The Comeback Kids

Birds take down Sox bullpen twice in three days

Feel the Magic happen ...

There's No "I" in Team

And there's only one "t" in Jeter, a fact that obviously was lost on a fan behind home plate at last night's O's game.

In other news from last night:

-The O's and Yankees are responsible for the rule change that cost the Birds a rain-shortened win. Or are they?

The AP and The Washington Post tell somewhat different stories about rule changes.

From the AP:

"Before 1980, the score would have reverted to the start of the inning, giving the Orioles a 6-4 win. But the rule was changed after a game on Aug. 13, 1978, when Baltimore led 3-0 after six innings and the Yankees scored five runs in the top of the seventh. "

From The Post:

"The game fell under a new rule enacted this offseason, which states that if weather halts a game mid-inning it becomes suspended and resumes from that point. If the game was official (with five innings in the books) and was called after a completed inning, it would have been over.

Had the game unfolded last season, the Orioles would have won. Under the old rule, the game is taken back to the last completed inning, and the result stands."

-Some player reactions to the umpires' decision to keep playing in the downpour:

Melvin Mora

"He just tried to make Jeter hit so they can score one run and they can get out of here. That's what I think," said Mora, making a comment that could draw attention from the commissioner's office.

Mora said that he couldn't even see the ball cross home plate, and told Tschida that before Jeter's at-bat.

"I just asked [Tschida], 'You don't think it's too wet?' And he just started yelling at me and cursing. I said, 'You don't have to curse at me for asking a question.' And he was upset. I said, 'This is worse than when you stopped the game when we were winning. Why aren't you going to stop it now? I can't even see the ball.' And he was just cursing and cursing and cursing, and I was like, 'OK, this is not good.'"

Chris Ray

"I've never pitched in rain like that before," Ray said. "I was just trying not to throw the ball to the backstop. When they called it in the seventh inning and we had something going and it wasn't raining nearly as hard, and then it's pouring down rain and we're just out there in terrible conditions."


Compiled by Matthew Taylor

Dempsey in Durham

MASN markets the Birds down South

by Matthew Taylor

The Durham Bulls have announced that Rick Dempsey will appear at the team's July 3rd game to sign autographs and throw out the first pitch.

Dempsey in Durham? It doesn't make sense on the face of it. The Bulls are affiliated with the Devil Rays; the Mudhens are affiliated with the Tigers. Check out the sponsor, though, and the picture becomes more clear.

It's a shrewd move by MASN to strengthen its ties to the North Carolina market. The Birds were the nearest Major League Baseball team until the Nats started playing ball in D.C., and O's games are regularly televised in the state.

Since MASN broadcasts both the O's and the Nationals, it doesn't matter which organization gets top billing at Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP). However, the O's have more retired players with name recognition than do the Nats, and fans in North Carolina already have a history with the Birds.

If you haven't been to a game at the DBAP, it's well worth the drive. Having Rick Dempsey there is an added bonus. Time for a road trip.

"JULY 3RD CELEBRATION FEATURES FORMER MVP

Don't miss your chance to meet 1983 World Series MVP Rick Dempsey at the July 3rd game between the Durham Bulls and Toledo Mudhens presented by MASN. Before tossing out the ceremonial first pitch, Dempsey will host an autograph and photo session with from 6pm-6:45pm on the main concourse. Also during the game, the Bulls will wear special edition Red, White and Blue jerseys that will be auctioned off to benefit Meals on Wheels. Get your tickets here."
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UPDATE: Turns out that MASN is actually fighting with Time Warner over channel position in North Carolina. The team - and perhaps more accurately, the network - needs all the positive publicity it can get, according to the News & Observer.

In an e-mail, Time Warner spokeswoman Melissa Buscher said that the cable provider believed Orioles and Nationals games were "of little interest" to its customers in North Carolina.

"MASN has insisted on carriage on our basic tier, which would result in almost all of our customers having to pay for a service which very few have any interest in," Buscher said.

Orioles games had been available in the Triangle for more than two decades until MASN obtained the baseball rights to this market from FSN South this season.

"When MASN pulled the rights to these games from Fox Sports Net in 2006, we received virtually no calls from customers," Buscher said.