great flick... can't turn it off when it comes on.

what reminds you of Stern in Mickolio? Does Kam get his fingers caught in a bowling ball and wreck the jukebox often? can he not ride a bike for long?

Whatever happened to Tony Butler? If only the Os were winning, the Bedard for Jones, Sherrill, Tillman, Mickilio, and Butler trade might rival Papas for Frank. Sherrill was an All-Star last year and has become a dependable closer; Jones is an All-Star this year and, barring the unforeseen, has a great career ahead of him; Tillman, as a great man once said, is "on the cusp," and Mickolio is back in the majors. All Seattle got was a half-year of mediocre Bedard and then had to re-signed him for a fortune . Couldn't McPhail have gotten someone other than Butler in the deal? Ichiro perhaps?

Butler had arm surgery and is out for the year.

Doesn't Tommy John surgery take more than a year to rehab from? Is it possible they brought Ray back before his arm strength had full returned?

I wish Chris Ray the best with his recovery. He was great as a set man to BJ Ryan, as well as a closer when BJ signed with the Jays. Some guys take longer to recover so I am holding out hope that Chris will be ok for the 2010 season.

It's going to be really interesting to see how Brad Bergesen pitches tonight. In my opinion, Brad looks like the type of pitcher that can be the stopper on this staff right now. I have this feeling tonight that Brad is going to take another step towards becoming the legitimate ace of this staff. He is young and it's a lot of pressure, but he got here by pitching well at every stop along the way and to me, I think that is a telling sign of how good a young prospect will be.

Chris Ray will become another ruined talent that the O's coaching staff will add to the list of their miserable failures. He will probably try to re-invent himself as a hitter, and sign a minor league contract in Canada. If he's lucky, he'll join Adam Lowen and talk about the good old days.

there are 2 kinds of errors...o-mission and co-mission. Errors of comission include those made while taking a risk (calculated as in, "look juan pierre is in left and we'll run on him all night...CRAP, I can't believe he just made that throw), making an overthrow on an off balance throw when there's still a chance to get a runner, letting a bunt roll foul because you know your grounds crew has the baseline fixed for those to roll foul, then it doesn't. Those, you can live with.

Errors of omission...I didn't realize that as the outfielder its MY BALL and i need to call off the infielder on a pop fly if i can make the play, the batter misses a sign and leaves a slow runner hung out to dry not swinging on a hit and run, not hitting the cut off man. I forgot that you can get Vlad out and, literally, NEVER throw him a strike.
These are inexcusable and seemingly the Os have nobody to deal with players when this happens.

If its not in your DNA to stand up and enforce these, its not. DT isn't like that. Roberts and Mora, the tenured players on the team, aren't like that. Wasn't it Mora that got pissed last year because a team mate called him out on something dumb? There is something positive brewing here, and part of the glue will be a manager and a player or two that will hold folks accountable. When Madden benched BJ Upton TWICE last year for not running out grounders, it sent a loud and clear message and it seems to have stuck. These Os will break our hearts a dozen more times this year because they do have talent...but they have young pitchers that have to find their way. Dave Campbell estimated it takes a pitcher 250 innings minimum to figure it out at this level. When the Os put it together and win it in 2015, it'll be worth it.

Breaking Away? Really?

Doesn't Tommy John surgery take more than a year to rehab from? Is it possible they brought Ray back before his arm strength had full returned?

Posted by: Chuck in Hawaii | July 6, 2009 7:59 PM

Ray had surgery in August '07 if I'm not mistaken so he would have had about a year and a half of rehab.

Pete,

Since you mentioned cycling, what do you think about Lance Armstrong and this years Tour De France? Why in the world did he sign onto a team with another star/team leader already on it? I love the tour, I cannot get enough, even when lance was not there. Wish Lance was on a team that would support his efforts. (not sure he still has "it", but he his Lance Armstrong, you give him respect and try and help him win)

Any thoughts?

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Pete's reply: I'm not a big cycling guy, so I don't know what went into his decision.

Your article today on McNair was excellent, Pete.

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Pete's reply: Thanks. I didn't even know it was up.

Pete, In your opinion, were Ichiro's career in the States to end right now, has he done enough to earn a spot in Cooperstown? For me he's a no-brainer first ballot selection, but some carp about him not having played over here long enough. I consider him one of the greatest ever.

Amazingly, at 35 he's having one of his best seasons and is still very much in his prime. In fact, if he gets really hot the second half, he has a legitimate shot at breaking his own record for hits in a season and even making a run at .400 (he goes into tonight's game at .362).

Truly one of a kind. It's been a privilege to have lived in the same era in which he played.

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Pete's reply: Yes, I think he'll be the first Japanese player to be inducted, and rightfully so.

Pete's reply: Thanks. I didn't even know it was up.
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I bet your wife says the same thing.

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Pete's reply: Oh, behave.

Freel Traded to the Royals, I bet this year is not how he envisioned things!!

I wonder if he turned any offers down to sign with the O's? Heck I wonder where he lives? However, his job is still better than mine!

Gotta love the timing of the Mackolio call-up, right before a series with the Mariners. I'm sure Andy didn't choose to bring him up for that reason, but what a fun little coincidence.

Pete, So you have no opinion on Ichiro's worthiness to the Hall of Fame? Or did my comment autopost as it has before?

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Pete's reply: I'm a little slow on the trigger tonight, but I answered it.

Best of luck to Ray.

Now, we have to hold on to Sherrill and not trade him. Image how bad, how much worse, the pen would have been in the 1st half without him? So, unless we get an overwhelming opportunity (say, a young slugging 3rd baseman).....
Johnson is not ready to step into the closers role as we have seen lately. We have no one else that is a sure thing for the closer role. Only some good potentials in the minors....

Pete, two Sundays ago, the last Sunday home game, I added my two cents worth about Ray and the O's possibly have to decide to make changes with him as well as Hendrickson.

You questioned whether I was at the game and what was I watching? Yes I was at the game, and I watch most games when not at the Yard on TV. Season tickets for 19 years so yes I watch alot of baseball.

Well I've noticed since Spring Training Ray hasn't been himself and he has been hit bad all year as well as being ineffective. As you said and I agree, he has talent yet he isn't doing the job this year and a change is needed. Granted I hope it has to do with maybe his injuries and can get fixed. But in this case I can say told you so. Hopefully Mackolio can fill the void nicely for us.

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Pete's reply: You actually said they ought to "get rid" of Ray, and I would still disagree with that, but he certainly isn't the same pitcher he was before the elbow surgery. I hope he gets straightened out, but this is a huge setback.

This game is perfect TV for trying to get to bed early

........... Palmer needs to stop botching don wakamatsu and you cant rub the Bedard trade in Seattle’s face when they are beating you hahaha

I'm better than all of you.

Pete,

I get up at 0430 these guys have got to start playing better to keep me up on the West coast deals. I know were in YOUR time zone but our boys ain't liking it too much! They look really flat, Dave has got to start kicking some @$$. There about to get 5 days off, at least he could do is get a little effort out of them before the break!

Pete--Seems like jet lag runs much longer through the Orioles' visiting clubhouse than one would expect.

That expression on Melvin Mora's face looking out to the field midway through the game?

If I were an artist, I would name that portrait either "Defeat" or "Resignation."

We know Melvin is a strong second half guy. Let's give him some added rest right now.

I believe Oscar Salazar would like to play.

How many times will the M's win the WS with Bedard? Oh, that's right, John. The answer is ZERO!

Pete--Once again, I've watched every pitch of the game. Seems like there is more energy in my iris than in the entire Oriole dugout.

How I miss the laser intensity of BJ Surhoff -- a smart guy, a player, and a leader.

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Pete's reply: Give Washburn a little credit. That was the best pitching performance I've seen this year.

When Cesar Izturis comes back, is it possible that Melvin Mora is the odd man out?

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Pete's reply: I seriously doubt it.

How is McNair's death a tradegy when he bought it on himself and don't say it's because he has 4 kids. When he was globetrotting with this woman who was 19 at the time he met her he was neglecting his kids and making a fool of his wife. What elevates a football player over other walks of life where he gets a free pass on his infidelity? The same people defending McNair are the same people lined up for Micheal Jackson. Shouldn't a grown man have more sense than to get involved with a teen ager.All people want to do is cover up the ghetto culture.

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Pete's reply: I think he paid a pretty heavy price for his behavior, more so than most. But I agree his kids are the biggest victims.

Joey, I also believe infidelity is very wrong, but is it truly worth a death sentence?

Joey,

You highlight the bad part of Blogs.. You would never say such ignorant @hit in public. Shame on you.

Joey white collar businessmen are the people that do this stuff the most.

~~Joey white collar businessmen are the people that do this stuff the most.~~

link to the poll or study you are basing this on? Otherwise you are just the same as Joey . . . only different

" I wonder if he turned any offers down to sign with the O's? Heck I wonder where he lives? However, his job is still better than mine!"

Doug - Freel was obtained in the Harnandez trade, he wasn't a free-agent

Living in Nashville, what bothers me about the reaction to the McNair murder is the way he is being portrayed here as a virtual saint. One person was quoted as saying he was a fan because McNair was a "moral" person.

No, he was not. He cheated on his wife and family and there are DUI issues, etc.

Did he deserve to die? Of course not. But was he a saint like so many people descibe him? No. He' was flawed human being, like pretty much all of us (though a lot of us don't cheat). The fact that he could throw a football doesn't somehow make him a better person.

There are a lot of catch phrases the Oriole's organization trots out but doesn't necessarily live up to. Two of these are "performance will dictate roster decisions" and "doing what is best for the team". Chris Ray should not have started the year on the major league roster, been brought back after a couple of weeks in the minors, nor should he rejoin the team until rosters expand in September. I wish him the best in his career but he has not helped the team and the team hasn't helped his recovery by "hoping" he can regain his form while trying to perform in the majors.

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Pete's reply: So, explain to me what it was about Chris Ray's 0.00 ERA in spring that tipped you off that he didn't belong in the major leagues this year.

McNair's sex life is none of our business we don’t know all the circumstances of his marriage and shouldn’t.

FYI, Kam Mickolio was the first baseball player in the history of Utah Valley University to make it to the Majors when he was called up last year by the O's (The Dodgers recently called up the 2nd, Mitch Jones). I'm a Baltimore native who happens to teach at UVU. So I thought I'd mention this.

Well Pete, I appreciate you keeping me honest on Chris Ray's spring ERA. It was so long ago I completely forgot. Maybe it was because he had not pitched in a pressure situation in over a year I thought DT's spring pronouncement of him being "all the way back" was premature.

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Pete's reply: It certainly was.