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The four-game series against the Tigers ended up being a push, but even in defeat the past couple of games, there were reasons for Orioles fans to believe they are moving hard in the right direction.
Matt Wieters' two-hit performance on Saturday night and Jason Berken's second straight strong start today took a lot of the sting out of the Orioles inability to win the four-game series after taking the first two.
Let's see what happens in Seattle.
The thing that makes this Detroit Tigers pitching staff so tough -- as you saw in last night's game -- is the futility of trying to push the starter off the mound in a game like this. Edwin Jackson has been dominating, giving up just the one hit to Nick Markakis, but the Orioles would probably rather try to catch up with him in the late innings than take their chances with the group of 100-mph guys in the bullpen.
If it were me, I'd rather face Jackson than Joel Zamaya no matter what the situation. Of course, I couldn't hit either one of them on Playstation, so I don't know why I'm even weighing in.
The Tigers probably weren't disappointed to see Jason Berken leave the game after seven innings, so I'm waiting for the chorus of negative posts about Dave Trembley taking him out too early.
The Orioles will try to break their Sunday jinx today, but nothing about the matchup with Detroit Tigers pitcher Edwin Jackson points to a win. The O's are 1-6 on Sundays this year and their problems on this day of rest date back a lot farther than that.
This isn't a reverse lock entry, because the Orioles have won seven of their last nine games and are playing pretty well. Even last night, when they lost to the Tigers, I thought they showed something in the way they hung in against Detroit ace Justin Verlander and came very close to knocking him out on a couple of occasions.
Matt Wieters (DH) and Luke Scott (LF) are both in the lineup today, but I don't get your hopes up when it comes to Luke. I'm pretty sure Tigers manager Jim Leyland has told his pitchers that the next fastball strike anybody throws to Scott will result in some particularly gruesome form of corporal punishment.
Personally, I'm so bearish on the club today that I'm giving it a wide berth. I'll be watching from afar and popping in here a couple of times, but I'm largely taking the day off and enjoying Maryland's wonderful Eastern Shore.
Jeremy Guthrie matched a career high with 10 strikeouts and might have set a new one if he had been able to convince manager Dave Trembley to let him go back out for the seventh inning last night. He had thrown 113 pitches, but argued against the decision to turn the game over to reliever Matt Albers.
"Guthrie wanted to go back out there and pitch again, which is a great quality,'' Trembley said, "but he had done enough. He had pitched enough."
Trembley and Guthrie did agree on one thing. That was the best Guthrie has thrown the ball all season.
"I felt very good,'' Guthrie said. "I felt like I had all of my pitches working low in the zone for the most part. I felt pretty good out there."
Tigers manager Jim Leyland told the Detroit media tonight that if Luke Scott comes up with a base open tomorrow in any kind of scoring situation, he's going to get a first base scholarship -- four free pitches -- every time.
Leyland reasoning was fairly straightforward.
"I've seen enough,'' he said.
Luke Scott may have kept his amazing home run rush going, but he didn't think the Orioles needed to beat themselves up over losing to Justin Verlander and the group of relievers who followed him to the mound.
"We faced probably the best collection of arms I've ever seen,'' he said. "Three guys throwing in the upper 90s with movement. That's some of the best stuff I've ever seen in my life."
If you believe the stadium radar readings, Verlander and Joel Zumaya hit 101 miles per hour on the gun and Ryan Perry hit 100.
Matt Wieters came back to his locker after the game with an icepack on his left hand, but said it was "normal maintenance."
"We've got a lot of guys throwing hard and sinking the ball,'' he said. "It's just normal bruising. Just want to keep the swelling down."
He obviously was happy to get a couple of hits tonight, even though they did not result in another Orioles victory, but admitted that to sharing everyone's surprise that his first major league hit would be a triple.
"Definitely,'' he said. "I don't think I ever envisioned a triple as my first hit."
The Orioles had a couple of prime scoring opportunities go for naught and they paid the price in tonight's 6-3 loss. Adam Jones will be tossing and turning over his 1-2-3 double play with the bases loaded and no one out in the fifth. And Aubrey Huff fouled out with runners at second and third and one out in the seventh. It's not a perfect science.
The Orioles go into the final game of the series with seven wins in their last nine games, so it's probably silly to be too upset about losing to Justin Verlander.
Designated hitter and so-to-be-named American League Player of the Week Luke Scott just hammered a 420-foot, no-doubt home run to right center field off Justin Verlander to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth.
Let's review: Luke has now hit home runs in four consecutive games. He has five home runs in the last three games (2 2/3 games, actually) and has a total of six homers and 14 RBI this week. He also has seven homers in his last four games against the Tigers, dating back to his last game against them last year. In other words...WOW!
Matt Wieters update: Wieters followed Scott's home run with his second extra-base hit of the game, a ground rule double to center.
Jeremy Guthrie update: Guthrie has left the game after pitching six innings. He allowed three runs on seven hits and struck a career-high 10 batters. He is the first Orioles pitching to record a double-digit strikeout total since Erik Bedard struck out 11 on Aug. 21, 2007.
Matt Wieters just got his first major league hit, a shot to the deepest part of the ballpark that caromed off the fence for a triple. It would have been a home run if he had hit it just about anywhere else, but a triple was just fine, since Nolan Reimold followed with a single up the middle for the first Orioles run of the game.
Wieters got a tremendous ovation as he motored around the bases. Nothing cheap about a 400-foot triple off one of the best pitchers in the American League.
O's starter Jeremy Guthrie is piling up the strikeouts -- nine in the first four innings -- but doesn't look like a very good bet to get his fifth victory of the season. He has allowed three runs, two of them on solo homers, and needs the offense to pull him back into this game.
Unfortunately for Guts, Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander is having his way with the Orioles in the early innings, which should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen his recent game splits. He is 5-0 with an 0.85 ERA in his last six starts, with 60 strikeouts. He has given up just a single to Aubrey Huff through three innings.
Manager Dave Trembley has had a busy 24 hours. He flew home to Daytona Beach after Friday night's game to attend the high school graduation of his son, Kevin, then flew right back to Baltimore this afternoon.
"It was nice,'' he said. "Family's important. My wife and son have made a lot of sacrifices for me, so it's important to be there for them. I got a lot of help from Andy MacPhail and Mr. Angelos."
Angelos provided a private jet so his manager could make the quick turnaround. Otherwise, he would have missed two games at a time when the team is playing very well.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland (left) held court with the media a few minutes ago and was very complimentary of the newlook Orioles.
"They're a really good team," he said. "They've got a nice lineup...nice right-hand/left-hand situation...three switch hitters at times. Pretty good. They've kind of injected some youth and they're enjoying themselves. You can see that."
The O's also seemed to have a little extra mojo on Friday night, as evidenced by the rainbow that formed over Luke Scott before he stepped up to the plate and cranked his first career grand slam.
"I thought it (the rainbow) was over me, too,'' Leyland quipped. "I saw it. I made a wish on it, but it (obviously) didn't come true."
Leyland says that the Tigers have decent scouting reports on Scott, for all the good they have been.
"Our reports are great,'' he said, "but executing the pitches and reading the reports are two different things. We know what we like to do with him, but we're not. He's killing us right now."
AP photo
Tigers
Clete Thomas RF
Placido Polanco 2B
Magglio Ordonez DH
Miguel Cabrera 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Brandon Inge 3B
Ryan Raburn LF
Adam Everett SS
Dane Sardinha C
Justin Verlander - RHP
Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Luke Scott DH
Matt Wieters C
Nolan Reimold LF
Cesar Izturis SS
Jeremy Guthrie RHP
This comes compliments of baseball-reference.com, Retrosheet and long-time Tigers beat writer John Lowe. Luke Scott has now had three straight two-homer games against the Tigers, counting the final game against them last season. The last time an opposing player had three consecutive multi-homer games against Detroit was 50 years ago this month, when Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew did it as a member of the Washington Senators..
The Orioles are not expected to make a roster move today, or talk about making a roster move tomorrow or speculate about what the next roster move will be, which makes this the first day in a long time that there hasn't been something pending.
I realize that some people are curious about what happens when Koji Uehara is ready to come off the disabled list, but that's just not on the radar right now.
Sorry to hear that super filly Rachel Alexandra won't be running in the Belmont Stakes, but I wouldn't have entered her either. The way the Preakness played out, she would have been set up for a fall in a much longer race against a horse that can close like Mine That Bird.
Judging from owner Jess Jackson's comments, in which he acknowledged the horse is in great shape and has had strong workouts in the wake of the Preakness, I'm guessing he feels the same way. Losing the Belmont would damage the legend. This way, Rachel Alexandra benefits if Mine That Bird brings home the third jewel, since she'll always be the filly who prevented him from winning the Triple Crown.
Winning the Belmont would not have done all that much to change her reputation, so the downside -- losing or getting injured -- wasn't worth the risk. Now the race sets up pretty well for Calvin Borel to become the first jockey ever to win a personal Triple Crown on two different horses. Good luck to him and trainer Chip Wooley Jr, who have provided racing fans with a lot of entertainment (on several levels) this year.
The highlight of tonight's game was when the Orioles loaded the bases in the third inning right as the clouds started to clear and a rainbow formed over the ballpark. Sun photographer Karl Merton Ferron got this photo of it a few minutes after Luke Scott hit his first career grand slam to set the Orioles on course for their seventh victory in eight games.
Scott has been absolutely sizzling since the came back from the disabled list. He went down to Delmarva for a couple of rehab games and hit a home run there before coming back up with his power swing locked in. He stole the show from new teammate Matt Wieters, but nobody was complaining, especially after his second homer of the night gave him four in two games.
Wieters went 0 for 4, but he hit the ball well in his first at-bat and he handled pitcher Brad Bergesen very well. It was a successful debut, even if he didn't get to join in the in-game fireworks show.
Matt Wieters, as expected, got a very nice ovation from the late-arriving crowd when he headed for home plate and lined up with the four umpires for the National Anthem. It didn't take him long to get involved in the action.
Tigers leadoff hitter Josh Anderson tested him immediately, laying down a bunt in front of the plate, but Wieters pounced on it and made a perfect throw to record an assist on the first out of his first major league game. Nice.
Meanwhile, Brad Bergesen has opened with a pair of scoreless innings and Wieters is scheduled to come up third in the bottom of the second inning.
Instant update: Wieters just got a loud and long standing ovation when he came to the plate for his first at-bat with two runners on base, but didn't seem the least bit distracted. He fell behind on the count to Dontrelle Willis before lining out to right field.
The tarp has been taken off the field and the Orioles have announced that tonight's game will start at 7:30 p.m. Matt Wieters came out of the dugout a few minutes ago and headed for the bullpen to warm up starting pitcher Brad Bergesen. He got a nice little ovation, but the crowd was still sparse at that point because of the weather.
While you're waiting for the game to begin, here's the video of his first session with the local media since spring training:
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Mother Nature obviously isn't as excited about Matt Wieters as everybody else. It's raining very hard and the tarp is on the field, though the word is that this is the last in a string of rainstorms to sweep through the area. Orioles fans can only hope.
The nasty weather figures to hurt the big walkup crowd the Orioles were hoping for tonight, but the game probably will be played. It's also a college night ($6 tickets with student ID) that will feature a postgame fireworks show.
Matt Wieters is here and he's already had his first taste of the major league media blitz that will attend his every move in tonight's major league debut, but he didn't seem to have a problem with it when he met with the media about an hour ago.
“No, I am actually pretty excited to get playing tonight,” he said. “Having the past two days off to sit back and think about it, it’s exciting to get in this clubhouse and get to see some of the guys that I haven’t seen since spring training or even some of the guys you just saw a couple days ago. It’s a new team, but it’s a bunch of familiar faces.”
Wieters is in the starting lineup, batting seventh, ahead of left fielder Nolan Reimold, who should help him get a few good pitches from Detroit Tigers left-hander Dontrelle Willis.
“I’ve dreamed about making my debut ever since I was little,” Wieters said. “It’s going to be fun, especially once I get to actually play in a game.”
Here are tonight's lineups:
Tigers
Josh Anderson LF
Placido Polanco 2B
Magglio Ordonez DH
Miguel Cabrera 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Brandon Inge 3B
Clete Thomas RF
Gerald Laird C
Adam Everett SS
Dontrelle Willis LHP
Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Luke Scott DH
Matt Wieters C
Nolan Reimold LF
Cesar Izturis SS
Brad Bergesen RHP
Matt Wieters may be the most anticipated rookie ever to make his major league debut in an Orioles uniform, but -- as I pointed out in my column today -- he's not the first can't-miss prospect to arrive in town carrying the weight of the team's future on his shoulders.
Right-hander Ben McDonald was considered the most coveted pitching prospect in the history of the baseball draft when the Orioles made him the No. 1 overall pick in 1989. He was in the major leagues a few weeks later, but his debut was pre-ordained when he signed a major league contract, so there wasn't quite the suspense that has attended Wieters' quick trip through the minor league system.
"I was a little bit different situation,'' McDonald said by phone from Louisiana today. "I came up in the middle of a pennant race. I was the first guy to sign a multiyear contract (out of the draft) and my contract guaranteed that I would get a September call-up, so everybody kind of knew what was going to happen. I had to deal with coming into a clubhouse where some guys probably weren't that happy to see me. I mean, I was a guy who hadn't pitched an inning in the major leagues and I was making more than some of the guys in there."
There wasn't the same level of hype that has attended Wieters' arrival in the majors, but there definitely was the same level of pressure to succeed.
"There was some,'' McDonald said. "We were under .500 in 1990 and I remember in 1991, Frank Robinson told me in spring training that I would have to win 20 games for us to have a chance to win. When you're a 22-year-old kid, that's a lot on your shoulders."
Ben pitched in the majors until 1997, but arm problems prevented him from reaching his full major league potential. He hopes that Wieters can avoid some of the speed bumps that slowed his development at the major league level.
"I've heard a little bit about him,'' Ben said. "He's supposed to be a great player, but I think the important thing for him is to blend in and just be himself. He's a position player, so it might be easier for him to just go out there and play and fit in."
Sun file photo by Kenneth K. Lam
It's not a national holiday just yet, but Baltimore is abuzz with Wietersmania. I'm just curious to see if the Orioles can sell out tonight's game, what with it being a college night ($6 tickets with a student ID) that features a postgame fireworks show.
In the meantime, you're welcome to read my latest in a series of columns about Wieters on the Web site and in today's print edition. I'm sure I'll see a lot of you at the ballpark, and there will be a quiz.
The roster moves have not yet been announced, but we're hearing that if Chad Moeller clears waivers, he may be willing to go to Triple-A Norfolk. That would be a good thing for the O's, who like Moeller and can use the insurance in case Wieters or Gregg Zaun gets hurt.
Dave Trembley has started to crack a smile, and why not. The Orioles have won six of their last seven games going into Matt Wieters' debut tomorrow night. The subject du jour was the guy who came up from Norfolk for tonight's game -- David Hernandez.
"I thought after the first inning, obviously David was excited and he had every right to be,'' Trembley said. "After the first inning he really settled down. his fastball, I think we talked about that earlier, he can elevate his fastball and change eye levels with it. His change up was good, and he worked out of jams three different times. I was impressed."
On Luke Scott: He's a guy that when he's in a groove, he likes that fastball. He usually doesn't miss it. He's been chomping at the bit to come back . He told me he only needed two games at Delmarva and that's all he needed. He's come up with some big, big hits for us."
On a week of Oriole magic: When you win, it's a whole lot of fun. In the last inning I saw nine guys up on the top step and on the rail. Roberts called the home run in the dugout before Scott hit it. There's justg a real good feel about what's going on. Melvin kicks one, and keeps his head up and comes back and starts the big double play. We've got a long way to go but I felt a few days ago that we were starting to turn a corner."
That old saying is true. It comes in fast and it goes out fast. Tigers reliever Ryan Perry throws near the century mark, but Luke Scott got around on one of his fastballs and launched it over the center field fence to give George Sherrill a big cushion coming into the ninth inning.
Scott's second homer of the night traveled 402 feet, but it looked like he thought he just missed hitting the ball on the screws. He threw down his bat after the swing, as if he was angry, but the ball carried into the Orioles bullpen for his sixth career multi-homer game.
"I didn't (think it was out),'' Luke said after the game. "I kind of hit it off the end of the bat. Being at night, with the heavy, sticky air, I thought it was a flyout to the warning track. But he's throwing 96 and that helped me."
Interesting unrelated stat: David Hernandez just became the fourth Orioles starting pitcher this year to win his major league debut, joining Koji Uehara, Brad Bergesen and Jason Berken. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it is the first time in the expansion era (1961 to present) that any team has had four rookies do that on the same team.
Nolan Reimold hammered another ball deep into the left field bleachers in the fifth inning for his fifth home run in 51 major league at-bats. He's starting to look pretty comfortable at the plate and may get even more good pitches to hit if Matt Wieters ends up hitting behind him.
Don't know exactly where Wieters will bat, but I'm guessing he'll bat anywhere from sixth to eighth depending on the opposing pitcher and the designated hitter. There could be times when Reimold and Wieters hit seventh and eighth against right-handers -- or vice versa -- which makes for a pretty good back end of the batting order.
Though a great deal of excitement has been directed toward Wieters' debut tomorrow night, Reimold has generated plenty himself during his relatively short time in the majors. His game-winning home run on Wednesday set aside a little space for him in the hearts of Orioles fans before Wieters' arrival. He also got the traditional pie in the face (left) after that game.
Instant update: Hernandez left the game with two runners on and two outs in the sixth. He threw 108 pitches and left with 2-1 lead. He gave up a run on five hits and four walks and struck out three.
Sun photo by Gene Sweeney Jr.
New starting pitcher David Hernandez finally hit a speed bump in the fifth inning after giving up just two hits through four. He allowed a run on two hits and a walk, but helped himself with a nice defensive play on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Ramon Santiago. He'll enter the sixth inning with 88 pitches and 52 strikes. He'll have to be a little more efficient if he wants to pitch into the seventh.
The Orioles have not been very resourceful against Tigers starter Armando Gallaraga. They've hit into a pair of double plays and run out of another opportunity.
Everybody knew David Hernandez would be added to the 25-man roster this afternoon, but there was some suspense before Chris Ray was sent to Triple-A Norfolk to work on his mechanics. The club had other options, but Ray's demotion makes sense in light of his recent struggles and 9.39 ERA in 17 appearances.
The O's have to make another move tomorrow to make way for Matt Wieters. They'll likely keep Gregg Zaun, but it is also possible they'll be able to keep Chad Moeller in the organization.
Making waves: Ravens safety Dawan Landry joins me tonight on Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM). We'll also talk baseball, of course, as the countdown continues to Matt Wieters' debut tomorrow night. If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.
Hall of Famer Cal Ripken thinks Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail has done the right thing by taking it slow with Matt Wieters and some of the other young players, and said so during a telephone interview earlier today.
"From an organizational standpoint I understand what Andy is doing,'' he said. "When you’re in the rebuilding process, you want guys aligned and playing together for a long enough time so that when things finally do come together, everybody is ready.
"I also applaud the fact that they seem to be taking their time bringing these guys to the big leagues. The tendency is to just go ahead and bring them all up, but Andy has refrained from doing that. They’ve had their seasoning."
Not a bad endorsement from the Iron Man, especially at a time when MacPhail has been the object of some criticism for being so conservative with the club's developmental nucleus of talented minor leaguers.
Getty Images
Triple-A prospect Chris Tillman has been scratched from tonight's scheduled start against Toledo because of that groin strain that knocked him out of his last appearance. Bobby Livingston (5-1, 3.80) is coming up from Bowie to make the start in his place.
First baseman Oscar Salazar has been sidelined with a sore left hand, suffered Sunday in a collision at first base, but the Tides are expecting him back in the lineup in the next few days.
Former O's first baseman Kevin Millar passed through town this week and told my colleague Dan Connolly that he loved Aubrey Huff's double fist pump after his May 10 home run off New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain.
“The best I have ever seen. … That was great, good old-fashioned fun,” said Millar, who hit a two-run single in the fourth inning on Wednesday to help Toronto take a big lead. “I was one of the proudest players in the major leaguers when I saw that because of all the times where Joba’s got him to strike out or pop up. It was nice for Huffy to get him.”
This week was Millar’s first time back at Camden Yards after three years playing here. He started two of the three games and went 2-for-7 in the series with two RBIs.
“It’s always different the first time going back to where you played. You’re used to entering from one side,” he said. “It’s nice to see all of the guys. We have good memories here – good group of guys, great city, nice stadium. It’s always fun to come back and say hi to everybody.”
What a finish. Nolan Reimold has wasted no time establishing himself as the go-to guy in left field, but he outdid himself in the 11th inning today. That three-run shot ended the Orioles sweep jinx and handed a victory to Danys Baez, who had pitched well for three innings but appeared to be headed for defeat after hanging a splitter to Aaron Hill in the top of the 11th.
Give Reimold extra credit -- along with the obligatory pie in the face during the postgame show -- for keeping his head after getting called out on a very low strike in a big situation in his previous at-bat.
Truly a great victory for the rejuvenated O's, who have won five of their last six and rallied from an 8-3 deficit in the eighth inning before rallying again for the victory in overtime. Jim Hunter is trying to keep his composure during the the MASN postgame show, but it can't be easy. I don't think he's been this happy since Jimmy Jr. was born.
Shameless plug: Tune in tonight at six for Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM), where we'll be rehashing today's game. If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.
Who would have thought O's fans would be griping about a bad ball/strike call in the ninth inning of this game, but that called third strike to Nolan Reimold cost the Orioles a chance to complete a terrific comeback. The ball was low and should have loaded the bases with one out, but what are you going to do?
No matter what happens, Robert Andino has had an unbelievable game. He's now 4 for 4 with a big RBI in the eighth and has played great defense. He has now raised his average from .189 to .268 in one game and is leading off the 10th.
Fill-in shortstop Robert Andino apparently was not notified that Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay is unhittable -- expecially when he faces the Orioles. Andino just lined a single to right field for his third hit of the game. The rest of the team has four.
Andino has raised his batting average from 189 to .250 today.
Rich Hill ran his pitch count up in a hurry and lost the strike zone in the fourth inning, allowing the Toronto Blue Jays to snap out of their weeklong offensive slump to score six times and break open the game. Looks like the Orioles will come up empty for the fifth time this year when they've had an opportunity to sweep a three-game series.
It didn't look good at the outset, with Roy Halladay on the mound for the Blue Jays, but Luke Scott kept hope alive for awhile when he gave the Orioles the lead with a two-run homer in the second. Hill retired the Jays in order in the third, but could not get out of the fourth. He lasted 3 1/3 and gave up seven runs (six earned) on six hits and walked three. He threw 73 pitches, of which just 43 were strikes.
Luke Scott came off the disabled list against one of the toughest pitchers in baseball, and needed just two pitches to jack one into the center field seats to give the Orioles a 2-1 lead in the second inning.
It was no accident. Roy Halladay may have a history of dominating the Orioles, but Scott has a history of dominating Halladay. In 10 career at-bats, he has six hits, iincluding three homers, and six RBI.
...check out my column on the pending arrival of Matt Wieters on Friday. It has been quite awhile since an Orioles prospect as arrived to this kind of fanfare.
I'm guessing the closest parallel would be pitcher Ben McDonald, who was considered the most prized pitching prospect in the history of the draft when the Orioles made him the No. 1 overall pick in 1989. Even then, however, the buildup was nothing like this.
The Orioles just removed Luke Scott from the disabled list and replaced him there with pitcher Koji Uehara, a move that was a surprise to no one. Scott was on the lineup card two hours before the move was official. The roster crunch continues tomorrow when the team brings up Triple-A pitcher David Hernandez and Friday when Matt Wieters is called up.
The Wieters move will involve one of the other catchers -- probably Chad Moeller -- but the move on Thursday is more problematic. Do the O's waive Felix Pie, send out Chris Ray or Matt Albers, release a veteran reliever? I would guess that Ray goes out to work on his mechanics. We'll probably know something by the end of the day.
Today's lineups:
Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Luke Scott DH
Felix Pie LF
Chad Moeller C
Robert Andino SS
Rich Hill LHP
Blue Jays
Marco Scutaro SS
Aaron Hill 2B
Alex Rios RF
Vernon Wells CF
Adam Lind DH
Scott Rolen 3B
Kevin Millar 1B
Rod Barajas C
Jose Bautista LF
Roy Halladay RHP
Dave Trembley is growing weary of all the questions about in-coming catcher Matt Wieters, but he knows that the recent influx of young talent is changing the clubhouse chemistry and changing the way Orioles fans view the entire organization.
"I think it's exciting for the players, it's exciting for the guys getting the opportunity to come here and it's exciting for the fans,'' he said during his pregame news briefing. "As a manager, I make no secret of the fact that I like young players, I like to develop, I like to teach."
He also used the opportunity to compliment Andy MacPhail for sticking to his guns and bringing up players according to the long-term blueprint.
"We've been very patient giving guys time to develop in the minor leagues,'' Trembley added. "I think it's tremendous...We've brought up a lot of players over the years who have tools, but they get here and they look like they've got their finger in a light socket. These guys don't look like that."
Manager Dave Trembley was very impressed with the performance of young Jason Berkens, even though Berkens took some body blows during the early innings of his first major league victory.
"Boy, it's fun to watch a kid come up here and pitch like he did,'' Trembley said. "He (kept the ball) down and he really had very, very good poise. The tempo was good. i thought his changeup was one of his best pitches.
"To me, that was the most important thing, his poise. We've had guys before come up and they've had just as good as stuff, because we expect everybody to be able to play at this level, but there's more to it than just having stuff and having toolsd. It's the ability to focus, the ability to not get out of control, stay in your lane and body language, poise, looking like you fit, not getting rattled. Berken was very good."
Trembley said that Berken will get more opportunities, though the makeup of the rotation remains a bit unclear. It looks like David Hernandez will come up to pitch Thursday, then Trembley will have to decide who goes back when Koji Uehara is ready to return to the starting rotation.
Berken didn't even get an invitation to major league spring training, but he got called up ahead of some pitchers who did.
"It should give a lot of other people a shot in the arm and some incentive,'' Trembley said. "That it's not where you start, it's how you end up. The direction that we're going is opportunity, and I think we've said that. I think Andy has echoed that. It's about opportunity. You can feel sorry for yourself, and all that kind of stuff. Or you can get the job done. Show us. Show people. Obviously Berken did."
Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail dropped a surprise on Orioles fans during the MASN broadcast a few minutes ago, announcing that top prospect Matt Wieters will be recalled and make his major league debut on Friday against the Detroit Tigers at Camden Yards.
"It's time,'' MacPhail said. "He's ready."
The decision comes as a bit of a shock, since Orioles officials have been saying privately for some time that Wieters would come up either next Monday in Seattle or on June 9 in Baltimore.
Wieters will move into the starting lineup and displace one of the veteran catchers from the 25-man roster. It has long been assumed that Chad Moeller would be the one to hit the waiver wire when the time came to promote Wieters, but it is possible that Moeller's stock has risen in the wake of Rich Hill's two solid starts with him behind the plate.
Koji Uehara is not going to throw a side session today. He is jogging in the outfield right now and apparently will play catch, but the fact that he will not throw on the side means that he will not make his Thursday start.
Manager Dave Trembley said that the team is still weighing it's options. The O's could place Uehara on the disabled list retroactive to Saturday and call up David Hernandez to make that start. If the club wants to gamble that Koji will miss just the one start, Trembley could bring Mark Hendrickson or Brian Bass out of the bullpen to make the start, though I can't imagine that's the preferred option.
Here are tonight's lineups:
Blue Jays
Marco Scutaro SS
Aaron Hill 2B
Alex Rios RF
Vernon Wells CF
Adam Lind LF
Scott Rolen 3B
Lyle Overbay 1B
Kevin Millar DH
Rod Barajas C
Ricky Romero LHP
Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Melvin Mora 3B
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton DH
Nolan Reimold LF
Gregg Zaun C
Cesar Izturis SS
Jason Berken RHP
Nick and Christina Markakis just unveiled their Right Side Foundation, which has been formed to help impact the lives of distressed children throughout Maryland. The foundation already has scheduled a charity fun run in August and Nick's "Fun for 21" program, which will take a group of 21 kids on an outing each month.
"After signing my contract and all the things that have gone on in my life and all the things I have been blessed with, we want to give back to the community,'' Markakis said during an afternoon news conference at Camden Yards.
During the news conference, Markakis also announced that he and Christina are planning to move their permanent residence from Georgia to the Baltimore area next season.
If you haven't already, check out Dan Connolly's story today on the Web site. He takes another look at top prospect Matt Wieters while the rest of us wait to see if he comes up next Monday or makes his debut at Camden Yards on June 9.
While we wait to see if Brian Roberts will answer the bell tonight -- or whether the weather will -- I've got nothing better to do than troll the internet looking for interesting sports-related stories to pass along. I think you'll like this one.
According to my friend Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post, at least two pairs of Florida Marlins players recently chose to room together at the ancient Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee because it supposedly is haunted.
There are plenty of ghost stories circulating around baseball about the Pfister, which was built in 1893, and there are probably an inordinate number of baseball players who are superstitious and believe in such things. Capozzi points out in his blog -- which, for reasons I cannot explain, is not called The Capozzi Stops Here -- that former Dodger Adrian Beltre used to sleep with his bat at the hotel just to be safe. You can fill in your own joke here because I can't think of a clean one.
I've stayed in the Pfister a few times and I can attest that it is pretty old, but I never had any supernatural experiences and doubt the place is haunted. I mean, think about it. If you were a ghost, would you choose to spend eternity in Milwaukee?
Rejuvanated reliever George Sherrill just nailed down the Orioles' 4-1 victory over the slumping Toronto Blue Jays, giving the O's their third victory in four games. Tomorrow night, the club turns to minor league callup Jason Berken to keep things moving in the right direction against a Blue Jays team that has lost seven straight and scored a total of 11 runs in those seven games.
The bad news? Brian Roberts, who was upended early in the game, was noticeably uncomfortable after his run-scoring triple in the seventh inning. He was subsequently removed from the game with what the club described as a "contusion of the shin." He's day to day.
Radio, radio: Join me to rehash today's game tonight at six on WBAL (1090 AM). If you're outside of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.
Lou Montanez was in uniform for today's game, but he'll be wearing a hospital gown tomorrow when he undergoes hand surgery at Union Memorial Hospital. He'll have two torn ligaments repaired in his thumb by hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham.
The recovery time is six to eight weeks. Montanez said he will be able to begin some baseball-related exercises in about three weeks.
Syracuse has just completed a miracle comeback to win another NCAA men's lacrosse title. Got to take my hat off to the Orangemen, but I can't help feeling for Cornell, which had a big lead in regulation and the ball ahead by one with 10 seconds left, only to have Syracuse regain possession and score in just six seconds. The Orangemen quickly scored in overtime to complete the heart-breaking turnaround.
The game between the O's and Blue Jays was delayed in the middle of the fifth inning by, believe it or not, darkness. The sky has clouded up and the lights -- for some reason -- have not yet been turned on.
The umpires stopped the game momentarily to talk to the managers, but have resumed in this strange twilight.
Instant update: The lights appear to be warming up now. Don't know why it took so long, but I would guess the umpires made the teams resume because the Blue Jays already had batted in the twilight.
The game is starting to drag a little bit, so this seems like as good a time as any to punch my first All-Star ballot. I usually do it alone, but since I'm sitting next to Orioles PR wizard Jay Moskowitz, we decided to do it by consensus. Here goes:
American League
1B -- Justin Morneau
2B -- Ian Kinsler
SS -- Jason Bartlett
3B -- Evan Longoria
C -- Joe Mauer
OF -- Jason Bay
OF -- Adam Jones
OF -- Nick Markakis
National League
1B -- Albert Pujols
2B -- Chase Utley
SS -- Hanley Ramirez
3B -- Ryan Zimmerman
C -- Brain McCann
OF -- Carlos Beltran
OF -- Raul Ibanez
OF -- Adam Dunn
Today's featured comment comes from Bobby Ballgame, who is one of several posters over the past few minutes who has chimed in that they would like to see a little more decorum from the Orioles players during the National Anthem, especially on Memorial Day:
Bobby's take: I should have written this years ago but about 5 minutes ago I decided that enough is enough --- Memorial Day is a great day for this.
Would someone please get the word to the young Orioles players (and even some of the vets --- B. Rob take note) some important information that they should have learned in school? When the National Anthem is playing, it is time to honor the nation that gives you the privilege of playing a game and making millions of dollars. It is not time to goof around.
So, here are the directions:
1. Place your hand over your heart, with your cap in your hand
2. Look toward the flag
3. Shut up
Pete, I am tired of players yakking it up, with hands and arms all over the place, slouching in whatever direction they feels like slouching. Dave Trembley sets a good example and does everything right. He needs to act like a manager and TELL the players what to do.
These young guys can be real icons (like Cal, Derek Jeter, etc.), but no one will respect them if they keep up this nonsense.
I’m a USNA and Navy veteran. Can you tell?
Pete's take: Well said. I'm the son of two WWII veterans (Yep, mom too) and I agree, though I admit that I have become cavalier in this area myself because we hear the anthem so often at the ballpark. Thanks for the reminder.
Not that it is any surprise, but Dave Trembley all but announced that Jason Berken will be the starter tomorrow night.
"It shouldn't be any surprise,'' he said. "Just look who's pitching tonight (at Norfolk) and you'll know who it is."
He was referring to Chris Waters, who will pitch tonight for the Tides and leave Berken as the only Triple-A pitcher who is really on schedule to throw tomorrow night.
"Everybody knows who it is,'' Trembley said. "The player knows. I just can't announce it because it's a transaction and involves a roster spot that isn't open yet."
Lou Montanez already is set to be the guy going on the disabled list to make room, and will have surgery to reattach torn ligaments in his thumb.
Trembley said he would not have any update on Koji Uehara's status until Koji tries to throw on the side on Tuesday. If he can throw, he'll probably go Thursday. If he can't pitch his side session, the Orioles will need another starter. Though there are no immediate plans to DL Uehara, it probably would make sense since it would be retroactive back to Saturday and would give Uehara extra time to get right and whoever comes up (David Hernanez?) two starts at the big league level.
Blue Jays
Marco Scutaro SS
Aaron Hill 2B
Alex Rios RF
Vernon Wells CF
Adam Lind DH
Scott Rolen 3B
Lyle Overbay 1B
Rod Barajas C
Jose Bautista LF
Brian Tallet LHP
Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Melvin Mora 3B
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton DH
Nolan Reimold LF
Gregg Zaun C
Cesar Izturis SS
Jeremy Guthrie RHP
For those who have been clamoring to see more minor league prospects at the major league level, the moves are starting to come fast and furious -- some by design and some by necessity.
Manager Dave Trembley appears likely to name Jason Berken the starter for Tuesday night's game -- filling the slot left when the Orioles released veteran Adam Eaton -- and the rotation reconstruction may not stop there. The next shoe will probably drop soon thereafter, when the club decides to skip Koji Uehara for at least one start.
The next man up could be David Hernandez to fill Uehara's slot in the rotation on Thursday, though Chris Waters will remain in play for both openings until he makes his scheduled start for Norfolk on Monday.
Think about it. There's a possibility that the Orioles rotation that featured Jeremy Guthrie, Koji Uehara, Mark Hendrickson, Alfredo Simon and Adam Eaton at the start of the season could -- very soon -- consist of Guthrie, Brad Bergesen, Rich Hill, Jason Berken and David Hernandez. That's an amazing amount of turnover in seven weeks.
Don't know if that constitutes turning a corner, but it sure seems like the Orioles are turning a page.
Brad Bergesen pitched okay, but it's starting to look like opposing hitters are getting a bead on him during the middle innings. That's all part of the adjustment process. He's going to have to give them a different look in the later at-bats.
Of course, it might make it easier on him if the Orioles offense would make things a little easier in the middle innings. Bergesen has made seven starts and the club has scored a total of 18 runs while he was in those games. To be clear, that's 18 runs while he actually was pitching, or about 2.6 runs, so he has seldom been in a comfortable position in the middle innings.
All in all, I'm pretty impressed with the way he has comported himself, even if he doesn't have a lot of wins to show for it.
Nationals manager Manny Acta made an interesting decision calling for an intentional walk to Robert Andino to get to Brad Bergesen with two outs in the fourth inning. It appeared to work out, even though Bergesen reached base for the second time in two at-bats, because Brian Roberts flied out to end the inning, but you can't judge the strategy by the outcome.
Since Andino was not a great bet to drive the run home from second, Acta was doing the Orioles a favor by bringing the pitcher to the plate in that situation, since it kept Bergesen from leading off the fifth in front of the top of the lineup. Dave Trembley loves to talk about the importance of turning the lineup over, so he was probably thrilled to see that.
Bergesen looks like a hitter. He attacked the first pitch in his first at-bat and bounced it through the middle for a hit. After the walk, he hit another ball up the middle and beat it out when Christian Guzman threw wide of first for an error.
The Orioles just can't get a break on Sunday. Nick Markakis hammered a ball to the right field fence and Austin Kearns just made one of the best outfield catches of the year, slamming face-first into the out-of-town scoreboard.
Loved the MASN replay of Nationals starter Shairon Martis watching the play and then calmly pumping his fist like there was nothing to it. Meanwhile, Kearns was picking himself off the warning track and trying to pull his nose back out of his face.
Martis, obviously, is the brightest light in the Nationals rotation. He entered today's game with a 5-0 record, which is no small feat on a team that has only 12 victories all year.
Now that it looks like Lou Montanez will be out for an extended period with that thumb injury, it also looks like Felix Pie will be sticking around for awhile. Maybe he would have anyway. Maybe Montanez was the one who was going to be sent out to make room for Luke Scott, but I wouldn't have been surprised it Luke's return from the DL forced Pie onto the waiver list.
Check out my latest column: I just put up a column on Andy MacPhail and the rebuilding plan. You can find it here.
It was just one game, and a rather strange one at that, but some things happened on Friday that could alter the very negative perception of the Orioles pitching staff. The release of Adam Eaton opened a slot in the rotation for another young pitcher -- to be announced -- and the second straight solid start by Rich Hill left room to believe the club has discovered a decent starter.
Hill was dogged by command problems throughout 2008 and his confidence also was thought to be an issue, but he had no trouble locating his offspeed stuff when his fastball failed him last night and he seemed more than willing to challenge the big hitters in the Nationals lineup. He made one mistake -- the pitch that Ryan Zimmerman launched into the center field bleachers to tie the game in the fourth inning -- and pitched into the sixth inning before turning the ball over to a suddenly rejuvenated bullpen.
"I thought Hill pitched with confidence,'' said Dave Trembley. "He used all his pitches. He wasn't reluctant to use his curveball when he was behind in the count."
Hill insists that confidence was never his problem. He claims his control problems last year were the result of a back issue that has been resolved. His problem this spring was elbow soreness that forced him to start the season in extended spring training.
"The confidence was always there, but it was just a matter of the injuries,'' he said. "Now, to get over that and get healthy and get out there, it's great."
The bullpen was even better, giving up one hit over 6 1/3 scoreless innings. Danys Baez pitched two scoreless innings to get the win and started the game-winning rally with a two-out infield hit in the 12th. Brian Roberts and Adam Jones followed with back-to-back doubles and Baez also scored the run that gave him the victory.
"I think you've got to give our entire pitching staff credit,'' said Jones. "They put up 11 zeroes and gave up only one big hit."
It was just one game, but the Orioles sure looked like a different team.
"Maybe that's the kind of thing that gets you started,'' said Trembley.
The Orioles have taken a two-run lead in the 12th inning in a most unusual way. Danys Baez, who has pitched two scoreless innings, was allowed to hit for himself with two outs and legged out an infield hit for his first major league hit. Brian Roberts followed with a long line drive into the left field corner off Nationals reliever Kip Wells, who seemed to get a break when the ball bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double.
That left the Nats with a decision to make -- have the right-hander pitch to hot-hitting Adam Jones or walk him to create a force at every base and face Nick Markakis. There was really no right decision, since the Nats had no one left in the bullpen to create a lefty-lefty matchup for Nick. Jones, who seems to be hitting everything hard right now, laced a shot into the left field corner to score both runners. O's win, 4-2.
Baez ended up getting the win and the winning run. How often does that happen?
Danys Baez has just pitched a scoreless 10th inning with the score tied at 2-2. The Orioles bullpen has been impressive, working 4 1/3 innings of one-hit relief to push the game into extra innings.
Meanwhile in Norfolk: David Hernandez finally faltered in the eighth inning, giving up three unearned runs to deadlock the game with Rochester, 3-3. Hernandez worked 7 1/3 innings, gave up just three hits and struck out 14 before turning the game over to the Tides bullpen.
Norfolk pitcher David Hernandez may be pitching the greatest game of his career, but it's probably not going to get him to the major leagues next week. He has completed seven innings tonight against Rochester, giving up one hit and striking out 14.
Yes, 14.
He has thrown 94 pitches (70 for strikes) and should have enough left in the tank to go at least another inning, but he apparently has been eliminated from consideration for the rotation slot that was just vacated by Adam Eaton. Manager Dave Trembley was adamant that whoever comes up will pitch that night, which probably narrows the field to Chris Waters and Jason Berken.
Nothing he could do about that. If Trembley is that certain about the timing, then Hernandez would not have been allowed to pitch more than a couple of innings tonight if he was really under consideration.
Nolan Reimold cranked his second major league home run in the second inning. I guess after going 400-plus against Mariano Rivera, Jordan Zimmerman wasn't much of a challenge.
This may sound premature, but Reimold looks like he's going to stick. He has impressed everybody with the way he is carrying himself and he clearly has big-time power. The activation of Luke Scott is looming and I'm pretty sure that Reimold is the only one of the left fielders on the roster who safe.
Lou Montanez may have to go back, but it wouldn't totally surprise me if Scott's return brings an early end to the Felix Pie experiment. The club expected him to struggle at the plate, but his struggles in the outfield are making it more difficult to justify putting him out there ahead of Reimold.
Meanwhile at Norfolk: David Hernandez is making a case, too. He struck out the side in each of the first two innings of tonight's start against Rochester. Unfortunately for him, however, if he throws more than one more inning, it probably means he isn't the guy coming up to fill the No. 5 slot in the major league rotation, since Dave Trembley said that pitcher will definitely pitch on Tuesday and Hernandez would be on short rest.
Just want to acknowledge the fan on the third deck at Nationals Park wearing a faded Larry Bigbie promotional Orioles T-Shirt. Now, that's loyalty...or a very limited wardrobe. One of the two.
Matt Albers obviously is happy to be back after being sent out twice this season. He hopes he can stick around for awhile this time, but that depends on the next pitching move. His best chance of staying is if the club moves Brian Bass into the No. 5 slot instead of calling up one of the Triple-A guys.
He said he feels like he figured some things out during his time at Norfolk.
"I feel good,'' Albers said. "I thought I pitched pretty well there and … I got the call this morning and drove up from Norfolk and I am glad to be here."
On changes he has made: "I went to the kind of things I was doing last year. Just trying to throw a lot of sinkerballs, get ahead in the count, work in my breaking ball. Same sort of thing I just got more consistent work down there and was able to work on some things and it went pretty well."
On staying up this time: "That’s the plan. Whenever I get called back up, try not to get called back down. … You try not to worry about it, you try to take one outing at a time. Try to do what I can and try to stay here as long as I can, obviously. It’s kind of one of those things, a numbers game. You never know."
As expected, Adam Eaton has been removed from the 25-man roster. Reliever Matt Albers, who has been up and down twice already this season, has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to bulk up the bullpen until the club needs a starting pitcher to fill the opening in the rotation.
Manager Dave Trembley tried to avoid any criticism of Eaton, who made eight starts and pitched to an 8.56 ERA.
"I think the record and the way he pitched, it's pretty self-evident what the factors were,'' Trembley said.
Pressed on what he thought went wrong, he pointed to Eaton's lack of consistent command.
"I just didn't see him able to locate his pitches on a repetitive basis,'' Trembley added. "The guy has pitched for a long time. He knew what he wanted to do and he worked at it, (but) he just couldn't stay away from the big inning. It wasn't that he couldn't (pitch well). He just didn't."
Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Nolan Reimold LF
Chad Moeller C
Cesar Izturis SS
Rich Hill - LHP
Nationals
Christian Guzman SS
Nick Johnson 1B
Ryan Zimmerman 3B
Adam Dunn RF
Josh Willingham LF
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Josh Bard C
Justin Maxwell CF
Jordan Zimmermann RHP
The Orioles are weighing their options with regard to Adam Eaton's place in the starting rotation, which apparently is not going to be his place in the starting rotation much longer, and there are several possible scenarios.
In all likelihood, the next starter will come from the Triple-A rotation, and the only thing I'm reasonably sure of -- based on various conversations the past day or two -- is that it will not be Chris Tillman. The club has a timetable for him and that timetable is not now.
The other Norfolk options are David Pauley, Chris Waters, David Hernandez and Jason Berken, and you can make a case for and against each of them. I'm going to stick with my original guess -- Hernandez -- but that's just a guess.
Keep in mind that the team could make a move with Eaton today and bring up someone to help elsewhere for a few days before calling up the next No. 5 starter. We may hear more when we get to the ballpark in Washington in a few hours.
When the Orioles open a three-game series against the Nationals tonight in Washington, it should confirm the special place that this area holds in the sports pantheon. The Mid-Atlantic region is now at the center of the bad baseball universe.
Both teams are in last place in their respective divisions and both teams do not combine for as many victories (28) so far this year as the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers (29), who are rolling in spite of the loss of one of the best hitters in the game to a 50-game suspension.
Can't wait to get to the ballpark. Maybe we'll know by then what they're planning to do about the starting rotation.
Radio plug: Tune in today at noon for The Week in Review with Clarence Mitchell IV and me on WBAL (1090 AM). We'll be tossing around the issues of the day and I'll be trying to provide some insight along with the insults that fly every Friday afternoon. It's meant to be fun and it's even more fun when you join in. If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.
Well, at least he didn't keep us in suspense. Adam Eaton gave up consecutive doubles to the first three batters he faced and surrendered six runs in the first two innings, which pretty much removes any possibility of him getting out of this game with any room to rationalize his performance.
Manager Dave Trembley wasn't forthcoming when he was asked before the game whether Eaton was pitching for his place in the rotation, but if you listened to his pregame comments, it wasn't hard to read between the lines. This should be it.
There's no joy in Mudville when somebody burns out like this. It's sad to see Eaton struggle so badly, but they won't have to throw any benefits for him. He hit the jackpot with that Phillies contract, so he should be able to find something to do if he gets released by the O's and doesn't get picked up by another team.
Orioles starter Adam Eaton has pitched seven times and registered only one solid outing. He has a 7.93 ERA and appears to be at the end of his rope as he prepares to take the mound tonight at Yankee Stadium.
If you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, he beat the Yankees the last time he faced them, but that was largely due to a pretty big offensive performance. He lasted five innings in that game and allowed four earned runs and nine baserunners. That isn't the one solid outing that I mentioned earlier.
His only good outing was against the Chicago White Sox and it was quite good. He pitched into the eighth inning, gave up just two earned runs to a good offensive team and struck out nine batters. It looked like he might be getting ready to settle into some kind of personal groove, but he has given up 20 earned runs in 21 innings since then.
Do you think this is it? Does he have to dig deep and come up with a big performance on the big stage to remain in the starting rotation?
I've got to think so. If he gets shelled tonight, even the fact that the Orioles got him essentially for free (paying just $400,000 of his huge salary for 2009) isn't enough to convince me that the team would not be better served giving those innings to one of the pitchers at Triple-A. I'll let you argue over whether it should be one of the top prospects or a workman such as Chris Waters.
Right now, I might even consider asking the Nationals to send back Daniel Cabrera, now that they've figured out what has been wrong for all these years of underachievement. They say he has been standing on top of the rubber instead of in front of it. They think the Orioles never noticed that or, apparently, any of the other mechanical foibles that make DCab such an enigma. For Daniel's sake, I wish they were right, but I know they are wrong. The O's tried everything and the only thing that worked was having him stand on the unemployment line until the Nats signed him.
Radio dogma: If you want to argue the point with me on the radio, tune in to WBAL (1090 AM) at six for Sportsline. We'll be talking some ball and looking ahead to tonight's game. If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.
McClatchy-Tribune photo
It all comes down to Adam Eaton, who will be pitching Thursday to avert a three-game sweep at the new Yankee Stadium and, perhaps, to save his place in the Orioles starting rotation.
Doesn't look good on either count. The Orioles have run into the hottest team in baseball and gotten blown out the first two nights. Can't think of any reason why that isn't going to happen again, since Eaton will take the mound with one of the highest ERAs (7.93) of any major league starting pitcher.
...was there absolutely nothing to gain by Brian Roberts running on the 3-1 and 3-2 pitches to Nick Markakis in the third inning? There was a runner at third base and one out with the Orioles down by four runs, so what exactly was the upside of Roberts putting himself in jeopardy and denying Aubrey Huff the opportunity to take a hack at that short right field porch?
I don't know if that's on Brian or Dave Trembley, but the Orioles have to get their running game under control. They've been wasting baserunners and undermining potential rallies all season like that and it needs to stop. The hit-and-run is a great idea once in awhile, but the Orioles run on 3-1 way too often -- and way too predictably -- and cost themselves walks because the hitter has to protect the baserunner on a borderline pitch.
...do the Orioles announcers have a knack for delivering a ridiculous negative stat about 30 seconds before an opposing player takes a big poke at an O's pitcher?
Just a couple of pitches into Nick Swisher's at-bat, Gary Thorne pointed out that Swisher was in a horrible May slump, managing just five hits in his 49 May at-bats. So why wasn't I surprised when Swisher promptly hammered a ball into the right field bleachers.
Thorne didn't even have time to point out that Cano had hit just one of his seven homers at the new Yankee Stadium before he jacked one into the right field seats. Mercifully, there was no negative stat to go with Melky Cabrera's second-deck shot that gave the Yankees a homer hat trick before the first out of the second inning. All five of his home runs this year have been at home.
If you've been reading Dave Trembley's comments or watching him on the MASN pre-game and post-game shows, you've probably heard him describe how certain guys "pitch to contact." That's another way of saying that a pitcher does not try to overpower batters and does not try so hard to finesse the strike zone that he allows an inordinate number of walks.
Job One for pitching coach Rick Kranitz this year was to reduce the number of free passes, and he has succeeded in that. The Orioles entered tonight's game ranked fifth in the majors in fewest walks allowed.
Trouble is, Orioles pitchers have pitched to way too much contact during the first seven weeks of the season. They entered the game tonight leading the major leagues in hits allowed, with an average of 10.4 per game and ranked 30th in opponents batting average at .295. They also ranked second in the majors in home runs allowed with 58. Ugh.
Instant update: In the space of about five minutes, Jeremy Guthrie gave up three home runs in the second inning tonight to vault the O's into a tie with the Philadelphia Phillies for the dubious major league lead in home runs allowed with 61.
The Bowie Baysox do not want to let go of Matt Wieters, even though he has gone on to bigger and better things. They're going to give away a Matt Wieters figurine to the first 1,000 fans 3-years-old and up who show up with a ticket for their June 17 game against the Reading Phillies at Prince George's Stadium.
The six-inch figurine stands on a wooden base and features Wieters throwing a ball in his catcher's gear and a Bowie uniform bearing his No. 32. The giveaway is limited to one figurine per person.
I'm not a big collector (my mom threw away my original copy of the Gettysburg Address when I was a kid and I'm still mad) but I would guess this particular collectible might be a nice thing to have when Wieters becomes a big star in the majors. If you're interested, there's more info at www.baysox.com.
Didn't mention left-hander Chris Waters when I was speculating about the upcoming promotions yesterday, but he has to be part of the conversation after bouncing back from a rough start at Triple-A to pitch very well over the past couple of weeks. He's 2-0 with a 2.70 over three straight quality starts.
My column was already in when he took the mound last night and pitched a solid six innings (2 ER, 5 H, 93 P) to defeat Louisville and lead the Norfolk Tides (26-12) to their eighth straight victory.
He's not in sync to drop right into the rotation is Eaton continues to struggle, but that might actually be a good thing, since he could move into the rotation on Sunday or Monday and Dave Trembley could again give the rest of the rotation an extra day off during this string of 16 consecutive games without an offday.
So, if you're Andy MacPhail and Dave Stockstill -- and God knows it isn't easy being either one of those guys, much less both -- do you go with Waters or David Hernandez...or go for broke with Chris Tillman?
Baltimore Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam
No. I'm not talking about the Orioles. There isn't much excuse for what happened in the seventh inning tonight. I'm talking about the relative lack of activity at The Schmuck Stops Here today.
Chalk it up to a combination of serious laptop problems and the fact that today is a column day for me. If you want my insights on this day in Birdland, you're going to have to go here for my take on the accelerating Orioles rebuilding plan.
If the club wasn't already limping into New York with Adam Jones (hamstring) and Lou Montanez (thumb) banged up, there might be more talk of placing Cesar Izturis on the disabled list with the groin injury he suffered over the weekend. The way it looks right now, he'll probably sit the next couple of days in New York and backup Robert Andino will play shortstop for much of the three-game series.
Groin injuries are troublesome, so the DL is not out of the question at some point. The Orioles also waited on Luke Scott's injured shoulder for a few days, but eventually decided to play it safe with him.
Radio alert: Join me at six for Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM). If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon. There's even a toll-free number to take part in the show.
It appears that the Orioles' search for a new spring training home is coming to a head, though -- after nearly 20 years of false starts -- continued skepticism about the club's ability to close a deal is well-founded.
Here's where the situation stands: The team recently informed Sarasota County that it will consider a lesser deal to move into a renovated Ed Smith Stadium (below) as early as 2010, but that doesn't make it a done deal. County officials responded positively, but have set a May 22 deadline (Friday) for the Orioles to suspend negotiations with Fort Lauderdale and Lee County (Fort Myers) and engage in exclusive negotiations with Sarasota County to complete a deal.
Meanwhile, Lee County is continuing to work with the Orioles on a possible deal that would move the team into City of Palms Park in Fort Myers in 2012, following the departure of the Boston Red Sox for a newer facility in the area. Lee County officials met with Peter Angelos in Baltimore last week and have asked the Orioles to forward them a lease proposal by the end of the month.
Of course, the situation is largely in the hands of several sets of lawyers, so who knows how long it will take to put something concrete together.
If you want to get a feel for what's going on -- and maybe get a sense for how this could drag on for so long -- read the Orioles' official comment to the Fort Myers News-Press on the subject last week:
"We, like any major league baseball team seeking a significant long-term partnership with a spring training community, would certainly welcome and would respond to a concrete, comprehensive, joint city-county offer. Naturally, that offer would fully and completely describe the respective roles of the city, county, state and team in addressing the needs and costs of the fields and facilities. We continue to await such a complete and comprehensive joint proposal from Sarasota and will begin the process of evaluating such a proposal once one is received."
No, mom, I have never regretted my decision to skip law school and cover baseball for a newspaper.
AP Photo
The Orioles open a three-game series at the new Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night and I'm tempted to declare the entire series a reverse lock. The Orioles are playing short with Adam Jones and Lou Montanez banged up and they're starting young Brad Bergesen in the opener against C.C. Sabathia, so the first game qualifies.
Their best chance of getting a win comes on Wednesday night, when No. 1 starter Jeremy Guthrie takes the mound against Phil Hughes and his 7.53 ERA, but the Orioles could not take advantage of the rotation mismatch on Sunday against the Royals, so why should anyone expect them to rise up against a much more imposing team.
The series finale features Adam Eaton (2-4, 7.93 ERA) in what I believe is a must-win situation. The only reason, in my mind, that Eaton is getting the start is because the Orioles brass does not want to bring up a young pitcher and send him to the mound in that environment. If Eaton pulls a big performance out of thin air, he'll likely get another start. If not, I think you're going to see somebody like David Hernandez moved into his slot in the rotation pretty quick.
Reverse lock series sweep? I said I was tempted, not stupid. The Orioles will be very fortunate to get out of New York with one victory. If I had to choose which one, logic would dictate that it would be Guthrie's start, but I used up all my logic on Luke Scott. I'm going with Bergesen in a single-game reverse lock tomorrow night.
Poor Dave Trembley. He plays the game by Hoyle, makes all the textbook decisions and you know how it usually turns out. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon (left) -- or one of his coaches -- screws up the lineup card and wins anyway.
Here's the story about Maddon's goof.
Seems he accidentally listed two third basemen on Sunday's lineup instead of putting DH next to Evan Longoria's name. Once he handed in the lineup card, he was stuck, since the rules state that the pitcher has to move back into the batting order in a case where no DH is designated in the lineup.
So, what happens? The Rays beat the Cleveland Indians and pitcher Andy Sonnanstine contributes a run-scoring double to their big rally.
That's the way it would have turned out in Baltimore. Right?
Getty Images
Since I don't want to talk about another day of wasted opportunities and overzealous base running, I'll revisit the Luke Scott situation. Following a conversation with Orioles beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec, I'm more convinced than ever that the club made the right decision when it put Luke on the disabled list.
He wasn't happy about it, and I don't blame him for wanting to play through his bruised rotator cuff, but the logic of the move is impeccable. Even if Luke had been ready to play today, he almost certainly would have been out of the lineup on Tuesday night against left-hander CC Sabathia and the O's won't be able to use a designated hitter during next weekend's series against the Nationals in Washington. I'm guessing the DL assignment won't cost him more than three games.
This way, he gets a week to get completely healthy. The other way, he would have tried to play and might have been dealing with nagging shoulder soreness for weeks. Just my opinion, but I'm pretty sure I'm right.
Here are some random thoughts on what has gone on over the weekend in Kansas City, where the Orioles have won two of three going into this afternoon's series finale and may have discovered a solid new starting pitcher:
Luke Scott is no malcontent. I know he sounded unhappy to be placed on the disabled list and he should be, but this is not a Ryan Freel situation. The difference, of course, is that Scott has been a productive part of the Orioles' offense and has the numbers to back it up, even though he really didn't want to be moved into the designated hitter role. Overall, he's been a very good soldier.
Rich Hill was impressive in his Orioles regular-season debut, but let's wait a couple of starts before we start bashing Dave Trembley for taking him out too early in the game. He's still stretching out and he needed to walk off the mound feeling good about himself. Mission accomplished.
No Sunday lineup today. Trembley doesn't even have a Sunday lineup anymore, with Scott on the DL and Adam Jones being babied to keep his sore hamstring from becoming a season-long issue.
Koji Uehara will take the mound on a couple of extra days of rest. I wonder if that means he will get to go further into today's game if he pitches the way he did his last time out. Probably not, since there is an offday Monday and Dave Trembley will want to see if his short relief crew can follow up on last night's impressive three-headed performance.
My opinion: If the situation arises, let Koji go a couple more outs if he wants to. He has to build some additional stamina for the long summer ahead.
Today's featured comment comes from Anthony, who got a kick out of my finding a way to tie my coverage of Saturday's Preakness Stakes to one of my favorite 60's sit-coms, so he tied that sit-com (Mr. Ed) to our favorite sport:
Anthony's take: Hey, this is sports-related AND Mr. Ed-related ... if you've never seen the episode where Mr. Ed joins the Dodgers, you haven't seen one of the funniest scenes in TV history. Ed rounds third and goes sliding into home, prompting the Dodgers' absolutely terrified catcher to climb the screen. I believe it was Roseboro behind the plate. Leo Durocher, Willie Davis and some other Dodgers were in the episode. CLASSIC!
My take: It sure was, so I'm throwing up a publicity shot from the show for those who don't remember and don't watch TV Land.
Bonus take: Is it just me, or is there anybody else out there who thinks Ed would be an upgrade in that No. 5 hole in the Orioles rotation? I'd also settle for the guy to the right of him.
Luke Scott wasn't too pleased with the Orioles' decision to place him on the disabled list today to make room for new starting pitcher Rich Hill. Here's Dan Connolly's story from Kansas City.
I admire Luke for wanting to come back soon and play through the residual soreness, but I think the club made the right decision. If you've been reading this blog, you know I predicted it would probably come to this. Scott might be able to play against the Yankees, but he also might end up at something less than 100 percent for well beyond the nine more games he's going to miss on the DL.
The decision also is an obvious sign that Andy MacPhail isn't quite ready to give up on Adam Eaton and call up on of the club's promising minor league pitchers.
If you understand the headline on this blog entry, you're in the demographic that still likes horse racing -- and goofy 1960s sit-coms -- so you'll understand why I won't be showing up here for much of today. I'm heading out right now to do the Preakness pregame show at noon on WBAL (1090 AM) and then I'll be covering the the second jewel of the Triple Crown for The Sun. Don't think Mr. Ed (right) will be running in any of the races, but you never know.
You won't hear any complaints from me about being overworked. I love the Preakness and have covered it almost every year in some capacity since I moved to Baltimore. If you want my take on the difficult future facing racing in general and the Preakness in particular, check out my column today.
Just an aside, but if you stayed up late enough last night, you saw why I was hesitant to assign "reverse lock" status to the matchup between Adam Eaton and Zach Greinke. I thought the only hope the Orioles had of beating Greinke was if the law of averages caught up with him and he finally struggled.
Actually it did. He had the leadoff runner on base all night and allowed a lot of baserunners, but he's as good as advertised and was able to hold the O's down on a night when he didn't have his best stuff. Eaton, meanwhile, may have answered the roster question that has been floating around since Rich Hill started getting close to joining the rotation.
Hill is set to go tonight. Should be interesting.
Don't know if you already saw this story on the Web site, but Cal Ripken said at a banquet in Palm Beach, Fla. that he wants to talk to Alex Rodriguez to find out why the best player in baseball would take steroids.
I'd certainly love to be a fly on that wall. Ripken seldom injects himself into controversy, but he and A-Rod appeared to have a special relationship when he was still playing. It was Rodriguez who stepped aside at Cal's final All-Star Game and insisted Ripken play shortstop. A-Rod has said many times that he modeled himself after Ripken, which no longer would be considered great praise after the revelations of the past few months.
Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Fox
The Orioles hadn't even showered after Thursday night's 9-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals and I started to get commentors wondering if I am going to call tonight's game a reverse lock.
Based on the pitching matchup, I think that would be the right call, since there would appear to be absolutely no chance that Adam Eaton (2-3, 718) will outduel Zach Greinke (6-1, 0.51) in the second game of the four-game series. But the "reverse lock" -- as it has been explained to me by former Orioles writer and current official scorer Jim Henneman -- must take into account all the circumstances of the game in question.
I'm wondering if the Kansas City Royals are even eligible to be on the wrong end of a reverse lock. For one, they've lost six straight games. For another, they're the Kansas City Royals. Enough said.
If I were to predict an Orioles victory, it would be based on the law of averages. Greinke has been so good for so long that he has to mix in a clinker eventually.
If anybody can tell me what goes through the mind of Jeremy Guthrie when the Orioles give him some run support, please write. Once again, he took the mound immediately after the club gift-wrapped a big inning for him and proceeded to spin out of control.
The O's scored four in the top of the fifth and he answered by giving up a one-out double to John Buck and a pair of two-out walks to load the bases before Billy Butler laced a two-run double to left to make a one-run game.
Guthrie has been snakebit since letting a seven-run lead get away in Boston in mid-April. He ended up with another no-decision in late April after the O's staked him to an early 4-0 lead against the Texas Rangers. In both those games, the Orioles offense went dormant after putting him in control. This time, the hitters seem more determined to get him his first win since April 11.
Felix Pie just legged out a double and scored on the second run-scoring hit of the game by Cesar Izturis. Nick Markakis just slammed a long two-run double -- also his second RBI hit of the game -- to stretch the lead to 8-4.
Gil Meche signed a huge free agent contract with the Royals before the 2007 season, but he hasn't beaten the Orioles since he was with the Seattle Mariners in 2005. That didn't change tonight, even though he was staked to an early two-run lead.
He surrendered Aubrey Huff's seventh home run of the year in the fourth and was knocked out of the game in the fifth when the Orioles struck for four runs on a two-run triple by fill-in No. 2 hitter Cesar Izturis, an RBI double by Nick Markakis and a run-scoring single by Melvin Mora.
Nolan Reimold update: Reimold hit a line drive to shortstop in his first major league at-bat. He grounded into a force play in his second plate appearance.
Manager Dave Trembley announced today that Mark Hendrickson has been moved to the bullpen and Koji Uehara has been moved back into Sunday's start in Kansas City to give him a little more rest. Here's Dan Connolly's story from Kauffman Stadium.
None of this comes as a surprise and the starter for Saturday night's game will not be either, though Trembley would not officially announced that Rich Hill will come off the disabled list to pitch that game. That announcement probably will come tomorrow.
The Orioles, as announced on Wednesday night, recalled promising outfielder Nolan Reimold today and have put him in the lineup for tonight's series opener against the Kansas City Royals.
Reimold will be in left field, and you have to believe that if the team was not going to play him regularly out there, Andy MacPhail would have called up someone like Oscar Salazar instead. No word on any further roster moves yet, though I still believe either Luke Scott or Adam Jones could end up on the 15-day DL.
Shameless radio plug: Join me at six for Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM). Stan White will be my guest, so we'll talk baseball, football and Preakness. If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.
It has come to my attention that our new sports columnist -- former features columnist Kevin Cowherd -- has publicly expressed an anti-cat bias, which puts me in the awkward position of being the only Sun columnist who will be there to defend cats whenever there's a cat-related sports issue.
This is certainly going to increase my already hefty workload, which includes several columns per week, this blog (and holding your hands through this Orioles season is a full-time job in itself) and a radio talkshow. I kind of figured that since Cowherd the Cat-basher had been a features columnist for many years, he would come with a special sensitivity for the smallest and weakest among us, but I obviously was misinformed.
So, I reluctantly accept this responsibility. If a popular NFL quarterback is caught running an illegal cat-fighting ring, I'll be there. If an unscrupulous trainer is pumping steroids into his cats to gain advantage in the Calico Breeders Cup. I'll be there. Whereever there's a cat being exploited or misrepresented or even just misunderstood in a sports setting, I'll be there. If there's a cat reading the Grapes of Wrath and doesn't have proper lighting, I'll be there, too.
Not Cowherd. Just thought you'd like to know.
If you're feeling neglected because there hasn't been any new info on the Orioles here so far today, it's because I have to split my attention between the Orioles and the Preakness. This is nothing new. I've covered almost every Preakness either as a reporter or columnist since I arrived in Baltimore in 1990. Wouldn't miss it.
People say that horseracing is dying, but you wouldn't know it by the crowds that pack the tracks for the Triple Crown races and the Breeders Cup. It certainly has far less mass appeal than it used to -- and definitely appeals to a much older crowd than the X Games -- but there's something about the big races that still draws fans and gets TV ratings. It's called real drama.
Be honest. Major League Baseball sets attendance and revenue records every year, but which would you rather watch -- Adam Eaton throwing his 100th pitch in the fourth inning or Calvin Borel blasting through on the rail aboard 50-1 longshot Mine That Bird (right) to win the Kentucky Derby?
The perception of horse racing as a sport in total decline is magnified in Maryland, because of the dilapidated condition of Pimlico and the lack of consensus on how to re-energize the industry. It certainly hasn't helped that the legislature cared more about gotcha politics for four years than getting a slots deal done that would have helped the tracks and narrowed a huge state budget deficit, but that's water -- and billions in lost tax revenue -- under the bridge.
The only thing to do now is enjoy the Preakness and the great way it showcases Baltimore for one shining Saturday every year.
Well, every year so far.
AP Photo
The pending recall of hot-hitting outfielder Nolan Reimold (left) from Triple-A Norfolk answers an immediate question for the Orioles. They now have another healthy outfielder for the upcoming four-game series in Kansas City, which is pretty important with Adam Jones hobbled by renewed hamstring soreness and Luke Scott still figuring to be a day or two away from returning from that bruised rotator cuff.
The question, however, is what happens when they feel better? The situation also is muddied by the apparent stomach virus that is dogging Felix Pie, but he came on in an emergency on Wednesday night and delivered a single and a long home run in two at-bats.
Manager Dave Trembley said after the game he doesn't know what Reimold's role will be, but there are sure to be a lot of fans hoping he gets some playing time and a chance to stick in the majors.
"I haven't thought that far ahead,'' Trembley said. "Depends on the status of Jones and Scott. I'll know more about that tomorrow."
Jones said after the game that he thinks he could play on Thursday night, but expects Trembley to rest him for at least a couple of days. Scott hit off a tee before the game, hoping he would feel good enough to be available to pinch hit, but was still too sore.
Reimold has been one of the hottest hitters in all of minor league baseball, and leaves Norfolk with a .394 batting average, nine homers and 27 RBI in just 31 games. He also was one of the Orioles' top hitters in the spring before he was optioned out. If he hits the ground running in Kansas City, it could create a dilemma for the Orioles as they reconfigure the roster to make room for starting pitcher Rich Hill and maybe top prospect Matt Wieters.
This move was made to fill a need, not speed up the Orioles youth movement, but it could end up doing both.
AP file photo
The Orioles just staged a laser show against Rays closer Troy Percival, but the opportunity to win the game got away in the top of the ninth inning when the Rays scored four times off Bob McCrory.
Brian Roberts and Felix Pie hit back-to-back home runs and the Orioles scored four times in the bottom of the ninth, but six runs was a little too much to ask. Just an aside, but maybe Pie needs to get food poisoning more often. He was forced back into the lineup by the injury to Adam Jones and went 2 for 2, including the 400-foot shot in the ninth.
Really can't explain why I feel this way, but I think the Orioles are going to win this game. There's really nothing pointing in that direction. They've lost one of their most productive hitters and they're going to have to get some people on base to turn the lineup over for the ninth inning, but I'm just feeling an O's comeback.
Feel free to rip me after the game for being delusional.
Instant update: Jeez, you don't even have to wait until the end of the game. Guess I should have considered the Bob McCrory factor.
Adam Jones singled again in his third at-bat, but it should have been a double. He hit the ball down the right field line and then pulled up at first base. He resisted the attempt to remove him from the game, but manager Dave Trembley sent Felix Pie in to pinch run for him so Jones could go in and get treatment on his sore leg.
That's also your Felix Pie update. He was not expected to play tonight after seeking medical attention for the second straight day for an apparent stomach disorder, but the Orioles bench already is depleted by the injury to Luke Scott, so Pie was the guy.
Wigginton, who hit his second home run of the year in the second inning, just scorched a line drive through the gap in left center field for a double. That's two extra-base hits in two at-bats after managing just four (three doubles and a ahomer) in his first 108 plate appearances of the season.
Ty Wigginton put the Orioles on top in the bottom of the second inning with a long home run to left center, but the inning might be remembered more down the road as the one in which Adam Jones -- the hottest hitter on the team and one of the most productive in the league -- either suffered another hamstring strain or aggravated the tight hamstring that was bothering him in April.
Don't really know yet. He legged out an infield hit to load the bases, but looked gimpy after he powered through the first base bag. He also seemed to be limping when he took off after Jason Bartlett's home run in the third.
Manager Dave Trembley just said during his live TV pop from the dugout that Jones felt a "grab" coming out of the batters box on the infield hit, but appears to be fine. Guess we'll know for sure when he jogs back to the outfield in a few moments.
Dave Trembley said during his pre-game news briefing that Felix Pie came to the ballpark today but was continuing to experience stomach discomfort, so he has been sent for further evaluation.
The problem apparently is not related to his hard landing on a diving catch attempt on Tuesday night.
"It's some kind of stomach ailment,'' Trembley said. "He didn't hurt himself. It's not anything baseball-related."
The Orioles are not planning to make a roster move. Trembley said Luke Scott would take batting practice today and decide whether his sore shoulder feels good enough for him to be available as a pinch hitter. If not, the O's will go with a two-man bench.
"I'm confident Scott is going to be all right,'' Trembley said. "He was very upbeat. He seems to think he'll be fine. I'm optimistic he'll be able to pinch hit tonight."
If not?
"We'll get by,'' said Trembley, who was forced to put designated hitter Ty Wigginton into the game in left field when Pie fell ill last night.
Tampa Bay Rays
B.J. Upton CF
Carl Crawford LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Carlos Pena 1B
Willie Aybar DH
Gabe Gross RF
Akinori Iwamura 2B
Jason Bartlett SS
Dioner Navarro C
Jeff Niemann RHP
Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Lou Montanez LF
Ty Wigginton DH
Chad Moeller C
Cesar Izturis SS
Brad Bergesen RHP
Talked to Brooks Robinson on the phone for a couple of minutes today and am planning a more in-depth column on him in the near future, but he expanded a little on the treatment program that he went through to deal with his prostate cancer.
He underwent an eight-week program of radiation therapy (five days a week) and said that he came through it without any unusual fatigue or other problems, which says something about his constitution at 71 years young. Brooks will turn 72 on Monday.
The message he wants to help get out is that it's important for men to have regular screenings, since the disease is so common among men in middle age and older.
"I went to an event recently and heard Jeff Torborg say he was dealing with it...and Tony Gonzalez (the baseball player, not the NFL tight end),'' Robinson said. "Just about anybody can be at risk."
Of course, Brooks (far right) never slows down. The American Cancer Society luncheon at which he revealed his November diagnosis and six-month course of treatment was one of two events he took part in on Wednesday. He also attended a Hall of Fame function in Washington last night.
The luncheon was not specific to prostate cancer. Robinson was helping to honor donors and participants in the American Cancer Society's Navigator program, which partners with hospitals to put "navigators" in place to help cancer patients get the help and answers they need as they embark on their treatment programs. If you want to learn more or make a donation, go to www.cancer.org.
Robinson remains very active in the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, of which he is president, and is a major player in Opening Day Partners, the group led by Peter Kirk that operates minor league teams in York and Lancaster, Pa, as well as Southern Maryland.
Sun file photo by Lloyd Fox
Everybody knows that the Orioles got the better end of the Erik Bedard deal, but the Seattle Mariners and their fans have got to be wondering if the Orioles are ever going to let them forget it.
Adam Jones hit two homers and drove in four runs tonight. He's now batting .363 with eight home runs and 25 RBI. George Sherrill pitched a scoreless ninth to get his sixth save. And, down on the farm, Chris Tillman pitched six scoreless innings against Syracuse and struck out 10. He's 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA.
The M's are happy to have a healthy Erik Bedard this year. He's 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA in seven starts. But he was injured for most of last year and his contract runs out after this season. The deal remains as lopsided as it was last year.
Manager Dave Trembley admits to being impressed with the development of Adam Jones as a power threat, but he insists that he's not surprised to see Jones driving the ball with confidence and authority.
"His power numbers are coming a lot quicker than we expected,'' Trembley said, "but I'm not surprised with the talent that he has...He's got a pretty good ceiling."
Jones isn't surprised either. He says the key is having a short stroke and being quick to the ball.
"I'm just not missing them,'' he said. "I'm not trying to do too much. My head's clear."
He was asked after the game whether he's ever felt more confident at the plate than he does right now.
"I'm confident every single day,'' he answered, "but the results are on my side right now."
Closer George Sherrill credits the help of pitching coach Rick Kranitz for helping him regain some of the edge he had during the first half of last season.
"The adjustments Kranny has made have really paid off,'' he said. "You don't like to see your job threatened. I just wanted to see what the problem was."
The Orioles confirmed that Felix Pie was sent to University of Maryland Hospital after experiencing severe stomach pain. No word yet on what the problem is, though the club is saying that he was sent as a precautionary measure and that he underwent a CT scan.
Hard to speculate on something like that. He could have anything from food poisoning to appendicitis. It won't take much for it to create a roster problem for the Orioles, since Luke Scott is sidelined (but not on the disabled list) with a bruised left shoulder.
When it was time for the Orioles to take the field for the fourth inning, nobody went out to left field. Presumably, Felix Pie was supposed to go back after striking out in a run-production situation, but Ty Wigginton eventually came out of the dugout and headed to the outfield.
Don't really know what's going on, but I'm sure we'll find out soon. Should be interesting.
Instant update: The Orioles just announced that Pie left the game with "stomach discomfort."
The Orioles may have dodged a bullet with the injury to designated hitter Luke Scott. The MRI he underwent on Monday revealed no serious damage to his painful left shoulder, so the team has not made a move to replace him on the roster.
It still remains to be seen whether he'll be able to avoid the disabled list. He seems confident that he'll be ready to play when the Orioles get to Kansas City this weekend. I wouldn't bet against him, since he's a gamer who wants to be in the lineup no matter what, but he still has to get past some significant soreness and stiffness to be effective at the plate.
Orioles Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson revealed publicly for the first time today that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer recently and underwent 39 radiation treatments. He said at a luncheon for the American Cancer Society that he is healthy and lucky to have been diagnosed very early.
I was at the luncheon and Brooks looked great. If you want to read more on this, check out my story on the regular sports Web site.
Photo courtesy Baseball Hall of Fame
If you haven't already, take a look at my short piece about Cal and Kelly Ripken's good fortune at the Kentucky Derby. It'll put a smile on the face of anyone who has ever bet a horse just because of its name, or its jockey or its post position -- or all three.
I'll give you the punch line. Cal and Kelly looked at the big derby field and couldn't help but notice that Mine That Bird sounded like it should be wearing orange and black, the jockey's first name was Cal and it was running out of post position No. 8. How could they not bet on the 50-1 longshot?
So the Ripkens and the friends who joined them in their suite at Churchill Downs all put their money down on Mine That Bird and thoroughly enjoyed one of the greatest racing upsets in history.
Getty Images
The Orioles should know by now what the situation is with Luke Scott's injured shoulder, so you can expect some kind of announcement in the next couple of hours. He damaged his rotator cuff to some extent diving back into first base in Sunday's game and underwent an MRI yesterday.
Can't really think of a scenario in which he doesn't go on the disabled list. It's just a matter of how long and, for his sake, you have to hope it's not the rest of the year.
So, what do you want the Orioles do to? They have a number of options, from bringing up hot prospect Nolan Reimold to calling on first baseman/designated hitter Oscar Salazar (right) to adding another pitcher until Rich Hill takes his place this weekend.
The path of least resistance is Salazar, who can come up and fill in whenever without pressure on the club to play him every day. Reimold would figure to be the popular choice, but he doesn't make sense if there isn't going to be a commitment to getting him regular playing time, which would require some hard decisions elsewhere.
The key issue may be Felix Pie. The club probably would have to give up on him to make room for both Reimold and Lou Montanez at the major league level. I don't think the club is quite ready to do that, so my money would be on Salazar.
You make the call.
AP file photo
Talk on the street has agent Scott Boras preparing to seek a $50 million package for top draft choice Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State, which will make for an interesting set of post-draft negotiations with the Washington Nationals.
Keep in mind, that kind of scuttlebutt is unconfirmable, but it's possible that Boras and his people put that number out there to try and manipulate where Strasburg ends up. He's a San Diego native and the Padres pick third. It could be an attempt to bypass the Nationals to stay on the West Coast.
The kid will have leverage since he's only a junior, but there is risk involved in going back to school, especially for a pitcher.
I'm hearing the Nats will take him no matter what and figure the rest out later. Don't know who the Orioles will take with their first pick, but based on the organization's need for middle infield depth, USC shortstop Grant Green might be the best fit if he's still available at No. 5.
More shameless pluggery: Tune in at six for Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM) to talk some ball and look ahead to the Preakness. If you aren't in signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.
Just because the Orioles will not be getting San Diego State phenom Stephen Strasburg doesn't mean we can't drool over him, especially after he celebrated his final home start of the season on Friday by striking out 17 in a no-hitter over Air Force.
Strasburg is now 11-0 with 164 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings. The Washington Nationals have the No. 1 choice in the upcoming draft and they already have made it pretty clear they'll draft the kid and then give Scott Boras the Lerner family's checking account number. So you'll get to see him on MASN a lot after he comes up to the majors. Can't imagine you'll have to wait very long.
The Orioles will pick high again. There is no one else in this draft that comes close to having Strasburg's potential, but they figure to get a pretty good player in the first round.
Getty Images
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I know everything that everybody in an Orioles uniform could have done differently during Sunday's game to protect a slim lead and get the O's their second series victory over the hated Yankees.
You do too. It's pretty obvious right now that Dave Trembley should have left Koji Uehara on the mound until the cows came home, and a lot of people posting comments here think this is the latest example of him mismanaging a game. Never mind that Trembley had let Koji pitch into the seventh in each of his previous three starts and Uehara had gotten hit around. Never mind that Koji is starting more frequently than he did when he was in the Yomiuri Giants rotation and he's 34 years old. Suddenly, he's a "hot" pitcher who is being robbed of the chance to pile up complete games.
This isn't about Koji being pulled early. It's about the Orioles' bullpen giving it up again. It's about the offense going dormant after the first inning. It's about the Orioles not being a very good team, which I think we all knew coming in.
Somebody hammered me for "drinking the Kool-Aid" because I wouldn't pin this loss on Trembley. Think what you want. If you believe Trembley mismanaged the bullpen, then you believe this bullpen is so good that it really should never give up a run. The reason I knew -- and wrote before the four-run seventh inning -- that the O's were in big trouble was because I knew Koji was getting tired, and I knew it was foolhardy to assume the bullpen could hold the Yankees scoreless for three innings.
Trust me. Trembley knew that, too, but he wants to have a healthy Uehara in the rotation all season and it's the only bullpen he has. I wouldn't trade jobs with him, because he has to make those decisions in real time. Unlike you and I, he doesn't get to wait until after the fact to decide whether it was the right move or not.
Aubrey Huff said he wasn't trying to show up Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain when he twice pumped his fist in an animated fashion rounding the bases after his three-run home run in the first inning, but he admitted that it was payback for some of Chamberlain's on-field antics.
"He does that stuff all the time as a pitcher, so I was having a little fun with him,'' Huff said. "I wasn't trying to show anybody up."
Chamberlain wasn't particularly efficient in the other five innings he pitched, but he did not give up another run and ended up getting the decision.
"After the first, he shut us down,'' Huff said. "I saw him pretty good all day, so I really can't explain that, but he was getting strike one and his curveball got better. He obviously was throwing a little harder as he went along."
All you had to do was see the look on Luke Scott's face -- and his arm in a sling -- after today's game to know that his shoulder injury is probably no small thing. He was clearly disheartened and talked about the importance of the power of prayer in the situation. You don't usually go there for a simple strain or sprain.
"I dove head-first back into the base and it kind of hyper-extended one of my rotator cuff muscles,'' he said. "Tomorrow I'll go in for an MRI and see what happens."
So, don't be surprised if he turns up on the disabled list before Tuesday night's series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays. If that happens, the Orioles will have to decide whether to replace him with a DH-type such as Oscar Salazar or call up hot-hitting outfield prospect Nolan Reimold.
Before everybody gets all hot and bothered about the decision to remove Koji Uehara after the sixth inning, consider a couple of factors that went into the decision to turn the game over to the bullpen.
One of the reasons Uehara has been such a hardluck pitcher is because the seventh inning has been his Waterloo. In his previous three starts, he surrendered a total of eight earned runs and six of them were in the seventh inning.
So Trembley went with a left-hander with a sub-.2.00 ERA and Jamie Walker gave up a home run to a left-handed hitter. Then he went to his top right-handed setup man and Jim Johnson gave up a three-run pop to decide the game.
Right move. Wrong outcome.
Koji Uehara pitched six innings and gave up one run on six hits, but we'll have to wait and see if his won-loss luck changes for the better. This was his fifth quality start -- meaning that he pitched six innings or more and gave up three earned runs or less -- but he is 0-3 with a no-decision in his previous four.
Instant update: Make that 0-3 with two no-decisons.
Sorry to be fatalistic, but the Orioles have had a number of opportunities to take advantage of a very vulnerable Joba Chamberlain. Melvin Mora got himself picked off first base while Chamberlain was on the ropes in the first inning and Adam Jones got called out for sliding past second base on a ball-four steal attempt with nobody out in the third.
Then the fates stepped in after the O's put runners at second and third with one out in the fourth. Robert Andino hung tough with two strikes against Chamberlain and hit a line shot that was snagged by Derek Jeter at short.
In short, for one reason or another, the Orioles have left three or four runs out there and still cling to a precarious lead against a very good offensive team. And Koji Uehara's pitch count is getting up there.
You figure it out.
Orioles designated hitter Luke Scott had to be removed from the game after singling in his first at-bat. The club just announced that Scott left the game with an injured left shoulder sustained while he was running the bases. He is being evaluated by the team's medical staff. There may be an update after the game.
Ty Wigginton replaced Scott as DH in the bottom of the fourth and immediately took a pitch off his left shoulder. Strange.
Guess we might be seeing Rich Hill next weekend. He dominating the Buffalo Bisons this afternoon, pitching six innings, giving up just two hits and striking out seven in a game the Norfolk Tides are leading, 2-0, in the eighth.
Clearly, something is not right with Yankees starter Joba Chamberlain, who was questionable for today's game after suffering a broken blood vessel in his right thumb playing catch before Saturday night's game.
He fell behind Brian Roberts 3-0 before giving up a sharp liner to left, fell behind Adam Jones 2-0 before giving up a hard-hit single and gave up a lineout to Nick Markakis before Aubrey Huff jumped ahead on the count and whistled a line drive into the center field seats to give the O's a 3-0 lead.
Huff's shot never got more than 30 feet off the ground, and Huff was so jazzed that he gave Chamberlain an exaggerated fist-pump while he was rounding first base, then did another when he crossed home plate.
Chamberlain is known for similar histrionics on the mound -- and upset Huff a year or so ago with his exaggerated reaction after a strikeout -- so it will be interesting to see how Joba responds the next time he goes through the lineup.
Melvin Mora added to the intrigue when he followed up the homer with a bunt single and slid head-first into first base even though Chamberlain did not even attempt to throw him out. Gotta wonder if somebody is going to be wearing one in the third inning.
Stay tuned.
Getty Images
Dave Trembley explained why Lou Montanez is not in the lineup for today's game. He got jammed in his final at-bat of Saturday night's game and experienced some renewed swelling around the thumb he hurt making a catch last week.
"I'm giving him the day off and (after the offday on Monday) we're confident he'll be ready on Tuesday,'' Trembley said.
During his pregame media briefing, Trembley also cast doubt on the possibility that the O's would keep three catchers after they promote Matt Wieters in the next few weeks. It's pretty obvious that Wieters would push veteran Chad Moeller off the 25-man roster, but Dave wasn't going there.
"Moeller's a pro,'' he said. "He knows how to call a game. He's made a very nice living with a lot of organizations because he's good catch and throw guy. He's a team player. That's something -- if we get to that point -- we'll deal with it.
Rich Hill might be making his last injury rehab start for Triple-A Norfolk. If he pitches well and continues to stretch out, the team will have a decision to make about the rotation for next weekend's series against the Royals in Kansas City.
"Today's an interesting day for him and for us,'' said manager Dave Trembley. "We'll be following what he does closely. We'll get a report after the game. We'lll discuss it and have a decision tomorrow about his status. We need to get through today first and see where he's at...I think he's getting close, but today's a big day for him."
It has always been assumed that Hill would move into Mark Hendrickson's slot in the rotation and Hendrickson would then move into a long relief role. Don't know if that's still the plan.
If Hill comes back and stays on a five-day cycle, he would pitch on Friday against the Royals and make his succeeding start against the Yankees in New York, but you'd have to think Trembley would manipulate the rotation to steer him around Yankee Stadium and pitch him against the Washington Nationals in the following series.
Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui DH
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Francisco Cervelli C
Joba Chamberlain RHP
Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Melvin Mora 3B
Aubrey Huff 1B
Luke Scott DH
Gregg Zaun C
Felix Pie LF
Robert Andino SS
Koji Uehara RHP
Lineup note: There was some question whether Chamberlain would start for the Yankees today after breaking a blood vessel in one of his fingers playing catch before yesterday's game, but he's apparently going to go.
Have to start the day with a shout out to all the moms who make everything in this world possible, including my sweet, 90-year-old mother in California who won't read this because she thinks that laptops come from outer space and infect you with Martian viruses.
The Orioles are giving a pink picture frame to the first 10,000 women 18 years old or over who attend today's series finale against the New York Yankees. If they really wanted to boost attendance, they would put my picture in each frame, but they never consult me on these kinds of things.
During his pre-game Q&A on Friday, Alex Rodriguez took a moment to praise new teammate Mark Teixeira, who has struggled at the plate since signing a huge free agent contract to play for the Yankees.
"Tex is going to be fine,'' A-Rod said. "Tex is a great player and he has been for a long time and I have the utmost confidence he is going to have a tremendous year this year. I think I will help him out, I think he will help me out and I think collectively we'll be very good together."
Their first night together didn't go all that well for Teixeira, who walked ahead of A-Rod's three-run homer in the first inning, but struck out in his next three at-bats and saw his batting average fall to .192.
CC Sabathia went all the way tonight, giving up just four hits and striking out eight on the way to a 4-0 victory at Camden Yards. It was his second scoreless start of the year -- the other a 7 2/3-inning, six-hit performance against the Kansas City Royals on April 11 for his only other victory of the season.
It was the first complete-game shutout pitched against the Orioles since Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz no-hit the O's on Sept. 1, 2007 at Fenway Park.
Two of the last three, interestingly enough, were pitched by Sabathia. He also threw a shutout against the O's on July 7, 2006 as a member of the Cleveland Indians.
If you were wondering who pitched the last complete-game shutout at Camden Yards against the Orioles, it was Tampa Bay left-hander Mark Hendrickson, who blanked the O's, 2-0, on April 6, 2006.
The last Orioles pitcher to throw a shutout was Chris Waters, who four-hit the Toronto Blue Jays last Sept. 16.
CC Sabathia struggled in his Opening Day start at Camden Yards this year, but he's not struggling now. He got through the first five innings tonight with just 59 pitches (42 strikes) and gave up just two hits. He appears to have plenty left in the tank to complete this game.
No disrespect intended to Jeremy Guthrie, who defeated Sabathia in the opener. He served up one very costly pitch -- the one that Alex Rodriguez hammered for a three-run homer in the first -- but was solid through six, giving up seven hits and striking out eight. Right-hander Bob McCrory has come out for the seventh.
The O's looked like they were going to answer back in the first inning after Brian Roberts and Adam Jones opened with singles, but a controversial call on a double steal attempt pretty much took them out of a promising inning.
Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli threw to second on the double steal attempt and appeared to be too late to get Jones. It seemed obvious, in fact, but umpire Mark Carlson called Jones out after Robinson Cano made a sweeping tag that seemed to catch Jones on the back while he was already standing up at the bag.
The replays showed that Jones made a baserunning mistake. He was so sure he was safe he slid in with his lead leg bent and touched the bag much later than it appeared from a distance. Still, the tag was very late and Jones was convinced he was safe. He threw his helmet down and manager Dave Trembley came out to argue, but you know how that always turns out. There was also some sniping between home plate umpire Bob Davidson and the Orioles dugout.
Could be an interesting night. Derek Jeter just gave Davidson an earful after being called out on strikes.
Alex Rodriguez got booed furiously by the crowd at Camden Yards when he came to bat in the first inning. He was taunted by a group of fans right behind home plate waving large foam rubber syringes. He got the reaction that everybody thought he would get when he made his first regular season appearance after his steroid revelation and the allegations in the tell-all book about him that was released on Monday.
He didn't wait long to answer back.
A-Rod launched the first pitch from Jeremy Guthrie over the left-center field fence for a three-run home run, which didn't exactly quiet the crowd, but it certainly took some of the fun out of booing him.
The Yankees fans in attendance quickly broke into their signature "Let's Go Yankees" chant, which was answered with another wave of booing from Orioles fans.
Guess you have to give the guy credit for rising to the occasion, even if -- in the minds of many baseball fans -- he does represent all that has gone awry with professional sports in America.
AP Photo
Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said that it took about four days for the deal to come together between the O's and Cubs that sent Ryan Freel to Chicago for outfielder Joey Gathright.
"I think it was the same thing on both sides,'' he said. "Since we acquired him (Freel), we acquired Wigginton and Andino so he didn't get the at-bats we originally anticipated. The Cubs had the same thing on the Gathright side. It was a similar situation, so it made sense for both parties. It (the original Freel deal) looked like a good fit and we were happy about it. It just didn't work out."
The Orioles still will be responsible for the equivalent of the remainder of Freel's guaranteed salary, though they will have to compensate the Cubs for the difference between the remainder of Freel's $4 million salary and the rest of Gathright's $800,000 salary -- which works out to about $2.64 million.
There is no financial gain for the Orioles here, but there could be if they end up moving Gathright at some point in the season. If another team has a need in, say, late June and was willing to take Gathright, the O's could recoup about $400,000.
This just in from Orioles beat reporters Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly. Andy MacPhail has pulled off another deal with the Chicago Cubs, sending disgruntled utilityman Ryan Freel to Chicago for speedy outfielder Joey Gathright.
Gathright, 28, has cleared waivers and will report to Triple-A Norfolk and gives the Orioles added organizational outfield depth. He also gives the club an extra dimension that you won't find anywhere else.
Take a look:
Dave Trembley opened his pregame news briefing with an update on Dennis Sarfate's angiogram, which revealed no serious reason for the numbness and apparent circulation issue in his pitching hand.
"He's going to rest for a week and no throwing for a month,'' Trembley said. "It's not career threatening. It's not life-threatening. I had to go in and talk to (trainer) Richie Bancells to get the information straight. It's a stretch injury in his middle finger."
Trembley confirmed what we've all been thinking for the past couple of days. The Orioles will make an announcement very soon about Ryan Freel's status. He's expected to be moved off the roster and rumors have been circulating about a possible trade for Cubs outfielder Joey Gathright.
Dave also confirmed that Chad Moeller has become the personal catcher for Jeremy Guthrie, apparently at Guthrie's request, but would not rule out matching Guthrie up with Gregg Zaun if need be.
"The last time Guthrie pitched, he threw a complete game, so I'm catching (Moeller) tonight,'' Trembley said. "I don't think there is a problem between (Guthrie and Zaun), but if I can do anything to make the situation more comfortable for the guy on the mound, I'll try to do that."
He would not speculate on how Alex Rodriguez might be feeling upon his return from the disabled list tonight and tried to keep the conversation focused on the baseball side of the A-Rod story.
"They certainly don't need any help, but they are getting a lot of it,'' Trembley said. "We'll have to pitch better. It will be a challenge for us. We'll need to be at the top of our game. We need to pitch well."
The Yankees made a minor change in their batting order, moving Nick Swisher ahead of Robinson Cano. Here's the updated lineups for both teams.
Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui DH
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Francisco Cervelli C
CC Sabathia LHP
Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Melvin Mora 3B
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton DH
Lou Montanez LF
Chad Moeller C
Cesar Izturis SS
Jeremy Guthrie RHP
Here's the paragraph in the statement released by Manny Ramirez on Thursday that explains how he tested positive for a substance on the list of performance-enhancing substances restricted by Major League Baseball:
"Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons."
The substance that Ramirez reportedly ingested is called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and is prescribed for men who are not naturally producing testosterone. The drug also is used by athletes at the end of a steroid cycle to jump start their testosterone production.
Though it is within the realm of possibility that Ramirez had a legitimate prescription for the drug, it is considered highly unlikely that a healthy individual his age would need HCG to enhance testosterone production. Yahoo Sports quoted a source claiming Ramirez took the drug to deal with erectile dysfunction, which could be true and could also be a clever cover story to salvage his reputation.
Why so clever? Because the fact that it would be a highly embarrassing admission gives it added credibility.
Do you believe him?
Manager Dave Trembley on pitcher Brad Bergesen:
"Bergesen did what he had to do. He kept the game close for us. He threw strikes and stayed away from the big inning. He kept his pitch count in order especially in the first four innings. They have a real tough lineup."
"They had 10 or 11 hits off him, and he just keeps running up on the hill. He works fast, and his breaking pitch was better. The things that impressed everyone in spring training about him were that he worked fast and threw strikes, and his poise."
"He's not afraid to throw it over the plate. He'll take his chances with his defense behind him, and he works so fast and he's around the plate so often, those guys make the plays for him. I don't think he's intimidated one bit. I think he's got a plan and he sticks with it. He doesn't try to trick anybody. He doesn't change. He relies on the guys playing behind him."
Dave on Melvin Mora, whose 432-foot home run got jumpstarted the offense and snapped a personal 0-for-11 string:
"Melvin is a veteran player who is a run producer, a guy that can hit with two outs and can hit with two strikes. Melvin will be where Melvin is supposed to be at the end of the year. Let's not forget that this was his seventh game back after missing three weeks."
Not-so-fun fact: Tonight's game was the first time in 2009 that Brian Roberts, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis went hitless in the same game.
Gregg Zaun just looped a single over second baseman Matt Tolbert for his third hit of the game. He came in batting .157 (11 for 70) and has raised his average to .192. He still figures to get at least one more at-bat.
The three-hit game is his first of the year and gives him eight hits in 19 at-bats (.421) so far in the month of May after hitting just .111 in April.
It started with Melvin Mora's 432-foot home run, but the Thursday night highlight reel didn't end there. Adam Jones made a spectacular diving catch to rob Justin Morneau of an extra-base hit in the top of the third inning and Aubrey Huff lined a two-run homer over the out-of-town scoreboard in the bottom of that inning.
Brad Bergesen has not been overwhelming. He has given up eight hits and a walk over the first five innings, but is hanging on to a two-run lead.
The Orioles have issued a traffic advisory for tomorrow night's game against the Yankees at Camden Yards. There will be an event at First Mariner Arena that begins at 7 p.m. and is expected to draw a crowd of 15,000, so you might want to get into town a little early to avoid a traffic and parking crunch.
The Orioles fell behind by a run in the top of the second inning on an RBI single by Twins outfielder Michael Cuddyer, but Melvin Mora launched a game-tying shot into the upper bullpen off starting pitcher Glen Perkins.
And I mean launched. The ball traveled 432 feet and was used briefly to re-route some satellite phone calls before it came down. The ball would have put a dent in Eutaw Street if Melvin had hit it that far to the opposite field.
The Orioles took the lead later in the inning on a two-out RBI single by Cesar Izturis and might have gotten more if Delmon Young had not done a nice job running down a gap shot by Brian Roberts.
That sounds like a great title for a Robert Ludlum spy novel, but it's just the issue facing the Orioles now that utilityman Ryan Freel is through with his injury rehabilitation assignment. The club has to return him to the active roster in the next day or so or find some other club that needs a $4 million utility guy.
Andy MacPhail has been calling around to guage interest in Freel, who has expressed frustration with his lack of playing time and seems to be the odd guy out with Lou Montanez moving past him on the depth chart and Triple-A outfielder Nolan Reimold trying to force his way onto the major league club.
Can't imagine the Orioles will be able to find anyone to take that whole salary, but they already saved millions in the exchange for Ramon Hernandez and would probably be happy to recoup a million or two of his guarantee.
If you thought the steroid scandal had already peaked, you might want to take a look at the story that just broke in the Los Angeles Times. Dodgers superstar Manny Ramirez has tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance and faces a 50-game suspension that could begin as soon as tonight.
Manny becomes the biggest star snagged by Major League Baseball's steroid testing program, and could lose nearly $8 million in salary if he has to sit out until early July.
Ramirez, in a statement released through the players union, claims that he tested positive for a substance that was in a medication prescribed by a doctor. I'm guessing he may also try to use the Rafael Palmeiro defense -- that at this point in his career there was no reason why he would intentionally take such a foolish risk -- which would probably seem fairly plausible if Manny wasn't such a strange character.
The news comes four months after the revelation that Alex Rodriguez was one of the 103 players who tested positive for steroids during MLB's survey testing in 2003. That means the two highest-paid players in the sport have both been linked to baseball's long-running performance-enhancement scandal.
A-Rod has not been disciplined, because the survey program did not include any penalty for a positive drug test, but has suffered tremendous harm to his public image. Ramirez will lose 31 percent of his 2009 salary of $25 million.
Associated Press photo
Orioles designated hitter Luke Scott knew the score when he went up to the plate in the fourth inning last night, and it wasn't just 3-0. The important thing at that point was to make those three runs stand up for another nine outs after the first of several rain delays.
So Scott swung at the first pitch in the bottom of the fourth and launched a 398-foot shot into the right-center field bleachers to make it a four-run ballgame, then embarked on one of the fastest home run trots of his career. There wasn't a moment to waste with the clouds threatening to open up at any time.
"Absolutely,'' he said. "I wanted to get it as soon as possible. I was in ambush mode the whole time."
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire wasn't thrilled that the umpires insisted on squeezing five innings out of such a horribly inclement evening, but the Orioles need all the help they can get at this point. It was their second victory in their last three games, but only the fifth in their last 20.
"The key thing was, Minnesota only comes in here one time,'' said Dave Trembley, "so everybody wanted to get it in so we wouldn't have to play a doubleheader on a getaway day."
Well, not quite everybody.
Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam
Or, at least, it sure looks that way. The tarp is back on the field and the rain is not expected to subside for several hours. The Orioles are leading, 4-1, so they will get the victory if the umpires call it now.
The Twins made it interesting in the fifth when they loaded the bases with no one out and scored a run on a fielder's choice, but Brian Bass wriggled out of a bad situation with the O's still up by three. The Twins were up in the sixth when the umpires pulled the teams off the field again.
It has been an interesting night, with the rain delays combining to last longer than the game, but the Orioles can't complain. They needed a win in the worst way, and that's pretty much how they're going to get it.
By all accounts, the rain could come back strong at just about any time, which means the Orioles want to get through the top of the fifth inning as fast as they can. So, Luke Scott was first-ball swinging when he led off the bottom of the fourth with a 398-foot home run, and he didn't dawdle around the bases.
And, for once, the bottom third of the lineup actually helped the team by going down in short order.
The rain subsided at about 10:15 and the tarp has been rolled back. The Orioles obviously want to get through another inning and a half. The Twins obviously would prefer to start from scratch tomorrow. The decision to resume was made by the umpires. Mark Hendrickson is out. Brian Bass has is taking the mound with an 0-2 count on Matt Tolbert.
Hendrickson's official line: 3+ innings, one hit, two strikeouts. He's not eligible for the win, so he will remain 1-4, but his ERA dropped to 5.13.
There are maybe a hundred fans visible in the field level seats right now, and they deserve some kind of recognition, like the medals that they used to give to hearty fans at Candlestick Park who stayed through extra innings in the 1980s.
Do you remember what that medal was called?
The tarp is back on the field and the Orioles only made it into the fourth inning with a 3-0 lead, which means that it will all be for naught if they do not resume again after this third rain delay. The first four innings -- including Nick Markakis's fifth home run -- will be wiped out and the Orioles and Twins likely would play a twi-night doubleheader tomorrow.
It would be as if tonight never happened. Sort of like on Dallas when Bobby Ewing came out of the shower.
The Orioles and Twins resumed at 8:56 after a 40-minute interruption, but the forecast for the rest of the night is uncertain, so it probably would be a good idea for the Orioles to tack on a couple more runs and make a run for the fifth inning.
If it wasn't for bad luck the Orioles wouldn't have any at all. They took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and Mark Hendrickson retired the first six batters he faced in order, so what else would you expect but another rain delay that is threatening to waste that quick start and Nick Markakis's fifth home run.
The Orioles had a runner at second base on a Cesar Izturis double with one out when they put the tarp back on the field.
Doesn't look good.
The O's and Twins were delayed 42 minutes by the steady mist, but are now underway and the Orioles have just taken the lead on a double by Adam Jones and the fifth homer of the young season by Nick Markakis.
Markakis raised his RBI total to 29 with a line drive off Twins starter Kevin Slowey that caromed off the right field foul pole. Slowey came into the game with a 4-0 record (which, incidentally, equals the number of wins by the Orioles two winningest starters combined), but Markakis seems to like hitting against anyone in a Twins uniform.
The home run was 26th hit and eighth homer in 81 career at-bats (.321) against Minnesota, and the Orioles added another in the first on a double by Aubrey Huff and an RBI single by Luke Scott.
Now, it's just a matter of Mark Hendrickson keeping the Orioles ahead for the next five or six innings. He retired the side in order in the first and needs to work faster than usual to get the O's through five with the lead. It's misting pretty good right now and the rain is supposed to intensify in the next hour or so.
Dave Trembley updated all the injuries at the start of his media briefing, so here's a quick rundown:
-- Reliever Dennis Sarfate is still waiting for test results that should determine why he has circulation issues in his pitching hand.
-- Ryan Freel was supposed to have completed his rehab assignment by now, but lost a couple of minor league games to rainouts. He'll play in a doubleheader for Bowie tonight and one more game tomorrow.
-- Lou Montanez told Trembley his sprained thumb is 70-80 percent. He's tentatively scheduled to start in left field tomorrow.
-- Rich Hill will be on a 95-pitch limit the next time he pitches for Norfolk. If all goes well, he might be close to joining the major league rotation.
-- Alfredo Simon underwent surgery to repair his damaged elbow. Dr. James Andrews performed the operation, but the team is still waiting for a report on the outcome.
Trembley said the closer situation remains in flux at least partly because of concern about the durability of the pitchers who are coming back from surgery or other arm/shoulder problems. Still, doubts about George Sherrill persist.
"Everybody knows George has done it,'' Trembley said. "I also know what the numbers are against right-handers and left-handers and I also know how hard George has had to work to get the saves."
Obviously, he could go with Chris Ray or Jim Johnson in some situations, but he said he's concerned about sending them out there on consecutive days under that level of stress.
"The mental stress and strain of closing take a toll on the physical,'' he said.
The Orioles took infield before batting practice today to address some of the defensive issues that have plagued the club recently.
"I'm hoping it's something that's temporary and it rectifies itself,'' Trembley said. "It seems like everything that has gone by the board has hurt us...I told them the other day, 'You're all proven major league players. Let that be your mindset.'...I think everybody is trying to catch up and make up with one play or at-bat for something we have no control over. Something that's in the past."
Shameless plug: I'm heading over to WBAL (1090 AM) for my show at six. We'll be talking Orioles and more on Sportsline, and that's the place to have your voice be heard. If you aren't within signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.
Minnesota Twins
Denard Span LF
Matt Tolbert 2B
Brendan Harris SS
Justin Morneau 1B
Michael Cuddyer RF
Joe Crede 3B
Delmon Young DH
Mike Redmond C
Carlos Gomez CF
Kevin Slowey - RHP
Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Luke Scott DH
Gregg Zaun C
Felix Pie LF
Cesar Izturis SS
Mark Hendrickson LHP
Like everyone else, I can point to some game situations where I would have done things differently than Dave Trembley, but that doesn't make him a bumbling incompetent who is responsible for sinking the Orioles before they even got out to sea. The man is the caretaker of a team with deficiencies that Tony La Russa or Bobby Cox could not be reasonably expected to overcome.
Take today, for instance. Trembley pulled Koji Uehara too late. We all know that now, but -- as at least one astute commenter pointed out -- most of the complaints about Trembley's handling of the rotation before Koji's seventh-inning collapse were aimed at the manager's penchant for removing pitchers too early. Surely, if he had sent someone else out for the seventh and the game had gotten away, there would have been an equal number of complaints about that.
Here's the rub. Trembley's performance has to be judged at that point where his resources meet his results. Trembley does not manage a winning team, so it's unfair to expect him to win, but it is fair for fans to question whether the team is playing as well as it might be playing under different field leadership. Some have already made up their minds that it isn't. I think it's too early to draw a legitimate conclusion.
How about you?
Birthday greetings: The "Say Hey Kid" is 78 years old today. Willie Mays, perhaps the greatest all-around position player who never used steroids or tried to date Madonna, was born on May 6, 1931 in Westfield, AL. This is not something I had to look up. Mays was my favorite player when I was a small child and I still remember his birthdate.
Glad to report I have returned from the special one-day sportswriter disabled list -- we don't get 15 days like the major league malingerers -- and will resume regular blogging sometime after tonight's show on WBAL (1090 AM). I'll be on the air momentarily (6 p.m.) to talk baseball, football and even a little horseracing. If you're outside of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon. And there's even a toll-free number 1-800-767-WBAL so you can call in from anywhere in the country.
It really doesn't pay to take time off, because you're almost certain to engage in some kind of activity that could lead to injury. Take my two-day trip to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Awards weekend in North Carolina, during which I fell out of a golf cart and now walk like Walter Brennan in To Have and Have Not.
Yes, you heard that right. I fell out of a golf cart and landed hard on that part of my body which is supposed to have the most padding in case of emergency. I guess the best way to characterize my condition is a bruised hip, which goes pretty well with a bruised ego. My foursome in the annual NSSA golf tournament finished last, and my embarrassing appointment with gravity happened way too late in the round to serve as a legitimate excuse.
Don't know why I'm telling you all this, except to buy some time before I return to Baltimore and resume regular blog work on Tuesday afternoon. The people at BWI have asked that you don't gather at the airport to greet me because of crowd control concerns.
The owners of Mine That Bird are undecided about the Preakness, which is not great news for event organizers who already are reporting disappointing ticket sales and sponsorship revenues. Maryland Jockey Club officials are hoping for some help from the excitement generated by Saturday's heart-stopping Kentucky Derby, and it sure would help if the Triple Crown is still in play in two weeks.
Personally, I hope the horse comes to Baltimore, but I understand the owners are looking out for the best interests of the surprise Derby winner and also have concerns about the potentially adverse speed-bias at Pimlico. Mine That Bird is bred more for the Belmont Stakes, but it can't build on the history it made Saturday without running in the Preakness.
I have selfish reasons for wanting Mine That Bird to run at Pimlico. I'll be hosting the early Preakness coverage from the jockey's terrace on WBAL (1090 AM) and jockey Calvin Borel was a live guest after his last Derby victory. He's a trip and I'm hoping to have him back on the program for as long as he wants to be on.
Some readers felt like I read too much into the testy behavior of Mine's trainer, Bennie "Chip" Woolley, moments after his great victory. They may be right that Woolley had just grown tired of talking about the long drive he made from New Mexico or the motorcycle accident that put him on crutches. Trouble is, his unlikely rise from rodeo cowboy to Kentucky Derby-winning trainer -- and the unusual route he took to get into contention for the Triple Crown -- will still be the story when he gets to Baltimore, if he ultimately decides to run Mine That Bird in the Preakness.
Maybe I'm the only one that noticed, but former rodeo cowboy "Bennie "Chip" Woolley didn't seem all that excited to win the Kentucky Derby yesterday. In fact, he seemed to find all the pomp and circumstance off-putting. I hope -- for the sake of the Preakness build-up -- he was just uncomfortable on those crutches, but he really came off in his television interviews as having some kind of chip on his shoulder.
Still, you've got to like Mine That Bird coming to Baltimore in two weeks. I wonder if Calvin Borel will wear Orange and Black.
Yes, I was being a bit sarcastic yesterday when I wondered if Peter Angelos had a hand in speeding up the Felix Pie experiment. It's not like Andy MacPhail and Dave Trembley couldn't see what everybody else has been seeing the past month.
I'm headed for North Carolina today for the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Convention the next two days, which will probably cut into my participation in the continuing discussion of the Orioles first international expedition of the young season. I'll pop in a little later today. but don't know if I'll be able to watch the game. Of course, if it's anything like yesterday's, I'll be the lucky one.
I had two of the three horses in that $41,500 trifecta. It's not hard to guess which one I didn't have. While we're on the subject, I only missed that big MegaMillions jackpot by six numbers.
If you want more of my rapier-like wit, you can also take a look at my column today on the Web site.
It's beginning to look like the Felix Pie experiment will be cut short, according to Jeff Zrebiec's story on the Web site. Manager Dave Trembley said in Toronto today that he needs to see more of Lou Montanez, and Andy MacPhail said yesterday that he is going to Norfolk to evaluate the Triple-A club. From here, it looks like all there is left to do is find a way to save face.
Pie has been one of the central characters in a near-total collapse of the bottom third of the batting order. Perhaps if Gregg Zaun and Cesar Izturis weren't also struggling badly at the plate, the club could continue to hide Pie in the eighth slot, but the lack of production at the end of the lineup has become a major factor in the team's 3-13 slump.
Still, MacPhail seemed determined to give Pie at least a couple of months to get his feet on the ground in left field, so it was a bit surprising to see the pregame comments from Trembley explaining why Pie was out of the starting lineup for the fourth time in five games.
Obviously, Nolan Reimold is making a strong case for himself at Norfolk and Montanez deserves the opportunity to get some regular at-bats after winning the Eastern League Triple Crown last year, but all that was true a week ago when the team was still holding firm on the need to let the Pie audition play itself out.
If this was three years ago, I'd suspect that somebody upstairs -- and you know who that somebody is -- was growing impatient with the poor performance of the club. Of course, that kind of thing doesn't happen here anymore.
Right?
Maybe they aren't who we thought they were. I didn't expect much from the Orioles this year, but I did expect them to get out of a few jams in the late innings. I did expect them to win a high percentage of the games in which they had the lead in closer situations.
No, I wasn't convinced that George Sherrill would be the second coming of Mariano Rivera, but I did think he showed last year that he could put the hammer down more often than not -- and Chris Ray could move in and do the job if he didn't. I'm not so sure about that right now, and I really don't know who would be dependable in the role.
If I was the manager -- and I'm glad I'm not, even with the nice salary -- I'd probably reconfigure the bullpen to place Ray and Jim Johnson in a position to share the closer role. Sherrill is tough and resourceful, but this Don Stanhouse act is taking a toll on the manager and the rest of the team, which is getting banged around enough without enduring these psychological beatdowns at the end of the game.
It has reached the point where I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Alex Rodriguez was implicated in the JFK assassination. Now, he's accused in an upcoming book of using steroids in high school and tipping pitches to opposing middle infielders during his time with the Texas Rangers in the hope of getting similar help in return.
Since it's pretty obvious the guy has an integrity problem, I guess you can believe what you want. His response to author Selena Roberts' original report of his positive steroid test was so incredible that it wouldn't stretch the imagination to believe he dabbled in performance-enhancing drugs in high school, but I'm trying to figure out just how he would have concocted a scheme to get opposing players to communicate to him what their pitchers were going to throw.
The accounts I have read claim that Rodriguez did various things at shortstop to indicate whether a pitcher was going to throw a fastball or changeup or whatever. I suppose that's possible, but it would have required some kind of actual conspiracy with everyone involved. It's not like he could kick the dirt every time there was going to be a changeup and the guy at the plate could just sort of figure that out over time, especially when he allegedly only did it in situations where the game was no longer in doubt.
Generally, hitters look at the pitcher when they are at the plate. The isn't a lot of time after the catcher gives the sign to scan the infield looking for tells from the other fielders, so a tipping system would require some kind of advance setup.
And if there was any prearrangement, that would be an on-field cheating scandal of epic proportion. It'll be interesting to see if Major League Baseball undertakes an investigation and questions all the middle infielders who played against Rodriguez during the time he was with the Rangers.
That would seem to be the next logical step, or MLB could just wait for Jose Canseco's next book.
Associated Press photo
Scott Moore and Nolan Reimold combined to hit three homers and drive in nine of the 14 runs in Norfolk's 14-7 victory at Scranton/Wilkes Barre. Don't know which one of them kicked the extra points. Moore had two homers and three run-scoring hits. Chris Tillman pitched five innings and gave up three runs on four hits with six strikeouts.
Ryan Freel has started his injury rehabilitation assignment at Bowie. He played third base and batted leadoff tonight, going 0 for 3 with an RBI.
Brian Matusz was throwing a gem through four innings for Frederick. He gave up just two hits and struck out four, but faltered in the middle innings and ended up giving up four runs (three earned) over 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision.
Kevin Millar argued hard for the chance to re-sign with the Orioles for the 2009 season. Now he's making an argument that the O's made a mistake letting him go. He just singled in the eighth inning to drive in his third run of the game and widen the Blue Jays' lead to four runs.
Millar is now batting .350 (14 for 40) with a home run and 10 RBI as a part-time starter at first base.
If things weren't already bad enough, the Orioles may need to call up another relief pitcher before tomorrow's game in Toronto after Dennis Sarfate walked off the mound in the seventh inning with an apparent arm problem.
Sarfate hit Jose Bautista with a pitch, bringing a warning from home plate umpire Tony Randazzo, then looked uncomfortable delivering a pitch to Marco Scutaro. Brian Roberts noticed it first and went to the mound, then summoned manager Dave Trembley and trainer Richie Bancells.
The MASN replay showed Sarfate opening and closing his right hand on the mound, as if he was trying to shake off some pain or tingling. It's not a good sign for a team that needs all the bullpen depth it can get right now.
Postgame update: Manager Dave Trembley said that Sarfate suffered a loss of circulation in the middle finger of his pitching hand. He's still waiting for a full report from the training staff, but Trembley said he doubted the problem would sideline Sarfate for an extended period.
Moments ago on the MASN broadcast, O's baseball analyst Rick Dempsey listed the Orioles as one of the teams that would benefit from signing free agent pitcher Pedro Martinez. In an exchange with play-by-play guy Gary Thorne, Dempsey said that Martinez would strengthen the Orioles pitching staff and agreed with Thorne that Pedro could be a mentor for some of the younger pitchers.
I'm pretty sure Dempsey's opinion does not reflect the official view of the organization. The Orioles have denied any interest in Martinez every time I've inquired about him, and I don't believe Andy MacPhail has had a change of heart. If the club were interested, it would have made much more sense to sign him right after the World Baseball Classic than it would make now.
Mark Hendrickson looked very good for the first three innings tonight at Rogers Centre, partly because he retired the first batter in each of those innings. He gave up a base hit to open the fourth inning and gave up four runs on five hits to put the Orioles in the unenviable position of needing to overtake Roy Halladay (18-4 lifetime against Baltimore) after jumping ahead of him on a first-inning home run by Nick Markakis.
Halladay appears to have settled down, which doesn't auger well for an Orioles comeback in the opener of the three-game series.
If you haven't already, check out Dan Connolly's story about the struggles of the bottom three slots in the Orioles batting order, which have combined for a lower overall average (by at least 26 points) than any other team's bottom three, including National League teams that generally have the pitcher in the No. 9 slot.
That certainly isn't going to dampen the clamor for the quick arrival of top prospect Matt Wieters and a quicker end to the Felix Pie experiment.
Radio, radio: I'll be on WBAL (1090 AM) at noon, jousting with Clarence Mitchell IV and Kendel Ehrlich over the issues of the day on The Week in Review. If you are out of signal range, just go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" button.
Have to admit I'm a little surprised that Jamie Walker got off with just a fine after his angry comments about umpire Angel Hernandez, but maybe there's some justice in the baseball world after all.
Walker shouldn't have said what he said, but he probably had a right to be angry. Don't know if MLB's director of discipline Bob Watson (that's not really his exact title) took a look at the video and decided that the balk call was incorrect, but it's fair to wonder considering how sensitive baseball is about references to gambling. I thought Walker might sit for a week.
That's a break for the Orioles, who will need every good arm they can get during the five-game road swing that begins in Toronto tonight. Jamie's pocket will be a little lighter even if he goes through the appeal process, but I doubt he'll complain much about that. He's a standup guy. Maybe he can convince MLB to let him send the fine money to one of his favorite veterans charities.
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. 
> Schmuck column archive
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