Orioles Managers Don't See Many Opening Days

Dave Trembley will manage his third Opening Day for the Orioles in 2010. That's no small accomplishment for a Baltimore skipper.

The Orioles have had nine managers since the 1989 "Why Not?" season including Trembley. At the conclusion of Tuesday's game Trembley will have managed more Opening Day games than five of his eight predecessors. He will have matched the tenure of two others.

Only Mike Hargrove has lasted more than three seasons in Baltimore in the past two decades.

The Rays should take heart in facing a Trembley squad. After all, both O's openers during his tenure have come against the team that became that season's ALCS Champion.

Here's a rundown of Opening Day results for each Orioles manager since 1989:


Dave Trembley (1-1)

2009: O's 10 - Yankees 5


2008: Rays 6 - Orioles 2

Sam Perlozzo (1-1)

2007: Twins 7 - Orioles 4


2006: Orioles 9 - Devil Rays 6

Lee Mazzilli (2-0)

2005: Orioles 4 - A's 0


2004: Orioles 7 - Red Sox 2

Mike Hargrove (3-1)

2003: Orioles 6 - Indians 5


2002: Orioles 10 - Yankees 3


2001: Orioles 2 - Red Sox 1


2000: Indians 4 - Orioles 1

Ray Miller (1-1)

1999: Orioles 10 - Devil Rays 7


1998: Royals 4 - Orioles 1

Davey Johnson (2-0)

1997: Orioles 4 - Royals 2


1996: Orioles 4 - Royals 2

Phil Regan (0-1)


1995: Royals 5 - Orioles 1

Johnny Oates (2-1)

1994: Orioles 6 - Royals 3


1993: Rangers 7 - Orioles 4


1992: Orioles 2 - Indians 0

Frank Robinson (2-1)

1991: White Sox 9 - Orioles 1


1990: Orioles 7 - Royals 6


1989: Orioles 5 - Red Sox 4


Image Source: Ghost of Moonlight Graham.

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A Successful Start in Sarasota

Some positive signs from Year 1 in Sarasota. Thanks, once again, to Norm Schimmel for the Spring Training photos.

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Opening Day on the Road Can Still Prove Memorable

His 6'5", 240 pound stature made him larger than most men; his first game as an Oriole made him larger than life.  

Happy Opening Day, O's fans.

Roar from 34 recommends starting your day with some Orioles Magic and Thank God I'm a Country Boy. Even after 12 losing seasons, it's great to be an Orioles fan.

The Birds begin the 2010 campaign on the road, which brings to mind one of my favorite Opening Day memories: Sam Horn's two-homer, six RBI day in Kansas City in 1990 to lead the O's to a 7-6, 11 inning victory against the Royals.

[Check out the Lawrence Journal-World for a photo of Horn's second home run and Joe Orsulak sliding into home with the winning run.]

Every O's starter had a hit, and Jay Aldrich tossed three shutout innings to pick up his only win as an Oriole. Meanwhile, Gregg Olson, fresh off winning Rookie of the Year, earned the first of a career high 37 saves in what would be his only All Star season.

But Sam Horn ruled the day.

As I've noted before on this blog, Sam Horn is one of my all-time favorite Orioles. His 6'5", 240 pound stature made him larger than most men; his first game as an Oriole made him larger than life.  

Around this time last season, The Sun's Mike Klingaman caught up with Horn to reminisce about his big day.

In the second inning, with two aboard, Horn poled a fast ball off KC ace Brett Saberhagen, the Cy Young winner, deep into the waterfalls at Royals Stadium. In the eighth, with the Orioles down, 6-3, Horn tagged a curveball off reliever Steve Farr into the bullpen to tie the game.

His six RBIs set an club record for Opening Day and drew ooohs from his skipper.

"He (Horn) has spoiled us," manager Frank Robinson said. "I’ll tell you, he’s so big and strong, you expect him to hit them that way. If he doesn’t drive in five or six runs every game, we’re going to tell him to hit the road."

The next day, Horn got two more hits, eliciting praise from Royals star George Brett.

"If the season ended today," Brett said, "Horn would win the Triple Crown."

So the moral of the story is this: They may not be ideal, but road openers can still prove memorable.

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Image Source: The Sun

Harry Benninghoff: An Unsung Hero of Eutaw Street

The Friday edition of The Sun includes the obit for Harry Benninghoff, a former Procter & Gamble executive who worked as a tour guide at Camden Yards during his retirement.

Benninghoff also had a responsibility near and dear to my heart: directing the installation of the baseball plaques that mark Eutaw Street home runs. He's therefore an unsung hero of the Eutaw Street Chronicles.

Another job that Mr. Benninghoff handled was making sure that the brass baseball plaques marking the spot where home run balls land on Eutaw Street were installed.

Despite not feeling well, Mr. Benninghoff was at Oriole Park a week before his death, making sure that last year's home-run plaques, which were to be placed before Opening Day in the concrete walkway, were going in the proper location.

"Harry would go over the list with us and confirm where the balls landed before the plaque went in," Ms. Barlow said.

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Matt Wieters - Sports Illustrated Letters

They don't ask for blog names when you submit a letter to Sports Illustrated. Otherwise, I could say that Roar from 34 appeared in the magazine this week.

I was pleased to discover on Thursday that SI ran my letter in response to the recent Matt Wieters cover.

For context, here's my previous post about "The Hero," Rick Dempsey, who made the Sports Illustrated cover following the 1983 World Series.

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The View from Sarasota - Part 6

More Spring Training photos - these from Wednesday's Red Sox game - courtesy once again of Sarasota baseball advocate and super fan Norm Schimmel.

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Classic April Fools: The Curious Case of Sidd Finch

It's April Fools' Day, which for baseball fans brings to mind Sports Illustrated's classic ruse, "The Curious Case of Sidd Finch." Finch, a Mets rookie, was said to be torn between playing baseball and playing the French Horn despite having the ability to throw 165 mph heat.

The full article by George Plimpton is available in the Sports Illustrated archive. An excerpt is provided below.

The phenomenon the three young batters faced, and about whom only Reynolds, Stottlemyre and a few members of the Mets' front office know, is a 28-year-old, somewhat eccentric mystic named Hayden (Sidd) Finch. He may well change the course of baseball history. On St. Patrick's Day, to make sure they were not all victims of a crazy hallucination, the Mets brought in a radar gun to measure the speed of Finch's fastball. The model used was a JUGS Supergun II. It looks like a black space gun with a big snout, weighs about five pounds and is usually pointed at the pitcher from behind the catcher. A glass plate in the back of the gun shows the pitch's velocity—accurate, so the manufacturer claims, to within plus or minus 1 mph. The figure at the top of the gauge is 200 mph. The fastest projectile ever measured by the JUGS (which is named after the oldtimer's descriptive—the "jug-handled" curveball) was a Roscoe Tanner serve that registered 153 mph. The highest number that the JUGS had ever turned for a baseball was 103 mph, which it did, curiously, twice on one day, July 11, at the 1978 All-Star game when both Goose Gossage and Nolan Ryan threw the ball at that speed. On March 17, the gun was handled by Stottlemyre. He heard the pop of the ball in Reynolds's mitt and the little squeak of pain from the catcher. Then the astonishing figure 168 appeared on the glass plate. Stottlemyre remembers whistling in amazement, and then he heard Reynolds say, "Don't tell me, Mel, I don't want to know...."

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1970 Orioles Rank Among the All-Time Great Teams

O's fans will be hearing a fair amount this season about the 1970 World Series champions, and rightly so.

The Orioles will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the organization's second championship team during a pregame ceremony at Camden Yards on June 26.

In the meantime, Tom Verducci has ranked the 1970 Baltimore Orioles as No. 7 on his list of the top ten greatest baseball teams.

Finally, here's a Fan Fest video featuring members of the team reflecting on their championship season.



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The View from Sarasota, Part 5

The blog-O's-phere has provided some quality, in-person updates from Spring Training of late.

Over at Dempsey's Army, Heath reported on his visit to the team's minor league camp as well as his trip to Ed Smith Stadium.

Meanwhile, Wayward O secured a press pass for Brian Roberts' spring debut, chatted up Joe Angel, and watched Josh Bell fight a bear and a pterodactyl.

Roar from 34's crack reporting staff of one, operating on a travel budget of peanuts and Cracker Jack, didn't fly South this season. But thanks to Sarasota baseball advocate Norm Schimmel, the Spring Training updates continue.

Here's the fifth in Roar from 34's "View from Sarasota" series; quality Birds eye view photos from the Red Sox and Yankees games courtesy of Schimmel.

[Check out the complete "View from Sarasota" series.]

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Cement Head? Actually, Altobelli will be Cast in Bronze

The Rochester Red Wings have announced they will honor former Orioles manager Joe Altobelli - the man owner Edward Bennett Williams once dubbed "cement head" - with a statute outside the team's stadium.

I profiled Altobelli for a Flashback Friday in June and learned more about his Rochester connection.

Here's an excerpt:

He managed a 1971 Rochester Red Wings team that included Mike Ferraro, Johnny Oates, Don Baylor, and Ray Miller, each of whom would likewise manage in the majors.

He instructed the youthful iterations of Cal Ripken Jr., Don Mattingly, and Mark Grace on how to play the game.

His stories of mentoring Steve Dalkowski, a pitcher who threw as hard as he partied, provided screenwriter and director Ron Shelton with the grist for the Bull Durham characters Crash Davis and Nuke NaNoosh.

His jersey was the first of two that have been retired in Rochester, where is known as "Mr. Rochester."

In 2008, he was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame.

But Baltimore fans know him best as the manager of the last Orioles team to win the World Series.

...

As a minor league manager, Alto finished in first place six times in 12 seasons. From 1971 to 1976, he led the Rochester Red Wings, then an O's affiliate, to a 502-350 (.589) record, two Governors Cup titles, four pennants, and one Junior World Series.

Following his retirement from the game, Altobelli filled every available role for the Red Wings except - as noted by The Baltimore Sun - the mascot's position, which he left to his grandchildren. Altobelli moved into Rochester's broadcast booth in 1996 and remained there through last year. The 2009 season is the first since 1950 that Altobelli has spent away from organized baseball.

Read the full post.

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Flashback Friday: Feeling Ducky

The Long Island Ducks are not an Orioles affiliate; it only seems that way after the Atlantic League club signed Sir Sidney Ponson this week, two years after serving as the home base for the Jay Gibbons apology tour.

Paging Daniel Cabrera.

As an independent baseball team, the Ducks tend to capitalize on the nostalgia marketing model, attracting fans by signing major league veterans with high name recognition. Thus the likes of Carl Everett, Carlos Baerga, Juan Gonzalez, and John Rocker have all been part of The Flock since the team's inaugural 2000 season.

Aside from Ponson and Gibbons, how many former Orioles can you name who also played for the Long Island Ducks?

(Over/Under for those not holding season tickets to the Ducks = 1.)

Here's the list of players to have suited up in orange and black Baltimore as well as orange and green in Central Islip:

Jim Brower

Hector Carrasco

Alberto Castillo

John DeSilva

John Halama

Aaron Ledesma


Jose Leon

Mark Lewis

Richie Lewis

Julio Manon

Todd Williams

And here are a few O's prospects and Duck veterans who never made it to the bigs in Baltimore:

Kimera Bartee

Pete Rose Jr. 

Tom Martin


Image source: Rake Blog.

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March Madness? Mark Hendrickson Knows All About It

Not only is Mark Hendrickson among a handful of major leaguers to have played in the NBA, he's also on the list of professional baseball players to have participated in March Madness.

Hendrickson played for Washington State in the 1994 NCAA basketball tournament. The Cougars, an eight seed in the East, lost a tough opening-round contest to the ninth seeded Boston College Eagles 67-64. The game was played in Landover, Md., just down the road from Hendrickson's future Camden Yards home.

Boston College upset top-seeded North Carolina in the tournament's second round as part of an Elite Eight run that season.

Hendrickson, a sophomore, averaged 10.5 points during the 1993-1994 season for Coach Kelvin Sampson's Cougars. He ended up a two-time All-Pac 10 selection and ranks second in career rebounds at Washington State. The Philadelphia Sixers drafted Hendrickson with the 31st pick in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft.

Read more about Hendrickson and the Cougars' NCAA tournament season at the WSU website.

Also worth noting is that Hendrickson won a basketball state championship in high school and is a member of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame. For more, visit the WIAA website.

Image source: WIAA.

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The Return of Steve Johnson; Orioles Father-Son Combos

Last month I wrote about Bob Kennedy being the first player for the modern Orioles to hit a grand slam. Kennedy also happens to be among the rare father-son combinations to have played for the Orioles; his son, Terry Kennedy, caught for the Orioles in 1987 and 1988 and earned an All-Star nod in '87.

The return of Steve Johnson to the Orioles on Tuesday raises the possibility of this list getting longer. And why not? Dave Johnson played for the Birds from 1989 through 1991.

Other father-son duos to have suited up for the Orioles include the following:

-Dave May (1967-1970) and Derrick May (1999).

-Don Buford (1968-1972) and Damon Buford (1993-1995).

-Tim Raines (four games in 2001) and Tim Raines Jr. (2001, 2003, 2004).

Other potential candidates besides Steve Johnson are as follows:

-Steve Bumbry, son of Al Bumbry (1972-1984), who was drafted by the Orioles in 2009.

-Toronto pitchers Kyle Drabek, son of Doug Drabek (1998), and Josh Roenicke, son of Gary Roenicke (1978-1975). 

-Tug Hulett, son of Tim Hulett (1989-1994), who plays in the Boston system.

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Fishing with Luke Scott

I'm not much of an Angler, so I don't have a good 200-words-or-less answer for WFN as to why every day is a good day for fishing.  Nevertheless, this seems like a pretty cool contest.

Early entries are closer to 20 words than 200. They include the following:

"Cause fishing is just amazing cold, stormy,warm, doesn't matter fishing is relaxing and can make your day if you catch the right fish."

"Get's me way from the daily work and issues. It is just a nice escape for a while."

"Get out experience nature as it should be!"

"Everyday is a great day for fishing so I can think of excuses to where I've been when I'm not fishing!"

I prefer the Homer Simpson logic: "If you love fish like I do, you want them to die with dignity."



However, I'm guessing the experience would be more like that of Tony Soprano and Bobby Bacala.


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Before "The Perfect Catch" there was "The Hero!"

O's fans are rightfully excited about Matt Wieters appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He's the first Orioles player to do so since Roberto Alomar following the 1996 ALDS.

Do yourself a favor and also visit the SI vault to view the last pre-Wieters cover to feature a Baltimore catcher, 1983 World Series MVP Rick Dempsey.

The associated feature story about the '83 Series, "The Orioles All Pitched In," is filled with enough narrative color to match the fine imagery in the photo array that accompanies the article.

You can read all about -

Eddie Murray's reflections on winning it all.

There have been world champions with more talent, but there has probably never been a team as selfless as these Orioles. "Just knowing that you're part of the best team in baseball," said Murray, "well, it's a nice little feeling."

The timeless value of pitching.

The National League champion Phillies and the American League champion Orioles were as different as, say, cheesesteaks and crab cakes, but they did have a couple of things in common. One was a firm belief in two-platoon baseball. The other was good pitching, and as everyone knows, good pitching beats good pitching.

The trio that Kenny Singleton dubbed "The Three Stoodges."

Coming up after Lowenstein were the Stooges, Larry (Rich Dauer), Curly (Todd Cruz) and Moe (Dempsey) ..."I'm Moe because I'm the most intelligent," says Dempsey. "I'm Curly," says Cruz, "because he's my favorite guy. Whoowhoo. I do the backstep good, too, so I told Joe [Manager Altobelli] that the next time he pinch-hits for me, I'm gonna do the backstep into the dugout."

During the game Boddicker asked if he could be Shemp, the Stooge who replaced Curly, because of his RBI. 

And Sammy Stewart's bullpen behavior.

Stewart, the Throwin' Swannanoan (he's from Swannanoa, N.C.), came on to pitch in the sixth. Actually, he had already been busy in the game, washing the windows of the O's bullpen. "They were all scratched and smudged from doubles by Schmidt and [Andre] Dawson and [Dale] Murphy," said Stewart. "So we called down for Windex and towels in the first." For the next 2 1/3 innings, Stewart wiped up the Phils.

The SI spread also provides a review of Earl Weaver's work in the broadcast booth (it's no wonder he returned to the dugout) and a sidebar on the Series MVP, "Dempsey: He Was Moe Than Philly Could Handle."

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Image sources: SI Vault.

Matusz at the Top

People like lists.

People love lists that include their favorite players.

O's fans will love Sports Illustrated's list of "Top 20 Fantasy Impact Rookies to Watch."

Brian Matusz takes the top spot.

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Publish Post

The View from Sarasota - Part 4

Orioles vs. Pirates in Sarasota, and Norm Schimmel is on the scene once again. Thanks to Norm for another great round of Spring Training photos.

Previous Views from Sarasota: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

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Flashback Friday: Johnny Orsino's Spring Training Homer Binge

In lieu of this week's Flashback Friday, Roar from 34 turns its attention to Keith Olbermann's MLB blog "Baseball Nerd" where Olbermann tells the story of former O's backstop Johnny Orsino.

Orsino , nicknamed Horse, made a unique claim to baseball fame with his streak of five straight Spring Training home runs to start his Orioles career.

Olbermann describes the accomplishment as follows:

So his first at bat in an Orioles uniform on March 15th was by itself something of a triumph.

Orsino promptly hit a three-run homer off Joe Moeller of the Dodgers. In his next at bat, he was accidentally intentionally walked (Boog Powell had been balked to second and manager Walter Alston was gesticulating wildly about the call; Dodger catcher Mike Brumley mistakenly believed he was being inexplicably ordered to walk his Oriole counterpart). In his third trip to the plate, Orsino hit another homer, a solo blast.

He came out of the game at that point, and missed Baltimore's next two exhibitions. But against veteran Reds' lefty Jim O'Toole at Al Lopez Field in Tampa on March 18th, Orsino made it three homers in three Baltimore ups. Then four in four. Then five in five. 

You read correctly. Not just home runs in five consecutive official at bats, nor just home runs in the first five at bats of spring training, but five consecutive home runs in the first five at bats with a new team. The streak was finally snapped when a Reds' prospect named John Flavin got Orsino to pop up to the catcher.

Orsino was later part of another baseball rarity when he caught a game during which both pitchers tossed one-hitters. The only players to record hits in the game were the catchers.

On Sept. 12, 1964, pitcher Frank Bertaina of the Birds topped Bob Meyer of the Kansas City A's before 13,162 fans at Memorial Stadium.

Bertaina, a 20-year-old rookie, struck out seven and walked five. His only hit allowed was a lead-off double in the fifth inning to A's catcher Doc Edwards.

Meyer, a 24-year-old rookie, pitched seven no-hit innings before allowing a lead-off double to Orsino. A sacrifice bunt by Bertaina moved pinch runner Bob Saverine (nicknamed "Rabbit") to third. Saverine then scored on a Jackie Brandt sacrifice fly.

So the critical sequence started like this: Lead-off double by the Horse, replaced by the Rabbit as a pinch runner. If that's not wise managing I don't know what is.

The Orioles moved to 87-58 with the 1-0 victory while the Athletics fell to 52-91.

Bertaina finished the 1964 season 1-0 in six starts. He recorded 19 career wins in seven major league seasons.

Meyer finished the 1964 season 2-8 in 22 starts. He tallied two career wins in three major league seasons.
 
Image Source: EBay. 

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The View from Sarasota - "Opening Day" Edition

The Orioles started their Sarasota Spring Training adventure in grand fashion on Wednesday, hammering the Rays 12-2. Norm Schimmel was on the scene and provided Roar from 34 with more great photos.

Previous Views from Sarasota - Part 1, Part 2.

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Fear the Cartoon Bird

How do you make a nearly perfect evening at Comcast Center even better? By holding up a throwback Orioles hat in the middle of the post-game celebration, of course.

Well done, anonymous Terps fan. Well done.

Image via The Sun's game gallery.

 
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The Orioles' Ghosts of Top Prospects Past

On the heels of Baseball America's list of 100 Top prospects for 2010, Sports Illustrated's Sky Andrecheck examines the publication's top 10 prospects from 1990 through 2006.

Andrecheck uses WAR data to divide those players into five categories: busts, average players, good players, great players, and franchise players.

Some Ghosts of Top Prospects Past should be familiar names to O's fans. Not surprisingly, none of those names are franchise players.

-Busts: Bruce Chen (O's: '04-'06)

-Average: Arthur Rhodes ('91-'99), Kris Benson ('06), Jeffrey Hammonds ('93-'98)

-Good Players: Ben McDonald ('89-'95), Todd Zeile ('96), Charles Johnson ('99-'00)

-Great Players: Miguel Tejada ('04-'07, '10)

-Franchise Players: None

The numbers may rate Ben McDonald as a good player and Jeffrey Hammonds as average, but Big Ben was the bigger disappointment given the expectations that accompanied his arrival in Baltimore. Those expectations led USA Today to dub him "the Stephen Strassburg of 20 years ago."

Orioles players currently listed among Baseball America's Top Prospects are as follows: Brian Matusz (No. 5),  Josh Bell (No. 37), Zach Britton (No. 63), and Jake Arrieta (No. 99). 

Here's hoping these guys fall more on the good-great-franchise side of the spectrum.

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The View from Sarasota, Part 2

Here's another look at the springtime happenings in Sarasota, again courtesy of local baseball advocate Norm Schimmel. (See "The View from Sarasota," Jan. 29, 2010).

Copyright on all photos: Norm Schimmel.

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Flashback Friday: Orioles Basketball (Yes, you read that right: Basketball)

We all know about Brooks Robinson's exploits at the hot corner; less is known about his jumper from the short corner. That is, unless you were following the exploits of the Major League All-Stars and the Baltimore Orioles basketball teams during the late '60s.

Long before the Ironman staged pick-up games at his home with fellow major leaguers and college players from around Maryland, Brooks Robinson was hooping it up with the likes of Jim Palmer, Paul Blair, Jim Bouton, Pete Rose, and Jeff Torborg (who caught Sandy Koufax's World Series perfect game).

In 1966, for example, Robinson joined the Major League All-Stars, described by the New York Times as a basketball team made up of major league baseball players from half a dozen clubs, in games against high school, fraternal, and charitable organizations.

Joining Brooksie on the All-Star squad were teammates Frank Robinson and Dave McNally; Bouton and Al Downing (Yankees); Rose (Reds); Dick McAuliffe (Tigers); Al Jackson (Cardinals); John Orsino (Senators); Torborg (Dodgers); Ed Kranepool (Reds); and Dennis Ribant (Mets/Pirates).

One thing's for certain: I wouldn't want to mix it up in the post with Pete Rose even if it were for charity.

Back home in Baltimore, the Orioles' legendary third baseman competed with faculty members of local schools as a way of staying in shape during the off-season. As this 1969 article from the Washington Afro-American reports, Blair, Palmer, McNally, Dick Hall, Eddie Watt, Pete Richert, Bobby Floyd, and Billy Hunter took to the hardwood with Robinson as part of that effort.

Said Hall, who played college basketball at Swarthmore: "We are looking forward to having a lot of fun with with this while staying in shape at the same time."

Pictured at the top of this post is a warm-up top worn by a member of the off-season basketball team between 1967 and 1973 that now serves as an auction item. Special thanks to my friend and fellow baseball fan Jon Bloom, who blogs at Wasted Food and BBQ Jew, for the tip.


Image Source: Huggins & Scott Auctions

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Team Pictures with Arthur Rhodes

I always appreciate a solid Arthur Rhodes reference; even better if it has a good story attached. This MLB Fanhouse article scores on both counts.

Josh Alper shares the details of a Cincinnati Reds auction that gives the winner a chance to be included in the 2010 team picture.

The Reds are auctioning off the chance for a couple of fans to throw their arms around Arthur Rhodes and be part of the 2010 team picture. The shot will be taken on April 21 before the Reds' game with the Dodgers and you also get tickets to the game and some Reds gear as part of the package. The opening bid is $500 for what the Reds' Web site deems an "extremely unique and priceless opportunity."

Here's hoping that the winner thinks better of complaining to Arthur Rhodes about the glare from his diamond earrings. Just ask Omar Vizquel.

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A Blanket with Sleeves by any other Name Would Still be Sweet

Big League Stew mentioned Matt Wieters Bobblehead Day at Camden Yards (June 30th, but you already knew that) in a post last week titled  Snuggies and skateboards lead list of 2010 ballpark promotions.

Of said Snuggies, 'Duk wrote the following:

Snuggies! Whoops! We violated a trademark! They'll be giving away "sluggies" in St. Louis (April 30) and Oakland (April 15) and "wearable blankets" in San Francisco (April 23). The Angels will also be giving away "blankies" (April 6) and plain old blankets (Aug. 24) but no word if they're a ripoff of the made-for-TV gimmick we've come to know and love.

Yes, everyone's favorite blanket with sleeves has grown enough in popularity that knock-off brands now exist. Who could've imagined such a thing when those first ridiculous commercials cropped up on TV?



It just goes to show the power of repetition when it comes to marketing. And the power of sports branding. Slap a team logo on most anything and you'll find someone to buy it.

Take, for example, me. Santa left an Orioles blanket with sleeves under the Christmas tree this year. This one's known as "The Huddler."

Resistance is futile. Give in to the power of the blanket with sleeves. You can even pick one up at the ballpark, which defies my original cynical logic upon viewing the Snuggie commercial: "Who would wear one of those things at a sporting event?"

It appears that fans in St. Louis, Oakland, San Francisco, and Anaheim will provide my answer this April.

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