fire maddon

fire anonymous

fire Ken Francis

Matusz was on fire. Sorry this stupid fire thingy swept me up I guess.

Nice all around effort so far.

time to yank baez.

he's a mess

Hooray Baez! you created a save opportunity for Johnson

Pete, I vote if you post under anonymous then your email will be exposed. We need accountability not spammers.

Geez Dave...why take out Nolan for D and leave in Wiggy with Mora (who still plays D) on the bench. Fire DT anytime you're ready.

don't worry, at some point 8 runs will be enough to win a game

Ooh!

I'm ready to save up for next year's World Series, say between the Orioles and um, the Nats (although the Nats look closer--after all, they had 2 500 seasons under Frank R.).

Good god this is bizarre!!
What do the Orioles have to do to get a Win?!?!

Its like they are trying their hardest to win and lose at the same time!

the orioles just can't stand prosparity. get big lead and blow it away. i would put biaz so far back in the dark that he wouldn't see the sunshine for a long time. and of course the defense helped give it away too. yep 8 runs generally is enough to win a game.

Is Tom Davis drunk?

Lock. It. Down. JJ.

chad moelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllller!!!!!!!!

I don’t know if I should be happy or sad…..

That was nasty by JJ, thank goodness, nice W guys.

fire Baez

Pete--Hey, I got to celebrate my birthday the right way--with an Orioles win!

As Bill O'Donnell used to put it so well after every Baltimore victory: "It's been a good night, everybody."

matusz was looking really good tonight
and so was kam mikilikokilo. that guy looks absolutely dominating.

wow the orioles held on to win. it sure was one of those pins & needles type of game.

I agree with brandon: Matusz and Mickolio looked great. At some point, though, you need starters to go longer than 5 innings/80 pitches. Anyone have an idea whether the insiders feel like Matusz is in the normal low end of the development curve, or whether there is some concern?

And a purely hypothetical (even silly) Q: If the O's needed a new manager tomorrow, who is the best person out there for handling and developing the players we have? (And why doesn't he have a job already?)

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Pete's reply: You asked the right questions. The trouble with looking for a manager based on how he handles pitchers usually leads you to a pitching coach, and not all pitching coaches make good managers.

Danny - While I am no expert, check out Bergeson's numbers this season. It took him about 8 starts before he made it beyond 6 innings and then it seemed as though he "got it" allowing less than 4 runs in 9 of the next 12 starts. Tillman and Matusz are learning every time out. Hopefully in Setember things start to connect and they finish strong. If not, I think it helps them going into next year that they will be coming back to the big leagues and will be a lot more comfortable.

Do you think it's just a coincidence that BRob's stats have been amazing since his base running blunder when he forgot how many outs there were?

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Pete's reply: No, I don't think it's a coincidence, but I think the reason is that he's finally feeling good physically. He had that long bout with a bronchial infection, then that ball off his shin and undoubtedly a few other things we don't know about. He looks like himself again.

Interesting point, Woody...

Maybe he realized that he'd been dogging it and the baserunning gaffe caused him to refocus?

Pete...

Where's all the fire ON Roberts these days? He's hitting over 330 in the second half with an OPS well over 900... all this from a guy who normally tanks in the second half.

46 doubles through 4.5 months... he's got 1.5 months to get 6 doubles and break hiw own team record.

Seriously... who decided this guy wasn't playing hard enough again? Gimme a break. I think what I like most of all is that Roberts is playing so well and still not resorting to any kind of 'show em up' antics.

Pete:
You really need to change the ground rules for the sake of the majority (and yourself).
Redundant troll posters such as Anonymous (the Annoying Mouse) and jj (PUTZ) thomas should not be allowed to take up time and space and add absolutely nothing with every post. Once is allowable, twice is tolerable, thrice and beyond is unacceptable!

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Pete's reply: Sorry. I've been spiking JJ for months, but there are times when the posts go up and I don't get to them for awhile. I don't care about Anonymous. It's a three-word post and you can just scroll past it. I really don't want to get into the habit of censoring posters, even if some seem frivolous.

Pete:

I thought the critical at bat for Brian in the bottom of the 6th was Longoria. Matusz made a great 0-2 pitch and Evan just stuck the bat out there to flare it into right field. If he gets Longoria, it changes the way he pitches to Zobrist because now he's got 2 out. It's another example why baseball is the cruelest of games.

And can you please take whatever steps you require to block Anonymous and save all of us from these idiotic iterations? He (probably)is like the guy with the rainbow hair that always used to get in the camera shots, just to be seen. "Look at me, look at me!" What's next? Facebook? Twitter? Graffiti?

Looking at Hobgood's stats their pretty ugly. At this rate, he will never make it to Camden yards as a pitcher. I think it would be very wise to let him hit as well. The guy is pretty huge for being still a teenager and probably already has good power.He should get even bigger and stronger in the future. I know Pete you said earlier that you were worried about him taking away at bats from Bluefield's DH or getting injured. But really, do you really think a guy who is DHing for Bluefield is going to be a significant part of the Os in the future? At the very least let that guy share some of his at bats with Hobgood. And Hobgood only can get hurt if he starts hitting well and getting on base but again even then guys don't get hurt often just running the bases. If they do it might be a hamstring or something minor. Look at all the NL pitchers that have to hit for 10 or more years and all is well. The NL team doesn't say hey were not going to let our pitchers hit because they might get hurt.

The Os should also let their 2nd round pick Givens, pitch some. Who knows maybe he develops into a pitcher as well as SS or at least they could have him as an emergency pitcher for blowouts. Givens did pitch for his HS team and I believe he was clocked at 95 MPH. He already sounds better than some of the guys who have pitched this year for the Os.

I just think the Os need to try new things. Think outside of the norm a little because the norm hasn't worked for a long long time for them.

Patrick, if you're making statements like "he will never make it to Camden Yards as a pitcher" about an 18-year-old 2 months into his professional career, then you have no perspective on developing young players.

I agree that Givens would be a better pitcher than hitter. Unfortunately, that 96 MPH stuff is only good for an inning or two. However, it comes from a 3/4 slot, so it would be deadly in a relief role.

I think the outfield worked itself out just fine when Nolan got pulled. Definitely more speed to cover the gaps with Jones and Pie.

Baez's inning would be a totally different story if Wiggy coralled that ball. I didn't realize Mora was on pace for a Gold Glove this year. Plus, Izzy was flatfooted at best (looked to be on his heels) so there was going to be nothing on his throw if he got to it anyway either.

It's a win and Trembley won a duel with Maddon last night. Even if it was more exciting than it needed to be, it was a great game to watch and a great win.

Patrick, you are joking right? Hobgood was drafted two months ago. He was in high school 4 months ago. Let's all, please, regain some sanity.