I remember that when Torre was with the Yanks he thought game 2 was pivotal and would set up his rotation to have one of his more trusted guys going for him. I've got to think he'd have Pettite set to go tomorrow, not Burnett.

From the beginning of August to the end of the season, Burnett's ERA was almost 5. Its worse than that so far in the post season at 5.84. While he's certainly capable of a good performance, I've got to think its nervous time right now in NY.

Pete, are you buying into the rumors that Giradi will get fired if the Yanks don't win? I kind of have feeling he will be fired.

I think managing in a big market with media coverage around 24/7 combined with dealing with multimillion dollar players with egos to match their payday, can't be an easy thing, but I do feel like Giradi is on thin ice, right or wrong.

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I don't, unless Girardi makes some really obvious moves in the World Series that help lead to the Yankees demise.

What a beauty last night, Lee had them totally under his control. I think the Phills beat Burnett tonight and hopefully end it before it gets back to NY. Nice to see the new Yankee launching pad work against them.

I just like to watch A-Rod strike out. Beautiful. Go Yankees opponent!

Peter,
Yesterday I submitted my endurance test of a post entitled, “A BALTIMORE FRACTURED FAIRY TALE,”a less than thinly-disguised paean to the great Nestor (he has arrived at a status reserved for famous entertainers and athletes who are known by a single name: Babe, Liberace, Cher, and now Nestor – shudder!).

Brian said:
“ ... who in the hell is Jack Dunn?”

Brian’s question fits neatly into the discussion of how little players and fans know about the history of Baseball and the history of baseball in Baltimore.

I assume that Brian is a young whippersnapper -- but just because something happened before he identified baseball as a great game to follow -- it is not a good reason to maintain ignorance of those who shaped the game.

Who was Jack Dunn? He was the owner of the International League Baltimore Orioles; this town’s main team between losing and before regaining major league status.

In 1914, Dunn signed George Herman Ruth, Jr. to his first professional contract; also, Dunn legally adopted Ruth whose father had parked him, at age seven, in St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, an orphanage and reform school for intractably incorrigible boys.

For the first nineteen years of his life, Ruth was called George. The Orioles players began calling Ruth – Jack Dunn’s baby; sportswriters picked it up and transformed the words into – “Babe” -- the most famous nickname in American sports history.

Jack Dunn’s son and grandson continued ownership of the I.L. Orioles until sometime in 1953 when Jack Dunn III sold the Orioles’ territorial rights to the group, which had just purchased the Browns. Jack Dunn III went to work for the O’s, holding many positions in the organization until his retirement.

I had the unusually good fortune to get a job as an unpaid intern in the Public Relations Department in June 0f ’64 when a run at the pennant created a great deal of work for P.R., which coincided luckily with my application for a job. I wasn’t so terrible and I returned for several summers – some of them paid – and recorded a lifetime of surreal experiences for a baseball-preoccupied young man.

The greatest and long-lasting gift that I took away from my major league tenure was the mentoring and friendship of Jack Dunn III; and the friendship of Jack’s wife Mary Rose, a charming, lovely, and gracious person (she put up with my nonsense; at least, I never caught her rolloning her eyes) and his two children, Jack IV and Barbie.

Theerfore, when I began to submit posts for the first time, I chose jackdunn’sbaby as my “nom de blog” to honor Baltimore’s unequalled contribution to Baseball and to recognize the impact of the third Jack Dunn, a mentor and father-figure.

I often relive those years and friendships and consider myself one of the luckiest guys to ever fall into an incredible, answer-to-a-dream summer job.

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Pete's reply: Thanks for putting a face on your screen name. I wasn't around here back then, but -- of course -- you didn't have to be from Baltimore to know of Jack Dunn and the Babe. Nice post.

I'm happy for Cliff Lee, loved him here in Cleveland. Glad to see him pitching so well in the postseason.

I think this series is going at least 6 games. Should be a good series. I think the Yankees take Game 2.

Baseball fans all over Baltimore should be so happy to see the Yankees suffer complete humliation at the hands of the Phillies. CC and A-Roid, the so-called superstars, combined to produce a loss and three strikeouts. What a masterful game by Cliff Lee. Keep it going, Pedro!

At least the umps didn't influence the game that much but the strike zone floated for both teams. What has happened to good umpiring? I can't believe these are the best of the best. Anyway, go Phillies, stomp the the Bronx Buyers and kept Tex from getting his ring after rejecting our offer.

Come on Pete,

First, I never said the O's were stupid. Never came close to saying such in fact. I believe they're very, very clever (for the reasons I've detailed).

Second, I've never claimed to be smarter than anyone else. Am I aware of some things some may not be privy to? Probably! Such hardly makes me smarter though.

Third, I never mentioned you or WBAL. A little defensive are we? Yes, I did use the term media, but I've posted often how I felt you didn't follow the local herd. Now I know that means nothing to you, as it shouldn't. But I felt I should relay the truth nevertheless.

Pete, bottom line is.... no one will be able to defend this club anymore after it has another losing season. 1057 the fan and masn will try, but even they realize how ignorant they're beginning to sound.

Anyway, just wanted to set the record straight.... not that it matters much!

Wayne -- "No one will be able to defend the club anymore after it has another losing season."

1) Do you call the Orioles' media coverage "defending the club"? We're not reading the same things.

2) Why would another losing season -- inevitable, btw -- make any difference in how an intelligent, rational person analyzes current moves?

Andy MacPhail wasn't here when the real screwups were being made, in 1999 and 2000, that laid the groundwork for this whole decade. Peter Angelos was, by all accounts, more involved back then.

Small children are unable to delay gratification; telling them they can have a candy in 5 minutes won't mollify them.

section 34,

After watching Andy Macphail move at a snails pace since he got here in 2007, I am off of the rebuilding bandwagon and have jumped on the "Win Now" train. Why not? Why wait?

The organization is already floating trial balloons for lowered expectation for 2010. Translation: 13 losing years in a row and counting.

Even if the Orioles "rebuild" what will they be building? They won't have sustained success in the American League East as long as it is aligned as it is. Who can predict if any of the "prospects" especially the pitchers will pan out at the Major League level?

The Orioles need to go on a spending spree for free agents and trade anybody and everybody in the organization to bring in proven winners.

Rebuilding is for losers, as is every team in the AL East save for two. Go Look who has won the division since 1995. Anybody but the Yankees and the Red Sox are one year wonders.

As far as eligible free agents, go google and pull up the list by position. There is plenty of proven talent. Potential does not win, proven talent does.

If the Orioles were coming off 3 or 4 bad years in a row, fans would be more inclined to go along with Andy Macphail's plodding anal approach.

Time is up. Win now.

Sec 34,

Your immediate gratification (5 minute) comments are ridiculous, and lack any real credibility.

Do your homework, AM does things at a snails pace, always with the promise of a better tomorrow..... Then all the sudden everyone looks up and it's many years later (AGAIN, see Chicago).

Going into his 3rd year, things are dismal. Sure there is more hope than there was, but that's not saying anything at all....

Accept for a few good players with promise, AM can't even take credit for many of the young players that came up this year....Not Weiters, not Bergesen, not Reimold, etc, etc.......

So wake up man! Seriously, you sound like every person I've ever known who is USE to losing. You act like you even enjoy it!

Gil -

I'm not seeing "plenty" of proven talent that I want in Baltimore on the free agent list. Maybe 8 or 10 guys, but that's it.

Past Lackey, Holliday and Figgins, who should the Orioles go on a spending spree for?

And on rebuilding in the AL East:

Look out for the Rays next season. With a comeback from B.J. Upton and solid sophomore campaigns from Wade Davis and David Price, they could easily make another run.

since the orioles are unloading some of their most expensive contracts like mora and baez, why not take some of that money and spend it on flamethrower aroldis chapman? they should definitely focus their attention on this guy. he could really be a dominant pitcher. anyone else agree?

wayne -

AM can take at least half credit for Wieters. Sure, Beat-agan drafted the kid, but it was AM who took Scott Boras to the 11th hour to get a contract signed. Think Jim and Mike would have had the stones to do that?

And AM can also take credit for Chris Tillman, Adam Jones, Felix Pie, Cesar Izturis, keeping Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis in town, FINALLY opening the door to Asia by signing a Japanese free agent.

Sure, things are moving somewhat slow, but, past signing Sabathia and Teixeira, which the Yankees made impossible for every other team but Boston, you tell me how you would have fixed this franchise by now.

One more thing: There's a ton of hope. Roberts, Markakis, Jones, Reimold, Pie, Wieters, Guthrie, Matusz, Tillman and Bergesen all at the big league level plus Arrieta, Bell and Snyder close to it equals a lot of hope. And considering how horrible the past 12 years have been, that's HUGE.

Dave -

I'd rather see the O's spend $50M on Lackey than $50M on Chapman.

With Lackey, at least you know what you're getting.

Chapman could be a stud, but he could be a total bust. Not something I want to see this team wager $50M on...

Possible edit: Was Beattie gone by the time the 2007 draft rolled around?

The Beattie-Flanagan reign was so inconsequential, I can't even remember.

b, i know what you mean, but it's gonna take a lot more to sign lackey than chapman, so why not take a risk and get this guy. the videos that i've seen of him look great. this kids got electric stuff. i think he'd look great in an o's uniform

b,

I pulled it up earlier today and noticed Josh Beckett, Russell Branyon, Adrien Beltre , Chipper Jones and I can't remember all of the others, I will check it again. Maybe there is a club option in there on some of them, I don't know. Also, who said the Orioles can't make trades with their "prospects"..

My point is the Orioles are putting the fans to sleep with all of this rebuilding talk. The fans have become conditioned to losing like Pavlov's Dogs. I read what some of them write and they are beginning to display masochistic tendencies.

They can rebuild all they want . That does not preclude them from trying to win by making deals to upgrade the talent. It is not a zero sum game as the organization would like to have us think.

Look, we can all tout our fan bonafides and many of us have stuck with the Orioles through thick and thin for generations. I don't speak for anybody else but personally I am sick and tired of it. My opinion won't change anything they are doing, but this is a blog and at least I get to vent.

Pete, I still like the Yankees to win it, too, but I must admit I was mightily impressed by Lee's gem. As a baseball fan who loves a well-pitched game, this was about as good as it gets. Too bad Rollins had to ruin the shutout with his ill-advised throw to first.

In responding to Birdland Todd's question about Girardi's rumored job insecurity, you commented that you didn't see him being fired unless he "makes some really obvious moves in the World Series that help lead to the Yankees demise."

I thought he made one of those moves last night when he started Damon, who going into the game was only 2 for 22 lifetime against Lee. Sure, he's a solid hitter who could come of that slump at any time, plus he has a quick bat and can pull a pitch middle of the plate and in down the line for a cheap homer, but 2 for 22 is a pretty meaningful sample, enough to conclude that Lee has his number.

While it could be countered that Lee had everyone's number last night, Girardi had no way of knowing that when making the lineup. For all we know, Gardner may have been the exception and once Lee is pitching from the stretch more (especially with speed on the bases), the outcome might have been changed. I'm not saying that it would have changed, but you never know.

Still, given Damon's poor track record with Lee, that strikes me as Girardi mismanaging. Your thoughts?

Tonight's match-up is intriguing. Burnett hasn't pitched too well and is up against Pedro Martinez. Yes, he's not the Pedro old, but he's smart, experienced and with stuff that no longer is dominating, but plenty good enough if he's on his game.

I say intriguing because it could be a pitchers' duel if they're both on; if neither is on, Girardi and Manuel could be forced to go to their bullpens early and since overall neither 'pen has been really good of late, the teams could put a lot of crooked numbers on the scoreboard.

Brian, You write in to ask about about Jack Dunn, necessitating jackdunn'sbaby (good screen name) to give us a dissertation (one he'd probably been waiting to give for sometime now--LOL) about his namesake's importance. Now that's fine; it's good that people are reminded of a significant name in Baltimore sporting history.

What I don't get, though, is why you'd ask the question in the first place. (Here I'm harping about a pet peeve that I see all too often in blogs, so it's not only about you.) You could have answered the question for yourself in seconds by going to Google or some other search engine and typing in "Jack Dunn" as search words.

What's so hard about that, people? Use your brains! If you know how to submit a comment on a blog, surely doing a search shouldn't be that difficult for you, should it?

bob c, I can see why you might think Girardi would start Pettite over Burnett and it's a tough call either way he goes with the rotation, but I can see one solid reason for keeping it the way it is.

Pettite is the veteran who's won more postseason games than anyone in history. If the Yankees lose tonight and go down in the Series 0-2, it makes more sense to have someone like that pitching the opener in Philadelphia, because Burnett hasn't proven he's able to handle that kind of pressure as well as Pettite. Even if the Yankees prevail tonight, it's still good to have Pettite on the mound for Game 3, since it would give the Yankees a solid chance at going up two games to one, something especially crucial with the middle three games being played on the road..

Gil, "Andy MacPhail's plodding anal approach"? Dude, what are you talking about? Do you even know? He came aboard when the team was in the middle of a year that would end with the Orioles ninth straight losing season. No team has nine straight losing seasons without being extremely bad.

The team has made great strides since he's taken over, but it's major reclamation project. What do want him to do, wave his wand and mutter some magic words?

Hate to disillusion you, but in the real world it just doesn't work that way. When a house is in ruins it needs to be torn down and a new structure built in its place on a solid foundation.

And MacPhail is a master at reclamation projects. He oversaw the rebuilding of a Twins team that would win two World Series (the first one it won going from "worst to first") and of a Cubs team that was a Steve Bartman interference away from going to the Series.

He's gotten through the demolition part of the project and is now laying a solid foundation for the new, improved Orioles. He knows what he's doing. so (hard as it is for us long-suffering O's fans) be patient, because a bright future is going to be here sooner than you think!

Dave in Buffalo, Sure it's going to take more to sign Lackey, but make no mistake, the competition to sign Chapman will be just as fierce. While Chapman could turn out to be a star, as I pointed out in another blog, he could just as easily turn out to be another Jose Contreras and a waste of good money.

Better, should the Orioles not land Lackey, for them to spend the money on a proven starter like Erik Bedard at a lower price and there would be plenty left over to sign another quality young arm when the team gets yet another high round draft pick next year, would the team want to go that route.

Gil,

The problem with the "Win Now" approach that you are talking about is that it doesn't work. It is precisely that line of thinking that drove this franchise into the basement . Trading away the farm and paying through the nose for "proven talent" only works if you are the Yankees and can buy the next wave of talent when the current ones don't work out.

If MacPhail starts that strategy now, we'll be right back to the year 2000.

Hi jeffChill,

I can appreciate that and I used to think that way. I may be dead wrong but where are we now? The team can rebuild and win at the same time. They would have us beleive that we must wait until the nebulous time frame allowed for "rebuilding" is up.

A number of the "prospects" we are counting on will never make it at the major league level for many reasons including injury.

As I have said, the fans are buying this story line hook, line and sinker....and that is that when Macphail thinks we are "one or two players away" we will go spend the big money on free agents. When is that going to be? Will it ever be the "time?"

The organization needs to be held accountable for one thing and one thing only, and that is winning, and I say we are no closer to that now than we were 5 years ago. We are headed for 90 losses again next year with the pitching we currently have.

I for one say that is unacceptable. I may be in the minority and from reading the responses I guess I am, but I think the organization needs to tell the fans that the Orioles are planning to play winning baseball next year and then go out and get the players whatever it takes.

After all, Macphail is an annointed baseball genius isn't he? Let him prove it by assembling a winning team in 2010 and stop screwing around.

Gil,

I agree with you that it will be very disappointing if AM sits around and twiddles his thumbs in the offseason. If he decides that he is happy to go into Spring Training with this roster, then as you say the "baseball genius" tag doesn't mean a thing.

I do understand that he needs to be cautious and gunshy in some situations, lest we be on the short end of something like the Erik Bedard trade.

Overall from what I have read and heard I think he has done a respectable job, but I do believe results have to improve starting on opening day 2010. It makes me laugh inside to think about how these most recent few years of losing must completely grate on Peter Angelos. However I got the impression that he knew he signed up for this when hiring MacPhail.

I did not know first hand but everything I read said our farm system was stripped to the bone when AM got here, and in that area he has made enormous progress. That's where his effort had to be focused, because it's the only place you're going to get talent when your organization is terrible. Free agents who are free to choose where to go won't want to come here, and if you don't have anybody other clubs want you can't get good players in a trade.

We all know the free agent market is thin this year, but I agree that I don't want to hear that as an excuse for doing nothing. We don't need a blockbuster move, however like you say we better get something that is moving in the right direction. I would personally consider a winning season next year a success, and I feel it is very much within reach.

jackdunn'sbaby, I have an interesting story for you. I have an old panoramic photo taken in 1919 of the Baltimore Orioles & Toronto Maple Leafs at Hanlan's Point.
Up until that game the Leafs had a 16 game winning streak and the Orioles beat the 2-0 that game. Date of that game is 7/24/1919. They went on to win 7 straight pennants from 1919-1925. This picture was discovered under an old tapestry that was given to my sister by her great-grandmother-in-law. The photo measures 44"x 8"