Here's what I like about John Harbaugh (left). I spent a few minutes with him after his WBAL show tonight at the Owings Mills facility and talked about last night's game. No talk about a moral victory. No excuses. Very honest about both the bad and the good things that happened at Heinz Field. Very committed to developing a complete team that learns from its mistakes and does not repeat them. I'm starting to think that Bisciotti guy knows something about hiring good personnel.

Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox, who overcame a nasty down-to-the-wire slump to win Monday's makeup game against the Tigers and grind out a tough 1-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins to win the AL Central title tonight. I feel bad for the Twins, who stay in contention in spite of so much, but the Ozzie Guillen and the White Sox are going to be far more entertaining in the postseason.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded 485 points today, wiping out most of Monday's disastrous losses, so I've recalculated my finances and now believe I'll be able to retire at 92. I'm sure you were all real worried about that, considering that I go to ballgames for a living.

I listened to parts of the Al Davis press conference today (that's Mr. Happy on the right) and have only one thing to say about his verbal assault on fired coach Lane Kiffin: Al Davis questioning somebody else's integrity is like me questioning somebody else's eating habits.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to play the Super Bowl Halftime Show? If he plays Rosalita, I won't even care what happens in the second half.

Went to see Righteous Kill the other day. It wasn't even a righteous way to kill time.

Harbaugh/AP photo
Davis/Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Now that we've all registered our complaints about last night's performance by the Ravens, let's all sing Kumbaya and remember that we didn't start out thinking they were going to be a playoff team -- and now, happily, we're not so sure.

John Harbaugh has done a great job of instilling a new team concept and I'm pretty sure he'll get the whole on-field discipline thing straightened out eventually. If not for one or two key mistakes, we'd all be out over our skis and planning a parade down Pratt Street for early February.

There was way more about last night's game to be encouraged about from a long-term perspective than there was to criticize, but the NFL is about wins and losses -- and each win or loss is very significant for a competitive team -- so it's fair to focus your immediate attention on what needs to be corrected. In short, several players need to get their heads on straight before they take the field off a short practice week to face the undefeated Tennessee Titans on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.

That said, every week makes me more convinced that Ozzie and Co. made the pick of the draft when they traded down and then up to get Joe Flacco (left). The guy just exudes poise and confidence, which was best illustrated by his ability to shake off a couple of big mistakes and drive the Ravens to a game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter. That 12-second scramble and pass completion wasn't too shabby either.

The defense is as good as ever, which means if it can stay reasonably healthy, the Ravens will be in every game and Flacco will have a lot more chances to prove he's the long-range answer at quarterback.

Baltimore Sun photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
                    

ESPN football analyst and former NFL quarterback Steve Young (left) didn't hesitate to tie last night's loss to some of the other frustrating defeats suffered by the Ravens on Monday Night Football. He put it on the offense for not putting up enough points to support another great defensive performance and cast doubt on whether the Ravens are balanced enough to compete with the top teams in the AFC.

"It was painful to watch the Ravens again not able to close the deal,'' he said.

It certainly was, but I disagree with his overall assessment. Though I reflected on the circumstances that led to the Patriots loss last year in an earlier post -- and criticized Jarret Johnson for his momentum-shifting brain cramp in the third quarter last night, there is no question the Ravens are a different team than the one that lost its previous four Monday Night games over the past couple of seasons. The difference, of course, is Joe Flacco, who again passed a test of fire in a very hostile environment.

He didn't play mistake-free football, but he kept his head and drove the Ravens to a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter after they appeared to have thrown away a prime opportunity to pull the road upset. There was a lot about last night's game that bodes very well for the future of the Ravens' offense, but that doesn't take away the immediate sting of a defeat that didn't have to happen.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (61)
                    

Everybody was piling on Jarret Johnson last night for his stupid momentum-changing personal foul in the third quarter, and why not? Do the Ravens have to do something totally self-defeating every time they've got a chance to show the rest of the country what they're made of on a national broadcast?

I guess so. This isn't the same team that melted down at the end of what would have been a huge victory over the undefeated Patriots last year, but Johnson's bonehead burst of emotion certainly made you think of that. Didn't it?

John Harbaugh got into Johnson's face afterward. Ray Lewis also sat him down and talked to him on the sideline. Trouble is, Johnson was more willing to listen to the taunts of Hines Ward, who ought to get a game ball for this win. He did what he does, and what the Ravens know he does. He pushed Johnson's buttons and everything about the evening changed at that moment.

No, Johnson didn't lose the game all by himself. There was a missed tackle by Chris McAllister on the Steelers' first touchdown. There was Joe Flacco's first really costly mistake -- that fumble that completed a 14-point, 15-second Pittsburgh comeback. But football is all about momentum and this game was close to being another fourth-quarter grindout by the Ravens' offense.

Then somebody did something really dumb and it came unraveled just long enough to make it a game again. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised, but if you're a Ravens fan, you have every right to be disappointed.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (55)
                    

Cuban rookie Alexei Ramirez delivered one of the best moments of the postseason tonight, and it's not even the postseason yet. His tie-breaking grand slam in the sixth inning propelled the White Sox into a division title playoff against the Minnesota Twins tomorrow in Chicago. It already gave him the major league record for grand slams by a rookie -- it was his fourth -- and gave him a share of the overall White Sox record for salamis in a season (Albert Belle).

The best part was the 1000-watt smile that spread across his face immediately after he made contact with the first pitch from reliever Gary Glover.

Severna Park's Gavin Floyd gave up just one earned run over six innings and got the victory, despite making a costly throwing error in the sixth that temporarily gave the Tigers the lead.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

I guess it just comes down to whether you like the blog or you don't, because if you like the blog, you're going to be reading it -- and hopefully joining in the fun -- for a long, long time now that I can fit my retirement savings into a small gym bag.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average crashed 777 points today, which is the biggest single-day loss in the history of rich guys screwing up. Of course, the rest of us went down with them, so we'll all have a story to tell our grandkids while they're feeding us chicken broth with a spoon. Hopefully, the Orioles will have won something by then.

If that wasn't bad enough, the makeup game between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers was delayed several hours by rain, which means that I probably won't have time to go out and eat before the Ravens/Steelers game kicks off. That might not sound like much of a problem to you, but you can probably tell by my full-body picture in the paper that I have to fill my body frequently to remain conscious.

That means a Ravens loss tonight could leave me deflated on so many levels (physically, financially, emotionally) that I'm keeping a bicycle pump handy in the big-screen basement just in case. Never mind that I predicted a 10-point Ravens loss when I was a little more lucid the other day. This has become a personal must-win situation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
                    

OK, so it was only ESPN's Page 2 list of the 10 most overpaid baseball teams of the past two decades, but when you're having trouble making the Top 5 in the American League East, you can't be too choosy.

The 1998 Orioles, who had the highest payroll in baseball ($70 million) and also set an all-time attendance record at Camden Yards, also were the team that started the string of losing seasons that reached 11 this year.

If it's any consolation, the No. 1 and No. 2 overpaid teams of the last two decades were from New York, but neither were the Yankees. The 2003 Mets were No. 2 with a losing record and $117 million in payroll and the 1993 Mets were No. 1 with a $38.4 million payroll, which actually was considered real money at the time.

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

Orioles manager Dave Trembley deserves some time apart from baseball after what he's been through over the past six weeks, but he said yesterday that he'll be glued to the tube for the playoffs and World Series.

You might think he'd want to get as far away from the game as possible, at least for awhile, but the always-tactful Jerry Coleman -- who has graciously agreed to return to Baltimore and save talk radio -- got under Dave's skin when he suggested just that at Trembley's final postgame news conference of 2008.

"I never get away from baseball,'' Trembley said. "If you knew me, you wouldn't ask that question because I never get away from baseball."

Sounds like Dave needs to get away from baseball, though he seemed to cheer up considerably as soon as he got away from Coleman.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

So much for my insistence on WBAL yesterday that the Maryland Terrapins would crack the Top 25 after their second victory over a Top 20 team in three weeks. The Terps were the odd team out in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll, finishing 26th in the voting. They were 30th in the USA Today coaches poll.

Nevertheless, the Terps and the Midshipmen of Navy both scored unlikely victories on the road on Saturday against ranked teams, and the Redskins traveled to Dallas to pull off another Maryland-based upset yesterday. That leaves the Ravens needing to hold up their end as they go into tonight's Monday Night Football showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field as a five-point underdog.

I cannot tell a lie. I picked the Steelers to win this one by 10 points, but I would have picked Wake Forest to trounce Navy and I had little confidence in Maryland at Clemson. Didn't care one way or another about the Redskins, but I'll give them credit for letting some of the air out of the team that a lot of people think will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

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

The Orioles did not rage against the dying of the light today. They lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-1, but manager Dave Trembley chose to look on the bright side as he prepared to head home to Daytona Beach.

"On the positive side, it's good that (Jeremy) Guthrie was healthy,'' he said. "So we can leave and know that. He got that out of the way. It was also good that Sherrill pitched and he's 100 percent."

Dave also waxed philosophical for a moment: "You learn a great deal from adversity and a great deal from success. I'll take a little from both areas."

The final game did alter the team leader sheet a bit. Orioles MVP Aubrey Huff came into the game leading the Orioles in all of the Triple Crown categories, but he went hitless in three at-bats to drop his average from .306 to .303. Nick Markakis had three hits and raised his average to .306 to win the team batting crown.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
                    

Brian Roberts was hit on the left shin by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jesse Litsch in the bottom of the sixth inning and limped off the field to a loud ovation. Clearly, the crowd recognized the possibility that fans were seeing the last appearance by Roberts in an Orioles uniform.

Manager Dave Trembley acted this weekend as if Roberts' return for 2009 was not in doubt, but Andy MacPhail was less committal during his Saturday news conference. He seems less inclined to deal Roberts than he was last winter, but said it would be irresponsible not to listen to all offers.

I think the Orioles will sign him to an extension in the next few months. They already are desperate for a decent starting shortstop. Can't imagine Andy wants to try and fill two critical middle infield positions.

Roberts finishes the season batting .296 with 107 runs, 51 doubles, 8 triples, nine homers, 56 RBI and 40 stolen bases. He ranks second in the league in doubles, third in the league in runs, fourth in stolen bases, fourth in triples. He also ranked in the top 10 in walks and on-base percentage.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

Jeremy Guthrie wanted to get out there one more time before the end of the season, so his four-inning performance was a success from that standpoint.He probably wanted to get back to .500 for the season, but Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay hit home runs and the Blue Jays scored three times on six hits. He's got a shot at the decision, but not the good kind. The Blue Jays have extended their lead to 6-0 on Wells' second home run -- this one off Alfredo Simon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Orioles

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

Guthrie SP

Blue Jays

Inglett 2B
Scutaro SS
Rios RF
Wells CF
Lind DH
Overbay 1B
Rolen 3B
Zaun C
Snider LF

Litsch SP

Guthrie update: Don't expect Guthrie to go much further than the fourth or fifth inning. He wants to prove he's healthy and get one more win, but manager Dave Trembley is going to have him on a short leash. He'll need to keep his pitch count way down (about 70 for five innings) to get a decision.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Boy, I love it when people do my work for me. Here's a season-closing, marathon post from Birdland Todd, who says he wants my opinion but really just wrote so he could get his votes on the record for all the postseason awards:

Todd's take: Pete, at the beginning of the month, I asked you who you thought would be the MVP, ROY, Cy Young and Manager of the Year in both leagues, so with Sunday being it, who are your picks now?

AL MVP: Justin Morneau (I don't think the Twins would be in the hunt without this guy, as they are a soft hitting team so no way they make up the 129 runs that Justin knocked in)

Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria

Cy Young: Cliff Lee (lower right)

Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon

NL MVP: Ryan Howard (The avg. isn't good nor the errors, but this guy produced when it counted and carried the team to a division title)

Rookie of the Year: Geovany Soto

CY Young: Johan Santana (I had Webb at the beginning of the month, but Johan was the one Met pitcher that basically carried his team and did it under a huge spotlight)

Manager of the Year: Joe Torre (It would be easy to go with Lou, but the Dodgers played without Furcal for 120+ games. They lost their closer for 60 days. Andruw Jones was injured and Kent missed a big portion and has been basically a pinch hitter since coming back and yet they won their division)

Comeback player of the year: Carlos Delgado (Hamiltons' story was great, but my definition of a comeback player is someone who's an established player, but either in decline or coming back from a serious injury. Carlos was awesome this year and showed that he is still a feared hitter with 38 HRs and 115 RBIs)

Most Valuable Oriole: Nick Markakis, as this guy walks, scores runs, hits doubles, hit .300, gold glove arm and helps retrieve the grocery cart for elderly women.

Pete's picks...

AL MVP: Carlos Quentin -- I'm overweighting the "value to his team" to make up for his injury.
NL MVP: Ryan Howard -- Slam dunk.

AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee -- No argument here.
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum -- Best all-around season. MVP value to team is not part of the equation.

AL Rookie: Evan Longoria -- Simply the best first-year player in either league...in awhile.
NL Rookie: Geovany Soto -- Terrific all-around rookie season for a catcher.

AL Manager: Joe Maddon -- No need to comment here.
NL Manager: Lou Piniella -- Best record in NL and, well, it's the Cubs.

Comeback Player of the Year: Cliff Lee -- Can't go with Delgado (24 HR, 87 RBI) or Hamilton (19 homers in a half-season in 2007). Lee went from 5-8 to 22-3, for God's sake.

Orioles MVP: Aubrey Huff

Howard/AP photo
Lee/Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

With apologies to Jack Handy and, for no apparent reason, Stuart Smalley (right), here are some incisive final thoughts about the Orioles as they prepare to play their final game of the 2008 season against the Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards:

So far, I think the biggest perk of Fan Appreciation Weekend has been the decision to shorten the games to seven innings.

The Orioles only need to draw about 70,000 fans for today's season finale to keep from falling under the 2 million mark in season attendance for the first time since the opening of Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Not exactly sure what Dave Trembley was trying to prove by sitting Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff last night when they both need two doubles to join Brian Roberts with at least 50 for the season. Maybe Dave was making a point about the team coming ahead of individual goals, but that was also one of the few things left for the fans to get excited about.

There's a pretty good chance this isn't the final day of the regular season for everybody. There's still a chance the National League wild card race could carry over until Monday and the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins could play each other for the AL Central title on Tuesday.

If I had my way, I'd go right to spring training tomorrow. I'd still have the Orioles show up in mid-February, however.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
                    

Orioles president Andy MacPhail held a pre-game news conference to go over some of the offseason issues facing the front office. He didn't get too specific, but he acknowledged his disappointment at the late-season collapse of the pitching staff and re-confirmed his desire to further augment the club's pitching depth.

"Our injuries aren't any more significant than anybody else,'' he said. "Our depth just isn't capable of going Round 3 with these (other AL East) teams. That really took some of the fun away from me. We just have to improve our depth."

He has already said he will go into the free agent and trade markets looking for a couple of veteran starting pitchers -- and hinted that they club would look into its "geographical" advantages with some higher profile players (that probably means you, A.J.) --, but he wasn't making any promises.

MacPhail didn't oversell the club's progress this year, but does feel that the foundation of talent is better than it was when he was hired in June of 2007.

"I'm certainly happier now than I when I first got here," he said.

The evaluation process is on-going, but it will heat up considerably next week when the Orioles hold their annual organizational meetings in Sarasota, Fla.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
                    

Orioles

Payton RF
Montanez LF
Mora DH
Salazar 3B
Jones CF
Hernandez C
Millar 1B
Cintron SS
Fahey 2B

Bass SP

Blue Jays

Inglett 2B
Bautista 3B
Lind DH
Overbay 1B
Wilkerson CF
Mench LF
Snider RF
Zaun C
McDonald SS

Parrish SP

Soggy lineup: It has been raining heavily all afternoon and there is a huge puddle in right field, but the sky has lightened in the past few minutes. Not sure why manager Dave Trembley shook up the lineup so much today. Might be the wet field. Might be just giving some other players an opportunity. I was kind of hoping that Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff would be in there to continue their quest for 50 doubles. Probably get some explanation from Dave when he holds his pregame news conference.

Dave's take: Trembley said before the game that he didn't consult with Huff or Markakis before making out the lineup, then joked that they could still get to 50 doubles tomorrow.

Roster update: It's just a paper move, but the O's have activated Jeremy Guthrie from the 15-day disabled list to start tomorrow's final regular season game against the Blue Jays.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
                    

The Terps figure to crack the Top 25 after today's 20-17 road victory over No. 20 Clemson. Package that with the upset over California at Byrd Stadium and you've probably got a No. 22 team in the upcoming USA Today poll.

Obviously, it would be higher than that if Maryland had not tripped against Middle Tennessee State, but it might have been that game that helped point the Terps in the right direction.

Got to give credit where credit is due. I think it was coach Ralph Friedgen's soft touch before the Cal game that helped loosen the team up. He sensed the players were tight after the Middle Tennessee loss and eased up in the pregame meetings to take some pressure off.

There's probably only one thing to do in a situation like this -- switch my allegiance from formerly top-ranked Southern Cal to soon-to-be-ranked Maryland. The Terps would never lose to Oregon State, right?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
                    

I realize this is supposed to be a sports blog, but it's hard to ignore the news this morning that Paul Newman has died of cancer. I've been a lifelong fan of his work and also admire the fact that he started his popular "Newman's Own" food business to benefit various charities.

If I need an excuse to comment on him here, remember that he starred in one of the greatest sports movies of all time -- Slap Shot -- and a number of other great sports-related films. I'm not sure billiards is a sport (though the people at ESPN2 obviously think so), but The Hustler and it's generation-later sequel The Color of Money showed his amazing talent to live in a character.

Newman was a huge sports guy who loved auto racing and made decent movie about it in 1969 called Winning. I could go on and on, but I'll just give you my two favorite Paul Newman films and then let you chime in with a thought or two if you want. Newman's anti-hero in the 1963 classic Hud is, for me, the definition of great acting, and his comic turn as Butch Cassidy in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid made that my all-time Newman favorite.

Shameless plug: I'll be continuing this conversation on The Peter Schmuck Show today at noon on WBAL as well as wrapping up the Orioles season and previewing the Monday Night Football showdown between the Ravens and Steelers. If you're not in radio range, you can go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
                    

Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays, who are the champions of the American League East despite losing their second straight game against the Detroit Tigers. Their magic number was just one and the Red Sox let them in the back door late last night with a resounding 19-8 loss to the Yankees at Fenway Park.

Make that very late last night. The Red Sox made their final out at nearly 1 a.m. (EDT) due to weather delays, making hit pretty much impossible for the Rays to have a normal champagne celebration. Manager Joe Maddon and a few players remained at Comerica Field to watch the the game while the rest of the team watched from the team hotel.

Much of the playoff picture is complete, but there's still plenty of intrigue in both leagues. The Twins and White Sox are still battling for the AL Central title, and it could be decided on Monday if a half-game still separates them after tomorrow's games. The White Sox would have to play a makeup game against the Detroit Tigers if it still has postseason implications.

The NL East race is technically undecided, with the Phillies two games ahead of the Mets with two to go, but it really has come down to the wild card duel between the Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers. The Mets are one game back and will send pitching ace Johan Santana to the mound against the Marlins today on three days rest.

I was talking to my co-worker Dan Connolly (who may be relating the same conversation in his blog), and we agreed that it is shaping up to be one of the more compelling baseball postseasons in awhile. The Rays just might be on a collision course with Maddon's old team (the Angels) and everybody wants to know if this is the year the Cubs finally end their century-old world title drought.

There's also Joe Torre's 13th consecutive postseason appearance. The way things look right now, the Dodgers will open the Division Series at Wrigley Field and the Brewers will face the Phillies, the NL scenario still could shake out differently in the next couple of days. Whatever happens, this is going to be fun.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Chris Waters ended up on the losing end of tonight's rain-shortened game against the Blue Jays, but he still may have come out a winner in the long run. He pitched six innings and gave up three runs on nine hits to finish the season a little higher on Dave Trembley's list than some of the other young pitchers.

"He did more than what was expected of him,'' Trembley said. "He did a lot better than expected and held his own. He should be commended for that."

Trembley was non-committal, however, on whether Waters has improved his standing going into spring training next year.

"He''ll have to come to spring training and earn that,'' Trembley said. "All of us will get together and try to fit people into what we have."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)