During his MASN interview earlier tonight, Andy MacPhail admitted that there is a "vigorous debate" going on in the Orioles front office about what to do about the temporary opening in the starting rotation that was created by the injury that forced Brad Bergesen onto the disabled list.

Team officials have made it pretty clear over the past few months that they do not want to rush any of their remaining top pitching prospects to the major leagues, but MacPhail was somewhat less than adamant about that tonight and conceded that sometimes circumstances force a change in plans. Gary Thorne pressed him on the subject and all he would say again was that there was a lively debate in the front office, presumably about whether to take a look at one more of the top minor league starters.

Trouble is, only one of the Big Three -- Jake Arrieta, Troy Patton and Brian Matusz -- is pitching really well right now, and it's Matusz, who has played just over a half-season at the professional level. Hard to imagine them totally turning his timetable on its head for a quick look right now, but I also have to wonder why Andy was being so coy.

It's quite a dilemma, since there is really no one else throwing well enough at Double-A or Triple-A to deserve the call up. Patton threw pretty well tonight against Indianapolis (5 IP 2 ER, 5 K), but he's 1-3 with a 5-plus ERA in his eight Triple-A starts, and Arrieta gave up five runs on 10 hits over six innings against the same team a couple of nights ago to raise his Triple-A ERA to 4.70.

Matusz, of course, has been absolutely dominant at Double-A Bowie, but it's way, way too soon to consider bringing him up.

Isn't it?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (76)
Categories: Just baseball
        

First baseman Aubrey Huff hit his 12th home run a few moments ago to put the Orioles back on top against Red Sox starter John Smoltz. It was Huff's 200th career home run and it's about time. It's been almost a month (July 3) since the last time he took anyone yard, but he seems to be coming around after a long and frustrating slump.

Can't say the same thing for Luke Scott, who followed with a shot that might have cleared the wall in center if not for a fantastic running, leaping catch by Jacoby Ellsbury. This has turned into quite a game.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
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Andy MacPhail joined Gary Thorne and Buck Martinez for an extended television interview -- which was extended further when Red Sox manager asked the umpiring crew to review Nolan Reimold's two-run homer.

MacPhail didn't break a lot of new ground, but remained honest about the fact that trading George Sherrill is going to make it harder for the club to pump up the volume down the stretch. He referred again to "short-term pain," which hopefully refers only to the final two months of this season. You have to wonder when he traded Sherrill for a third base prospect who is not expected to compete for a major league job next year.

On the brighter side, MacPhail said that the Orioles are stockpiling "inventory" so that they'll be in position to trade some prospects if the right veteran becomes available. He also talked about the ability to fill some holes with quality free agents, but was not specific about a timetable.

Did he mean this offseason, or is the front office projecting beyond 2010? Kind of an important question.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
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Nobody should have been surprised when Brad Bergesen was placed on the disabled list today, even though two sets of x-rays revealed no fracture. He still has a serious bone bruise and has been told to stay home and stay off his feet. The 15-day injury hiatus will cost him at least two starts, but this is the right thing to do. The club needs to make sure there isn't any soreness in the shin before Bergesen starts to throw again, so there's no chance of him altering his mechanics to compensate for pain or weakness in the area. Not only could that impact his command on the mound, it would lead to an elbow or shoulder injury.

Guess we have our answer on Rich Hill. He apparently has been pitching with real shoulder pain over the past few weeks and does have a labrum injury that will may require surgery. I'm sure the Orioles wish he had been more upfront with them about it -- since it raised suspicion that he was trolling for a convenient spot on the disabled list -- but that couldn't be helped. Wonder if the O's will be on board for his rehab and possible comeback.

The waiver deadline has passed, but that doesn't mean the Orioles can't eventually trade another veteran player. Melvin Mora has a no-trade clause, but if he gets hot over the next couple weeks, he could still be moved (with his permission) in a waiver deal. Aubrey Huff also has enough salary remaining that it's probably unlikely a team would claim him just to block a deal, though the O's are more likely to keep him and offer him salary arbitration as a free agent. The club may try to pass Luke Scott through waivers, too, but he may be hard to get through because of his reasonable salary.

Roster update: The Orioles recalled Kam Mickolio from Norfolk and Chris Ray off his rehab assignment to replace injured Rich Hill and Brad Bergesen. Mickolio's stay could be short, depending on what the Orioles do to fill Bergesen's place in the rotation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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The Orioles have a space on the 25-man roster now that George Sherrill is off to join the Dodgers, so look for reliever Kam Mickolio to come up tomorrow to take a place in the bullpen progression that now apparently will culminate with new closer Jim Johnson.

Of course, that presupposes that Andy MacPhail doesn't have another deal up his sleeve before the 4 p.m. waiver deadline that might require a roster spot, but from all indications another deal involving an Orioles veteran seems highly unlikely.

More Schmuck if you look hard enough: While you're browsing the site, check out my "Week in Review" column for tomorrow's print edition.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (62)
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By now, you all know that the Orioles have agreed to trade closer George Sherrill to the Dodgers for pitcher Steve Johnson (yes, Dave's son) and a 22-year-old power-hitting third baseman named Josh Bell. Everybody's still digesting this, and the clubs are scurrying to get the paperwork together to make it official, but it tells me at least one thing:

The Orioles must be planning to bring back either Melvin Mora or Aubrey Huff for one more season.

Why do I think that? Because Bell is a big kid with a big swing, but he's not a spring training away from the major leagues. He's a switch-hitting third baseman who has shown good power in the low minor leagues, but he's also got very wide splits between the left side (his good side) and the right side (where he has struggled pretty badly at the Double-A level). Oh, and he also made 38 errors in 108 games in 2007 and has 17 in 91 games at Chattanooga this season.

He's a work in progress who could end up playing either third base or first, but I can't imagine the Orioles are projecting him to play either at a level higher than Triple-A next year.

Of course, you've got to be happy for Dave Johnson, who won't have to drive to Michigan or some other distant spot to watch his son pitch anymore. Steve had some ups and downs after signing with the Dodgers out of St. Paul's, but he was 8-4 with a 3.82 ERA in the California League before being called up to Double-A Chattanooga recently. He was only there for two starts, but he pitched well in both (1-1, 1.69 ERA).

It's only logical to presume both players will be assigned to the Double-A Bowie Baysox.

Do you think they O's got enough for Sherrill?

WBAL plug: We'll throw that question out tonight at six on Sportsline (WBAL, 1090 AM) right after we bring you fresh sound from the Michael Oher news conference that is going to start at about 5:50 p.m. at the Ravens facility in Owings Mills. If you're outside of WBAL signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (181)
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Certainly can't get too excited about splitting a four-game series at home against the Kansas City Royals, but I guess it beats the alternative after the Orioles continued their post-All-Star break RISP slump in the first two games.

Throw in the injury to Brad Bergesen, even if it doesn't cost him a start, and Orioles fans just have look at the split and say "we'll take it" and move on to the weekend series against the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards. John Smoltz, the only Red Sox pitcher the Orioles beat in last week's series at Fenway Park, will face Jeremy Guthrie in the opener.

There were some good signs today, most notably the big three-run double by Aubrey Huff that really opened things up. Matt Wieters extended his hitting streak to seven games and the Orioles again kept the heat on in the late innings, But, at the risk of seeming negative, everybody has kept the heat on the Royals bullpen, which has run up the highest ERA in the major leagues.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
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If you just watched Brad Bergesen hop off the field after being hit on the lower leg by a screamer off the bat of Royals first baseman Billy Butler, you're holding your breath right now and wondering what else could go wrong.

Bergesen hobbled off the field and had to helped down the stairs into the dugout tunnel. Maybe he just got a painful shin bruise, but he looked like he was having trouble putting any weight on his left leg. I'm sure the Orioles will have an x-ray report soon.

Hopefully, he didn't suffer some kind of fracture, but even a deep bone bruise would be a very troublesome injury for a guy who makes his living with pinpoint command. I'll save the Dizzy Dean comparisons until after there's more information.

Instant update: The Orioles reported that the x-rays on Brad Bergesen's shin were negative and he's listed as day-to-day. I'm guessing he gets skipped once in the rotation to make sure he doesn't screw up his mechanics favoring a painful bone bruise.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
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The poster who calls himself Fireladdie72 read the reports that commissioner Bud Selig may be reconsidering the lifetime ban on all-time hits leader Pete Rose and brought up a fair question:

Fireladdie's take: If Bud Selig re-instates Rose,will he re-instate the Black Sox team and since it will be O.K. to bet on baseball,will the players only be allowed to bet to win?

Pete's reply: First of all, I don't really think Bud is seriously considering it. I believe he's letting the smoke clear after his friend Hank Aaron made those comments during the Hall of Fame festivities last weekend. Bud feels a great debt to his friend Bart Giamatti, who died shortly after making the gut-wrenching decision to ban Rose, who was a lot more popular at the time than he is now.

Now, for the more important part of your question. Rose broke the cardinal rule of baseball by betting on the Reds, so his ban is no great injustice, but there are some mitigating factors that allow you to believe what he did was not nearly as egregious as plan by some White Sox players to throw the World Series 90 years ago. He was not a player at the time (at least as far as the specific offenses that led to the original ban) and there is no evidence he ever tried to do anything but win every game he managed.

Does that absolve him of anything? Not really. What it does is cast him as a more sympathetic character than the guys who conspired with gamblers to lose a World Series for money. At least in my mind.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)
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If you weren't watching tonight's game -- and a lot of people tell me they are now hiding behind the couch from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. pretty much every night -- don't be fooled by the final score. The Orioles were trailing when they finally gave a beating to the Kansas City Royals bullpen, scoring three times in the seventh and twice in the eighth to make it look a lot easier than it really was.

I was most impressed with the tack-on runs in the eighth that ended the suspense. That's what has been missing from the Orioles offense, even when it was chugging along pretty well through the first month or two of the season. This team seemed to jump in front in the early innings, only to have opposing teams chip away until the game turned around.

It looked a little like that again tonight, when Adam Jones homered in the first inning for the third straight game. That two-run shot would be all they would get against Royals ace Zach Greinke, even though they seemed to have him on the ropes at the outset.

Chris Tillman didn't join the four Orioles rookies who have won their first major league start this year, but he kept his composure in spite of those three solo home runs. He'll be okay. Probably just didn't want to raise the bar too high his first time out.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
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Chris Tillman's first start wasn't particularly impressive, but keep it in a little bit of perspective. The kid warmed up and took the mound, only to be pulled right back to the dugout for a rain delay and have to start over a half-hour later. He looked a little anxious and he appeared to be overthrowing in the first two innings. He was hit harder than three runs -- and was fortunate to have some balls hit right at some outfielders -- but I think the circumstances may have contributed to how much he pitched up in the strike zone.

Let's see what happens next time. He did keep his cool after giving up those three solo home runs, but it clearly was a struggle.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)
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The Orioles made the Chris Tillman promotion official and apparently believe that Rich Hill has a sore shoulder, because they put the erratic left-hander on the 15-day disabled list to make room for Tillman and avoid outrighting him. To make room on the 15-day list, the club moved pitcher Alfredo Simon to the 60-day DL.

That should not have come as a surprise to anyone, but even I was a little surprised to see that Matt Wieters was not in the lineup tonight after his 4-for-5 performance. Dave Trembley has the catchers on a schedule, and he's apparently sticking to it, though I suppose it's possible that Zaun is being showcased for a last-minute deal.

Someday it will all make sense.

Radio, radio: Tune in to WBAL (1090 AM) tonight at six for Sportsline when my guest it Ravens linebacker Jarrett Johnson. We'll also look take your Ravens calls and look ahead to Tillman's major league debut later tonight. If you're outside of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (50)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Doubt anybody else would have noticed, but today is the one-year anniversary of the start of The Schmuck Stops Here. I started blogging on July 29 of last year after my friend Roch Kubatko jumped over to MASN and began teaching at the School of Roch.

It's been a ton of fun and I've really appreciated the participation by so many of you. The last time I looked, the blog had gotten more than 5 million hits and nearly 31,000 posts over that period. Though I may not always agree with what you write, I truly appreciate all of your posts -- even yours, Burt from Essex.

Thanks again for making it a great first year.

Quick plug: My column today -- which you can read here -- is my take on the conversation that is raging right now on the blog about the tailspinning Orioles. Take a look at it and let me know what you think.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (45)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

There are a number of reasons the Orioles lost tonight, not the least of which is that they kept the Royals in another game until it finally blew up in their face. Don't tell me about Dave Trembley taking out Jason Berken after 88 pitches. Tell me about the bases being loaded in with one out in the fifth and nothing doing. Tell me about all those fruitless at-bats with runners in scoring position (though Matt Wieters and Nolan Reimold obviously get a pass).

Tell me about reliever Jim Johnson giving up that game-tying home run to Willie Bloomquist, who came up to bat in the eighth averaging one home run every 216 at-bats over his career.

Oh, and your No. 9 hitter couldn't get a bunt down with a runner at first and nobody out in the 11th. When you're the No. 9 hitter who's known for your defense, that's something you're supposed to be able to do.

So, give DT a rest on the decision to pull Berken. Even in hindsight, it was the right move.

While I'm on the subject, I can't find a lot of fault with Danys Baez. He gave up one real hit after falling victim to swinging bunt that rolled about 40 feet down the first base chalk line and somehow stayed fair for a leadoff single in the 11th. John Buck delivered a two-out single to right to break the tie and keep the Orioles headed due south.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (90)
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...with a runner in scoring position. Matt Wieters basicallly just threw his bat at a pitch in the bottom of the sixth and looped a ball into right center field to drive home Nolan Reimold with the go-ahead run. It was the Orioles' first hit with a runner in scoring position in six at-bats tonight.

The O's had the bases loaded with one out in the fifth, only to have Aubrey Huff hit a bullet right at first baseman Billy Butler and Nick Markakis ground out on Ball Five. Nick fell victim to a very questionable called strike with the count 2-1. The pitch graphic showed the ball to be well outside and low, which should have made it 3-1. Instead ended up fishing for a full-count sinker to end the inning.

It's been that kind of series so far. The Orioles had opportunities to knock out Bruce Chen early on Monday night and let him settle in to get his victory in six decisions. Maybe this is the night that Jason Berken breaks his long winless streak.

Instant update: Guess not.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)
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Two days in a row, Adam Jones has laid off that first pitch in his first at-bat and jumped ahead on the count before launching a first-inning home run -- tonight's against Royals starting pitcher Brian Bannister. With 16 homers and 56 RBI in 99 games, he's on pace to hit 26 home runs and drive in 92 runs.

Tonight's home run simply cancelled out an earlier two-run shot by Royals first baseman Billy Butler, who now is 6 for 6 in the series and has raised his batting average to .296.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)
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Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco will join me at six o'clock tonight on Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM) to talk about the first few days of training camp and some of the issues facing the Ravens offense heading toward the 2009 season.

If you're out of WBAL signal range, just go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon. You can also join in the conversation as we talk both Ravens and Orioles during tonight's program.

While I'm plugging stuff, look for my latest Orioles column a little later today on the Web site and in tomorrow's print edition and, while you're at it, take a look at Rob Kasper's take on today's Orioles Cookoff at the ESPN Zone, which benefitted the Maryland Food Bank. Roch Kubatko also weighed in on the event -- which you all know I would have attended if humanly possible -- over at The School of Roch.

If you couldn't make the event, which was won by O's catcher Gregg Zaun and his famous Chicken Enchiladas, you can still make a donation to the Maryland Food Bank right here.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Of course you're skeptical about Rich Hill's sore shoulder. Who wouldn't be, after he admits to being sore right at the moment when it looks like he's going to be waived and possibly outrighted to the minor leagues?

Now, to be fair, maybe he has been pitching hurt the past few outings, but his track record indicates that his control problems are as much mental as physical. He's a decent fellow and I hope the Orioles find a way to straighten him out, but it's hard to project him ever being a truly dependable starting pitcher.

This apparent case of shoulder tendinitis is convenient for the Orioles, since they can DL Hill now and work on his mechanics out of public view for the next month or two. Maybe the club just got lucky -- if a real injury can be considered that -- but if Hill is using some mild discomfort to extend his stay on a major league roster, he certainly wouldn't be the first guy to do that.

Frankly, I was kind of hoping that Chris Gomez would come up with a phantom hammy strain when he fell victim to the roster crunch this spring, but Chris chose to take his release and look for work elsewhere.

I don't know if something like that is happening with Hill, and I don't think it's going to make a whole lot of difference in the greater scheme of things.

Sun photo by Gene Sweeney, Jr.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
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Manager Dave Trembley would not comment during his postgame news conference on whether Rich Hill had reached the end of his shaky tenure in the O's starting rotation.

"That's something I'm not ready to say right now,'' Trembley said. "The game just ended. Fifteen minutes after the game. I'm not ready to say that."

Check with him tomorrow. This may be a transitional season, but the Orioles are playing a team that was in a deep slump and shouldn't even be able to come into town with an 0-5 pitcher and beat a rebuilding club.

Somebody asked Dave whether he thought Hill's problems were the result of his physical or mental approach to the game.

"I think you evaluate what you see,'' Trembley said. "No matter who it is. No matter who it is, it's the ability to command the fastball and the abiltiy to throw strikes with the fastball. The ability to make quality pitches with two strikes. I would say that didn't happen often enough tonight."

That's quite an understatement. For those who were viewing the first two games of the Royals series as a competition between Hill and Jason Berken to stay in the rotation, I think Hill basically conceded his end of it. Can't imagine Berken failing to top a 2 1/3-inning start, but you still have to wonder how much rope he'll have left if he can't beat the floundering Royals.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (61)
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Rich Hill didn't get out of the third inning, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks to the depleted Kansas City Royals lineup tonight, which may have spelled the end of borrowed time in the Orioles rotation. But didn't I say the same thing here after his last time out?

Manager Dave Trembley had no patience this time. He could have given Hill a chance to get out ot the third, but he needs to win these games against the struggling Royals. Brian Bass came on and shut down the rally, keeping the O's within a run.

I've got to believe the Orioles go ahead and try to get Hill through waivers. He has a good arm, bad mechanics and a seeming inability to keep it together on the mound, but the Orioles probably wouldn't mind stashing him in the minors and making a project out of him outside the glare of the major league spotlight.

I'd be surprised if anyone claimed him at this point.

Oh, and about my prediction that he would jack up a decent game tonight? Never mind.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (52)
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Adam Jones homered in the first inning to tie the game and took a pitch off his rear end with the bases loaded in the second to give the Orioles the lead. I wonder if Rick Dempsey tabbed him again today as his "Player to Watch" on the MASN pre-game show.

Dempsey threw Jones' name out so many times on the road trip that I started to think that MASN was doing repeats.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Training camp officially opened today in Westminster, with the rookies, quarterbacks and selected other veterans reporting to the Best Western Hotel. The Ravens will spent the next four weeks training at nearby McDaniel Colletge.

Normally, this day traditionally marks the end of baseball season for a lot of Baltimore sports fans, but I don't think that's really the case this year. There is plenty of excitement heading into the football season, of course, and lots of fans are more than ready to jump from the diamond to the gridiron, but this summer is a bit different for passionate Orioles fans (and, yes, there still are plenty of them).

Obviously, the Orioles have not done a whole lot in the standings, but the piecemeal introduction of the top young prospects -- which will continue with Chris Tillman's debut against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday -- has allowed the Orioles to generate continuing interest in the long-term rebuilding program, in spite of real frustration with the on-field results.

Maybe that will wear thin in a few more weeks, but it's probably okay to be a Ravens fan and an Orioles fan at the same time for awhile this summer and fall, as long as you realize that the purple Kool-Aid is going to taste a lot better for at least another year.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

Everybody is viewing tonight's start by Rich Hill and tomorrow night's start by Jason Berken as a direct competition for the spot remaining in the rotation when Chris Tillman moves up for Wednesday night's game.

If that's the case, my money is on Hill. He's due for another last-gasp solid performance against the decimated Kansas City Royals lineup tonight, and optioning Berken back to Norfolk is the path of least resistance for the O's front office.

Former Orioles pitcher Bruce Chen goes for the Royals tonight, and it's always hard to root against Bruce, who is a great guy who probably had his career handicapped by an inability to fit into Leo Mazzone's pitching profile.

Radio, radio: Tune in at six for Sportsline when Stan White and Rob Burnett join me in the first half-hour to talk about the opening of Ravens training camp today. Gerry Sandusky will pop in during the second half of the show. Tomorrow night, my guest will be quarterback Joe Flacco. If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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Nestled in Jeff Zrebiec's Orioles Notebook today are some interesting stats demonstrating how starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie has performed in relation to the guys who have been calling the pitches for him behind the plate.

I think if you remember what was going on earlier in the season, you might find it interesting to note that Guthrie is 6-1 with a 4.44 ERA in his nine starts with Gregg Zaun behind the plate and has surrendered just seven of his 23 home runs this season. With Matt Wieters catching, he is 1-5 with a 6.21 ERA in eight starts (10 homers) and with Wieters or former backup Chad Moeller catching, he is 1-8 with a 5.86 ERA and 16 of his 23 homers.

This is particularly interesting because there was a minor controversy early in the season when Guthrie allegedly preferred throwing to Moeller instead of Zaun. Guthrie quickly dismissed the idea, and apparently with good reason, but manager Dave Trembley said on Sunday that he does not intend to pair up Guthrie and Zaun exclusively because of the lopsided statistical split.

I'm going to respectfully disagree, even though I buy Dave's opinion that it is the pitcher who really decides what to throw. The bottom line, however, is that Guthrie clearly has been in a better groove with Zaun, so why stand on principle? Just go with it.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (52)
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If you're not excited about what David Hernandez is doing right now, you might want to check and see if you've still got a pulse. Hernandez hasn't made 10 starts in the major leagues yet and he made back-to-back impressive starts at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park.

Today's line: 7 IP, 5H, 1ER, 2K, 0BB.

In the two games combined, he pitched 13 innings and gave up just two runs on eight hits to drop his ERA to 3.20.

Dave Trembley took him out after 110 pitches, which was a more-than-reasonable decision with the temperature near 90 degrees at Fenway this afternoon. Guess Jim Johnson was just teasing us when he walked the No. 9 hitter to lead off the eighth, but there would have been no second-guessing the call to the bullpen in this particular case.

Just a solid day all around for the O's, who got big performances from several hitters, most notably Nick Markakis (HR, 3 RBI) and Nolan Reimold (his third multi-hit game in the series). Brian Roberts and Felix Pie also had multi-hit afternoons in the first O's victory over the Red Sox at Fenway in more than a year (July 11, 2008).

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (52)
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Brian Roberts just singled for the second time in the game and scored all the way from first on the ensuing double by Felix Pie. Roberts has been on base all three times up today, including that lengthy walk in the first inning.

If you had any question about his effort today, he was so intense that on the slide home with the fifth run he tried to take out home plate umpire Joe West, who is quicker on his feet than he looks.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
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Red Sox starter John Smoltz has dug himself a big hole, running up his pitch count and giving up three more runs in the third inning on a tough day to pitch in Boston. Now, the Orioles have to push him into that hole or risk another one of those games like the infamous Mothers Day Massacre of 2007 or the four-run, ninth-inning meltdown by Jim Johnson and George Sherrill against the Sox earlier this year.

David Hernandez continues to show that he belongs at this level, but he's probably not going to go beyond seven innings with the heat index at about 90 degrees. The Red Sox bullpen is deep enough to shut the Orioles down the rest of the way, so they need to press the action in the middle innings to make sure they avert the three-game sweep at Fenway Park.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Guess I didn't learn my lesson last night, because I have another bone to pick with the Orioles in the first inning. I'm still wondering if some of these guys even think about the situation they are in when they get to the plate.

Let's review: Brian Roberts opened the game with an outstanding at-bat, forcing an aging pitcher to throw nine pitches without recording an out. So what happens next, Felix Pie hacks at the first pitch and bounces it sharply into right field. Then Adam Jones swings at a curveball off the plate on the first pitch of his at-bat, putting himself at a big disadvantage to a wily pitcher who put him away on three pitches.

Why am I so disturbed by this? Pie did single after all, putting Roberts in position to score on a sacrifice fly.

Because it reflects a short-sighted mindset at the plate. Pie is a hacker, and he basically got lucky. Good for him, but that ball could just as easily have led to a double play that turned a potentially fatiguing inning for Smoltz into a walk in the park on a steamy day. He ended up throwing quite a few pitches anyway, but it was just another example of the young Orioles hitters not realizing that you can win a game in the first inning by weakening the other team later in the game.

Roberts did that. Smoltz isn't going to throw more than 100 pitches on a day like this, so Roberts squeezed almost a tenth of his performance out of one plate appearance that didn't result in an out. Smoltz may be a future Hall of Famer. but he didn't look particularly sharp, and the O's should have at least considered the possibility that making him throw some pitches might turn him from a six-inning guy into a four-inning guy. That would be way more valuable than that one run the O's got in the first.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
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Some posters thought I was too hard on Matt Wieters last night for looking at a fastball third strike with two outs and two runners on at a time when the Orioles needed something to happen to stay in the game.

I admitted in the entry that I was nitpicking one at-bat, and I was thrilled to see Wieters make an adjustment in his next at-bat and line a breaking ball to the opposite field to drive in a run. I was certainly not "calling him out" for striking out against Jon Lester. Just for being a bit too passive in that situation.

Everybody knows my position on Wieters. I think he's doing fine for a kid who has a year and change in the minors and two months in the big leagues, and I've defended him multiple times here when posters started complaining that he wasn't living up to his expectations.

Here's the only thing he isn't living up to: Evan Longoria.

Fans watched how Longoria assimilated so quickly into the Rays lineup last year and heard the hype that Wieters was going to be the catching version of him. Well, it's a little harder to be the catching version of Evan Longoria, because Evan Longoria didn't have to spend the spring of 2008 learning to handle a greatly expanded pitching staff the way Wieters has had to do this year...and, really, Longoria is a truly special player who did something truly special last year.

Wieters is not just on schedule here. He's ahead of schedule. He's going to struggle and he's going to look like he has a long swing sometimes, because he does. He's a tall guy who will always look bad when he strikes out. But he is going to be a very good major league player and it's going to happen pretty quick, just not quick enough for a few people who still don't realize what this season is all about.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Manager Dave Trembley annouced earlier today that a minor league pitcher will start on Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals. How embarrassed are all of us going to be if it turns out to be Chris Waters?

Of course, it's all but certain to be the long-awaited major league debut of Chris Tillman. Here's Jeff Zrebiec's Orioles notebook with the details.

While I'm plugging Jeff, you can also take a look at his report on the Orioles' continuing interest in Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano.

Plugging myself: And while I'm flogging just about everything on the Sun website, I might as well point out that I wrote a Ravens column for tomorrow's print edition which you can read right here.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (44)
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Everyone here knows that I seldom nitpick an individual at-bat, because it's too easy to sit on the couch and tell somebody how to hit a 95-mph fastball. But I've got to wonder what was going through Matt Wieters' head when he struck out looking at a 3-2 fastball with two outs and two runners on base in the second inning.

I hope Matt wasn't guessing curveball and looking for a walk there, because he's not here to pass the buck to some other guy at the bottom of the order. The Orioles aren't going anywhere this year and 3-2 is no time to show you're a patient hitter. Matt was the guy with the chance to pull the O's back in the game and he has to be aggressive there.

To be fair, we're talking about Jon Lester, who has dominated the Orioles throughout his career and already has a pair of no-hitters. That's why I'm not faulting Nick Markakis for getting caught looking on a nasty curveball in the third, but a fastball is a fastball with a 3-2 count. Maybe Wieters would have waved at it, but at least he would have gone down swinging.

Instant update: Glad to see Matt is reading the blog between innings. He came up in the fourth with another two runners on base and fell behind in the count, but fouled off a two-strike pitch and the slapped a breaking ball into right field for the first of two Orioles runs in the fourth.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
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Don't know about you, but I'm conflicted about the way the Orioles have competed with the Yankees and Red Sox this week. Every game has been a one-run or two-run game, but I'm not sure that means the O's have been competitive. The 0-4 record in those four games probably answers that question.

Nevertheless, there has been nothing embarrassing about the way the Orioles have played the past four games. They're playing two of the best teams in baseball and -- once again last night -- they were one swing away from a dramatic turnaround with the final batter at the plate.

That's not terribly satisfying, I realize, but it's probably a sign that the young prospects have some sand. If you had any doubt about their desire to win, the Markakis/Wieters throw-out should have erased that from your consciousness.

There is a lot of emotion at work when the Orioles play those two teams, so the losses hurt a lot more to the hardcore Orioles fans. Nothing wrong with that. If the club gets where it wants to go -- and I can't guarantee that's going to happen -- beating those teams will be real sweet.

But I can't join in with the total naysayers who claim that nothing has changed. Everything has changed but the won-loss record over the past two years. Now, you have to wait and see if they take the final step.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (32)
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I've got to sympathize with some of the day-to-day frustration that has been showing up on this blog, particularly when it comes to those game-of-inches plays that are supposed to even out. Like the bullets Melvin Mora hit with Nolan Reimold on third and two outs in the seventh tonight.

It seems like in every game against the Yankees and now the Red Sox, every ball that misses being fair and misses by a foot is hit by an Oriole. The same ball hit by the Yankees or Sox seems to kick up chalk. The Orioles hit a bucketful of balls at the new Yankee Stadium that were caught right up against the fence, or -- in Luke Scott's case -- hit a foot from the top of the wall and ended up being a single. Meanwhile, it seemed like the jetstream turned on every time the Yankees hit a ball to right center.

They even out. Really they do. Just doesn't seem like that, does it. When things are going bad, those things always seem to be going against you.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (48)
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The play of tonight's game just happened in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Nick Markakis scooped up a single by Dustin Pedroia and gunned down Jacoby Ellsbury trying to score from second. It was Nick's league-leading 11th assist of the year, but that was just the half of it.

Rookie catcher Matt Wieters drew a line in the dirt and decided that Ellsbury was not going to get to the plate. The ball and Ellsbury arrived at about the same time, but Wieters blocked the plate and leaned into the runner, basically driving him into the ground for the final out of the inning.

It was just a fantastic major league play on the part of both players.

We'll have to wait and see if it makes any difference. It was a big out, keeping the Boston lead at two runs, but the Orioles didn't do a whole lot against Red Sox starter Brad Penny, who just left the game after give up just an unearned run over 6 1/3 innings.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
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My friend Chris from Hawaii was one of the first posters to take issue with the notion that I look like Burn Notice star Bruce Campbell:

Chris's take: I've met Bruce Campbell. I've talked with Bruce Campbell. I've been genially ribbed by Bruce Campbell. You sir, are no Bruce Campbell. Though I still think you're a stand up chap.

Of course, I've never met you in person Pete, so how would I really know? There is the slight chance that you look nothing like your picture and everything like a picture of Bruce Campbell.

PS - Has anyone ever told you that you look like 80's glam metal lady killer and Tiger Beat appearance maker Kip Winger?

Pete's reply: Funny you should mention that. I've heard that a lot over the years. I've included a photo of Kip here so everyone can see why I was such a chick magnet back in the day.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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Today's featured comment comes from a poster named John Porter who thinks he sees a resemblance between me and a TV star:

John's take: Has anybody ever told you, you look like Bruce Cambell kinda?

Pete's reply: I wish. I'll let all of you decide. Here's a picture of Campbell, who stars in the USA Network series Burn Notice. Other than the shirt, I'm not seeing it.

USA Network publicity photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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The July 31 deadline for making trades without waivers is just a week away and there's every indication that the Orioles will be active. I'm basing that partly on the comments of Andy MacPhail in today's cover story in the print edition of the Sun about the potential trade possibilities by Jeff Zrebiec, which you can read right here.

While you're reading that, tune in to WBAL (1090 AM) at noon for The Week in Review, where Bruce Elliott, former Republican party spokesperson Audra Harrison and I will mix it up over the issues of the day. Looks like I'll have to move to the left for the three-hour program to keep these people honest. If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

I'll chime in a little later with my feelings on Jeff's article and we'll continue the debate over just what the Orioles should do to get the team in position to finish on an upswing this season. If you're really bored, you can also click here to read my column from today's print edition.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (29)
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Roch Kubatko featured me today in his nostalgic entry at The School of Roch about the years we spent covering spring training together in Fort Lauderdale. I actually got a little misty remembering all the springs we roomed together before he moved over to MASN. This past spring was the first time in about a decade that we didn't share a condo for those six or seven weeks.

I'm pretty much sworn to secrecy on a lot of it, though I don't understand why. Most of the girls Roch dated during that period didn't use their real names anyway. My favorite memory -- that can be printed here -- was at the beginning of one of his ill-fated relationships, when he was explaining to me how this particular beauty was different from all the others.

"This one's special, man,'' he said. "I'm so sure about her I even told her my real age."

Roch was like the little brother I never had. Early one morning, he woke me up and was in terrible abdominal pain. I mean terrible. Roch is no wimp, so I figured something was really wrong. I was pretty convinced he had appendicitis, so I forced him into the car and headed for the nearest emergency room. When we got there, he didn't want to go in.

"Let's just sit out here for awhile and see if it gets better,'' he said, forcing me to reassess the whole wimp equation.

So we did, and the pain began to subside, and eventually we went back to the condo. He must have gotten some bad sushi -- really the only possibility because Roch doesn't eat anything else -- or had that kind of appendicitis Brady Anderson had during his 50-homer season.

Roch is one of the most naturally funny guys you'll ever meet, but you better have a thick skin. Recently one of the local radio guys walked past a group of us in the lockerroom at training camp.

"Now there's a sexy guy,'' Roch said. "Ninety-seven pounds. None of it chin."

When I limped into the press box on crutches a week or so ago with my leg in a large splint after suffering a severed Achilles tendon, somebody walked up to me and asked what happened. Roch was sitting in the row behind me and piped right up.

"The blog wars,'' he said, "have turned violent."

If we're going to list our favorite Fort Lauderdale memories, here are few that pop to mind, though I don't have Roch's vivid memory:

The turtle incident: This one's easy to remember because it happened this past spring. I was driving to camp when I noticed that traffic was being obstructed by a large turtle trying to cross Atlantic Avenue. When I got close enough, I stopped the car, got out and picked the turtle up to carry it off the road. But I neglected to remember that turtles have a unique defense mechanism when they are frightened and ended up at camp with my favorite silk shirt soaked (and I mean soaked) with turtle pee.

Best quote came from MLB.com's Spencer Fordin, who refused to believe that I had actually rescued the turtle: "I think you just made that up so you'd have an excuse for why you smell like turtle pee."

The designated driver: I stopped going to a fun place on Las Olas Boulevard a couple of years ago after they booted me out for not buying a drink. When I explained that I was the designated driver and had four friends at the bar spending a lot of money, they told me that I still had to buy two drinks if I wanted to stay. Now, that's South Florida. To be fair, they did offer me the option of buying two glasses of water at full cocktail price.

South Beach prices: It's very common in South Beach to have hawkers try to draw you into the curbside dining areas with special offers, most of them 2-for-1 drink specials. I tried to take advantage of one this past spring, but had the good sense to ask how much they charged for a large margarita. It was $28.50.

Roid rage: In a major upset, this memory does not involve Roch. I got so mad at my former colleague Joe Strauss one day in the tiny Fort Lauderdale Stadium press work room that I chased him into the hall and threw a chair at him, and not some featherweight WWE folding chair. Everybody, including Joe, still laughs at the sight of him running down the hall with this big chair bouncing behind him. But, since all is quickly forgiven in spring training, he showed up at my condo that night as if nothing had ever happened. "Where do you want to eat,'' he said, and that was pretty much that.

Now, here's one of my favorite memories from the two springs I spent in Sarasota early in my Baltimore Sun career:

During those days, I liked to go to the small greyhound track in town, so we set up a dinner there that included me, Evening Sun beat writer Jim Henneman, Orioles PR guy Rick Vaughn and his wife Sue, and manager Johnny Oates and his wife Gloria.

Since we were going to eat a long dinner and nobody had any real expertise with the greyhounds, we decided that we'd each throw in $50 and give it to a racetrack friend of Henny's who worked as a ticket-seller. Nice guy who we still know whose nickname is right out of a Damon Runyon story.

Smoothie.

Well, the first few races didn't go very well and we were enjoying a few adult beverages and Vaughn suddenly starts laughing, even though nobody said anything funny. So I asked him what was on his mind.

"We just gave 300 bucks to a guy named Smoothie,'' he said. "That can't be a sound financial strategy."

Maybe you had to be there, but we'll be there again in February and I, for one, can't wait. I might even be able to walk by then.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (29)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Don't get your hopes up. The franchise isn't moving there, but the Orioles are moving their major league spring training operation from Fort Lauderdale to Sarasota. The Sarasota County Commissioners spent several hours listening to public testimony and debating the deal, but just voted 4-1 to approve the memorandum of understanding that calls for the O's to move into the Ed Smith Stadium complex next spring.

The 30-year lease agreement includes $31.2 million in renovations to the stadium complex and Twin Lakes Park minor league camp, with the funds raised from an increase in the county tourist tax and a state contribution of $7.5 million. The Orioles will assume the operating expenses for the major league complex and the Twin Lakes Park facility where the Orioles minor leaguers presently spend spring training.

It brings an end to a 20-year search by the Orioles for a permanent spring training home that started when they decided to leave Bobby Maduro Stadium in Miami after the 1990 training camp. Since then, they have trained in Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Fort Lauderdale, always with an eye toward building a new facility in South Florida.

During that period, the Orioles dallied with the Disney Complex in the Orlando area, chose not to participate in the two-team facility that was built in Jupiter (now occupied by the Marlins and Cardinals) and negotiated with several other Florida localities, including Naples, West Palm Beach, Vero Beach and Fort Myers.

Finally, they'll have their major and minor leaguers training each year in the same general vicinity after more than a decade of the being a 3 1/2-hour drive apart. It's a good deal for both sides, since Sarasota was desperate to replace the Cincinnati Reds at the Ed Smith Complex, which will be fully renovated between the spring of 2010 and 2011. The Twin Lakes facility also will be rebuilt and a Cal Ripken Youth Baseball Academy will be built on adjacent land.

I haven't seen all the details, but it looks like a win-win, though a lot of players -- and fans -- are going to miss the nightlife in Fort Lauderdale.

Sun baseball writer Dan Connolly has been on this story all day. You can read his latest account here.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (48)
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That makes it an even 0-10 at Yankee Stadium dating back to the middle of last season. The best opportunity to break that streak came on Monday night, but the Orioles ran themselves out of an opportunity or two in that game and spent the entire series squandering scoring opportunities.

I suppose the back-to-back homers by Adam Jones and Nick Markakis in the ninth inning took a tiny bit of the sting out of this three-game sweep, but the series proved again that the Orioles have quite a way still to go to be truly competitive with the top teams in the American League East.

Maybe a couple of free nights in Boston will help them clear their heads and make a better account of themselves at Fenway Park this weekend. Jeremy Guthrie and Brad Bergesen are scheduled to pitch the first two games in the series, which might give them more of a fighting chance.

Schmuckman returns: I'll be returning to the microphone today at six for Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM). We'll hash out this series and look ahead with the Orioles, and continue the march toward the opening of Ravens training camp. If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (48)
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This is a tough call. Jason Berken basically lost this game in the first inning, but has pitched pretty well ever since. Seems like the story of his life, since the Orioles again have given him absolutely no offensive support.

So what do you do if you're Dave Trembley? Just keep throwing him out there and seeing if his luck changes? He seems to know how to pitch, but he's not one of the elite prospects and he just can't seem to win.

Maybe the best argument to keep him in the rotation is that you've got to get Rich Hill out of it first.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (49)
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The city of Sarasota just took the first step toward ultimate approval of the new spring training deal with the Orioles -- city commissioners voting 3-2 to approve the interlocal agreement to transfer control of the Ed Smith Stadium complex over to the county. Now, the Sarasota County Board of Commissioners are getting ready to vote on the same interlocal agreement to take possession before voting on the actual memorandum of understanding with the Orioles for the 30-year lease agreement.

Everybody down there seems to think the thing gets done, but we'll have to wait a little longer for it to be official. Both votes are expected to be completed today, so we'll know one way or the other whether the O's officially have left Fort Lauderdale for the former Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds complex on the gulf coast of Florida.

Sun baseball guy Dan Connolly is monitoring the county hearing, so look for his story on the situation a little later in the afternoon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Don't know how much longer Andy MacPhail and Dave Trembley can keep sending Rich Hill to the mound. He has some talent, but he can't hold it together long enough often enough to keep the Orioles competitive.

I'm guessing the Orioles still want to wait awhile for Chris Tillman, but if that's the case, maybe they need to go back to the well with someone like Chris Waters, who pitched very well in his last start and his pitching schedule lines up just a day behind Hill's slot in the major league rotation.

Bringing in Hill was a reasonable experiment, but it has not been a success. If the O's think he can be fixed, they should probably try to outright him to the minor leagues. With his numbers, it's hard to imagine a rush to claim him off waivers.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (104)
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Obviously, pitching coach Rick Kranitz gave the Orioles hitters a gameplan against Yankees starter Sergio Mitre, judging by the fact that each of the first three hitters swung at the first pitch and had productive at-bats. Nice for the O's to jump on top, but they still seem averse to letting a pitcher struggle.

Case in point: Aubrey Huff's at-bat immediately after Nick Markakis singled in Brian Roberts with one out. Mitre's first five pitches were well out of the strike zone and he moved Markakis up with a wild pitch, but Huff swung at a 2-0 sinker that wasn't close and did the same thing on a 3-1 pitch down before bouncing weakly back to the mound on a borderline pitch that may or may not have been the first strike of the at-bat.

Yes, I'm nitpicking. Mitre was trying to get himself in trouble and Huff refused to let him. If the Orioles want to steal a win at Yankee Stadium, they're going to need more than the odd single run.

Roster update: In case you missed it, the Orioles did exactly what everyone thought they would do when new reliever Cla Meredith joined the club today. Reliever Kam Mickolio, who threw well in a brief stay in the majors, was optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (37)
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The Sarasota Herald Tribune is reporting that the Orioles have reached a deal with Sarasota city and county officials to move their entire spring training operation across Florida starting next February.

That would be great news for the team, since it would consolidate the major and minor league operations in the same area, and it would be great news for Sarasota, which needs a team for its downtown facility. The Orioles would move into the Ed Smith Stadium complex and be in position to play exhibition games against all its division rivals.

If you want to read the original report, click here.

Of course, we've heard reports like this before. Officials in Fort Myers were telling everyone a few months ago that a deal with the Orioles would be worked out in 90 days, but not much came of it. Sarasota is the most logical location and the deal -- which includes tourist tax revenue, state revenue and the Orioles taking operating expenses for the facility -- appears to be amenable to all sides. But I guess you have to be skeptical with at least one more vote of the Sarasota County Commissioners still to come in the next few days,

Column plug: In my continuing crusade to evoke your sympathy for my lack of athletic agility, I wrote a column for tomorrow's print edition about what it's like to be on the sportswriter disabled list while old guys like Tom Watson and Lance Armstrong battle successfully against Father Time. Take a look at it now.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
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There are worse things than losing a game on a walkoff home run by Hideki Matsui after some sketchy baserunning and suspect clutch hitting deprived the Orioles of a legitimate shot at opening the series at the new Yankee Stadium with an uplifting victory. I'm guessing, however, that you can't think of any right now.

There's really nothing to do but give David Hernandez his props and look ahead to tomorrow night's game, though it's hard to get too excited about another start by left-hander Rich Hill. This is shaping up as another three-day mugging in the Bronx, with Jason Berken set to go on Wednesday, but I guess you never know.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (73)
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David Hernandez proved me wrong...sort of. The 30 pitches he threw in the first inning ended up limiting him to just six very good innings tonight. He was up to 103 pitches -- and they were a very high-stress 103 pitches -- so Mark Hendrickson took over in the seventh and retired the side in order to remove any reason for debate about it.

Hernandez certainly would not have pitched beyond the seventh, so the timing of his removal is no longer relevant to the outcome, but I've got no problem with Dave Trembley and Rick Kranitz choosing not to let him pitch to Eric Hinske again.

Just another solid outing by a rookie pitcher. What more could you ask?

Well, you could ask for the Orioles baserunners to be able to read the ball better at the new Yankee Stadium. Twice they've had a runner going and a ball hit off the wall in the right field corner and both times the runners stopped because of uncertainty about whether the ball would be caught.

The first time, Nolan Reimold probably would not have scored anyway. In the eighth, Cesar Izturis might have had a chance if he and third base coach Juan Samuel had been in some kind of communication. Just to add insult to injury, the Orioles had back to back runners tagged out at the plate to squander a big opportunity at a very critical time.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (37)
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Of course, the good news is that Nick Markakis hit a quick homer and David Hernandez worked out of that bases-loaded situation in the first inning. The bad news is that he threw 30 pitches and will probably be back into the top of the Yankees order the next time he takes the mound.

This doesn't bode well for a sustained outing for the rookie right-hander, but this was a reverse lock-type game anyway, so who knows. It's not like the Orioles could come in expecting to win when they've lost their last seven games at Yankee Stadium and Andy Pettitte has a 25-6 lifetime record against them.

Throw in that Yankee luck -- I mean, did you see that ball bounce off Teixeira and straight to Robinson Cano -- and the Orioles may have to climb Mt. Everest tonight to open this series with a victory.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
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The Orioles officially recalled starting pitcher David Hernandez from Double-A Bowie to face the Yankees tonight -- using the roster space created by the deal yesterday that sent utilityman Oscar Salazar to the San Diego Padres -- but will not make the corresponding move to make room for new reliever Cla Meredith until he joins the team tomorrow.

Bad stat of the day: In their last 24 road games against American League East teams, the Orioles are 2-22 (1-11 this year). That, my friends, isn't easy to do. The last time the O's won a road series against a division rival was July 28-30 against the Yankees. So, I guess, if they don't win this series at Yankee Stadium, there's really no such thing as the law of averages.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
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Believe it or not, my clearest recollection of the first moon landing 40 years ago today happens to be a baseball memory? I spent the afternoon of July 20, 1969 at Anaheim Stadium enjoying a doubleheader between the California Angels and the Oakland Athletics before heading home to watch Neil Armstrong take that first step on the lunar surface.

Obviously, I don't remember a lot about the two games, except that a young outfielder named Reggie Jackson launched his 37th home run of the season in the nightcap on the way to the best home run (47) and RBI (118) totals of his career.

The moment that really stands out came between games, when the Big-A scoreboard (which now stands in the parking lot of the refurbished ballpark) displayed a crude blinking-bulb representation of the lunar landing module touching down and informed the crowd that "We Have Landed On The Moon." The crowd of more than 17,000 (I had to look the attendance up) erupted in a large ovation and, for the first time in my 13-year life, I couldn't wait for the second game to end so I could get home.

That night, I watched Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (left) exit the module in glorious black-and-white and then stood out on the sidewalk looking up at the moon, hardly believing it was true. I was pretty sure at that moment that we'd be traveling to other galaxies in my lifetime, but the Cubs haven't even gotten to the World Series since then.

Thanks for indulging me on this walk down memory lane. I actually got a little misty thinking about it.

NASA photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
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If you've been following Oscar Salazar's performance the past few weeks, you've got to have mixed feelings about the deal that just sent him to the San Diego Padres for reliever Cla Meredith. Oscar was the ultimate good soldier, waiting for his turn without complaint and performing very well as a spot player recently.

He made some very timely contributions to some big comeback wins and endeared himself to fans here with his just-great-to-be-here attitude, but he really wasn't a player who was going to be the starting third baseman next year or some other cog in the rebuilding program. The Orioles were fortunate to get much of anything for either Salazar or Felix Pie, since they were up against a roster move to bring up David Hernandez and everybody knew they would have to waive one of them.

The only question is who goes out to make room for Meredith in the bullpen. Guessing Andy MacPhail takes the path of least resistance and sends Kam Mikolio back to Norfolk.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (109)
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The Orioles put the hammer down on the White Sox today, actually tacking on runs after the White Sox gift-wrapped a handful in the fifth inning. Gregg Zahn's three-run homer in the ninth allowed the O's to head for New York feeing pretty good about themselves in spite if the series loss.

"We showed a lot of patience at the plate, Zahn had a good game...it was a good game to get out of town with,'' said manager Dave Trembley.

Tomorrow night, David Hernandez is expected to be recalled to face Andy Pettitte at the new Yankee Stadium, so the Orioles will have to find a place on the roster for him. There continues to be speculation they'll find a way to get something for Oscar Salazar or Felix Pie, but they may option a pitcher to buy some time.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
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The White Sox gift-wrapped a big inning for the Orioles, but the best thing about the five-run fifth -- in my opinion -- was that the Sox had a no-run bottom of the inning against Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie.

Everybody knows that Jeremy went through a streak where he had a penchant for giving back several runs right after an apparent break-out rally. This time, he disposed of the White Sox efficiently and kept his lead comfortable.

There's still a long way to go in this one, but Jeremy looks like he may have benefitted from the involuntary break he got after contracting a virus. He looked rested and sharp through five, but just walked the leadoff hitter in the sixth.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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Tom Watson said at the end of the third round of the British Open that he had a 36-hole gameplan for the second half of the tournament. Unfortunately, he did not have a 40-hole gameplan.

Watson and a lot of golf fans will remember his second shot on 18, which he hit too well. It was right on target, but rolled past the hole and trickled down the back of the knoll and slightly into the rough. If he had come up short -- even short of the green -- he might have won his record-tying sixth Open Championship.

The playoff with Stewart Cink was never close. Watson clearly was fatigued and disappointed after the 72nd hole. Cink picked up a stroke on the first playoff hole and won the tournament when Watson blew up on the third, ceding a four-stroke lead on the par-5 17th.

What a great week for golf, but Watson will have to get past the staggering disappointment of coming up a nine-foot putt short of delivering one of the most inspiring victories in the history of professional sports.

Don't forget Cink's long birdie putt on 18 to stay in contention. He very much earned his first major victory, even if most of the golf world was not rooting for him to get it.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

It's not supposed to be easy. Tom Watson made a terrific tee shot on 18 and was in position to win the British Open with a conservative 8-iron on his second shot, but he hit it too well and it trickled off the back of the green. He needed to get up and down from a difficult spot on the edge of the rough and ended up with an eight-foot putt that came up a few inches short to drop him into a tie with Stewart Cink.

Now, they begin a four-hole aggregate playoff that I have to feel favors Cink. He's been resting for a half hour while Watson wrestles with Father Time. You have to believe that age becomes even more of a factor when the tournament is lengthened to 76 holes.

Hope I'm wrong, because this would be a victory for the ages.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Don't think you have to be a big golf fan to be rooting for Tom Watson right now. Already the oldest player ever to lead a major tournament going into the final round, he's still right in contention with just a handful of holes to go.

If he can pull it off, it would be an even bigger story than Nicklaus winning the Masters at age 46 back in 1986. Watson is a couple months shy of his 60th birthday.

To be honest, I'm personally grateful that he chose to make this historic challenge this weekend, since I'm stuck on the couch. It's lining up so that the Open runs right into the Orioles' series finale against the White Sox at 2:05 p.m.

Jeremy Guthrie takes on Jose Contreras with the Orioles needing a win to avert a sweep heading into New York and Boston. The O's are 4-10 on Sunday, of course, but my money would be on the O's today.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Orioles fans could actually find some consolation in the way the hitters battled in Friday night's loss to the Chicago White Sox, because they did so many position things even in defeat. I suppose you could do the same with today's game, but you can only rationalize so many tough losses.

Ty Wigginton's error in the four-run White Sox rally was a hard one to swallow -- that just can't happen -- but that doesn't take all the responsibility away from Brad Bergesen, who came unraveled and allowed six straight hits. If you want to find a silver lining, it was the two outfield assists by Nolan Reimold and Nick Markakis that got him out of the inning, but all that did was tell a national television audience what we already know. The O's have a great young outfield.

Once again, the Orioles went down swinging -- except Wigginton, who struck out looking with the bases loaded on a borderline pitch in the eighth. It was too close to take, especially since the home plate umpire had been calling that a strike all day.

None of what happened in the game should change your opinion of Brad Bergesen. He hung a couple of pitches and let things go south for one inning, but it was still a quality performance. Once again, you could watch that loss and see some victories in the future, but that's getting kind of old, don't you think?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (41)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I've gotten a lot of nice notes from many of the posters on this site, wishing me the best with my Achilles surgery. I really appreciate the support and hope everyone is having a great summer weekend. Everything went very well -- thanks to the wonderful doctors, nurses and hospital personnel over at Johns Hopkins. It is the best medical facility in the world, so I wasn't surprised, but I was amazed that they actually made the whole thing a relatively pleasant experience.

Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into an Oscar speech, but I like to explain when the blog is left dormant for 24 hours. I'll be on light duty here for a while, but I'll be reading all the posts and hopefully giving cogent replies. I'll be eye-to-eye with my elevated right foot for the next 10 days. Wonder if it will affect the discourse.

I did watch last night's game, but was -- for obvious reasons -- unable to kick the TV when Jason Berken threw that fat pitch to Jim Thome in the fith. I had be restrained when Danny Baez did the same thing with the bases loaded an inning later.

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? I thought there were a number of positive developments in the series opener against the White Sox, from guys laying down bunts to Aubrey Huff beating out two infield balls to Adam Jones and Nick Markakis going deep. But when you don't pitch, you don't win.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

We've spent the past couple months debating the daily performance of manager Dave Trembley, whose contract is up at the end of this year if the Orioles don't pick up his option for 2010. O's president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail has said that he won't decide on Trembley's future until right near the end of the season, but Dave sat down with Orioles beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec the other day and talked at length about the situation.

So, at the risk of offending the posters who think I put up too many links here, I'm going to put up another one. Take a look at Jeff's story right here, then come back and tell me what you think about Trembley's future.

Your other option: If you want to talk directly to me about the subject, tune into Sportsline at six on WBAL (1090 AM) and give me a call. If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (83)
Categories: Just baseball
        

When I did the midterm grade report on the individual Orioles, I did not assign any grades to the team's overall performance in key areas. This was brought to my attention by an anonymous poster, but it was a fair point so I'll do it now:

Pitching: C- -- The closer, setup guy and Danys Baez have been real good overall and the young pitchers have -- in total -- exceeded expectations. The veteran starters, overall, have been a definite disappointment, even considering that a couple of them came with no expectations. Hard to ignore the fact that the O's rank 28th in the league with their 4.94 team ERA, but the staff has been a lot better than that recently. To keep the ERA in perspective, consider that the team that's ranked 27th is the first-place Angels and the team that ranks 25th is the defending world champion Philles, who also are currently in first place. And, yes, I'm an easy grader.

Hitting: B -- Last place team that ranks in the upper half of offensive ratings in most categories. Can't call that average. Certainly would benefit from more discipline at the plate, but only two teams struck out fewer times in the first half.

Defense: C+ -- I think people only remember the errors and stupid plays. Overall, this is a decent defensive team.

Baserunning: D- -- I'm guessing it improves in the second half, but a real trouble spot.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (34)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Gotta say, I'm not that jazzed about the four-day Orioles All-Star break, but that might be because I'm sitting here staring at the big black boot on my right leg. That boot's not made for walking, so I'd just as soon have a ballgame to watch tonight...or at least tomorrow night.

Instead, we've been banging out midseason analyses, and I've just given the Orioles their midterm grades. If you want to take a look, you can click here for a photo gallery that includes the player, a grade for his first-half performance (relative to his role on this team, not against the rest of the league) and a quick comment from me summing up his overall performance. If you just want the all the grades in one place, you can click here and scan right down the list.

Then, if you disagree with the grade I've given somebody, you can come back here and rake me over the coals for my poor evaluation. Get to it.

Radio update: Terrell Suggs signed a new contract today and he'll be our guest tonight on Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM) at six. If you're not in signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (51)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Well, that's probably pushing it, but the Orioles are getting ready to begin the non-mathematical second half of a season that is supposed to move the club much closer to being competitive in the seasons to come. Will the O's eventually get where they want to go this year?

If you want Jeff Zrebiec's take on the top storylines of the second half, just click here for the first installment of our midseason look at the Orioles and the progress of Andy MacPhail's rebuilding plan.

Later in the afternoon, We'll post our midterm grade report for every player on the active roster (plus Koji Uehara) and bring all of our second half analysis together in tomorrow's print edition. Also, you can go to Connolly's Corner Bar (in the Toy Department) for Dan's interactive take on several midseason issues.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The latest victory by the American League probably won't recharge the debate about the outcome of the All-Star Game determining home-field advantage for the World Series, because this particular game actually may have argued in favor or it.

The winning pitcher was Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. The save went to Yankees star Mariano Rivera. The MVP was Tampa outfielder Carl Crawford. Any of them have a legitimate chance to benefit from home-field advantage in late October.

Don't know exactly why the AL has gone 12-0-1 in the last 13 All-Star Games and swept all the games that have been used to determine home-field advantage for the World Series since the infamous tie game of 2002 convinced baseball commissioner Bud Selig that something had to be done to create a more competitive atmosphere. I'm no longer convinced that's the best thing for baseball. I think it would make more sense to give home-field advantage in the Series to the league that has the better record in interleague play.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It's starting to look like Adam Jones will have a story to tell when he gets back from St. Louis and rejoins his teammates. He's now sitting on the game-winning RBI after his sacrifice fly drove in Curtis Granderson with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. The National League gets to bat two more times, so there's no guarantee it holds up, but it would be a nice thing for Adam and the Orioles to have that kind of impact on the Midseason Classic.

By the way, what's up with Adam's new earrings? Could this be his answer to Aubrey Huff's new porn 'stache?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Just baseball
        

President Barack Obama's appearance at the All-Star Game played very well on TV -- that's kind of the point -- but I've never been a big fan of political appearances at big sporting events, and it's definitely not a partisan thing.

My first experience with a high-level visit was during the 1983 World Series here in Baltimore and it was vice president George Bush, whose secret service detail commandeered the phone line I had installed at Memorial Stadium to send in my stories. When I asked how I was supposed to do my work, they told me that was my problem.

Since then, I've been present for several of them and they can be a presidential pain in the butt for the fans and media. The last time Bill Clinton came to Camden Yards in the late 1990s, it tied up pregame traffic around the ballpark forever and made it impossible to get any work done because the Secret Service closed the access points to the basement level of the ballpark.

That's good politics, I suppose, but the thing that has always bugged me the most was the expense incurred so that the President could watch a few innings and wave to the crowd. It takes weeks and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Secret Service to secure the area ahead of a presidential visit, so it probably would make more sense for him to watch the game at the White House and address the fans on the videoboard.

That said, Obama's appearance clearly was a big success all-around, and I wasn't there to get stuck in traffic or at the end of some security line, so I've got no complaints.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The All-Star pregame celebration -- particularly the moment when Stan Musial brought the ceremonial first ball into the stadium and presented it to President Barrack Obama -- was pretty impressive. Musial's arrival on the field in a golf cart was reminiscent of the heart-warming All-Star pregame ceremony at Fenway Park when Ted Williams was brought onto the field and surrounded by both admiring All-Star teams.

Stan The Man is one of the best-loved players in the history of the game, and he wasn't the only Cardinals great honored. Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Bruce Sutter, Red Schoendienst and Ozzie Smith also were arrayed next to Albert Pujols when he caught the ceremonial first pitch from Obama.

The President, proudly sporting his Chicago White Sox jacket, just completed his appearance in the Fox broadcast booth with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. He chatted knowledgeably about the players and teams for a half-inning and seemed to be enjoying the role of First Fan.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Derrick Mason's bombshell retirement announcement on Monday left room for a number of opinions about what may have motivated the Ravens popular and very productive wide receiver to claim he is hanging up his cleats.

Here's my column from the Web site and tomorrow's print edition.

There's a different view in The Toy Department from my colleague Ken Murray.

For more info on this developing story, here's an update from Jamison Hensley at Ravens Insider.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Just football
        

Some of you might recall that last year I wrote a column saying that the All-Star Home Run Derby had run its course. I didn't find it all that exciting anymore and I said so -- right before Josh Hamilton turned the thing into an amazing fireworks show. My bad, I guess.

Well, I haven't learned my lesson, other than learning that it's way better to rip something on the day after it takes place than the day before. That's just common sense.

I thought the highlight for me last night was watching Carlos Pena take about 11 straight pitches, most of them thigh-high and right over the heart of the plate. That was so exciting I almost turned the thing off right then, but I did stick around to watch Ryan Howard put some balls in orbit. It's hard not to like Howard, even if he does play in Philadelphia.

Give Major League Baseball credit. The powers that be obsessed with power hitters continue to tweak the rules to try and make the thing more exciting, but it is -- after all -- a glorified batting practice session during which the only suspense is wondering how many different ways Chris Berman can describe a long fly ball.

Maybe I've just watched too much batting practice in my life, but it just doesn't float my boat.

How about you?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Emerging Orioles starting pitcher David Hernandez got back in action at Double-A Bowie tonight, pitching four innings and giving up one earned run on two hits. He struck out four and threw 71 pitches.

Hernandez was sent down to make room on the major league roster for Cesar Izturis, who returned from an appendectomy, but he is only at Bowie to buy some time in conjunction with the All-Star break. He's expected back in the major league rotation next week.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Ravens receiver Derrick Mason reportedly has decided to retire, citing a lack of enthusiasm for continuing to play football. If you want to read Jamison Hensley's story on the Sun website, you can do that right here.

Mason, who was deeply shaken by the death of close friend Steve McNair last weekend, told jocklife.com that his motivation to continue has been in question since the Ravens lost to the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. He's pictured at right speaking at McNair's memorial service last week.

"I have been thinking about this since the season ended,'' he said on the jocklife.com site. Emotionally, I am just not that enthused. I have not been that enthused to get up and work out...it was getting to that point. This decision has nothing to do with the contract situation; I have made enough money, more than enough money. Emotionally there are things that are more important. It's time right now."

Despite his insistence that the contract situation had nothing to do with the announcement, the fact that he did not announce this through the team is a pretty good indicator that there's more to the story. Mason seemed less sure of his decision when he was interviewed on ESPNNews later in the day.

Radio dogma: Obviously, the subject matter for tonight's edition of Sportsline has changed in the last few minutes. If you'd like to talk about Mason's great career, and tremendous contribution to both the Tennessee Titans and Ravens, tune in to WBAL (1090 AM) at six. If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
Categories: Just football
        

Sorry for dropping out of sight for the past 24 hours, which didn't seem like such a long time until I noticed that the Washington Nationals have a new manager since the last time I posted and Brian Matusz was named Eastern League Player of the Week for his eight-inning, one-hit performance on Tuesday. I was out searching for my lost right Achillies tendon and I'm happy to report both ends of it have been located and will soon be reunited.

Can't help but feel bad for Manny Acta, who was dealt a pretty tough hand when he took the job, but it's also fair to point out that a guy of his experience probably would not have gotten that job if the team had been a potential contender.

Club president Stan Kasten said during today's news conference that he feels the team has underachieved, which isn't hard to conclude when your team has a major league-worst 26-61 record, but Acta certainly wasn't playing with anything close to a full deck, and I'm not referring to his mental state.

That said, Jim Riggleman is a veteran guy who knows what he's doing, so if there was something Acta wasn't getting done, it should become apparent in the second half. My guess, however, is that the Nationals are still headed for about 50 victories this year.

What else is there to say about Matusz. They might want to just make that Player of the Week award a perpetual trophy.

Quick plug I will be doing my show on WBAL (1090 AM) tonight at six, so feel free to stop by or call in. If you're out of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Brad Bergesen just left the game after throwing 91 pitches and giving up just two runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings. He was very efficient going into the seventh, but gave up several hard-hit balls before Dave Trembley brought on Danny Baez to get the final out of the inning with the Orioles still up by a run.

No doubt, Bergesen was strong enough to continue, but the Jays lineup was coming around for the fourth time, so it made sense to give Toronto a new look.

The end of the non-mathematical first half is a few innings away and there is no question that Bergesen was the best starting pitcher on the team through the first half, even though he didn't open the season in the major leagues.

Every outing, he seems to get a better sense of how to handle hitters. It's too early to proclaim him the real deal, but he sure looks like it. If the O's hold on here, he'll go into the break with a 6-3 record and a very respectable 3.54 ERA.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (48)
Categories: Just baseball
        

First baseman Ty Wigginton came up holding his right hand after trying to break up that double play. He appeared to jam his thumb sliding through the bag and walked down into the dugout tunnel after leaving the field.

Let's see if he comes out for the top of the seventh.

Instant update: Wigginton is still at first, but another Oriole just got dinged. Gregg Zaun just took a foul tip off his right elbow and needed a minute to shake it off. If that isn't enough, Melvin Mora has been taking a pounding at third base the past couple of days.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that a lot of people wanted to see Mark Hendrickson on a slow boat out of the Inner Harbor. He was brought in as a low-cost option to create pitching depth this past spring and ended up in the starting rotation -- which wasn't really Plan A for the Orioles front office.

Andy MacPhail viewed him as a long relief guy, but he was needed in the rotation at the outset and he gave up 20 earned runs in 28 1/3 innings over seven starts. Then he was moved into the role that MacPhail originally envisioned and has quietly become a pretty valuable left-handed middle guy over the past two months.

Of course, he's gotten a little more recognition after his last two appearances, which both have resulted in exciting victories for the Orioles. Last night's decision improved his record to 5-4 and dropped his overall ERA to 4.55. As a reliever, however, he is now 4-0 with a 2.79 ERA as a reliever.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Just baseball
        

He waited 51 games, but Melvin Mora picked a pretty good time to finally regain his power stroke, taking the ball the opposite way to give the Orioles a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the 12th inning.

It was no accident. Melvin spent pregame batting practice working almost exclusively on taking the ball to the opposite field, and that work paid off with a walkoff for the Orioles. Don't know if he's going to suddenly go on a power binge, but at least he got the monkey off his back tonight, which probably will help.

It had been 190 at-bats and more than two months since he last homered on May 7 -- the longest home run drought of his career. He was so happy he slid into home plate right before he was greeted by his celebrating teammates.

Nice ending.

My latest column: The Orioles seem to go from one extreme to the other. They looked helpless in last night's 2-0 loss, but Rich Hill pitched well tonight, Luke Scott homered earlier in the game and the bullpen was terrific. I wrote my column for Sunday's print edition about the club's outrageous swings of fortune, but you can read it here right now.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (35)
Categories: Just baseball
        

If Rich Hill was pitching with his job on the line, he showed everybody that he could jack up a good game under pressure tonight. I don't know how that affects his long-term prospects for staying in the rotation. He pitched six solid innings and gave up two earned runs, but that only dropped his Camden Yards ERA to 10.26 and his overall ERA to 6.92.

The guy has some tools, but the window may be closing for him. He may have to deliver a couple more performances like tonight's if he is to hold his place on the staff with the club's top minor league pitching prospect -- Chris Tillman -- apparently within a couple weeks of joining the rotation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Dave Trembley delivered an update on a couple of players to begin his pregame news briefing. Chris Ray is scheduled to start his throwing program today, then will go to Sarasota to continue working his way back from a bout with biceps tendinitis. Trembley said he does not think it will be a lengthy stay.

He also reported that Jeremy Guthrie (virus) is better and wants to throw on the side tomorrow, but will have to be cleared by team internist Dr. William Goldiner.

Nolan Reimold is not in the starting lineup tonight. Luke Scott will play left, Ty Wigginton will play first and Aubrey Huff will be the DH. Trembley said he wanted to give Reimold the night off because he appears to be putting pressure on himself.

"Reimold seems to be pressing,'' Trembley said. "He's had some good early sessions with Crow (Terry Crowley). He's had a very good first half of the season for us. I think he's pressing a good deal. I think people have adjusted to him and he has to make the adjustment to what they are doing to him."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Well, not really, but a commentator who goes by the handle "info" became the latest in a series of blog friends to forward me the spoof story from The Onion about Mel Brooks starting a non-profit organization to save the word "Schmuck" from extinction. The original article ran a couple of years ago, but it continues to circulate around the internet and -- for obvious reasons -- gets forwarded to me from time to time.

If you want to take a look at it, I've linked it right here.

If you don't want to take a look at it, here's a picture of Mark Hendrickson looking the way I feel right now. No connection between the two links is intended.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

Rich Hill doesn't figure to get a lot more chances to start for the Orioles, so tonight would be a good time to jack up a game like the one he pitched against the Seattle Mariners back on June 1. Remember that one at Safeco Field, when he pitched seven shutout innings and gave up two hits and the Orioles scored a rare 1-0 victory?

Okay, you'd probably settle for the game he pitched against the Phillies three weeks ago, when he gave up two earned runs over 6 2/3 innings at Citizens Bank Park.

Hate to break this to you -- if you don't already know it -- but there aren't any home games that you'd want him to replicate. He's been hammered in his three starts at Camden Yards, which is probably the reason he was going to be skipped in the rotation until Jeremy Guthrie had to be scratched.

Hill has given up 17 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings over his three starts here. I think that works out to a 14.34 ERA at OPACY.

Can you say "Law of Averages?"

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Jason Berken needed a good outing tonight and he delivered one, but nothing has come easy for him since he came up from Norfolk to join the rotation. He won his first start after the call up, but has not won since, falling to 1-6 with his eighth straight winless start.

He allowed two runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings, which should have been good enough against the collection of arms that shut out the Orioles tonight, but it is what it is. The O's are getting closer and closer to adding Chris Tillman to the rotation, and somebody is going to have to go to make room. Rich Hill also has struggled to hold his place in the rotation, but Berken may be the path of least resistance when the time comes to make that move.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (34)
Categories: Just baseball
        

No, really, who are those guys who are shutting out the Orioles? The starting pitcher with the 6.23 ERA (Brett Cecil) couldn't find the plate in the first inning, falling behind 2-0 to both Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, yet managed to get them out without challenging either one of them in the strike zone. He would run up a big pitch count early, then settle down to pitch six scoreless and somehow allow just six baserunners.

To be fair, he had a nasty breaking ball that he threw very effectively out of the zone with two strikes, but he wouldn't have gotten into some of those two-strike counts without some help.

Fast forward to the bottom of the seventh, when the O's had two runners on, one out and Brian Roberts at the plate with a 2-0 count against so-so reliever Jesse Carlson (4.76 ERA coming into the game). Roberts has the upper hand against a new reliever who was a couple of pitches away from walking the tying run into scoring position, but he tried to go the other way with a low, outside fastball and hit a routine fly ball to right.

Don't get me wrong here. I almost never second-guess an individual at-bat, because each of them require split-second decisions and lead to outs way more often than not. But Roberts needs to get a fat pitch there, not go with the pitchers' pitch at a pressure point where the game could turn.

The Orioles also had some bad luck, repeatedly finding Blue Jays infielders with line drives, but that group of pitchers should not take you scoreless into the ninth on your home field. Just can't happen.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Most everybody already knows this by now, but the Orioles optioned David Hernandez to the minor leagues temporarily to make room on the roster for Cesar Izturis to return from the disabled list. He's in the starting lineup tonight.

Aubrey Huff also is going to play two days after suffering a slight groin strain in a rundown, but Jeremy Guthrie has been scratched from his Sunday start with the virus that forced him out of Tuesday's game.

Selfless plug: If you've been hungry for information on Orioles top pitching prospect Chris Tillman, you might want to check out Dan Connolly's feature on him in today's print edition or read the online version here. He's getting close -- but we're still not sure quite how close -- to joining the major league rotation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Baseball's czar of discipline, Bob Watson, levied a two-day suspension and an undisclosed fine on Dave Trembley for admittedly continuing to interact with his team from the dugout tunnel after he was ejected from Tuesday night's game in Seattle. That's fair enough, though it also would be nice if -- in cases like this -- the Commissioner's Office also offered some statement on the decision of the umpires that precipitated the ejection.

Trembley appeared to have a legitimate gripe when the umpiring crew failed to award Nolan Reimold home plate on a throw by Mariners outfielder Franklin Gutierrez that skipped into a camera well at Safeco Field.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The All-Star break may turn out to be fortuitous for the Orioles, from a roster perspective, since it allows the club to buy some time while making room for the return of Cesar Izturis from the disabled list (appendectomy). With the break,, manager Dave Trembley and Rick Kranitz have the option of reconfiguring the starting rotation for next weekend, which gives Andy MacPhail the option -- if he wants it -- to option David Hernandez back to Norfolk temporarily without really losing a fifth starter.

Again, it would only be a quick fix. The club may still have to move either Felix Pie or Oscar Salazar off the roster at some point, but Hernandez would give the team a chance for the problem to work itself out. There's also the possibility of Aubrey Huff going on the DL with his strained groin, the severity of which remains to be determined later today.

If Huff went on the DL retroactive to Wednesday, he would miss the next three series and Salazar, Ty Wigginton and -- to a lesser extent -- Luke Scott would probably share first base.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Melvin Mora has not been himself for the past month or so, but it's premature to start clamoring for the club to release him and (a) play Ty Wigginton there full time; (b) play Oscar Salazar there; or (c) move Aubrey Huff over there to make room at first for Luke Scott or surging minor league prospect Brandon Snyder.

Don't give up on Melvin just yet. He hasn't hit for power in awhile, but he appears to be heating up and he still is -- easily -- the best defensive option at third base. Defense matters, even on a team that isn't in contention, because it makes your pitching staff better and affects the development of your young arms.

The Orioles hold an option on Melvin's contract for the 2010 season. If he stays on pace to bat .250 and drive in 44 runs over the whole season, you start experimenting in late August and September and don't consider keeping him for that extra year. I'm going to go out on a limb, however, and predict he makes that decision harder than you think.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (72)
Categories: Just baseball
        

If you're wondering where I've been the past 18 hours or so -- and I promise I'll catch up with the posts as soon as possible -- I can only tell you that my basketball career has ended badly. Kobe and Lebron will have to carry the sport from here on out.

Somebody forgot to tell me that there comes a time when you have to put aside childish things...and leave the towering 360 jams to the next generation. So, this past week, I got that memo from a little thing called gravity, which is not my favorite of nature's physical laws. My right Achilles tendon apparently gave up the ghost while I was pulling down a rebound and I will be more of a spectator than normal over the next couple of months.

It's a particularly nasty thing for an athlete or anyone who works on foot, but I'm going to count my blessings. First, because this is the first time in my life I've ever been on crutches (which means I'm a pretty lucky middle-aged guy) and, second, because it's really not a particularly debilitating injury for a columnist/blogger. In short, you're not getting rid of me that easy. I just needed some time for the great sports medicine people over at Johns Hopkins to start me on the road to recovery.

Personal column plug: By the way, I still managed to get my "News Item" column done for tomorrow's print edition. If you can't wait for the paperboy to hit you in the back of the head with it, you can read it here now. If you want, you can also tune into my radio show on WBAL (1090 AM) at six or go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

Well, it pretty much has come down to this over the past couple of weeks: Either the Orioles come back from a big deficit or they watch somebody else do it. Maybe those early four-run leads are overrated.

Mariners closer David Aardsma came into the game with 17 saves in 18 opportunities. He had not allowed a run since May 31. The Orioles had given up an insurance run on a throwing error by Oscar Salazar in the eighth inning. This was another one of those games where no one would have been any the wiser if the Orioles had gone down meekly in the ninth.

Instead, they battled Aardsma hard and the Mariners defense fell apart in a five-run Orioles rally that featured two glaring fielding miscues by Lopez, who probably doesn't even remember that he provided most of the Mariners offense today.

Still, can't help thinking how good this trip would have been for the Orioles if they could have won the games they were supposed to win.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (50)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles exploded for 12 runs on the night that Dave Trembley exploded at umpire Tom Hallion last night, but they have gone right back into their shell today in the afternoon finale of the series against the Seattle Mariners.

Jose Lopez banged an 0-2 fastball off the foul pole for a home run in the first inning and that was all the scoring during that part of the game that featured a pretty nice pitching duel between Jason Vargas and Orioles rookie David Hernandez.

Hernandez only threw one really damaging pitch, but it was a bad one. He was ahead on the count to Lopez and grooved a third straight fastball thigh-high that made it just too easy for the Mariners second baseman to leave the yard. Other than that, however, he pitched an outstanding ballgame, giving up just five hits and two walks over six innings of work.

Vargas beguiled the Orioles with his nasty changeup for five innings before running his pitch count too high and giving way to the bullpen, but that's not what will keep manager Dave Trembley awake on the coast-to-coast flight home. If the Orioles don't come back in the ninth, he'll be replaying the seventh inning, when the Orioles had the bases loaded and no one out and were shut down by former teammate Garrett Olson.

Olson came on to strike out Nick Markakis and coax Ty Wigginton to hit into an inning-ending double play.

In other words...Ouch!

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
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There's some buzz building around the major leagues about the possibility that Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay (right) may be traded by the July 31 deadline for making trades without passing players through waivers.

My first reaction is, there will be no trade. Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said he would listen to trade proposals if anyone wants to make a play for Halladay, but insisted that he is not shopping him.

My second reaction is, if there were a way the Orioles could get him without completely dismantling the rebuilding program, I think Andy MacPhail would have to consider it, but that equation is way too complicated for there to be more than some wishful thinking on the part of Orioles fans.

My third reaction is, too bad Halladay isn't eligible to become a free agent this November instead of next year, because he would be the guy to overwhelm going into a 2010 season in which the Orioles hope to be competitive. Halladay, at his best, would make a competitive team a contending team, and he might be the perfect leader for the youthful O's rotation.

I'm running out of reactions, but I would not give up Nolan Reimold and a top pitching prospect to rent Halladay for 1 1/2 seasons. He would have to be signed long-term to make that kind of developmental sacrifice, and the only way that happens is if he secretly pines to play for the Orioles. I'm not holding my breath.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles' top draft choice of 2008 is now the franchise's top minor league pitcher for June. Brian Matusz was named Organizational Pitcher of the Month for June, after going 2-0 with an 0.79 ERA in his first two starts at Double-A Bowie. He also pitched six shutout innings in his last start for Class-A Frederick in June, so he gave up just one run over 17 1/3 innings and struck out 21. He has remained on a major role this month and now is 4-0 with an 0.34 ERA at Bowie, giving up just one earned run over 26 1/3 innings. Delmarva outfielder Donnie Welty was named Player of the Month.

Cesar Izturis looked good in his first rehab game for the Baysox last night, getting two hits in three at-bats.

The Orioles rank second in the American League with 18 outfield assists. Nick Markakis has eight to also rank second in the AL.

Dennis Sarfate, who has been sidelined two months with a circulatory problem in his hand, is scheduled to begin his injury rehabilitation assignment with the Baysox this weekend.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
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Today's featured comment comes from Maxmorf, who is an eclectic sort who likes to see both me and the City of Baltimore feature some other sports for a change. Here's Maxmorf's response to my entry about the possibility of an Indycar race in Baltimore, though he wasted no time shifting gears:

Maxmorf's take: Nice to see something other than the Orioles written here...though I do love the Orioles...reminds me, read Kevin Cowherd's column today about the big international soccer match coming to M&T Bank stadium. For me, soccer ranks right up there with insurance law in terms of fascination, but am making an exception here as I'd like to extend a hand across the waters to our friends in London, the Chelsea Football Club, for their wonderful "CAREFREE" chant...I've asked my cohorts at the Chesapeake Fencing Club here in Baltimore to see if we could adopt it (the expurgated version)...or the Chelsea team...since we share a common bond--a commitment to excellence, a love of achievement in sports, the thrill of victory, and of course, three important letters: CFC. Go CFC! Check us out at chesapeakefencing.com and our 10th annual all-night-of-fencing Oct. 16-17th, the FENCEATHON, to help support the Sisters Academy of Baltimore!

Pete's reply: I've always heard that good fencers make good neighbors. Is that true?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

The news this week that Baltimore has been proposed as the site of a new IndyCar race starting in 2011 probably won't capture the imagination of Orioles fans, but I don't really see a huge downside if the city and race organizers can figure out the logistics.

I'm not a big motorsports guy, as everyone here knows, but I lived in Long Beach, CA, before I moved to Baltimore in 1990. I could walk down to the end of my block and see the Queen Mary and the hangar that housed Howard Hughes' famous "Spruce Goose" on the other side of Long Beach Harbor. The reason I'm telling you this is because the community where I lived bordered the course of the Long Beach Grand Prix (left), and I don't remember anybody complaining about the inconvenience caused by the event.

Not that there wasn't any. It's a huge event that requires a 2.4 mile road course that winds through downtown and along the water, much as it would in Baltimore. There would be a month of setup and a weekend of traffic issues, and there would be some noise, which might bother some nearby residents who actually like how quiet it is some nights at Camden Yards.

But what I remember most about it was how the Long Beach community geared up for it and turned it into the social event of the spring. The locals seemed to realize that it was a high-octane economic stimulus package for the city, and it would be even moreso for an East Coast location that would draw spectators from both Washington and Philadelphia.

Of course, they're Southern Californians, so they're used to noise and traffic, but it sounds like a pretty good idea to me.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Luke Scott has set a career high with seven RBI in the game. He has a two-run single, a two-run triple and a three-run home run. He may get a chance to come up again in the ninth inning with a chance to hit for the cycle with a double. (Instant update: Luke was on deck when Nolan Reimold struck out looking in the ninth.)

Who would have imagined that the Orioles would explode for 12 runs (so far) tonight? Erik Bedard came in with a 2.45 ERA and a big performance in his last start against the O's, but he used up a lot of his pitch count in a rocky first inning and only lasted through the fourth. He was on a conservative pitch count after a month on the disabled list.

The Orioles are cruising, for a change, and figure to be in a position to win the series with a victory tomorrow in the afternoon series finale.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (26)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Don't know yet whether Jeremy Guthrie is feeling under the weather or what. He clearly was uncomfortable on the mound and his velocity was below normal. When he walked two batters in the third inning, fill-in manager Dave Jauss went out to get him. Mark Hendrickson is on the mound and the Orioles need him to pitch some innings.

Guthrie needed 58 pitches to get through 2 1/3 innnigs. He walked four batters and gave up all three of his runs on a homer by Franklin Gutierrez. It wasn't pretty, but nobody gets yanked after 58 pitches -- and only one run-scoring hit -- unless something's out of whack. Guthrie was in the dugout afterward looking a little green, but we'll obviously know more later.

Postgame Guthrie update: Turns out, our suspicions were correct. Guthrie wasn't feeling well, which explained why he looked shaky right before pitching coach Rick Kranitz and head athletic trainer Richie Bancells went out to see him early in the game. The fact that they left him out there was an indication he wasn't suffering from arm or shoulder soreness. Then, when he went back to the dugout and sat down after he was removed, he looked like a guy who was woozy. Dave Trembley said afterward that he was experiencing dizziness when he was warming up before the game, but obviously tried to get the team some innings to preserve the bullpen.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles are exploring trade possibilities with reserve players Felix Pie and Oscar Salazar to make room on the roster for the pending return of shortstop Cesar Izturis. Take a look at his pregame Orioles notebook here.

If you were wondering why Brian Roberts is not in the lineup, it's because he is suffering from an upper respiratory infection that has been dogging him since the Orioles arrived on the West Coast. Jeff's story also expands on that and the fact that Rich Hill will be skipped the next time his spot comes up in the starting rotation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Dave Trembley has been ejected from the game after flipping his lid at home plate umpire Tom Hallion in the first inning over the decision not to award home plate to Nolan Reimold on a wild throw by Franklin Gutierrez.

Trembley asked the umpiring crew to reconsider the play, after Gutierrez's throw skipped into a camera well with Reimold on his way to third base after Luke Scott's two-run single. At first glance, it appeared that Reimold was entitled to two more bases when the ball left the field of play, which would have brought him home. The umpires apparently ruled that he had not touched second base before the ball left Gutierrez's hand.

The MASN broadcasters are convinced the the call was wrong. I'm not sure about that, since Reimold was not in view on the replay when Gutierrez let go of the ball. If he had passed second before the ball left the fielder's hand, he should have been awarded the plate. If he was jogging into the bag when Gutierrez uncorked it, he was only entitled to third. If you want it from the Official Rule Book, it's Rule 7.05 (g) and here is the relevant text:

"When such wild throw is the first play by an infielder, the umpire, in awarding such bases, shall be governed by the position of the runners at the time the ball was pitched; in all other cases the umpire shall be governed by the position of the runners at the time the wild throw was made;

The rulebook later stipulates that means the exact location of the runners the moment the errant throw leaves the outfielder's hand.

Either way, it was an Earl Weaver-like performance by Trembley, who must be reading his reviews. Many readers here have criticized him for not showing enough passion, but that certainly wasn't the case here. Apparently, Hallion got under his skin by saying that Reimold did not run hard around second base.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Just baseball
        

One of the great things about a sports blog is that it allows the everyday fan to react immediately to a game or a news event and publish that reaction for everyone who might want to see it. Of course, that's also one of the bad things about the Internet, because the instant reaction isn't always the most informed reaction.

Take, for instance, a couple of posts today calling out Orioles hitting coach Terry Crowley (left) because the club got only one hit in last night's loss to the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. I'm sure it's pretty frustrating to watch the Orioles get one-hit by a control pitcher, but there are times when you have to give a little credit to the guy on the mound. Jarrod Washburn was, quite simply, terrific.

Now, for that perspective check I promised. If you want to look at the Orioles offense over the short term, the club averaged 5.43 runs per game in the 21 games leading up to Washburn's performance last night. That's actually pretty good when you consider that the top four scoring teams in baseball -- the Yankees, Rays, Phillies and Red Sox -- score a combined average of 5.39 runs per game.

True, the Orioles overall scoring average isn't that high, but if we're going to react to short-term results, the short-term results for the Orioles offense are actually pretty good. If you'd rather look at the full-season results, the Orioles rank eighth among the 30 major league teams in batting average, seventh in hits and are in the top half of the majors in every major hitting stat except on-base percentage (16th) and walks (24th). And this was a team that was projected from spring training to finish last in the American League East.

For those who have blindly called for a new hitting coach, I think it's fair to point out that just about anybody who might be better than Crowley probably has a job with a team that's higher in the standings right now. I think I'd stick with the guy who developed Nick Markakis and has had some good success with Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold, Matt Wieters and even Felix Pie. I don't think I'd choose instead to blame him because veterans like Melvin Mora and Ty Wigginton swing at too many first pitches.

OK, now it's your turn.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (90)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Guess you should have figured that at some point the Orioles would leave their bats in the rack for a night after squandering all those leads against the Red Sox and Angels. Still, it's a lot easier to watch somebody like Jarrod Washburn put on a pitching clinic for an evening than wait around for the O's bullpen to collapse.

Washburn was fantastic, allowing just one hit on the way to his fourth career shutout. He located everything in his repertoire and the Orioles could just look on helplessly.

Rookie Brad Bergesen didn't embarrass himself -- statistically, it was a quality start -- but he wasn't the same guy who dominated the Red Sox for eight innings on Wednesday. He needed 113 pitches to get through six innings and fell victim to some iffy fielding, but it didn't make a lot of difference on this night. If it's any consolation, he still beat out Washburn in MASN's AT&T Player of the Game poll.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (70)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I'm a little late to the party today -- for some personal reasons -- but I thought I'd chime in on the two roster moves that have taken place since the Orioles dropped three of four to the Angels in Anaheim.

Can't be surprised that Chris Ray is hurting, both because of his erratic performance and because guys who have serious elbow surgery often come up with soreness in other areas after returning to the mound. It's too bad, because he's a really great young man and you'd have to believe his career is in serious danger. It was painful to watch him struggle after everything he's already been through.

I like Kam Mickolio, who will take Ray's place, and not just because he's a nice relief prospect. He also reminds me of the Daniel Stern character in the great cycling movie Breaking Away.

"What's your major?"

Tonight's show: Derrick Mason will join me tonight at six for Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM) to talk about the Steve McNair tragedy. If you're outside of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (36)
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The Orioles should have won three of the four games in Anaheim, but they don't know how to win. Jim Palmer told me that a month or so ago, pointing out their penchant for stalling after an early scoring rally as proof of a lack of "killer instinct." Never has that been more true than the last five days, during which they have lost three games in which they held a four-run lead at some point.

I don't have the numbers at my fingertips, but I'm guessing the percentage of games major league teams win when they take a four-run lead is pretty high. The Orioles have held a four-run lead in four of their last five games and won just one of them.

Obviously, that's because they have some real pitching issues, one of which is an uncanny ability to give runs right back after the offense explodes. In each of the past two games, the Orioles took a four-run lead in the top of an inning only to allow three in the bottom of the same inning. That meshes not-so-nicely with the nasty habit of scoring a handful of runs early and then letting the pedal off the metal.

Now that I'm through with today's rant, I have a confession to make. When the Orioles got ahead 4-0 today, I headed out to the cinema.

Why? Because I've already seen this movie too many times.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (75)
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Brian Roberts is well aware that people are talking about him and his apparent lack of enthusiasm. Jeff Zrebiec reported last night that Roberts met Friday with Dave Trembley to talk about the situation and -- presumably -- to promise to do better, but it didn't show on Saturday night.

So, he made a quick statement today, opening the game by hitting a 2-0 pitch by Angels starter Joe Saunders over the left center field fence to give the O's a quick lead. Of course, Brian's offensive performance has not been the issue. He's got good numbers and leads the American League in runs and doubles, but he has looked disinterested and unmotivated. Guess we'll see soon enough if that is going to change.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (32)
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Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon chose Adam Jones as the only Orioles representative on the American League All-Star team, which does not come as a huge surprise even though Jones only leads the team in one of the Triple Crown offensive categories.

No doubt, Maddon chose him based on both his all-around performance and his own personal impression of an emerging young star who clearly is the most dynamic player on the Orioles roster.

The Orioles had other candidates. Brian Roberts entered today's games leading the league in both runs and doubles, but I think Maddon ruled him out because he doesn't smile enough. Aubrey Huff ranked eighth in the league in RBI, but first base is a tough All-Star nut to crack without big home run numbers. George Sherrill also is having a very good year -- despite Wednesday's much-debated blown save -- and looked to a lot of us like the Orioles' most likely All-Star.

Can't argue with Adam. I'm guessing he's going to make a lot of All-Star teams before he's through.

Sun photo by Lloyd Fox

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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The Orioles just reached the mathematical halfway point in this transitional season, so I wrote a column on it for your reading enjoyment...or disdain. If you want to take a look, it's right here. If you don't want to take a look, it's right here anyway.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (53)
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Jeez, just when I think I'm about to get Burt and Bob off my case about Brian Roberts, he teams up with Nick Markakis on one of the worst defensive gaffes of the year in the seventh. Roberts jogged back on what was supposed to be an inning-ending pop up by Juan Rivera. Markakis jogged up and waited for Brian to catch a ball that should be the province of the right-fielder.

I mean, why would you bust it on a play like that? It's only the go-ahead run.

No excuse for that. The ball was ruled a hit, but it was a routine play that absolutely has to be made. Brian already had an error in the game, which cost the Orioles a run during the Angels' three-run comeback in the fifth. Throw in the slow reaction of Melvin Mora on an important play at third in the eighth, and you have to wonder just what's going on with some of these guys.

"There were breakdowns in various areas and we paid the price for them,'' Dave Trembley said after the game.

The O's were coming off an uplifting victory on Friday night and had a chance to secure a split of a very tough four-game road series with a chance to take three of four with a victory tomorrow. Guess that wasn't enough motivation.

Frankly, I know the emotions that bubbled up after the bullpen collapse against the Red Sox on Wednesday, but this comeback galls me even more than Boston's four-run ninth. Sometimes, you just get beat. In this game, the Orioles volunteered to lose.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (67)
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...you have to wonder how much longer he will be able to hold his place in the Orioles rotation. He gave up only two earned runs over four-plus innings, but needed 85 pitches to get 12 outs and left before becoming eligible for the victory. He's still 1-5 and his ERA improved only slightly to 6.25.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who is wondering if the Orioles are getting closer to bringing up Chris Tillman to replace either Berken or Rich Hill. O's beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec weighed in on this subject from Anaheim before tonight's game. Take a look at his Orioles notebook right here.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
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If you're wondering why I haven't weighed in on the Steve McNair tragedy, it's because I wouldn't know where to start. McNair was a terrific quarterback who led the Tennessee Titans to the Super Bowl and the Ravens to a memorable season in 2006. Had nothing but positive experiences covering him as a Raven. Can't even grasp what the families of both victims are going through right now.

God rest their souls.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

Let's all wish each other a happy Independence Day and reflect on what a truly great country we live in. It's not without its faults -- NFL instant replay stands out for me -- but a lot of people made a lot of sacrifices to make it the beacon of freedom for the past couple of centuries, so Happy Birthday to us all.

On that subject, you might enjoy Candus Thomson's story about three prominent Marylanders who were born under the fireworks -- Peter Angelos, tennis star Pam Shriver and former Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

There are some interesting quotes from Angelos, who waxes a bit philosophical about turning 80 on the day the nation turns 233. Take a look.

Baltimore Sun photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
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Former Oriole Rafael Palmeiro is sticking to his original alibi for the positive steroid test that soiled his reputation in 2005. He told ESPN's Pedro Gomez that he got some tainted B-12 and that there was no reason for him to turn to steroids at that late stage in his career.

Palmeiro was speaking before his induction into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock, TX yesterday. Here's the link.

If you've been reading me on this subject over the years, you'll remember that I was very hard on Palmeiro at the outset, largely because he was so squirrelly in his initial media conference. Later, when Miguel Tejada's name started to come up in the steroid conversation, I had to concede that it gave Palmeiro at least a modicum of plausible deniability. Don't know if that will be enough to get him into the Hall of Fame.

The thing that made it hard for Palmeiro to convince anyone of his innocence was the previous reference to him in Jose Canseco's first steroid expose. Maybe it was just a coincidence, the the substance that Canseco claimed that Palmeiro was using was the same substance that showed up in his 2005 urine sample.

Now that you've had four years to digest it, do you think he was a villain or a victim?

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (96)
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George Sherrill didn't make it look easy, but he got it done. He was 0-2 on all three hitters in the ninth inning, but gave up a leadoff single and a pretty hard-hit ball for the game-ending double play.

Both Sherrill and Jim Johnson had to battle tonight in the first game the two of them were reunited since Wednesday's ninth-inning collapse. In both innings, the Angels were one swing away from tying the game, but the O's held on to even the four-game series at a game apiece.

For those fans who wonder whether Brian Roberts wants to play, there were a couple of situations where it was pretty obvious he wanted this game. He scored from first on that long single by Nick Markakis and almost did a somersault to get his hand on the plate. He also decoyed baserunner Bobby Abreu on that big chopper that Johnson fielded acrobatically and flipped to second for a huge force out.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
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If you're going to say Dave Trembley just took out David Hernandez too soon, I suggest you do it right now, because I'm not accepting any second-guesses after Jim Johnson finishes the inning (or doesn't). You don't get the benefit of hindsight this time.

Hernandez was right at about 100 pitches and he walked Chone Figgins with two outs and Bobby Abreu coming up. The change was automatic, but we'll see how it turns out.

Instant update: That was quick. I'm wondering why Mike Scioscia went to the hit and run in that situation, if that was what it was, because Matt Wieters' great throw cost the Angels a chance for their hottest hitter to put a big dent in the three-run lead against a setup guy who might be little tentative after Wednesday's ninth-inning collapse.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
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Sometimes, I think you learn more about a pitcher during his more vulnerable moments, and I think that might have been the case tonight in the fourth inning after he faltered briefly with a 6-0 lead.

It was an important juncture in the game, especially in the wake of two disappointing losses in a row. Hernandez was cruising before Juan Rivera's two-out double. He quickly walked Kendry Morales and then gave up his first run of the game on a flyball double by Macier Izturis.

Right there, the game was hanging in the balance. If Hernandez wilts and the Angels get one more hit to cut the six-run lead in half, the shift in momentum would have been dynamic. Instead, he made a very good 1-0 pitch to Jeff Mathis to get out of the inning. He showed some toughness there and he has been better than his numbers so far this year.

Late to the party: I didn't tune into this game until the third inning because I went to see the new gangster flick Public Enemies. It was fun and Johnny Depp's take on Depression-era o