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Picket fence

When was the last time you saw every member of the starting batting order with exactly one run in the box score after five innings? I've seen about 3,500 major league games in person and I can't remember ever seeing that before.

No big deal. It's just a quirky stat, but it sure beats 15 straight losses on Sunday.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:02 AM | | Comments (11)
        

Comments

Still here, Pete. Anyone else?

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I'm still here. Gotta see if the kid finishes up. pete

I can't believe it. Olsen 7 inn. so far 0 runs!

I can't believe it. Olsen 9 inn. so far 0 runs!

I'm still here. Just wish I wasn't.
CAn we PLEASE get the last two outs?

I'm still here, but if they blow a 10-run lead with 2 out in the 9th, I will be REALLY ticked off that I stayed up this late! :(

This is exactly the type of game that just irks me. They give up 5 runs in the ninth and blemish a blow out. Nice job cormier? The rare time they hammer a team ends with a bad taste. Olson is still a joke - but now he has shown "promise" against the worst team in the league and that earns him #2 billing on this pathetic pitching staff. I do love the direction - but I try not to kid myself about this joke of a pitching staff. We're in a holding pattern until the lower minors pitching develops...I give Trembley full marks for his patience...his GM has given him no pitching and he's created a club that competes every night.


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Gary: C'mon now. It's still a good win. Of course, any win by this team is a good win, but you have to enjoy them while you can. pete

Nice start by Olson. I would have left him in until he gave up a run.

What's up with Cormier? He's been terrible the last week.

Gary: Not sure how you can label Olson a joke. He's a rookie. He's going to take his lumps. But outings like tonight show he does have potential... a little patience please. At least we don't have to watch Traschel, or Rob Bell, or the other journeymen we had parading through the rotation last August.

Trembley's decision to remove Olson was horrible (and I thought the same at the time, before Cormier ever faced anyone). When a pitcher has a shutout going with a ten run lead (!) and an out in the ninth, if I'm the manager he stays in until the first runner crosses the plate. Even if Johjima goes deep (not likely given his season and the way Olson owned him tonight) the Orioles still have a six run lead.

While Cormier didn't pitch that poorly (the Mariners' had two infield hits against him), I just oppose doing what Trembley did as a matter of principle--all the more, since a complete game shutout would have been a shot in the arm for not only Olson, but the whole pitching staff.

Unless Olson is injured, he needs to stay in the game in that situation. And no, he didn't throw "too many pitches"--his arm isn't going to fall off if he extends himself a little bit for one game as he'd only face one or two more hitters anyway, tops! (BTW, ex-O's pitcher and radio personality Dave Johnson in the postgame show essentially agreed with me on this one, as I figured he would.)

Can somebody tell me why we have three shortstops,two who can barely hit their own weight,and one Fahey,who gave away at least three runs and 2 outs tonight,and it's not the first time.Would rather see Reimhold or Montanez up here than Fahey or Fidel Castro.No other team in baseball would carry 3 ss's ,and sit the one who is a lifetime .280 hitter.What a joke.I too would have left Olsen in til he gave up a run.Cormier has not looked good for 2 weeks.Anybody seen JIm Johnson?My guess is he's getting a start as well is all I can figure.

Late in the 1983 season (I remember that being a pretty decent season), the Detroit Tigers came in and beat the Birds 14-1, achieving a "picket fence" in the very first inning, the first nine batters. This is the only game that I can recall being stopped for the Little League Mercy Rule.

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About Peter Schmuck
Peter Schmuck wants you to know that, contrary to popular belief, he is more than just a bon vivant, raconteur and collector of blousy flowered shirts. He is a semi-respected journalist who has covered virtually every sport -- except luge, of course – and tackled issues that transcend the mere games people play. If that isn’t enough to qualify him to provide witty, wide-ranging commentary on the sports world ... and the rest of the world, for that matter ... he is an avid reader of history, biography and the classics, as well as a charming blowhard who pops off on both sports and politics on WBAL Radio. That means you can expect a little of everything in The Schmuck Stops Here, but the major focus will be keeping you up to the minute on Baltimore’s major sports teams and themes, whether it’s throwing up the Orioles lineup the minute it’s announced or updating you on the latest sprained ankle in Owings Mills. Oh, and by the way, that’s Mr. Schmuck to you.

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