Berken pitched a fine game tonight, but I would rather see Hill stay and Berken head back down to the minors for a bit. Tillman has to come up right after the All-Star break and I'm pretty sure that is the plan. Berken would benefit from another half year in the minors, if not more. I see him being a solid long reliever / #5 starter maybe. I would prefer him not to be in the rotation, but who knows what improvements he could make in the minors. I know Hill isn't doing anything beneficial to the team, but it doesn't hurt to have him holding down a spot until the end of the year.

I'm so excited for the second half, even if the play has been so inconsistent.

I keep saying it and saying it. The O's cannot hit lefthanded starters.

24 innings with 2 runs.

They are not adjusting and are obviously lost up at the plate; and have been for YEARS!

The opposing teams are sending up every lefthander they can because they see the obvious as well.

When an entire team (except Scott) looks identically lost, then I look to coaching or lack thereof.

As I said earlier in the week, Crowley is the problem.

Jones, Markakis, Huff, and Reimold to me represent the weakest offensive middle of the line up in the American League East. When is the last time Jones, Markakis, or Reimold have had big games offensively other than a few scratch singles here and there? If these three can't cut it down the road, and now they are overmatched, this franchise is really in trouble.

If push comes to shove, the best move may be, because we can, to send Berkin down to minors to work on his stuff.

On the other hand, Does Hill have any minor league options left or would he have to go through waivers? I would not quit on him yet, he is too young and still has the "potential" but he is still lost this year. Maybe another year in the minors would help him? Or trade him :)

Either way, its time to bring up Tillman and why not start the 2nd half with him in the rotation. He has earned it. The Q is....will he be able to finish the year up here or will we be putting extra pressure on his arm. How are his innings?

If it comes down to Hill or Tillman.....bye bye Hill...

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Pete's reply: No, Hill doesn't have any options left.

S N O R E ! ! ! I bet those 30,000 fans wished they had done whatever option B was tonite! S N O R E ! ! ! !
Markakis is turning into a liability! Reimhold is now in a deep funk! Mora is Mora da same! And Berkins didn't give up two runs - our ALL STAR, did. Pie woulda caught that ball! S N O R E ! ! ! Bunch of Sad Sacks most of the time! S N O R E !!!

I have 3 brilliant.....ok.... very pedestrian observations on tonights' loss

jet lag....(they are human beings)

I guess its not ALL Trembleys fault after all...

It's Terry Crowleys fault again

Hope you're feeling better, Pete. Thanks for the updates, can't be easy stumping around the ballpark, but we appreciate it.

One more time that we need to tip our cap to an erratic lefty because our offense can't hit pitcher's pitches. Check that, our offense couldn't hit anything tonight.

Hey Pete,

I think everybody starts looking for a scapegoat when the Orioles offense just goes flat. I wonder at what point you chalk it up to (as Jim Palmer puts it) "the peaks and valleys of a season" and when that crosses over to a chemistry/attitude/leadership problem. It seems like that the offense either shows up early or doesn't show up at all.

Also readily apparent is that the Orioles just can't produce in bases loaded situations. They had an opportunity to get to Cecil early and couldn't find the clutch hit. Do you have a stat on how many blown bases loaded situations the O's have this year?

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Pete's reply: No, I don't, but that was a two-out situation, so I'd be a little more forgiving there.

Pete, couldn't the O's have waited till after the break to activate Cesar? The reason I ask, it seems like options on pitchers become very important later on, especially young ones and now David has been sent down twice. I get it for guys like Waters, but not for David, as he looks to be a bright part of the future for the Birds, whether as starter or a reliever.

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Pete's reply: Don't worry about David' options. You only burn one a year no matter how many times you go up or down.

Pete, couldn't the O's have waited till after the break to activate Cesar? The reason I ask, it seems like options on pitchers become very important later on, especially young ones and now David has been sent down twice. I get it for guys like Waters, but not for David, as he looks to be a bright part of the future for the Birds, whether as a starter or a reliever.

On my Mora topic comment. I didn't say it was (Steroids) I just said (steroid) the inflection was yes its legal but it was still a shot that got him better. Never said he was taking Roids or HGH. Just wanted it known that the shot was a type of steroid. Legal or not.

They're not who we thought they were!
Our starting lineup that is. It was so easy to get excited earlier in the year when you look around and start to think that your position players/lineup is set for big things in the future, save for one or two guys, and all you need is your brilliant young pitching to show up. But almost all of them, Jones, Markakis, Huff, Riemold, Roberts, and Wieters are really looking lost against some pretty average/below average pitchers. I wanted to trade Scott earlier in the year but really he's the only consistant piece we've had all year. Quite frankly Markakis's lack of power is becoming a big issue. Not only is he looking at fat pitches all the time but when he does hit them hard he's coming up about 15 feet short of a homerun all the time. Since Nick isn't much of a speed guy, I hope he pulls a Jonesy and worksout with Roberts this offseason. 10-20 more pounds of muscle (which he could easily carry on his frame) could make a huge difference in his career and the O's chances of sucess in the next few years.

if jones down't misplay a flyball they might still be playing. berken pitched pretty well

hey shoreman, at least those 30,000 went to the game and supported their team you moron. you'll be the first idiot on the bandwagon when they contend again.

Pete i haven't posted one thing on here in over a week. I wasn't going to post today either but when i picked up the morning paper and read some of dave t's remarks it just set me off. 1.He was quoted as saying he got thrown out of that game to deliver is team a message. Some message 5 hits and another shutout.2. He can't understand why his team struggles against lefthanded pitching,Brian isn't a very good right handed batter, nick hasn't hit very good lefthanded, huff hasn't hit very good against lefthanders, adam jones hits right handers better, weiters bats better from the left side,so let me see he doesn't know why???. By the way pete the only reason more people aren't up in arms this week is because the orioles won those 2 games up in seattle when they really shouldn't have. Bedard was on a pitch count and if they didn't take him out in the 4th inning they wouldn't have scored again.He struck out 8 out of the last 10 batters he faced.The other night trailing 3 to 0 seattle made 2 errors that a league team wouldn't have made.Again you will tell me i am on a character assination of brian roberts , but he will soon be batting in the 250,'s and you will still tell me he is doing his job, nick hasn't hit a ball hard in over a month, pretty sad for the 2 guy's that have gotten 106,000,00 million in extensions. Looking forward to your reply Pete.

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Pete's reply: Actually, the O's scored 10 runs in eight innings after he was thrown out, then staged a super comeback the next day to win two in a row.

Danny

Options are 1 per year. A player can then go back and forth multiple times in the same season. Just has to wait 10 days for a recall unless replacing an injured player

Maybe Adam Jones needs to spend some time on the bench since blowing bubble is more important to him than playing a good center field. Anybody that thinks Jones is as good as Paul Blair in the field obviously never saw Blair play. Jones will never be the centerfielder that Blair was unless he stops thinking he's a star already and ask Blair to teach him how to play the game.

Berken's nunmers might have been o.k. last night but he did'nt look good to me...seemed like every pitch he threw for a strike was a laser shot right at someone.

The O's problem is clear to me.
They do not have an authority figure that everyone follows. On some good teams it's a coach (Madden, Francona). On some it's a player (Jeter, F. Robinson). It's not a unique problem - lots of teams don't have a leader, but it's tough to be a good team without one. These young guys are talented, I have no doubt about that. But talent alone does not win games, it takes will too. I don't think this tea will contend in our division without a leader. As much as I like Trembley, I don't think he's the guy for the job, unless he changes next year.
And we have a lot of dead weight playing now. I am hoping they play in hopes we can trade them later on. But Salazar, in particular, should be getting more of a chance in my opinion. I know he's just basically a minor league free agent, but I like the way he plays and I bet the younger guys, at least, could accept some leadership from him if his play backed it up. Last year our best leader was Millar, and it's not like he was a superstar or highly paid...

That a boy pete you keep looking at all the false postives that you want instead of the truth. Staged a super comeback, seattle made 2 errors that little leaguer's would have caught. You keep having that selective process pete when it suits you ok, instead of looking at things the way they truly are. And that is brian roberts and nick both have not done there jobs period, no matter how much or how deep you keep wanting to sugar coat it.Since you love poker and have watched the rounders, then you certainly will know where this comes from. you just keep doing your noble JOB KNISH.

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Pete's reply: Bob, I'm really, really tired of you attacking me personally, especially after I answer more of your posts than anyone elses. I don't mind you disagreeing with me -- and I'll happily put up your comments -- but I see there's no percentage in my responding to you if I don't agree with you. I don't know where all the anger comes from, but I've grown weary of being your pinata.

Hey everybody, our record against left handers is better than against right handers. Our record against righties is second worst in the league. While there are four teams worse than us against lefties. I don't really think you want to know that. It might inhibit another avenue to vent. And I agree there is plenty of stuff to complain about, but our record against lefties is far down the list.

Where is Markakis' power? He is on pace for ~15 home runs, the same amount Roberts, the leadoff hitter is on pace for.And what is going on with Reimold? Is he now overexposed and overmatched following his move to the 5 hole?

Hey PV that might be because everybody throws lefthanders against us now, including the batting practice if he is lefthanded. The next 5 games teams are throwing lefthanders.

Hey Birdland Todd and anyone interested here is a good explanation of "options" and other mlb transactions.
http://assets.espn.go.com/mlb/s/transanctionsprimer.html

Berken pitched to contact for the most part and Jones turned the wrong way on the Rios ball but all centerfielders have trouble with that play. What seemed strange was the pitch selection on the two walks, both to Lyle Overbay. Three straight changeups on the first (after getting ahead 0-2) which Overbay never seemed tempted by. Then a breaking ball on a 3-2 count for the second walk. It seemed that Kranitz was peeved when he pulled him and not all that congratulatory.

Pete i don't have any anger you just tend to always give these players the benefit of the doubt, when i look at it from the standpoint that they are being paid great amounts of money and aren't doing there jobs regardless of how i say it. You can't possibly tell me that you are satisfied with what brian and nick are doing. Nick had 40 Rbi's in the first 40 games and hasn't hit a ball hard since. He has 8 home runs pete 8 am i watching the tv differently then you or are you satisfied with there performances. If you are i certainly wish i could have had you as my employer over the years. I like you pete but i get so frustrted not because you don't agree with me but because you are way to easy on thse players.

~~The reason I ask, it seems like options on pitchers become very important later on, especially young ones and now David has been sent down twice.~~

Not sure I understand. An option used in April i sno more imoprtant than an option used in JUly. Once they use that option on Hernandez in April, they can send him down and call him up a dozen times that season and it is the same option. So maybe I am missing your point. sorry

Peter,

I think you will enjoy this article. You may want to clean this up before posting.

Mel Brooks starts Non-profit foundation to save Word "schmuck"

Mel Brooks Starts Nonprofit Foundation To Save Word 'Schmuck'
NEW YORK-Saying he could no longer stand idly by while a vital part of American culture is lost forever, activist and Broadway producer Mel Brooks has founded a private nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the word "schmuck."

"The world cannot afford to lose this valuable and versatile word," Brooks told reporters during a charity auction in Manhattan's Upper West Side Tuesday, where attendees bid for the chance to have a private lunch with Brooks and repeatedly call him a schmuck.
"You can be a poor schmuck, a lazy schmuck, a dumb schmuck, or just a plain old schmuck. A group of people can be collectively referred to as schmucks. You can call someone a schmuck, and you can be called a schmuck.
You can even call yourself a schmuck."
"Plus, it's just so fun to say," Brooks added. "Schmuck."
Many of the foundation's volunteers say they share Brooks' passion for the word "schmuck," as well as his outrage that it is slowly disappearing from everyday use. They claim that if they do not act now, the trend could create a snowball effect.

"Today it's schmuck, tomorrow it might be toochis," said SFS volunteer Harry Steinbergmann, 82. "What's next, schlemiel? Putz? Schlimazel?" Steinbergmann went on to classify this scenario as farcockteh.

An emotional Brooks stopped short of kvetching at a schmuck fundraiser Monday.
"Schmuck is dying," a sober Brooks said during a 2,000-person rally held in his hometown of Williamsburg, Brooklyn Monday. "For many of us, saying 'schmuck' is a way of life. Yet when I walk down the street and see people behaving in foolish, pathetic, or otherwise schmucky ways, I hear only the words 'prick' and 'douche bag.' I just shake my head and think, 'I don't want to live in a world like this.'"

The nonprofit, Schmucks For Schmuck, has compiled schmuck-related data from the past 80 years and conducted its own independent research on contemporary "schmuck" usage.
According to Brooks, the statistics are frightening: Utterances of the word "schmuck" have declined every year since its peak in 1951, and in 2006, the word was spoken a mere 28 times-17 of these times by Brooks himself. The study indicates that today, when faced with a situation in which one can use a targeted or self-deprecating insult to convey a general feeling of disgust, people are 50 times more likely to use the word "jerk" than "schmuck" and 100 times more likely to use "dick."
Perhaps more startling, only 23 percent of men know what schmuck means, and only 1.2 percent of these men are under the age of 78. If such trends continue, Brooks estimates that by 2011, such lesser-used terms as "imbecile," "dummy," "schlub," and "contemptible ne'er-do-well" will all surpass schmuck, which is projected to completely disappear by the year 2020 or whenever Brooks dies.

"We must save this word!" Brooks said to thunderous applause as those in attendance began chanting "Schmuck! Schmuck! Schmuck!" "How will we be able to charmingly describe someone who acts in an inappropriate manner? Especially given the tragic loss of the word 'schmegeggie' in 2001. So I urge you: Tonight, when you get home, please, call up your family, your friends, your loved ones, and tell them they're a bunch of schmucks."

Hundreds turned out at a Boca Raton, FL demonstration to show their support for the dying word.
"I've never told anyone this before," Brooks added, choking back tears, "but my father was a schmuck."
The foundation has already raised more than $20 million, thanks to donations from supporters such as Jackie Mason, Albert Brooks, the Schtupp Institute, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), and the Henny Youngman Endowment for the Preservation of Schmekel. The money will go toward projects aimed at reintegrating "schmuck" into the English lexicon, including billboards and flyers plastered with the word "schmuck," the upcoming 5K Schlep for Schmuck Awareness, and a new Mel Brooks film.

Many of the foundation's volunteers say they share Brooks' passion for the word "schmuck," as well as his outrage that it is slowly disappearing from everyday use. They claim that if they do not act now, the trend could create a snowball effect.
"Today it's schmuck, tomorrow it might be toochis," said SFS volunteer Harry Steinbergmann, 82. "What's next, schlemiel? Putz? Schlimazel?"
Steinbergmann went on to classify this scenario as farcockteh.

~~One more time that we need to tip our cap to an erratic lefty because our offense can't hit pitcher's pitches.~~

Isnt that why they call them pitcher's pitches? They pay the guy in the other unis too, you know.

~~They're not who we thought they were! Our starting lineup that is.~~

is that their fault or your fault?

~~I wanted to trade Scott earlier in the year but really he's the only consistant piece we've had all year.~~

So you know you were wrong then about Scott and made a knee jerk reaction based on a bad stretch yet you didnt learn your lesson and now are again making a judgement on the other guys based on a stretch of bad play, just like you did with Scott?

~~Quite frankly Markakis's lack of power is becoming a big issue.~~

Why? Was lack of power an issue for Ty Cobb or Rod Carew? Not to put Markakis in that class. He is likely an 18 to 25 homer guy. He is likely never going to hit 40. He drives in runs. Who cares if he is a doubles hitter instead of a home run hitter as long as he drives in runs?

~~Not only is he looking at fat pitches all the time but when he does hit them hard he's coming up about 15 feet short of a homerun all the time.~~

So maybe he should flatten his swing and go for doubles instead of trying to jack the ball?

~~Since Nick isn't much of a speed guy, I hope he pulls a Jonesy and worksout with Roberts this offseason. 10-20 more pounds of muscle (which he could easily carry on his frame) could make a huge difference in his career and the O's chances of sucess in the next few years.~~

Yeah, it could make a huge difference . . . for better OR worse. Who knows how his body will adjust to the extra muscle. Maybe it will inhibit his swing or his throwing arm which is a huge weapon for him. His problem is that he is not hitting anything well. I dont care if he hits homers but he has to get back to some consistency at the plate. Swinging for the fences and pressing because of public criticism of the losing is NOT the way to get your swing/consistency back. Dont make the same mistake twice. Let him be Markakis and dont worry about what you think he should be.

~~i haven't posted one thing on here in over a week.~~

and we want to thank you for that

~~I wasn't going to post today either but when i picked up the morning paper and read some of dave t's remarks it just set me off.~~

if it wasnt his remarks it would have been your horoscope or the funnies.

~~1.He was quoted as saying he got thrown out of that game to deliver is team a message. Some message 5 hits and another shutout.~~

As Peter pointed out your timeline is a bit off. The immediate response from the team to that message was spectacular. And even if his message doesnt result in a ten game winning streak, how is that his fault? If he says to not try and stretch a single into a double and Huff or Mora do it anyway why are you blaming him? This is the stuff that invalidates the perma downers like you. Tremblay is trying to find a way to get through to his team. It might take him half the season to get the message across. IT might never get across to them. But he is trying to find something that the players respond to. But meanwhile you want to parse every word and criticize every thing he does. He can only deliver the message; his players have to execute.

~~2. He can't understand why his team struggles against lefthanded pitching,Brian isn't a very good right handed batter, nick hasn't hit very good lefthanded, huff hasn't hit very good against lefthanders, adam jones hits right handers better, weiters bats better from the left side,so let me see he doesn't know why???.~~

I dont understand why so many of their hitters are hitting below career numbers all together at the same time either. And lefty or righty doesnt matter much when you are slumping.

~~By the way pete the only reason more people aren't up in arms this week is because the orioles won those 2 games up in seattle when they really shouldn't have.~~

They "shouldnt have" swept the world championship Phillies. They "shouldnt have" won early series against Boston and NYY.

~~Bedard was on a pitch count and if they didn't take him out in the 4th inning they wouldn't have scored again.~~

Another fan with a crystal ball who knows as incontrovertible fact what "woulda, shoulda and coulda" happened.

~~He struck out 8 out of the last 10 batters he faced.~~

I guess they could have brought Herb Score back out after being hit by that batted ball and he would have struck out the side too. I am frankly sick of guys like you who have such perfect vision the next morning but have never had to make the call in the moment.

~~The other night trailing 3 to 0 seattle made 2 errors that a league team wouldn't have made.~~

A league team? They made them. They count. That is baseball. Stuff happens. That is like saying a lifetime .300 hitter like Markakis wont go through a slump like th eone he i sin. It happens in baseball. You know that. Brooks Robinson made 260 some errors so why cant the Ms make two in one inning?

~~Again you will tell me i am on a character assination of brian roberts , but he will soon be batting in the 250,'s and you will still tell me he is doing his job,~~

We dont have anyone better to put in there so what is your point? He is not playing up to his own standards. He is not playing up to his contract. OK, so what? Will he regain his stroke if we bench him? Will it improve the team if we start Wiggy over him? What is it you want? Tremblay to publicly embarass him? A public lynching? Cut him and eat the contract? None of this team's key offensive vets is playing consistently up to their career numbers right now. But you can yell "off with his head" all you want but you dont chop it off unless you have a better replacement in hand.

~~nick hasn't hit a ball hard in over a month~~

Not true. He has not been a reliable, consistent hitter like in previous years but he has hard hit outs in the last month.

~~pretty sad for the 2 guy's that have gotten 106,000,00 million in extensions.~~

Thanks for your Steinbrenner heat of the moment analysis. You pay a guy for what he does over a season. Over a season a .300 player will miss 7 out of 10. Not 7 out of each ten. It evens out for the better players. And even the better players have bad years.

~~The O's problem is clear to me. ~~

Me too. Never should have put "Baltimore" on their jerseys. Weight of all those letters is wearing them out.

Hey lucky you must be watching the same tv as peter. but the only difference is he is not a A$$ whole like you.You never post any relevent stuff only pick apart what others post.