Seven innings, one run - look that up in the dictionary and you'll find it under quality start.

Pete,

A solid all around performance, great game by all!

Pete....Berkin's getting the start tomorrow, so why did the Tides pull Tillman after 2 innings the other night? I can't find any news on an injury.

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Pete's reply: I believe it was some kind of cramping.

Rusty - I don't know about a dictionary , but going back to Pete's previous entry , maybe he should refer to a "Grays Anatomy" book and tell us what page a "town" ligament is on .

I got a feeling about the second half of the season. Not talking playoffs or anything outlandish, just about building good feelings going into 2010.

Guthrie looked terrible today. His fastball command was all off. Obviously he's having arm problems and I think the O's need to send him to...

Wait...what's that? He went 7 and only gave up 1 run?

Then shame on Dave Trembly for allowing the players to make all those baserunning mistakes to lose the game. The terrible defense and fundamentals today is all...

No kidding? No outs on the basepads today? No ill advised hit-n-runs? No errors? I'll be damned.

Well in that case it's all the bullpen's fault for blowing yet another winnable...

What? They closed the game out????

You mean I have nothing to complain about on Peter Schmuck's blog today? I have to put down my pitchfork until tomorrow? It's as if all the joy has been stripped from my life. What am I to do?

I'll tell you what...Have some damn optimism about this team people. A losing culture is a hard thing to break and a winning one takes time to instill. Baseball is a weird game and the best team definitely does not win every night. But...as a lifelong fan of the game, I'm saying that this team has the right pieces in place (pitching, lineup, defense, mgmt, & COACHING!) to do some good things and it's only going to get better next year and beyond.

So, let's enjoy it for once instead of always trying to find the next reason to hate being an O's fan and to blame whatever guy (player or coach) has a bad game that day, as if they bear sole responsibility for the last 11 years. It's been a long ugly road, and it'll take time to change directions, but at least, for once, the momentum is going in the right direction. I can feel it in my bones.

Contusions of the shins are very very very painful. In severe clean blows the bone can break and usually means an end to the season (Knock on wood!), but it's also one of the more reinforced and structurally sturdy bones in the body and takes quite a bit of force to have that happen. If something like that were to have occurred it would have been extremely obvious from the outset. Most likely it is a few days staying off it. The bruised area may be pretty tender though but he'll be fine I bet. Soft tissue injuries around joints, hips, lower back, and hammies are generally the scariest I think.

FLAT BREEZY’S last NINE apperances:

IP: 9

H: 3

R: 0

ER: 0

BB: 4

SO: 12

ERA: 0.00

SV: 6 for 6

Berken suffered a serious pitching injury at the worst possible time in his college career. He came back stronger but it had the effect of keeping him off the radar in a system under the radar.

I've always pulled for the kid. Erik Bedard dealt with TJ adversity too. The difference was that Bedard's raw stuff was better but Berken strikes me as a overachiever. He fights through bad odds, and fights harder when things get tough. I wouldn't say the same about Erik.

The only thing a prospect needs is a chance. I'd rather have a bulldog with a chip on his shoulder, than a golden child with a sense of entitlement. Many kids come to the majors fed by flattery, carrying a long leash, and many of them fail. The others reach the majors in spite of being counted out. They're given a slim crack of opportunity, out of unplanned circumstance, and sometimes they excel. We shouldn't be surprised by those kids. They're the ones who has made it a lifelong habit of proving people wrong. Just ask Jerry Hairston's injury fill-in, Brian Roberts.

A good all around game today. Pete, I scanned all the O's minor league rosters, can't find Jake Arrieta.... Anything?

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Pete's reply: You must have read right past him. He's on the Bowie roster.

Nice start from Guthrie, and nice to get some production out of the bottom of the lineup. I'm pretty excited about Berken's start coming up. With the rotation almost completely turned over now, it will be almost like starting the season all over again.

Boy is it nice to see Guthrie's performance tonight. He had me worried by the way things have gone for him so far this year.

Off topic, but I couldn't help but notice the resounding support for Andy McPhail in the poll here on a different page. It's nice to know that most O's fans DO get it, unlike the obviously small minority of whiners on this board who have yet to figure it out.

Pete,I know you took some flak by saying the O's may have turned the corner after beating the Nats a couple times. I think the team for most of the year was simply demoralized by having starters like Eaton nad Hendrickson in the rotation and Pie in LF . With the turnover in the rotation and Reimold coming up,I think the O's are starting to feel like a team,not a lab experiment.It's amazing what quality starts from rotation guys can do for the morale of a team.It all seemed to start with Hill's first start.he body language on the team was pretty bad and was again the other day when they brought Ray and Walker into the game. Right now I see the catcher,two bullpen spots and the bench as the 3 main problems.Scott coming back is going to give the line up a lift,not to mention Weiters when he gets here.Wiggy's horrible AB's will be on the bench along with Pie's.I think Berken is going to be a pleasant surprise.Excellent control,4 pitches for strikes and a 93 MPH fastball should help him succeed.Koji's durability or lack of it is going to be an issue the rest of the year and his contract could wind up getting ugly at some point.

Typical baseball player- contusion of the chin is a 3 wk visit to the dl. That is why i love hockey players

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Pete's reply: I bet Brian begs to play tonight, so that wouldn't apply to him.

How about Wilfredo Perez to set up?

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Pete's reply: Don't have to tell me. I've been talking about him since the first day of spring training.

The big, big difference between philosophies with the Yankees, Red Sox, for instance and the Orioles is that fans satisfaction comes into play in the final analysis of what the on-the-field team looks like. The Orioles, as a long established major league franchise have the look of a sad sack organization from the fans point of view. They don't play fundamentally good baseball and there isn't a starter in the rotation who can guarantee the fans a consistently good start (Uhera and Guthrie are 2,3, or 4 starters at best!). There isn't a lot of entertainment bang for your buck watching the Orioles.

Peter, I saw the play at second yesterday and it appeared to me the catcher intentionally went after Roberts. He didn't even attempt to slide. I noticed the umpires had words with him afterwards. A warning perhaps?

Berkens is just what Peter the Great likes , ordinary pitcher he doesn't have to give much money to , the O's are doomed......................he will be with the O's for tens years while the good pitchers move on to an owner who will pay them top dollar to pitch once every five days....................

Hey spy,learn how to spell the guys name right if you're going to criticize him,and for Pete's sake,couldn't help myself Pete,give the guy a chance before crucifying him.His numbers warrant a look see and he can't do any worse than Mr. Run-an-inning Eaton.

Hey Burt from Essex , I spelled it the same way Peter spelled it in his commentary................If you read the comment properly , it wasn't critical of him at all , it was critical of Peter the Great.............................ordinary pitchers like Berkens can have a nice stay in the majors and make pretty good money for just being average...........I wish him the best..........

Hey spy,well Pete was wrong,and he looked pretty darn good to me,wasn't afraid to pitch inside,and kept his poise when he didn't get a lot of strike calls,and when Toronto got quite a few bloop hits.Give me a Berken over three Eatons anyday.

Hey spy,well Pete was wrong,and he looked pretty darn good to me,wasn't afraid to pitch inside,and kept his poise when he didn't get a lot of strike calls,and when Toronto got quite a few bloop hits.Give me a Berken over three Eatons anyday.