Tillman, Salazar are All-Stars
Right-hander Chris Tillman and outfielder Jeff Salazar have been chosen to represent the Norfolk Tides in the Triple-A All-Star Game.
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June 30, 2010
Wrestling: Glad you didn't take it personally
I'm a little confused, but maybe it's because I've been watching the Orioles all year. Most of you wrestling fans pay like $59 bucks to watch pay-per-views where the whole point is for the heroes and villains to be as over-the-top as they can possibly get, then you get all thin-skinned when somebody hits you with a verbal folding chair?
I thought I was doing Maryland Championship Wrestling a favor by advertising the July 31 show in Dundalk (Town motto: "When did we get a building big enough to host a wrestling event?"), but I apparently ruffled some feathers -- or at least some people with tattoos who look like they have feathers.
Certainly, there was no disrespect intended toward wrestling fans -- I thought the neck tattoo thing was a compliment -- and I hold my colleague Kevin Eck in the highest regard, or at least the highest regard I can muster for a guy with highlights and a secret crush on Golddust (above).
I guess what I'm trying to say here is, I'm really sorry if I offended anyone who thought I didn't show pro wrestling the proper respect. I hope we're still friends.
Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:12 PM | Permalink
| Comments (21)
Categories: MCW: The Schmuckdown, Schmuck being Schmuck
Categories: MCW: The Schmuckdown, Schmuck being Schmuck
June 29, 2010
O's: Inside baseballs
Orioles second baseman Julio Lugo wasn't happy when Vin Mazzaro plunked him tonight, and he made that clear enough that both teams were edging up the dugout steps before he headed to first base. Obviously, he thought the inside pitch was in reprisal for the Brian Matusz fastball that hit A's first baseman Daric Barton.
"I don't know if it was on purpose,'' Lugo said, "but I didn't like it. It was too close to my head. He almost hit me in the face."
It was the second time Matusz has hit Barton, but he insisted after the game that it was just an inside pitch that got too far inside. Once Lugo got hit, the umpires warned both benches.
Today's column
If you get a chance, check out my latest column on the Web site, where I take a look at the Orioles managerial search and how Juan Samuel's interim status could complicate the situation if the team continues to play well.
Orioles: Comeback kids?
The Orioles look a lot like their old selves tonight, which isn't a good thing. They've had plenty of opportunities to get up on the Oakland A's, but are 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position and will need another big comeback in the ninth inning to keep their winning streak alive.
Koji Uehara took the mound for the first time since returning from the disabled list and gave up a run in the top of the ninth, but he was able to walk off the field under his own power.
O's: Rotation change
The Oakland A's have scratched left-handed starter Dallas Braden from tonight's game against the Orioles with a tender elbow and replaced him with Vin Mazzaro.
Mazzaro, a 23-year-old right-hander, is 2-2 with a 4.71 ERA in eight appearances this year, five of them starts.
Though Braden pitched a perfect game earlier this season and has a terrific career record against the Orioles (5-1, 1.41 ERA), catching Mazzaro may not be as big a break as it might appear. Mazzaro threw 7 1/3 shutout innings against them in his second major league start last year, then faced them a second time in 2010 and gave up two earned runs over 5 1/3 innings of work. That makes him 2-0 lifetime with a 1.42 ERA. He has not faced them in either a start or relief appearance this year.
Itzoe remembered
The life of long-time Orioles traveling secretary Phil Itzoe was celebrated by friends, family and a large group of past and present members of the organization in a touching memorial tribute this afternoon at the Warehouse.
I won't list all the dignitaries who packed the sixth floor -- for fear of leaving someone out -- but it was a who's who of Orioles history. Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer and Rick Dempsey were among the speakers who eulogized Itzoe, who passed away earlier this year. He was the longest-tenured traveling secretary in the history of professional sports, taking care of the logistics for the Orioles for 42 years, and doing it so well that he became the standard by which the rest of the profession is judged.
Jeremy Guthrie spoke for the current players and was both emotional and eloquent in honoring Phil's work ethic and commitment to the franchise. Really a terrific event that would have left Phil slightly embarrassed at all the praise but certainly proud of his family as well as the friends and coworkers who thought so highly of him.
O's: Dempsey's interview Thursday
Rick Dempsey was scheduled to be interviewed for the permanent managerial position this afternoon, but the interview has been rescheduled to Thursday. The postponement allowed Rick and high-ranking members of the front office to attend a memorial celebration of the life of long-time traveling secretary Phil Itzoe.
I spoke to Rick for a moment after the event, and he seemed happy that the rescheduling will allow him to interview at the law office, presumably with owner Peter Angelos in attendance.
Wrestling: Entertainment weakly
I've got a confession to make. When I was kid growing up in Southern California, I loved professional wrestling. The local television station (KTLA) would broadcast a three-hour program from the Olympic Auditorium in LA on Wednesday nights and I would stay up well past my bedtime to watch Freddie Blassie pound on some hapless "pencil-neck geek"
Of course, in those days, I was convinced it was more than just "scripted entertainment,'' as my friend Kevin Eck (left) calls it in his blog -- Ring Posts. I didn't know that it was about as real as Donald Trump's hair or Pamela Anderson's....well, I'm sure you get my drift.
The thing is, most of us grew up and started paying attention to real sports -- and girls -- and figured out that there is actually a legitimate use for a metal folding chair. The rest, I guess, spend their free time (and I suspect they have a lot of it) reading Kevin's blog and dreaming of the day that anabolic steroids are legal again.
Still, I recently checked out the blog and noticed that Maryland Championship Wrestling is putting on a big show July 31 in Dundalk (I mean, where else?). I tried to call Kevin today to find out who's going to win so I could post the results in advance and save you a trip, but -- apparently -- he and Peter Angelos aren't taking my calls anymore.
Who knows, maybe I'll show up and check it out for myself. Maybe even get a neck tattoo so I can blend in with the crowd.
Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:35 AM | Permalink
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Categories: MCW: The Schmuckdown, Schmuck being Schmuck
Categories: MCW: The Schmuckdown, Schmuck being Schmuck
Pie: What hype?
I've been reading a lot of comments today about the return of Felix Pie, and I keep hearing the Felix-bashers talking about all the "hype" surrounding him. Are you kidding me? If anything, Pie has been the subject of nearly a year of criticism -- both directed at him and at Andy MacPhail for bringing him in here.
There has been some speculation that he might turn into something, but the same people who are showing the blog with comments about all the "hype" are the ones who used him for much of last year as the example of all that's wrong with The Plan. Get a grip. He wouldn't even be a major character in this drama if it wasn't for the critics who turned him into something more than he ever was for the expressed purpose of knocking him down.
Pie did improve over the second half of last season before getting hurt earlier this year, but I don't know of anyone who is imagining him suddenly coming back and being a superstar. He was another MacPhail gamble, but I think he was a good one. The Orioles didn't risk much and he still has some upside. Even if he turns out to be only a decent fourth outfielder who can pinch run once in awhile, he was a good get.
If he comes back to play more regularly and provide an offensive spark once in awhile, even better.
June 28, 2010
O's: Gonzalez, Pie close?
They're saying that Felix Pie and Michael Gonzalez could be activated in time for the next road trip, which sounds to me like a classic good news/bad news scenario. Can't wait to see a healthy Pie back in the mix, but I'm having trouble getting all that excited about the return of Gonzalez.
The scouting reports have improved on Gonzalez near the end of his rehab, but in his minor league rehab appearance for Class-A Aberdeen, he gave up two runs on two hits -- one of them a home run -- in just one inning. That's half-season low-A competition.
Gonzalez left here after a March and early April in which his velocity was well below previous scouting reports. He has shown some improvement recently, but I'm wondering whether he even fits right now. The bullpen finally is starting to display some chemistry. But when you pay a guy $12 million, you've got to try and get that value back, so fasten your seatbelts.
Today is my day off, so I'm going to go do some important fairway research. Talk amongst yourselves.
June 27, 2010
O's: The Atkins diet
Yep, the Orioles dropped about 220 pounds today, and I'm sure there are a lot of fans celebrating the decision by the Orioles to designate Garrett Atkins for assignment. That's not hard to understand when you look at his dismal offensive numbers, but it's always sad to see somebody's career go over a cliff.
It seems when an Andy MacPhail experiment goes sour -- Rich Hill immediately comes to mind -- it doesn't go half-stepping. Atkins had some great numbers a few years ago, so it wasn't unreasonable to think he might have something left when the O's signed him for one year at $4 million (plus a $500,000 buyout for 2011). The trouble with one of those gambles, however, is that it burns money that could be applied to a big contract for a star-quality player at some point.
That's basically what Frank Robinson was saying when I talked to him yesterday. His only apparent criticism of The Plan was the attempt to prop the club up over the short term with low-priced, low-percentage free agents. Of course, nobody's complaining that much about Miguel Tejada, who was brought here under the same rationale, because he can generate some excitement.
I'm starting to get the impression that both Peter Angelos and MacPhail are finally feeling a sense of urgency, which could bring a managerial decision in the next week or so, but I'm more interested in what happens at the trading deadline and next winter.
O's: Cardiac kids
The postgame commentators yesterday enjoyed pointing out that the Orioles finally have found the key to success -- falling far behind early in the game. Of course, that didn't work so well earlier in the season, but the O's have staged three straight comeback victories, which has to be a confidence booster.
Nothing short of the longest winning streak in the history of major league baseball is going to put the bloom back on this rose, but it's good to see Adam Jones laying off some bad pitches and laying into some good ones. If he can keep that up, the Orioles might have one of their middle-of-the-lineup bats for next season, but that won't mean a thing if they do not make a major offensive acquisition before 2011.
Let's just hope they don't accidentally sign Garrett Atkins again.
Column plug: It was great to get a chance to catch up with Frank Robinson yesterday. He came by the press box and held court for awhile alongside his wife, Barbara, and talked about the tough situation the Orioles are in right now. You can check out some more of his comments in my column, which you can read right here.
June 26, 2010
O's: Time conflict
I've gotten some calls and emails from Orioles fans who want to know why the team did not change the starting time of today's 40th Anniversary celebration so that it wouldn't conflict with the USA/Ghana World Cup matchup in South Africa.
Certainly, I feel your pain, because I'll be covering the O's after today's radio show on WBAL (1090AM) and WBAL.com (noon). I'm pretty sure the Orioles would rather not have their pre-game festivities starting at the same time as the Team USA's first game in the knockout round (2:30 p.m. EDT), but rescheduling the entire 40th Anniversary program on a couple of days notice obviously was not practical.
Redundant radio plug: From noon to 3, we'll be looking back at last night's Orioles victory and discussing the new leadership paradigm in the Orioles clubhouse now that Nick Markakis has stepped forward. We'll also talk about the new wrinkle in the Ravens quarterback situation. And, when we get closer to USA/Ghana game time, I'll be looking for your opinion on whether this World Cup will finally be the catalyst that turns soccer into a truly mainstream American spectator sport. If you're outside of the Baltimore area, you can call in toll-free at 1-800-767-WBAL.
June 25, 2010
O's: Finally, six isn't enough
Here's something you don't hear every day. The Orioles rebounded from a six-run deficit to defeat the Nationals tonight, 7-6. That means they've scored 18 runs in the last two games and several players are starting to swing the bat with some confidence.
I've got to admit that I had no confidence that they could come back after Jake Arrieta gave up six runs in the first four innings, especially after they squandered opportunities with ill-timed double play balls in the first two innings.
Could this be an offensive turning point? No way I stick my neck out on that one, but you had to figure they'd start hitting at some point. It's probably not a total coincidence that the recent offensive upturn came after Nick Markakis decided to take a more vocal leadership role and Adam Jones started swinging a much more productive bat.
Will it continue?
If I could answer that I'd be making my living at some sports book in Vegas.
Attention ESPN "Web Gem" editor
Washington Nationals center fielder Nyjer Morgan just made one of the greatest catches I've every seen either in person, on live television or on videotape. He raced to the wall in center and made a tremendous leap to rob Corey Patterson of a home run in the third inning.
The slow motion replay was even more impressive because it basically shows him at the top of a huge vertical leap snatching the ball away from a fan who was reaching over the railing. When he landed, Patterson held his helmet up in a sincere salute from one outfielder to another.
Tough break for the Orioles, but but a big thrill for the big interleague crowd.
O's: Same old song and dance
So you thought the Orioles snapped out of their offensive doldrums last night? Well, I applaud your optimism, but it was unfounded. The O's have hit into two double plays in the first two innings tonight and managed to not score after loading the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the second.
Garrett Atkins bounced into a third-home-first DP to take care of that threat after Miguel Tejada followed up a great eight-pitch walk by Corey Patterson with a not-so-great first-pitch double play ball in the first inning.
These guys never tire of shooting off their own toes.
Orioles: Lou's lament
Lou Montanez was quick to label this "the worst season of my career" after finding out that he's headed for the disabled list with a strained oblique. He'll be out at least a couple of weeks, which probably saves a roster spot for struggling first baseman Garrett Atkins.
"This has been the worst year of my career, straight up,'' he said this afternoon. "It’s like everything has gone completely backwards. The hits haven’t fallen. The at-bats haven’t been there. Now I get injured. It seems like I can’t catch a break this year.
"I get a pinch-hit at-bat against Papelbon, I hit a ball to center field and at the last minute Cameron robs me, that’s kind of like a summary of the way everything has gone this year. There’s still another half, so there’s hope, but it’s definitely going to be uphill you know? It’s like anti-08. ’08 was my dream season, this is anti-08."
Montanez said he suffered the injury taking batting practice on Wednesday.
"During BP, I knew it was tight because I've been taking a lot of swings in the cages. A lot of swings, just trying to stay in shape because I haven't been playing that much. When I came through I knew it was tight, tried to stretch it out. Didn’t think it was going to be a big deal."
June 24, 2010
Out of pocket
I'm going to be out of town all day today, which means you're going to have to get through tonight's Orioles game without someone to hold your hand and tell you that it's going to be all better some day soon. I was going to leave Bob in charge, but I'm afraid he might convince you all to become full-time soccer fans instead of World Cup bandwagoners like me.
My opinions for the day:
I think the signing of veteran quarterback Marc Bulger is a very smart move for a Ravens team that expects to go far in the postseason this year. No offense to the younger backups, but Bulger can fill a mentor role and can take the ball in an emergency and keep the team viable
I don't think that Fredi Gonzalez would be a good fit for the Orioles, even though I admire the stance he took with Hanley Ramirez and think owner Jeffrey Loria is going to miss him when he's taking the Braves to the playoffs next year.
I'm partial to black beans when I eat at Moe's/Chipotle/Qdoba.
Talk amongst yourselves...and try to keep it clean.
June 23, 2010
Matusz mugged
Maybe it was the oppressive heat. Maybe it was the fact that the Orioles reached their four-run limit so early in the game. Maybe it was just another Groundhog Day performance by a team that has turned losing into performance art.
Whatever it was, Brian Matusz finally wilted and is not toweling off while David Hernandez tries to hold the Marlins lead at two runs in the seventh inning.
Matusz pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up six runs (so far) on seven hits. The Marlins could soon be on the threshold of a three-game sweep, and they fired their manager this morning. Go figure.
These fish can swim upstream
The Orioles were able to bask in the glory of their four-run second inning for -- drum roll, please -- half an inning. The Marlins answered right back with a pair of two-run home runs to tie the game in the top of the third against Brian Matusz.
Gaby Sanchez launched the first one 388 feet to left center and Jorge Cantu made Matusz pay for a one-out walk to Hanley Ramirez with a similar shot over the Budweiser sign that adorns the left field fence.
Then, of course, the Orioles were back to their old tricks. Ty Wigginton led off the bottom of the third with a double and Luke Scott jumped ahead 3-0 on the count with no one out, but he was swinging 3-0 and soon was striking out on a slow breaking ball, apparently unaware that it was a tie game and a more conservative approach at the plate might move the go-ahead run to third with one out.
Sometimes, you just have to wonder what's going on in these guys' heads. Whenever they have a pitcher on the ropes, they get over-aggressive and almost invariably bail the guy out.
Earth to Luke: The other team has scouting reports and those scouting reports say that you'll swing at anything when you're ahead in the count. The same thing happened on Sunday when the O's were up 4-1 on the Padres and Miguel Tejada was ahead 2-0 on the count with two runners on and nobody out.
Instead of being afraid to go 3-0 to Tejada and possibly walk the bases loaded, Padres veteran Jon Garland threw a breaking ball at his feet and Tejada went fishing and hit into a double play that ended the rally and helped usher the Padres back into the game.
Orioles: Busting out?
Maybe Ricky Nolasco was the wakeup call the Orioles needed. He buzzed a ball behind Nick Markakis in the first inning and he's been dodging line drives ever since. Luke Scott and Adam Jones opened up no him with back-to-back homers on consecutive pitches with one out in the second and the O's went on to get six hits in the inning, including three with two outs.
Guess you don't want to get too comfortable. If I recall correctly, they scored four runs in the first inning against the Padres the other day and ended up losing 9-4. They also scored four last night got blown out, so don't put this in the win column just yet.
O's: The heat is on
Back at Camden Yards, Brian Matusz took the mound with the temperature a sizzling 95 degrees. It's so hot that even the Florida reporters are starting to wilt, though that might have something to do with the extra workload today.
It's been a very eventful day for both the Marlins and the Orioles. The Fighting Fish have a new manager -- albeit an interim one -- and the Orioles interviewed one managerial candidate and lost another.
Tonight, Job One for Matusz is to be as efficient as possible. He threw 22 pitches in the first inning and faced five batters, but got through a perfect second with just eight pitches. Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco threw 14 pitches in the first inning -- one of them behind Nick Markakis.
After warning both benches about inside pitches last night, you might have thought that the umpiring crew would have intervened after that pitch whistled behind the knees of Markakis, but there was no reaction at all. Maybe they figured the ball just slipped out of Nolasco's hand.
Instant update: Apparently, a couple more balls just got away from Nolasco. Luke Scott and Adam Jones just hit home runs on consecutive pitches to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead.
I'm Bowie-bound
I'm headed down to Prince Georges Stadium to watch another fun Baysox promotion. The team is off in Reading, PA, where Steve Johnson is scheduled to start tonight's game, but Baysox season-ticket holders have been invited to the ballpark in Bowie to take batting practice. I'm sure there's an Orioles joke in there somewhere, but I think they've suffered enough at the hands of Jay Leno and David Letterman.
"It's an annual event,'' said communications manager Tom Sedlacek. "It looks like we're going to get a good turnout. The weather is good and it's something that our season ticket holders really look forward to. It's one of the big perks, along with early entry into the ballpark."
The batting practice picnic also includes a buffet dinner and raffle prizes. I originally was going to join in and take a few swings, but I really don't need to stoke the steroid rumors after my prodigious performance at the Ben Grubbs Charity Softball Game.
More Marlins intrigue
It's hard not to wonder about the timing of Jeffrey Loria's decision to fire manager Fredi Gonzalez (both pictured at left) and some of his coaches. Usually, when you fire the manager and install an interim, you don't make coaching changes until you know who the permanent manager is going to be, because that puts the new coaches in limbo.
I'm also wondering if there is a connection with the Orioles managerial search, since one of the top free agent managers -- Buck Showalter -- is set to interview with the Orioles today and Eric Wedge is expected back for a second interview soon. Maybe Loria won't be outbid by Peter Angelos this time.
Maybe it wasn't intentional, but the timing and the location of the decision certainly create an interesting juxtaposition between Loria -- who moved decisively with his team still on the fringe of contention -- and Angelos, who waited until the Orioles were beyond hope before approving the dismissal of Dave Trembley.
There are all sorts of subplots here, including the one involving Hanley Ramirez, who publicly questioned Gonzalez's qualifications to manage the team earlier this season. Should be some interesting coverage in South Florida.
Associated Press file photo
Marlins: Fredi's out
Apparently, the penalty for only beating the Orioles by six runs is pretty stiff. Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria decided after the game to fire manager Fredi Gonzalez and coaches Carlos Tosca and Jim Presley and promote Triple-A manager Edwin Rodriguez into the interim role.
This is an interesting development, since it could have an impact on the Orioles managerial search. The Marlins job has to be considered far more attractive, with the team still fairly competitive (What would you give to be 34-36 right now?) and getting ready to move into a brand new stadium.
Loria is an interesting character. He's the guy who bid the Orioles up to $172 million before losing the bankruptcy auction to Peter Angelos. I once asked him -- many years after -- if he had any regrets.
"No," he said, holding up his two World Series rings, "but I have these."
Orioles: There's got to be a morning after
If you're keeping score at home, the Orioles made their 40th roster move since Opening Day when the club designated reliever Cla Meredith for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for newly acquired Jake Fox.
Since the season is now 78 days old, that's an average of more than one player move every other day. I don't know if they keep track of the record for that type of thing, but I'm sure the O's would be on some kind of dubious pace -- as they are in the standings.
If they lose tonight, they'll be exactly on won-loss pace with the 1988 Orioles and the 1962 Mets -- the worst O's team and the worst overall team of the 162-game era.
June 22, 2010
O's postgame: Moore is less
Scott Moore continues to struggle at second base. He was unable to flag down a line drive that glanced off his glove and he threw away a double-play relay for an error that allowed a run to score in the eighth inning.
Juan Samuel was asked about Moore's continued viability at the position and seems willing to keep sending out there.
"I think we still have a lot of work to do with Scott,'' he said. "We brought him in early on the road. Right now, he's going to get some playing time against some righties, and (Julio) Lugo will get some playing time against lefties. He doesn't look that comfortable turning double plays. It's definitely something we need to continue to work on."
Samuel said that Jeremy Guthrie didn't look comfortable on the mound early in the game, though Guthrie told reporters afterward that he felt fine and just couldn't command his slider during the first two innings.
"For some reason, Guthrie didn't look right,'' Samuel said. "He was missing spots, a couple pitches to hitters with two strikes on them. He hung some breaking balls and got hurt, but he looked like he settled down after that. He did not look good the first couple innings. The pitch count was getting up there and we started to worry a little bit."
OPACY: By the numbers
The Orioles have mounted the numbers of their Hall of Famers on the facing of the third level above the left field corner, a nice touch that mirrors the decision to do the same thing behind home plate at the club's spring training stadium in Sarasota.
Looks nice, though it's probably hard to tell by the accompanying cell phone photo. Wonder why it took this long, but it's a nice touch in anticipation of Saturday's celebration of the 40th anniversary of the 1970 championship team.
Roster update: MLB.com just reported that Brad Bergesen is a definite for Saturday's start against the Nationals. No great surprise, but I'm not impressed. I think the guy needs a little more time to build his confidence back up. Why not bring up somebody for a spot start -- say, Troy Patton -- just to get a look?
Orioles: 52 pickup
Since we're all so caught up in how the Orioles rank with the worst teams in history, I thought I'd point out that what is recognized as the actual worst team to ever play a 162-game schedule -- the 1962 New York Mets -- did not win their 20th game until the 72nd game of the season.
If you want to get more local, the worst team in the modern history of the Baltimore Orioles -- the 1988 club that lost its first 21 games -- also had 52 losses when it won its 20th game of the season.
I think this bodes very well for Kevin Millwood, who will be looking for his second victory of the year on Thursday against the Marlins in the O's' 72nd game of 2010.
O's: Hanley probable
Here's what happens when your team is the only one in Major League Baseball that hasn't reached the 20-win level on June 22. There's speculation that Florida Marlins star Hanley Ramirez might not play against the Orioles tonight and you're disappointed.
That's right. Under normal competitive circumstances, that kind of thing would be considered a break for the home team, but these aren't normal conditions. They aren't even normal conditions for the Orioles, who have not had a winning season since Jaden Smith (the new Karate Kid) was an embryo.
So, when one of the best all-around players in the game comes down the pike and you're headed out there to pick up your new Ty Wiggingon T-Shirt anyway, you probably want to see Hanley do more than DH, though it looks like that's all he's going to do tonight.
The 20-second film critic: I took another break from answering your posts to see the aforementioned Karate Kid remake with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, and had mixed feelings. It's pretty much a true remake of the original, though the martial art of choice this time is Kung Fu, and it's set in China. Bottom line: If you like seeing 12-year-olds beat the living crap out of each other, this movie is for you.
June 21, 2010
Showalter: The Buck stops here
The Orioles will interview veteran manager Buck Showalter on Wednesday, bringing to three the number of prospective managers who have officially been placed in the candidate pool. Since you can eliminate Bobby Valentine from serious consideration -- since he essentially has eliminated himself -- it might end up coming down to a choice between Showalter and Eric Wedge, who is headed back for a second interview.
The reason I think that is because of Andy MacPhail's lukewarm comment about the likelihood of interviewing candidates that work for other organizations. He seemed to be saying that those interviews would depend on what comes of this initial round of interviews with managerial free agents.
There has been some speculation that the club may avoid an in-season hire by signing Wedge or Showalter, but keeping him upstairs to evaluate the club over the remainder of the season so he would not be soiled by the club's horrible performance. That was a concern that kept the Orioles from replacing Dave Trembley earlier in the season, but giving the new guy some room to get a handle on the club without having to manage it sounds like an pretty good idea to me.
I continue to believe the O's will hire Wedge, though they wouldn't be bringing in Showalter if they weren't really considering him. There's just no reason to do that if they've already made up their minds.
June 20, 2010
Calling all posters: Reader poll
First of all, I want to thank everyone who posts here -- on whatever side of the debate you are on -- if you're posting without profanity and showing at least a kernal of respect for the other people on the blog.
Now, I'm asking for everyone to post their opinions, because I've got a decision to make and it affects everyone who likes to carry on the conversation here.
We all have grown tired of the pre-adolescents who come on here and use low-class language which shows they have no respect for themselves and others. Obviously, they think that kind of thing is clever, but it obviously forces me to to through the posts and delete those entries one by one.
Since I am not able to sit here all day monitoring the posts, I've got to decide whether to let things ride the way they are now, or revert to approving each individual post. If I do that, I can guarantee you the conversation will slow way, way down, since I won't be approving more often than once every four or five hours and sometimes once a day. I'd like to hear from as many of you regular posters as possible about how you want me to proceed.
Do we keep going as we are...or do I have to turn throw up the filter. I guess this is the point where I could also ask the rude posters if they would consider being less rude so there would be no reason for me to consider that. I await your comments.
O's attendance: Disraeli was right
Just finished reading our story by Jeff Barker and David Zurawik detailing how the Orioles actually have experienced an increase in attendance and TV ratings during what could turn out to be the worst season in Orioles history.
It seems inexplicable, when you consider just how badly the Orioles have done, but it's not as big a testament to the undying loyalty of Orioles fans as you might think.
The total attendance numbers for the first 32 home games of the season do show a 9.5 percent increase, but that increase is totally explained away by the fact that the Orioles have played 15 games so far against the Yankees, Red Sox and Mets -- games that typically draw twice as many fans as games against less popular opponents, a large percentage of those fans cheering for the enemy. Last year, the Orioles had played only six home games against those teams (all six against the Yankees) by this point in the season.
So, would you like to know the game averages in the games that don't include a healthy infusion of New Yorkers, Bostonians and their Baltimore transplants?
The Orioles have played 17 home games against the rest of the major leagues and have averaged 19,679 fans. Last year at this time, the Orioles had played 26 of their first 32 home games against teams other than the Yankees, Red Sox and Mets. But to make the comparison as equitable as possible, I'll add the home opener against the Yankees because the O's generally sell that game out against anybody.
For those 27 games last year, the Orioles averaged 19,831 fans, which means there has been a slight drop in attendance this year when we're talking about the games that are largely attended by local fans.
I'm no expert on television ratings, but I've got to believe the concentration of games against the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox also has played a role there, since it puts a lot of those transplanted out-of-town fans in front of the television for those games. The Orioles have played 24 games (home and away) against those teams this year as opposed to 16 by this time last year.
The good news: I guess it's still amazing that attendance is holding pretty firm year over year under the circumstances (though there is a corporate season ticket base that props it up even if the tickets are not used), and the fact that so many premium games were frontloaded into the schedule allowed the O's to draw during the worst of competitive times.
I'm guessing you'll see a drop in overall attendance at the end of the year unless the team improves, but it may help that the big teams subsidized the months when the kids were in school. If it's a nice temperate summer, maybe the fans will show up anyway.
The bad news: How much lower can it possibly go? The Orioles are drawing half what they drew in the salad days of Camden Yards, so it's hard to get excited about a modest uptick, especially when you're not looking at the whole picture.
The worst news: Even though the early cluster of games against the Yankees, Red Sox and Mets helped boost average attendance by 9.5 percent. The average attendance at those premium games was 28,664, a 10.3 percent drop from last year's average of 31,954 for those games (again excluding Opening Day against the Yankees in 2009). That number could improve in the premium games at the end of the season, but it's not a great sign
Oh, for you youngsters who aren't history buffs, Benjamin Disraeli (above right) was the great 19th century British prime minister who coined the famous phrase: "There are three kinds of lies -- lies, damned lies and statistics."
One more thing: When you get a chance, take a look at the package that Ken Murray and I did on the future of Ravens receiver Demetrius Williams. You can read Ken's story right here, and my accompanying column here. Of course, the whole thing looks pretty impressive on the cover of the print edition of the sports section, so pick that up if you get a chance. We've got kids to feed.
June 19, 2010
Could Izturis have a Rockie future?
ESPN's Buster Olney -- who used to be the Baltimore Sun's Buster Olney -- brought up an interesting name in his blog during a discussion of who the Colorado Rockies might trade for to replace injured Troy Tulowitzki, who will be out until August with a broken wrist.
Cesar Izturis.
Well, he also brought up Julio Lugo, but you have to believe if the Rockies cannot come up with a better offensive player, they'll want to fill the shortstop position with somebody who's going to be the most dependable defensive guy available. Izturis might fit that description and get the Orioles a prospect, though I wouldn't get too excited since nobody's going to give up much for a six-week rental. Lugo presumably would take over at shortstop for the remainder of the season.
Shameless replug: We'll talk about this possibility, and a lot of other stuff, on Sportsline today at noon on WBAL (1090 AM), WIYY HD and WBAL.com, so don't be shy. Call in and tell me if you stayed up to the end of last night's West Coast game and how you slept afterward. If you're outside the Baltimore area, the toll-free number is 1-800-767-WBAL.
O's: About last night
The Orioles lost for the fifth time this year when they were leading after the eighth inning and quickly dispensed with the notion that they now have a closer surplus. Alfredo Simon looked sharp, but David Hernandez showed his inexperience in the bottom of the ninth with a four-pitch leadoff walk and his inability to nail down Jerry Hairston and David Eckstein after jumping ahead 0-2 on each of them.
In both those cases, Hernandez went right after them with high fastballs, and in both cases, Hairston and Eckstein slapped the 0-2 pitch into right field to key a two-run comeback. That's on both Hernandez and catcher Matt Wieters, who obviously need some work on their pitch selection. That backed Hernandez into a corner and he eventually lost the game on a base-hit by Adrian Gonzalez.
I guess no one should be surprised by the outcome, but you sure hate to stay up until 1 a.m. to see it.
The good news is that Brian Matusz delivered another strong start. The bad news is that he got his usual run support.
Early shameless plug: In case I forget to mention it later, tune in to Sportsline on WBAL (1090AM) and WBAL.com at noon today and we'll continue this discussion.
O's: More of the same
Sure enough, Brian Matusz pitched pretty well, though he threw way too many pitches to get real deep into the game. Then, it was just a matter of the Orioles scoring their normal one run for him and waiting for tonight's weird play.
This time, it was an outfield misplay by Adam Jones...and, of course, that interference call on Cesar Izturis.
Give the Orioles credit. They're consistent.
June 18, 2010
O's: Fifty ways to leave a runner
Is it just me, or are the Orioles trying to work their way through the entire encyclopedia of bad baseball? Cesar Izturis just got called out on a 3-0 count when he backed into the Padres catcher while Julio Lugo was trying to steal third base.
I'm not sure what Izturis was trying to accomplish. Was he trying to be a nice guy and get out of the way? Or did he think he was supposed to get out of the way? Either way, this isn't exactly his first rodeo. The play there is to stay in the batters box and let the catcher figure out his throwing lane.
There's no way to say for sure whether Lugo would have made it to third. He didn't get a great jump and the throw was interfered with, but my gut says Izturis cost the Orioles a run that is going to matter in a couple of innings.
Instant update: Izturis just paid his penance with a terrific diving stab that -- at least temporarily -- saved a run.
Late night with Brian Matusz
The Orioles are just getting underway, with Brian Matusz taking the mound against the Padres at Petco Park, a familiar place for the rookie left-hander who played his college ball at the University of San Diego.
I'm a hunch player, and I like Matusz to pitch very well tonight, both because he's always capable of doing that and also because he's totally unfamiliar to the Padres. The only question is whether the Orioles can answer the verbal challenge of Nick Markakis and scratch out four or five runs for him. Of course, it would help if he doesn't go to a full count with the first two batters of every inning.
While you're getting comfortable in front of the TV set, you can also take a look at my "News Item" column, which will be in the print edition tomorrow but can be found on the Baltimore Sun Web site right here.
Sun file photo by Karl Merton Ferron
June 17, 2010
Nick's knocks
Pardon me for piggybacking on a great story by Jeff Zrebiec, but I wanted to make sure anyone coming here from outside the Web site gets to read what Nick Markakis had to say about the lackluster Orioles offense.
It's the first time the soft-spoken Markakis has really called the team out for it's approach during this interminable scoring slump, and it's about time. He needs to be a leader and he sounds like one.
Check it out right here or you can grab the highlights by going to Orioles Insider,
Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron
June 16, 2010
O's: Guthrie gets gored
Jeremy Guthrie was pitching a pretty good game for five innings, but all it took was a couple of hanging sliders to Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe to put the Orioles back to Square One after battling back from a 2-0 deficit against Tim Lincecum.
Guthrie may have outsmarted himself against Huff, who obviously was looking offspeed and got a pitch that split the upper third of the strike zone. Maybe Guthrie was being stubborn against Uribe, because he threw him pretty much the exact same pitch in about the same location. The two homers were the 11th and 12th Guthrie has given up this year.
This is looking like a real opportunity lost. The O's offense could have gotten a big confidence boost by beating up on Lincecum, but they made the least of a string of opportunities and -- once again -- left their starting pitcher with very little margin for error.
Orioles: Facing Cy Young on a bad day
What happens when one of the best pitchers in baseball can't figure out if he's Sandy Koufax or Sandy Duncan?
Well, against the Orioles, Tim Lincecum is allowing two or three baserunners every inning and he's given up just two runs and struck out nine batters over five. He's struggling with his command and has thrown 96 pitches, but the Orioles -- as usual -- have left runners all over the place.
The O's have eight hits and have had 12 runners on base so far, but they continue to struggle with runners in scoring position. Even when they scored in the fourth, they ended up getting no more from a second-and-third, no-out situation. When they had Lincecum on the ropes in the fifth, they gave him an out back on a double steal attempt.
All that said, they're lucky to be tied, 2-2 in the fifth -- and have run-scoring hits from Cesar Izturis and Julio Lugo -- so I guess we should count our blessings. The guy has won the last two Cy Young Awards.
Give some credit to Jeremy Guthrie. He's been the more efficient pitcher, giving up just five hits and two walks over five innings.
When was the last time this happened?
When the MASN guys plugged the network's Player of the Game telephone poll tonight, they had three legitimate Orioles candidates for the first time I can think of in quite some time. The choice was between Jake Arrieta -- who has pitched just twice and might be the Orioles player of the month -- Miguel Tejada (three hits) and Adam Jones (home run).
It's not a tough choice, but at least there are some choices for a change. If Arrieta gets the win, it'll be only the second win by a O's starter in the last 19 games and he owns the other one.
Want another interesting stat? Arrieta has gotten four runs worth of support while he was actually in the game in both his starts. Kevin Millwood has not gotten as many as four runs while is was still in the game in any of his 13 Orioles appearances.
Instant update: Arrieta has just left the game after pitching seven innings and allowing just three hits -- a solo homer and two singles.
June 15, 2010
O's: Maybe it's all relative
Jim Palmer just applauded Ty Wigginton for a "very productive" out after his second soft RBI groundout of the game. I've got nothing bad to say about Wigginton, who has gotten it done better than anyone else on this team all year, but I think we're now under the spell of offensive relativism.
The Orioles got each of their scoring innings off to a promising start and settled for one run. I doubt the Yankees would have considered either inning particularly successful unless it was the bottom of the ninth in a tie game.
When you're playing on the road -- or just about anywhere in the AL East -- you've got to put up crooked numbers if you want to win more than the odd game every week or so. But when you've spent 2 1/2 months feeling fortunate to score at all, I guess one run at a time looks pretty good.
Arrieta: Lucky and good
Jake Arrieta displayed good command and velocity in the first inning, but he also displayed something that the Orioles have been searching for the past 2 1/2 months -- a little luck. He gave up line drives to the first two hitters he faced, but both were hit directly at an Orioles fielder as the Giants went down in order.
Orioles: Arrieta's encore
Orioles rookie Jake Arrieta is a few minutes from taking the mound against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park, and the Orioles need another big lift after taking a king-sized beating on Monday night.
It's a testament to the troubles the Orioles have had this season that Arrieta is suddenly the standard-bearer for the club's youth movement, which has run aground along with every other aspect of the team this season.
If you want to read more on this subject between innings, take a look at my column for tomorrow's print edition, which you can find right here.
Tillman's future
Check out Jeff Zrebiec's blog entry about Chris Tillman, who Jeff believes is about to be optioned back to Norfolk. I'm not surprised after last night's start called into question his velocity and command. He's a very young guy and the Orioles need to handle him carefully or risk him not developing into the solid major leaguer everybody has projected him to be.
Also on the Orioles Insider blog, Dean Jones picked up some comments by Bobby Valentine from an ESPN Radio interview in New York. Sounds a lot like Valentine isn't interested in the job. One more reason to predict that Eric Wedge will get the job.
Evening update: The Orioles have decided instead to keep Tillman in the bullpen this week, but he could end up back in Norfolk soon if he doesn't get regular work.
June 14, 2010
Orioles: Andy's MASN interview
Gary Thorne's pregame interview with Andy MacPhail didn't include any major revelations, but I did find it interesting that he said major league managerial experience -- and postseason success -- would be a major consideration in the eventual choice of a permanent manager.
So, I guess that rules Juan Samuel out already. That should be no surprise, since it was pretty obvious that he was going to be a true interim. But it doesn't narrow the rest of the assumed field much, since Bobby Valentine, Eric Wedge, Bob Melvin and just about everybody else whose name has been thrown around fits that description.
MacPhail also said that he has already had trade discussions with a number of teams about some of the veterans on the team, but insisted that no deal would be made just to dump salary. Kevin Millwood, Miguel Tejada and Ty Wigginton all have some value, but MacPhail said they won't go anywhere unless the Orioles can get some real value in return.
I'll take him at his word, but I wouldn't hold out for too much if there is no intention of re-signing the players in question. Theoretically, if the Orioles dealt Tejada, Wiggy and Millwood tomorrow, they would save nearly $10 million that could be added to this winter's free agent budget.
I hate to concede the season, but if you're going to lose 100-plus games anyway, you might as well just trot some more Triple-A guys out there, lock up that No. 1 overall draft pick next year and get a head start on 2011.
Orioles: Fright night in Frisco
If you're still paying attention, you probably had the same sinking feeling I did when I saw the kind of velocity Chris Tillman had with his fastball in the first inning of tonight's West Coast game, He's supposed to be a low-to-mid--90s guy, but he was in the high 80s and his fastball was straight as an arrow -- both coming in and going out.
The sad thing was, he was locating his breaking ball very well at the outset, but if you can't hit spots with your fastball, and you're pitching under your normal velocity (for whatever reason), and you've got no movement on the ball, you're going to get your gluteus handed to you. Which is what happened in the second inning.
Jason Berken has just come on to strike the side out in the third. He's done a good job in the long role, but it's not unusual for the long guy to have good numbers on a terrible team. No pressure and, in a lot of cases, waning intensity on the part of the opposition that is sitting on a big lead.
Oh, and about my previous entry about a change of scenery.......never mind.
Orioles: Change of scenery
Since all there is left to do during this discouraging first half is grasp at straws, you're going to have to hope that the Orioles match up better against two of the top teams in the National League West -- on the road -- than they did against the two teams that came down from New York to spend last week boosting attendance.
The San Francisco Giants are just 1 1/2 games out of first place, and they've got a solid pitching staff that has to be salivating at the thought of the virtually helpless Orioles offense. They've also got Aubrey Huff, who is hitting .303 with nine homers and 33 RBI and is heating up just in time for his old teammates.
The good news: The Giants will send their losing pitcher to the mound against Chris Tillman tonight. Jonathan Sanchez is 4-5.
The bad news: Sanchez has a 2.82 ERA.
The good news: The Giants have Joe Martinez making his season debut against Jake Arrieta tomorrow night.
The bad news: The Orioles have to face Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum (6-2) in the series finale.
If nothing else, the Orioles should feel right at home at AT&T Park, which is basically Camden Yards with a couple of bridges in the background and a big Coke bottle instead of a second deck in left field. You can check it out below.
If you want to look a little farther head, the Orioles will face the division-leading San Diego Padres next weekend at Petco Park. I'm a little jealous of Jeff Zrebiec because Petco is one of the three stadiums in baseball that I still have not set foot in, and I hear it's quite a place. While they are there, the Orioles might think about kidnapping Adrian Gonzalez.
Schmuck in exile
I've got to confess, I just can't take it any more. The Orioles have now taken the turn I worried they might take a few weeks ago when the starting rotation was doing surprisingly well in comparison to the rest of the team.
They could have done one of two things: The offense could have gotten better or the pitching could have gotten worse. I guess we should have figured which one was more likely.
There's something else I can't take any more. The same posters writing the same posts they've been writing for two months and acting like their either saying something new or knew it all along. Of course, some of them did know it all along, and that's fine -- I'm sure they're pretty happy about it, based on the amount of negative gloating that goes on around here -- but stop with the demands that I "tell the truth" about the team.
If you don't know the "truth" about the Orioles by now, you need to have an MRI to see if there's anything more than Esskay sausage in your cranial cavity. What about 2-16 didn't you understand?
June 12, 2010
Great Chesapeake Bay Swim
Everyone knows that I never miss a chance to jump into the Chesapeake Bay, but I'm going to have to stay on the shore for the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim tomorrow at Sandy Point State Park.
The 4.4 mile open swim, which benefits the March of Dimes campaign for healthier babies, starts from the beach at Sandy Point and ends at Hemingway's Marina in Stevensonville. The first wave of swimmers leaves the mainland at 8 a.m.
Here's the link for more information if you want to go and watch some unsung athletes raise money for a great cause.
Sounds a little like the annual Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge, except that you can't just jump right back out of the water and act like you accomplished something more than risking a case of hypothermia.
I'd be out there if I could swim worth a tinker's dam, but I'll stick to the January event where I can just run down the beach and fall in. If you want to see me do that, go to YouTube.com and type in "Schmuck Takes the Plunge." There is also a one-mile swim at Hemingway's Marina. Personally, I'm waiting for them to institute an event where you swim about 100 yards and then see how much water you can swallow before a lifeguard boat picks you up.
If you want to see a great race and enjoy the beautiful weekend weather, you can head over to the Eastern Shore and see the swimmers come out of the water. There will be viewing areas where you can picnic and also vendors selling food and merchandise. Check it out.
WBAL at noon
If you want to talk about the Orioles managerial search or the impressive debuts of Stephen Strasburg and Jake Arrieta, tune in at noon for Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM) and WBAL.com. We'll bat those subjects around and many more over the course of the afternoon.
Also, keep an eye out for my Sunday column on the travails of Kevin Millwood. It should be up on the Web site sometime this afternoon and, of course, in the print edition tomorrow.
June 11, 2010
My take: New column is up
Just a reminder that you don't have to wait until tomorrow to read my headline column in the print edition, though that's just fine if you do. If you can't wait, however, you can find it on the Web site right here.
Orioles: Credit where it's due
The Orioles had runners in scoring position with fewer than two outs in four straight innings -- including that ugly bases-loaded, no-out situation in the fourth -- and did not get the ball out of the infield in eight straight at-bats before Corey Patterson poked a grounder through the middle in the bottom of the seventh. Even then, the run scored on a wild pitch.
So, was that because the hitters had a bad approach at the plate, or because R.A. Dickey did a great job of keeping the knuckler around the strike zone and winning the mental game against a bunch of anxious hitters.
The answer is, of course, both, but you have to be impressed with the way Dickey controlled the game. It's very hard to dominate a game throwing almost all knuckleballs, but he did just that. Very impressive performance.
His line: 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
O's: Simply helpless
The Orioles just loaded the bases with no outs and needed just seven more pitches from knuckleballer R.A. Dickey to get out of the inning with two strikeouts and a weak pop fly.
The guy is finally struggling and each of the next three hitters swung at the first pitch. Luke Scott and Adam Jones struck out on three pitches each and Matt Wieters popped the first pitch weakly to third.
Maybe I'm just being too critical, but -- in general -- the best way to attack a knuckleball pitcher who is around the strike zone is to give him a chance to get behind on the count. Obviously, it's pretty tempting to swing out of your shoes when the bases are loaded and ball is fluttering up there at 75 miles per hour, but that's exactly what a knuckleball pitcher wants you to do.
What they're saying: DCab signs with Angels
If you've been reading Orioles Insider regularly, you already know that Daniel Cabrera has been signed by the Angels and assigned to their Double-A Arkansas club, but I thought you'd enjoy this humorous blog entry from Angels beat writer Bill Plunkett of my old paper, the Orange County Register. Here it is:
The Angels have signed former big-league right-hander Daniel Cabrera to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Double-A Arkansas.
During six big-league seasons (five with the Orioles), Cabrera was mainly known for being tall (6-foot-9) and very wild. He led the majors in losses once (18 in 2007), walks twice (104 and 108 in 2006 and 2007), wild pitches twice (17 and 15 in 2006 and 2008) and hit batsmen once (18 in 2008).
Cabrera, 29, was primarily a starter for the Orioles and the Diamondbacks and Nationals last season. He has a career record of 48-65 (without a major-league victory since 2008) with a 5.10 ERA and a 674-520 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 892 1/3 innings.
He went to spring training with the White Sox this year and was released in March.
From all indications, Cabrera is still tall — if he’s still just as wild, he probably is of little use to an Angels team that already ranks fourth in the majors and second in the AL in walks issued this season without his help.
Sun photo by Lloyd Fox
O's: Kids wear the darnedest things
I couldn't help but doubletake when I walked into the Orioles clubhouse last night and saw five-year-old Chase Wigginton romping around his dad's locker in an Angels jersey.
Was that some subtle message from Ty that he would like to be dealt to a contender that just announced it has lost its power-hitting first baseman (Kendry Morales) for the rest of the season?
That's what immediately crossed my mind, but Wigginton immediately sensed what I was thinking.
"C'mon, the kid just had a game today,'' Wigginton said, shaking his head.
Turns out that Chase really did have a tee-ball game on Thursday. I know this because I didn't believe Ty and asked the kid myself just to make sure.
June 10, 2010
Jake's take
Jake Arrieta (left) was still wiping off the remnants of his first major league shaving cream pie when he sat down for his postgame news conference. Obviously, he was happy to pitch well against the Yankees in his major league debut, but he seemed happier about his ability to control his emotions well enough to get his first win.
"I wanted to go out there and make pitches and not let the adrenalin get the best of me,'' he said. "I thought in the first three innings, it did."
He settled down, however, and got a huge out with the bases loaded in the sixth inning, striking out Marcus Thames to leave the game with a chance to win.
"I know there are going to be a lot of times when I'm going to have to make that kind of pitch throughout my career,'' Arrieta said. "It was great to be able to make that pitch in my first start."
It's too early to annoint him a full-time starter in the major leagues, but it's hard not to look at a rotation in which he joins Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman and see them as the nucleus of the Orioles rotation for many years to come.
"Absolutely,'' Arrieta said. "It's hard not to when you see those guys pitch. The talent they have and the good things they are going to do in the future. Hopefully, I will be able to be part of it."
Associated Press photo
O's: Just asking
Has it dawned on anyone that if the Orioles bullpen holds onto this one-run lead, Jake Arrieta will have one more major league victory this year than Kevin Millwood?
Or is it a little early to worry about something like that?
Instant update: I guess not.
Arrieta's great escape
Jake Arrieta just struck out Marcus Thames with the bases loaded to get out of the sixth inning, which probably will be his last. He has thrown 106 pitches, so it's about time to go to the bullpen.
Frank Mata is warming up in the bullpen for the second time, so it's pretty obvious he's coming out of the game, and he'll come out with the lead. Luke Scott just tripled off the scoreboard in right and Adam Jones brought him home with a line drive double into the gap in right center field.
Jones has heated up considerably at the plate. He has two run-scoring hits in this game and is batting .342 over his last 20 games.
Arrieta's arrival
Things are not going particularly well for Jake Arrieta. He got through the top of the order without incident in the first inning, but gave up a run in the second and two more in the third to cede an early two-run lead. He's headed for the fifth down 3-2 and has thrown a total of 62 pitches.
He has been throwing with good velocity and decent command. Perhaps more important, he has kept his composure against a team that doesn't give away an at-bat. That alone makes this a decent performance.
Valentine's Day
When you get a chance, check out Dan Connolly's blog item and Orioles Notebook, where you can find the most up-to-the-minute information on the Orioles' search for a new permanent manager.
The news in a nutshell: Bobby Valentine is scheduled to interview with the Orioles on Friday.
Guess we'll find out soon enough if Valentine is sincerely interested in the job. He's got a great deal with ESPN and this isn't exactly an opportunity to win right away. Considering all that, I've got assume the whole interview comes down to one question:
"How much?"
Ravens: It's a wrap
I've been so tuned into the daily travails of the Orioles that I almost forgot the Ravens were holding their final OTA for veteran players today, but I rushed over there to watch practice and poke around the lockerroom.
The vets have 47 days "off" between now and the opening of training camp in Westminster, so coach John Harbaugh bid them farewell and reminded them of their responsibility to act responsibly during their down time.
What did he tell them?
"Take care of yourself. Be smart. Take care of your body. Do things that make your family proud and make your organization proud."
The practice ended with a rousing competition between placekicker candidates Billy Cundiff and Shayne Graham that ended with the players cheering as both kickers worked their way up to 60 yards and both made that kick.
The Ravens still can work with the rookies next week, but veteran players are not even allowed to show up at the facility to use the weight room until the following week because of the restriction placed on the team by the NFL.
Obviously, the term "off" is relative. The players do have a workout and conditioning regimen that they follow during the six weeks plus they will not be required to be at the facility, and the players that live in the area will spend a lot of time here.
June 9, 2010
Orioles: Roster move ahead
Though manager Juan Samuel announced that Jake Arrieta was headed up from Norfolk to make tonight's start against the Yankees, the official roster addition and deletion will be made tomorrow. The Orioles will have to make room on the 40-man roster to accommodate him.
It shouldn't be too hard to figure out who will be moved off the 25-man roster. Samuel indicated on Tuesday that the Orioles were considering moving Will Ohman back into his normal left-handed specialist role, which would figure to make left-hander Alberto Castillo the most logical candidate to step aside. He has not been effective, giving up five homers and 12 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings (10.12 ERA).
There was some room to wonder whether the O's might option Brad Bergesen back to Triple-A Norfolk, but a source told me earlier tonight that Bergesen probably would stay and pitch out of the bullpen.
O's: Same old song and dance
There comes a point where there isn't any point in cursing the fates or even complaining about the toothlessness of this particular Orioles team. There comes a point where you have to take your hat off to the Yankees, who did exactly what winning teams do, regardless of their payroll or the color of their pinstripes.
CC Sabathia pitched well for seven innings, though he wasn't all that sharp. Joba Chamberlain shut down the O's in the eighth and Mariano Rivera was automatic. Throw in several sparkling defensive plays and you saw a study in stark contrast.
Chris Tillman also delivered a respectable start, but cost himself an unearned run with a throwing error and fell victim to a series of questionable defensive plays to suffer the loss in spite of giving up just one earned run over six innings.
Garden variety loss in a season where the garden is already overgrown with them.
Tillman walks a tightrope
Chris Tillman has dueled CC Sabathia into the middle innings on a combination of guts and guile. He has had runners on base in every inning and hasn't exactly gotten a great deal of help from his defense.
He held the Yankees to a run on six hits through five innings, but you can't keep doing that against that kind of team. Julio Lugo's infield error to open the sixth has helped him get back into trouble, and didn't get off so easy this time.
The error was followed by a sharp single by Alex Rodriguez and a chopper to first by Robinson Cano that eluded a leaping attempt by first baseman Ty Wigginton. Moments later, Jorge Posada hit a sharp grounder to Wigginton, who chose to go for the double play and concede the go-ahead run. He got the front end, but Cesar Izturis threw away the relay back to put yet another run in scoring position.
In retrospect, with no one out, Wigginton should have taken the single out at first and held the runner at third, keeping the score tied at 2-2.
Don't know if Tillman will continue, but he has pitched pretty well tonight. He has allowed only one earned run on seven hits, but now trails by a run.
Postgame update: Manager Juan Samuel said afterward that Wigginton made the right decision on the potential double play ball. When ARod broke for home on his throw to second, Izturis probably should have thrown to the plate, though he still might not have been able to prevent the go-ahead run from scoring.
Bonus postgame update: Official scorer Jim Henneman changed the error charged to Julio Lugo in the sixth inning into a hit, which made Tillman responsible for another earned run.
Orioles: More pregame Juan
Juan Samuel said he spoke to Brian Roberts on the phone today -- the first time they've talked since he was appointed interim manager on Friday.
"He thought I've been big-timing him not calling him back when I got the job,'' Samuel joked.
Of course, nothing else that they talked about was light-hearted. Roberts was on the way to a doctor's appointment to determine the course of treatment for his still-sore lower back.
"He's disappointed he's not here with us,'' Samuel said. "I told him he needs to take care of himself, take care of his health."
Samuel also updated the media on the condition of closer Alfredo Simon, who threw 25 pitches in his last workout and went through light agility drills without pain. He will throw 30 pitches on Thursday and possible will rejoin the club this weekend.
"We wil be glad to have him join us here soon,'' he said. "We need to stabilize the back end of our bullpen."
In the meantime, the Orioles are rethinking the decision to put Will Ohman in the closer role, since a lot of the instability of the bullpen has been concentrated in innings that Ohman would have worked in if he had been in his usual specialists role. Based on Samuel's comments, it seems likely the club will put Ohman back where he was and use someone else -- probably David Hernandez -- in the ninth inning.
Samuel basically said the club would just like to have some ninth innings that would require him to make that decision.
Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam
It's official: Arrieta debuts Thursday night
Hopefully, the Orioles aren't expecting top minor league pitching prospect Jake Arrieta to match the performance of Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg when he makes his debut on Thursday night, but manager Juan Samuel said he's looking for something good.
"A great start, obviously,'' Samuel said after making the official annoucement that Arrieta would face A.J. Burnett in the series finale against the Yankees. "He's one of the big guys this organization is going to be counting on. I know he's going to be facing a tough team, but we don't get to decide who we face. We wanted him up here."
That leaves the status of Brad Bergesen -- at least for a day -- in limbo. Bergesen is available in the bullpen tonight if Chris Tillman comes up short, but it wasn't easy to read Samuel when he talked about how Bergesen would be used after that. It appears possible that he'll be sent out to make room for Arrieta, but there are other options that could keep him in the bullpen indefinitely.
June 8, 2010
O's: Time to fire up the Norfolk shuttle
The Orioles probably will call up Jake Arrieta in the very near future, but they need to keep that train on the track. The way the bullpen has been performing, there doesn't seem to be any reason not to start plugging in some more of the guys from the Triple-A level, even if they aren't lighting the world on fire down there.
Dennis Sarfate's numbers are okay. Throw him out there again. Lefty Chris George has decent numbers split between the bullpen and rotation. Wouldn't be able to pick him out of a police lineup, but why not take a look at him. Armando Gabino is pitching well. Why not?
Yes, I realize there are 40-man roster inplications, but I don't really care anymore. Outright or DFA somebody. It should be audition time.
Orioles: Millwood mauled
For once, Orioles starter Kevin Millwood was not a hardluck pitcher, but that's not the good news. He gave up six runs in the first three innings and the Orioles never recovered, though they did show some signs of offensived life against Yankees starter Phil Hughes.
Millwood has been a man of quiet sorrow throughout the first two months of the season, suffering from dismal run support and erratic defense, but he was his own worst enemy for a change tonight. He could not curse the fates after his two-out walk in the third inning preceded Curtis Granderson's grand slam. He stuck around to work into the sixth inning, but loss No. 7 was pretty much on him.
Never mind that the game was still in doubt when he turned it over to the O's bullpen. There was never a reasonable expectation of the Orioles scoring seven runs last night, so the six-run blowout rally in the seventh inning was pretty much irrelevant -- unless you're an Orioles minor league reliever hoping for a call-up.
Orioles: Stripes
Kevin Millwood just gave up a grand slam to Curtis Granderson to fall behind by six runs in the third inning, which doesn't leave a whole lot of reason to watch this game. I'm pretty confident that Phil Hughes (7-1, 2.54 ERA coming in) can hold things together and secure the first game of this three-game series.
On the brighter side, of course, for all you fans who are rooting for the Orioles to make money, it should be a pretty good attendance week, since the Mets follow the Yankees into town to begin the June interleague stretch.
I'll stop short of saying nothing has changed around here. One big thing has changed. The starting pitching has finally begun to crumble, which only figures to pull the Orioles deeper into the abyss.
O's: The life of Brian
The latest news on Brian Roberts isn't very promising, but it's not like everyone isn't already prepared for the worst. BRob is eligible to come off the 60-day DL today, but he isn't close and he apparently isn't getting closer.
He was supposed to start playing in extended spring training games on Friday, but has been held back again and again with continuing back soreness. He's scheduled to see a doctor today before continuing his rehab program, but I'm starting to think the same thing as a lot of you. If 60 days isn't enough to relieve that discomfort -- and if it keeps cropping during non-competitive rehab -- how can the Orioles have any confidence that he can stay on the field once he gets back?
Roberts repeatedly insisted this spring that surgery had not been presented as not an option in this situation, but surgery generally is an option for disk herniations. If that is an option -- and I'm certainly not in any position to know that -- you would think everyone would be better served by him going ahead and having the thing fixed right now.
I don't know what the recovery time would be, but he looks like he's two or three weeks away as it is. And it's not like he's going to come right in here on a white horse in late June and lead the Orioles back into contention.
June 6, 2010
Softball: A swing and a myth
The Ben Grubbs Celebrity Softball Game, which took place earlier today at Joe Cannon Stadium, was great fun, but it was also a humbling experience for those of us who are not high-profile, twentysomething professional athletes.
Maybe this is a case of "The older I get, the better I was," but I can't ever remember going hitless in a slow-pitch softball game. Maybe I'm just hanging around the Orioles too much, but my offensive highlight was a long fly ball that might have been an extra-base hit if I hadn't showed off my steroid-pumped power swing during batting practice and allowed the opposition to position the outfield accordingly. I guess that's why John Harbaugh doesn't like anybody texting during OTAs.
There wasn't all that much opposition. I played on Fabian Washington's team, which was packed with talent. Joe Flacco hit the ball very well and Juan Dixon should have been named MVP for a terrific offensive and defensive performance. We delivered a brutal 13-1 beating to the hapless squad that featured WBAL's Clarence Mitchell IV and 98 Rock's Mickey Cucchiella along with Ray Rice and an assortment of Ravens players with suspect hand-eye coordination.
Really, all you have to do is look at this publicity photo of Mickey and it pretty much tells the whole story.
We had a perfect game going when a thunderstorm forced the umpiring crew to interrupt the game temporarily. Sound familiar? Of course, that threw off our rhythm and we allowed a hit right after we returned to the field. I went out and shook hands with all of the umpires afterward, and was a little surprised when none of them broke into tears.
It was really a great event that drew close to a full house and raised some good money for the Ben Grubbs Foundation. And the best thing about it was that nobody -- especially me -- ended up with more than a bruised ego.
You deserve a break today...
...and so do I, so I'm not going to be at Camden Yards for the final game of the three-game series against the Boston Red Sox. Instead, I'm going to play in the Ben Grubbs Celebrity Softball Game at Joe Cannon Stadium this afternoon.
The game -- which benefits the Ben Grubbs Foundation -- will feature Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Ed Reed, Juan Dixon, Kimmie Meissner, Matt Birk, Michael Oher and, of course, Ben Grubbs. It starts at 2 and you can get tickets at the gate if you haven't got them from Ticketmaster.
What am I doing in that group of athletes? Good question.
The answer is simple: Hopefully not requiring the help of a world-class orthopedic surgeon later in the day.
Dr. Andrew Cosgarea at Johns Hopkins Sports Medicine did a terrific job of patching me up the last time I fooled myself into thinking I should run with the big dogs. I hope I don't have to slink in there on Monday and ask him to do it again.
Orioles: The hangover
Give Juan Samuel credit. It took the Orioles 18 innings to get him his first runs as manager, and he took it as a good sign when they scored twice in the ninth inning to avert a shutout last night.
"One thing I noticed, we didn't chase in situations where the pitcher was in trouble,'' Samuel said. "We did some good stuff tonight. We're trying to stay positive."
Good luck with that. The two runs in the ninth off a pair of Red Sox middle relievers were the first since the Orioles scored in the seventh inning of Thursday's game at Yankee Stadium -- in what would turn out to be the final hour of Dave Trembley's tenure as manager.
"We have to dig ourselves out of this,'' Samuel said. "We have to keep fighting. It's going to change."
Jeremy Guthrie certainly put up a fight, trading zeros with Red Sox starter Jon Lester, trying to keep him from improving his career record to 11-0 against the Orioles. He located his fastball well and carried a shutout into the seventh before giving up solo home run to Kevin Youkilis.
He ended up giving up two earned runs on five hits over 7 1/3 innings -- his ninth quality start in 12 tries -- but ended up taking the loss and falling to 3-6 with a 3.71 ERA. If he felt any extra pressure facing Lester, it didn't show.
"There's always pressure to throw zeros because I'm a major league pitcher,'' Guthrie said. "That's self-imposed pressure as a baseball player. I know Jon is a great pitcher, but that doesn't affect what I do."
Associated Press photo
June 5, 2010
One more lonely night
The Red Sox finally busted this one open in the ninth inning, scoring six runs off David Hernandez, Will Ohman and Jason Berken to turn the evening into another in a long series of humilations at the hands of their chief divisional rivals.
Same old story.
Another Q-Start.
Another L-Finish
Damning stat dept: The Orioles just went 20 innings between runs, have been outscored 66-16 during this 10-game losing streak and six of those runs came in the first two games. They've averaged 1.25 runs in the last eight games. Ugh.
Blown opportunity
This is just too much. The Orioles loaded the bases to force Jon Lester out of the game with one out in the bottom of the seventh and, of course, the Orioles found a way not to score. It would be incredible if it hadn't happened so many times before.
Luke Scott came up to pinch hit against reliever Daniel Bard and popped up to very shallow center field and Corey Patterson fouled out to end the inning.
In short, the Orioles wasted their best chance to reward Jeremy Guthrie for a terrific performance that ended when he allowed a leadoff triple and a one-out, seeing-eye single in the eighth for the second Red Sox run.
That makes 18 consecutive scoreless innings for the O's, dating back to the seventh inning of Thursday's game at Yankee Stadium.
O's: First video replay
The umpires just reviewed a long fly ball by Marco Scutaro that was foul by maybe an inch down the right field line. The original call was foul, but Red Sox manager Terry Francona appealed and asked for the video review -- the first this year at Camden Yards -- and the crew agreed.
The call stood and Scutaro went on to strike out against Jeremy Guthrie, who was in the midst of a string of 15 straight outs.
Guthrie has been pitching an absolute gem, but -- of course, he has gotten absolutely no run support. The Orioles just put runners at second and third with one out in the bottom of the fifth and came up empty.
Still scoreless.
Stop me before I write another column
Before another one you blasts me for being a lazy blogger, consider that I have been covering the managerial situation the past week and have been writing a lot of other things that have taken me away from what is obviously my first love -- keeping all of you entertained 24 hours per day.
I mean, who needs any time off when I can paint a target on my back every day and let all of you take your best shots. So, believe it or not, I've written five columns in the last five days, which his a few more than normal, and just posted my latest one, calling for another big-time roster shakeup.
Kevin Millwood? Trade him to the Mets. Ty Wigginton? The Angels can use a power-hitting first baseman. Miguel Tejada? Get something for him and bring up Josh Bell.
Crazy? Sure, but really, what have the Orioles got to lose?
If you care to read all about it, it's right here.
Let me know what you think, and try to be gentle.
Last night
There was a point in last night's 11-0 loss to the Red Sox when the press box chatter turned to the 30-3 loss to the Rangers a couple of years ago on same day that the Orioles announced a contract extension for Dave Trembley.
Obviously, the beating in the series opener against the Sox wasn't in the same league, but it was still a very rude welcome for interim manager Juan Samuel. The club hopes he can ignite a fire under this team, but that's kind of tough when you fall behind so quickly -- and struggle at the plate so badly -- that there is no opportunity to even try to play aggressively.
Once again, there is a line of great pitchers just waiting to get at the Orioles. They have faced the toughest schedule in the majors and the toughest pitching in the game over the first third of the season, but that excuse only goes so far. When you're 15-40 and you're not even putting up a fight, you can't curse the fates.
Andy MacPhail said yesterday that he feels this season is salvagable -- at least in terms of advancing the rebuilding effort and competing next year. That might be true, but it is impossible to visualize that right now.
Can this team really be this bad? Obviously, the answer is yes, but history says that there is an upswing out there somewhere.
My take: It better get here soon or there won't be any Orioles fans left to see it.
Today's show: If you want to talk about the events of the past week, or look ahead to who might be hired as the permanent manager of the Orioles, tune in at noon to Sportsline on WBAL and WBAL.com. I'll be counseling frustrated fans for three hours, and my fee is very reasonable.
June 4, 2010
Orioles: This is scary
Don't even want to think about this, but it looks like the pitching is getting ready to give out. Kevin Millwood struggled yesterday and Chris Tillman needed nearly 60 pitches to get four outs tonight.
Guess it can't get any worst, since the Orioles are about to go 25 games under .500, but the starters were pitching pretty good up to this week.
This isn't any way to welcome Juan Samuel to the world of major league managing, but it's not like he hasn't seen this kind of thing before. Somewhere, Dave Trembley is sipping some chardonnay and realizing that he might be the lucky one.
Samuel's first inning
New manager Juan Samuel has quickly found out that the view from the front end of the dugout is about the same as it was from everywhere else. Chris Tillman allowed a leadoff sinble to Marco Scutaro and walked the next two batters to load the bases with no one out in the top of the first.
Right about that time, the MASN feed showed film of Samuel at his press conference and -- for a moment -- I thought he might already be resigning.
Tillman teased everybody by striking out Kevin Youkilis and getting Victor Martinez on a soft RBI grounder, them jumped ahead of the count against J.D. Drew before missing his spot and giving up a line drive double for two more runs.
The more things change...
Another plug: Hey, I was going to write a blog item about new third base coach Gary Allenson, but since I already wrote the Orioles notebook about him, you might as well just click here and read that.
Orioles: Trembley in the rear view
Dave Trembley is headed home to Daytona Beach today, no doubt both disappointed and relieved that his tenure as Orioles manager has come to an end. Now, Juan Samuel gets to wonder how to squeeze a win out of this team, though the level of pressure won't be the same since he apparently will be a true interim.
The search likely will begin very soon for a permanent replacement, though there is no timetable. Better to let everyone clear their heads for the next few days and hope that the managerial change has an inexplicable catalytic effect on the team and results in some kind of turnaround.
It's possible, I guess. I've seen it happen before. But Dave wasn't really the problem and the things that are really the problem are still the problem, so I'm not optimistic. Did that make any sense?
If you aren't tired of reading me on this subject yet, you can check out my instant column on the Trembley firing over on the Web site by clicking here. While you're over there, check out the great package put together by Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly, which includes capsules on all the possible candidates for the permanent job.
Non-related shameless plug: If you want to hear my soothing voice, you can tune in to WBAL (1090 AM) or WBAL.com for The Week in Review. I'll be debating Clarence Mitchell IV and Kendel Erhlich for a couple of hours on the issues of the day before heading to Camden Yards for the Andy MacPhail news conference at 2:30.
Sun photo by Gene Sweeney Jr.
June 3, 2010
Postgame Dave
I don't know if this is the last time you'll be reading postgame comments from Dave Trembley, but I do know this. He has handled himself admirably while his professional future has hung in limbo the past few weeks. I hope you remember him well, because I will.
Trembley defended the performance of starting pitcher Kevin Millwood, who was uncharacteristically ineffective in today's 6-3 loss at Yankee Stadium.
"I think he reallly had to battle to get outs,'' said Trembley. "I don't think it was so much Millwood as it was the Yankees. They just have a great lineup. They are getting production out of their main guys and they got the hits when they needed them."
My latest column is up
While you're waiting for me to post some postgame stuff from the Orioles clubhouse, why don't you take a look at my latest column, which you can find on the Web site right here if you don't want to wait for tomorrow's print edition.
If you're wondering how the players feel about the managerial suspense that has gripped this team, I suggest you check it out.
More pregame Dave
Whatever happens with Dave Trembley over the next few days, he'll always have a positive impression of Kevin Millwood, even though Millwood has not won a single game for him this season and has hit hands full with C.C. Sabathia today.
"He’s pitched some real good games where plays haven’t been made behind him,'' Trembley said, "and he’s taken it on his shoulders and said, 'Well, I guess I just didn’t make good enough pitches.’ You know how he’s handled himself. I know how he’s handled himself. He deserves any amount of respect that you could give."
Matt Wieters is not in the starting lineup for the day game after the night game, which is no surprise. Maybe the rest will give him a chance to relax and get into a better groove at the plate. Trembley thinks he's getting ahead of himself.
"I think he’s been caught in between," Trembley said. "He’s trying to catch up to the fastball and then when he tries to do that, it seems like he’s getting a lot of offspeed or breaking stuff. I think what he’s doing myself personally, and I don’t know that much about hitting other than seeing thousands of guys hit, I think he’s reacting to the ball too soon.
"He’s swinging before the ball is out of his hand. I don’t know if he’s guessing, cheating. Most of the pitches that he’s swinging at, he’s chasing the ball up. The fastball up, the breaking ball down. They are not strikes, which tells me he is cheating, trying to get it started really quick. Young guys do that, a lot of guys do that."
Trembley: Full instant replay?
Dave Trembley has plenty to worry about already, but he did weigh in on the debate about Armando Galarraga's almost-perfect game, joining the chorus in favor of an NFL-style replay-on-appeal system.
"I’m in favor of what Gardy (Twins manager Ron Gardenhire) said, to have the red flag and you could throw the red flag and have so many appeals,'' Trembley said. "I thought Gardy’s idea was the best. I don’t think it will ever happen."
Trembley was asked whether he felt worse for the Galarraga, or embarrassed and contrite umpire Jim Joyce.
"I feel bad for the game,'' he said. "The game lost a historic moment. That’s what I feel bad for, the game."
And, finally, should Major League Baseball review the play and, perhaps, award a perfect game to Galarraga. MLB officials were meeting this morning to review the situation.
"That’s done,'' Trembley said. "I was surprised that they’d even comment on it. I don’t think you’d want to comment on it, you just bring more attention to it...You do for this and you’re not going to do it for something else? You going to go back for 1985 with the Royals and St. Louis and Don Denkinger at first base and you going or review that and reward the World Series to the other team? They can’t do it. My opinion, Dave Trembley, my opinion. Can’t do it."
Buckle up!
It could be a bumpy ride today. There has been speculation all week that manager Dave Trembley could be replaced at the end of this series, so it's possible he will be managing his final game today at Yankee Stadium.
If so, it's hard to imagine him going out on a high note, with the Orioles closing out the Yankees series against C.C. Sabathia. Kevin Millwood is still looking for his first victory of the year, so maybe this is a reverse lock.
The Orioles fly home after today's game and are scheduled to open a three-game weekend series against the Red Sox tomorrow at Camden Yards.
Who will own it?
When the change is made -- and it seems inevitable -- the interim figures to be third base coach Juan Samuel, but we'll just wait and see how things play out.
Associated Press photo
O's: The morning after
Things have gotten so bad for the Orioles that last night's 9-1 blowout was almost a relief. No crazy ending. No big bullpen blowup. No freak injuries. Just a garden-variety beating at the hands of a team that does that sort of thing for a living.
Maybe it was the calm before the storm. The Orioles play the series finale at Yankee Stadium this afternoon and then head home, where ominous clouds continue to gather over the Warehouse.
What else is new? The Orioles are 23 games under .500 and winless Kevin Millwood gets C.C. Sabathia today.
I'm guessing the best thing about going to Yankee Stadium this morning will be the great breakfast spread in the press dining room. Then it could get ugly.
June 2, 2010
Postgame Dave
Dave Trembley saw the same thing you did. Brad Bergesen was camped out in the middle of the strike zone, which is not a nice place to be when you're facing a lineup in which Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira are the second and third-best hitters.
"Just about all his pitches were in the middle of the plate,'' Trembley said. "Obviously, it wasn't the kind of start that he wanted. Matching up against (Phil) Hughes, who is a power pitcher, you needed a better start than that.
"What he needs to get better at is locating his pitches. "His stuff, for the most part, is okay, but he left a lot of pitches up. For a sinkerball pitcher, you can't get away with that. You just can't do that."
Trembley was asked if there was any consideration of replacing Bergesen in the rotation, a question that figured to come up because top minor league prospect Jake Arrieta is tearing it up at Norfolk.
"I haven't thought about that,'' Trembley said. "I haven't even considered that."
Eventful night
My friend Danny Knobler of CBSsports.com pointed out a couple of minutes ago that today would have been a perfect day if the Orioles had wanted to get some bad news out of the way under the cover of more important stories around the major leagues.
The problems of the losingest team in baseball wouldn't have amounted to much in the headline department on the same day that certain Hall of Famer Ken Griffey announced his retirement and Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Gallaraga had a perfect game snatched away from him on the apparent last play by what appeared to be a terrible umpiring call.
Of course, that's an outrage, but there will come a time when the blown call will make the game more memorable than if Jim Joyce had made the right one. It would have been the third perfect game this year and the 21st in major league history, but Gallaraga will always be remembered as the guy who pitched the perfect game that wasn't.
He'll be remembered like Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix, who pitched 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves in 1959 before losing the perfect game, the no-hitter, the shutout and the game in the 13th inning,
Bergesen battered
Brad Bergesen struggled with his control and did not get out of the third inning, but the Orioles again are so toothless at the plate that his performance was largely irrelevant. Nevertheless, here's his frightening pitching line: 2 1/3 IP, 7H, 6R, 6ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP, 69 pitches.
It was the shortest major league start of Bergesen's brief career. His previous shortest outing was on April 19 against the Seattle Mariners when he lasted 2 2/3 innings.
Injury alert: Adam Jones appeared to jam his right elbow or shoulder hitting the wall after a fine running catch. He looked like he was in significant pain for a few moments after the catch, but jogged back to center field and finished the fifth inning.
Getting healthy
No, not the Orioles. The Yankees got veteran catcher Jorge Posada back from the disabled list today. He'd been sidelined with a fractured foot, but declared himself ready to come back in a designated hitter role. He won't catch for awhile, so former Oriole Chad Moeller remained on the 25-man roster as the third catcher.
The Yankees optioned infielder Juan Miranda to make room.
Posada got to test his foot right away. He walked in his first at-bat and looked pretty good racing around the bases to score on Curtis Granderson's double.
Pregame Dave
Manager Dave Trembley reviewed the injury situation during his pregame sitdown with the media, projecting out Brian Roberts' rehab schedule through a full-game appearance on June 10. That's the last day of extended spring training and the day after Roberts is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list.
"If all goes well,'' Trembley said, "he'll go on a (minor league) rehab assignment."
Here's the exact schedule:
June 4: 2B/4 AB
June 5: DH/4 AB
June 6 : Off
June 7: 2B/7 INNINGS
June 8: DH/4 AB
June 9: Off
June 10: Full game at second base.
Michael Gonzalez threw 25-30 pitches off a mound today and is scheduled to go up to 40 pitches on Saturday. He had hoped to work his way back in time for the Orioles' West Coast road trip, but that seems doubtful.
Trembley was still feeling good about the performance of David Hernandez in a late-inning role last night.
"I like the fact that what I've seen out of the bullpen is a 94-95 mile per hour fastball,'' he said. "If you see that, you want to take that guy and move him toward the end of the game."
Tonight's game
The Orioles upside-down season continues tonight with Brad Bergesen facing New York Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes, who is muddling through the season with a 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA.
Why am I envisioning another night when an Orioles starter works into the seventh inning and gives up five hits, only to come out with the game no better than tied. That's basically what happened last night, when Brian Matusz and David Hernandez both pitched very well and the game came down to one bounced throw by Miguel Tejada.
Even if Bergesen and Kevin Millwood jack up big performances the next two games, this has the smell of another sweep. The most favorable pitching matchup of the series is already over, and Javier Vazquez.
Column: Dave doesn't need this
If you haven't already, check out my column in today's print edition or right here on the Web site. It's another look at the managerial situation and a plea to put poor Dave Trembley out of his misery.
I honestly feel bad for Dave and wish it weren't so, but the writing is all over the warehouse wall, so the club needs to make a decision and get on with it. He doesn't deserve to keep twisting in the wind when everybody knows he's already on borrowed time.
It may not be fair, but the reason the manager gets the big check every two weeks is because he takes responsibility for the performance of the team. That's not the same as taking the blame, but both ultimately leave you in the same place.
Associated Press photo
June 1, 2010
Postgame Dave
Dave Trembley wasn't happy with the outcome, but he couldn't complain about the performance of Brian Matusz and David Hernandez, who combined to give up just one earned run over eight innings.
"I thought that Matusz showed what he's all about,'' Trembley said. "He used all of his pitches and threw the ball well. He was good right from the get-go. It was top-flight stuff from him today. Hernandez also showed what he's about. he really went at them with his fastball. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out for us tonight."
Trembley didn't seem thrilled with a question from the MASN booth that seemed to connect the club's poor offensive performance with the fact that batting practice had to be cancelled a couple of times over the past few days.
"No, we've taken batting practice,'' he said. "Today, neither team was able to because of the weather. The other night in Toronto, they had some photo day that also kept us from hitting on the field. But, whatever the situation, we always hit inseide. It'd be nice to move about on the field a bit again, but we always hit. We'll probably have some early hitting tomorrow."
Another fine mess
They're playing Sinatra, so you should know how this one ended. The Orioles had a chance to jump on top in the seventh inning, but the Yankees found a way to do that instead. The rest was just a typical Yankees win.
Javier Vazquez gave up four hits over seven innings and got a huge double play to get out of the seventh. Joba Chamberlain pitched the eighth and Mariano Rivera did what Mariano Rivera does, though Luke Scott got an opposite field single to bring the tying run to the plate.
Game, set, match.
Matusz facing another quality loss
Brian Matusz has left the game with runners at second and third with two outs and Alex Rodriguez coming to bat, but don't bother sharpening our knives. Matusz had thrown 108 pitches -- his most of the season -- and his velocity had fallen.
The choice facing Dave Trembley was whether to walk Rodriguez intentionally and let Matusz face left-handed Robinson Cano, or bring in a fresh David Hernandez into go right-right against A-Rod. Dave gave the ball to Hernandez.
Of course, it didn't work out, but not through any fault of Trembley or Hernandez. ARod hit a sharp grounder to Miguel Tejada, whose long throw one-hopped Ty Wigginton and scooted past him to allow both runners to score. The runs were unearned, but that probably doesn't seem like much consolation right now.
Right move. Wrong outcome.
Did you expect anything else at this point?
Deep six
Brian Matusz and Javier Vazquez have completed six innings and -- thanks to a game-tying home run by Corey Patterson -- the game is locked up again at 1-1. Vazquez has had the better of it pitch for pitch, giving up just two hits, but Matusz showed what he was made of in the sixth when he faced a first-and-third, no-out situation and impressively worked his way out of trouble.
Stay tuned. It could still be a bumpy night.
Struggling offense update: When Luke Scott doubled in the seventh inning, it was the first time the Orioles have had two extra-base hits in the same game in a week.
Matusz first to blink
Brian Matusz continues to hold his own in a tight duel with Yankees right-hander Javier Vazquez, but he allowed the first run of the game on a towering home run by No. 8 hitter Curtis Granderson leading off the bottom of the fifth inning.
Of course, Granderson isn't your average No. 8 hitter. He hit 30 home runs for the Detroit Tigers last year, but missed about half the Yankees games this year severe groin strain.
Teixeira update: Mark Teixeira suffered a bruised left foot when he fouled a ball off it in the third inning. X-rays were negative and he's day-to-day.
Matusz strikes back
Maybe all the recent angst about Brian Matusz was so much knee-jerkiness, because he has looked pretty good so far in tonight's game against the Yankees at the new Yankee Stadium. He has matched Javier Vasquez through three scoreless innings, with each starting pitcher giving up one hit.
There was legitimate cause for concern after Matusz gave up six earned runs or more in three of his previous four starts. He also has lost five straight decisions, but delivered quality starts in the first two of those games.
Texeira hurt: Mark Teixeira has left the game after fouling a ball off his foot in the bottom of the third inning. Matusz also hit him with a pitch in the first inning, so it was a tough -- but quick -- night all around.l
Jeter: O's still dangerous
Yankees captain Derek Jeter knows the Orioles are having trouble getting up off the mat, but he said Tuesday that it doesn't affect how the Yankees approach this three-game series.
"I don't think it makes any difference how a team is doing when they come to play us,'' he said. "Teams like to play us. You can't really pay attention to how a team is playing before they play here. Every team plays us tough."
Orioles: Today's lineup
What a moment! I'm enjoying my first view of the new Yankee Stadium, which is as impressive as advertised. I did not make any of the New York road trips last year, so I still haven't seen Citibank Field. This brings me down to three major league parks that I have yet to watch a game in -- Citibank, Petco Park and Target Field.
Of course, I've got a huge backlog of the old parks. I've actually seen games in a total of 54 major league parks, including the Met in Bloomington, Minn. When I get to Minneapolis, that will be the first city where I've seen three generations of stadia. I'm guessing that will make me feel real old.
Here's tonight's Orioles lineup:
Corey Patterson LF
Miguel Tejada 3B
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Luke Scott DH
Matt Wieters C
Adam Jones CF
Julio Lugo 2B
Cesar Izturis SS
Brian Matusz LHP
Weather update: It has been raining like hell here and thunderstorms are sweeping through the New York area. This could be a problem all night.
Today's featured comment
Today's featured comment comes from regular poster Dave from Glen Burnie, who asks a question that -- I have to admit -- never occurred to me before:
Dave's take: If the Cincinnati Reds were really the first major league baseball team, who did they play?
Pete's reply: Obviously, an intrasquad game.
Orioles: Perfect timing
Actually, this might be the worst time for the Orioles to be getting ready to open a series against the Yankees on the road, but I guess you can't complain about anything that makes the games more interesting at this point.
We're going to find out if Dave Trembley can manage while holding his breath, and we're going to find out pretty quick whether this team still has a pulse. I have my doubts, though I like Brian Matusz to snap out of it tonight and pitch seven strong innings in the House that George Built Next to the House that Ruth Built.
Keep reading
About Peter Schmuck
Peter Schmuck wants you to know that, contrary to popular belief, he is more than just a bon vivant, raconteur and collector of blousy flowered shirts. He is a semi-respected journalist who has covered virtually every sport -- except luge, of course – and tackled issues that transcend the mere games people play. If that isn’t enough to qualify him to provide witty, wide-ranging commentary on the sports world ... and the rest of the world, for that matter ... he is an avid reader of history, biography and the classics, as well as a charming blowhard who pops off on both sports and politics on WBAL Radio. That means you can expect a little of everything in The Schmuck Stops Here, but the major focus will be keeping you up to the minute on Baltimore’s major sports teams and themes, whether it’s throwing up the Orioles lineup the minute it’s announced or updating you on the latest sprained ankle in Owings Mills. Oh, and by the way, that’s Mr. Schmuck to you. 
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