Yes, my jeans were soaked, but I'm not sure that was rain water.
Scary ride.

A bit off topic here but here we go:

The Trop is a sorry ass excuses for a baseball stadium; however it provides true home field advantage for the Rays, as much as they bitch about it.

Which begs the guestion: Why in the heck wouldn't the O's readjust their ball park to make it a bit more pitcher friendly. It makes sense to me that with the young pitching you want to keep the ball inside the park. Why not extend the outfield corners by 20 feet? It's 318 to right, isn't it? That's ridiculous.

I see teams like the Twins building stadiums where it's tough for even Joe Mauer to hit it out. I think the O's "brass", if you want to call it that, to wise up and take advantage of whatever they can.

The last thing you want to have in the AL East is a hitter friendly ball park, which is what OPACY is.

The Orioles tried that once -- moved home plate back. Not sure why it didn't stay that way except the already skimpy foul territory was even smaller. This past offseason would have been the time to the walls since the seats were being replaced anyway.

[sigh] I always liked old Tiger Stadium as far as dimensions and viewpoints for fans.

I was in old Briggs stadium is Detroit many times. I still have memories of Al Kaline gunning down baserunners from right field and Norm Cash roping line drives off the the right field overhang with that short, compact swing.

Everytime I complain about OPACY Yards being a bandbox, three people sign on and dump out copious ten year statistics to try and prove that it is not as homer friendly as everyone thinks it is. Even Jim Palmer thinks the distance markers in left center field are 8 to 10 feet shorter than represented.

Never understood why a team with such a deep history of good pitching built a hitters park.

I think the experiment of moving homeplate back was abandoned because it messed up sightlines from the upper deck. Created too many blindspots for fans.

Back in the old days at Memorial Stadium, it was rumored that the O's paid people in the houses that were in the hitter's background to keep them painted white. Jim Palmer's fastball coming out of a white background, it was on hitters before they knew it left his hand...

i HOPE THAT THIS AFOREMENTIONED STATEMNT PROCLUDES TO YOU SPEND THE REST OF YOUR WORKING & USELESS HOURS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN Frederick and Hagerstown. That maybe uncomfortable for the local residents but your useless and incompetent dribble about ALL BALTIMORE SPORTS. Go crawl in some hen house.

Meso -

Compared to the new Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, Oriole Park actually is the least hitter friendly according to Park Factors.

That's not saying much, though, because Oriole Park is still in the top 10 for hitter friendly parks haha.

My argument for the Orioles is the pitching has collectively, just flat out sucked. Whether or not it is a hitter friendly park, they never had a problem winning back in '92-'97 when they actually had a better than average pitching staff. Whether or not they've given up the most homers, they still have had one of the 'highest batting average against' for however many years now

Orioles are 1/2 a game back already.

FIRE BUCK MACFAIL!!!

Did ya'll miss me? Come on.... admit it... you really did.

For those thinking Toronto will finish behind the O's (not brooks)... you are absolutely nuts.

I won't mention how Tor owned the O's last season (I could, but I won't), as it's a new season and both teams have changed things up a bit.

That said...... the Blue Jays truly have a nice club. Not a club that can win the AL East mind you, but a real nice club with significant upside.

By the way, I saw someone post that Boston will finish behind the O's. Whoever said such should just slap themselves. Yes, the O's will beat the sox from time to time.... but beat them in the division? There's orange kool aid and then there's whatever you're drinking.

Yes, the O's will be better this year. Really though... Is that saying anything to be proud of? Are there still fans out there who would think winning 9 more games than last season would actually be an improvement? Are you really out there?

How many days until we start talking about which prospects the O's will get for Vlad and Lee? That is if both stay healthy enough to demand anything in return?

How long before some of you begin talking about the impossible, like acquiring Fielder?

Thank goodness for Buck. even the worst owner in the league makes the right call once in a while, and PA did so when overruling AM's choice of Eric Wedge.

I think Buck can get us to 81 wins.... It's possible.

Of course with the trading of key players from the middle of the line-up, along with having NO ONE in the minors anywhere near ready for the Bigs, plus having nothing to look to from our embarrassing international efforts...... there won't be anything to look forward to in 2012.... but hey....

Why be a debbie downer?

Go O's

I think Wedge would have gotten us to 82 wins.

"having NO ONE in the minors anywhere near ready for the Bigs..."
Who else but Wayne.
Unfortunately for him no one in all of major league baseball agrees with this assessment....but hey it's never stopped him before.

Now mind you Wayne I only picked the most ridiculous comment even though there were many to choose from.

How in the world is Vlad in our lineup when you promised everyone he wouldn't be here?

me at 7:13 and OK Uncle Andy lets me use his name from time to time....he still wants Wedge

I missed you, wayne.

I mean, who can top a 320 word post of nothing but negativity that ends with "Why be a debbie downer?" That, my friend, is entertainment!

Anyway...

What does Toronto have that's going to keep them ahead of the O's?

Last I checked, their was set with one reliable starter (Ricky Romero), one top prospect (Kyle Drabek), two mid-level prospects (Brett Cecil, Jo-Jo Reyes, who, at 26, with a 6.40 ERA in 37 big league starts, probably can't really be called a "prospect" anymore) and one oft-injured chump (Litsch). Sounds awful familiar...

Their infield doesn't look too great to me either. Heck, you spout on about strikeouts all the time. How about Adam Lind? Last year, he struck out 144 times, took just 38 walks and hit 23 home runs. How is that any better than 200 K's, 80 some walks and 32 homers? And Edwin Encarnacion? He was so great that the Jays non-tendered him and let him go to Oakland before resigning him after the A's released him (confusing, right?). Cut by two teams in about a month. Nice! And Yunel Escobar? The diva that was traded by the Braves? He's great too, isn't he? Aaron Hill? Broke out at 27 and then collapsed at 28. Doesn't look too good to me... Oh, and they've got a rookie catcher! Awesome!

Man, these Blue Jays look great, don't they?! How about the outfield? An oft-injured prospect in right who hasn't done anything worth mentioning in the bigs. A speedster in center who's better suited for a part-time role. A guy in right who broke out as a 29-year-old and is almost guaranteed to disappoint in 2011. Sounds even more awesome than the infield!

But hey, at least they have a decent bullpen, right?

Boy wayne, you're right on about those Blue Jays! "A real nice club" for sure!

NB,

You may be right but the same things were said about the Blue Jays prior to the 2010 season by many on here. By the way, some of the descriptions you gave of their players may fit some of ours. I am dubious that the Orioles can pass anyone in the AL East until they do it. This may be the year. But games aren't played on paper. The Jays owned us last year and when they step on the field this year they will think nothing has changed. It's up to the Orioles to change the paradigm, and Buck taking the lineup card to home plate isn't enough. We will have to prove it. I hope you are right. The Orioles starting staff does not contain any budding Cy Young winners at this point either. Chris in Hawaii, in particular profiled the Jays just like you did now, prior to 2010. Let's just beat the hell out of them the first 7 meetings and then I can exhale.

How many days until we start talking about which prospects the O's will get for Vlad and Lee? That is if both stay healthy enough to demand anything in return?

No, this won't happen!

How long before some of you begin talking about the impossible, like acquiring Fielder?

I can promise you, I will never ever ask something like that. I am quite adamant that Fielder isn't the answer and he will never will be!

Oh one other thing, I just got done watching the Angel / Royals game. I have to tell you, I have no idea what the Royals are trying to do with Billy Butler.
I know this really has nothing to do with the Orioles, but it does in one way, so let me finish=P. Anyway, they want Billy Butler to be a leader so they make him DH. How you can be a leader in the clubhouse while being a DH is beyond me! ( Billy Butler is too young to be a full time DH) Also, late in the game Billy Butler was pulled for a pinch runner. Mitch Maier an average outfielder replaced him. Again, how can you be a leader of the team when your not only the DH, but you get pulled when the game is on the line? That's insulting!
Can anyone tell me who the incompetent one is over in KC Land is it Dayton Moore or Ned Yost?
Lastly, what if Andy MacPhail and Buck Showalter did the same thing. They sign someone to a long term contract for big money and then they not only make that player a DH and then they pull him late in the game for a pinch runner. I think they would be crucified, if they pulled a stunt like that. So Orioles fans be happy with what you have right now. You could have those two birds running the team. Oh and the funny thing is despite the Royals incompetence today. They almost won the game. If Alex Gordon had hit the ball like 5 more feet to the right, he would have hit the game winning home run, instead he struck out end of ball game.

Gil,

What does Jim Palmer know, yeah he's in the HOF, but anyone who knows ANYTHING about baseball knows there is no such rule as a Tie goes to the runner and he says it 20 times a year. I used to think maybe from his days doing the LL World Series but found out several years ago it isn't even in the LL rulebook, simply a sandlot rule!

The Truth will set you free!

Go O's

Keith,

Good to hear from you. There is no question the that Palmer is a legend in his own mind as I have pointed out before. I used to see him all the time years back at the downtown racquet center in the morning before work. Back in the day, when the players were approachable, I also saw him out and about and lost all respect for him as a person. But he does know what he is talking about when it comes to baseball. He has a lot of inside information and he plays the game with the Orioles front office to get it. He is one of PA"s favorites. If he says the sign on the fence in left center is shorter than stated I believe him. He has probably walked it off.

Squirrel,

Are you really still talking about Billy Butler? I've never seen somebody so obsessed with one player.

You wanna know why the Royals don't have Butler playing first base? It's because he's a crappy first baseman with a career -8.8 UZR to back it up.

That's why! No mystery.

Bad fielder = DH

Gil -

I'm right there with you about the Jays, but without Shaun Marcum, Vernon Wells, John Buck and the 54-homer version of José Bautista, I don't see them being nearly as good as they were last year.

And that leads me to the problem with wayne's post about Toronto. As per usual, he didn't back up his assertions with anything.

And wayne, before you come back with the same thing that Gil said at the end of his post - "People were saying the same thing about the Jays last year" - let me just say that I don't care what people were saying last year. Last year was last year. This year is this year. Sure, people were wrong in the past, but what does that have to do with the present?

Man, Look at this list of posters!
This a veritable best of if there ever was such...
Back to baseball talk and all...???
Where is Fire Trembley to really make me feel at home? Where's Paulie and Shamrock

Just to keep the thing on track...
Andy Macphail is the GREATEST GM since sliced bread....or at least he was before they invented bread machines, since then he lost his touch... but we still win 100 games this year...that's right,... I'm up from 97 wins because we are starting the year so dang healthy!!!

Enjoy the season fellas....and you too Wayne!

NB,

OK, you know more about stats than I ever wanted to, so let's see what happens. I hope the Jays are 15 games behind the O's on July 4th.

Smitty, can't you just let me get one good night's sleep before you continue to promote the worst GM in the history of baseball as a modern day saviour? If he was that good the Orioles would have been competitive four years ago. He is not part of the solution he is part of the problem. Andy sucks the big one. Have a nice night, I have to walk the dog. At least she knows not to crap where she sleeps, unlike Uncle Andy.

Debbie Downer ??!!!

Nah nb,

I'm not concerned with what people said last year. Besides, the posters who said the Jays would beat up on the O's are wrong about everything year after year anyway...so there's really no point in reminding them what they already know.

I didn't say the Jay's would compete for anything..... they're just better than the O's. Just imaging nb... There's a poster in Toronto telling people how the Jays will easily beat up on the O's, and he'll back it up by doing with the O's what you just did with the Jays.... Here, let me try.

1B - Injured rental who wants to put '10 behind him.
2B - Missed 2/3rds of '10 and is a huge risk this season.
SS - Due to injury's, etc, has declined miserably the past two seasons
3B - More K's over a 3 year period than anyone in the history of the game to go with a 198 avg.
LF- Serviceable player
CF- Has a chance to be a star one day
RF- See the decline. His #'s simply can't be excused. No speed, No power, Solid glove.
C- May turn out to be very average.
DH - Will be gone by the trade deadine.
SP- Who knows? Their 3, 4,& 5 starters are train wrecks ready to happen. Their best young prospect was held back for business reasons.
RP- Potentially solid
Minor leagues - ranked #21

Don't worry Blue Jay fans, the O's are no threat as they'll easily be one of the 3 or 4 worst teams in the AL this season. To them, 78 wins would be a HUGE improvement.

Sorry nb, the cellar is reserved for the goold ole O's.

I'm assuming everyone on this blog is gonna be at the Yards on Monday. I know I am. Coming down from New York for the game. So pumped to see the O's start off what should be their most exciting campaign in years.

Where ya'll sitting? I'm in sec. 66.

Personally, I think it'd be hilarious to see all the folks who've been yelling at each other for years on this blog all in one place.

It's funny that our 25-year-old center fielder "has a chance to be a star one day" despite the fact that he hasn't given us a single reason to believe that he'll be able to overcome his biggest flaw (plate discilpine)...

...but our 27-year-old right fielder's only saving grace is his "solid glove", despite the fact that he's hit close to .300 with 45 doubles in each of the past two seasons while playing the part of the best hitter in a pathetic lineup.

Leave it to wayne though, right?

I'm thinking the whole Kegagus idea came from reading Wayne. He proves on a near daily basis that the idea of a 1/2 man and half horse's behind can truely exist!

Party on Garth, Party on Wayne! It's Wayne's World!

MountainFan:

Dude, I'm dying over here!! Half man, half horses behind....LOL.

Thanks for a good Friday morning laugh.

You too, Wayne.

Smiles,
Fergie

Great article by the Z man on Andy and Buck.....poor Wayne....wrong again....I feel for you man....I've been wrong too....but this has been one terrible offseason for you...you've been way off in just about everything you've said.
Keep your chin up....maybe we will be doing some wheeling and dealing at the trade deadline.....I mean there's still hope for you to have a better year this year.

Gil I agree I think the rebuild should have produces results 4 years ago also (right when it started). I just have to say these crazy things so i can remain a part of the "family" if you know what I mean.

At least you've begun talking like an adult and not like a middle schooler with references to do-do and all.....oh you did it again..

(1) amoung the best leadoff men in game. good glove at 2nd base.

(2) batted 297 w/ no protection in lineup last year. doubles machine. Gold Glove caliber defender. Smart base runner.

(3)Clutch Bat and Gold Glove 1st baseman. Great Club House Leader

(4)Hitting Machine. Great Clubhouse guy

(5) Coming off career year. Good power bat. returning to LF

(6)Gold Glove center fielder. Good power bat. growing at the plate each year.

(7) Monster power, High Strike out numbers, but draws a lot of walks. Entering prime of career

(8) Good defensive catcher w/ good LH power bat. Struggles from right side. B/u with plus RH power bat.

(9) Solid defender and good bat has 20 HR power. Clubhouse table tennis Champ.

Starting pitching-Best young talent in the majors. Inexperienced staff with two veteran pitching coaches w/ proven track record of developing talent.

Bullpen-Could be the most solid unit on the club

Manager-Smart, Aggresive, Detail Oriented, Veteran Major League Manager with a proven track record of strong improvements in second year w/ clubs.

Minor Leagues-Best young left handed starting pitcher in baseball waiting in wings for late April promotion. A wave of young hitters that had strong ST w/ big club waiting in the wings.

@ Wayne, Gil

"He's one of the reasons I came here. He's just a solid baseball man who understands how it works," Showalter said of MacPhail. "He's the boss. I go through him with everything, but at the end of the day, I feel like I'm working with him as much as for him. He had choices to make, and now that I know Andy, I know I wouldn't be here if he hadn't stamped it."

You don't know Jack. You also don't know Buck

@smitty,

You didn't prove much there. Anyone who's getting paid millions to do something they love, would sing that tune. Let's see if Buck can sing that tune 3 years from now if things go south.

For just one day, is it possible to put the arguments, negitivity, and ill will behind us?

Just a thought, because as fans, this is the one day we all can admit that we have been looking forword to all year.

It's opening day!!! Enjoy it!

Let's hope for a good year...

"There was even speculation that MacPhail preferred the less dynamic Eric Wedge"

What does "speculation" mean?

It's a really big word, and it's confusing me.

"Speculation" means "truth" right. eg: Cold hard fact.

hey smitty,

the jerk store called and said they were all out you!

You on the other hand, Meso, you proved a lot there.

You proved that you, like whine and Gil, will never be swayed from your little circle jerk of negative-know-it-allness, even when disproved by words from Mr. Tell-It-Like-It-Is' mouth.

In this particular case of truth avoidance by a whinehouser, generalization is the technique.

@Pighead Whinehouser, Jr,

Let me prove it to you with an example:

When Trembley was managing, he always spoke the party line. Once he got fired, he started singing and shifting blame from himself to the organization. No, he didn't throw anyone under the bus; however there was enough in his words to know that he wasn't happy with the hands (players) he was dealt by MacPhail, and sure wasn't happy about his departure and how it happened. So, what I'm saying is that take everything into the context it was said. Managers, GMs or even players, will say the right thing when asked. The only time they don't say the right things is when they have checked out and have no future with the team. I'm not saying a thing either way about how Buck feels. I'm just saying that his quotes don't prove anything either way.

"The highlight so far was watching MASN's Roch Kubatko arrive in the press box a while back with his jeans soaked up to his calves".

I take some comfort in knowing that your man-crush on Roch remains unabated.

It's good to see that The Juice Carton - excuse me, Tropicana Field - is good for something.

By the way, today is the Orioles' Opening "day". Now is the time to make your last-minute predictions for the O's 2011 regular season record.

I am predicting an 84-80 record (+/- 5 wins depending on injuries, etc.).

smitty,

If you will stop breaking out the knee pads and blistick for Andy, I'll stop pointing out what poor results he has achieved since he got here, how he flushed the 2008, 2009, and 2010 seasons down the drain by planning to lose, only acting when PA put his foot up his A**,j what a lousy international scouting system he has presided over, and how poor the promotable prospects are in the farm system on his watch. I am looking forward to the season this year as I have pointed out on many recent occasions. Why don't we focus on baseball and not the GM? That article today was a puff piece, not journalism, so don't get excited. I only go off on Andy when you and his one other fan[discounting his family and Oriole employees} start waiving the pom poms. Let's see if you can go one week without an Andy Macphail promotion tour. I won't mention his sorry name for a week. Is it a deal?

I thought it was interesting in Zrebiec's article that MacPhail said Buck was the choice of both him and PA, and that he vehemently denies Wedge was his preference. I know some would argue that Andy is lying, but I find that hard to believe. It would then imply that Buck is OK with Andy lying about it, and I just don't see that.

The reason I mention this is because some keep insisting that Wedge was Andy's only choice, and Buck was shoved on him. And from there, the same people argue that it's going to create a divide in the future for Buck and the organization as a whole.

Your chice to believe what you want, but seems like the reality is that Buck was a unified choice. Time to drop the Wedgegate and all the other speculation.

Lefty,
I will bet you one million dollars that the O's don't go 84-80. Wait, make it ten million.

JohnBoy,

My bad sbout the "164-game" season total. Good eye.

My revised prediction: 83-79.

(83+79=162, whew, good!)

Andy Andy He's my man He's so great and has a great tan!
He has 2 rings 2 more than Gil he knows baseball and he's no shill !!

Pom poms go up and down during 1st stanza and in and out during 2nd

Sure deal Gil...

I won't mention the greatest baseball mind since the stone age (AM) if you don't talk about your dogs outdoor activities.

me at 6:27

"Why don't we focus on baseball and not the GM? "
Gil

Really Gil....???/Really???
Yeah right...

He really sucks though doesn't he?

You mean we can't talk about international scouting anymore?,,,,,bummer...that's my favorite subject....