training camps opened.

AP photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (79)
        

The Orioles close out their nine-game homestand tomorrow. I guess when you lose seven of the first eight games (not counting Monday's completion of a suspended game), getting dominated by a pitcher who grew up 15 miles from the ballpark is just a bonus.

Severna Park's Gavin Floyd showed that it is possible to stay under 100 pitches and still complete eight innings, which should be enlightening to the struggling young pitchers in the Orioles rotation who usually pass 90 in the fourth or fifth. He threw 98 pitches (68 strikes) and gave up just four hits to improve to 14-6. He's got six more starts, so an 18-win season is not out of the question.

Meanwhile, the Orioles have lost their offensive edge at a time when they need all the runs they can get to prop up a rotation that is 60 percent Triple-A call-ups, 20 percent Jeremy Guthrie and 20 percent what the heck is wrong with Daniel Cabrera.

"You need better starting pitching is what you need. It starts with starting pitching. That's the name of the game: starting pitching,'' said manager Dave Trembley, who obviously was hoping that if he said "starting pitching" enough, some might fall from heaven.

It doesn't get better on the road, where the Orioles play the Rays and Red Sox next.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Either the Orioles have caught a bad case of Ravens Fever or they finally have discovered the miracle of cross promotion. Maybe both.

Last week, they announced that they had moved their Sept. 7 game up a day to solve a scheduling conflict on the opening Sunday of the NFL regular season. Now, they've taken their cooperation with the Ravens to a new level, scheduling a "Ravens Rally at Oriole Park" between the two games of the Sept. 6 split-doubleheader.

The first 15,000 fans ages 15 and over will receive a Ravens Rally t-shirt that features the Oriole Bird carrying a football and wearing a Ravens jersey. I heard it was either that or a t-shirt featuring Willis McGahee on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

The celebration also will feature appearances by the Ravens mascot, several cheerleaders and the Marching Ravens. Team president Dick Cass will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. In addition, Ravens PSL holders can show their cards to get a $7 discount off any regularly priced ticket and non PSL holders can get $5 off by wearing both a Ravens and Orioles article of clothing.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Chris Tillman pitched six innings and gave up four hits in an overpowering performance against the Trenton Thunder tonight. He was relieved by rehabbing O's closer Chris Ray, who pitched a perfect seventh inning and struck out the last two batters he faced.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Dave Trembley indicated today that he and pitching coach Rick Kranitz have talked about the possibility of going with a six-man rotation in September, which is great news for those of us who thought they were having trouble coming up with three.

They'll get an infusion of talent on Monday and there are several pitchers at the Double-A and Triple-A level who have earned consideration, most notably Bowie 15-game Bradley Bergesen (right), whose name kept coming up while the club was shuttling in starters over the past few weeks.

Trouble is, Bergesen and many of the pitchers everybody is curious about are not on the 40-man roster, which complicates the situation, since there are a few position players in the same boat. The top non-roster candidates are Bergesen, David Hernandez, Andy Mitchell, Jason Berken and Jon Leicester, but I can't imagine you'll see more than a couple of them.

My take: I've been itching to get a look at Bergesen for weeks, but the club may feel he has thrown enough pitches this season. Trembley already has said Kam Mickolio will rejoin the bullpen and wouldn't be surprised to see Bob McCrory, since he is on the 40-man.

Now it's your turn. Who do you want to see? And don't say Chris Tillman because Trembley just said he won't be here this year and probably next year either.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Talked about the catching situation in this morning's minor league report, and it's a bit anticlimactic since the club has made it abundantly clear that Matt Wieters will not be under consideration. That leaves Omir Santos and Chris Heintz at the Triple-A level and Eastern League Player of the Week Steve Torrealba at Bowie.

Neither of the Norfolk catchers has shown a lot of pop at the plate, but the O's likely will take the player they think will do the best job behind the plate if pressed into service because the two veteran guys are unavailable for some reason. In other words, which one is most like Joe Flacco?

Torrealba has been overshadowed by Wieters at Bowie -- and rightfully so -- but he has some power (8 HR in 106 AB) and is peaking with the bat right now.

Pete's take: Jeff Zriebec is guessing Heintz. I'll take a flyer on Torrealba.

Now, it's your call.

Next up: The pitchers.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Orioles

Roberts 2B
Montanez LF
Markakis RF
Huff 3B
Hernandez C
Scott DH
Millar 1B
Payton CF
Castro SS

Burres SP

White Sox

Cabrera SS
Swisher CF
Quentin LF
Dye RF
Griffey Dh
Konerko 1B
Ramirez 2B
Crede 3B
Hall C

Floyd SP

Injury update: Closer George Sherrill played catch today and reported no pain. He said he could still "feel something" in his shoulder, but said it was not soreness or achiness. He is eligible to come off the disabled list on Sunday, but acknowledged that there is little chance he will be available that soon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

The outfield situation is hard to read for a number of reasons, from the outlook for injured center fielder Adam Jones to the 40-man roster implications to the difficult situation that will develop when manager Dave Trembley starts sitting veteran Jay Payton to get playing time for younger guys.

Let's focus on the possible call ups and round up the usual suspects. There are four outfielders on the Norfolk roster who warrant a look, though Jeff Fiorentino is the only one already on the 40-man. Tike Redman, Luis Terrero and Chris Roberson each would have to displace someone to get the call. The same goes for Double-A outfielder Nolan Reimold, who has put up some strong run-production numbers at Bowie.

My take: I'm guessing Fiorentino but hoping to see Reimold.

Now it's your turn.

Next up: The catchers.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

In the various conversations that have gone around the ballpark leading up to the September roster expansion, manager Dave Trembley and O's officials have left the impression that there will not be wholesale promotions. The club intends to promote a catcher, at least one infielder and outfielder and several pitchers.

Here's what we know, or at least feel confident about: Brandon Fahey will be coming up and Kam Mickolio will be coming back after being demoted last night to make room for starting pitcher Brian Burres. Top prospect Matt Wieters will be going home to rest up for the fall league.

The rest is open for discussion, and we'll start with the infield. Fahey will come back to play a utility role and the Orioles could bring up middle infielder Eider Torres and first baseman Oscar Salazar. Both are on the 40-man roster, so it's just a matter of how many guys the club wants in the clubhouse and which ones Trembley would actually use enough to justify their presence.

Third baseman Mike Costanzo is a different story. He is not on the 40-man, which could make it difficult to justify bringing him up -- if his 22 errors at Norfolk don't already. Freddie Bynum also has to be under consideration, but he isn't on the 40-man either and there isn't as much flexibility there as their was earlier in the season.

The O's also would have considered Scott Moore under normal circumstances, but he's still in a cast with a fractured thumb.

Call for the question: If the club ends up going with either two or three infield call-ups, who would you like to see them promote?

Next up: We'll talk about the outfield situation in about an hour.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Today's featured comment comes from Scooter, who wasn't satisfied with my list of the oddities of yesterday's unsuspended game:

Scooter's take: Here's another weird but true fact about the game. From the "Too much time on my hands" department: The game started on the 119th calendar day of the year and ended on the 238th calendar day of the year...119 days after it started.

Pete's take: That really is quite a weird coincidence...and I back-checked Scooter to verify the information, saving thousands the trouble of clicking on their Calculator function and trying to remember how many days are in each month. Important hint: This is a leap year, or -- if you want to be snooty about it -- an intercalary year.

Confidential to Scooter: When you get done with whatever strange calculation you're working on now, could you come over and balance my checkbook?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Did you hear the one about the nine-year-old pitcher in New Haven, Conn., whose entire team has been disqualified by his youth league because he's way too good and it's discouraging to the other kids in the league?

Yes, this is a real controversy with real people and, you guessed it, real lawyers. Young Jericho Scott is so fast and accurate that New Haven's Liga Juvenil de Baseball de New Haven directed his coach to stop using him as a pitcher and charged the team with a forfeit for refusing to take him off the mound.

Now, I'm pretty sure you're wondering why the league's name is in Spanish, but that's a totally separate issue that I'll address later on my Spanish blog El Schmuck Para Aqui at ElSolDeBaltimore.com. Let's stay on subject here. This appears to be one of those youth sports situations that wouldn't be a big problem if there weren't youth sports parents with messed-up youth sports parent egos to overthink and manipulate a situation and basically ruin it for everyone. (I know because I used to be one of them.)

The best part, and you can read the article from the New Haven Register here, is the wonderful, caring lawyer talking about peace, love and understanding. That's the part I always like the most about this kind of story.

Apparently, there's also the small issue of the second place team in the league being sponsored by the barber shop connected to the league president, who might have a vested interest in pushing the best pitcher on the best team out of the picture.

Of course, you're outraged about this and you're all thinking the same thing right now. Would it be legal for the Orioles to sign this kid and bring him up when the rosters expand in September?

No, and they wouldn't bring him up in that situation anyway because they wouldn't want to use up the service time.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

Bowie catcher Steve Torrealba was named Eastern League Player of the Week after hitting .409 during a week in which the Baysox clinched their first playoff berth since 1997 and moved close to the first division title in their history. They were off yesterday before heading into their final seven games of the regular season.

The Orioles will call up a catcher on Sept. 1, and Torrealba is a candidate along with Triple-A catchers Chris Heintz and Omir Santos.

Norfolk pitcher Craig Anderson (7-8) gave up just a run on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings in a 4-1 victory over Charlotte. He got off to a rocky start this year, but is 5-0 with a 3.05 ERA since the All-Star break.

The Frederick Keys got a one-hitter by committee last night when starter Jake Renshaw had to be placed on the minor league disabled list before the game. Five relievers -- Brett Bordes, Ryan Ouellette, Mick Mattaliano, Jose Barajas and Ryan Rodriguez -- combined to pitch the one-hit shutout. Brandon Snyder and Miguel Abreu had three hits each in the 5-0 victory.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Reliever Chris Ray has been making the rounds during his comeback from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery. He pitched a couple of rehab innings in the Gulf Coast League, pitched for the Ironbirds in Aberdeen, stopped in for a visit with his major league teammates at Camden Yards and pitched on Sunday at Delmarva. Today, he's expected to pitch for Double-A Bowie.

I've got to believe he wouldn't be keeping this kind of schedule if the Orioles weren't going to take a look at him in September, though Dave Trembley has been non-committal.

More rehab: While we're on the subject of injured closers, George Sherrill may play catch today for the first time since going on the disabled list. He says he can raise his arm above his shoulder again and is optimistic about a quick recovery from an inflamed shoulder.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

None of this will come as a surprise, but the Orioles optioned Kam Mickolio back to Norfolk tonight and will recall Brian Burres tomorrow to start the second regularly scheduled game of the series against the White Sox. Dave Trembley said Mickolio won't be gone long.

"He'll only go out until the rosters expand and then he'll be back,'' Trembley said.

Mickolio wasn't too concerned about spending a week back in Triple-A after only a short stay at the major league level.

"You take it as it is,'' he said. "No big deal. It happens. They had to make a move -- a needed move. Take it as it is...I picked up a lot here in two days."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Right after Lou Montanez singled home a run in the 14th inning tonight to give the Orioles the lead in the resumption of the April 28 suspended game, the Orioles checked with the Elias Sports Bureau to make sure he still gets credit for hitting a home run in his first major league at-bat a couple of weeks ago.

Turns out, he does. Since he was not in the major leagues on the original date of the suspended game, his statistics are counted as if they came in the Orioles' 130th game of the year instead of the 26th.

The game, however, goes into the books as having been played on the original date, so the Orioles did not end their three-game losing streak with the victory.

Cabrera update: Daniel Cabrera will undergo an MRI on his elbow tomorrow after seeing Dr. John Wilckens today. Manager Dave Trembley said the examination didn't reveal any serious health issues, but an MRI was ordered anyway as a precautionary measure.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Just asked White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen before the resumption of the suspended game if he had any recollections of the April 28 game that is being finished tonight. He didn't either.

"The only thing I remember was Alexei Ramirez' hit to win yesterday's game,'' Guillen said. "That's a lot of vodka between that game (April 28) and today's game. You just keep everything from that game -- the lineups and everything -- to make sure everything is right."

Guillen could be forgiven for not remembering much after Sunday's victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. A.J. Pierzynski was involved in another controversial baserunning play in extra innings, and benefitted from a questionable obstruction call by umpire Doug Eddings -- the same umpire who made the call on Pierzynski's game-changing dash after a disputed "dirt" third strike in the 2005 playoffs against the Angels.

Strangely enough, it happened on the day after Melvin Mora was called out after reaching base on a dropped third strike -- the victim of a new rule that came out of the Pierzynski playoff controversy. Want one more coincidence: Rays coach Joe Maddon was the Angels bench coach in 2005.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Here are the lineups for the resumption of the suspended game and some housekeeping stuff:

Orioles

Roberts 2B
Mora 3B
Markakis RF
Millar 1B
Cintron DH
Scott LF
Montanez CF
Castro SS
Hernandez C

Cormier RP

White Sox

Swisher RF
Cabrera SS
Thome DH
Konerko 1B
Pierzynnski C
Quentin LF
Crede 3B
Anderson CF
Uribe 2B

Ramirez RP

Roster talk: The Orioles will recall Brian Burres from Triple-A Norfolk after the regularly scheduled game tonight. He'll start tomorrow night's game against White Sox against Severna Park's Gavin Floyd. To make room on the roster, The Orioles are expected to option middle reliever Kam Mikolio back to the Tides.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

If you show up at the ballpark early tonight, you'll get to see the Orioles play on the road. They are the visiting team in the continuation of the suspended game that will be resumed at 6:05 p.m. The team has so little depth left starting the 12th inning that they could actually bring somebody up in the next few hours to avoid using Kam Mickolio at first base if Kevin Millar suddenly decides he's needed for comic relief at the Democratic National Convention.

OK, there's probably a better option than that, but the point is that they don't have anybody on the bench in case the game goes on for any length of time. I'm not really worried about that at this point, but give Dave Trembley credit for playing every game -- and suspended game -- like it was his last. After watching Daniel Cabrera's performance yesterday, maybe he hopes it is.

Talk about a time warp. You'll be watching the game in which MVP frontrunner Carlos Quentin (above left, biting his bat) hit his sixth home run, and he's leading off the bottom of the 12th, so you've got a chance to see him also hit his 37th homer and drive in his 100th run of the year in the same game.

Like I said, too weird.

If you want to take a walk down memory lane -- and it's not a short walk -- here's the box from the first five hours and 44 minutes of the game (including the 2:06 weather delay).

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

Norfolk Tides starter Andy Mitchell became the first Orioles Triple-A pitcher to throw nine innings yesterday, giving up a run on six hits in a game the Tides lost, 2-1, in extra innings. The only Norfolk run came on a homer by Chris Roberson, who had two of the Tides four hits in the game.

Matt Wieters hit his 11th home run since being promoted to Bowie as part of a 2-for-5 performance that raised his average to .357 and gave him 48 RBI in 54 Double-A games. The Baysox beat the Binghamton Mets, 4-2, and inched closer to securing home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

Frederick pitcher Kyle Schmidt pitched seven hitless innings in the Key's 2-1 loss to the Salem Avalanche. Chris Amador (3 for 4) and Brandon Snyder (2 for 3) combined for five of the Keys' nine hits, but the bullpen gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

It'll be interesting to see how Ravens coach John Harbaugh handles the quarterback rotation for Thursday night's game against the Atlanta Falcons at M&T Bank Stadium. It'll be a very short practice week, but Harbaugh seemed to concede late Saturday night that Joe Flacco's emergency performance did enhance his standing in the team's quarterback competition.

If Troy Smith is over his flu bug, he figures to start against the Falcons, but we could again see plenty of Flacco in that game. I don't think the coaching staff is looking for an excuse to start the rookie in the regular-season opener, but you can't discount the possibility that Smith will provide one if he doesn't play well.

Kyle Boller may have temporarily fallen out of the picture. He banged up his shoulder in the second preseason game and is unlikely to see any action against the Falcons. That sets up the a very plausible scenario in which Troy struggles against Atlanta's first-string defense and Flacco continues to get comfortable -- albeit against second- or third-string competition.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm starting to think that Flacco might be the last quarterback standing on Sept. 7.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

Our featured comment of the day comes from Deke, who is regular in these parts and usually has something cogent to add to the debate -- in this case, the ongoing conversation about what to do with this O's pitching staff:

Deke's take: They should get rid of Walker and sign one of the kids that pitched at Williamsburg. Anything would be better. I feel sorry for Trembley, his relief staff has fallen apart, in part due to injuries and political and business decisions on the part of the front office, and he has one solid starter. Now the bats are cooling off, so how can you expect him to win?

Pete's take: I'm going to give Deke the typographical benefit of the doubt (as so many of you have given me) and assume he meant Williamsport, which is the site of the Little League World Series. I don't think they played baseball back in Williamsburg, though one-time resident Patrick Henry did speak of the "clash of resounding arms" in his famous "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech in 1775.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Daniel Cabrera didn't have to say anything. It was what he wouldn't say that made it clear what's going on.

He was asked two questions about his health and lack of velocity after today's game and he answered both with a very articulate refusal to comment, leaving plenty of room to speculate that he is injured and (a) he isn't telling anyone, or (b) he has been told not to say anything about the situation..

Don't be surprised if you're hearing a medical report on him before the O's finish that suspended game against the White Sox tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Probably won't be good.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

Aubrey Huff already has a home run and two doubles in today's game, and he'll get at least one more at-bat. The two doubles give him 39 and tie him with Nick Markakis for second on the club behind Brian Roberts. There's still a ways to go around the league today, but -- right now -- three Orioles rank in the top five in the American League in that department.

Huff continues to sizzle at the plate, even though he has a lot on his mind lately. His first child could arrive in the next few days.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Wouldn't be surprised if Daniel Cabrera gets scratched from his next start, though nobody has said anything to indicate that he's pitching hurt.

Can't think of any other reason for him to be throwing his fastball in the mid-80s. This is a guy who used to be able to jack it up near 100 and today he looked borderline helpless against the Yankees. If you're keeping score at home: 3 2/3 innings, nine hits, seven runs, three walks, and I'm trying to block out all the other three-ball counts. It was only the second start of his career without any strikeouts.

Dave Johnson and Joe Angel were using a golf analogy to speculate why he had some success taking something off his fastball earlier in the season, but they were wondering along with everybody else what's going on now.

I'm hearing that he has been getting treatment for a sore back. If that's true. Shut him down for the rest of the season. He's not doing himself or anybody else any good doing what he's doing right now. Might as well take a look at somebody -- anybody -- out of the system instead.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

Manager Dave Trembley outlined his plans for the September roster expansion and explained why Matt Wieters will not be getting a promotion during this morning's pregame news conference:

"A catcher, an infielder, an outfielder. We haven’t determined yet how many pitchers. [The catcher] will not be Matt Wieters. Matt Wieters will not be coming up here in September. We've hopefully put that situation to rest.

"It's nothing about Matt. He's had a great year. He'll play in the Arizona Fall League if that's where we send him. It's his first year as a pro baseball player, above and beyond everything. There's no reason for him to come up here this September. There is no reason at this particular point in time to put him on the roster. He’s going to play in the fall league, get ready for spring training and then we’ll go from there.

"He gets six weeks off before that. Plus from my perspective, him going to the fall league is not so much for him to do anything other than to catch and maybe to catch some pitchers that are a little more advanced. He doesn't need to show me anything as far as hitting, catching or throwing. The reports I've gotten on him have been outstanding."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Manager Dave Trembley confirmed again today that the Orioles do not intend to add top prospect Matt Wieters to the major league club when roster limit expands from 25 to 40 on Sept. 1 or after the Bowie Baysox complete their playoff run.

I'm sure that comes as a disappointment to many who have been following his progress at Frederick and Bowie, but it'll just increase the anticipation as the Orioles get closer to spring training next year. There's certainly no reason to think Wieters opens next season in the major leagues -- in fact, I'd bet against it -- but he'll get a good look in training camp and be one of the major storylines of the spring.

Radio Free Schmuck: I'll be talking Orioles and Ravens on WBAL Sports Sunday from noon to 2. Go to WBAL (1090 AM) or go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

...would you reconsider the Ravens quarterback situation in the aftermath of Joe Flacco's solid performance in last night's 24-10 loss to the St. Louis Rams?

OK, we'll call it a relatively solid performance. It's pretty hard to evaluate a young quarterback when the other team is auditioning defensive players at the same time, but the Ravens have to be happy with the way Flacco carried himself throughout.

Coach John Harbaugh said after the second preseason game that there was a significant separation between Flacco and the two more experienced quarterbacks. I've got to think he closed some of that gap last night, but I wonder what effect it will have on the quarterback competition as time grows short until the regular season opener against the Bengals.

I think I'd want to keep an open mind.

What would you do?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (49)
        

Nolan Reimold hit his 20th home run in a three-hit performance for the Baysox, but Brad Bergesen struggled through four innings and Bowie came up short, 6-2, against the Binghamton Mets.

The Baysox are in the playoffs, but still must hold off the second-place Akron Aeros to win their first-ever Eastern League division title and gain home-field advantage in the postseason. Despite last night's loss, they maintained a four-game lead with eight regular season games to play.

The Triple-A Norfolk Tides went down, 9-5, to Charlotte, but Eider Torres and Mike Costanzo had three hits each in a 14-hit attack. Class-A Frederick defeated Salem, 9-2, as Paul Winterling contributed three hits and four RBI.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Umpiring crew chief Joe West explained late last night why Dave Trembley was ejected from the game after the strange play in which Melvin Mora went all the way to second base on a dropped third strike, then was called out for surrendering the baseline:

Essentially, Mora hesitated too long before running to first base on the third strike in the dirt. The rulebook states that the batter must make his move immediately. and Mora stood pondering the situation too long to legally exploit the situation. The rule was changed after Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski made a similar dash and affected the outcome of Game 2 of a 2005 playoff series against the Angels.

In this case, however, Mora originally was called safe at second base before Yankees manager Joe Girardi objected and the umpires huddled and changed the ruling. That ended the inning and cost Trembley two runners in scoring position, which explains why he argued himself right out of the game.

"...I explained to him that after a crew consultation that you cannot argue the decision after the explanation,'' West said. "We gave him his explanation and he continued to argue. We warned him twice. I told him, ‘You cannot argue this. We’ve given you an explanation and that’s it so don’t argue again.’ When he argued the second time, we had to eject him."

MLB photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Today's featured comment comes from Chris Humbertson, who has a creative solution to the Olympic baseball conundrum:

Chris's take: How about we make baseball a sport they play during the Winter Olympics. Don't think I am crazy, just follow my logic. NBA is a fall/winter sport that they play during the summer Olympics when the season is out, why can't MLB, the IOC and baseball do the reverse and play during the winter Olympics when MLB is out??? I am sure there is an available stadium, somewhere close to the host city that would gladly put these games on. Who is the crazy one now!!!!!!!!!!!! Baseball for winter Olympics in 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pete's take: I don't know who's crazy, except maybe the Redskins fan who keeps cleaning out my fridge, but I'm going to give Chris extra credit for thinking entirely outside the box with this one. I'm guessing, however, that coming up with an indoor baseball stadium in, for example, Lillehammer, Norway, is going to be a problem.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Everybody wanted to know what Dave Trembley thought of his ejection after that strange play involving Melvin Mora, but Dave wasn't going to bite. He knows what happens -- and how much it costs -- to publicly criticize the umpires.

"I am not going to talk about me getting thrown out,'' he said. "I am not going to talk about that because I will probably say something that I shouldn't, so I'm not going to talk about it."

He did sum up the game pretty well:

"We had first and second three different times and nobody out and didn't score for a variety of reasons. Pavano mixed his pitches, got some big outs on breaking balls and a split. They got some hits with two strikes (and) a home run that obviously hurt us. We had some chances and it didn't happen. And that's the game."

Heads up: I'll give you umpire Joe West's account of the ejection in my first post tomorrow morning.

AP Photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Joe Flacco didn't accomplish a whole lot in the first half -- while Marc Bulger was leading the Rams to a 17-3 lead -- but he came out swinging in the second half. Flacco looked polished and determined as he drove the Ravens 76 yards for a touchdown on their first posession.

He completed a nice pump-fake throw to Derrick Mason and then hit Mason in the corner of the end zone for the score. In all, he hooked up with Mason four times on the drive.

This is no time for irrational exhuberance, but -- for a few minutes, at least -- he looked like an NFL quarterback. How much more could John Harbaugh ask under the strange circumstances that led to him starting the game?

Flacco didn't get the Ravens into the end zone again and they lost, 24-10, but he played pretty much the entire game, completing 18 or 37 passes for 152 yards and taking good care of the the football. It wasn't a great performance, but I bet the coaching staff was thrilled to see him come through it unscathed and clearly better for the experience.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Talk about a dynamic development! The Ravens scratched Troy Smith from tonight's start against the St. Louis Rams with a sudden case of the flu and don't want to start Kyle Boller because of some shoulder soreness.

Does this mean the Joe Flacco era is going to start early?

Probably not, but it certainly is an intriguing development. If Flacco plays adequately (asking him to play well under these conditions would be unfair), it could have an impact on the team's plans for him, though I doubt you're going to see him starting against the Bengals in the regular season opener.

The bigger question is this: Do the Ravens have to consider signing Daunte Culpepper (right) to assure they'll have at least two viable quarterbacks on Sept. 7?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Sure enough, Brian Burres has been scratched from his Triple-A start tonight. Bob McCrory took the mound for the Norfolk Tides at Charlotte, which simply confirms what everyone already suspected. Burres will be starter on Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox at Camden Yards.

Burres, like Radhames Liz, pitched very well for Norfolk after pitching his way out of Baltimore. The O's can only hope he doesn't also emulate Liz upon his return.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Center fielder Adam Jones has been driving Dave Trembley to distraction. He's impatient to get back in the lineup and keeps pushing to expand his on-field activities. Trembley said yesterday that Jones will hit in simulated game action a couple of times next week before a determination is made on when he might return to the starting lineup.

"He's been in my office a lot for a guy who never does anything wrong,'' Trembley said on his radio show.

The fracture in Jones' left foot has healed rapidly, but Trembley estimates that he won't return to action until the second week of September.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Manager Dave Trembley said today that he's looking at Matt Albers to be part of next year's starting rotation. Albers, who is rehabbing a labrum injury, pitched largely in relief this year, but the Orioles hope to assemble a solid group of candidates for a rotation that -- as of right now -- has three slots open for next season.

Albers has been out since his shoulder became inflamed in June. He is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list this week, but the team is in no hurry for him to rejoin the major league bullpen.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Rehabbing reliever Chris Ray suited up with the big league club today after making last night's rehab appearance in Aberdeen. Ray, recovering from Tommy John surgery, was summoned by manager Dave Trembley to rejoin the team for the day to reinforce his importance to the franchise.

"He's a big league pitcher and I wanted him to suit up with the big league team,'' Trembley said on his pregame radio show.

Trembley said that no determination has been made about Ray's status in September. Obviously, he wants to come back and rejoin the major league bullpen, but the club figures to handle him very conservatively. He could join a healthy George Sherrill and up-and-coming setup guy Jim Johnson to create a pretty formidable back end of the bullpen next season.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Orioles

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
Hernandez C
Scott LF
Millar 1B
Payton CF
Castro SS

Guthrie SP

Yankees

Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
A.Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Nady LF
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
I.Rodriguez C

Pavano SP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

IOC president Jacque Rogge made it pretty clear that baseball will not be an Olympic sport again until Major League Baseball decides to interrupt the season to send its stars to the summer Olympics.

Here's the complete story from Reuters.

Rogge cites all the other sports bending over backwards to send their best athletes to the games, but I think MLB has it right. The NBA doesn't have to interrupt its season. The NHL does for the winter games, but there is a great deal less revenue (and fan interest) at stake. As I wrote the other day, I like sending the minor leaguers and college players to compete. Thought they did pretty well under the circumstances.

Shameless self-promotion dept: Listen to me on WBAL (1090) at 2 p.m. today. My show was backed up a couple hours to lead into coverage of the Ravens preseason game against the St. Louis Rams. If you're out of area, you can go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

While Brian Billick is busy with his new television career, former Raven Peter Boulware (shown at right with his family at his Ring of Honor ceremony) is beating the bricks in Florida trying to win a Republican primary for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives.

Boulware is living by the words of legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who liked to tell his players at inspirational moments "Don't go to the grave with life unused." He retired from football after setting the Ravens all-time sacks record and now is looking to politics to give him the sense of purpose he used to get on the football field.

Here's the full story from SI.com.

Now that we've made the smooth transition from coaches who go into broadcasting to athletes who go into politics, here's a question that should spark some lively conversation:

Who is the greatest athlete-turned-politician and why?

Sun photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

New Fox analyst Brian Billick has sized up the AFC North and come away with the impression that the Pittsburgh Steelers are the team to beat. He's not alone in that view -- I'm pretty sure former Steelers coach Bill Cowher (with Billick at left) would agree -- but here's Brian's thumbnail analysis:

When you look at Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland, obviously Pittsburgh, coming back from what they did last year, Ben Roethillisberger to me still is one, along with Tony Romo, are still two of the more interesting quarterbacks, more dynamic quarterbacks in the league because of their ability to make plays outside of the structure of the offense that you can’t account for. Draft wise for Pittsburgh, uniquely I think Limas Sweed and Rashard Mendenhall are going to affect their teams more so than you might think of by terms draft choices, just because of the positions they’re at. The one-two punch of Mendenhall and Willie Parker could allow Pittsburgh to do what they like to do and then in terms of receiving game, Limas Sweed might not have the 20/25 receptions but a big receiver to go with Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward brings them back an equation that they didn’t have before when they lost Plaxico Burress. So I really think, along with Ben Roethillisberger that balance that they have, that Pittsburgh still is the team to beat.

Here's a little more Brian -- compliments of FoxSports -- for your viewing and listening enjoyment.

Sun photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Some final thoughts from manager Dave Trembley's postgame news conference:

On the outcome: "I would say it probably would have been to our advantage to get (Bobby) Abreu out, and we didn't do that...I thought the key to the game was, we didn't get Abreu out at all. He doesn't chase bad pitches and that's probably why he's the great hitter he is."

On Radhames Liz: "I thought his velocity was good and he threw a couple of good sliders, but too many pitches were up...With the exception on Sarfate and Cherry, we didn't get in on them and we got some pitches up."

On the O's success against Mike Mussina: "We've done our homework on him. Early in the game, you have to make him throw the ball over the plate, because he can expand the strike zone. He's a master at hitting his spots and changing speeds."

On the bullpen minus injured George Sherrill: "There's an example there, you're squeezing guys into situations that guys haven't been in before."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Congratulations to the Bowie Baysox, who scored a 7-1 victory over the Binghamton Mets to clinch their first playoff berth since 1997. They hold a four-game lead in the Southern Division of the Eastern League standings and appear to be on the way to their first-ever division title.

Right-hander Jason Berken (12-3) continues to be very effective. He threw seven shutout innings tonight, giving up three hits, striking out eight and walking none.

Garrett Olson was not particularly impressive in his first start since he was demoted to Triple-A Norfolk. Olson pitched five innings and gave up five runs (four earned). He struck out five and walked three in a 6-5 loss to Toledo.

The Frederick Keys staged a seventh inning rally to close a six-run gap to just one, but the Salem Avalanche regrouped and scored a 10-5 victory. Starting pitcher Pedro Beato struggled early and got the loss, falling to 4-9 with a 5.78 ERA.

Rehab update: Reliever Chris Ray (elbow surgery) pitched one inning, giving up two hits and striking out two, for Class-A Aberdeen.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Mike Mussina pitched six innings and gave up four runs on nine hits. More importantly, he left with the Orioles ahead by a run, meaning that he's winless in three starts against his old team in a season when that could easily cost him a chance to win 20 games for the first time.

He's 16-5 with a 3.05 ERA this year against the rest of the major leagues.

His total line for the three starts against the O's: 11 2/3 innings, 17 runs (11 earned), 22 hits, 8.49 ERA.

Ouch!

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Top prospect Brian Matusz took part in his first news conference as a member of the Orioles organization, fielding questions before the game along with scouting director Joe Jordan in the Oriole Park interview room. Later, he was introduced on the field (to polite applause) between the second and third innings.

Don't read too much into that. The crowd was heavily pinstriped and wasn't really tuned into the announcement. He's going to be a very popular young player, based on the enthusiastic response to his signing on the fan boards and blogs.

He described coming to the ballpark for the first time as an Oriole "a great experience."

"I've been waiting for this for awhile,'' he said, "but it's a process."

There were some tense moments as the deadline for retaining the right to sign him neared, but Matusz and Jordan now insist they never had a doubt the deal would get done. Didn't seem that way a week before Matusz agreed to terms, but that's pretty much par for that kind of contract situation.

"I knew from the beginning we'd get it done,'' Matusz said. "I knew for the last few weeks it would happen. There was some movement."

Matusz will spend the evening at the ballpark with his parents and brother, then leave tomorrow for Aberdeen, where he'll work out with the Ironbirds. He won't pitch competitively until the fall, and the club still has not decided whether to send him to the Arizona Fall League or the Hawaiian League.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Orioles

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
Millar 1B
Scott LF
Hernandez C
Payton CF
Castro SS

Liz SP

Yankees

Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Nady LF
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
Molina C

Mussina SP

Lineup note: I'm guessing you've figured out by now that the Orioles recalled Liz from Triple-A Norfolk, where he pitched very well after his demotion.

Later: The Orioles will introduce top draft choice Brian Matusz to the media at a news conference at 6 p.m.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

...but today is the first anniversary of the Orioles' historic (or was that hysteric) 30-3 loss to the Texas Rangers in the first game of a doubleheader at Camden Yards. That was also the day the team announced that manager Dave Trembley would manage the O's at least through the 2008 season.

So, I guess today wouldn't be a good day for the club to pick up his 2009 contract option.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Norfolk: The Tides had to pitch by committee after Radhames Liz was scratched from last night's start to head for Baltimore and today's start against the Yankees. Newly promoted Felix Romero pitched three innings and gave up just an unearned run on two hits. Craig Anderson, Fredy Deza, Scott Chiasson and Jim Miller followed him to the mound and gave up three hits over six scoreless innings of relief. Tike Redman's three-run homer in the third was all the offense they really needed.

Bowie: Zach Clark pitched seven innings and gave up just a run on five hits to raise his record to 3-1 and drop his Double-A ERA to 2.70. Top O's prospect Matt Wieters and shortstop Blake Davis had three hits each.

Frederick: Billy Rowell hit a solo home run in the 10th inning to give the Keys a walkoff 2-1 victory over the Lynchberg Hillcats. Brandon Erbe pitched six shutout innings and Ryan Rodriguez (5-1) got the win in relief.

Bowie All-stars: Lou Montanez, Brad Bergesen and Nolan Reimold have been named to the postseason Eastern League All-Star team.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Thought that might get your attention. Erik Bedard is not an Oriole any more, of course, but it looks like he won't be a Seattle Mariner much longer either. The M's are less than thrilled with their end of last spring's deal with the O's -- and Bedard isn't too thrilled with them either -- so he's likely to be traded again this winter. Things have gone so badly, in fact, it wouldn't surprise me if he's gotten a little nostalgic for Baltimore.

Which brings us to a totally hypothetical question: If he was offered back to the Orioles for a reasonable price -- or becomes a free agent after next season -- would you welcome him back into the O's rotation?
AP photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (79)
        

Birdland Todd has put me on the spot:

Todd's take: Pete, since a lot can happen from now till the end of the season, how about a list of your picks as of today for AL and NL MVP, Cy Young, R.O.Y and Manager of the year awards.

Pete's take:

NL MVP: Brandon Webb (Diamondbacks)

AL MVP: Carlos Quentin (White Sox, right)

NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum (Giants)

AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee (Indians)

NL Rookie: Geovany Soto (Cubs)

AL Rookie: Evan Longoria (Rays)

NL Manager: Lou Piniella (Cubs)

AL Manager: Joe Madden (Rays)

Brief explanation: The pick I'm squirming with most, of course, is Webb as NL MVP. I seldom go with a pitcher, but if the MVP criteria is most valuable to his team, I can't think of anyone in the NL who fits that description better than Webb in the soft NL West. I stared at Ryan Howard's numbers for a long time, but really think Chase Utley has been more valuable to the Phillies this year. Even though I picked Webb as MVP, I think Lincecum is having the better statistical season so I gave him the Cy. The AL Rookie was tough, too. Hard to overlook Detroit's Armando Gallaraga (12-4, 3.17), but I've got Rays fever like everybody else.

AP photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

When it became apparent that Adam Jones had fractured his foot with a foul ball early this month, I think most fans were resigned to him being lost for the season...or shut down for his own good if he recovered quickly.

Now, it looks like he'll play again relatively soon. He got off crutches and out of his walking boot earlier in the week, and we're hearing he might start taking batting practice before tomorrow's game against the Yankees. It's great to see him chomping at the bit to get back. Just not until he's 100 percent ready.

Unrelated and unsolicited opinion: Can't wait to see $40 million pitcher Carl Pavano make his comeback start against the Orioles on Saturday. From the perspective of the Orioles -- who also showed interest in Pavano when he signed that contract -- that old saying is true that some of the best deals are the ones that are never made.

Radio Free Schmuck: I'll be joining Steve Davis tonight from 6-9 on WBAL's "Sportsline." Join in at WBAL (1090 AM) or online by clicking the Listen Live icon at WBAL.com.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

When the Norfolk Tides lineup went up today, newly promoted Felix Romero was listed as tonight's starting pitcher. Of course, the originally scheduled starter was Radhames Liz, who just about everybody already knew was going to make tomorrow night's start against the New York Yankees at Camden Yards.

No doubt, the official move will come either in the next half-hour, or tomorrow morning.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

The New York Daily News ran an online story under this headline yesterday:

Mark Spitz: Michael Phelps Couldn't Have Beaten Me

Now, if you just read that headline, you'd think that Spitz was raining on MIchael's parade, but the quotes for the story were almost identical to those from the three-way televised interview with Bob Costas, Phelps and Spitz soon after Michael won his eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games.

"I think that the relationship between people that are great is they have a common thread of knowing how to beat their competitors and they know how to constantly be in shape and in top form," Spitz said. "If that's the case, I'd know everything about how to beat Michael. He'd also know everything to beat me. We'd have to tie."

Say what you want about Spitz, I watched the original interview and his response to Costas' question was an appropriately diplomatic reply to a question that really has no legitimate answer.

There's no way to match up athletes from different eras. If Spitz were 23 now and took advantage of all the most modern training techniques, nutritional advances and space age swimwear, who knows what he would do. Maybe it would have been nice for him to demur and say that Phelps would be better than him in any era, but there's no way of knowing that and he's under no obligation to diminish his own accomplishments.

Never been a huge Spitz fan, but he has played his proper role in Michaelmania.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Ravens coach John Harbaugh made a lot of sense when he explained why he has designated Troy Smith as the starter for Game 3 of the preseason against the St. Louis Rams. Kyle Boller already has a long paper trail and the Ravens have limited time to evaluate Smith, who played only a couple of games last year compared to Kyle's 42 career starts.

The logic is unassailable, but I think there's more to it than that. The Ravens have played the first two preseason games behind a makeshift offensive line that is riddled with injuries. The team talks tough about pulling the O-line back together before the opener against the Cincinnati Bengals just 18 days hence, but who really knows who will be ready to step up when the time comes.

That's why Smith is an even more logical choice, since he has the escapability to survive if the team continues to have serious problems up front after the season begins. He needs to show he can find receivers downfield, something that appeared to be a problem last Saturday night, but Job One is to remain standing long enough to give the offense a puncher's chance.

He'll likely play most of the game on Saturday, and then we should have a better idea one way or the other.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (37)
        

For all the years of complaining about the Orioles player development pipeline -- and there were a number of legitimate complaints -- the club's satellite farm system has come together on a couple of levels.

Most obvious, of course, is the actual geographic proximity of the minor league affiliates, which allowed for a variety of minor league machinations over the past 24 hours. Chris Ray and Greg Aquino pitched an inning each at Frederick (40 miles), advancing their respective injury rehab programs. Kam Mikolio was called up from Norfolk (250 miles) and Radhames Liz soon will be recalled to make Friday night's start. The Bowie BaySox, meanwhile, are chipping away at their magic number just 25 miles away.

And don't underestimate the importance of that same proximity when Orioles front office types want to eyeball a player close up. Not many teams have such a convenient alignment.

More important at the moment, however, is the fact that there are enough viable prospects to spark a debate over who should come up now and who should come up when the rosters expand in September. The Orioles can't boast a player development pipeline like the one that has lifted the Tampa Bay Rays off the floor in the American League East -- not even close -- but Andy MacPhail has made clear progress in broadening the talent base of the organization.

By the way, MacPhail was interviewed in-game on MASN last night and made it pretty clear that Matt Wieters (pictured above) will not get a cup of coffee with the club in September. That's going to be a little disappointing to some fans, but no one should have a problem with the club being over-protective with its top prospects. That's actually a good problem to have.

Rehab updates: Ray gave up three hits, including a home run, in his single inning of work for the Keys. Aquino pitched a scoreless inning, striking out two.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

No official word yet, but Radhames Liz is all but certain to start on Friday against the Yankees and it looks like Brian Burres could be back in the rotation next week. Both have pitched very well since being sent back to Triple-A.

Chris Waters has settled down after giving up four runs in the first two innings tonight, but he has joined the legion of Orioles starters who -- night after night -- make you wonder whether they're going to get to the fifth inning before they get to 100 pitches. Waters threw 92 pitches through the first four innings, which means that Dave Trembley is likely to use a lot of bullpen after a big offensive performance that should have provided a breather for the beleaguered relief corps.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Top prospect Matt Wieters had the night off last night, but he already has homered in tonight's game at Reading. Wieters hit a solo shot in the second inning and Steve Torrealba hit one in the fourth to give the BaySox a 4-0 lead.

Wieters has hit 10 homers since he was promoted to Double-A. He also drove in a second run in the game and now has 45 RBI in 50 games for the BaySox.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

I'm sure there are some Orioles fans who feel Chris Waters got squeezed by the home plate umpire in the first couple of innings tonight, and maybe he did, but I've never thrown in with the conspiracy theorists who think the good teams get all the calls.

It's frustrating to watch as a series of close pitches goes against your guy, but it shouldn't come as a complete surprise. I know that's hard to believe, but the guy behind the plate -- whoever it is on any given night -- is human just like you.

He wants to call every pitch right, but the borderline strikes often go to the pitchers who have built a certain level of credibility over the course of the game. When you throw 30-plus pitches in the first inning, as Chris Waters did tonight, you're probably not going to get the benefit of the doubt.

Sad but true.

The hitters also play a role in all this. No self-respecting umpire will admit it, but the veteran hitters who are known to have outstanding batting eyes are likely to get some close calls because -- basically -- they've achieved an additional level of credibility with their own knowledge of the strike zone. In other words, if it's close and one of those guys doesn't swing at it, it probably wasn't a strike.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff 1B
Scott DH
Hernandez C
Montanez LF
Payton CF
Castro SS

Waters SP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

The Orioles called up right-hander Kam Mickolio from Triple-A Norfolk to take George Sherrill's place on the roster. Mickolio, who was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in the Erik Bedard deal, had a 1.50 ERA in 15 games (18 innings) after being promoted from Double-A Bowie.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the club moved Matt Albers to the 60-day disabled list.

The Orioles still need to decide on a starter for Friday night's game against the Yankees at Camden Yards. Despite a blog-driven clamor for Bowie 15-game winner Brad Bergesen, it appears the club is leaning strongly toward Radhames Liz, who has pitched very well since he was sent back to Norfolk. That roster move probably won't come until tomorrow or early Friday.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

Cincinnati Reds president Bob Castellini and general manager Walt Jocketty have released a letter to the team's fans, basically apologizing for the club's disappointing performance and explaining why the front office decided to trade Ken Griffey and Adam Dunn.

If you want to read it, here's the letter in its entirety. Plug in Orioles in place of Reds and replace Ken Griffey and Adam Dunn with Miguel Tejada and Erik Bedard and you have basically the same letter Andy MacPhail sent to Orioles season ticket holders during the offseason...except the part about hiring Dusty Baker as manager.

Sometimes you have to take a couple steps back to make any meaningful progress. Hope it works out for both clubs, since both play in great baseball towns that deserve better than they've gotten the past few years.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

The Bowie Baysox reduced their magic number to five with a 3-2 extra-inning victory at Reading last night and Akron's 8-0 loss to Connecticut. The Baysox are 76-54 and lead Akron by three games in the Southern Division of the Eastern League standings.

There are just 12 regular-season games to play, so it looks pretty good. If the Baysox get to the postseason, it'll be their first playoff appearance since 1997. If they win the division, it would be the first time in team history. Playoff tickets are already on sale at the Baysox Web site.

David Hernandez was removed from last night's game after just four innings, though he gave up just a run on four hits. The bullpen gave up just one run over six innings, with Felix Romero getting the win and Julio Manon recording his 30th save of the year. Top prospect Matt Wieters did not play.

Triple-A Norfolk also played into extra innings, losing 2-1 in 11 despite a strong seven innings from starter Andy Mitchell, who gave up just a run on three hits and struck out seven.

Okay, it's unanimous. The Frederick Keys played past the ninth inning, too, dropping a 5-4 decision to the Lynchburg Hillcats. Kyle Schmidt started that game and gave up two runs on five hits over six innings.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Injured closer Chris Ray is expected to pitch tonight for the Frederick Keys as he continues the slow business of working his way back from Tommy John ligament reconstruction surgery. Greg Aquino, who is coming back from a hamstring injury, also will begin a rehab assignment at Grove Stadium tonight.

Club officials projected at the time of Ray's surgery that he might be ready to return by August, but abandoned that timetable early this season. He has pitched a few innings in the Gulf Coast League over the past week or so and will continue to be brought along slowly. Dave Trembley has been saying all along that he does not expect Ray to pitch for the Orioles this year,

The plan appears to be to let him build some confidence in his repaired elbow in a low-impact environment, then bring him back at full strength next spring.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

The Orioles will call up a pitcher tomorrow to replace Sherrill on the roster. The club will need a starter for Friday, but Dave Trembley confirmed after the game that the need for more bullpen depth will force a series of moves that start with a minor league reliever.

Right-handers Kam Mickolio and Bob McCrory both have been mentioned over the past few days as possible call-ups, though both are coming off rocky outings on Monday night. Mickolio has the better stats (1.50 ERA since his promotion to Triple-A), but he is not on the 40-man roster, which complicates the situation slightly.

To make room, the club likely would have to move Matt Albers onto the 60-day disabled list.

Correction: I earlier referred to the 60-day disabled list as the "60-man" disabled list. Obviously, I've been watching this team too long.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Funny how fast momentum can shift. The Orioles had the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the fourth with Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff coming to the plate, which looked like a fairly promising situation. The Orioles were down by one with their top two RBI guys lined up to knock Daisuke Matsuzaka through the ropes.

No such luck. Mora jumped ahead 2-0 and 3-1 on the count and struck out on a ball well out of the strike zone. Huff popped out and that was that. The next thing anybody knew, Daniel Cabrera was looking around the clubhouse for a sandwich and the Red Sox were four runs ahead.

Hmmmm. Let's see if I have this straight. The best two Orioles starters are 0 for the series and Chris Waters gets to try and pick up the scraps tomorrow night? Please tell me they're giving away a bobblehead or something.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Today's featured comment/question comes from Jeff:

Jeff's take: Montanez sits again? Why is he up here if we're not going to give him a fair shot?

Pete's take: Don't despair. I think you'll see Lou Montanez in the starting lineup tomorrow, even though the Red Sox are throwing right-hander Clay Buchholz. Trembley doesn't usually sit guys more than two or three days in a row.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Club president Andy MacPhail said during the game that the MRI results on George Sherrill's sore shoulder were "good news." Comparisons with a similar test taken when the O's acquired him from the Seattle Mariners revealed no structural variance.

Sherrill received an anti-inflammatory injection and will not throw for about a week, then begin working toward a return in early September.

MacPhail also denied any second thoughts about his decision not to deal Sherrill before the July 31 deadline for making trades without waivers.

"I don't have any interest in sticking anybody,'' he said.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Melvin Mora is one of the hottest hitters in baseball, which would figure to make him attractive to a contending team in advance of the Aug. 31 deadline for traded players to be postseason eligible. That is, if he was looking for an exit.

He's not, but he's not ruling anything out either.

"It's not something I think about,'' he said yesterday. "If something came along, I'd have to go to my wife and my agent and discuss it...It would depend on what the deal is."

Of course, Mora would have to clear waivers and he would have to waive his no-trade clause for a deal to be made. No word on whether the team has even put him through waivers, so any conversation about that possibility is largely hypothetical.

Mora's intention is to remain in Baltimore after his career is over. Even if the opportunity to play for a World Series team came along, he said he wouldn't want to jump a bunch of time zones, which is why he held out for the no-trade clause in his current contract.

"That makes it so I would have to choose where I go,'' he said, "and I wouldn't want to go very far from my family."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Reliever George Sherrill has been placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Aug. 16) with inflammation in his left shoulder. If it is nothing more than that, he would be eligible to return to the active duty on Sept. 1, the day rosters expand from 25 to 40.

Sherrill informed manager Dave Trembley yesterday that he was unable to loosen up before the series opener against the Red Sox. He was examined today and underwent an MRI, leading to the decision to DL him. Presumably, Jim Johnson will take over the the closer role for now, though Trembley could simply go with a bullpen by committee and play the matchups in the ninth inning.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Reliever George Sherrill, who experienced stiffness in his left shoulder before Monday night's game, underwent an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) this afternoon, but results were not available when Dave Trembley held his news conference a few minutes ago.

No doubt, there will be some kind of update during or after the game.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The newest copy of the Orioles Magazine features Nick Markakis, Luke Scott and Adam Jones on the cover, which brought Kevin Millar out of his chair in the clubhouse yesterday afternoon.

"I guess Nick and Luke and Adam Jones are going to play the Red Sox all by themselves today,'' Millar chirped, for all to hear. "You guys don't need the rest of us."

It was classic Clubhouse Kevin, but he could be forgiven for noticing that the emphasis everywhere in the ballpark seems to be on the young guys, from the faces on the program to the pictures in the hallway leading to the lockerroom to the promotions in the stands.

"The gripe is, Aubrey Huff has never had a T-Shirt Day,'' Millar said. "Huff has never been on the cover of the program."

Still, it was all in fun.

"That was just today's skit,'' Millar said.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Orioles

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
Hernandez C
Scott LF
MIllar 1B
Payton CF
Castro SS

Cabrera SP

Red Sox

Ellsbury RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Youkilis 3B
Bay LF
Casey 1B
Varitek C
Cora SS
Crisp CF

Matsusaka SP

The Orioles took their team picture at 3:45 p.m. today in right field, which will make for a great trivia question three years from now: "Who are those 22 guys standing around Nick Markakis, Jeremy Guthrie and Adam Jones?"

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Mike Costanzo and Tike Redman combined to drive in five runs in the Norfolk Tides' 8-7 victory over Charlotte last night. Costanzo had the biggest offensive blow with a three-run double in the third inning. Redman homered and Jeff Fiorentino added three hits in five at-bats to boost his average to .283.

It was not a great night for the bullpen. Reliever Kam Mickolio got just two outs and gave up two runs on four hits. Bob McCrory allowed three runs in the ninth.

Bowie was off last night and opens a three-game series at Reading tonight. Frederick also was idle and continues a seven-game homestand against Lynchburg tonight at Grove Stadium.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

So far, all anybody knows about George Sherrill's shoulder is that it stiffened up when he was playing catch before last night's series opener against the Red Sox. Presumably he'll get a look from team doctors today -- if he hasn't already -- and likely be shut down for at least a few days to allow any inflammation to subside.

Maybe it's nothing, but you have to wonder after the schedule he's kept through the first 4 1/2 months of the season. He never worked this much during his three years in the Seattle Mariners minor league system or his first four major league seasons.

Sherrill was largely a situational guy with the Mariners, averaging just two outs an appearance during his four seasons in Seattle and never throwing more than 45 2/3 innings in a full season. He already has exceeded that with about a quarter of the schedule left to play and has been pitching in much more stressful situations.

Does that mean he has a serious shoulder issue? Of course not, but it's pretty clear he's not the same pitcher he was during his first three months as the Orioles closer.

The numbers don't lie. He surrendered a total of 12 earned runs over 35 innings (3.09 ERA) before giving up two-out, last-gasp home runs in back-to-back blown saves on June 29 and 30. Including those two games, he has given up 13 earned runs over his last 15 1/3 innings (7.63 ERA).

Maybe he's just tired and a few days rest will do him good.

Maybe not.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

Today's featured question/comment comes from Slim Charles, who has been featured once before in this featured comment area that features comments from featured commentators:

Slim's question: Can you explain September call-ups? I'm pretty sure I understand but if I have it right then why would you waste a call-up for Bergesen now instead of waiting two more weeks. I know our starters are absolutely horrid (with an obvious exception, maybe two) but we are rebuilding. We can not lose site of that goal, despite our recent success.

Pete's reply: I checked with an Orioles official and found out that the Sept. 1 roster expansion is not really relevant to the Bergesen situation. He's not on the 40-man roster, so the issue is whether or not to add him to the 40-man and start his service time/option clock. It would be the same issue today as on Sept. 1, except for the amount of service time burned for the remainder of the season.

There are some subtleties to the roster expansion, but teams generally promote players who can add legitimate depth to the roster. That decision is impacted by the value of the player and his service status, so it has become more and more unusual for teams to bring up top prospects just to give them a taste of the major league environment.

In the case of Matt Wieters, for instance, the Orioles could probably make a legitimate case for bringing him up to be the third catcher in September. But they also could make a strong case for treating him like Evan Longoria, and remain very stingy about using any major league service time until he's here to stay.

Hope that helps.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

If you were wondering why Dave Trembley went to Rocky Cherry and Alberto Castillo in the eighth inning and Jim Johnson to open the ninth, it was because closer George Sherrill came up with a stiff shoulder before the game.

Sherrill went out to play catch and couldn't get loose, forcing Trembley to rearrange his decimated bullpen to handle a tense setup and short-relief situation. Didn't work out particularly well, but he really didn't have any other option.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

There's an old saying in baseball and it goes something like this:

You can't hide a guy at shortstop.

Well, to be fair, I don't know if it's an old saying. I just know that it's a saying and it's true and I would take credit for it if I could get away with it.

Dave Trembley has lived it during the past few weeks. Alex Cintron was brought here because he figured to add some offensive punch at the shortstop position. Instead, he has too often been at the center of some costly defensive snafu.

Tonight, he came on to pinch hit for Juan Castro in the eighth and made a pair of poor throws in the ninth as the Red Sox answered a late Orioles rally with two runs off Jim Johnson and Randor Bierd.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

The Orioles and the Maryland Lottery (New slogan: "Let Yourself Vote for Slots") plan to honor the 2,861st fan to pass through the turnstiles at Oriole Park tomorrow. Of course, that will also be the theoretical 50 millionth fan to attend an Orioles game at Camden Yards.

Might want to show up early dressed like you're going on the Orioles version of The Price is Right.

If you don't end up winning the $50,000 and season tickets for five years, there's always later in the homestand when the Orioles honor the 100 millionth fan to attend an Orioles game since the St. Louis Browns moved here for the 1954 season. Tonight's crowd of 40,429 reduced that countdown to 157,273, so the Orioles could reach 100 million during the Yankee series this weekend.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

The Orioles have moved their Sept. 7 game against the Oakland A's up one day and will play a split doubleheader on Sept. 6. The first game will begin at 1:05 p.m. and the second game will begin at 7:05. Tickets for Sept. 7 will be honored for the 1:05 game.

The move was necessary because of a Camden Yards conflict with the Ravens, who open the regular season that day against the Cincinnati Bengals. The game always figured to be rescheduled, and the time of game has been listed as TBA all along.

The Ravens game obviously is going to be a sellout, so there really was no way that both games could have been played at or near the same time with the limited amount of common parking for both stadiums.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Adam Jones just walked onto the field under his own power and started playing catch, which means he's off crutches and has taken a major step toward returning to the lineup. He has not been cleared to start running and hitting, but appears to be on pace to return for the final two or three weeks of the season.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Dave Trembley said during his pre-game news conference that Garrett Olson and Dennis Sarfate have been removed from the starting rotation. Friday's starter against the Yankees, however, will not be announced for at least another day or two.

Olson and Sarfate will remain in the bullpen for the moment, though Trembley would not rule out a minor league assignment for Olson, whose confidence -- and the club's confidence in him -- clearly has been shaken by a string of very shaky starts.

"I think we had to do something to be fair to the team and to be fair to Olson,'' Trembley said.

I've been pushing for Bowie's Brad Bergesen to be the Friday starter, but the O's might go back to either Radhames Liz or Brian Burres, who both have pitched very well at Norfolk since being demoted from the big club. Bergesen's non-roster status could be a stumbling block until Sept. 1.

Injury update: Adam Jones will be reexamined today and could be off crutches if all goes well. Matt Albers is close to pitching off the mound and could throw in a simulated situation in a week or so.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Orioles

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
Hernandez C
Millar 1B
Scott LF
Payton CF
Castro SS

Guthrie SP

Red Sox

Ellsbury RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Youkilis 3B
Bay LF
Lowrie SS
Casey 1B
Varitek C
Crisp CF

Lester SP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

The Orioles are within range of welcoming Camden Yards' 50 millionth fan for tonight's series opener against the Red Sox, and club officials have admitted that they have some leeway in determining who that will be.

There has been some blangst (blog angst) about the possibility that a Red Sox fan might pass through the turnstiles at the appointed moment and win the grand prize ($50,000, season tickets for five years, unlimited access to The Schmuck Stops Here), but the O's have taken that possibility into account.

Since it's not designated as a contest -- which would legally require the Orioles to pick the fan in a totally objective process -- the fan will be chosen by club employees at the approximate moment the 50 millionth fan could be expected to enter Oriole Park. That's fair enough, considering that there will likely be dozens of fans passing through various gates at about the same time.

Presumably, the selection team will be under orders not to pick the drunk guy shouting "GO SAWX!" on his way into the stadium.

I'm still a little concerned, since -- out of the 20,000-or-so Boston fans who will show up tonight and/or tomorrow night -- there probably are a handful of Sox fans clever enough to wear an Orioles T-Shirt to the game.

If I could make a suggestion: A Breathalyzer would clear things up pretty quickly.

2008 AlcoMate

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

Orioles pitching prospect Jake Arrieta gave up just two singles and struck out seven batters over six shutout innings today in his Olympic debut against China. Team USA scored an easy 9-1 victory.

Arrieta, who was 6-5 with a 2.87 ERA in 20 starts for Frederick before joining the Olympic squad, had made only one other competitive appearance. He gave up three runs over three innings against Canada in an pre-Olympic matchup on Aug. 4 in Durham, NC.

Here's the game summary from the official Beijing Games Web site.

USA Baseball photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

Bowie's Brad Bergesen pitched another strong six innings last night, giving up just two runs on four hits, but came up on the wrong end of a 2-1 decision to fall to 15-4. Still waiting to see whether he gets a call this week to fill Friday's slot in the rotation.

The Triple-A pitcher on turn for that night is Brian Burres, who gave up just three hits over six innings in Norfolk's 4-3 victory over Charlotte. Burres has an 0.82 ERA in two minor league starts. The Orioles could go back to Burres, but you would think at this point Dave Trembley would like to see a new face in his beleaguered rotation.

While we're on the subject of Orioles pitchers who have gone back to the minors and not suffered a letdown, congratulations are due to Radhames Liz, who was named International League Pitcher of the Week (Aug. 11-17). He gave up one run over 14 innings in two starts for the Tides.

Plenty of solid starting performances last night in the Orioles system. Frederick Keys starter Tim Bascom also pitched six innings last night and gave up just three hits in a 10-5 win over the Kinston Indians. Chris Vinyard had a home run in the game.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

With Melvin Mora hitting .500 over his past 15 games and coming within one hit of the cycle twice in the last three games, it's only natural that everybody is talking about him right now. O's beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec trolled the catacombs of Comerica Field yesterday for impressions of the team's hottest hitter and biggest run-producer.

Dave Trembley: "I told you, he’s The Natural. Incredible. He hit it like he knew it was coming. He probably did. He’s had an incredible streak. It’s not for me to say. It’s for me to sit back and watch and appreciate it and enjoy it and for him to take all the credit in the world."

Terry Crowley: "Melvin got a cortisone shot right before the All-Star break and the three days rest allowed the shot to work. We talked about it a lot when he came back after the break. He seemed to think that they hit the right spot. That coupled with the rest that he had the three days, he just took off. I’ve seen Melvin hit the ball really, really good before. I’ve seen him have a season in which he hit 27, 28 homers. I’ve seen him have a season in which he .340 for us. But this bit of a streak right here, this is as hot as I’ve seen him. It’s been six weeks now."

Tigers manager Jim Leyland: "He’s an outstanding player, an outstanding hitter. When you’ve got great hitters – really good hitters, really hot hitters – and you don’t make them uncomfortable, they wear you out. And that’s what he did to us. I’m not talking about where you hit somebody or any of that stuff. But if you just keep throwing it out over the plate, really good hitters, they’ll do what he did to us."

Aubrey Huff: : "Man, it’s been awesome. Even his outs are hard. He’s [become] one of the best third basemen in the league in a matter of two months. Everything he’s hit has just been whacked. It’s like whatever he wants to do, he’s doing it right now. I’ve never seen anybody this hot before in my life."

Marvelous Melvin: "When you are locked in, you go to home plate with a confidence that you are going to hit the ball hard no matter what. That’s the only thing as a hitter we’re thinking about before you go to home plate...I’m not surprised because if you’ve been working for this, you deserve it. I’ve been working all year long. When I was hitting .230, .220, I never gave up. I was always working. It didn’t matter what I hit."

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

Today's smart-aleck featured comment comes from Ray:

Ray's take: Let (Brad) Bergesen pitch five or six innings tonight so he'll be ready for Friday. Heck, it's only the Yankees.

My take: Good point.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Despite my call for Brad Bergesen to be scratched from tonight's start against Binghamton, he is on the mound and has surrendered a home run to Mets prospect Caleb Stewart. We'll have to wait and see if he comes out after a short pitch count.

If he was going into Olson's spot -- Friday against the Yankees -- he could stay on his normal routine, but you'd think the O's would be more protective of him if they were planning to bring him up. Twice, they were planning to bring up Hayden Penn and both times he got hurt in what would have been his final minor league start.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Bowie 15-game winner Brad Bergesen is scheduled to pitch tonight (6:05 p.m.) against Binghamton at Prince Georges Stadium, but Orioles fans can only hope that he is mysteriously scratched from that assignment.

Though Dave Trembley said today he doesn't need a fifth starter until Aug. 26, it's starting to look like he'll need a third or fourth starter later this week. Bergesen would seem to be the most obvious choice of the pitchers who are doing well at the upper levels of the minor league system.

I'm not Dave, who apparently has the patience of a saint, but I can't imagine him sending Olson back out there against the Yankees next weekend.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

...the world turns over one somebody who used to be on top of it.

In this case, it took a while longer than that. Remember the first couple months of the season, when we were saying, "If only the Orioles had some kind of offense, they might be able to really accomplish something."

Now, you watch them reel off 16 in six innings and wonder how this team has turned itself completely inside out. Imagine what this team could do now if Dave Trembley could just find somebody other than Jeremy Guthrie and Daniel Cabrera to get past the fifth inning.

Oh well, just enjoy it for what it is. Maybe RBI machine Melvin Mora can squeeze in a triple today and hit for the cycle.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Let me get this straight. The first two innings of today's game against the Tigers lasted an hour and 14 minutes and featured a total -- by both teams -- of 138 pitches. In one stretch, Orioles starter (and, admittedly, I'm throwing that term around pretty loosely these days) Garrett Olson combined with reliever Alberto Castillo to go to a three-ball count on nine straight batters.

Just heard the radio announcers say "that's got to be some kind of record." You would certainly hope so, though -- if they keep sending some of these guys to the mound -- it won't be a record for long.

This not really just in: Presidential candidate John McCain has just put out a statement announcing he does not condone subjecting fans to this kind of baseball, even if it is necessary to uncover a terrorist plot.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff 1B
Millar DH
Scott LF
Hernandez C
Payton CF
Cintron SS

Olson SP

Rotation update: Looks like you'll have to wait another week or so to see any of the other minor league starters. Dave Trembley said this morning that, because of the off day on Thursday, he won't need a fifth starter until Aug. 26. Frankly, I was well aware of the off day, and still felt the team might call up Brad Bergesen for a spot start, since you can make a case for subbing out the third, fourth or fifth starters right now.

Radio Free Schmuck: My stretch of 10 radio shows in 11 days ends this afternoon with WBAL Sports Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. If you want to join in, go to WBAL (1090 AM) or wbal.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

The Ravens invited their fans to remain at M&T Bank Stadium after the team's preseason game to watch Michael Phelps go for his unprecedented eighth gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, and thousands took them up on the offer. Estimates of the crowd, which filled about half the lower level, ranged from 10,000 to 15,000.

Some swimming fans even showed up at the stadium after the Ravens game to join in the local anticipation and celebration of Phelps' global triumph, a scene that was filmed by NBC's local affiliate (WBAL-11) and broadcast live to the entire NBC audience before and after the 4x100 medley that climaxed his amazing string of victories.

Fans held up signs that read Ravens for Phelps and the cheering neared a crescendo as Phelps completed the butterfly leg and gave way to Jason Lezak, the same relay partner whose dramatic anchor leg kept Phelps' dream alive in the 4x100 free relay last Sunday night. Lezak (shown in the pool at left) did it again and what started as a lackluster night of preseason football turned into one of those where-were-you-when moments for those who chose to stay and enjoy an accomplishment that will live forever in Baltimore sports history.

Just so you know, it wasn't as simple as just turning the SmartVision videoboards to WBAL-11. It took quite a bit of lobbying on the part of the Ravens and the local NBC affiliate to convince the NBC bigwigs in New York to sacrifice a chunk of the home audience in Baltimore for a semi-spontaneous celebration in a large stadium.

There were some local ratings points at stake -- and the network would have preferred that the Ravens simply encourage their fans to rush home after the game to get in front of their individual television sets -- but NBC finally gave in and added the Ravens crowd scene to its overall coverage.

Phelps didn't see it live, but it was replayed for him during his post-race interview with Bob Costas and Michael seemed geniunely moved by it.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

...and nobody came.

Troy Smith threw for a grand total of 25 yards in the first half. Kyle Boller had another ball knocked loose on a sack (though the Ravens didn't lose the ball) and threw an interception with the Ravens in position to get back in the game in the fourth quarter.

Enter young Joe: Joe Flacco came on for the final two possessions and ran the two-minute drill well enough to get the Ravens in position for a medium throw into the end zone with five seconds left, but his final pass was overthrown.

If anybody has any idea where this goes from here, please write.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

If you can look past the extra two runs, Dennis Sarfate turned in essentially the same performance tonight as Chris Waters did last night. Both lasted 4 2/3 innings. Both allowed nine baserunners. Sarfate threw 93 pitches and 57 for strikes. Waters threw 95 pitches and 58 for strikes.

That isn't going to get it done, so you've got to think that Bowie 15-game winner Brad Bergesen might get a chance in the next go-round.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Troy Smith may have looked efficient in that first drive, but when the first half was over there was still a lot left on the dinner table. He had a couple of nice runs, but I'm guessing his inability to pick up receivers downfield (3 for 5, 25 yards) isn't going to be viewed favorably by offensive coordinator Cam Cameron when he breaks down the film today.

Kyle Boller threw a couple of decent passes on his first series of the second half, but one of them was called back because of a questionable chop block call on Ray Rice and the Ravens went three and out.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

So far, pretty good. Troy Smith drove the Ravens to a touchdown in his first possession, calling the biggest play of the 73-yard play at the line of scrimmage. Rookie running back Ray Rice (right) made it happen with a great cutback that led to a 42-yard gain. Smith also accounted for a nice gain on a naked bootleg in the red zone, but Rice stole the spotlight with 55 yards on the drive and a 6-yard touchdown run.

Meanwhile at the Meadowlands: Brett Favre made his debut with the New York Jets and drove for a touchdown on his second possession against the Redskins. He connected with Dustin Keller on a 4-yard pass for the TD and finished with five completions in six attempts for 48 yards.

Redskins highlight: Rock Cartwright reeled off a 73-yard run in the second quarter.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

During the second commercial break of the first quarter, Ravens fans will be prompted to cheer in unison for Michael Phelps. The crowd will be encouraged to chant "Let's Go Phelps, Let's Go Phelps, Let's Go Phelps" and the message will be filmed and transmitted to NBC to play during the buildup to Phelps' attempt for an unprecedented eighth gold medal in a single Olympics.

The Ravens also are encouraging fans to remain inside M&T Bank Stadium following the game to watch the race on the SmartVIsion videoboards. Phelps will swim the butterfly leg of the 4x100 medley relay and will eclipse Mark Spitz's record of seven golds, which was set in Munich in 1972.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Tonight's lineup compliments of Sun Orioles beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec:

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
Millar 1B
Scott LF
Payton CF
Quiroz C
Castro SS

Sarfate SP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Legendary Ohio State honk Stan White probably didn't sleep a wink last night. Troy Smith is the starter for tonight's game between the Ravens and Minnesota Vikings at M&T Bank Stadium, and just about everyone agrees that this is a watershed game for young Troy if he is to emerge as the starting quarterback for the regular season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Stan is part of the broadcast team for the WBAL simulcast tonight, so you can hear him bear witness to Troy's performance in real time. He certainly won't be alone in hoping Troy steps up and grabs this opportunity.

While you're waiting for the game to start -- or if you're waiting for the Orioles to go for their fourth straight victory tonight in Detroit -- you can tune into my show on WBAL at noon. I'm going to be the bridge from the Brian Kronberger Financial Hour to the Ravens pregame coverage with Steve Davis.

In other words, I'm going to be on all day, talking about the Orioles, Michaelmania, the Ravens. We'll even have a special segment on the sports physiology with Dr. Bill Howard where we try to figure out if Michael Phelps is truly built for speed.

We'll also find out if I'm built for radio, because I'm going to be setting a personal record for consecutive hours on the air -- five -- and I'll be taking calls throughout. Tune in at WBAL (1090AM) or you can go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon in the upper left-hand corner of the home page.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Here's a look back at some of last night's highlights and lowlights from the top three teams in the Orioles farm system:

Norfolk: Ryan Bukvich pitched six shutout innings for the Tides, who scored a 4-3 victory over the Charlotte Knights. It was Bukvich's eighth victory in 10 decisions and lowered his ERA to 3.87. Kam Mickolio and Bob McCrory each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Mike Costanzo and Omir Santos each had two hits and an RBI.

Bowie: Baysox starter Zach Clark gave up four hits over 7 2/3 shutout innings, but the Binghamton Mets won the game, 1-0, on a ninth-inning home run by Mike Carp, who -- with that name -- might just end up in the Japanese Central League.

Frederick: The Keys also were shut out, 14-0, by the Kinston Indians at Grove Stadium. Right-hander Brandon Erbe lasted just four innings and gave up nine runs on seven hits and three walks.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

It was almost as much fun watching Michael Phelps' mom during last night's final of the 100-meter butterfly. NBC kept a camera on her and replayed her reaction as her son out-touched Serbia's Milorad Cavic at the end to win gold medal No. 7 by just one one-hundredth of a second.

Debbie Phelps watched the finish and put up two fingers, resigned momentarily to the notion that Michael had come so, so close to tying Mark Spitz for the most gold medals in a single Olympics, only to fall maddenly short in his final individual race. It took a moment for her to read the times and let it sink in that, indeed, her son had come from behind at the absolute last possible instant to keep his date with history.

It was a wonderful moment, watching the realization overwhelm her. She slowly sank back into her seat and drank it all in.

Michael, shown at right with his mom after Wednesday's victory in the 4x200 freestyle relay, goes for his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games tonight, and while the race is a relay the Americans are heavily favored to win, don't expect mom to relax for a second until her son is at the top of the medal stand one more time.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Today's well-timed post comes from Deke:

Deke's question: Why did the O's not have Wieters play last summer after they signed him, and why do they have the same plan for Matusz? If he can work out at Aberdeen, why can't he pitch for them? What's behind the handling of both of those guys?

My answer: There are only a couple weeks left of the minor league season, and the late signers have been largely inactive -- from a competitive perspective -- for 2 1/2 months. By the time they get in game shape, there will only be a few days left of the minor league season. Better to let them get on a throwing program and ease back into competition in the fall.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Can't say I was feeling too confident when Chris Waters came to the end of a very short leash and handed the ball off to middleman Lance Cormier with a two-run lead in the fifth inning. I've seen Cormier's game-by-game log and it isn't pretty. In his previous 10 appearances, he had given up at least two earned runs seven times.

That's not middle relief. It's mental cruelty.

Not this time. Not after Waters needed 95 pitches to get through 4 2/3 innings in his third major league start and left everyone wondering where that guy was who held the first-place Los Angeles Angels to one hit over eight in his major league debut. He gave up just two runs -- so it wasn't a disaster -- but it wasn't exactly a Van Gogh either.

(Now that I think about it, Van Gogh struggled with his control on occasion, so maybe that's a bad comparison, but you get the idea.)

Cormier didn't have time to wonder about either Waters or the Dutch post-impressionists. He was too busy trying to make everybody forget what he's done over the past month, and he succeeded with 2 1/3 scoreless innings to put the game in the hands of the short relief crew.

Don't know if that'll keep the wolves away from his door, but on this night, he slammed it on the Tigers.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
Hernandez C
Millar 1B
Scott LF
Montenez CF
Castro SS

Waters SP

Lineup highlight: Your wish is Dave Trembley's command. Lou Montanez starts in center field tonight in the opener of a three-game series at Comerica Field. He'll have a lot of ground to cover in that ballpark.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

The Orioles finally came to terms with Brian Matusz this afternoon, and don't think it was a coincidence that the deal was made -- and the 6 p.m. news conference scheduled -- so we can all be in front of the television when Michael Phelps goes for gold in the 100-meter butterfly later tonight.

OK, it probably was a coincidence, but what fun would that be? Everybody's got Phelps Phever, so why not Andy MacPhail and agent Marc Agar. Matusz reportedly got a $3.2 million signing bonus, which means that he'll be the coolest kid in the Arizona Fall League...or the Hawaiian Winter League.

He'll likely go to Aberdeen to work out with the Class-A team and then make his competitive debut in one of those offseason leagues. That's what the O's did with Matt Wieters and Jake Arrieta and it seemed to work okay.

Apparently, the whole weekend is going to be about peace, love and understanding. Ravens linebacker and franchise player Terrell Suggs is expected to report to Owings Mills on Sunday.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

Orioles president Andy MacPhail just told Sun baseball guy Dan Connolly there is nothing new to report on the final day to negotiate with top draft pick Brian Matusz. That's doesn't necessarily mean that negotiations have slowed. It might just mean that it's still before business hours on the West Coast.

Matusz was in Baltimore yesterday for a physical, so it's down to the final dollar figure and roster conditions. Since I don't believe the kid is going to leave several million dollars on the table and risk his valuable arm on another college season, I'm pretty confident something will be announced late this afternoon. Hope they don't make us sweat it out all night.

Now, for what happens after Matusz is under contract: Nobody is saying anything official, but you can probably assume that the Orioles will treat him much like they did Matt Wieters and pitching prospect Jake Arrieta last year.

Wieters went to Aberdeen to work out with the Ironbirds, but was not activated. He made his professional debut in the Hawaiian Winter League. Arrieta also started out in the fall, leading the Arizona Fall League in ERA (0.00). If I was guessing, I'd go with the AFL for Matusz, but first things first.

Olympic update: Arrieta (left) has yet to make an appearance for Team USA, which has lost two of its first three games. His only competitive appearance for Team USA was in an Aug. 4 game against Canada in Durham, N.C. He pitched three innings and gave up three runs. Team USA plays next against Canada tomorrow morning in Beijing (actually, tonight at 10:30 EDT).

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

The Orioles open a three-game series tonight at Comerica Field, with Chris Waters making his third major league start against up-and-down Tigers starter Nate Robertson. The Tigers have also been up and down as a team, and need to sweep the series against the O's just to get back to .500.

There was a time when the Tigers were viewed as a model for what the Orioles are trying to do. They suffered through a long postseason drought and lost 119 games in 2003, but developed a strong young pitching staff and made a surprise World Series run two years ago.

The road they took was similar to the one Andy MacPhail has mapped out. Develop your own players. Emphasize organizational pitching. Sign free agent position players to fill the remaining holes when you get in position to compete.

That has worked out okay, but the Tigers have not won the AL Central title during their window of opportunity and this year has been a big disappointment. Nobody in Detroit expected to be looking up at .500 after acquiring young superstars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, and now veteran Gary Sheffield is openly complaining about being stuck in the DH role.

In other words, the best laid plans...

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

Cannot tell a lie. I got so caught up in Michaelmania last night that I forgot to switch back to the Orioles game and missed the entire eight-run eighth inning.

Eight in the eighth? A couple more of those and Dave Trembley may have to legally change his name to Ocho Ocho.

That's the trouble with channel surfing. Sometimes you catch a wave and you just don't want to get off, though I did flip back to watch Hunter on the postgame show. Never miss Jimmy after a win, because he always looks like Santa just dumped the whole sleigh out right in his living room.

While I'm riding this stream of consciousness, I wish I had stuck around long enough to see American gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson go one-two in the all-around, Can't help but feel a little bad for the terrific Chinese gymnasts who were so dominant in the team competition, but they'll still have plenty of Olympic bling to show off on the first day of middle school.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Today's top sports headline in Baltimore:

Phelps wins sixth straight gold medal, sets sixth straight world record

Today's top sports headline in Los Angeles:

Manny Ramirez gets haircut

And it wasn't even a real haircut. Ramirez was told by manager Joe Torre to "clean up" his super-long dreadlocks, but Manny -- being Manny -- went to a local barber shop and had about an inch taken off.

Torre said the other day that he didn't believe Manny was challenging his authority by waiting two weeks to obey the Dodgers dress and grooming code. I wonder what he thinks now.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

With Lou Montanez batting .474 since he was called up from Bowie, I'm not surprised to hear the chorus of calls for him to play every day. He's definitely making a case for more playing time -- those two RBI hits in the same inning tonight sure didn't hurt -- but I'm not convinced this is a you-told-Dave-so situation.

There is room for two schools of thought on the handling of the guy some of you are calling "Sweet Lou."

1. He has suddenly blossomed into a great hitter all these years into his professional career and would be even more valuable to the Orioles if Trembley hadn't held him back by limiting his playing time since his promotion.

2. Trembley has used him judiciously and put him in position to build on his great Double-A numbers by putting him in favorable situations.

I'm going to go with No. 2 for now, but the only way to find out for sure what kind of hitter he is at this level is to throw him into the deep end and see if he can swim. Center field, however, might be too deep right now.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

Today's featured comment comes from Donald Huffman, who takes issue with my contention that it would be counterproductive to bring up top prospect Matt Wieters right now:

Donald's take: You see Schmuck this is where you are a schmuck. The Orioles owe it to their fans, who pay the bills by the way, to put the best possible team on the field at all times. The team that gives them the best chance of winning a game. Bring Wieters up now. If he shows he can't displace Hernandez then he can't be that good anyway.

Pete's take: Don, in the future I expect you to be semi-imaginative if you're going to use my name against me. That was just plain lazy.

On the subject of Wieters, The team certainly does not "owe" it to its fans to rush its top minor league prospects to improve a team that has no chance to win this year. The team owes it to its fans to develop each player so that player helps win the most possible games during his career with the team. Sorry, I think you're wrong on this.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
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So much for my prediction that the Orioles would call somebody up to make the Saturday start that currently has been assigned to Dennis Sarfate. The word out of Cleveland today is that Sarfate definitely will make that start.

The Orioles undoubtedly were hoping Hayden Penn would bounce back quickly from his sore shoulder and be available to join the major league rotation, but that hasn't happened. Orioles beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec reports that the O's medical staff is doing double duty today.

Top draft choice Brian Matusz is in town for a physical and he's got company. Penn also has come into town to have that shoulder looked at by team doctors.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
Hernandez C
Millar 1B
Payton CF
Montanez LF
Castro SS

Cabrera SP (8-7, 4.78)

More media saturation: If you can't get enough Schmuck, I'll be filling for Steve Davis again tonight on Sportsline (WBAL, 1090AM) from 6-9. You can also listen to the program by going to WBAL.com and clicking on Listen.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Doug M wrote in to point out that I am not the inventor of the word Blangst, which is a combination of blog and angst that showed up a couple of times when he Googled the term.

My definitition is slightly different than the others, but I definitely am chastened and will do more research in the future before taking credit for something. Can't believe it. Same thing happened to me with the microchip.

Still, there seems to be a lot of blangst over whether to promote Matt Wieters to the majors either now or in September. I've got no big problem with a September call-up, but don't see any reason to sacrifice significant service time just to get him up here now after a relatively short stay at Double-A for sheer entertainment value.

If you want to see him that bad, Bowie's right down Highway 3.

Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

Not me, of course. I'm talking about Orioles beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec, who worked well into last night and early this morning to determine that the Orioles had gotten close enough to an agreement with top draft choice Brian Matusz to bring him into Baltimore for a physical.

The likelihood of a positive outcome is up to about 98 percent. I'm guessing the only way he doesn't sign now is if he shows up for his appointment with the team's medical staff missing his left arm.

There has been plenty of blog angst about the situation, which has prompted me to develop a new term:

Blangst, n.,: Internet-fueled anxiety about a situation that increases proportionately with the number of bloggers and posters who write about it.

I'll be sending it off to the Merriam-Websters people later today for inclusion in the next edition of their dictionary.

Haven't heard the exact size of Matusz's signing bonus yet, but wouldn't it be a little karmic if it turns out to be $4.5 million, which is just about the amount the Orioles saved by trading Chad Bradford to the Tampa Bay Rays?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

Since I know you never get tired of the antics of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson...and since the Bengals play the Ravens in the season opener at M&T Bank Stadium, I thought you'd enjoy this:

There's a blog item circulating through cyberspace that Johnson -- who has been fined as much as $5,000 for putting his nickname, "Ocho Cinco," on the back of his jersey -- is taking steps to change his name legally to Chad Ocho Cinco so the NFL cannot keep him from wearing his preferred moniker on his back.

Sounds like a pretty good idea. Reminds me of the time I considered doing the same thing because of my penchant for putting up a snowman (for you non-golfers, that would be an 8) on every Par 5. Fortunately, somebody talked me out of it or I might now be known as Ocho Schmucko.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Norfolk: Oscar Salazar had three hits and three RBIs and Eider Torres also had three hits in Norfolk's 7-6 victory over Durham last night. Salazar raised his average to .315 and set a franchise record with his 42nd double. Middle reliever Kam Mickolio recorded his fifth hold since his promotion to Triple-A and improved his ERA to 0.55 and International League Pitcher of the Week Jim Miller pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save.

Bowie: Matt Wieters refuses to cool off. He went 2-for-3 in last night's 10-2 victory over Trenton to raise his average to .372. David Hernandez continued to pitch well, giving up two runs over five innings for the win. He's now 8-4 with a 2.59 ERA and leads the Eastern League with 150 strikeouts in 125 innings.

Frederick: Third baseman Brandon Snyder had four hits and an RBI in the Keys' 8-4 victory over Potomac. He leads the team with a .310 average and 73 RBIs.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

Got a call from Sun beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec in Cleveland a few minutes ago with an update on Jeremy Guthrie. Turns out, his back began to stiffen up in the sixth inning and he told manager Dave Trembley that it had worsened during the seventh.

Trembley had no choice but to remove him from the game. Fortunately, Jamie Walker and Rocky Cherry held on in the eighth and the O's scored four times to make life easy for George Sherrill in the ninth.

Guthrie, who routinely sports a hot pack on his lower back, will probably make his next start on schedule.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

I'm guessing everybody was thinking the same thing I was when Dave Trembley pulled Jeremy Guthrie after seven innings with the Orioles up by just a run:

What, does this guy have some kind of career death wish?

Pulling Guthrie out of his best games is a tenuous business, something Sam Perlozzo found out the hard way when he removed Jeremy with a seemingly safe five-run lead on Mother's Day last year and hastened the end of his Orioles managerial career. Trembley did it anyway, even though Guthrie had thrown just 101 pitches and that was 101 more pitches than anybody wanted to see Jamie Walker throw with a one-run lead.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Today's featured comment/question comes from Slim Charles, who obviously could be my twin:

Slim's question: Can you give us an update on Team USA baseball in the Olympics? Mostly just Jake Arrieta, although I wouldn't mind hearing about the rest of them.

Pete's reply: The United States lost it's opening game, 8-7, to South Korea today. For more info, here's a link to the Associated Press account.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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The Manny Ramirez saga continues. The newest Dodger has been under orders from the team to trim his flowing dreadlocks since Aug. 1, but has yet to make good on an agreement with manager Joe Torre to "clean up" his interesting hairdo.

Columnist Wallace Matthews of Newsday has dubbed it the "dreadlock deadlock,'' but Torre insists that the situation will be resolved soon and claims it is not an attempt by the mercurial Ramirez to test his authority.

We'll see about that. The word in LA is that Ramirez will be getting a trim this week at a local hair cuttery called Fantastic Sams, and somehow it's going to benefit the team's charitable foundation.

Rules apparently are rules, but the Dodgers definitely are sending out a mixed message on Manny's personal grooming. Souvenir stands will soon sell replicas of Manny's signature bandanna with fake dreadlocks attached.

All Schmuck all the time: Listen to me tonight from 6-9 on WBAL (1090 AM). If you're out of broadcast range, go to www.wbal.com and click on the icon that says "Listen."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
Millar 1B
Scott LF
Hernandez C
Payton CF
Castro SS

Guthrie SP

Deep thought for tonight: It's going to be amazing how well the defense looks when it's playing behind Guthrie. Wait, isn't that supposed to be the other way around?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

With a couple days left until the Orioles lose the right to sign top draft pick Brian Matusz, I'm sensing some frustration in the Warehouse. These things often get done after a lot of teeth-gnashing, so I still think it's a better than 60 percent chance the Orioles get him under contract, but it's not out of the question that they'll end up with another high draft choice for next year.

Nobody wants to see that, and a failure to sign the kid is going to viewed as another sign of the Angelos Apocalypse, even if Matusz and his agent are being totally unreasonable in their demands.

There's a "Give him whatever it takes" faction out there, but it's not really as simple as that. There is a number the O's won't -- and shouldn't -- go over, as well as conditions that they may not be willing to accept.

The negotiations have been characterized as a game of chicken, and that's a fair characterization. There are a few other teams in the same boat. One more day and you'll be able to cut the suspense with a knife. Brian Matusz

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (35)
        

All I've been hearing the past few weeks is how tough a camp John Harbaugh is running at McDaniel College, so I showed up today and can't believe what I'm seeing...and feeling.

The temperature is about 75 degrees with little humidity and there's a nice breeze and a light cloud cover. I don't care about the added contact this year, I'm pretty sure the players will happily take a few hits to avoid those 90-degree, 95 percent humidity workouts.

The only thing missing from this "Camp Creampuff" is Brian Billick's signature straw hat sticking up above the crowd on the field. Harbaugh doesn't even need sunscreen.

Meanwhile, the one person really struggling with the elements is me, because I'm writing this with my laptop perched on a fence post. If you want confirmation of that, WHFS sports host Ken Weinman is heckling me about it right now.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Bowie starter Brad Bergeson continues to make his case for a late-season promotion, pitching 6 1/3 innings and giving up two runs last night to improve to 15-3 with a victory over Carl Pavano and the Trenton Thunder. Matt Weiters had a double and a triple to raise his average to .366.

Pavano, who was pursued as a free agent by the Orioles and signed a $39.95 million contract with the New York Yankees in 2005, was making his second rehab start as part of a lengthy comeback from reconstructive elbow surgery. He gave up five runs over 4 1/3 innings, three of them on a pair of home runs by Baysox center fielder Sebastien Boucher.

Brandon Snyder, Billy Rowell and Chris Vinyard homered in Frederick's 8-7 victory over Potomac.

Triple-A Norfolk had the night off.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

By now, you've probably all heard the strange saga of Olympic legend Mark Spitz, who complained bitterly to the Agence France-Presse that he was not invited to take part in the coronation of Michael Phelps at the Beijing Games.

"They voted me one of the top five Olympians in all time," Spitz said. "Some of them are dead. But they invited the other ones to go to the Olympics, but not me. Yes, I am a bit upset about it."

Can't blame him for that, but I also can't help but think there's more to this story than showed up in the AFP account. What, the IOC was weighing possible candidates to hang the gold medals around Phelps' neck and Spitz didn't finish in the top eight?

Don't think so. If this is truly some kind of oversight, you'd think something would happen in the next day or two to get Spitz into the act. Got to think we'll hear more about this as Phelps gets closer to breaking his record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics.

Three to go.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

When Dave Trembley was asked during his postgame MASN interview with Buck Martinez what he thought made the difference in his team's latest unsightly loss, he seemed pretty sure of himself:

"I think the key to the game was not getting the last out of the first inning,'' he said.

Fair enough. Garrett Olson got the first two outs of the first inning, but the Indians went from down two runs to up two runs before he could get off the mound. Hard to dispute the significance of a four-run rally in a game decided by two.

Of course, you could also point to the four errors -- the second night in a row that the defense fell apart -- though Trembley again seemed to look past that to keep the focus on the club's rocky pitching. Maybe he's still trolling for the roster move that did not come today.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Today's second featured comment comes from Maxmorf, who asks so many questions in his post that I decided to let you answer them, since I'm busy entertaining a large regional audience on WBAL (1090 AM) right now:

Maxmorf's take: Brian Matusz will sign. He may pull a Wieters, but he'll sign. The bigger issue is, what's next for the Orioles?

Will Brian Roberts be traded in the offseason?

Can Lou Montanez be an every day player?

Will Melvin Mora avoid playing baseball matador, going "Ole" with is glove?

Can any remember when Walker actually got lefthanded batters out?

Is Ramon Hernandez's throwing arm weaker than the U.S. dollar?

Don't Buck Martinez and Jim Hunter look like the "BEFORE" part of an ad for Grecian formula?

Does anyone have Tippy Martinez's cell phone number (or at least Kevin Hickey's? I'd pay cash money to hear any conversation between Millar and Hickey,they are both, as Hickey once described himself, guys who "get psyched about getting on the team bus.")

Finally, about this 50 millionth fan business: What about the poor schmuck (no offense) who is fan number 49,999,999 -- he/she gets bupkis? And what if said fan 49,999,999 is some adorable moppet who says he's been going to O's games "all his life" (all of 4 years...awwwww), only to be kicked out of the way by Joe "Red Sox Nation" Troglodyte who is so drunk he can't stop screaming "NOMMAARRR!" for no apparent reason?

These be weighty matters, and I'm not talking about your lunch bucket, my friend...

My take: For the record, my lunch bucket has been empty for about eight hours. Please send help.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
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Here's tonight's Orioles lineup for the second game of the four-game series against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field, formerly nicknamed "The Jake."

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff 1B
Hernandez C
Millar DH
Montanez LF
Payton CF
Castro SS

Olson SP

Shameless self-promotion dept: I'm filling in for WBAL's Steve Davis on Sportsline from 6-9 p.m. My special guest will be Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. You can go to www.WBAL.com and click the icon that says Listen.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

The signing of 37-year-old Lorenzo Neal might not seem like much at first glance, but it solves two problems at once. Neal provides much-needed depth at fullback following the release of Justin Green yesterday, and possibly could free up La Ron McClain to occasionally act as a 260-pound tailback.

That might be helpful in the short-term, with injured Willis McGahee figuring to miss almost all of training camp and rookie Ray Rice looking like the Lone Ranger in the offensive backfield. For the rest of the story, here's Jamison Hensley's account from training camp in Westminster.

Lorenzo Neal

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

If the Orioles don't call up a pitcher today (And why stop at one?), I'm going to fly to Cleveland and offer my services. I'm pretty sure I can face five batters and get no one out...and, despite what you may have heard, $390,000 per year would be a significant raise for me.

The starting rotation is in tatters and the bullpen has gone so far south I could have sworn I saw Jamie Walker in a long conversation with some guy with a pitchfork. When Jamie reels off 10 straight scoreless appearances, you'll know what happened.

Seriously, it has reached the point where you can see the exasperation in the face of Dave Trembley every time the camera finds him in the Orioles dugout. In fact, if I were a high-ranking MASN programming guy, I'd seriously consider unveiling an "Exasper-Cam" and a "Frustrat-O-Meter" on upcoming broadcasts. Last time I looked, there was still about 40 percent of my screen that doesn't have some kind of fancy (for regional cable) graphic.

Today's gut feeling: The next man up will be Kam Mickolio, who has pitched very well since moving up to Triple-A. No inside knowledge here. Just a hunch, but I was right about Rocky Cherry.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Negotiations between the Orioles and top draft choice Brian Matusz obviously have reached a critical stage -- critical enough that Matusz and his agent have begun a modest public relations campaign to assure their side of the story is heard.

Matusz e-mailed Sun beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec late last night to say both sides are working hard to reach an agreement, and that he would sign as soon as he gets "a fair (but not record-breaking) deal." Check out Jeff's story.

Don't know how that's going to play with the Orioles, but all you have to do is look at the last two major league box scores to see how important it is that they get this kid signed and continue to improve organizational pitching depth.

If I were betting on this, I'd say it's still 70-30 the kid comes in, but with less than three days until the Orioles lose the right to sign him, it's fair to start sweating. Of course, if it's over 65 degrees, I already am, but that's a different issue.

Don't be surprised if the rhetoric ramps up in the next 24 hours. These things can get tense, but at least there's finally some noise.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

Yes, today's featured post is too early in the morning to fairly reflect the mood of the masses, but since I make the rules on this blog -- and break them regularly -- I can always post another great comment later in the day. Here's John Fuller, speculating about something we all have probably thought about over the past week or so:

John's take: While attending the O's game last Sunday, the scoreboard indicated that they were about 40,000-plus fans short of identifying the 50 millionth fan to attend an Orioles game at Camden Yards. Checking the O's schedule, I noted that the next three home games are against the Boston Red Sox. Obviously, the lucky 50 millionth guy or gal will be announced at this series.

Having said that, how maddening would it be if that 50 Millionth fan is wearing a Red Sox Nation cap and shirt? As arrogant and obnoxious as they usually are at Camden Yards (Let's go Red Sox, let's go) this would be an ignominious and terminal irony.

Pete's take: Ignominious is a pretty strong word which, interestingly enough, has never appeared in The Schmuck Stops Here before, but it certainly is going to rankle some Orioles fans if somebody in Red Sox regalia ends up holding that giant cardboard $50,000 check. Maybe we can convince Peter Angelos to go to his bank and do a Stop Payment on it.

I take it back. If he could do that, he would have done it to Albert Belle.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Recently demoted Norfolk pitcher Radhames Liz didn't go down to Triple-A to pout. He turned in another solid start last night, giving up just one run on five hits over six innings. He also struck out eight, but the Tides were shut out, 2-0, by the Toledo Mud Hens.

Frederick second baseman Miguel Abreu stayed red hot with a 2-for-4 performance in last night's 6-1 loss to Potomac. He has 22 hits in his last 11 games to raise his average to .284. Reliever Ryan Ouellette allowed just an infield hit over three scoreless innings.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Almost spit out my corn flakes when I read how Melvin Mora answered his critics in Jeff Zrebiec's Orioles notebook. He was responding to the skepticism that followed him out of spring training after two years of declining offensive numbers.

"I don't care what people say,'' he bristled. "People talking about that can kiss my butt. That's what I say. People don't say that I was going to hit 20 home runs. People didn't say Kevin Millar was going to hit 20 homers. They didn't say Aubrey Huff was going to hit 300. What are they going to say now?"

There will be no derriere smooching here. Melvin's strange defensive performance last night notwithstanding, he's doing an amazing job of driving in runners in scoring position. Of course, the guy has quintuplets, so we already know he can make the most of an at-bat.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (34)
        

Got a sneaking suspicion the Orioles infielders will be on the field early tomorrow to go over some spring training drills. Dave Trembley does not have a lot of patience for the kind of brain cramps that turned a late-inning lead into a second consecutive defensive embarrassment.

Can't say I remember ever seeing a catcher chase a runner all the way back to third while the third baseman and shortstop were trying to figure out which one of them should be in position to take the return throw. Not on a rundown play that was about as routine as a rundown can get. Well, not in a major league game, at least.

Melvin Mora and Alex Cintron looked lost on the play, and that wasn't the only funda-meltdown. Later in the inning, Mora couldn't come up with a sharp ground ball and Kevin Millar made a poor decision at first base that allowed an important run to score.

Oh, and just a sidenote: I'm no longer surprised Jamie Walker cleared waivers.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

I've had several posters asking if the Dennis Sarfate Experiment is finally over. I'm guessing the Orioles will bring in another young starter to pitch Saturday's game against the Tigers at Comerica Park, but we should be clear on something.

The Sarfate experiment was supposed to be over a few days ago. When the Orioles brought up reliever Rocky Cherry, the original plan was for him to stick around a few days and be replaced by starter Hayden Penn. Of course, Penn came up sore again and Sarfate had to remain in the rotation for tonight's game.

Can't believe the doom and gloom from TerryP however. He's ready to declare the offseason a failure because Sarfate hasn't morphed into a No. 3 starter and a couple of the other players in the Miggy deal are hurt. Matt Albers and Troy Patton still are considered solid pitching prospects and the deal wasn't aimed at turning the Orioles into a contender this year. It's a little early to quit on MacPhail.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Today's featured comment comes from Billy O'Dell:

Billy's take: Pete, was looking through the Sun's listing of countries and their winning medal totals. Don't you think the local paper should include in the list of countries Towson? Though not technically a country, I do believe Towson proper (now that is an oxymoron) is bigger than the Vatican. And when the Sun does list the medal totals for the Republic of Towson, don't let them forget Towson Catholic's own Carmelo along with Michael and Katie.

Pete's take: I'll give you this much, The Republic of Towson would end up somewhere in the middle of the medal standings, but I talked to Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith at the Olympic rally the other day and he didn't say anything about seceding from the union.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

The polls just closed and the results have already been tabulated, thanks to the fancy Diebold touch-screen machine I just bought on eBay. Can't vouch for it's accuracy, but if it's okay for the state of Maryland, that's good enough for me.

Starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie would be the Most Valuable Oriole if the election were held today, according to my highly scientific blog poll. He received the most first place votes (36) and the most points (239), based on a 5-3-1 point system for the three-place ballot.

It wasn't a walkoff, however. Guthrie got 36 of the exactly 100 legitimate first-place votes cast (see illegitimate first-place votes below). Aubrey Huff got 21 and Brian Roberts got 20. The only other player in double figures was Nick Markakis with 14. Guthrie and Huff were much closer in the final point totals, which take into account second and third-place votes.

Baltimore Sun Orioles beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec, who got this ball rolling on my WBAL radio show on Sunday, expressed some surprise at the outcome.

"It surprises me a little,'' he said. "I'm always a proponent of giving team MVP awards to everyday players. But it's hard to argue about Guthrie. The guy is among the league leaders in quality starts and has been the only constant on the staff."

Here's the final count, with first place votes in parentheses and the point totals:

Player
Jeremy Guthrie (36) 239
Aubrey Huff (21) 213
Brian Roberts (20) 150
Nick Markakis (14) 140
George Sherrill (5) 33
Jim Johnson (1) 16
Melvin Mora (1) 6
Kevin Millar 6
Adam Jones 3
Luke Scott 1

Others receiving votes: Dave Trembley, Andy MacPhail, Terry Crowley, Matt Wieters, Erik Bedard, Miguel Tejada.

Big Al gets special mention for his first place vote, which went to former Seattle Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Here's the Orioles lineup for the opening game of the four-game series against the Indians at Jacobs Field.

Lineup highlight: Juan Castro was in the original lineup, but was scratched a couple of hours before gametime, presumably because of the groin strain that forced him out of action on Saturday night..

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
Millar 1B
Scott LF
Hernandez C
Payton CF
Cintron SS

Sarfate SP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

Nothing's official yet, but I'm getting the sense that starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie is getting a lot of love in our premature Most Valuable Oriole poll. Guthrie's having a great season, even if the won-loss record doesn't fully reflect his performance. I don't know if that makes him the most valuable guy on the team, however.

We're going to keep accepting votes until 5 p.m. (EDT). List your top three choices in order. If you list five, I'll give you extra credit toward your grade at the end of the semester, but I'm only assigning points for the first three. If you choose only one, I will count it as a first-place vote. And if you vote for Brian Roberts in all three spots (and, yes, I mean you Gingersnap), it's only going to count as one first-place vote.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)
        

Don't want to steal any thunder from The Sun's Olympic team of Rick Maese and Kevin Van Valkenburg, so keep checking out their blog -- From Baltimore to Beijing -- but I just wanted to make a few observations about last night's heart-stopping 4x100 relay.

1. It was heartstopping. Think I already said that.

2. I'm worried that Michael Phelps may have expended way too much energy cheering home Jason Lezak during his amazing comeback in the final 50 meters.

3. Lezak now joins the list of Orange County (Ca.) natives to become beloved in Baltimore. I'm the other one, of course.

4. Don't know how Debbie Phelps is going to handle six more events.

5. I'm going to paraphrase a great line from one of my favorite movies -- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly -- to sum up what happened to the French relay team that bragged it was going to "smash" the Americans:

"If you're going to swim, swim. Don't talk."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Don't usually deal in rumors, but I've been told by somebody from another organization that Jamie Walker has cleared waivers, which could mean the Orioles are getting ready to move him.

No way to confirm that because waivers are confidential, and -- anyway -- it's fairly routine to pass players through in August. The reason the Walker whisper got my attention was because Andy MacPhail just dealt his right-handed counterpart, Chad Bradford, in a waiver deal that recouped $4.5 million in payroll. Walker is due a similar amount for the remainder of his contract, but if he wasn't claimed, another team might be looking for the Orioles to pick up some of that.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

O's beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec touched off a debate on my radio show yesterday over who would be elected Orioles MVP if the voting were to take place right now.

Zrebiec insisted that it should be Nick Markakis, based on his strong all-around performance and, evidently, some kind of man crush.

Producer Greg Bianco went with Jeremy Guthrie, who has been the most consistent pitcher on the Orioles staff.

I chose Aubrey Huff, not just because he leads the team in home runs and is on pace for 105 RBI, but because he was the guy who put the swagger back into the Orioles offense.

You could make a case for all three -- and I'm sure some you will be able to make a case against them. It's also possible to argue in favor of George Sherrill, Brian Roberts, Melvin Mora, Jim Johnson and even Kevin Millar (if you give points for unusual grooming). Can't remember the last time the Orioles had six or seven players having good enough seasons to warrant MVP consideration.

When the Orioles hand out the MVP ballots during the final week of the season, there will be spaces for three choices, but why wait?

Here's my Top Three:

1. Huff.
2. Sherrill
3. Guthrie

What's yours?

Remember, we're not predicting who will be the MVP at the end of the season. We're casting our ballots now, based on the performance of the players through Sunday's game. I'll add up all the votes, assigning five points for each first-place vote, three for each second and one for each third, and announce the Aug. 11 Orioles MVP tonight.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (95)
        

Today's featured comment comes from Mick:

Mick's take: Can you guys find someone other than Millar to quote? I'd actually like to hear funny asides from Orioles, not Red Sox.

My take: That's going to be tough, since the funniest guys on the team other than Millar are Aubrey Huff (Rays), Jamie Walker (Tigers) and George Sherrill (Mariners). Guess I'm going to have to get some of the young guys to start watching Comedy Central.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Dave Trembley gave some credit to the Texas Rangers for busting out of short offensive slump to score 15 runs in the series finale. If it's any consolation, the Orioles still outscored them for the series, 25-16.

"(Ian) Kinsler and (Josh) Hamilton obviously are having great seasons and they kind of make it go for them."

Chris Waters struggled with his command and gave up six runs over four innings. He now has a major league ERA -- 4.50 -- which perfectly reflects one good outing and one bad one.

"Waters was a different pitcher today. A lot was up. In Anaheim, I don't think he there were four or five pitches above the knees, and today, I don't think there were more thann four below the knees."

Finally, Trembley wasn't going to heap the whole thing on shortstop Alex Cintron, who had a dismal afternoon.

"Obviously, there were some plays that shoulda, coulda, woulda...but you've got to make pitches and you've got to shut them down. That's probably one he'd like to do over...I'm not a negative person. I'm not going to take a shot at him. I've seen him have better days."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Well, that was three hours of your life you're never going to get back. The game felt so long, Hayden Penn recovered from his sore shoulder and still had plenty of time to trip over his suitcase, which has now been packed for three years.

If you thought you couldn't wait for today's game to end, imagine how Alex Cintron felt. He lost a pop up in the sun in the Rangers' four-run first inning, had a soft line drive skip off the top of his glove in their six-run fifth, hit into a double play in the eighth and generally just seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time all day.

When he grounded into the eighth-inning DP, the crowd let him have it.

He had a rough day, all right, but when the other team scores 15 runs, there's plenty of blame to spread around.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

...Chris Waters looked like Cy Young compared to the guys who have followed him out there. Can't believe Trembley took him out when he was pitching so well. It's the Mother's Day Massacre all over again.

See, the resemblance is uncanny!

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Sometimes, you learn more about an inexperienced pitcher by what happens after he faces some adversity than you might during the best performance of his life. Chris Waters got bounced around in the first inning like me in a stairwell, but give him some credit for not collapsing like one of those lawn chairs I have to buy by the dozen.

His pitching line's not going to look good regardless -- especially after Ian Kinsler took him deep in the fourth -- but he's not the first guy to get tagged for a couple of home runs on an August afternoon at the Yards.

He's out after throwing 90 pitches (56 strikes) and giving up six runs -- five of them on two swings -- and Randor Bierd is warming up for the fifth with the game tied at six. Stay tuned.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Here's today's Orioles lineup, courtesy of Sun reporter Childs Walker:

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
Millar 1B
Payton CF
Montanez LF
Cintron SS
Quiroz C

Waters SP

Juan Castro has been playing terrific defense at shortstop, but suffered a slight groin strain in last night's game, so Cintron is in there today.

Shameless radio plug: If you're near a radio before the game, listen to my show, WBAL Sports Sunday (1090 AM) with O's beat writer Jeff Zrebiec at noon. We'll all hook up at the ballpark later.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Like all of you, I can't wait to see what Chris Waters can do for an encore today after Tuesday night's unbelieveble eight-inning performance against the Angels. Apparently, his new teammates feel the same way as they try to complete a sweep of the three-game series against the Rangers.

"We've got to continue this tomorrow,'' Kevin Millar said after the O's second nine-run offensive explosion. "Hopefully, H2O will come through for us."

So, Waters apparently has a new nickname to go along with his first major league victory.

Millar singled in the first run of last night's game, and it would have been two RBI if Nick Markakis had not froze between second and third. Nick was apologetic, but that didn't stop Millar from comically throwing him under the bus.

"Nick did a great job of freezing on that line drive to right field to stay out of the double play,'' Millar said.

The RBI single Millar gave him three hits in his first six at-bats of the series and four RBI, but he went hitless with three strikeouts in his final four at-bats of the game.

"You get tired of driving in runs sometimes,'' he said.

Not Markakis. He hit a three-run homer in the second inning and has 10 RBI in the last five games. Or Melvin Mora, who had four more RBI last night and has 73 for the season.

Early lineup hint: Look for rookie Lou Montanez to make his second major league start and spell Luke Scott in left field today against Rangers left-hander Matt Harrison.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Today's featured comment comes from Ryan:

Ryan's question: How far is David Hernandez up on the O's ladder right now? He has not gotten the run support that Bergeson has but he has pitched more innings, has a lower ERA and His K's per 9 is amazing, like 16.

Pete's take: Hernandez has impressed some people, but he hasn't been prominent in the call-up speculation because there are pitchers like Hayden Penn, Brad Bergeson and Chris Waters who are lined up ahead of him on the runway. Talked to an O's official who thinks he will get here, but he still has to prove his solid Double-A stuff will play in prime time.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Dave Trembley was singing the praises of Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora after a game in which he could have thrown a shout out to just about everybody:

"Those of you that have been around Markakis have come to understand what kind of player this guy is and how he has a real good sense of the etiquette of the game, which is one of the things we're trying to get done around here. I think we've made a tremendous amount of improvement in that area because of the guys that we have.

"Two things: Markakis and Mora. Markakis is (on base) with the bases loaded, Millar has a great at-bat and takes the ball the other way. And not very good baserunning on Nicky's part. He cost Millar an RBI...Markakis comes in and sits down next to me on the bench and he says, 'Dave, that was terrible base running on my part, I owe you one.' He went up to Millar and told him, 'I owe you one too.' I said to Nicky, 'Hey Nicky, at least you're man enough to, one, know it, and two, to admit it.' He says, 'Dave, I'll make it up to you.' Next at-bat he hits a three-run (homer). OK. That ought to tell you about Markakis.

"Mora got some big hits tonight, played great at third, but the third time he was on first base and there were two outs and (there was) a pop-up, he was standing on third base when the ball was caught. That ought to be an indicator of what's going on around here."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Daniel Cabrera left the game tonight after scattering just four hits over six scoreless innings, giving way to newly recalled right-hander Rocky Cherry. It's probably fair to ask why Dave Trembley removed him after six, but Cabrera was laboring at the end and had to work out of a bases-loaded jam to get off the field with the shutout still alive.

He threw 102 pitches, so nobody would have been the wiser if he had come out for the seventh, but his pitch count was high enough to ascertain that he wasn't anywhere in range of throwing a complete game.

The guy can make you crazy, but tonight was one of his good nights. With DCab, you can't really ask for more than that.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Aubrey Huff just tied his career high by hitting safely in his 17th straight game. That also equals the Orioles season high hitting streak, set by Nick Markakis from June 22 to July 10. Huff's double gave him 28 hits in 65 at-bats on the streak, which works out to a .431 average.

Markakis hit a three-run homer in the second inning, his 17th home run of the season and second hit of the game. He has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games and is 20 for 54 over that span (through his second at-bat tonight). That works out to a .370 batting average.

Daniel Cabrera has a shutout in the fourth inning. Continue holding your breath.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Orioles all-time saves leader Gregg Olson was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony along with long-time traveling secretary Phil Itzoe and the late superfan "Wild" Bill Hagy, then he and Itzoe stopped by the media interview room a few minutes ago. Here are some of their comments:

Olson: "To be included with Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson. I don't think I've had an honor that will compare and I don't think I ever will."

Itzoe, on his son Josh's introductory remarks: "That was one of the great moments of my life. He also gave the introduction at yesterday's luncheon. Obviously, I'm prejudiced, but I thought he was absolutely sensational."

Olson, on his most memorable moments of 1989: "Two...my first real save in Oakland and me screwing up the game in No. 160 by thinking too much."

Olson, on his infamous wild pitch in Toronto: "The stretchy guy from Fantastic Four couldn't have stopped that pitch. I learned a lot that night looking across the clubhouse and seeing Jamie Quirk saying he should have had it. Jamie was man enough to take the blame, but it was 100 percent my fault. I remembered that every time I screwed up the rest of my career and tried to follow that lead and say it was my fault."

Two class acts and one of the great Baltimore characters. One beautiful evening.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

"Hey baby, just pretend I'm John Edwards."

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Manager Dave Trembley said during his pre-game media briefing not to expect Double-A call-up Lou Montanez to become a regular starter in the outfield any time soon.

"He's the fourth outfielder on this team, but he will play,'' Trembley said. "He deserves a shot. He put up great humbers at Bowie, but this is the big leagues. Luke Scott is playing with an Achilles and a problem with his arch. I will be reasonable with getting him out of there and reasonable with getting Montanez in there. But if people are waiting for him to play seven days in a row, I don't think that's realistic."

Montanez will not play a lot in center field. Jay Payton will continue to play regularly in place of injured Adam Jones.

"I think he (Montanez) can swing the bat. I really do. But to put him in center field? He played eight games in center field at Bowie. This is not the Instructional League. This is the big leagues. We'll work with him. He'll get out there, but to put him in center field in a bunch of unfamiliar ballparks would not be fair...We're going to be fair with him."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

Orioles

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff 1B
Millar DH
Scott LF
Hernandez C
Payton CF
Castro SS

Cabrera SP

Rangers

Kinsler 2B
Catalanotto LF
Young SS
Hamilton DH
Byrd CF
Saltalamacchia C
Davis 1B
Ellison RF
Vazquez 3B

Padilla SP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Gregg Olson will be inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame before tonight's game, but I promised yesterday to reminisce about his "Giambi" moment back in 1991.

The Otter had a particularly frustrating performance in Minnesota, and snapped a little bit on his way back from the mound at the Minneapolis Metrodome. The HTS camera in the dugout well wheeled around to focus on him and he flipped the it the bird -- not realizing he was making an obscene gesture right into the homes of thousands of Orioles fans.

It would have been newsworthy if the baby-faced Olson wasn't one of the nicest guys on the planet, but he had just given up a game-losing bloop single the Twins pinch hitter Randy Bush and he was fuming.

Afterward, he was still upset when I approached him at his locker. He was even defiant, complaining that the camera should not have been so obtrusive. I got my surprisingly inflammatory quote and started to walk away, then thought better of it.

"Gregg," I said, "could you say that again, but start it out by saying 'I want to apologize to the fans of Baltimore..."

It wasn't great journalism on my part, but he was still a kid and he was digging himself a hole and I probably would do it again.

Here's the actual quote from the June 5, 1991 edition of The Sun:

"I apologize to anyone I offended," Olson said. "I'm really sorry it happened and I won't do it again, but I don't think it's anybody's business what I do to myself in the dugout during a frustrating moment. I don't think the cameras should be in there."

Congratulations again to Gregg on his great day. Same to traveling Secretary Phil Itzoe and the late "Wild" Bill Hagy, who also will be honored during tonight's pregame ceremony.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Contrary to earlier reports, Hayden Penn's second aborted call-up was not the result of the bat shard that stabbed him in the leg during a brief outing last Saturday night. Penn came back to pitch five scoreless innings on Tuesday, then came up with a sore shoulder that will force him to miss at least one start at Triple-A Norfolk.

The kid really can't catch a break. He was headed here when he took that shot in the leg. He also was -- according to sources -- going to be called up to pitch in one of the first two games of the four-game series that starts Monday night in Cleveland.

Instead, Dennis Sarfate will remain in the rotation for the time being and pitch on Monday night. Penn could still get a promotion if the shoulder soreness does not persist, but he's starting to look like a September call-up.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

Top prospect Matt Wieters went 3-for-3 with two home runs and six RBI in Bowie's 10-1 victory over the New Britain Rock Cats. He's hitting .368 with nine homers and 39 RBI in 41 games at Double-A.

Norfolk 1B Oscar Salazar had two doubles and drove in a run, raising his batting average to .315 in a 9-3 loss to the Toledo Mud Hens.

Frederick right-hander Kyle Schmidt pitched six scoreless innings and Brandon Snyder had two hits and two RBI in a 7-1 victory over Wilmington.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Jeremy Guthrie followed up his complete game last Saturday in Seattle with another strong outing, giving up just five hits over seven innings, prompting Dave Trembley to endorse him as a legitimate staff ace...and not just because he's at the head of the Orioles beleaguered rotation.

"Jeremy Guthrie, I think, is in a position now, his due is coming. He's getting recognized as a legitimate top-of-the-order rotation guy for any team in the major leagues. He's for real."

Kevin Millar hit his 17th and 18th home runs in consecutive at-bats, giving him and Aubrey Huff a total of 40 for the season. Trembley claims he is not surprised.

"Those guys are experienced guys and go out there with a plan. They really prepare. I came in at 6:30 and every one of the video screens had somebody in front of it looking at (Texas starter Luis) Mendoza."

Also receiving votes: Aubrey Huff extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a third-inning single and Luke Scott tied a career high with three runs scored.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

It was either the Orioles game or the Olympic opening ceremonies tonight and I chose to watch Jeremy Guthrie open the three-game series against the Texas Rangers at Camden Yards. So, I guess I should explain why I chose Baltimore over Beijing.

Off the top of my head, I can think of a number of good reasons:

1. If you've seen one giant fireworks show, you've seen them all.

2. I've been to the Green Monster. In my book, there is no greater wall than that.

3. Wouldn't have missed Kevin Millar's 17th and 18th home runs for all the tea in...England.

4. The Sun didn't send me.

Once I heard that Chinese officials were going to restrict internet access and order local hotels and restaurants to remove all dishes containing dogmeat from their menus, that just kind of took all the fun out of it for me. I mean, what's the point of going to China if you can't look up pictures of Pamela Anderson on the Web or go into a restaurant and say "I'll have the lox and beagle."

That said, Sun staffers Rick Maese and Kevin Van Valkenburg are in Beijing, working their tails off to bring you up-to-the minute reports from the games -- particularly the exploits of local athletes (and not just Michael and Katie) -- so read their reports around the clock here on baltimoresun.com and jump over to their Olympic blog http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/specialevents/blog/ when you get done with me.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

The Orioles filled the roster spot vacated by Chad Bradford by calling up right-hander Rocky Cherry from Norfolk. Cherry made 28 of his 30 minor league appearances at the Triple-A level and had an 0-1 record and a 2.89 ERA.

The original plan was for him to be up for a few days and be replaced by Hayden Penn for the Cleveland series, but Penn is still banged up so Dennis Sarfate will remain in the rotation and pitch on Monday and Garrett Olson will move back to Tuesday night. Chris Waters, as expected, will stay on turn and pitch Sunday.

The lineups

Orioles

Roberts 2B
Markakis RF
Mora 3B
Huff DH
MIllar 1B
Scott LF
Hernandez C
Payton CF
Castro SS

Guthrie SP

Rangers

Vazquez 2B
Catalanoto LF*
Young SS
Hamilton CF
Byrd RF
Boggs DH
Laird C
Davis 1B
Metcalf 3B

Mendoza SP

*Late change.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

If you're still scratching your head about the mathematical equation in the previous post, here's the long version: Can No. 35 at 39 equal 20 victories?

Mike Mussina dazzled the Texas Rangers yesterday to record his 15th victory of the year and put himself in great position to win 20 games for the first time in his career. He'll should have 10 more starts to get the remaining five victories.

Obviously, that would put him very much in the running for the American League Cy Young Award, but he would be a much stronger candidate if he didn't have to face his old teammates this year.

Moose is 15-7 with a 3.27 ERA, which is pretty impressive. Take away his two losses to the Orioles in which he lasted a total of 5 2/3 innings and gave up seven earned runs and he would be 15-5 with a 2.94 ERA. The Cy would still go to Indians starter Cliff Lee (15-2, 2.58) if they gave it out today, but there's still a long way to go.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

This isn't exactly the "Riddle of the Sphinx," but I'm curious if how many of you can figure out what I'm trying to say in the headline above.

I'll drop the answer in my next post -- in about a half hour -- with some fun facts to go along with it.

Reminder: If you want to listen while you read, tune me in on "The Week in Review" with Clarence Mitchell IV on WBAL Radio (1090 AM) at noon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Double-A pitcher Brad Bergeson hasn't struggled very often over the course of a 14-3 season, but he didn't get out of the third inning last night against New Britain. He gave up five runs over 2 1/3 innings to raise his ERA to 3.01, but the Baysox rallied from a three-run deficit to win the game and get him off the hook. RF Nolan Reimold had three hits and LF Jonathan Tucker hit a three-run homer.

Oscar Salazar and Mike Costanzo had two hits each to help Norfolk defeat Columbus, 4-3, at Copper Stadium. Salazar continues to be the main man in the Tides offense, batting .314 with 13 homers and 72 RBI.

Frederick starter Tim Bascom gave up two runs over six innings, but the Keys suffered a 3-2 loss to Wilmington on an eighth-inning home by Blue Rocks DH Cody Strait.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Brian Roberts strongly hinted to O's beat guy Jeff Zrebiec in today's Sun that if the Orioles want to sign him to a long-term extension, they better get to it before they open spring training next year or they'll have to line up with everybody else when he becomes eligible for free agency.

If you haven't seen Jeff's story already, check it out here:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-osnotes807,0,158768.story

I'm starting to think BRob wants to stick around. How about you?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

Yes, I'm still whacko about Joe Flacco after his lackluster performance in the Ravens' 16-15 victory over the Patriots last night. I can't deny that he looked slow and indecisive in his preseason debut, but there were times that he got no separation from the third-string offensive line when he dropped back to pass.

He'll play better next time, I'm sure, though it's obviously going to take some time for him to adjust to the difference in game speed between second-tier college football and the NFL -- enough time that it could be quite awhile before he catches up enough to warrant any serious discussion about taking over as the starter.

The quarterback controversy will thicken in the second preseason game. Troy Smith is expected to start against the Vikings at M&T Bank Stadium next Saturday night in a game that could go a long way toward determining whether he wins the right to start the regular season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Next man up: Troy Smith

Smith was not particularly impressive after replacing Boller late in the first half, but it wasn't exactly a showcase for any of the three QBs.

Which brings us to a question that me, Steve Davis and Michael McCrary discussed last night on the WBAL postgame show:

Six teams are reportedly interested in veteran QB Chad Pennington, who was released by the Jets on Thursday to clear cap room for the acquisition of Brett Favre. Do you think the Ravens are -- or should be -- one of those teams?

Sun photo by Gene Sweeney Jr.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (81)
        

Interesting effort tonight by Kyle Boller, since it basically confirmed whatever you already thought of him. If you thought he's a good athlete who throws a nice ball and can move the team when he gets enough time to throw, you probably still thought that after he completed his first five passes to set up a Matt Stover field goal on the Ravens' first possession. He went on to complete 11 of 15 passes for 102 yards.

Conversely, if you thought Kyle is a guy who always has a couple of Kyle moments, well, he fumbled the ball away on a sack and threw an interception, so the Kyle-bashers could make the case that nothing has really changed.

Sure, it's early. No, it doesn't seem fair to judge anybody in the first preseason game. But they play these games for a reason, and it's not just to extract a regular season ticket price from each fan in attendance...though that's certainly part of it. Everybody is being evaluated all the time, though I doubt the quarterback competition evolved all that much tonight.

Sun file photo by Christopher T. Assaf

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

Today's featured comment comes from Bob Moore:

Bob's Question: Any chance you can give us a daily update on Matusz? I'm sick of hearing about Brett Favre, but folks can't say they didn't know every last detail. It would be great to know what's going on with our first rounder. Everybody has said from Day 1 that this thing would take time, but it would get done. I'm starting to wonder.

Pete's Reply: Bob, I don't know if I'll do a daily update. I made a couple calls to the warehouse today and it's pretty much status quo. The Orioles are in daily contact with the Matusz camp, but everyone still is trying to figure out what the right number is in relation to other top draftees. The O's hope that there is some movement in the next four or five days, but -- to be honest -- I'm starting to wonder, too.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Kyle Boller gets another shot at the Patriots tonight, and I'm guessing he'll recognize way more of the players in the New England uniforms than the guys in his own huddle. The Ravens are seriously banged up -- with at least 10 starters out tonight -- so it's a good thing it's just the first exhibition, er, preseason game.

(The NFL wants you to call it a preseason game. Easier to charge you $80 bucks that way. I call it an exhibition game...or a slingblade.)

Note to self: Ease up on the non-sequiturs.

The most interesting aspect of tonight's game, of course, will be the opportunity to see all three quarterbacks in game action. Boller probably will play longer than the No. 1 starter normally would in the first preseason game, but that's because he's not really the No. 1 starter. Troy Smith will likely be next, and the guy everyone's waiting to see -- QB-of-the-not-too-distant-future Joe Flacco -- will take his first in-game reps against the back of the Patriots defensive depth chart.

Circumstances dictate that you're going to get a long look at new running back Ray Rice, since Willis McGahee and P.J. Daniels are out and the depth chart falls way off after Rice. Cory Ross, Alex Haynes and Allen Patrick also will get some carries, but look for the emphasis to be on the passing game.

I'm headed over to WBAL (1090 AM) now to join Steve Davis for the pregame and postgame coverage. Why don't you join me.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

The Orioles will not bring up Hayden Penn tomorrow, for reasons that should seem obvious, but it's likely whoever they call up to fill Chad Bradford's role in the bullpen -- pick a right-hander from the Triple-A roster -- will be headed back to Norfolk in a few days to make room for Penn.

It's starting to look like Dennis Sarfate will not start on Sunday. Chris Waters likely will stay on schedule and move into that start, and Penn will come up to fill a hole in the rotation for the next series in Cleveland.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Sure enough, the Orioles have allowed the Tampa Bay Rays to claim reliever Chad Bradford and will get a player to be named later...probably not Evan Longoria.

Bradford's name had been floating around before the July 31 deadline for completing trades without waivers, so this is not a total surprise. He still has about $4.5 million left on the three-year, $10.5 million contract he signed before the 2007 season. Since the Rays claimed him on waivers, they'll be picking up the remainder of that deal, giving the O's additional payroll flexibility going into the offseason.

Andy MacPhail made no bones about that when I talked to him a few minutes ago.

"We just thought going forward, it gives us an opportunity for other people in our system who have some upside, to get a look for the rest of '08 and '09. I think we have that guy (a right-handed setup guy) in our system and I'm going to need to fill some other needs, so I can use the dough."

Don't misunderstand. MacPhail conceded that it will be hard to replicate Bradford's performance, but the tilt toward younger players has begun.

Sun photo by Gene Sweeney Jr.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)
        

...and it has nothing to do with the two pounds of shrimp fried rice I obliterated yesterday while watching Garrett Olson's frightening performance against the Angels. It was so bad (Olson's start, of course...You know how I feel about Chinese food) that I started making fridge runs during the innings so I could get back for the GEICO commercials.

Back to my gut: Following a conversation this morning with Jeff Zrebiec (Personal motto: "It's pronounced Zree-beck"), I started wondering if today wouldn't be a perfect day for the Orioles to make some news. It's an offday. They've had a week to pass players through waivers. They're still at contractual loggerheads with top draft choice Brian Matusz.

It's also possible the success of Chris Waters on Tuesday night and Lou Montanez on Wednesday will prompt the team to make another roster adjustment. It probably would make sense to send out a middle guy (Lance Cormier?) and pull up Hayden Penn, though I would guess any possible move with Penn would happen later in the weekend since he started for Norfolk on Tuesday night and probably wouldn't be available to pitch for a couple more days.

Like I said, just a feeling.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

Just want to join in the chorus of congratulations for Gregg Olson, who will be inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame this weekend. Phil Itzoe, the greatest traveling secretary of all time (any team, any time), and legendary fan Wild Bill Hagy also will be honored, but Gregg will be the main event.

There's no question Gregg was one of the best closers of his time and might have been one of the best of all time if an elbow injury hadn't cut him down in his prime, and that torn elbow ligament probably was the result of throwing one of the best curveballs ever.

Hometown exaggeration? I don't think so. I saw the guys who were considered to have the nastiest curves -- Koufax, Blyleven -- and Otter was right there.

Olson was interviewed by MASN's Mark Viviano in the stands in Anaheim the other day and he didn't look a day older than the last time we saw him in an Orioles uniform (1993). I normally hate guys like that, but Gregg also was one of the most likeable players to pass through Baltimore.

Sometime this weekend, I'll tell you about the time Gregg pulled a Jason Giambi, and it has nothing to do with steroids. Stay tuned.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

The Ravens, in conjunction with the NFL, put out a press release this week re-emphasizing their commitment to maintaining the most fan-friendly environment at M&T Bank Stadium. The team will again open each game with the "Ravens Fan Credo,'' which reminds fans that poor behavior can lead to ejection and, for repeated offenders, the revocation of season tickets.

The Credo, which is read by the public address announcer, is highlighted by the phrase "Have fun, root hard, show respect for the fans around you, but...don't be a jerk."

The team loves the fact that fans have taken to chanting "Don't be a jerk" at that point in the pre-game announcement, apparently unaware that the chant is actually directed at PA announcer and Fox/45 sports anchor Bruce Cunningham.

By the way, idiot fans who run onto the field this year will be charged with trespassing and, as a further deterent, will be forced to sit in the WBAL broadcast booth and listen to Stan White talk about Ohio State football during commercial breaks.

OK, here's the league-wide policy:

NFL FAN CODE OF CONDUCT

“The National Football League and its teams are committed to creating a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable experience for all fans, both in the stadium and in the parking lot. We want all fans attending our games to enjoy the experience in a responsible fashion. When attending a game, you are required to refrain from the following behaviors:

· Behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or illegal in nature.

· Intoxication or other signs of alcohol impairment that results in irresponsible behavior.

· Foul or abusive language or obscene gestures.

· Interference with the progress of the game (including throwing objects onto the field).

· Failing to follow instructions of stadium personnel.

· Verbal or physical harassment of opposing team fans.

“Event patrons are responsible for their conduct as well as the conduct of their guests and/or persons occupying their seats. Stadium staff will promptly intervene to support an environment where event patrons, their guests, and other fans can enjoy the event free from the above behavior. Event patrons and guests who violate these provisions will be subject to ejection without refund and loss of ticket privileges for future games.”

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

It wasn't a great day to be an Orioles fan. Garrett Olson's rocky performance refocused attention on the inconsistent rotation less than a day after rookie Chris Waters shocked the world by holding the mighty Angels to one hit over eight shutout innings. That said, here's my Top Five list of reasons to cheer up:

1) Lou Montanez proved he can hit major league pitching. Well, actually, he just proved he can hit Ervin Santana, but we'll take that.

2) Tomorrow's an offday and the O's are back from the West Coast, so you don't have to stay up until 2 a.m. for Dave's MASN "All Access" postgame press conference.

3) Jay Payton had two "Web Gem" catches in the outfield today. Andy might be able to trade him yet.

4) Hayden Penn continues to pitch well at Norfolk, and I'm pretty sure you can't get appendicitis twice.

5) Forbes.com just came out with its list of America's 10 Fastest Dying Cities and Baltimore wasn't on it.

So we've got that going for us.

Which is nice.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

Today's comment comes from Kevin the Shore:

Kevin's take: So Pete, it seems that every reported time you are spackling your drywall because of a fall, some Orioles pitcher throws a one-hit gem. Hmmmm, how can I put this gently? ... Uh, do you have any banana peels handy upstairs for the next time you descend?

My take: Kevin obviously identified a faulty cause-and-effect relationship between my well-documented clumsiness and the performance of Chris Waters on Tuesday night, and I think I can debunk it. Today, while pulling weeds, I slammed my head against the underside of the deck behind my house (again, this is a true story) just minutes before Lou Montanez became the first Orioles position player to homer in his first major league at-bat.

So you see, there is no connection between my embarrassing lack of either coordination or depth perception and the performance of the pitching staff. All it seems to prove is that watching MASN can be hazardous to your health.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

The Double-A Baysox celebrated Lou Montanez' debut in the major league starting lineup by proving they can still pound the ball without him. Ryan Finan and Steve Torrealba each hit a pair of home runs, including a two-run walk off shot by Torrealba that gave Bowie a 9-8 comeback victory over the Binghamton Mets this afternoon. Finan had three hits in all and five RBI.

Radhames Liz is looking to build on his strong performance (7 IP, 3H) in his first start back with Triple-A Norfolk on Friday night. He's take the mound momentarily against the Columbus Clippers at Cooper Stadium.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Lou Montanez obviously believes in the theory that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. He hammered a long home run off Ervin Santana in his first major league at-bat to become -- according to the O's public relations department -- the first position player in Orioles history to homer in his first major league at-bat.

Wow, that's hard to believe, considering how many players have debuted during the club's 54 1/2-year history.

The only other Orioles player to turn that trick was a pitcher named Buster Narum, who homered in his first at-bat in 1963.

Some interesting Narum facts:

His real name was Leslie Ferdinand Narum, which explains why he went by Buster.

That was his only at-bat of the 1963 season.

He would only manage 7 hits in 118 major league at-bats over his modest five-year career in the big leagues, but three of those hits were home runs.

He was traded to the Washington Senators during spring training in 1964 for a minor league player to be named later who turned out to be...

Drum roll, please...

Current Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who made his major league debut with the O's and -- coincidentally enough -- got only one major league at-bat in 1964.

It goes without saying he did not hit a home run.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

Manager Dave Trembley said on Tuesday night that reliever Chris Ray is about ready to take the "next step" in his return from ligament reconstruction surgery, but don't get too excited.

Ray has been throwing in simulated situations, which means that he's coming along, but the next step probably is a relief appearance or two with the Gulf Coast League Orioles before their season ends. The Orioles have no plans to pitch Ray in the majors this year. They haven't totally ruled out a look in September, but that seems highly unlikely.

Nobody -- and I'm hoping that includes you you -- wants him to come back one minute too soon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Here's today's Orioles starting lineup, featuring new outfielder Lou Montanez:

Roberts 2B
Cintron SS
Markakis RF
Huff 3B
Millar 1B
Scott DH
Payton CF
Montanez LF
Quiroz C

Olson SP

Montanez debuted last night as a defensive replacement. Could today be a second straight breakout performance from a recent minor league call-up?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

...The Sun's Orioles beat writer Jeff Zrebiec was still cruising the clubhouses after last night's game to get opinions on the terrific performance of Chris Waters. Jeff sent these to me at 4:30 a.m., which tells you a little something about the effort he puts out, even if he was on Pacific Daylight Time:

Angels outfielder Torii Hunter:

"He was making adjustments and that’s what the game is all about. He didn’t throw off speed until the second time around. He threw all fastballs and one changeup the first time around. The third time around he brought the slider out. He knew what he was doing. He didn’t want us to see all his pitches. He’s kind of bright."

Waters puts a damper on Angels

Kevin Millar

"He did a great job throwing strikes, man. From the first inning on, he was pounding the strike zone. He had great movement. He reminds you a lot of Kenny Rogers. He changed speeds, big sinker and he fielded his position. He was an athlete on the mound. He knew what he was doing. It’s a perfect example of if you can throw strikes and keep the ball down, you can have success in this league."

Melvin Mora

"I know you have to give credit to the guy, but you also have to give credit to the guy behind the plate, Ramon [Hernandez]. He called a great game. He knows those guys. If Ramon called the best pitch and he threw it the way he wanted, I think he was going to be fine. That’s what this kid did. Whatever Ramon called for the spot, he hit the spot. No problem."

Dave Trembley

"I watched the body language is what I watched. I watched his body language, I watched his eyes. And I watched him on the bench in between innings and I watched his body language on the mound after he threw the ball. He just looked like he had tremendous poise. He was under control. He didn't walk around. He got in a rhythm and a tempo. He just kept throwing."

AP photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)