I realize that Jeff Zrebiec already wrote in Orioles Insider that nothing is likely to happen with the managerial situation today, but he qualified that by saying that you can never know when Peter Angelos will suddenly just say enough is enough.

I'm willing to go out on a limb and say there is no chance of that today. Say what you want about Angelos, he's a very proper, old-fashioned guy and I do not believe that he would make a big news splash on Memorial Day.

It remains to be seen whether he or Andy MacPhail will do something tomorrow in New York, however. The Orioles are now in a state of suspended animation, and the managerial uncertainty almost certainly is contributing to the club's flat performance. If you think they won't make a change on the road, there is an organizational precedent. In 2005, they fired Lee Mazzilli when the team was in Southern California playing the Angels.

I agree with Jeff that the situation has reached the point where Dave Trembley's dismissal is inevitable, and that Trembley is a decent guy who did the best he could in a horrible situation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (91)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The highlight of today's game, so far, was the "Who Will Own It" commercial featuring Adrian Gonzalez and previewing the upcoming interleague series against the San Diego Padres.

Gets you to thinking about what it would take for the Orioles to own Gonzalez next season. The Padres are playing great, so there's a decent chance they'll keep him through the trading deadlines and wait to consider their options during the winter.

The Pads hold a very attractive contract option on Gonzalez for 2011 -- just $5.5 million -- so they really aren't under immediate pressure to move him. That's actually a good thing, since the Orioles probably wouldn't win a bidding war for him on the free agent market, but they probably wouldn't win a bidding war for him on the trade market either.

Can you come up with a package that would tempt the Padres without leaving the Orioles with a big, power-hitting first baseman and nothing to go with him?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (114)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It's pretty amazing to watch the Blue Jays launch home run after home run and score more runs than anybody in the majors while not really hitting for a particularly high team average. It's like they've taken the old Earl Weaver philosophy and turned it on its head.

The old Orioles could hit the three-run home run with anybody, but they also could flat-out hit. The Jays offense seems one-dimensional, but if they can keep doing what they're doing, they'll have a very respectable season -- which is saying a lot when so many people (me included) thought they would be awful and finish well behind the O's.

I really don't think the Jays can keep it up, since they haven't had the same exposure to the rest of the American League East, but who's to say they don't start hitting for a better team average and increase their offensive options as the summer wears on.

The only thing to do is tip your hat to Cito Gaston (as galling as that might be) and hope to wake up from this nightmare one of these days.

No sense making any comparisons with the Orioles, since the O's aren't even in the same conversation. The Jays have almost twice as many home runs (85-44) and have averaged almost two full runs more per game. Somehow, they've done this while ranking 26th in the majors with a .243 team average, but more power to them.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (75)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I'm not really a memorabilia guy, as a lot of people know, but I was looking over the list of baseball items being sold in the current SCP Internet Auction and couldn't help but notice a small collection from the family of turn-of-the-century Baltimore Orioles star Wee Willie Keeler.

In particular, the lot includes Keeler's diary, with a number of entries about the 1896 Temple Cup Series between the Orioles and Cleveland Spiders, which was the championship series played in the National League before the advent of the World Series.

Seems kind of quaint now, the idea of a player keeping a daily diary during the baseball season. They're too busy Tweeting from the Canadian border or relating their experiences and achievements on their Facebook pages. But in those days, a diary was really the only way for a baseball player to keep a record of his own experiences.

There's a photo on the right of the book, which features Keeler's signature adjacent to the cover page. Pretty interesting little slice of Baltimore history, and it's just one piece of a huge and diverse array of historical memorabilia from baseball's golden age. There are autographed pictures of Babe Ruth and game-used equipment from some of the game's greatest legends, but the Keeler diar kind of jumped out at me because of his significance to this area's baseball lore and because it tells its own story.

I've never bid in an auction like this, but I guess you have call and register (800-350-2273) to get into the site and see everything. Most of this stuff is pretty top shelf -- which means it's probably out of my league -- but I get a lot of auction catalogs and always enjoy looking through them. I know it's not a picture of a giant burger, but I thought a few of you might think it was interesting, too..

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The past 24 hours have been a microcosm for the entire Orioles season. The O's blew a three-run lead in the eighth inning on Thursday night at Camden Yards, then got stranded in their own clubhouse by thunderstorms that grounded their charter plane in Newark. So, they figured to get into Toronto late, but not as late as Adam Jones ended up getting to his hotel room after being detained by Ontario border security officials.

There have been a couple of theories about that, but Adam's mom -- Andrea Bradley -- confirmed on her Facebook page the rumor that Adam was detained because he was mistaken for fellow high-profile athlete Adam "Pacman" Jones, who has had enough off-field legal entanglements to raise some red flags at Canadian Customs.

So, the O's finally get to Rogers Centre tonight and Kevin Millwood finds out in the first inning that his defense apparently is still trying to get into the country. Only one of the three Blue Jays runs in the first was unearned, but there was enough sloppy play on the infield to absolve the veteran starter of much responsibility for the Toronto rally.

Talk about the perfect marriage between bad fortune and bad function. The O's offense, meanwhile, had the first two runners on base in the second inning, only to have an Adam Jones line drive snatched out of the air by a leaping Alex Gonzalez. Then had the exact same situation in the fourth -- with the exact same baserunners, Miguel Tejada and Luke Scott -- and had a rocket by Matt Wieters caught in center field.

It really is a case where whatever can possibly go wrong seems to go wrong, but I guess you should be used to that by now.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (48)
Categories: Just baseball
        

If you haven't already, take a look at my latest "News item" column on the Web site. I'm hoping you get a few chuckles from it, though I'm pretty sure Bob will find some way to spin Kevin Millwood's second-place finish in the Orioles Cookoff as an indictment of the Andy MacPhail rebuilding plan.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It is beginning to transcend any rational understanding. The Orioles appeared to have last night's game in hand, but a ball caroms off the leg of reliever Mark Hendrickson, another takes a strange kangaroo hop that handcuffs Cesar Izturis and manager Dave Trembley is cursing the fates again during his postgame news conference.

"You take a three-run lead into the eighth and a lot of things don't go your way,'' Trembley said.

So, just what was going through the manager's mind as another game came unraveled in frustrating fashion?

"You certainly think you've seen a little bit of everything,'' he said.

He probably has. The Orioles opened 2010 with blown saves in the season opener and home opener and have gone on to allow the tying or go-ahead run in the eighth or ninth inning 12 times. Literally, no lead has been safe.

Once again, the manager made a tough decision on his starting pitcher and it backfired. Brad Bergesen had recovered from some early trouble to cruise through the middle innings. He had retired 14 straight batters before giving up a seeing-eye bouncer through the left side to lead off the eighth and a second, more solid hit to bring the manager to the mound.

Bergesen was at 93 pitches at that point, but Trembley said it was not about the pitch count.

"You certainly don't want to put him in a situation where he's going to lose the game,'' Trembley said.

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. The Orioles are way past worrying about who gets the wins and losses. If Bergesen had the best chance of retiring the next batter, he should have still been in there. The fewer relievers you have to use, with a series ahead against the highest-scoring team in baseball, the better.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (99)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Matt Wieters is back in the starting lineup tonight after putting a scare into the rest of the team when he slumped over after making a sweep tag at home plate last night.

Manager Dave Trembley admitted that his first reaction when he saw Wieters in pain was very fatalistic.

“Here we go again,’’ he thought to himself.

“It would have been another one we just don’t need,’’ Trembley said. “I’m just glad he’s okay.”
Wieters stayed in the game and was back in the starting lineup on Thursday night.

With the O's sending Brian Roberts, Alfredo Simon and Koji Uehara to the Ed Smith Complex in Sarasota for injury rehab tomorrow, and Luke Scott out of the lineup again because of a shoulder strain, Trembley is understandably gunshy.

Scott, by the way, could be available to pinch hit or make a late-inning appearance tonight.

Radio, radio: Tune in at six tonight to hear me joust with Brett Hollander on Sportsline on WBAL (1090AM) and WBAL.com. Then I'll rush back to the ballpark to continue blogging.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (32)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Chris Tillman will be rejoining the Orioles for the trip to Toronto, where he'll make his first start on Saturday. It'll be good to see him again and it'll be good to have him in the Orioles rotation if he can pick up where he left off in Norfolk.

He's been throwing very well, and he's a huge part of the Orioles future, so this is as good a time as any for him to re-establish himself in the major league starting rotation. Or not. The Blue Jays have been playing above their heads, or -- at least -- above the expectations of the preseason prognosticators. They can flat-out hit, so he'll have his work cut out for him.

Tillman was very disappointed when he lost his place in the rotation to David Hernandez, but the Orioles felt he needed some more time at Triple-A. We'll find out soon enough if that was the case. I'm hoping he is an elixir for his friend Brian Matusz, who has struggled in three of his last four outings. They are great friends and were inseparable last year and in spring training.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
Categories: Just baseball
        

My fellow columnist Kevin Cowherd got into the happy juice again, and he has written a positive column about the Orioles, something you didn't think was possible. If you want to read it, the best place to do that is right here, then you can come back and make fun of him like you make fun of me.

Or is that ridicule?

Whatever it is, I never get tired of it. If you believe some of the angry people here, I'm a bigger apologist than C.S. Lewis.

If you don't know who C.S. Lewis was, this is a look-it-up moment. If you do and have read any of his writings, I'm curious to know what you're doing here. Slumming?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (45)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Brian Matusz was removed from tonight's game with the Orioles trailing 6-1 and two runners on base. He gave up four runs in the first inning and one in the second before settling down to retire 10 straight batters, then left after allowing the first three batters to reach base in the top of the sixth.

Matusz's line: 5+ IP, 6 ER 8 H, 1 BB 4 K, 1 HR. He threw 94 pitches, 59 for strikes.

Everybody gets hit around at some point, but Matusz had been so dependable through his first six starts, his performance over the past four has to be cause for some concern. He mixed in a strong start against the Cleveland Indians, but in the other three he threw 11 innings and gave up 19 earned runs on 25 hits.

I don't think there's any reason to panic, but you have to wonder what's going on when a guy gives up three runs or fewer in five of his first six starts, and gives up six or more in three of his last four.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (32)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Matt Wieters made a sweeping tag to cut down Ryan Sweeney at home plate in the sixth inning, then bent over in pain -- apparently after suffering some kind of strain in his shoulder or upper back.

He was attended to on the field by trainer Richie Bancells and escorted into the dugout. Don't know yet if he will stay in the game.

Obviously, the last thing the Orioles need is a sore Matt Wieters to join the parade of Orioles players that have gone on the disabled list, but at this point, who would be particularly surprised.

Instant update: Apparently, he's okay. He came right back out to hit in the bottom of the sixth and was back behind the plate in the seventh.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Dave Trembley has been in very good spirits the past couple of days, which can mean only two things -- either he is resigned to the inevitable or he has been told that he's okay for awhile longer.

I have no inside info on this, it just stands to reason that the Orioles will not make any major changes any time soon, since they are headed out of town tomorrow and I doubt they would announce a decision like that in Toronto or New York.

If you're scratching your head and wondering why this is going down this way, take a look at my column today -- which I already plugged earlier. I've had several people around the ballclub tell me that it's a pretty good primer on the thought process in the Warehouse.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Just baseball
        

If you haven't already, take a look at my column in today's print edition, or read it right here and let the debate resume.

One caveat: Don't read too much into the second headline, since I do not really take any position in the column on how the Orioles should proceed. It was meant more as an analysis of the factors that play into the decision.

It's pretty obvious that the club will make a change at some point, but I tried to shed some light on why Andy MacPhail and Peter Angelos don't seem to be in any great hurry to make a change.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (42)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Here are some stats from tonight's game that are telling in their own ways:

Garrett Atkins had a hit tonight, snapping an 0-for-18 slump, but he still has not hit a home run in 47 consecutive games, extending a career high. He has gone 145 at-bats without a homer, one short of his career worst.

Miguel Tejada walked twice tonight, which is his first multi-walk game of the season and his first April 7, 2009. Hey, the guy likes to swing the bat and he's pretty good at it.

Adam Jones singled in the second inning to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games. He's hitting .317 over that span with two doubles, a triple, two home runs and seven RBI.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The roster moves continue to pile up. The Orioles called up Alberto Castillo and minor league closer Frank Mata today, making room on the 25-man roster by placing Koji Uehara and Alfredo Simon on the disabled list. None of this was a surprise.

The Orioles also moved David Hernandez to the bullpen and figure to call up Chris Tillman to start Saturday night's game at Toronto. The choice was between Tillman and Jake Arrieta -- both of whom have been pitching very well -- but Tillman already was on the 40-man roster, so he was the path of least resistance.

The Orioles have now made 28 roster moves since the regular season began, not counting DL transfers, waiver clears or 40-man roster transactions involving players that were not on the 25-man major league roster,

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles have made so many roster moves over the past few weeks that Maryland and Virginia are petitioning Amtrak for a new direct rail line between Norfolk and Baltimore.

The roster shuffle isn't going to end any time soon. The Orioles have to inject some innings into their beleaguered bullpen, so I have to agree with Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly that the only logical thing to do is move David Hernandez there, pitch Brad Bergesen on regular rest on Thursday, and bring up either Chris Tillman or Jake Arrieta to pitch Saturday in Toronto.

I know a lot of people are clamoring for the Orioles to admit their mistake signing Garrett Atkins and designate him for assignment. I don't think anybody's denying anything as far as the hindsight-aided wisdom of signing him, but I don't see the logic in releasing him at this point.

If I'm Andy MacPhail, I ask Atkins to get into the indoor cage with Terry Crowley and completely change his hitting mechanics. He's got to have figured out that he doesn't have an ounce of power anymore, yet he's still up there with that open stance and that toothy grimace, which always leaves me wondering "What's this guy smiling about?" Time for some desperate measures.

At the very least, if he closed that stance, or went to the Paul Molitor no-stride approach, the opposing pitchers would not have an iron-clad scouting report on how to pitch him.

Can he turn things around? Probably not, but Michael Aubrey is banged up, Rhyne Hughes has already been tried, Brandon Snyder isn't ready and Adrian Gonzalez is not available, so why not embark on a two-week experiment to see if you can get something for that $4.5 million. I don't think the Orioles or Atkins have anything to lose.

If you recall, there were a lot of people calling for Felix Pie to be released at about this time last year, and he came around and was emerging as a pretty interesting player when he got hurt earlier this season. Different situation entirely, of course, but when you're stumbling around in the dark, you'll grab for anything.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (76)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Obviously, there are a lot of fans wondering what the Orioles were thinking a couple of winters ago when they signed Koji Uehara to a two-year, $10 million contract, but you have to be fair when you're judging things in hindsight.

If you go back to that juncture in Andy MacPhail's rebuilding program, you'll remember that he was making an attempt to expand the Orioles modest international scouting efforts and make an inroad in the Asian talent market. I don't think anybody thinks that part of the equation was a bad idea.

There were two premier Japanese pitchers on the American market that winter, Koji and Kenshin Kawakami, who were being courted by a number of major league teams because of the success they had in Japan.

The Orioles went for Koji and the Atlanta Braves signed Kawakami, and -- frankly -- neither team is too happy about that now. Koji has pitched well when he's been able to pitch, which is almost never, and Kawakami is a combined 7-18 with a 4.10 ERA since coming to America and has also been injury prone.

There's no question now that neither move was a great idea in retrospect, but the O's were under pressure to find talent anywhere they could find it and there was no way of knowing that Koji would have all the problems that have kept him off the mound. The O's knew he grappled with hamstring issues, but that has been just a fraction of the problem. Uehara now is arm-sore again -- he'll be re-examined tomorrow -- and probably will be put on the shelf for another extended period.

He's not a total loss for the Orioles, but he's close, because the 19 appearances he has made -- some of them very good -- were not enough to offset his lack of dependability either as a starter or reliever.

It's regrettable for the organization, but not an unforgivable front office mistake. In this case, as in Kawakami and some of the other highly touted Japanese imports, you win some and you lose some.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (108)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I'll be the first to admit that I was intrigued by the concept of interleague play, back when Major League Baseball needed something to turn on a disenchanted fan base during the turbulent 1990s, but I always worried that the thrill would wear off. I think it has, except in New York, Chicago and maybe LA.

The Orioles and Nationals obviously might be more enticing when they are both contending teams, but there is little reason to think that day will come anytime in the foreseeable future.

I'm harping now, because I wrote a column about this a few months ago, but MLB needs to reduce the interleague schedule to a pair of home-and-home rivalry series and return to something resembling a balanced schedule.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (56)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Since I am a very well-rounded sports writer, I watched the final round of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship on NBC today, while occasionally switching over to the Orioles/Nationals game on MASN.

Even after all these years of poker on television, I'm amazed at the number of people who want to watch other people play cards. I've played in a few tournaments in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, so it's not like I have anything against Texas Hold-em, but the only reason this event held my interest was because it was on opposite the O's.

I mean, did they really need a slow-motion replay of runner-up Eric Seidel tossing in a stack of chips? Not unless some Jeffrey Maier wannabe lunged out of the crowd and caught them before they reached the pot.

While I'm shuffling baseball and poker, I should point out that the reason I haven't blogged very frequently the past couple of days is because this weekend has been jam-packed with important family stuff.

Friday was college graduation day for both of my kids and both of their significant others, so I spent Saturday deciding what to do with all the spending money I'm going to have now. And today is my daughter's birthday, so my credit card is going to take a severe beating at some foofy restaurant tonight. I hope you understand.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

No, I'm not serious, but you can still read today's "My Take" column in the print edition or peruse it on the Web site right here.

Show plug: We're going to engage in some serious Orioles talk today at noon on WBAL (1090 AM) and WBAL.com. Tune in and join the conversation at 410-467-WBAL or 1-800-767-WBAL.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (53)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles needed a victory tonight. No question about that. But they'll need quite a few more to climb out of the cavern they have dug for themselves and, perhaps, keep the coaching staff intact.

The most positive thing in the series opener was the fact that they scored a handful of runs for David Hernandez while he was in the game, which hasn't happened very much this year.

That's why Hernandez is 1-5 and the team is 3-5 in his starts.

Still, if it's not one thing, it's another. Adam Jones finally puts a charge in a ball and then has to leave the game with leg cramps.It has been that kind of year.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Well, I guess there are two ways to look at the Orioles' offensive performance last night, during which they left 15 runners on base and suffered a 13-7 loss.

I suppose you could make the case that it was a good sign that the O's put enough runners on base to score seven times and still leave 15 out there, but when you've scored seven runs in a game only five times all year, you might want to win when you do.

Bottom line: The Orioles got swept in Arlington and are not going to find a pushover team in Washington this weekend. Don't know how much longer this can go on.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (115)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Brian Matusz lasted just 2 1/3 innings tonight and gave up seven runs, failing to hold things together after giving up four in the first and getting new life from a three-run rally by the Orioles in the top of the second.

Jim Palmer just said on MASN that a bad outing like this can actually be a positive teaching tool, but I can't imagine anybody on this team ever looking back at anything that has happened in April and May and saying, "Wow, getting my butt kicked was really a really great learning experience."

My pregame concern about the starters eventually coming unraveled was realized for one night. Let's hope this doesn't continue through the weekend in Washington.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (40)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I'm trying to think what I would have predicted if you had told me on April 1 that Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Guthrie and Brian Matusz -- facing some of the toughest lineups in the majors -- would have a combined 3.87 ERA after 26 starts, but I think I would have figured they'd have more than a total of four victories.

Once again, a negative statistic that is almost impossible to achieve...or believe. How can those three pitchers, pitching that well, could be 4-11 with 11 no decisions is beyond my comprehension.

It's not quite as hard to do as starting out 1 for 40 with runners in scoring position and two outs, but it's quite a dubious achievement, though little fault of the pitchers involved.

My biggest concern right now is that equally dubious concept known as the law of averages. Now, before the mathematicians get after me, I realize it's not a scientific concept. It's really just a cliche, since there is no actual probability involved, but I still worry about what it's going to look like when the big three falter a couple of times through the rotation.

Figures to happen at some point, but maybe the offense will show up by then.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I'm sure there will be some muttering about the performance of the bullpen in tonight's game, but it's unrealistic to expect this group of relievers to throw nothing but zeroes every night. The Orioles were fortunate to score three times against a good-hitting team on the road, and three runs isn't generally going to be enough to get out of the Ballpark in Arlington with a victory.

The Orioles had plenty of opportunities, but only Cesar Izturis could cash in on any of them. He drove in all three runs. Good for him, but that ought to tell you what you need to know about this loss.

Nitpick of the night: I don't usually poke at the MASN crew, but they've spent the last half hour acting like the report of Brian Roberts' hospitalization with pneumonia was breaking news. It was breaking news, but it broke several hours earlier when Jeff Zrebiec reported it -- with details and quotes from Andy MacPhail -- in Orioles Insider.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (65)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I don't claim to be a great baseball strategist, but I'm absolutely opposed to the base-loading intentional walk, unless the tying or go-ahead runs are in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth inning. Dave Trembley just did it in the seventh inning and, of course, it backfired in a number of ways.

In a best-case scenario, you set up the double play and maybe you get out of a jam in the seventh to preserve a one-run lead, but that's really the only good outcome. There are several potential bad outcomes, a couple of which played out to blow a big performance by Jeremy Guthrie and put the Rangers on top.

So let me vent here. Not only does that walk put a ton of extra pressure on your pitcher, who has to spend more time in the strike zone (bad outcome No. 1), it also puts another potential run on base (bad outcome No. 2) and extends the inning so that sizzling Vladimir Guerrero gets to bat in the innings (bad outcome No. 3).

So, what happened? Albers got a ground ball, but it was only good for an out at first. Game tied. Guerrero came up and hit a line drive that eluded Miguel Tejada for the go-ahead run.

You can make the case that the walk was not that pivotal, since that run did not score, but it changed the progression of the inning, so there's really no way to know what might have happened otherwise. I just hate it because it concedes that you don't believe you can come back from a one-run deficit, though there's obviously some logic there with the way the Orioles have been struggling at the plate.

The one thing we do know is that the Orioles bad luck held at the start of the seventh inning, when the Rangers got the first two runners to base on a swinging bunt and a mishandled sacrifice.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (57)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Jeremy Guthrie turned in another quality performance tonight at Arlington Stadium, giving up just a run on seven hits over six innings. He only threw 90 pitches, but did not come out for the seventh.

Matt Albers has taken over and the Orioles probably are going to need three scoreless innings from the bullpen to hold on. They've had several opportunities to add some insurance runs, but you know how that goes. Garrett Atkins hit into an inning-ending double play in the sixth and the O's left two more runners on in the seventh.

Guess we'll find out later why Guthrie didn't continue. Can't imagine that Dave Trembley just pulled him in that situation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Just baseball
        

There has been some righteous grumbling about a report that USC is paying new football coach Lane Kiffin $4 million per year, but I don't know what all the commotion is about. For Kiffin to have any credibility in the SC lockerroom, he has to make more than the players.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

When I was on Sportsline last night with Brett Hollander (WBAL/1090AM), a guy actually called into the program claiming to be a Cincinnati Reds fan and insisted that Orioles fans are better off than Reds fans because they aren't going to be terribly disappointed when their currently first-place team falls off the map.

Yes, I'm pretty sure Orioles fans are counting their blessings right now that the O's aren't playing way over their heads and leading the American League East.

The Reds have won nine of their last 10 games and are a half-game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central. I can't imagine the pain that Reds fans are being forced to endure right now, worrying about the possibility that their team will not ultimately win the division title.

It's so much better to be totally hopeless, because when you go to Camden Yards, you can have a whole row of seats to yourself.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles salvaged a 4-4 record on their softest homestand of the season when Nick Markakis hit a long single over the drawn up outfield to score Julio Lugo with the winning run in the 10th inning.

Lugo, Corey Patterson and Cesar Izturis -- not exactly Murderer's Row -- reached base in succession to load the bases for Markakis, who's long line drive gave reliever Alfredo Simon the victory. The Orioles are now 11-11 since their disastrous 2-16 start.

That may sound okay under the circumstances, but it depends on how you look at it. The Orioles have played all right at times, but over the past 22 games, they have not gained a game on .500 and the competition is only going to get stiffer in the coming weeks.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (41)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Luke Scott is on one of his patented hot streaks, and just hammered his second home run of the game off Royals ace Zack Greinke. That makes 10 home runs for the year and seven in 45 at-bats in May. Scott also is on a 15-for-32 tear.

The bad new, of course, is that Scott's two solo home runs have accounted for all the Orioles run production. The club has only two other hits in the game.

Instant update: Corey Patterson has joined in the homerfest, launching one to straightaway center field in the bottom of the eighth inning to tie the game.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I could have sworn that Kevin Millwood took a no-hitter into the top of the fifth inning, but he's still out there and the Royals have taken a three-run lead on five hits, a couple of them less than ringing and one of the runs scoring on a disputed tag play at the plate.

Of course, the Orioles had only managed one hit up to that point against hardluck Royals ace Zack Greinke, so I'm not sure whether anything that happened after the first run scored really makes any difference. The Orioles appear to be on their way to their 19th two-runs-or-fewer performance in their first 40 games.

Instant update: I take it back, the O's quickly answered with their first run on a 408-foot leadoff homer by Luke Scott in the bottom of the fifth -- his eighth of the year. He has six this month in 44 at-bats.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The best the Orioles can come out of this eight-game homestand is 4-4, and that's if they can ever get a run of Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke. I think that's unacceptable, and I'm sure you agree, since this is the softest stretch in the entire 2010 schedule.

That was just a long-winded prelude to a shameless plug for my latest column, which you can read in tomorrow's print edition or right here right now.

If this was, indeed, the easiest test of the season, I'm afraid of what's going to happen when the big dogs start passing through town again. How about you?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles went 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position tonight, including an ugly 0 for 2 with runners at second and third in the bottom of the ninth. So, you were expecting something other than another frustrating one-run loss?

Here's the most damning thing about tonight's 4-3 loss. It put the Orioles in the uncomfortable position of needing to beat Royals ace Zach Greinke in the series finale tomorrow night to salvage a 4-4 record on a homestand against three of the losingest teams in the major leagues.

Where exactly do you go from there?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (131)
Categories: Just baseball
        

So, I'm hearing that the new Paul Rudd/Steve Carrell movie -- Dinner For Schmucks -- has sparked some controversy over the appropriateness of the title. The television networks apparently are going to restrict commercial trailers of the movie to 9 p.m. and later, and the producers of the film will have to walk a tightrope in some foreign markets.

If this is something that you find interesting, you might want to check out this New York Times article on the subject. Or you can check out the trailer below:

Personally, I don't see what all the commotion is about, but that's what I thought back in California when I tried to get the word on my personalize license plate. Or when I tried to bond with relief pitcher J.J. Putz.

I've got only one problem with Hollywood exploiting the sacred Schmuck name to sell a movie. I haven't been invited to any premiers or screenings. You'd think being the most famous Schmuck in the mainstream media (if you don't count Bill Maher) would get you that much.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

-- Brad Bergesen deserved slightly better in the first inning. He walked the leadoff batter, so he certainly contributed to the Royals' first run of the game, but Scott Posednik probably should have been tagged out stealing before the inning got more complicated. Matt Wieters made a great throw, but Ty Wiggington tagged Posednik a little too high up the arm.

-- Bergesen faced Billy Butler for the first time since Butler hit that screaming comebacker that ended Bergesen's solid 2009 season. This time, Butler hurt him again, but with a soft RBI single to right.

-- I could probably count this crowd from the press box, but I'll wait for the official attendance. There's a chance it could set a new single-game low -- which happened once earlier this year when the O's drew 9,129 on April 12, another Monday night.

-- Corey Patterson opened the Orioles half of the first with a drag bunt for a hit. If he did that a little more, he wouldn't have come back here with a .290 career OBP.

-- Sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good. Miguel Tejada just tied the game with a nubber down the third base line.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
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The tarp remains on the field and there's a very light drizzle falling on Camden Yards, but I'm guessing they get this thing started close to on time. The probability of showers the next two days is particularly problematic for this two-game series, because the Kansas City Royals are not scheduled to come back here this year.

That means that if one or both games were postponed, there's a chance they would never be replayed.

Not exactly an optimum outcome for the Orioles, who need all the games they can get against teams like the Royals.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
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The Orioles' eight-run bullpen collapse last night left me so stunned, that I took a wrong turn out of the neighborhood this morning and ended up at Prince Georges Stadium, where the Bowie Baysox are playing the Erie Seawolves.

Now, you might think I came out here to see Chorye Spoone pitch, or even to see Erie manager Phil Nevin, who was one of the greatest players to come out of Cal State Fullerton. If that was the case, I should have showed up on Friday night, when tempers flared during a rain delay and Nevin got into it (verbally) with a group of Baysox fans.

No, I came out today for the team's annual Bark at the Park promotion. Baysox fans were allowed to bring their pooches to the ballpark for an afternoon of fun that featured an appearance by Clifford.the Big Red Dog. The concourse was lined with special booths set up by local animal hospitals, pet food suppliers and obedience schools. It was a classic minor league promotion that drew a solid crowd and a lot of cute pups.

Check out Sabrina (upper right), who actually came to the park wearing her custom Baysox cap, and Monty (left), who thought his dad would enjoy a nice Double-A baseball game.

I'm surprised the Orioles haven't done a "Bring Your Dog to the Stadium" promotion, but they apparently learned their lesson a few years ago when some agent showed up at Oriole Park with Marty Cordova.

OK, that's a bit harsh, but it's a beautiful day to walk your dog and watch a ballgame, all at the same time.

Baysox PR guru Tom Sedlacek offered to issue a press credential for my new puppy, but Bogart isn't quite old enough to sit in the press box yet, so I had to get some writing tips from Clifford (below).

Clifford photo by Tom Sedlacek

Baysox game update: Erie right-hander Brooks Brown held the Baysox hitless for five innings before being replaced by left-hander Ramon Garcia, who did not hold onto the no-hitter for long. Matt Angle bunted for a hit to break it up in the bottom of the sixth. Guess he should be glad Dallas Braden wasn't pitching. Meanwhile, Chorye Spoone turned in a solid start for Bowie, working six innings and giving up just a run on five hits, but the Seawolves went on to score a 4-0 victory.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (60)
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Congratulations to Lookin at Lucky, who helped the city of Baltimore stick it to New York for the 33rd straight year. No Triple Crown intrigue for the upcoming Belmont Stakes, though I guess they're used to that by now.

One of the Pimlico track officials told me after the race that he knew Bob Baffert's horse was going to win because his saddle towel was orange and black. I don't know why those colors would be a sure sign of victory, since they aren't at Camden Yards, but the Orioles have been playing better lately, so who knows?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (32)
Categories: News of the day
        

I felt a little guilty taking money out of Pimlico at this difficult time for the racing industry, so I'm now intentionally betting on bad horses and have recently slipped below sea level. So it goes.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
Categories: News of the day
        

The first four races haven't gone well for me. I dropped 18 bucks on the Maryland Heritage Purse, when I should have stood down after my favorite horse name of the day -- Wink At the Girls -- was scratched.

Fortunately, I missed the second race because I was appearing as a guest on 98 Rock from the infield, but Race 3 and Race 4 didn't go well for me either.

It was at that point that I decided to forego my own horse sense and enlist the assistance of the brother-in-law of WBAL-11's Pete Gilbert, who came down from Philadelphia and actually knows something about handicapping. He gave me the 13-1 exacta -- Lighthouse Sound and Macho Chick -- and it came home to pay $110 for my $3 bet.

What a country.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: News of the day
        

If wanted a better day than this for the 135th running of the Preakness Stakes, you might have to move it to Honolulu. Oh, sorry, I guess I shouldn't give anybody ideas.

The temperature at 10 a.m. was about 70 and -- according to weather.com -- the temperature at race time is expected to be 76. The infield is starting to fill up with revelers who clearly are ready to get their Preak on (within reason, of course).

First post is in 20 minutes and I'm going to bet it off the board. I was pretty fired up when I saw that the second-favorite in the Maryland Heritage Purse was named Wink at the Girls, but the horse has been scratched, so I'll have to throw my money away on somebody else.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: News of the day
        

There was a point early in last night's 7-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians when you had to wonder which Jeremy Guthrie was on the mound -- the cool, confident Jeremy who can be almost unhittable or the shaky Jeremy who can dig himself a big hole and pull the dirt in over himself.

There was no way to tell in the first inning, when he got two quick outs and then allowed a walk, a hit batsmen and a run-scoring hit, but he quickly regained his command, retired the next 16 straight batters and dominated the Indians for eight innings. His two-hit performance was one of the best of his career and clearly a world away from his struggles in 2009.

"I felt good out there,'' he said. "...I felt at the end of spring that with the adjustments I made, I felt confident again. I have weapons to use against the hitters. I never really felt like that last year."

Guthrie also gushed about the offensive attack that made things a lot more comfortable in the later innings.

"It's great,'' he said. "I've been the beneficiary of two big offensive games. It's nice to see the hitters be rewarded for their hard work."

In particular, he had high praise for the performance of newcoming Corey Patterson, who had three hits and reached base four times last night.

"Corey's been a spark plug for us -- defensively yesterday and tonight as well as offensively,'' Guthrie said.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Jeremy Guthrie delivered one of the best performances of his career tonight, going eight innings and giving up just two hits to improve to 2-4. There was a point in the eighth when it appeared the Dave Trembley was going out to get him, prompting loud boos from the Student Night crowd of 25,902, but Trembley came back to the dugout without him and got a big ovation.

The Orioles have struggled to score runs all year, but their eighth-inning comeback on Thursday seemed to light a fire under the offense, which came alive to the tune of 14 hits tonight.

Of course, it might have something to do with the quality of the opposing pitching, since they were shut down by Felix Hernandez before the five-run explosion yesterday, but they have been more competitive in their recent games against good pitchers.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (46)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Luke Scott just singled in a run in the sixth inning for his third hit of the game. If you're keeping score at home this is his third straight multi-hit game and he has seven hits in his last 12 at-bats.

Just to show how streaky Luke is. He had just one multi-hit game in his other 26 games this season.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
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If you get a chance, take a look at my column for tomorrow's Preakness edition, which you can read right here. I defend Pimlico -- sort of -- from a broadside attack by ESPN's Pat Forde, but have to agree with him that high-handed complaints about the "Get Your Preak On!" promotional campaign seem out of place considering the Second Jewel's saucy recent history.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: News of the day
        

The Orioles scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning, despite a baserunning mistake by Adam Jones. Corey Patterson singled for the second time in the game to lead off the inning and scored when Jones lined an opposite-field triple that rattled around the right field corner.

Nick Markakis followed with a ground ball to first base that should have scored the run, but Jones froze nearly halfway to the plate and ended up going back to third. He got an earful from third base coach Juan Samuel, but all his mistake did was cost Markakis the RBI. Miguel Tejada followed with a single to right to bring home the second run of the inning.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
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...the Rangers and Blue Jays are in the third inning and they have already combined for 20 runs. Rangers starter Rich Harden gave up seven runs on four hits and six walks over just 2 2/3 innings. He threw 86 pitches. Brett Cecil allowed eight runs on eight hits over two innings, but at least he didn't extend himself (48 pitches)

The Rangers had a 9-3 lead when Haren blew up in the Jays' eight-run third inning.

Jays 11, Rangers 9.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Corey Patterson opened the Orioles half of the first inning with a single and Indians starter Justin Masterson hit Adam Jones with a pitch to create an instant jam, so how did he manage to get through the inning by throwing only nine pitches?

Well, it was actually pretty simple once Nick Markakis grounded into a double play on the sixth pitch of the frame. Miguel Tejada struck out on three straight pitches and what started out as a potential big inning for the Orioles ended up being a low-stress inning for Masterson.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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Finally, the Orioles put on a real show on Thursday and I was everywhere but Camden Yards. I did get to see Luke Scott's grand slam on MASN, but was busy with a certain big horse race in town and then had a speaking engagement at the same time Felix Hernandez seemed to be shutting down the O's offense.

Figures it would be an afternoon game, when a lot of people are at work and can't tune in, but I'm sure Orioles fans will take that kind of win any time and any place. You're going to see a five-run comeback in the eighth inning combined with an ending like that about once every decade, so maybe it's a sign of better things to come.

Since it really irritates the naysayers, I just want to point out that the Orioles are 9-8 since the 2-16 start. That also means they are 11-24, but it is a sign they are playing better. Now, they need to make some hay against the struggling Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals.

Radio dogma: Just a reminder that I'll be applying my rapier-like wit to non-sports themes today at noon on The Week in Review on WBAL (1090 AM) and WBAL.com. Former first lady Kendel Ehrlich will fill in as host for Clarence Mitchell IV, so I'll try to be gentle.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (55)
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It's hard to get too excited about last night's 5-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners, because we've seen the Orioles offense step up on occasion and it would be silly to assume they can sustain any momentum against 2009 19-game winner Felix Hernandez in today' series finale at the Yards.

But I'm trying to stay positive, so I'll leave open the possibility that Adam Jones snapped out of a frustrating funk with his three hits last night and Luke Scott got back in gear with a home run and a double. It was Adam's fourth three-hit game of the season. It was only the second for Scott, who had three hits on April 24 and has been struggling badly ever since.

"Imagine walking through the desert for many days,'' Scott said, "and it feels like a nice cool drink of water."

In that situation, I'd imagine a 24-ounce Diet Dr. Pepper, but we can agree to disagree. The O's can only hope this is the beginning of one of Luke's legendary hot streaks, because they need to get on a roll and make up some of the ground they lost to .500 in April.

Miguel Tejada also had a nice game -- getting the O's started with a big two-run double in the third -- but that should come as no surprise. He's been swinging a hot bat for weeks, and is hitting .338 (24-71) over his last 18 games.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (62)
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The Orioles finally reached double digits with their 10th victory of the season last night, but it's going to be a tough act to follow. They have to get up this morning and get ready to face Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez.

There are two ways to look at this matchup. Hernandez pitched very well in his first four starts this year, building nicely on last year's 19-5 performance, but has fallen on harder times his past three times out. He has lost each of his last three starts and -- in his last two -- gave up 12 earned runs over eight innings of work.

So, you can look at it as a chance for the Orioles to catch him while he's down...or you can wonder just how long he's going to stay down.

Or maybe -- just maybe -- Kevin Millwood will finally get rewarded for his solid performance this season with his first victory. It was certainly be a nice way to bag the first series of this homestand.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles finally reached double digits with their 10th victory of the season tonight, but it's going to be a tough act to follow. They have to get up in the morning and get ready to face Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez.

There are two ways to look at this matchup. Hernandez pitched very well in his first four starts this year, building nicely on last year's 19-5 performance, but has fallen on harder times his past three times out. He has lost each of his last three starts and -- in his last two -- gave up 12 earned runs over eight innings of work.

So, you can look at it as a chance for the Orioles to catch him while he's down...or you can wonder just how long he's going to stay down.

Or maybe -- just maybe -- Kevin Millwood will finally get rewarded for his solid performance this season with his first victory. It was certainly be a nice way to bag the first series of this homestand.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Just baseball
        

What is it that Brad Bergesen is doing differently now? Manager Dave Trembley says he is doing a much better job of locating his sinker since he returned from a short stay at Triple-A Norfolk.

Whatever the reason, the turnaround has been dramatic. Bergesen (shown at right pitching against the M's in the second inning) allowed 14 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings in his first three starts of the season, which led to his brief demotion. He gave up four runs on seven hits on the way to his first victory in his first start after being recalled, and has yet to give up a run since then. He is about to start the eighth tonight with a string of 14 2/3 scoreless innings.

It's great to see, especially considering how confused and discouraged he looked after getting knocked around in his third start of the season.

AP photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
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Luke Scott's fifth home run of the season traveled 366 feet and landed on the flag court. It also signaled an early end to the evening for Mariners starting pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith, who was immediately removed from the game even though he had only thrown 55 pitches.

I don't know why M's manager Don Wakamatsu used such a quick hook. Maybe he just figured that three runs and seven hits over three-plus innings was a pretty good indication that Rowland-Smith didn't have much tonight. Maybe he watched last night's game and figured that giving up three runs to the slumping Orioles was like giving up eight to anyone else.

Maybe with Cliff Lee last night and Felix Hernandez going tomorrow afternoon, Wakamatsu just wanted to get his bullpen some work.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Trust me, you don't want to see me get my Preak on. I'm not sure it will even fit anymore. But I've always enjoyed the annual rite of spring that is the Preakness infield party, even if I only get to watch from a distance.

I also enjoy the annual attempt by the Maryland Jockey Club and the city mothers and fathers to come to grips with what the infield celebration represents, when what it really represents is something that they just don't understand anymore. It's a limited-time-only opportunity for teenagers and young adults to wallow in the sheer joy of being young and -- well -- drunk and stupid.

The trick for race and city officials is to allow that while protecting the craziest of the crazies from themselves, and you can read more about the effort to do that in today's print edition or right here.

If we didn't live in a society where the real national pastime is litigation, I suppose they could just let everybody do what they want and guard the perimeter so some idiot doesn't jump in front of the horses -- as happened quite frightfully a few years ago. But we live in a world where somebody has to be responsible for all those drunk people, so the recent attempts at controlling the environment were as logical as they were unpopular.

While we're on the subject, however, I'd like to relate my favorite infield memory. I was assigned the infield story one year during the 1990s, and it was one of the times when the infield had been turned into a swamp by heavy rain. That certainly didn't stop anyone from having a ball, including one young man who had overindulged so heavily that he was sleeping it off behind one of the parimutual structures.

When I happened upon him, he was lying on his back fast asleep and his friends had piled a small mound of mud on top of his ample belly and -- I'm not making this up -- planted a tiny tree in it.

I wish there were cell phone cameras in those days, so I could prove it.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: News of the day
        

It might appear that the Orioles are bringing back Corey Patterson to add some speed and spark to the offense, but this pending move is as much about shoring up the outfield defense and protecting the starting rotation.

If Patterson continues to swing a hot bat -- as he has in a short stay at Triple-A Norfolk -- that would be great, too. How much he plays really depends on the move the club makes to open a spot for him.

If the O's send Nolan Reimold back to the Tides to rebuild some confidence, Patterson probably would play very regularly. If Lou Montanez goes back, then the playing time in left field would likely be split more evenly. We'll probably find that out for sure when Dave Trembley meets with the media at 4 p.m.

It'll be interesting to see if the O's try Patterson in the leadoff spot. He has some speed, but has never had great success getting on base at the major league level (.290 career OBP). Maybe this time will be different.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (54)
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Manager Dave Trembley sympathized with starting pitcher David Hernandez after last night's game, and why not? Once again, he had to pitch with absolutely no offensive support.

"I think he feels like he has to throw a shutout every time he goes out there,'' Trembley said.

How could he feel otherwise when the Orioles have averaged under a run per game while he has actually been in the game, but Hernandez said he has been trying to stay relaxed out there.

"I try not to put too much pressure on myself,'' he said. "I'm trying to make it fun, but it hasn't been much fun for me right now."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (32)
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With David Hernandez apparently headed for his 11th consecutive loss -- the second-longest such streak in Orioles history -- you've got to wonder how much longer the Orioles will keep him in the rotation.

That's certainly not all on Hernandez, since the Orioles have scored a total of six runs while he has actually been in the seven games he has started, but Chris Tillman is throwing well at Triple-A Norfolk and Andy MacPhail has made it known that he's going to have a quick trigger from now on.

Pretty hard to win when your team averages under one run per outing for you, but Hernandez does have a 5.64 ERA, so he's certainly vulnerable.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (88)
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It would be simple enough to chalk up this latest offensive disappearing act to the fine command of Mariners starter Cliff Lee, but we're way beyond any individual performance at this point.

Going into tonight's game, the Orioles had scored two runs or fewer in 15 of their first 32 games, and they appear ready to make it 16 of 33.

Damning offensive stat: Since the Orioles scored their seventh run in Saturday's surprising victory over Francisco Liriano and the Twins, they have scored just one run on 13 hits over 25 innings entering the seventh inning tonight.

Instant update: The O's finally snapped a scoreless streak of 19 2/3 innings with a run in the bottom of the seventh.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
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The Orioles are back home tonight to face Cliff Lee and the Seattle Mariners, but it remains to be seen whether the series opener will get off the ground. According to Weather.com, there's a 30 percent chance of rain for tonight's game at Oriole Park.

Maybe that's a good thing. The Orioles were rained and snowed out of their Friday night game against red-hot Francisco Liriano (4-0, 1.50 ERA) in Minnesota and came back the next day to put on a rare display of clutch hitting and hand him his first loss of the season.

Lee isn't sizzling yet. He's 0-1 since returning from spending April on the disabled list, but his 2.40 ERA tells you he's not exactly ripe for the picking.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (49)
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If you can't come up with a good reason to go to Camden Yards these days -- and, trust me, it isn't easy even when you get paid to do it -- you might consider going just to watch some of the best pitchers in the game pass through town.

The Seattle Mariners may be struggling right now, but that's not going to mean a whole lot tomorrow night when Cliff Lee takes the mound. He hasn't won since coming back from the disabled list, but he's got a 2.40 ERA. The Orioles also will face Felix Hernandez in the three-game series.

I'm not making excuses for them in advance. They need to make some hay against the Mariners, Indians and Royals over the next eight days. If they can't compete with those teams at home, they have little chance of making up any ground against .500 after their horrible 2-16 start.

Still, it's fair to point out that they've probably opened the season against the toughest collection of pitching that any team has faced this year. It was really a disappointing, however, to see them reel off clutch hit after clutch hit against Francisco Liriano on Saturday and then score a total of one run the final two games of the Twins series.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (93)
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Major League Baseball is celebrating Mothers Day with its annual promotion of breast cancer awareness. Players are wearing pink batting gloves and ribbons and using special bats that are painted pink.

It's a great thing, of course, but I'm trying to figure out just what MLB officials were thinking when they told Matt Wieters that he couldn't wear a specially made chest protector with some pink in the padding and his mother's name (Pamela) embroidered tastefully on the collar.

Wieters was forbidden from wearing it because it didn't meet MLB's uniform requirements -- on a day when the sport totally relaxed its uniform and equipment rules for the same reason. I know that rules are rules, but this kind of thing just makes MLB officials look like mindless martinets.

Though it certainly isn't on the same level, it's kind of reminiscent of the time NFL officials told Peyton Manning he could not wear black high-top shoes as a special tribute after the death of Johnny Unitas.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (57)
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Since it is Mother's Day weekend, we decided to add a new member to the Schmuck brood, which should explain why there were precious few blog entries up over the course of yesterday's Orioles doubleheader.

The family had to travel to the Philadelphia suburbs to pick up Bogart, who -- I'm sure you'll agree -- is almost as cute as me.

It has been eight months since the passing of our first dalmation, which lived to the ripe old age of 16 years. We didn't originally plan to get another firehouse pup, but happened upon this little fellow and, obviously, couldn't resist. Slept through most of his first night with us, which is more than I could say for the kids.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

This is a very special day, in particular, for Baltimore baseball fans, since the Orioles are a team that only a mother could love. But Brian Matusz could make this a very successful weekend if he can dial up a big performance against the Minnesota Twins today at beautiful new Target Field.

I'm going to put my flak jacket on while you you read my column today on Andy MacPhail and his opinion of the state of his rebuilding plan. He still thinks the Orioles can get there from here and I'm not ready to pull the plug on "The Plan" just yet, but I've got a thick skin, so you can go to town.

Baltimore Sun photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)
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Since the Orioles/Twins game was postponed last night, I went out and saw Iron Man 2, which -- as you might expect -- featured way more clutch hitting. Can't say it measured up to the original, which may be my all-time favorite comic book movie, but it was witty and action-packed and had Scarlett Johansson wearing a lot of tight clothes. Two thumbs up.

Hopefully for the O's, it won't be two thumbs down today in Minnesota, where they begin a day-night doubleheader in a couple of hours.

Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie gets the dubious honor of facing Francisco Liriano (4-0, 1.50 ERA) in the first game, perhaps because he has very good career numbers against the Twins. Both he and second-game starter Kevin Millwood will be seeking their first victories of the year today, and it'll be a tall order in both cases.

Radio plug: I'll be hosting Sportsline today from noon to 3 on WBAL (1090 AM). We'll talk Orioles and get a live update from Jamison Hensley at Ravens mini-camp. If you are out of signal range, you can go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (60)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Four Orioles pitchers combined for the club's first shutout of the season in tonight's 2-0 victory at Target Field, and it was an uplifting victory for a number of reasons.

Brad Bergesen, who I said should not have been recalled so soon after being sent down to Norfolk, is enjoying proving me wrong. He pitched a terrific 6 2/3 innings to get his second straight victory. Will Ohman struck out Jim Thome to get out of a jam in the seventh, Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless eighth and Alfredo Simon delivered his third straight save in a refreshingly unsuspenseful performance.

The O's still don't seem to be able to put many runs on the board, but they won the opener of a four-game series against a good Twins team. It would be quite an accomplishment to win this series in Minnesota, especially with Francisco Liriano (4-0, 1.50 ERA) poised to even things up tomorrow night.

The way Ty Wigginton has been swinging the bat, who knows. He hit his 10th home run tonight to provide all the offense in the game. His team-leading 10 dingers and 19 RBI have come in just 87 at-bats.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (63)
Categories: Just baseball
        

We've all been waiting for Koji Uehara since the middle of spring training, but tonight might be the night. He's warming up in the bullpen and appears poised to replace Will Ohman in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles have hit into seven double plays in their last 16 innings -- all of them since Andy MacPhail threw down the gauntlet and threatened to send down some players if they can't produce at the plate.

Generally, that is not considered good.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I'm pretty sure all of you have read Jeff Zrebiec's lead story in today's print edition -- or right here -- in which president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail vents about the club's anemic offense.

Obviously, you can't blame him for being angry and disappointed, but I'm not sure what this kind of ultimatum is going to accomplish, since he's essentially telling a bunch of young hitters that they're going to have to try harder.

I'm guessing that's actually the problem. I don't suspect that anybody in the Orioles clubhouse is all fat and happy over his .230 batting average, which means a lot of guys are probably pressing hard to make up for that horrible April.

That doesn't mean MacPhail doesn't have a right to voice his frustration. Everybody else has. But he's the guy who built this team, so this is dangerous territory. The prospect of a major shakeup among the club's young hitters may also look like an admission that his rebuilding program has veered way off track.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (93)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Over the next few days, you're going to hear a lot of people say a lot of very nice things about Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell -- who passed away yesterday -- and every one of them will be an understatement.

Ernie was one of the greatest broadcasters ever to speak into a microphone, but you already knew that. He also was one of the finest gentlemen ever to grace the game of baseball, but you probably already knew that, too.

He had a wink and a kind word for everyone he met and a humble manner that made you wonder if he realized just what a treasure he was. I think, deep down, he probably did, but he never would have admitted it. Just a wonderful human being.

Associated Press file photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It's becoming clear that it was I who was holding the Orioles back all this time, so -- in the interest of Baltimore's baseball future -- I have commenced looking for honest work in my native Southern California. This picture was taken in my old home town of Seal Beach, Calif. If I had known there was a bureau of the Sunpapers there, I never would have left.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (164)
Categories: Just baseball
        

So, I head off for a short vacation and the Orioles have now won three of their last four games, including two straight to claim their first series victory of the season. I'n not generally a superstitious person, but if they win today and throw a couple beatings on the Yankees, I probably shouldn't come home.

Obviously, they have been bouyed by my absence.

Anyway, it's great to see a win in Brad Bergesen's record, even if it wasn't a particularly dominating performance. He needed to turn in the right direction and -- with the help of the first really big Orioles offensive performance -- he did. Keep your fingers crossed.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (47)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Since I was in Los Angeles, where this is absolutely nothing to do, I went to see Death at a Funeral with an old high school friend. It's the latest American rip-off of a successful British film or television series, and it was okay. It's hard not to like anything starring Chris Rock, but I thought he was largely wasted. In fact, I thought just about everyone in the movie was under-utilized. It was funny, but it wasn't funny enough.

Which brings me to the reason I came to California in the first place -- to eat every meal at a favorite fast food joint and attend a college newspaper reunion tonight at my alma mater, Cal State Fullerton.

Every year, I get more nostalgic for my college life, which was basically a string of Springsteen concerts occasionally interupted by a midterm examination. I wasn't a particularly good student, but I was a pretty good concert-goer. Unlike some of my classmates, I even remember some of them.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (33)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck