Today's sports schedule in the greater Baltimore area is all over the map. The big soccer game between Inter Milan and Manchester City is expected to draw more than 40,000 to M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens drew a record crowd (12,000) to their public workouts on Friday and are expecting similar numbers today. And, of course, a solid crowd is expected for Maryland Championship Wrestling's Shamrock Cup event tonight at the New Green Room in Dundalk.

The Orioles play the Kansas City Royals on the road, so you could stay home and watch them on TV, but I think the evening will be a ratings challenge for MASN, especially after last night's disheartening collapse.

Self-promotion dept: It's a nice day, but why risk skin cancer by going outside. I'll be talking sports all afternoon on WBAL (1090AM) and WBAL.com, so tune in at noon and join in the conversation. Obviously, we'll be talking about a very eventful week for the Orioles and a discouraging weekend for the Ravens. Orioles beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec has had a very busy week himself, but he'll will check in from KC to update us ahead of the 4 p.m. deadline for making trades without passing players through waivers.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (56)
Categories: News of the day
        

Can't say the Orioles found a new way to lose tonight, because I've seen this movie before, but when the Kansas City Royals are down to their final out with no one on base, you've got to figure even the O's come away with the victory nine times out of 10.

Except this year. I can't remember any team I've covered over the past 140 years losing this many leads in the final two innings of the game. It's as if the Orioles know they're going to lose and the other team -- even when that other team is another divisional doormat -- knows it's going to win.

The good news: Poor Juan Samuel will be out of his misery in a couple of days.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles are just about to get underway, but you've still got time to take a look at my latest "News item" column on the Web site. It'll also be in tomorrow's print edition if you don't like to take your eyes off the blog for even a few minutes.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Just football
        

The Orioles certainly filled the front page of the sports section with the hiring of Buck Showalter and the deal that sent Miguel Tejada to the San Diego Padres for young pitcher Wynn Pelzer. Now, I'm wondering if Andy MacPhail will do anything for an encore.

The deadline for making trades without passing the players involved through waivers is Saturday, so there's still plenty of time to dispatch Ty Wigginton to some contender or even Jeremy Guthrie.

I really doubt the Orioles do anything with Guthrie, who has pitched way better than his record. If you look past the combined won-loss for the past two years, I think the guy remains more valuable to the O's than he would be to anybody else. And, if there's any hope of trading for a big bat in the offseason, the club will need all the pitching depth it can muster.

The thing that remains unclear at the moment is whether MacPhail cares at all about preserving some competitiveness for Showalter. If so, he might want to hang on to Wigginton, who has provided a big chunk of this team's offensive punch this year.

I'm pretty sure the Orioles wanted to be in a position to deal Kevin Millwood at this point, but the lackluster offensive support early in the season combined with his midseason collapse and stay on the disabled list took away any hope of flipping him for some decent prospects. It's been that kind of year.

Shameless plug: Join me and Clarence Mitchell IV today at noon for The Week in Review on WBAL (1090AM) and WBAL.com.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (76)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Just thought this would be a good time to introduce my partners for the big six-man tag team match with Kevin Eck and Co. at Maryland Championship Wrestling's Shamrock Cup show tomorrow night at the New Green Room in Dundalk. Check them out in the video below.

;

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: MCW: The Schmuckdown, Schmuck being Schmuck
        

If the Commissioner's Office approves the salary transfer and Miguel Tejada is dispatched to the San Diego Padres, everybody wins -- especially Tejada. He gets to jump right into a division race in a great town. If he produces and helps lead the Padres into the postseason, it should set him up to get a decent contract again next year.

Don't know all the particulars, but I'm guessing that the O's will end up just saving a portion of Tejada's remaining salary, which is fine. I thought all along that the team would eventually replace him with Josh Bell this season.

Instant update: The O's have announced that they received right-handed pitcher Wynn Pelzer and cash considerations for Tejada. Pelzer, 24, was a ninth-round draft choice out of the University of South Carolina. He was ranked by Baseball America as the Padres seventh-best minor league prospect before the 2010 season. Baseball America also credited him with having the best fastball and slider in the Padres minor league system.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (76)
Categories: Just baseball
        

ESPN's Tim Kurkjian is reporting that the Orioles have hired Buck Showalter and he will make his O's managerial debut on Aug. 3 in the first game of the Orioles upcoming homestand.

Can't say I'm surprised, though I thought the club and Showalter would wait as long as possible to put him in the dugout. I sensed that Buck might not show up until September, so he could evaluate the team without being scarred by it.

The one thing his hiring will do right now is change the subject after the Orioles got swept by the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto. They've lost all 12 games against the Jays this year, after many predicted they would finish ahead of Toronto this season.

If I was running the team, I wouldn't send Buck out there on Tuesday night. I'd send him to look at all the Orioles' minor league clubs during the final weeks of the minor league season to get a real sense of where the organization stands right now.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (83)
Categories: Just baseball
        

This is a vignette that has happened in my house a number of times in various forms. I arrived back from wrestling practice last night and turned on the game between the Orioles and Blue Jays.

It was entering the bottom of the eighth inning and the score was 1-0. Mike Flanagan was commenting that it had really been a "great" game, pointing out the terrific performance of starting -- and, of course, losing pitcher -- Jeremy Guthrie.

So, I figured I'd sit down and watch the final inning and see of the Orioles could stage a one-run comeback. That's just me, I'm always looking for the possibility of a positive development, even in the midst of the worst season in Orioles history.

You know the rest. The Orioles bullpen gave up four runs in the bottom of the eighth and I didn't have to stay around for the ninth. Being hopeful in the ninth inning in a one-run game is one thing. Being hopeful in the ninth inning of a five-run game involving this O's team would require psychoanalysis. That is, of course, unless the Orioles were up by five runs, which might justify cautious optimism.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Forget what I wrote in my column on Sunday. It turns out that getting the Orioles back to a semblance of their Opening Day roster was not a good thing. I predicted they would be "somewhat" more competitive, which was a backhanded compliment to begin with, but they have been even less competitive -- something I didn't even think was possible.

They are getting absolutely pounded on a nightly basis, and what is happening in the current series against the Toronto Blue Jays is the ultimate illustration of all that has gone wrong this season. The O's are now 0-11 against the Jays this year, and -- if you recall -- there were a ton of pundits (including myself) who felt the Jays were the one team in the American League East that would finish behind the Orioles.

Yes, for all of you who write every day and ask me to admit that I was wrong about this team, of course I was wrong and I've admitted it on several platforms over the past few months. I never imagined this team might struggle to win 50 games. I doubt any of you did, either, though a couple of people on this blog revel in telling us they knew it all along. I knew they were no better than a fourth-place team, but what has happened is beyond anything I could have envisioned.

I believed there would be some real positives. Can't think of any at the moment. Well, maybe Alfredo Simon.

Even after saying all that, however, I'm not going to morph into one of those jaundiced, bitter fans who has lost so much perspective that the travails of a baseball team -- yes, it's just a baseball team -- saps me of my humanity. Those of you who already have should probably think about making a run to Ravens training camp to see what a good team looks like. It might cheer you up.

In the meantime, take a look at my column in today's print edition on that very subject. I guess I'm ready for some football.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (107)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Regrettably, I was forced to forego another ugly Orioles loss last night, because I was at the Loews 16 in White Marsh to host the Baltimore pre-screening of the new sure-to-be-a-hit-just-because-of-the-title comedy, Dinner For Schmucks.

Well, I guess calling myself the host is probably stretching a point. I was there representing 98 Rock and WBAL Radio, which means I introduced the movie, told the crowd what it's like to live with a name like Schmuck and gave away 98 Rock T-shirts to anyone in the audience with a strange or funny last name.

The movie? I'd give it 1 1/2 thumbs up. It started a bit slow, but ramped up to a very funny finish. I doubt, however, that you'll find it more entertaining than my professional wrestling debut on Saturday night at the New Green Room in Dundalk. Busy week.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

If you get a chance, take a look at Ed Lee's recent post on Ravens Insider about the Ravens' reaction to the controversy that developed when Cowboys rookie Dez Bryant refused to carry a teammate's shoulder pads in from practice.

The Ravens that Lee interviewed on the subject all seemed to think that Bryant probably overreacted to a very common practice during the early days of training camp. Rookies are asked to do things for veterans as a show of respect and an indication that they know their place in the team's pecking order.

Fair enough. I know from personal experience that kind of thing doesn't fly in your average workplace. Jeff Zrebiec got all indignant when I told him that -- as a show of humility and respect -- he should come over and mow my lawn every week during his first summer on the Orioles beat. This new generation just doesn't get it.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)
Categories: Just football, Just football
        

The final week before the July 31 deadline for making trades without waivers started with a bang yesterday when the Los Angeles Angels acquired starting pitcher Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher Joe Saunders, two minor league players and a PTBNL.

Maybe this opens up the market a little more for the Orioles to deal some of their one-year vets, but what it really does is show that the Angels aren't satisfied with having even one down year. They're seven games behind the surprising Texas Rangers in the American League West, but they've got two months to bounce back and they decided to make a real run at it.

Obviously, the Rangers were serious, too, since they already had picked up Cliff Lee for the stretch run.

Before you get all hot and bothered about the Orioles inactivity, at least be realistic. There are some real players out there on the market and there are some teams jockeying for the chance to acquire them. Right now, Ty Wigginton and Miguel Tejada would be second-tier considerations, so the O's might have to wait a few days to let the smoke clear.

Then again, there's a pretty good chance the smoke doesn't clear until Saturday, which will leave little time for the Orioles to grab for the table scraps.

No excuses here. The Orioles could have made a bigger push to get something done ahead of time, but the reality of the situation is, they don't have any impact players to deal so they are going to be on everybody's back burner.

Don't despair just yet. It should be an interesting week and Andy MacPhail usually gets something done during the final days of the trading period.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (102)
Categories: Just baseball
        

So much for the notion that having all the injured players back might be some kind of elixir for this Orioles team. Barring an absolute miracle, the Twins will complete today's trouncing and the O's will finish the first homestand after the All-Star break with a 2-8 record.

If you're wondering why the O's have not hired Buck Showalter yet, you're getting the answer with each of this ugly outcomes. I seriously doubt Showalter has any interest in stepping right into the middle of this mess.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (34)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Jake Arrieta looks like he has pretty good command through the first two innings, but I'm not so hot on the pitch selection. He has been ahead of almost everybody, but he also has hit the sweet spot on way too many bats. Felix Pie and Corey Patterson already have spent too much time on the warning track for me to be real optimistic.

They say it's better to be lucky than good, but he's still got to pitch four of five more innings, and I don't think it's going to go well if he can't finish hitters better than he has so far. Let's see how he adjusts.

Instant update: This is one time I wish I wasn't right. Arrieta has taken quite a beating and the Twins have turned their cruel intentions to the Orioles bullpen.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Actually, Luke Scott is one of the hottest hitter in baseball, which shouldn't surprise anybody, since he has this amazing ability to go from one end of the spectrum to the other and back again in the course of every season. He can be the best hitter in the game for three weeks and then suddenly morph into the worst for an extended period. His intro music ought to be Billy Joel's 1989 hit "I Go To Extremes," though I really wouldn't want to hear it that often.

I'll say this. When he's got it going, he's a blast to watch. He should have had two more homers last night, but had to settle for one because Twins center fielder Denard Span climbed out of the ballpark to pull his first big fly back.

Kiss of death dept. I've got a really good feeling about Jake Arrieta today, which is always a bad sign.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It's been a week since my little buddy Bogart underwent pretty extensive surgery at the Maryland Virginia Veterinary Hospital, but I'm happy to say he's doing well and I've included a photo of Bogie in recovery.

It's going to be tough to keep him in that collar for two weeks, but there is an upside. He's pulling in the DISH Network for free.

The bad news: No matter how I position him, he still can't get either of the MASN HD channels.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

Just six days until the big six-man tag team match pitting me and Fed Up against Kevin Eck and a couple of guys from his Yoga class. I've been searching the internet for directions to the New Green Room, but apparently even Mapquest doesn't want to spend any time in Dundalk. Either that or they assume that anyone who wants to go there couldn't possibly be computer literate.

I can't wait to get in the ring and show Kevin how we used to do it in the days of Freddie Blassie and Bobo Brazil, and I'm so sure my guys are going to win that I'm raising the stakes. If Kevin somehow finds a way to come out on top, I'm going to offer to pay for both him and Roch Kubatko to get a neck reduction.

Kevin's "Before" picture is above.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: MCW: The Schmuckdown, Schmuck being Schmuck
        

I've got to admit, between writing back-to-back columns, doing back-to-back three-hour radio shows and working out for next Saturday's MCW tag team match in Dundalk, it has been tough to keep the blog fresh the last couple of days. My humblest apologies.

I'll try to do better, but while you're waiting for that to happen, my second column of the weekend is up on the Web site and you go right here to read my take on the fact that the Orioles are almost back to being the team that opened the season with a lot more promise than it has realized.

Of course, that doesn't mean anything is going to change, as Saturday night's 7-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins clearly illustrated, but it's still going to be interesting to see how the Orioles play with almost all of the original components back in place.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It's going to be nasty hot out there today, with the heat index estimated to rise to about 110 degrees, so I have a little piece of advice for you:

STAY INSIDE!

And, while you're staying inside, take a look at my "News item" column in today's print edition or right here on the Web site.

While I'm shamelessly plugging myself, here's another way to stay cool this afternoon. Crack open a cold one and tune your radio to WBAL (1090AM) or WBAL.com for Sportsline. I'll be talking about the opening of Ravens training camp on Monday and looking back at last night's Orioles victory. Ravens beat reporter Jamison Hensley will join me to examine the Ed Reed situation and preview the early rookie workouts.

Of course, it's Saturday, which means the lines will be open and you can join in a lively three-hour conversation that could end up going in just about any direction. Can't wait to hear from you.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Shameless plug
        

Brian Roberts bounced out to second base in his first major league at-bat in nearly four months, but that certainly doesn't tell you the whole story of his contribution in the first inning of tonight's game against the Minnesota Twins.

Though Roberts did not reach base, his at-bat set the tone for what could have been a multi-run rally. He worked Twins starter Brian Duensing to a full count and forced him to throw seven pitches. Miguel Tejada even looked more selective when he followed Roberts to the plate and delivered a single. Then Ty Wigginton worked Duensing to a 3-1 count before getting squeezed out of a walk by home plate umpire Gary Darling.

Of course, you remember Darling's blown call last night and the ugly aftermath that led to three Orioles being ejected from the game. Major League Baseball announced today that Wiggy has been fined and suspended for three games for bumping the umpire, but he has appealed and will continue to play until he has a hearing. Maybe it was a coincidence, but the 3-1 pitch that Darling called a strike was clearly out of the strike zone, and Wigginton flied out on the next full-count pitch.

Still, the Orioles picked up a run on back-to-back singles by Luke Scott and Adam Jones to take the early lead, and Duensing was forced to labor through the first inning on a very hot and steamy night at Camden Yards. Maybe it's a stretch to give Roberts a lot of credit for that, but it was just good to see somebody not wearing a Yankees or Red Sox uniform show some real plate discipline around here.

Instant update: Roberts has not been on base in four at-bats, but he has seen 24 pitches and taken the count to three balls in two of his plate appearances and saw at least six pitches in three of them. Nothing to get real excited about, but that kind of approach shortens the night for the opposing pitcher, and maybe presents some teaching moments for the younger hitters.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Now that I've had time to digest Kevin Eck's latest Ring Posts video, I thought it was high time for a little accuracy in media. The six-man tag team match featuring Kevin and I is still on for July 31 at The New Green Room in Dundalk, but I'm starting to wonder who Kevin will dress up as for the evening. I can only hope it's not Mickie James, though what he does in the privacy of his own home is certainly his own business. I hope you enjoy the accompanying video, because I think it will set the record straight.

;

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: MCW: The Schmuckdown, Schmuck being Schmuck
        

Even after Chris Tillman blew up and Brad Bergesen struggled against his team, Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon said he remains impressed with the number of good young arms on the Orioles' roster.

"I see some good arms (in the rotation) and a lot of potential,'' Maddon said, "and I think the bullpen is chock full of power arms -- with Hernandez and Simon and Berken. They just need to gain confidence. Overall, it's about fastball command. As they become more efficient, they are going to get better. They've got high-end stuff. I don't know them, so I don't know their makeup, but if the makeup is good, they are going to have some good pitchers."

Maddon also thinks the Orioles will play better during the final months of the season.

"They just got (Luke) Scott back and he killed us,'' Maddon said. "They are about to get Roberts back and he's one of the best players in the league. They've got Wieters out. I don't take Baltimore lightly at all. They definitely have some interesting things going on. It's about patience, but of course, everybody's looking for results.

"My take on the thing: As those pitchers mature, heads up. Because they have got some other pieces."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (154)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Tampa Bay Rays don't have the best road record in the major leagues for nothing, but I'll say this. If you're looking for a straw to grasp at, the Orioles were very competitive over the past two days. They rebounded from four-run deficits in both games and battled to the last out.

Of course, that and $4 bucks will get you a latte at Starbucks. The Rays are are the team the Orioles someday hope to be, so I hope everybody was taking notes.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I don't spend a lot of time second-guessing managerial decisions -- and I've been fine with Juan Samuel's game management over the past couple months -- but I thought he went a little button crazy in the eighth inning today.

He pinch ran Scott Moore for Ty Wigginton with one out in the eighth inning and the Orioles down by one, only to have Moore thrown out at third on a bouncer to short by Adam Jones. I didn't like the move even before the fundamental mistake, because you've got a chance to go to extra innings again and you might want one of your top hitters to still be around.

Then, with Jones on first and two outs, he pinch hit Felix Pie for Jake Fox, which left him short of bench bats for the ninth inning with Julio Lugo and Cesar Izturis due up. I think you leave Wigginton in the game and hit Moore for Fox if you care that much about the right-left matchup. That still leaves Pie available in the ninth.

Let's see what happens.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles scored three runs in the fourth and a run in the fifth to erase a four-run lead for the second time in as many nights, but Brad Bergesen could not keep the Rays at bay in the sixth and left with the bases loaded and one out.

Jason Berken would have gotten the O's out of the jam right there if Miguel Tejada had not been slow to release the ball on a two-hopper by Jason Bartlett and only got the force play at the plate. Jake Fox tried to complete the relay to first base, but Bartlett beat it by a half step.

That brought up Evan Longoria, who walked to drive in a run before Mark Hendrickson came on to get out of the inning. All things considered, it probably wasn't a terrible outcome, but the Orioles are going to need another comeback...just like last night.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

Just noticed the new video that Kevin Eck put up on his so-called wrestling blog -- Ring Posts -- and it's somewhat disturbing.

If you want some advanced warning, Kevin dresses up as a bunch of his favorite professional wrestlers to bust on me, which is fine. I supposed that's the kind of thing they do in Dundalk to entertain themselves, so I should just feel lucky he didn't dress up as Mickie James, though what he does in his private life is nobody's business but his own.

I'll have a video response in the next day or two, but it's hard to carve out much time in between workouts. I'm getting into the best shape of my life for the July 31 Shamrock Cup show at the Green Room in Dundalk. Of course, that's not saying all that much.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: MCW: The Schmuckdown, Schmuck being Schmuck
        

Brad Bergesen got the first two outs in the first inning, but Rays star Evan Longoria showed him the left field bleachers to give Tampa Bay a quick 1-0 lead. Of course, the Orioles proved last night that early home runs don't mean a thing, and they hit four of them in the first three innings.

Since I didn't get a chance to comment on last night's finish, I will say it was a pretty impressive two-pronged comeback. Miguel Tejada's two-run double that tied the game in the ninth should have set up the winning run in regulation, since there were still no outs, but the O's don't do anything the easy way. They had to come back again in the 12th and then won it on Julio Lugo's single in the 13th.

I wonder if Michelle Obama stayed until the end.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Just baseball
        

My apologies for the sudden lapse in blog continuity, which took place at a pivotal point in last night's 13-inning Oriolse victory. My colleague, Jeff Zrebiec, who already had the unbelieveably complicated job of trying to get a story into the print edition of the paper after the game turned around about three times, suffered a computer meltdown and I -- being the altruistic wrestling heel that I am -- handed mine over to him for the rest of the night and basically sat around the ballpark until after 1 a.m. with nothing to do.

Now, Dan Connolly would probably tell you that I generally do nothing when I'm at the ballpark, but watching Jeff work reminded me of the night my daughter was born., You know something really important is happening, but since you really can't do anything to help you'd really rather be down in the cafeteria eating ice cream.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Juan Samuel likes to say -- to whoever will listen -- that the Orioles play hard for him and never quit, which is what you're supposed to say when your team is getting its hat handed to it every night, but he got some proof tonight.

The Orioles squandered the early lead they built on four solo home runs and fell behind by four runs before rallying in the seventh and again in the ninth to tie the score on a two-run double by Miguel Tejada.

Of course, the bad news was that pinch runner Julio Lugo was standing at second base with nobody out and was still standing there four batters later. That's Orioles baseball in a nutshell. They staged some nice comebacks in Texas, but I haven't seen many teams during my eons of baseball coverage who squandered more RISP/no out situations than this one.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Here are some random thoughts, since I had to get up early to let in the air conditioning repairman:

-- Got a post from Bob recently which ended with another shot about how I was one of the only people in the world that thought Dave Trembley should come back for this season. It's hard to argue in favor of Dave after what has happened this year, but I'm wondering if anybody really thinks that this would be a significantly better team today under somebody else.

I mean, if the Orioles had spent last winter searching for a new manager, would Brian Roberts have been any healthier this spring? Felix Pie? Would a new manager have told Andy MacPhail to steer clear or that Michael Gonzalez guy?

Actually, even in retrospect, I still think extending Trembley was the right thing to do, because this team was horribly flawed and a new manager would have been tainted by it. Right now, if the O's had hired, say, Buck Showalter during the winter, a lot of you (and you know how you are) would be ranting that the Orioles screwed up another big decision and hired the wrong guy.

-- On a happier note, my little buddy Bogart is home and doing well after some pretty extensive surgery at Virginia Tech's terrific veterinary teachers hospital. In our spare time together now, we compare scars.

-- Chris Tillman is all over the place right now, but I don't think anybody should be bailing on him. If he was good enough to pitch 7 1/3 innings of two-hit ball a week or so ago, he's good enough to do it again. I'm not making excuses for him, but keep in mind that he was pitching on eight days rest last night. Pitchers are notorious creatures of routine, so he needs to be on a regular schedule to stay sharp.

-- The link site Fark.com had a great quip about British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen: "In Oosthuizen's honor, his name will be used in the last round of the next National Spelling Bee."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (98)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles are still smarting from a really bad weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays, and now they get a visit from the Tampa Bay Rays, who sport the best road record in the major leagues at 29-16. Still, I'm going to predict the Orioles at least win one game. There's just something about the Blue Jays that brings out the worst in them. (Fill in your own joke here)

The O's catch one of Joe Maddon's more hittable guys tonight in Wade Davis, who is 6-9 with a 4.69 ERA, and Chris Tillman is coming off the best major league start of his career. He went 7 1/3 last time out and gave up just an unearned run on two hits, so this isn't exactly a "reverse lock" situation.

You have to wonder, however, what might happen if the Rays deliver another brooming to the O's this week. Andy MacPhail claims his managerial search is not on a specific timetable, but another long losing streak would figure to put more pressure on him -- both from the fans and from the law office -- to get on with it.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (82)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It's hard to believe that the Orioles team that just got schooled by the Toronto Blue Jays for three games was the same team that swept a four-game series against the first-place Texas Rangers.

The O's scored a total five runs in the three-game sweep, which is pretty consistent with the way they've played for most of the season. The two season highlights -- a home sweep of the Red Sox and the four-game broom job in Texas -- certainly fall within the range of random statistical probability, so there's really nothing to take away from them.

If you haven't already seen these damning numbers, consider that the Orioles are 0-9 against the Blue Jays this year and have scored a grand total of 16 runs in those nine games. They scored six runs in the first meeting with the team they were expected to finish ahead of this year, then two runs or fewer in each of the next eight.

Maybe I'm being too critical here, but I don't think the Blue Jays are the kind of team that should go 9-0 against anybody, even though they have far exceeded their preseason expectations. The sweep improved their record to 47-45, which is pretty good for an also-ran in the American League East. Of course, without the nine wins over the Orioles, they'd probably be the Blue Jays team everybody expected them to be when the season began.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (51)
Categories: Just baseball
        

If you can't stand the thought of reliving last night's garden variety Orioles loss, you can read my column for Sunday's print edition right here. I take a look at the upcoming trade deadlines -- the July 31 waiver deadline and the Aug. 31 playoff eligibility deadline -- and wonder if this year will be deja vu all over again.

Guess that four-game sweep in Texas last weekend was some kind of mirage. The Orioles have started the second half looking a lot like the team that started the first half. They've scored two runs in each of the first two games of the three-game series against the Blue Jays, and now have a string of seven straight games against Toronto this year in which they've scored two runs or fewer.

This time, you could see it coming a mile away after they scored two runs to take a 2-1 lead in the sixth and still had runners at first and third with one out. Of course, they didn't tack on that extra run, so Jose Bautista's two-run homer off Jason Berken was enough to put the Jays back on top for good.

I could also point out that they couldn't get a sacrifice bunt down on two separate occasions, but that would be piling on.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (42)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles just recalled Josh Bell from Triple-A Norfolk to take Matt Wieters' place on the roster, which is a classic bad news, good news scenario. Obviously, it's bad news for Wieters, though he'll get time to rest his sore hamstring and probably regain some strength for the second half. It's good news for Bell, who left here after struggling against major league pitching in a relatively brief stint.

Bell went down with the right attitude and he might have benefitted from staying at Triple-A for a while to rebuild his confidence, but his recall is also a positive message that the club is high on him and expects him to succeed at this level. It's good news for him and it's good news for Orioles fans, who are understandably curious about him and will get to see more of him over the next week or so.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (66)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Since the Orioles are coming out of the All-Star break on pace for their worst record in club history -- and you can check out all the historical comparisons in Jeff Zrebiec's midseason story here -- it's a logical time to look ahead and wonder just where the club is going.

It's pointless, but logical. The one thing we all know for sure, and have since late April, is that this is a discouraging lost season that is not going anywhere good. The only salvation would be some uplifting individual turnarounds during the final months, which would improve the outlook for 2011, but even that would only make a modest dent in the huge disappointment that is the 2010 season.

That's why I don't get the obsession with what the final loss total will be. Even Andy MacPhail said in Jeff's story that the Orioles want to avoid a 100-loss season. Well, of course he does and so does everyone else who isn't reveling in the club's failure, but I'd also like the Orioles to avoid a 99-loss season and a 97-loss season.

Baseball has always put a huge arbitrary emphasis on certain round numbers, even though they often have little mathematical significance. I mean, which would you rather have -- a pitcher who wins 20 games once and averages 11 wins a season the rest of his career or a guy who wins 18 or 19 games almost every year? We'd all take the latter, but the first guy will always be known as a former 20-game winner and the other guy is going to be known as the guy who never won 20.

It's fair enough to use 100 losses as a general standard of futility, but anybody who breathes a sigh of relief if the Orioles stop at 99 has spent too many years watching this team. Just like the rest of us.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (58)
Categories: Just baseball
        

If it seems like I haven't been around here much the past couple of days, it's because I haven't. I'm in Blacksburg, Va, at the terrific Virginia Tech veterinary teachers hospital with my little buddy Bogart, who has the mother of all kidney stones lodged in a place that I would rather not describe further.

Let's just say it's in there deep enough that removing it -- and several others -- without turning the four-month-old pup into a lifelong invalid requires the most state-of-the-art veterinary techniques, and the place to go for that on the East Coast is VTech, which also has some pretty good sports teams if you're trying hard to find some relevance here.

Listen, I'm well aware that Bogie (at left in happier days) is just a dog and there are a lot of people out there facing much more important health crises, but he's part of the family and the kids stopped driving me toward bankruptcy when they finished college. So, I'm coming to you from the Best Western in Radford, Va., and that's where I'll be for the next few days, waiting and hoping that the little fellow comes back strong. He's got several more pieces of furniture to chew up before he reaches doggy adulthood.

I'm hoping the Orioles hold their managerial announcement at least until Sunday, or you're going to get my opinion with a southern accent.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

Can't wait for the new Paul Rudd/Steve Carrell movie to hit theaters, and it should be pretty obvious why. "Dinner For Schmucks" comes out in about two weeks and promises to be a big hit, even though I'm conspicuous by my lack of a cameo appearance. Pretty big oversight if you ask me.

Anyway, it's getting maximum promotion, including trailers during last night's All-Star Game on Fox. If you want to check one of them out, I picked one off of YouTube and included it below.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (23)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

My column for tomorrow's print edition is up on the Sun Web site, where you can take a look at it between innings.

I'm pretty impressed with the job that Juan Samuel has done over the past six weeks, but still believe the Orioles will eventually offer the permanent managerial position to Buck Showalter. The longer it goes, however, the more you have to wonder just whether that's anything close to a done deal.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (60)
Categories: Shameless plug
        

Could this be the year the National League finally breaks through after a 13-year drought in All-Star competition? It's starting to look that way as the game heads into the late innings with the NL ahead 3-1 on a seventh-inning three-run double by Braves catcher Brian McCann.

If the lead holds up, and this is the kind of game where there are so many great pitching options that it probably will, the NL will get the home-field advantage in the World Series for the first time since MLB made that the prize for the league that wins the Midseason Classic.

I'm not a big fan of the system, but it's about time the NL team got the extra home game in the Series. That's not a small thing.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Just baseball
        

There is all sorts of speculation that the Orioles are on the verge of finalizing a deal to make Buck Showalter the club's permanent manager, though the team has made it known that there will not be a new manager in place for Friday night's series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards.

Does that mean that Andy MacPhail is dragging his feet here? I don't think so. I think it means that the new manager -- and we're all assuming it will be Buck -- probably will not take over field management of the team immediately.

The Orioles have played better under Samuel than they did under Dave Trembley, which was predictable since it would have been pretty hard not to show some improvement after one of the worst two-month starts in the history of baseball. It probably makes sense to stay with Samuel while the team is on a minor roll, though leaving him in place might create an issue if the team continues to play well next week.

It wouldn't surprise me if the Orioles have an announcement on Wednesday or Thursday, but I have no special insight on the timetable.

Buy Orioles Gear

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (94)
        

Really don't know what to make of the Orioles' performance this weekend, but it was fun to watch. Now, we can all wait around for a few days to see if the club makes an offer to one of their managerial finalists.

If you're curious, the club is 14-20 under interim manager Juan Samuel, which is a pretty significant improvement over the first two months of the season, but I don't think it's compelling enough to justify a change in the direction of the managerial search. Of course, if Andy MacPhail keeps the job open for another week or two and the Orioles start the second half with a few more wins, it might open that discussion.

I'm conflicted about that possibility. I like and respect Samuel, but I just don't think the Orioles can afford to repeat the same routine that they did with Sam Perlozzo and Dave Trembley.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (85)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Jake Arrieta has had just one hiccup in today's start against the Texas Rangers. He just completed his sixth inning and has given up just one run -- on a first-inning home run by Ian Kinsler -- and six hits. He has thrown 88 pitches, but we'll have to wait and see if he comes out for the seventh on a 96-degree afternoon in Texas.

Instant update: Arrieta got the first out of the seventh inning before giving way to the bullpen. His line: 6 1/3 innings, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Hey, am I the only one who thinks that Dutch World Cup coach Bert Van Marwijk should be cast as the villain in the next Die Hard movie?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

The World Cup final has begun, but that doesn't mean you can't walk and chew gum at the same time by checking out my latest column, which asks this important question:

Will LeBron James permanently dethrone Art Modell as the King of Pain in Cleveland? The early returns say yes, but it might be a different story over the long run.

Check out the print edition of The Sun today or go over to the Baltimore Sun main Web site to get both my opinion on the subject and Art's.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Just football
        

Paul the octopus has picked Spain to win the World Cup final today in South Africa, which is quite heartening for those of us who have the Spaniards in our Cup pools. (Yes, really.) But I'm pretty sure Berlin's world-famous octo-oracle picked Cliff Lee in last night's game against the Orioles.

Either way, I'm guessing my friend Jim Henneman toasted the outcome, since he is the originator of the "reverse lock" concept. Last night, Lee was outpitched by young Chris Tillman (8.40 ERA entering the game) and gave up three home runs -- one of them to Cesar Izturis, whose last home run, I believe, came off Danny Almonte in the Little League World Series.

Which brings us to a tough decision today. Do you watch Jake Arrieta and the Orioles go for the four-game sweep in Texas against C.J. Wilson, who has given up two earned runs or fewer in each of his last six starts? Or do you stop being an ugly American for a couple of hours and watch Spain play the Netherlands along with 700 million other inhabitants of the planet?

Sounds like the kind of day when you thank the heavens for the guy who invented the "Previous Channel" button on your remote.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I'm still trying to process what happened in Texas last night. Corey Patterson had never hit a grand slam in his major league career. Rangers closer Neftali Feliz is headed to the All-Star Game. That kind of thing just doesn't happen to the Orioles, but it did and the result was one of the most uplifting victories in years.

Not that it changes the overall outlook of the team, but it's certainly nice to head into tonight's matchup against newly acquired Rangers ace Cliff Lee with the series split already guaranteed.

We can talk about this more at noon on my "Sportsline" show on WBAL (1090AM) and WBAL.com. We'll also have Jamison Hensley stop by to give us a Ravens update. Give me a call.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (79)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles probably aren't looking forward to facing Cliff Lee when he makes his Texas Rangers debut this weekend, but they should he happy that GM Jon Daniels was willing to send Justin Smoak and three minor leaguers (two of them decent pitching prospects) to Seattle to rent Lee and solidify the Rangers rotation for the second half.

Why should they care? Because there's a pretty good chance that the Rangers' bankruptcy issues will prevent them from making a serious bid to sign Lee before he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

Again, why should they care? Because they need to pull out all the stops and try to convince him to come to Baltimore, which would free up a prime pitching prospect to package in a deal for a quality middle-of-the-order hitter.

Is this all a pipe dream? Probably, since it might take many milllions over market to get Lee to even consider the rebuilding O's, but Andy MacPhail has to give likely manager Buck Showalter something to work with in 2011.

Anyway, it's the best possible scenario if the Orioles are ready to wade deep into the free agent market this winter.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (34)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Since I never miss an opportunity for some shameless self-promotion, I thought I might point out that while you're waiting for the rain to subside in Texas, you can go over to the Web site and read my "News item" column for tomorrow's print edition.

I guess if you're going to get a weather delay, this was the right night for it. Stephen Strasburg just completed another outstanding six-inning performance, giving up just a leadoff home run in the first inning and two other hits against the San Francisco Giants. He threw 95 pitches and struck out eight, but the Nats weren't going to leave him out there any longer on another hot Washington night (88 degrees at gametime).

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Believe it or not, tonight's late-inning meltdown was brought to you by the Texas Rangers, who jumped out to a four-run lead, but couldn't hold off the Orioles down the stretch. The O's got home runs by Scott Moore and Felix Pie to get back in the game, but it was a bullpen blowup starring Rangers relievers Frank Francisco and Darren Oliver that allowed the O's to overtake the Rangers in the eighth.

The inning started with an error by Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus and featured two hit batsmen and a bases-loaded walk. It was the kind of late-inning disaster that Orioles fans have grown accustomed to during the first half of this discouraging season.

Frankly, I was a little surprised the O's were equal to this challenge, though they almost didn't have a choice. They scored two runs in the seventh and appeared to be on the verge of tying the game with one out before Miguel Tejada came up with runners at first and third and fished for a couple of bad pitches -- the second of which he tapped weakly to shortstop to start an inning-ending double play.

All's well that ends well, but there have been too many games this year where that kind of at-bat led to a different outcome.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (33)
Categories: Just baseball
        

When I read Kevin Cowherd's column complaining about the way some pre-game singers perform irritating vocal gymnastics with the National Anthem and stretch it out way too long, I had only one reaction:

Amen!

I don't watch the clock during the anthem, but I've got a simpler rule than Kevin. If you can't hold your breath through it, then it's too long, unless you have asthma or something.

However, I have to get in Kevin's grill today. I've also got certain rules for sports columns. Like, if you're writing about the insufferable anthem showoffs, the column should be no more than 700 words. Cowherd was right on the money in his first column, but when he went for a second bite at the anthem in today's print edition, he stretched the subject out to a total of about 1,500 words.

For that, he should be forced to listen to the Roseanne Barr version of the anthem every day for a month.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

Today's featured comment comes from Barry, who's a big Buck Showalter fan and doesn't think we've done enough at The Sun to advance his possible hiring as the Orioles permanent manager.

Barry's take: Seems like sports reporting in the home town has hit the mat, too. It's funny how I can advocate the hiring of Buck Showalter for over a year now, finally see it about to happen, but get most of my hope from a former Sun reporter, Buster Olney, who reported on July 5th that he sees the odds of the Orioles hiring Buck now at 1/2.

Those are ugly odds at the track but a beautiful sight for me and others who want Showalter as the next Baltimore manager.

Where is the Sun in pursuing this story?

Please bring us the breaking news that Buck will be the next manager of the Orioles.

You playfully poke fun at yourself for loving to eat. So, I suppose I should take heart when you say your gut tells you Buck will be the choice.

Please keep your scent on the story.

Pete's take: Barry has been a faithful member of this blog from the beginning, so I don't want to be too hard on him, but -- with all due respect to Buster and the ESPN guys who work with Buck and Bobby Valentine every day -- our guy Dan Connolly has been on top of this story from the start. He and Jeff Zrebiec have broken just about every significant development in the O's managerial hunt, so the criticism here is misplaced. Buster is probably right. Buck seems to be the big favorite, and I believe I said exactly the same thing in my column on July 3.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Listen, I totally understand the frustration that fans feel about this awful season, so I'm not going to blast anybody for feeling like it's time to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I've never quite understood that expression anyway. But the notion that the Orioles need to "blow it up" and trade all the young players for a few established guys is -- of course -- totally ridiculous.

It never ceases to amaze me how people can look at a problem and, partly out of that same frustration, assume that the situation is static and will never evolve. Of course, this is a low point at the bottom of a crater in Orioles history, but if you don't think it can get worse, try starting the whole rebuilding thing over right now or try buying your way out of the cellar.

The only chance of getting back into contention in the AL East is to get every aspect of the organization to a new level. Andy MacPhail started with player development and -- the current performance of some of the young players notwithstanding -- I don't think there's anybody on this blog who feels the player development system was better before he got here.

He also made some decent trades at the outset, which helped to flesh out the club's organizational depth. Now, the focus has to shift toward acquiring some truly quality veterans to anchor the starting rotation and the batting order. Obviously, the Orioles have to make a play for at least one big-money pitcher and one big-money offensive star -- either by trade or through free agency. I don't think anybody believes they can go into next season and hope to grow out of the worst record in baseball. At least, I hope not.

Will those players readily be available? Probably not. So, the Orioles will have to overpay for a top-flight free agent pitcher and may have to consider dealing one or two of their good prospects and assuming a big contract to get a difference-maker at the heart of the lineup. Anything less is going to turn Oriole Park into more of a ghost town than it already is.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (50)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I'm going to admit right here that I got ambushed by Kevin Eck on Tuesday night on WBAL. I never had any intention of getting into the ring with him. I mean, do you know what that peroxide he's got all over his head will do to a good Tommy Bahama? Now, I have to defend the honor of The Schmuck Stops Here at the Maryland Championship Wrestling Shamrock Cup Show on July 31 in beautiful downtown Dundalk.

Clearly, Kevin can't even take a little ribbing. Check out this video he made for his wrestling blog. The guy -- and his readers -- are obsessed with me, which I would totally understand if they were women. Not a lot of guys out there with my combination of physical attractiveness, intelligence, sense of humor and raw athleticism, so I'll understand if Mickie James has trouble keeping her hands off me that night.

Really, fellas, I've enjoyed the running commentary about my chances in the six-man tag team match, but it's not like I'm going out there alone, though I probably could muddle through myself if necessary. I may be the only person in the arena who can read and write, so I might even change the script at the last minute.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: MCW: The Schmuckdown, Schmuck being Schmuck
        

Don't know how you all viewed last night's come-from-ahead loss to the Tigers, but I came away with a couple of impressions -- the first being that Miguel Cabrera is absolutely unstoppable. The guy apparently has his life straightened out, and now there isn't a crooked pitch he can't turn into a straight line. Just ask Alfredo Simon.

I guess nobody should be surprised, since the Orioles have an amazing penchant for turning an uplifting first seven innings into a huge downer, but I'm not going to bail on Simon, whose ability to throw in the high 90s so soon after Tommy John surgery is just short of a medical miracle.

Will he grow into a great closer? Who knows. But I think the Orioles ought to give themselves a chance to find out. Post-TJ pitchers usually don't hit their stride until they are two years removed from the procedure, so it's possible that Simon has some untapped potential. Last night notwithstanding, he's done a pretty good job since moving into the closer role, so let's not start in on him just yet.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (50)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Just when I thought all this wrestling foolishness was in my rear-view mirror, Ring Posts blogger Kevin Eck called the "Sportsline" radio show tonight (WBAL 1090AM, WBAL.com) and challenged me to show up at the Maryland Championship Wrestling show on July 31st in Dundalk and face him in a six-man tag team match. I tried to take the high road and avoid a physical confrontation, but the guy apparently wants a piece of The Schmuck, so who am I to argue? As you can see from the video below, I'm shaking in my boots.

;

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)
Categories: MCW: The Schmuckdown, Schmuck being Schmuck
        

If you've been reading the Dan Connolly's reports from Detroit, you know that the Orioles are considering putting Kevin Millwood on the disabled list, though it's unclear whether he has a sore arm or is just running out of gas after a long and discouraging first half.

One thing is certain, Millwood has done everything the Orioles asked of him since he was acquired from the Texas Rangers for reliever Chris Ray, but even a long-time veteran is going to wear down from the physical and mental beating that he has taken over the past three months.

The guy pitched well early in the season and eventually just gave in to the poor offensive support and bad fortune that culminated with Monday's horrible performance against the Tigers. Maybe his arm is tired. Maybe his head is. Either way, you have to feel for the guy, who has kept a positive attitude and probably helped soften the impact of the club's terrible first half on the other young pitchers in the rotation.

Who knows, maybe Brian Matusz is just a mentally tough young guy, but he had to see the classy way that Millwood handled his long winless streak, and I can't help but think it helped him get through his long drought without a mental meltdown. Millwood has shown some of these guys how to handle failure, especially when it's out of your control. If he needs a couple weeks off to recharge his batteries, that's just fine. It's not like the O's are in a position to trade him right now.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (75)
Categories: Just baseball
        

If you're watching today's game against the Detroit Tigers, you're probably going to miss dinner. Kevin Millwood threw 45 pitches in the first inning -- no small feat with the temperature in the 90s -- and Tigers rookie Andrew Oliver must have thought he was supposed to do the same thing when he returned to the mound after that five-run Detroit rally. He gave back all five runs as the O's batted around to take a 6-5 lead.

Oliver was gone with two outs in the second inning, and -- I've got to tell you -- it isn't easy to throw 53 pitches against the Orioles before the third, with all the guys who like to hack at the first pitch.

Millwood could not locate his breaking stuff and never figured to throw a lot of fastball strikes past this Tigers lineup, but he isn't even the pitcher of record anymore. Mark Hendrickson came on in the bottom of the second and did not have much better luck. The Tigers put up three more to get back on top and take Oliver off the hook.

MASN play-by-play guy Gary Thorne just pointed out that it took 141 total pitches to get to the 11th out of the game.

Enough said.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Just when you're ready to totally give up on the Orioles, something like this happens. Brian Matusz turned in an absolutely terrific performance to break his interminable winless streak and the remind everyone that there are some players here who might just grow up to be major stars.

Of course, if we're talking about the Orioles, it's usually a good news/bad news proposition and today was no exception. Third base prospect Josh Bell struck out in his first three at-bats against John Lackey and then crumpled to the ground on a swing during his fourth at-bat, apparently with some kind of knee injury. He had to be removed from the game.

Typical.

Today's complaint: I guess the message still hasn't gotten across. Julio Lugo was jogging out his fly ball to right field before J.D. Drew lost it in the sun for an error in the ninth inning. Lugo still got to third on the play, but he probably should have noticed that Drew had been struggling with the fly balls all day and hustled out of the box.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (64)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Brian Matusz is displaying tremendous command in today's series finale against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. He just struck out David Ortiz for the second time in the game on a perfect fastball right on the low-outside corner. He got into some trouble in the bottom of the fourth when Adrian Beltre golfed an ankle-high pitch off the Green Monster, but worked out of trouble by striking out Orioles-killer J.D. Drew and getting Bill Hall on a lineout to center.

So far, Matusz has given up two hits and struck out six. Red Sox right-hander John Lackey also has been dealing, but he got into a jam in the top of the fourth and allowed two runs on a wild pitch and an RBI single by Scott Moore.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Since I'm not one to make excuses, I'll just offer an explanation for why I haven't had much of a presence here the past couple of days. Between baiting pro wrestling fans and writing two columns over the past 28 hours or so -- not to mention spending six hours spouting off on the radio -- I have had trouble carving out much time to analyze the first two games of the series against the Red Sox.

If you want to read my latest column analyzing the Orioles at the mathematical halfway point in the season, just click on the highlighted area.

I've also got one of my "News item" columns up on the Web site, and you'll be glad to know that I'm now waffling on who I believe the Orioles will hire to be their new permanent manager. If you want to look at this week in the rear view mirror, here's my jaundiced opinion on a number of subjects.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It's really kind of sad when I try to offer an olive branch to my colleague Kevin Eck and all the great pro wrestling fans out there, and it gets slapped out of my hand. I just went over to Ring Posts and found that Kevin had taken a bunch of cheap potshots at me. Guess he wanted to get his name in one of the big boy blogs again.

Of course, I always try to take the high road, but it apparently doesn't pass through Eckville. I just read some of the comments under Kevin's diatribe and I'm surprised to see some of you grappling afficionados trying to psychoanalyze me to determine the motive for my earlier comments about the current state of the so-called sport.

Let me put your tiny minds at ease. I am not some bundle of insecurity who is threatened by Kevin's success, such as it is. If anything, I'm probably too secure because I'm such a good-looking and successful fellow who wears only the finest in Tommy Bahama fashions. I mean, think about it for a minute. Who else can get away with dressing like that for work? I must be pretty darned important.

For those of you who made nasty comments about my age, weight and alleged mental instability, do I need to remind you that you're the ones who pay $59.95 every month or so to watch giant men play fight in Speedos.

Now, can't we all just get along?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (35)
Categories: MCW: The Schmuckdown, Schmuck being Schmuck
        

Brad Bergesen bounced back tonight, for all the good it did him. He was efficient, worked quickly and held the Boston Red Sox in check for 7 2/3 innings, only to be the pitcher of record when Will Ohman allowed a seeing-eye popup that fell just inside the right field foul line to break a 2-2 tie.

Should Juan Samuel have left him out there after he allowed a two-out double to Marco Scutaro? Knowing what we do now, of course he should have, but there were a couple of left-handed hitters coming up and Bergesen had gotten the O's deep into the eighth inning.

This is just a little more Oriole luck. If you wait around long enough, something is going to happen that turns the tide the wrong way. The Orioles couldn't do much with Tim Wakefield, so one freaky fly ball was enough to ruin their night.

So it goes.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)
Categories: Just baseball
        

MASN sideline reporter Amber Theoharis probably summed the eventual outcome of this game up when she recounted asking Miguel Tejada if he had any strategy facing knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

"Absolutely not,'' he told her.

Then she said that the one thing he was not going to do was take a lot of pitches. I guess he passed that around the clubhouse before the game, because the Orioles were hacking from the start. Even when Wakefield started a hitter off with a ball, the O's seemed anxious to swing at the next pitch.

I realize that trying to hit a good knuckleball is no small task, but it seems logical to think that if it's hard for the hitters to determine where the ball is going to end up, it's also a challenge for Wakefield (above) since the knuckleball has a mind of its own. So, it would stand to reason that if you could get him a couple of pitches behind on the count, he might have to go with his 80-mph fastball, but each Oriole seems determined to flail at the first K-ball that looks like it's within reach.

Wakefield is 43 years old, so it would stand to reason that the more pitches he throws early in the game, the more vulnerable he might be later, so why let him get through the first inning on six or seven pitches?

Don't get me wrong. I know Wakefield is still out there after all these years because he's able to keep that flutterball around the plate, but to assume that in advance plays right into his hands.

Associated Press file photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Just baseball
        

I've heard some people wondering why the Orioles would use up an option to bring Josh Bell to the major leagues during this lost season, but that option already had been burned when he was optioned in spring training.

I think it's a great -- if very temporary -- move, because it gives Orioles fans another reason to tune in to games that wouldn't mean a whole lot if not for some young player intrigue. I doubt Bell will be damaged by the experience, even if he doesn't immediately produce at the plate. It's not quite the same equation as it would be with a young pitcher. He's a tough kid and he should benefit from the experience, no matter how long he's up.

Better to get his first taste in a low-pressure situation than be force fed into the starting lineup at the beginning of next season.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (109)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Does anyone really know what to make of this sudden surge by the Orioles, who have won five of their last six games? No lead is safe, and -- for once -- I'm talking about the other team.

Last night's five-homer performance may have been a huge anomaly. Probably was. But, even for a very short period, it's fun to see what we thought this offense might look like when this frustrating season started.

What's going on?

I've got a couple of theories, and one of them is what the people on Wall Street call a "dead cat bounce" -- an upturn in a bad market for no apparent reason. The theory goes, if you drop it from high enough, even a dead cat will bounce.

More likely, the O's have come out of the fog because they are a better team than their first-half record. Not a good team. Just a better team than the one that couldn't get out of its own way for so long. And before you start ripping me for being too positive, ask yourself this question: How could it not be?

The Orioles should be good enough to beat the Nationals and A's once in awhile, but it's never long before they get back to facing the beasts of the AL East. The Red Sox await this weekend.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (37)
Categories: Just baseball