Cliche Warning: The Kids Are Alright

O's score a moral victory and an actual victory to boot

By Matthew Taylor

Apparently some of the 16,000-plus fans at last night’s game were unhappy that the O’s decided to bench a few regulars in favor of younger players.

The arguments expressed in today’s edition of The Sun remind me of Peter Angelos’s rationalization back in the late ‘90s for not trading away aging, high-priced players in exchange for young talent. In short, the thinking goes, the fans paid to see the big names no matter how poorly they’re doing. I would argue instead that I want to see the guys with the most passion regardless of their pay grade.

One game doesn’t prove anything, even if it was a 3-0 shutout victory over a first place team and a potential Cy Young candidate. Nevertheless, it’s hard to argue with Dave Trembley’s decision to light a fire under his moribund team by revamping the lineup. The players practically tell you that themselves, whether they intend to or not.

Just compare the comments from Wednesday night’s 18-6 loss with those that came after Thursday’s 3-0 victory.

From Wednesday:

Jay Payton: "It's pretty miserable, to be honest with you. It's bottom of the barrel right now. I don't think it can get a whole lot worse than it is right now. ... I've been with six different teams and I've never been through anything like this."

Melvin Mora: "This is the worst [stretch] ever in all the years I've been here and the worst ever in my life. The worst."

The lead of this story says it all: “Wednesday’s game was a perfect example of what happens when a team going places meets one about to go on vacation.”

From Thursday:

Brandon Fahey: "It was a blast. All the backup guys, we're all out there and we all played hard. It was a blast, maybe the most fun game of my life."

Jon Leicester: "I'm having a good time out there and trying to keep our team in the game. I was just trying to get them to swing the bat early, and the defense was amazing for me."

After an error-filled contest the night before, you simply had to watch some of the O’s early defensive gems on Thursday, including Luis Hernandez’s diving snare of Vladimir Guerrero’s third inning grounder, to know that for one night at least, the names on the jersey didn’t matter.

O's Continue To Remember Wild Bill

Looks like the O's are doing things right when it comes to remembering Wild Bill Hagy. First they created the "Wild Bill Hagy Award" for the Orioles Hall of Fame, and now they're collecting memories to post on the team's MLB website, with a pretty good video of the man himself to spark your memory. It's worth a visit over to the Orioles' website to check it out.

Venting: A September Tradition in Charm City

With Red Sox fans in the rearview mirror for this season, it's time to look at some potential bumper stickers for next year

by Matthew Taylor

I promised my wife before Sunday's O's - Red Sox game that I wouldn't engage with the visiting fans. I kept my word, with one minor exception. When a drunken Boston fan attempted to start a "Yankees Suck" chant, I yelled, "So do the Red Sox ... you're both the same." You know times are tough when I'm using the Yankees in my own team's defense. I feel so dirty.

Having kept my frustration bottled up this past weekend, I need a release. So, in the new tradition of Camden Yards vendors selling Boston gear, I present my list of slogans for bumper stickers that can be sold to Red Sox Nation next season.

"Tired of the Yankees? Try Yankees Light."

"Red Sox Nation: You're guaranteed to sell more beer while we're in town."

"It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you annoy the locals."

"You'd be arrogant, too, if your team won one championship in 86 years."

"We hate the Yankees; they're the only team that can outspend us."

"$52 million bid + $52 million contract = 4.44 ERA."

"Pahk ya cah near Camden Yahds."

"A-Rod sucks ... because we couldn't get him."

"We love Manny ... because we couldn't get rid of him."

Ownership Won't Defend the Home Turf ...

so why should we?

By Matthew Taylor

I'm a typical underdog of an Orioles fan. I don't possess the arrogance of Yankees and Red Sox fans. I know better than to expect winning as a baseball birthright. I've seen more losing than winning. I'm too often pessimistic about the O's. And yes, I have an occasional baseball inferiority complex.

Still, I man the trenches for my Birds. I'm loyal in good times and bad. I stand by my team. No one can ever accuse me of being a fairweather fan or, when the good times finally come, of jumping on the bandwagon (ahem, Red Sox "Nation," I'm looking at you ... if you don't talk funny, don't tell me you're a fan).

Somehow I believe there's honor in all this, though it makes me squeemish to associate the word honor with being a fan; it suggests I'm taking it all too seriously.

With all that said, today's game at Camden Yards, which I attended, has pushed me into a new frame of mind. I'm still loyal, but I refuse to be blindly loyal. I'm still an underdog, but I'm dropping the inferiority complex. Frankly, I'm a little pissed off.

It's time for me and other Birds backers like me to stop feeling like we have something to prove as a fan base. There is absolutely no question that Baltimore loves its baseball team. And there's no question that we would drown out the respective fan bases of both A.L. East Evil Empires when they visit Camden Yards if ownership would reignite the flame of our passions by fielding a competitive team.

Give our team a fighting chance, and we fans will have a fighting chance of defending the home turf. Even better, ownership needs to defend the home turf with us, which is the very reason I'm writing this piece. We'll "Take Back the Yard" when ownership does the same.

Baltimore can be a great baseball city again, but it's not up to the fans to make the push at this point. We've been pushing like Sisyphus for too long only to have that baseball boulder roll back down upon us. I refuse to apologize for the fact that Baltimore is not a great baseball town - at least not at the moment - for one simple reason: the fault doesn't belong to the fans no matter how much people want to tell us that it does.

In the late '90s Peter Angelos publicly criticized the locals for ceding the home-field advantage whenever the Yankees came to town. He noted in a Baltimore Sun interview that Yankees fans were sitting in the box seats at Camden Yards, which meant that O's fans were selling them their seats. Peter gave us a collective slap on the wrist for bad baseball behavior.

Fast forward to this season. Earlier this summer Brian Roberts took an only slightly veiled swipe at O's fans by noting how difficult it is to play in a hostile home environment when the team is playing hard and improving.

On these occasions, and many others like them, I've taken a defensive posture. My reasoning has been apologetic at best. I've felt like I have something to prove - to ownership, to the players, to visiting fans.

That thinking led me to purchase a ticket for Sunday's game and, even after the recent run of horrid results, to honor that ticket. My reasoning was simple: "Roberts is right." I was determined to prove something about fan loyalty, as if sticking with the home team through 10 straight losing seasons isn't enough. But after my latest trip to Camden Yards I realize that this organization has something to prove to me, namely that it cares about more than just money.

The first way that the Orioles can prove to die-hard fans that they care about more than money doesn't even involve winning. Rather, it's this: Stop selling Dice-K jerseys inside the stadium. That's right, you could buy a Dice-K, Boston Red Sox T-shirt inside the stadium on Sunday. How far have we fallen?

Some would argue that it's smart marketing to cater to visiting fans while they're in Baltimore. That argument is fine for the street vendors outside the stadium, but things should be decidedly different once you step inside the gates. (And that's not even to mention the whole "Baltimore" on the road jerseys issue, which also reflects a deference to dollars whenever the opportunity presents itself.)

I felt like a fool for buying into the "our fans don't care enough about this team" hype as soon as I saw that No. 18 replica T-shirt hanging in a Camden Yards souvenir stand. The experience got me to thinking about the business side of Baltimore baseball, and the results of that thinking aren't as pretty as I'd prefer.

I'm a baseball romantic at heart, but my anger stripped away the nostalgia long enough for me to realize that I've been played the fool for too long. If the Orioles can sell Red Sox T-shirts at the home stadium because it's what the market demands, I can have some demands of my own.

The biggest of my demands is that the Orioles' organization start having some pride in its product. And make sure that it's local pride while you're at it.

The Politics of AL East Baseball

You want to look away, but you can't

By Matthew Taylor

These are tough times for Charm City baseball fans. And for tried and true fans there’s little escaping the frustration. You still have to check the score even though you know it’s not going to be good. You still flip back to MASN to see if the bullpen has blown the late-game lead. You still allow yourself to get mad about the obnoxious cheers from visiting fans at Camden Yards.

It’s September, all potential marks of optimism are erased, yet still we watch. It’s about time I used that “car wreck” analogy, isn’t it? You want to look away, but you can't.

Much like the O’s August swoon there’s seemingly no turning away from the 2008 presidential race. But in this case it’s not because you’re a fan. Just try watching a news program without hearing some reference to the campaign, I dare you.

Heck, it seems you can’t even catch a good comedy without things getting political. I did a comedy movie double-header earlier this summer and both flicks – “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” and “The Simpsons Movie” – referenced at least one of the candidates. The horses are running extra lengths in ’08 because the race has gotten longer.

Well, we might as well give in. With apologies to the non-political, we ask the question, “Which 2008 presidential candidates are most like the teams in the AL East?”

New York Yankees –Hillary Clinton

Seemingly endless resources and a willingness to spend big make them a favorite out of the gate. Freed from any kind of cap on spending they use their financial advantage to overwhelm their competitors in ruthless pursuit of victory. The organization’s obsessive flirtation with attractive free agents suggests that relationships within the team are a marriage of convenience. Supporters, known for their arrogance, believe that victory is inevitable. Should it happen we’ll be forced to live with dynasty talk.

Boston Red Sox –Barack Obama

Considered a rock star, the sexy alternative to the frontrunner also has significant resources, drawing support from throughout the Nation, but is relatively inexperienced in the highest levels of the game. Even when leading they’re pre-occupied with the presumed favorite. Claim there are great differences between themselves and the frontrunner and work hard to highlight those distinctions. In the end, though, many suspect that only the packaging is different.

Toronto Blue Jays –Al Gore

You never really know if they’re going to be in the race, but there’s always a chance for it to happen. Had glory days that included back-to-back victories, but those days are behind them. It’s time for them to make a name for themselves. It’s an “Assault on Reason” to believe they’ll contend once you consider the “Inconvenient Truth” that their division rivals have too much firepower.

Baltimore Orioles – John McCain

Campaign that started with such optimism has crashed and burned. Continue to stick with an unsuccessful game plan, one that has squandered both resources and good will. Recent talk of a comeback can’t match the tough talk of the old days. Supporters still dream of the days when the campaign was associated with a short, fiery leader who put a scare into the competition.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays –Mike Gravel

No chance in hell of winning; probably shouldn't have entered the race. Nevertheless, keep things interesting, especially when it comes to angry demonstrations. Previous outbursts suggest that you should expect the unexpected, anything from flying bats to threatening voice mails.

How Many Aubrey Huffs Does It Take To Add Up To A Carlos Pena?

By Christopher Heun

Answer: 2.467

This is a case of who’s on first vs. who could have been on first.

The Orioles have been searching for a power-hitting first baseman ever since Rafael Palmeiro left Baltimore the first time, after the 1998 season, possibly to find some clean needles. The search will continue after the season. (For a slugger, I mean, although Raffy may still be juicing and working on that comeback. Who knows?)

Here’s a guy the Birds almost signed last winter but didn’t:

Carlos Pena (2007): 418 AB, 37 HR, .615 SLG

And here’s three guys the Birds chose to use at first base and DH instead:

Aubrey Huff (2007): 479 AB, 15 HR, .438 SLG
Kevin Millar (2007): 393 AB, 14 HR, .430 SLG
Jay Gibbons (2007): 270 AB, 6 HR, .348 SLG

And here’s three other guys the Birds could have had this season:

Adam LaRoche (2007): 489 AB, 21 HR, .462 SLG
Jack Cust (2007): 329 AB, 23 HR, .523 SLG
Josh Phelps (2007): 139 AB, 7 HR, .525 SLG

What makes this sting even more is that Millar is just 13 plate appearances away from vesting his 2008 option, meaning that all three of the ill-fated triumvirate of Huff-Millar-Gibbons are signed for next year.

But back to the present. Carlos Pena hit two home runs, including a grand slam, against Orioles pitchers Wednesday night, to give him 37 HR and 105 RBI for the season, his first in Tampa Bay. In his last nine games, six of which were against the Birds, Pena has hit seven home runs.

Lest you accuse me of cherry-picking stats in his favor, consider that it weren’t for those very same games with Tampa Bay, Aubrey Huff’s numbers would look even worse than they do already. Seven of Huff’s 15 homers have come against his former team; he is batting .390 against them, compared to .258 against the rest of major league pitching.

In other words, in 112 games not against Tampa Bay this season, Huff is batting .258 with 8 homers. For this he is receiving nearly $20 million over three years.

Leo Mazzone, We Pity You

Who could blame him for retiring, rather than endure another year?

By Christopher Heun

None of this is his fault.

And by "this" I mean the 22 hits (including five home runs), five walks and 17 runs Orioles pitchers gave up to the Devil Rays Wednesday night, for a grand total of 34 runs allowed for the three-game series. Plus the 30 runs in a single game not long ago. And the 11 runs in a single inning to the D-Rays in the previous series.

(I know nearly everyone reading this is probably well acquainted with these stats already, and repeating them here is just piling it on, but everyone else is doing it to Orioles pitching, so why can't I?)

Remember all the hope and optimism when Mazzone was hired before last season? For what he's been given to work with, I wouldn't blame him if he quit tomorrow and opened a lemonade stand.

Of course, after his run in Atlanta, he was supposed to be a genius pitching coach. If he can't fix Danys Baez or turn Paul Shuey and Brian Burres into dependable relievers, should we complain? I think so.

I don't want to see any of the following pitchers on the Orioles Opening Day roster next spring, unless there's a rash of injuries to the staff:

Radhames Liz
Garrett Olson
Rob Bell
Brian Burres
Paul Shuey

Liz and Olson are not ready for the big leagues. Shuey was released Wednesday, so that solves that. Burres gave a nice boost earlier in the season but has run out of steam.

And what should they do with James Hoey? He was the the top pitcher in the Orioles farm system last year but has allowed 27 baserunners in 12.1 innings this year.

Was Brady More Than Just Good Looks?

Anderson put up some surprising numbers, and not just in 1996

By Matthew Taylor

The last American League player to qualify for the batting title and ground into only one double play all season was the Orioles' Brady Anderson in 1997.

Tim Kurkjian's article today on ESPN.com about Curtis Granderson's potential 20-20-20-20 season (doubles, triples, home runs, steals) for the Tigers includes a mention of former O's outfielder Brady Anderson. Apparently we should remember Anderson as more than "the most unlikely fifty home-run hitter in baseball history" and not just another pretty face.

"None of the numbers have been ridiculous,'' Granderson said of the 20-20-20-20 possibility. "I'm not doing anything drastic. I've been near those numbers before. But if there's even a chance to be in the same sentence with the great Willie Mays, that'd be special.''

And there are more numbers. Granderson grounded into a double play for the first time this year only recently, giving him 23 fewer than the major league leader, Washington's Ryan Zimmerman. The last American League player to qualify for the batting title and ground into only one double play all season was the Orioles' Brady Anderson in 1997.

Here are some additional interesting stats about Brady, courtesy of Baseball Library:

-In 1992 he became the only player in AL history to reach 20 home runs, 50 steals and 75 RBIs in the same season.

-In 1994 he stole 31 bases in 32 attempts, setting a single-season record for the highest percentage of any player with at least 25 steals.

-From May 13th, 1994 through July 3rd, 1995, Anderson set an AL record (since broken by Tim Raines) by stealing 36 straight bases without getting caught.

-In 1996, 35 of his home runs came while batting leadoff, tying a record set by Bobby Bonds in 1973. Anderson broke another of Bonds' 1973 records by leading off twelve games with a home run.

-With 21 steals in 1996, he became the first player to own a 20-homer, 50-steal season as well as a 50-homer, 20-steal season. His 50 home runs set an Orioles record, as did his 92 extra-base hits.

Even with these numbers, O's fans still remember Brady best for his oft-questioned power surge in 1996 and the suggestive poster for which he posed, one that generated sales among female fans and scorn among male Bird watchers.

No-Hitter Memories

With history on the line, can a true O's fan root against the home team?

By Christopher Heun

When Clay Buchholz no-hit the Birds last Saturday night in just his second major league start, I was instantly reminded of another rookie who threw a no-hitter in Memorial Stadium 16 years ago. It was a game I attended.

By the late innings of Wilson Alvarez’s no-hitter on Aug. 11, 1991, I was unsure of whether to root for history or for the home team to break it up. I have three clear memories of that day: that it was a Sunday afternoon, that Cal Ripken grounded into a double play to end it and that Rod Stewart’s “Some Guys Have All the Luck” played over the loudspeakers after the final out was recorded.

Turns out I have a bad memory. All I got right was the day of the week. I looked up the final box score and play-by-play on retrosheet.org (search by box score, then by year, then by team, then by game log) and found out that with two out in the bottom of the ninth, Cal walked. Perhaps my memory of pleading for him not to make the last out has warped slightly in my conscience. (Both he and Dewey Evans reached base twice that day, odd for a game without any hits.)

As for the music after the game, I don’t know of a resource – on the Web or anyplace else – that would record such trivia.

But according to Baseball Almanac, even Alavarez admitted that fortune was on his side that afternoon. The site quotes him as saying, "Let's just say I got a couple lucky breaks today. That ball stayed in and they hit some bullets right at people."

Like Buchholz, it was just the second major league start for Alvarez. In his first, he failed to retire any of the five batters he faced and was yanked from the game. Only one other pitcher since 1900 has thrown a no-hitter in his first or second start in the big leagues: Bobo Hollomon did it in his debut on May 6, 1953, for the St. Louis Browns at home against the Philadelphia A's.

A few more facts about the Alvarez game: For a team that would finish in sixth place, (67-95), the 1991 Orioles still drew 40,455 that day. Maybe the final season in Memorial Stadium had something to do with it.

It wasn’t the only no-no for the Orioles that year. Nearly a month earlier, on July 13, 1991, Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson and Gregg Olson combined to no-hit the Athletics in Oakland.

A former Memorial Stadium usher gives a detailed description of the Alvarez no-no here.

Lovable Losers or Just Losers?

Why all this losing might actually be a good thing

By Christopher Heun

After the Orioles game this afternoon – another one-run loss – I flipped through the channels and landed on “The Natural” on AMC. It was just as a shrink, hired by the manager in the middle of an interminable losing streak, addresses the players in the locker room:

“Losing is a disease... as contagious as polio... as contagious as syphilis... as contagious as bubonic plague... attacking one, but affecting all.”

The parallels between the New York Knights of the movie and the Baltimore Orioles of 1998-2007 seemed pretty obvious. Except, of course, the part where Roy Hobbs saves the day. A more apt movie metaphor for the Orioles might be the Bad News Bears, but they too wind up battling for the championship, which is a little much for any of us to believe for the O’s anytime soon. There can only be one 2006 Detroit Tigers.

So, after the 30-3 loss and then, in a single week, the 11 eighth-inning runs coughed up to the Devil Rays followed by the no-hitter in Boston, I am fully endorsing the Orioles as lovable losers. This requires me only to see their failures as endearing and not to expect any Hollywood endings. (Matt wrote about this once last year, but we need to revive it.)

Here’s the evidence for the Birds as Lovable Losers:

They lose in style
They carry a lead into the late innings, only to blow it spectacularly. They get swept by the Devil Rays. They end a nine-game losing streak by giving up two runs in the bottom of the ninth, but still hang on for a 9-8 victory. They beat the Yanks 12-0 one week, then lose 30-3 the next. And that was just August.

They make us laugh. Then cry.
I want to like Kevin Millar. He jokes around in the clubhouse. He wears his eye black like a Kiss cover band. On Opening Day he did a little Ray Lewis dance. Of all the Birds, Millar is the most likely to play the role in The Natural of Bump Bailey, who died after crashing through the outfield fence chasing a fly ball.

Unfortunately for him and his teammates, though, Millar hits like a second baseman but plays first base. He symbolizes the Orioles and some of their fans; he believes he’s better than he really is and he can’t understand why any manager wouldn’t play him every day. On Sunday, batting cleanup, he couldn’t deliver with a man on third and one out. And he got caught wandering too far off second base.

Sometimes they actually cry
I could have sworn I saw tears on Melvin Mora’s cheek after a strikeout. You know you did too.

For a while, they fool us into thinking they’re actually good
I know at least a few Birds fans (some of whom write for this blog) who swooned under Dave Trembley’s magic wand. Not long ago, they were convinced this team had a shot at .500 or third place or some other modest accomplishment that only fans of losing teams get excited about. Then they lost nine in a row.

Unbelievably ridiculous misfortune befalls them
In recent seasons, Marty Cordova fell asleep in a tanning bed and had to go on the disabled list; Jack Cust, the tying run, tripped twice between third and home and was tagged out despite no opposing player standing between him and home plate; and Ed Rogers had a ball in play get stuck inside his uniform. And that’s just the left fielders.

Here’s why all of this is actually a good thing: at the end of the season, the guys in The Warehouse will not be able in good conscience to say that this is a good team that just missed, that it should be improved with the signings of a few middling free agents. Instead, they'll be forced to start over and build from scratch.

I’m rooting for the Birds to completely tank the rest of the season, to finish last. Maybe then the truth will become irrefutable. There’s four more years before Nick Markakis is a free agent. Think we can get it together before then?

If anyone this winter points to the more than 30 one-run losses this season as the only reason why the Birds didn’t make .500, show that person a picture of Aubrey Huff and $2o million. And tell them about the Lovable Losers.

Orioles Baseball - We Put the "Bull" in Bullpen

Same script, different day

By Matthew Taylor

Two outs, two strikes, the losing streak about to come to an end. Suddenly it was as if Danys Baez remembered, "Oh, that's right, I'm supposed to blow this thing." And he did.

Plenty of O's played a role in last night's demoralizing defeat, a 5-4 loss to the Devil Rays that extended the losing streak to eight, but the bullpen is an easy target these days. Not to mention that Baez literally looked scared when MASN did a close-up of him right before he blew the lead.

That's loss No. 32 for the bullpen, if you're counting, but the good news is that their ERA actually dropped last night, falling from 5.85 to 5.78. Take that, baseball critics. Meanwhile, Aubrey Huff would have Ruthian numbers if he could just play the Devil Rays every night.

My wife redefined Oriole Magic during last night's game, and I like her thinking. Oriole Magic used to mean late-inning comebacks; now it's "Magic! Magic! Magic! Magic!" if the Birds hold a late-inning lead.

I'm calling it now - the losing streak ends tonight. This was all just a tribute to our favorite No. 8, Cal Ripken. I don't want to seem unappreciative, but it'd be a better tribute if Mr. Angelos would sell the team to No. 8.

Speaking of tributes, here's one to Chito Martinez. Remember Chito Martinez? Well, one YouTube user sure does. The following two videos about Martinez appear on the site:





The latter video, in which Chito gets two hits off of Jack McDowell and makes a nice catch in right field but forgets how many outs there are, also features Sam Horn and a slim version of Randy Milligan.

Chito played parts of with three seasons the Birds and in the process became the first Major League player from Belize. Apparently the feat made him a national hero in his home country. He was a hometown hero for the Roar from 34 writers, as we joined a chorus of "Chito" cheers one night in the rightfield bleachers at Memorial Stadium.

Other players who debuted along with Martinez in 1991 included Jeff Bagwell, Bernie Williams, Ivan Rodriguez, Eric Karros, Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, Royce Clayton, the late Rod Beck, and the late Darryl Kile. All chumps next to Martinez, if you ask me.

I wonder what Chito Martinez would have to say about the O's current woes. Where have you gone, Chito Martinez?

Another Writer Fed Up With Red Sox Nation

More discussion about the Evil Empires of the East

By Matthew Taylor

Jim Caple, meet Chris Heun. Something tells me you guys are going to get along well.

Caple, the ESPN writer and former Red Sox fan, has posted an angry, but accurate column that hits on the same theme that Chris articulated in a December Roar from 34 posting. In short, Red Sox fans have become what they hate. Consider Caple's words below.

It's true. While Yankees fans momentarily are neutralized by their recent embarrassing autumns and their current spot in the standings, Red Sox fans, sadly, have taken over the mantle as the most obnoxious fans in sports.

...

No longer. As soon as the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series, Boston fans took on a swaggering, entitled persona, acting as if they alone invented sports fandom and behaving as if nothing else in baseball mattered but them.

Some fans want to blame Boston's bandwagon fans for the change in Red Sox Nation, which of course is a bunch of bunk. "Everybody hates a winner" is another convenient excuse. Stated more accurately, "Everybody hates a winner whose fans come to town not to enjoy the game in a beautiful ballpark but rather to harass the locals."

Knowing and liking a few Red Sox fans, I can attest that not everyone who follows the team is quite so unbearable. What generalization realistically applies to 100 percent of any group? Neverthless, Caple's column illustrates that the obnoxious characteristics with which O's fans are so familiar have reached a critical mass in an increasingly self-important Red Sox Nation.

Here's hoping The Loss Column's "Take Back the Yard" event on Sept. 8 is a success.

Tour for the Cure Stops in Delmarva and Bowie

As O's struggle, it helps to look at the big picture

By Matthew Taylor

Raising money for a good cause by traveling to ballparks? Where do I sign up?

The second annual "Tour for the Cure" visited some O's affiliates this week, taking in games at Delmarva and Bowie on Days 135 and 136 of the summertime adventure. Here's hoping Tim Riley, the director of the 2007 Tour, had as good a visit to the Baysox game as my wife and I did last week.

According to its website: "The Tour for the Cure is the ultimate baseball road trip - a unique venture to raise funds for cancer research. In collaboration with the Jimmy Fund and the world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Tour will visit 180 major & minor league baseball stadiums across the United States. It combines the great American pastime with this vital cause."

The Tour for the Cure comes to Camden Yards on Sept. 6.

Time to Declare the Bullpen a Natural Disaster

O's pen leads the Majors with 31 losses

By Matthew Taylor

At this point there's nothing left for Dave Trembley to do other than declare his bullpen a natural disaster and apply for FEMA aid. Sadly, the players will continue to learn that their insurance runs are good for nothing. Expect President Bush to visit Camden Yards this week and tell the bullpen they're doing a "heckuva job."

The bullpen added to its Major League-leading loss total last night, notching its 31st loss of the season after an 11-run eighth inning against the Devil Rays turned a 6-3 lead into a 14-8 final.

The pen is now 16-31 for the season, with a 5.85 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, and 420 hits allowed in 381.2 innings. You can follow the carnage totals here. Perhaps the O's can mount consideration for Baseball Prospectus's list of "worst bullpens ever."

Points of Pride Still Remain in O's Reach

Losing streak eliminates chances to reach .500; other, smaller goals remain possible for struggling Birds

By Matthew Taylor

The Orioles didn’t lose last night, which would come as even better news had they actually played a game.

The Birds’ painful losing streak started with the embarrassing 30-3 defeat against the Rangers. However, for this O’s fan, the reality of losing a late-game, four-run lead over Johan Santana and with it a win that would have provided a validating end to the late-August misery, somehow hurt worse. Dan Connolly and Roch Kubato track the Orioles’ somewhat traditional “Start of fall.”

Thankfully, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays come to town this evening for a three-game set. The O’s are 10-2 against the D-Rays this season with six games between the teams left on the schedule.

The Devil Rays are like baseball aspirin, a cure for the hangover of an extended losing streak like the Birds’ current six-game slide. They’re the one thing that stands between the O’s and annual last-place finishes. In fact, the Devil Rays are the only team in Major League Baseball that currently stands closer to elimination than the Birds.

CBS Sportsline offers each team’s “Elimination Number.” The Devil Rays’ number stands at three, while the O’s are at 12. Some of our neighbors at or near the basement level include: Texas (14), Florida (15), Washington (16), Chicago (16), San Francisco (17), and Kansas City (18).

Dave Trembley is big on pride. Perhaps hanging around longer than these others teams could serve as a point of pride for the O’s in their remaining games. A much more important point of pride should be winning the season series against the Yankees, as should consecutive series wins against Boston.

The Orioles are 8-4 against the Yankees this season with six games remaining against the original Evil Empire (Sept. 17, 18, & 19 on the road; Sept. 28, 29 & 30 at home). This means that the Birds must finish 2-4 in those games to win the season series against the Yankees, which, according to MASN, hasn’t happened in the previous nine seasons. In other words, at least one long run of losing can come to an end this season.

Speaking of the Yankees, the New York Times addresses Mike Mussina’s recent pitching woes, including last night’s drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Tigers, and questions his future with the team.

Mussina is the most analytical of pitchers, but he seems mystified by this slump. He talked about the small slice of the game that pitchers actually control. But even that much has gone awry, shaking his confidence deeply.

“Right now, I let go of it and I don’t feel like anything good is going to happen,” Mussina said. “It’s tough to pitch that way. You can’t play the game that way to feel like you have no control over anything, and that’s how I feel right now.

“Even the 60 feet, 6 inches, it doesn’t feel like I have a grasp of, and two weeks ago I felt like I could do anything I wanted. That’s how this game is. It’ll slap you in the face when you think you’ve got it. I felt good about it and now I don’t feel good at all.”

The Yankees owe Mussina more than $11 million for next season, but he seems to be nearing the end. It is a scary and sudden reality, and it has knocked him as low as he has ever been.

The same article mentions that the Yankees called up former Birds pitcher Chris Britton after last night’s game.

I’ve long been a fan of Mussina, so much so that I’ve struggled to hate him for committing the ultimate Baltimore baseball sin of donning a Yankee uniform, a fact that I addressed in the July 2006 posting, “Moose Was a Great Bird.”

There’s a part of me that wants us to take Mussina off the Yankees’ hands and hope that he can re-coup some of that old magic in a Birds uniform. After all, the O’s aren’t above nostalgia. We brought back Eddie Murray to hit home run No. 500. We brought back Maryland-native Harold Baines. Why not bring back Mussina?

Schilling on Bedard

O's ace gets props from key member of Evil Empire Jr.

By Matthew Taylor

"His numbers are staggering, even more so when you consider he’s doing it in one of the most offensive oriented divisions in the game."

-Curt Schilling

On Sunday, Erik Bedard took his first loss since June 10. And while he wasn't nearly as sharp as he's been on most nights this summer, Bedard did manage to set the Orioles' single-season strikeout record - 221 and rising.

Here's what Curt Schilling recently wrote on his blog, 38 pitches, about Bedard. (Full disclosure: a co-worker sent it to me; I'm not a regular reader.)

"In the past few weeks I think we’ve seen four of the top 7-10 young pitchers in all of baseball in Eric Bedard, Scott Kazmir, Jason Shields and Joe Saunders. After seeing Bedard this spring I was under the impression that this was the year he’d stop flying under the radar but I didn’t expect him to be this dominant this fast. His numbers are staggering, even more so when you consider he’s doing it in one of the most offensive oriented divisions in the game."

It's good to see Bedard getting respect from his opponents. Pretty soon they'll even spell his first name correctly. Isn't that right, Kurt?

Forget 30-3. Remember the 12-0 Win in NY?

Celebrating a blowout: When's it safe to rub it in the faces of 52,567 Yanks fans?

By Christopher Heun

The record defeat the Orioles suffered a few days ago at the hands of the Rangers is best replaced in our consciousness with memories of a lopsided win over the Yankees the week before.

For an Orioles fan living in New York, nothing could be more satisfying on an August evening than to sit in Yankee Stadium and watch the Birds pile up crooked numbers on the scoreboard while shutting out the home team. (And silencing the near-sellout crowd.)

Sure, it would be nice if the game actually meant something in the standings to both teams. Still, any night overrated Derek Jeter goes 0-3 is sweet. For Orioles pitching to hold the entire Yankees lineup to just two hits is a precious gift. And to hear Yankees fans sarcastically cheer their own players for finally recording an out is sublime.

But to have it all happen on the same evening, while the Birds score a dozen runs? It's like Christmas morning when I was six years old.

I was there Tuesday night, Aug. 14, when the Birds pummeled the Yankees 12-0. But since I was also in The Stadium April 7 when the bullpen blew a 7-3 eighth-inning lead and eventually lost 10-7, I knew better than to start celebrating prematurely.

The problem was, this time around I was too nervous to enjoy the game while it was still being played. In fact, I never really celebrated at all.

This prompts the question: How do you know when a blowout is locked up? Is it:

A. When Danys Baez enters the game. (Hint: This cannot possibly be the correct answer, since that’s what happened back in April, which eventually led to some meathead spotting my Orioles hat, pointing and shouting “Loser!” to the delight of his beered-up friends, who laughed heartily. Also, notice in the box score that Trembley didn’t use Baez Tuesday night.)

B. When Paul Shuey enters the game. (This is actually a pretty good bet, since the last time before Wednesday that Shuey appeared in an Orioles win was July 27, also vs. the Yankees. But after Wednesday’s performance vs. Texas, in which he surrendered nine runs in two innings of work, Shuey may never appear in a game with the lead the rest of the season.)

C. When Jim Brower comes out to pitch his third consecutive inning. This is the important part: He’s not pitching for the O’s any more! What luck! (Who has forgotten Brower’s Oriole career that lasted about a month last April, during which he managed to allow 19 earned runs in 12.1 innings of work?)

The correct answer is C. Although I didn’t quite believe the game was in the bag until the leadoff batter in the ninth for the Yanks was retired.

The next day, Brower and Jeff Karstens, who started the game for the Yankees, were optioned to AAA. Shuey can avoid a similar fate at the hands of The Warehouse if he can manage to hang on for another week when rosters expand Sept. 1.

More on Bedard's "Reputation"

By Matthew Taylor

"Imagine, in the Age of Celebrity, a guy would prefer to be left alone. Sounds like he’s got his head on straight."

Be sure to check out Oriole Post's article from Thursday on Erik Bedard's visit with fans at the ESPN Zone. The piece seems to support the main premise of a post Chris wrote on Roar from 34 last weekend, namely that Bedard doesn't deserve a negative reputation simply because he doesn't like to talk to reporters.

One commenter on Oriole Post shared the same sentiment: "Anyway, I think an event like this is far more indicative of how Erik Bedard is as a person than how he deals with the media. Quite honestly, though I know I'm biased, I think the media just expects too much out of him sometimes. You want him to answer your questions? Fine, he answers them. It's ridiculous to then complain about the answers he gives or the length of them - I half expect them to hand him a script to read from. 'We'd really like it if you'd just say this...'"

Familiar Faces in Bowie

O's from the past and of the future take the field for the Baysox

By Matthew Taylor

“If you don’t see a birth certificate and you just watch Alan Mills out here pitching and running around and playing the game with the guys, he just looks like one of them. That’s a pretty big compliment to him, because for where he’s been and what’s he’s experienced, to come back with the energy that he’s come back with is a real credit to the type of person he is.”

-Erie Seawolves pitching coach A.J. Sager

My reaction in the bottom of the ninth inning of last night’s Bowie Baysox game was the same one most O’s fans would have while watching the visiting pitcher with the familiar-sounding name warm up: “Is that THE Alan Mills?”

A quick flip through the Baysox game day program suggested that the pitcher wearing a number, 39, smaller than his age, 40, could indeed be the former O’s reliever famous for cold-cocking Daryl Strawberry in the Yankees dugout during the Armando Benitez-induced Bronx brawl in 1998. And indeed it was, as confirmed in the appropriately headlined Record-Journal article, “Is it really THAT Alan Mills?”

Mills has recorded 22 saves this season with the Erie SeaWolves, the Detroit Tigers’ Double-A affiliate, with 21 strikeouts in 26.1 innings pitched and a 1.71 ERA. He wasn’t particularly sharp during Thursday night’s match-up with the Baysox, allowing three hits and one run, but he pinned down the 4-2 victory by striking out pinch-hitter Morgan Clendenin, who represented the winning run.

According to the Record-Journal, Mills is cryptic about his reasons for returning to baseball after five years away from the game, stating, “I’ll talk about the team, but I don’t want to talk about myself.”

Mills was the oldest player at Prince George’s Stadium by more than a decade. Meanwhile, Erie manager Matt Walbeck is three years younger than Mills.

Quick hits: Kud-O’s to Baysox GM Brian Shallcross for upholding Minor League Baseball’s fan-friendly reputation. After a bizarre infestation of flying ants at Prince George’s Stadium threatened to make it a very short night at the ballpark for my wife and me, Shallcross kindly relocated us to the club’s luxury box seating. The experience helped lift our spirits, especially after we missed out on the Nick Markakis bobblehead giveaway.

-Other familiar O’s faces at the ballpark on Thursday night included Baysox pitching coach and Oriole legend Scott McGregor; recent Miguel Tejada replacement, shortstop Luis Hernandez; and 2006 call-up, centerfielder Jeff Fiorentino.

Thirtysomething

They say that writing is therapy, so here goes ...

By Matthew Taylor

I tried to go to sleep and pretend that it was all just a terrible nightmare: 30-3! Pinch me, and make it hard.

Well, I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to do a late night e-mail check. It served as a reminder that my friends haven’t forgotten about me; they're always there when I need them most.

A sampling of the messages I received:

“30-3? Is that a misprint???”

“Let me check with my copywriter, he is good at this type of thing: 'Could the O's have really given up 30 runs to set a new MLB record? Must have been a typo, right?'”

“Did the Ravens lose 30-3 tonight?”

“30 runs?!?! How are you? How does one handle a jackhammering like that?”

Who needs enemies when you've got friends?

Here are some of the random thoughts that came to mind as I attempted to handle the jackhammering that was Wednesday night's doubleheader:

-Major League Baseball really needs a mercy rule.

-Good news, bad news.

The good news is that the O’s are the top story in the sports world.

The bad news …

-Isn't there something to report about Michael Vick?

-Perhaps tonight's game was an informal tribute to Wild Bill Hagy, because I sure wanted to drink nine beers and toss a cooler from the upper deck.

-Actually, I’ve got to think that Kevin Millar was somehow responsible for all of this. He’s just playing a cruel joke on Dave Trembley.

“Congratulations on the job, Dave. We lost by 27 runs. You got punked!”

I’m also pretty sure that Amber Theoharis was an accomplice.

-If I were an O’s player, I would’ve charged the mound … while my own pitcher was on it. Sure, it’s unprecedented, but so is giving up 30 runs in the modern baseball era.

-On the other hand, if I were an O’s beat reporter and I had one question to ask during the post-game press conference, it would be this:

“After a close loss we typically hear your players say, ‘I’d rather get blown out than lose a game like this.’ So is it safe to say that the guys in the clubhouse are pretty happy tonight?”

-Look at the upside, O’s fans: we no longer have to explain to other fans that our bullpen is the problem.

-Does anyone honestly believe that gamblers will bet the under on the O's again this season?

-And to think, I was pissed off at work when I checked the score and it went from 3-0 Orioles to 5-3 Rangers before I left the office. By the time I got home it was 14-3.

-Number of runs the O’s scored in their seven previous games combined: 39. Number of runs the Rangers scored in Wednesday’s doubleheader: 39.

-As long as we’re looking at the numbers – Texas had more RBIs in one game than Jay Gibbons has all season.

-Courtesy of the Carroll County Times: "To put the loss in even further perspective, Erik Bedard has allowed 31 runs in his last 17 starts while it took four Orioles pitchers just one night to surrender a run fewer."

-(Imaginary) Transcript from the O’s bullpen, courtesy of “Wired Wednesdays” -

Brian Burress: “Okay, dare.”

Other relievers: “We dare you to give up eight runs in less than a full inning.”
…

Rob Bell: “Okay, dare.”

Other relievers: “We dare you to give up seven more runs.”
…

Paul Schuey: “Well, I know I’m going to regret this, but dare ….”

-I couldn't even come up with 30 curse words during the game.

-Do you think Dave Trembley wishes he was on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" ... “I never said it was my final answer!”

I really need some sleep.

The Right Call on Trembley

Once the interim manager, Trembley has the job for '08

By Matthew Taylor

Dave Trembley will manage the Birds in '08, according to The Sun. Well deserved. We made amends with Trembley, who was optimistic about his future with the team from the get-go, in an earlier posting.

Optimism is perhaps the best word to associate with Trembley, though you wouldn't be able to tell it from his less-than-sunny post-game press conferences. Perhaps "gruff optimism" is the best way to describe it. No matter, the O's made the right call on this one.

More on Wild Bill Hagy

Tributes appear inside and outside of the Blog-O's-phere

By Matthew Taylor

“And, today, a generation of Orioles fans mourns their crazy uncle.”

-Dan Connolly, The Baltimore Sun

A round-up of Wild Bill Hagy stories and tributes, starting with some of my favorite details and quotes about the O's legend.

· "If ever an out-of-town fan happened into his cab wearing a Yankees hat, he ordered it removed. If the person refused, he refused the fare."

· "This was a football town when I got here," Palmer said. "The Colts were still the No. 1 team in this town. But he was like everybody else. He was kind of the cheerleader version of Cal. I think people could relate to him. People loved to sit up there. ... He made it exciting."

· "In more personal moments away from the park, Mr. Dempsey rode in Mr. Hagy's cab and talked baseball with him.'He was just a thrilling part of our careers,' Mr. Dempsey said. 'There will never be another like Wild Bill Hagy.'"

· "At the ballpark, fueled by Budweiser and his love for baseball, he became a different person. Mr. Hagy took his inspiration from legendary Baltimore Colts fan Leonard 'Big Wheel' Burrier. He once asked Mr. Burrier if he minded an imitator at Orioles games. 'Big Wheel' gave him his blessing and thus began the routine."

· "If Orioles baseball was his religion, his pulpit was Section 34 - a perch in the upper deck of his church, Memorial Stadium. It's where he and his disciples stood and cheered nightly and drank in, not just soaked in, Oriole Magic."

· “His unforgettable chant, however, remains part of the Orioles' holy trinity of fan traditions along with the "O" during the national anthem and John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" during the seventh-inning stretch.It's one of those weird but lovable things that are uniquely Baltimore. It's hard to explain why certain random acts or people become so endearing here, except that they inspire nostalgia and remind us of a simpler, perhaps even better, time.”

AP

Baltimore Sun

Dan Connolly column

O, By the Way

WBAL

WGMD

Carroll County Times

Channel 2 News

Wayward O

Baltimore Mick

Detours and Devotions

Legal Right

SchansBlog

CrabLaw

Dempsey’s Army

Oriole Magic

Oriole Post

Inside Charm City

The Loss Column

Our Favorite Local Legend Passes Away

[Photo: The Baltimore Sun]

Wild Bill Hagy, 68, creator of the real "Roar from 34," dies

By Matthew Taylor

"You can't fully appreciate what he meant to Orioles fans unless you were part of the Memorial Stadium days"

-Roch Kubatko

A sad day for longtime O's fans as another link to the team's magical past has died.

Wild Bill Hagy, the man who, according The Sun, "loved his beer in Section 34 at Memorial Stadium," and who created the original Roar from (Section) 34 for which this blog is named, passed away this afternoon at his Arbutus home.

[See the sidebar "What does Roar from 34 mean?" for more details.]

Hagy is so ingrained in local lore that the Babe Ruth Museum includes him as part of its "Nine Innings of Baseball" display. The Museum describes Hagy's role as follows: "Inning Six features the familiar musical strain of "Orioles Magic," Wild Bill leading the Roar from 34, and other memorable images and music from the raucous 1980s."

The Orioles' statement on Hagy:

The Orioles organization is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of "Wild Bill" Hagy. While leading cheers from "The Roar from 34" at Memorial Stadium, Wild Bill became a Baltimore institution. He was one of the great characters of the Baltimore sports landscape and was a true die-hard Orioles fan, supporting the club year in and year out. He will be missed by everyone who knew him and by everyone for whom he led the "O-R-I-O-L-E-S" cheer. All of us in the Orioles organization extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends. A moment of silence will be held in his memory before tonight's Orioles-Rangers game. William G. Hagy was 68 years old.

Roch Kubatko shares his thoughts and encourages fans to do the same. He writes, "You can't fully appreciate what he meant to Orioles fans unless you were part of the Memorial Stadium days ...."

The Roar from 34 authors saw Hagy earlier this summer during Cal's Hall of Fame induction weekend. Sadly, the many nostalgic Birds fans in the Cooperstown watering hole where Hagy was spotted couldn't coax the Baltimore legend into doing his O-R-I-O-L-E-S routine one last time.

Nowhere To Run To...

Nowhere to hide for J.R. House

by Matthew Taylor

"It was just a base-running mistake on my part," House said. "It was good to get the hit, but at the same time, it's kind of all for naught when you make a mistake like that and end up getting picked off. It was my fault."

The most interesting fact that I've read in the game stories about yesterday's 3-2, 10th-inning loss to the Blue Jays is this: "Baltimore leads the American League with 24 one-run defeats."

For a team that is now eight games under .500, that stat says it all. If the Birds had won just a quarter of those 24 contests they'd be a half game ahead of the Blue Jays, 6.5 out of the Wild Card race. And the run of losing seasons would stand a better chance of ending this year.

With that said, it's hard to blame yesterday's loss on the team's familiar scapegoat, the bullpen. As Kevin Millar explained after the game: "You can't do anything about that. Bradford ran [into] some bad luck. Vernon Wells, swinging bunt and gets a hit. Frank Thomas, check swing and he gets the guy to second. Glaus ambushed him on the first pitch and we're behind the eight ball there."

Considering Derek Jeter's check-swing chopper in the Birds' Aug. 13 loss to the Yankees, Bradford is fast becoming the master of losing on infield hits. The big hit isn't really been a problem for Bradford; he hasn't given up a home run this season despite making the eleventh most appearances of any pitcher. He last did so on May 14, 2006, which was his lone HRA during the 2006 season. Bradford also allowed just one home run in 2005.

The story of yesterday's game was J.R. House's base-running blunder in the top of the 1oth inning. The mistake served as a disheartening conclusion to an otherwise positive series for the newest Oriole. It was likewise a disheartening conclusion to an otherwise positive road trip for the Birds. Chances are, though, that Trembley's O's will continue to doing what they'd done best since the All-Star Break: rally.

Extra innings: The O's need to play .600 baseball for the rest of the season in order to finish with an even record. In other words, they have to be the Red Sox.

With 40 games remaining, the Birds need to go 24-16 to finish .500. The team is 19-15 since the All-Star break (.558), 28-25 under Trembley (.528).

Teams remaining on the schedule: Texas (.439 winning percentage, 7 games remain); Minnesota (.504, 4); Tampa Bay (.382, 6); Boston (.597, 7); Angels (.585, 3); Toronto (.512, 6); New York (.565, 6); and Kansas City (.447, 1).

Who Cares if Bedard Ignores Reporters?

When a star turns brusque, the hacks are forced to scramble

By Christopher Heun

"He's very, very private," O's manager Dave Trembley says. "He's not a [bad] guy. He just doesn't like people asking him obvious, stupid questions."

Erik Bedard has been getting a lot of attention from the national media recently as talk of his Cy Young candidacy heats up despite trailing Josh Beckett, Johan Santana and others in wins, the all-important category.

One detail repeated in all of the profiles about Bedard: his disdain for the media.

Amy K. Nelson of ESPN.com describes Bedard’s interactions with the media as “horrible at best, and nonexistent at worst.”

A New York Times profile published before his start last Wednesday in the Bronx reported that “he loathes talking to the news media and has, on occasion, slipped out of the Orioles’ clubhouse without discussing his starts.” (You can access the story here until Aug. 22 without a subscription.)

Bedard told reporter David Picker: “I don’t want everybody knowing everything about me. I don’t want to be recognized everywhere I go. Who wants that?”

Imagine, in the Age of Celebrity, a guy would prefer to be left alone. Sounds like he’s got his head on straight.

The Sun’s own Roch Kubatko has complained many times in his blog that Bedard offers little help to the scrum of scribes gathering around him after a game, fishing for a good quote for tomorrow’s story.

Roch’s unofficial transcript from one of those sessions is amusing and proves that there really is such a thing as a stupid question:

Good for Bedard for refusing to cooperate. The only people who are hurt by this are the sports reporters who make a living watching games, trading opinions among themselves in the press box, and waiting for professional athletes to make public proclamations about the condition of a sore muscle or their confidence in their teammates.

What matters is Bedard’s performance on the field. If he does manage to win that Cy Young, whether this season or sometime in the future, his acceptance speech should be interesting. And short.

A Reliever Worth Bragging About

Okay, it was more than 40 years ago, but it still counts

By Matthew Taylor

"Dick Hall is a Baltimore institution, like crab cakes. He is six feet six inches tall and forty years old, and he pitches with an awkward, side-wise motion that suggests a man feeling under his bed for a lost collar stud. He throws a sneaky fast ball and never, or almost never, walks batters."
The New Yorker (October 1970)

[See: Baseball Alamanac]

Back in 1963 the Orioles had a relief pitcher who was actually worth bragging about.

On this date in history, Aug. 17, 1963, Dick Hall retired his 28th batter in a row, pitching the relief equivalent of a no-hitter plus one. Halls’s no-hit run began on July 24th and covered five games.

The Birds won the game against the Kansas City Athletics, 6-1. Check out the box score to see Hall's streak and Jackie Brandt's heroics.

Hall would give up two hits in his next appearance, a 7-4 win over the Angels four days later.

The Happiest Sub-.500 Franchise in Baseball

First we beat the Red Sox and Yankees, now we're actually signing clients of Scott Boras. What gives?

By Matthew Taylor

"They got the deal done. You can tell the city of Baltimore that the old evil owner stepped up and took care of things tonight. We had to fight to the end."
-Orioles Scouting Director Joe Jordan

I had a conversation over the weekend with a good friend, a Cardinals fan, about the relative nature of optimism depending on which Major League team you follow.

Cards fans, coming off of a World Series victory last season and a 2004 appearance in the Series, are bummed about their team’s sub-.500 record this year. O’s fans, meanwhile, are excited about the very prospect of .500 baseball after nine straight losing seasons. Any hint of progress spurs excitement among Birds fans in Charm City.

Which brings us to the Matt Wieters signing. As if the last six games against the Red Sox and Yankees haven’t done enough to boost Baltimore’s baseball spirits, folks are downright giddy about getting Wieters in the fold. Just check out what they’re saying in The Sun.

Peter Schmuck

"By the time the Orioles got top draft choice Matt Wieters to sign on the dotted line last night, it was no longer only about the can't-miss college catcher with the sweet swing from both sides of the plate.It was about the Orioles keeping faith with their fans.It was about the front office proving that the past isn't always prologue.

It was about maybe - just maybe - the franchise turning a corner after nine years headed in the wrong direction.And maybe it was about redemption, because Wieters was on the verge of becoming the newest symbol of everything that has gone wrong with the Orioles organization over the past decade."

Roch Kubatko

"The Orioles signed 38 of their 48 picks, including 11 of the top 12. Wieters was a must, especially with no second or third rounders this year. The Orioles held firm, but also didn’t let their stubbornness get in the way. They kept negotiating right down to the final hour, with owner Peter Angelos getting involved. And I have no problem with Wieters getting a major league deal, if that’s the case. It shouldn’t take long with this kid.
…

Easily overlooked last night was the deal signed by TCU pitcher Jacob Arrieta. This also is huge news. The Orioles think they got a steal with Arrieta in the fifth round, just as they apparently did with Timothy Bascom in the fourth. And you never can have enough pitching.
The fact that it’s college pitching makes me even happier. Just don’t bring up Beau Hale.
Now it's time to turn our attention to the rest of the season - the race for third place, Dave Trembley's future as manager.

And, please, start throwing dollar figures at Erik Bedard. Legitimate ones. Nothing insulting. "

Bill Ordine

"And with the Wieters signing, the Orioles carefully navigated the brinkmanship situation of losing their top pick (he would have become draft-eligible again today) and getting the kid at a reasonable price. MacPhail was patient, took the talks with Boras to the deadline, and Wieters finally took the six large.

More learned observers of the Orioles, such as colleague Pete Schmuck, have made the case that the significance of the Wieters signing is that it sends a clear message to the rest of the clubhouse that the organization is prepared to do battle with the Yankees and Red Sox. Lately, the players have shown that with their bats and gloves. And they've done it showing a remarkably dogged determination and persistence. And hopefully, the organization is willing to do the same with its checkbook, even if it is in carefully weighed and deliberate steps."

An “O” for Optimism?

Yo-Yo Baseball in the Bronx

A game that was bad for the heart ends well

By Matthew Taylor

“We play for respect, we play with pride, and we’re the Baltimore Orioles.”
-Dave Trembley

I don’t have any kids, my job is challenging without being stressful, and my marriage is going well. Clearly, the one thing responsible for the increasing number of gray hairs on top of my head is my favorite baseball team.

A game like Wednesday’s 6-3 victory over the Yankees just goes to show that, win or lose, it’s not over until the bullpen blows a lead.

With that said, the O’s came away from the Bronx with another series win against the Yankees and have now won four of their last six games, which came against the top two teams in the AL East.

Despite multiple phone-in meetings to the office and a terrible MASN signal, I was able to follow the game in an amazing display of multi-tasking. So here are some well-earned observations from Wednesday’s game.

-I hate that baseball has allowed the networks to utilize in-game interviews, including MASN’s “Wired Wednesdays.” Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed Dave Trembley’s remarks from the visitor’s dugout in the Bronx: “We play for respect, we play with pride, and we’re the Baltimore Orioles.”

Dave Trembley just reeks of optimism. Aside from the bullpen, he really does have the team playing with pride since the All-Star break. How better to explain the club’s resiliency? They followed up a Mariners’ sweep at Camden Yards with series wins over the Red Sox and Yankees, including today’s tenth inning rally immediately after the bullpen blew a three-run lead.

On the individual level, you have to credit Erik Bedard for his composure in the sixth inning, striking out Jorge Posada to end the inning with runners on the corners after Tike Redman lost an easy pop fly to left in the sun. The pop-up was recorded as a hit for Hideki Matsui.

-Has there been a more exciting pitcher wearing Orange and Black in recent memory than Erik Bedard?

During his peak years in Baltimore, Mike Mussina was a dominating ace. His performance in the 1997 ALCS – 25 strikeouts in two games, including an eight inning, one-hit affair in Game 6 - is one of the greatest in modern O’s history. However, Erik Bedard is poised to bandage the still-fresh wounds (at least in my mind) of Mussina’s departure.

Bedard already matched Mussina’s individual game mark for strikeouts with his 15 K performance against Texas on July 7. Now he’s on pace to shatter Mussina’s record for strikeouts in a season, 218 in 1997.

Bedard currently leads the league with 207 strikeouts; he is the first Birds pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts in a season since Mussina recorded 210 K’s in 2000. Bedard is 8-0 in his last 12 starts and hasn't lost since June 10 against Colorado, according to the Associated Press.

-We need Kevin Millar’s bat in the lineup, but I much prefer Aubrey Huff at first base.

While attending the first game of last week’s series against the Mariners I counted multiple occasions where the Birds would’ve gotten an out had Millar been able to stretch for a ball thrown high or scoop a ball thrown to him on one bounce. He also charged a ball hit lightly up the first base line only to miss the tag on the runner. It seemed like a case of bad baseball instincts.

The latter play serves as a good comparison to Aubrey Huff’s eighth inning defense during this afternoon’s game. Huff deflected a hard hit ball but wasn’t able to record the out on his own. He immediately retreated to the bag and stretched out to receive Brian Roberts’ throw just in time to record the out. Here was a case of good baseball instincts.

I’m not typically a stat guy, but I did a little research to see if there’s anything to support my case on this one. My research took me into bold new territory, beyond the limits of fielding percentage and into the terrain of Range Factor per Nine Innings.

This season, Aubrey Huff’s .992 fielding percentage at first base trails Kevin Millar’s .998 fielding percentage at the position. However, Huff’s RF/9 is 9.72, topping Millar’s 9.68.

Following the trend backwards over the past few seasons, Huff’s numbers at first base hold up against Millar’s.

2006 – Huff 10.12, Millar 9.38

2005 – Huff 7.75, Millar 9.99

2004 – Huff 9.48, Millar 9.21

I’m admittedly a rookie at using the Range Factor statistic, but in this case it generally matches my gut instinct.

Cox's Record Sparks Nostalgia for O's Fans

Record comes near the anniversary of a classic Weaver ejection

By Matthew Taylor

It’s fitting that we get to read about Braves manager Bobby Cox’s record-setting 132nd ejection in this morning’s paper. On this very date in 1975 Earl Weaver got ejected from both games of a twi-night doubleheader as the O’s split a pair with the Texas Rangers at Memorial Stadium.

Umpire Ron Luciano tossed Weaver in the opener during a fourth inning argument about a double play. Weaver wasted no time in the nightcap, getting tossed during the exchange of lineup cards when he decided to continue the argument with Luciano, his longtime nemesis.

Weaver would miss the following night’s game so he could fly to St. Louis and give his daughter away in marriage.

For his entire career, Earl Weaver was ejected from both games of a doubleheader on three separate occasions. [Check out our "Vide-O Corner" for a classic Weaver outburst.]

Sports Illustrated writer John Donovan uses Weaver’s doubleheader ejections on Sept. 30, 1985 against the Yankees as a measuring stick for Bobby Cox. The O's lost both games, 4-0 and 9-2.

Once, back in the waning days of the 1985 season, the dean of disputatious big-league managers, Earl Weaver, was thrown out of both games of a doubleheader in Yankee Stadium. The second time it happened, he barely made it to home plate for the pregame exchange of lineup cards before he was run.

The first time, though, was the beauty. In the third inning of the first game on that late-September day, after Weaver already had been out on the field three times to argue something or other, umpire Jim Evans finally tired of the show and tossed the diminutive Baltimore skipper. The ump then took out his watch and gave Weaver one minute to leave the field.

Weaver grabbed the watch, reared back and flung it into the visitors' dugout, where it skidded to a stop under the Orioles' bench.

"If my arm was still good," Weaver told reporters after the game, "I would've thrown it into the stands."

Memories of The Tractor

Was anyone else thinking of Chris Hoiles last night when Aubrey Huff, having already hit a grand slam, came to the plate with the bases loaded for a second time?

Huff had a chance to become the fourth Oriole, the 13th player overall, to hit two grand slams in the same game. Instead, Huff had an RBI single.

The O's who have achieved the feat are Jim Gentile ('61), Frank Robinson ('70), and Hoiles ('98). You can read more about it in our previous posting, "Beltway Baseball Wasn't Always So Bad."

How Many Times in a Season Can Melvin Mora Get Thrown Out at Home in the 9th Inning, O’s Trailing by One Run?

By Christopher Heun

Answer: Three times.

Bonus Answer: He did it tonight at Yankee Stadium, July 1 vs. the Angels, and I seem to remember one other time earlier in the year (although some heavy googling yielded no leads).

Dare to Dream Answer: Since there are 45 games to go, undoubtedly he could squeeze in at least one more.

Or will he try again to bunt home the tying run in the ninth with one out?

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