Interesting Baseball Reading

It's a bitter cold January, the Hot Stove doesn't have much heat left to provide, and Rick Dempsey has packed away the Santa suit (until next year?).

Don't despair, O's fans, there's still some good baseball reading to be done.

Stephen Brunt of the Globe and Mail details Roberto Alomar's brilliance during his pre-Orioles playing days in Toronto. "Hero, Heartthrob, Goat, Target ... Let's Start Over" discusses Alomar's rock star status in Toronto when the city functioned in concert with its chart-topping Blue Jays. We O's fans aren't the only ones to witness the decline of a once-mighty baseball town.

Did you know that Orioles third base coach and three-time All Star Juan Samuel - he of the .259 career average and 161 home runs in 16 seasons - received multiple first-ballot votes for the Hall of Fame? Paul Francis Sullivan of Sully Baseball runs down the idiosyncrasies of Cooperstown voting in "Hall of Fame Ballot Insanity"

Finally, Real Clear Sports brings us a fun, retrospective read, "The Top 10 Erroneous Columns of 2009." Included on the list are two mistaken A.L. East-related prognostications:

1. Joe Posnanski of Sports Illustrated, in the April column "Some Semi-Bold Predictions Entering the 2009 Season," envisioning a post-season without the Yankees.

2. Dan Shaugnessy of the Boston Globe, in the September column "Things are falling into place," predicting a Red Sox World Series victory.


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Adam Jones, Award-Winning Shortstop

Adam Jones has been voted as the top shortstop on the Single-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers' 15th Anniversary Team.

The honor and Jones' time with the Wisconsin minor league outfit connect him historically with the likes of Earl Weaver, Boog Powell, and Cal Ripken Sr., each of whom were associated with an earlier incarnation of the club that used to serve as an Orioles affiliate.

But first, the team's website makes the case for Jones:

The Stats: .267 average (136 hits in 510 at bats), .314 OBP, .717 OPS, 23 doubles, 7 triples, 11 home runs, 72 runs batted in, 8 stolen bases

The Facts: Seattle Mariners 1st round draft pick in 2003 out of Morse (CA) High School;  Opening Day Age: 18

The Case:  Young and multi-talented, Jones is the best defender of the group and leads the candidates in home runs and RBI.

Jones, who played shortstop during the 2004 season in Wisconsin, won with 44 percent of the vote, which was otherwise divided between Ramon Vazquez, Ramon Valera, and Matt Tuiasosopo. Among Jones' memorable days with the Timber Rattlers was July 31, 2004, when he homered twice and drove in five runs.

The Orioles star center fielder moved to the outfield in 2006 with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.

Previous incarnations of the Timber Rattlers included the Appleton Foxes, who were an Orioles affiliate in the early '60s. Earl Weaver led the club to a league championship in 1960, the team's first year connected to the O's, behind the bats of Boog Powell, who hit.312 with 100 RBI, and League MVP Pete Ward, who hit .345.

Ward played eight games with the Orioles in 1962 before being sent to Chicago as part of the Luis Aparicio trade. Ward came in second for Rookie of the Year honors in 1963 with the White Sox.

Meanwhile, Cal Ripken Sr. earned Manager of the Year honors with the Wisconsin club in 1962 at the age of 26. Ripken was in his second year as a manager, having been at the helm of the Leesburg Orioles in 1961.


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Merry Christmas from Roar from 34

Remembering Former O's Farmhand Joel Stephens

Joel Stephens' varsity football coach has written a book about the Orioles' 1995 first-round draft pick, who died in 1998 at age 22 following a 10-month battle with colon cancer.

The Star Gazette in upstate New York interviewed Mike D'Aloisio about the book, "5 C Hero: The Joel Stephens Story," and the player he once coached.

Here's an excerpt from the interview:

"Eleven years ago, when Joel passed away, I felt a gap was created in my life, losing somebody so young who was such an inspiration to so many people and who was such a good person. I felt to fill that void, I would like to share the story of Joel Stephens, and the Joel Stephens I knew.

It took me a while to do it. I always knew what I wanted to write about, but it wasn't until two to three years ago that I started putting things down on paper. That was the first thing: I just wanted people to know Joel as myself and the people in this area knew him."

Stephens, a celebrated athlete in his hometown of Elmira, N.Y., joined the Orioles Gulf Coast League affiliate in 1995 as a 19-year-old outfielder, playing with the likes of O's prospects Calvin Pickering and Kimera Bartee (aka the "player to be named later" in the Scott Erickson trade with Minnesota).

The Orioles' ninth pick of the '95 draft, Stephens also played with Bluefield and Delmarva before his 1997 cancer diagnosis. He became the franchise's third player to be treated for colon cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the course of a year, following Eric Davis and Boog Powell. He tossed out the ceremonial first pitch before an Orioles exhibition game the following March. Stephens passed away on Sept. 30, 1998.

The Frederick Keys established the Joel A. Stephens Memorial Fund in 1999 to benefit children dealing with serious illness or bereavement due to the death of a parent or sibling. Learn more at the foundation's website. Meanwhile, the Joel Stephens Invitational Tournament has become one of the premiere senior-level baseball tournaments in the Northeast since its founding in 1998.


Image source: The Star Gazette story.

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Adam Jones - Face of the Franchise?

The Orioles will need a face of the franchise - and de facto team leader, at least in the public eye - as they re-build and hope for a brighter future. I nominate Adam Jones.

Rule #1: A team leader must be quotable. And Jones sure is.

From Friday's Sun:

"I'm just sitting back here, watching it and loving it. I'm letting Andy do what he came here to do," Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said. "I'm letting him do his magic. He's in charge for a reason. I like all three moves, to be honest with you."

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Holliday In Baltimore

Matt Holliday should play in Baltimore for no other reason than that together with Felix Pie he would allow the Orioles to compete for having the most players with names that invite witty headline attempts.

Take, for example, this offering from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Holliday Intrigue: Orioles in, and a 'mystery team' arrives."

Just imagine the Holliday Inn Express possibilities. I'm picturing Jumbotron videos that rival the 2008 Kevin Millar Orioles Magic fare.

Baltimore: We do humor better than baseball! Have a laugh at our team on and off the field.

The Post-Dispatch story is worth reading for more than just the headline. Derrick Goold rightly points out that this script mirrors the media narrative for Mark Teixeira last off-season. In other words, some folks might just be getting played (again) by Scott Boras.

Writes Goold:

This Courtship of Holliday is following a familiar script: Mark Teixeira, Take 2.

Last season, the Orioles were interested in signing Teixeira because he had Maryland roots and they had an opening at first base. The pursuit of Teixeira was, if you recall, positioned as a three-team derby, with the Los Angeles Angels looking to re-signing him and Baltimore and Boston vying to woo him back east. As Christmas approached, a word of a mystery team came and went, the talks seemed to delay and drag on. Then, out of the blue, came the New York Yankees, who swooped in with the $180-million offer.

The Garrett Atkins/Brian Roberts angle on this story - namely that Holliday is friendly with both players and was an FCA rep along with Roberts - fits with the Hot Stove Myths and Truths I discussed last off-season.

Narrative/Myth #1: We're an attractive destination for a top free agent because we have an "in" with him (aka "The Hometown Discount"/"Hometown Hero" Effect).

The thinking here is that a player's relationship to the city, the team, or its personnel will propel him to take a below-market deal with the Orioles. This favored narrative applies to cases where we're trying to keep a guy in the fold (i.e. the hometown discount) or to bring him into the fold (i.e. the hometown hero). Mike Mussina was an example of the former, Mark Teixeira is an example of the latter. A.J. Burnett, whose wife is from the Baltimore area and who has an off-season home in Monkton, could also fit into the latter category.

I would love to add  Matt Holliday's bat to the Orioles' lineup and to see what kind of trade that would allow the team to make from there. But, as was the case when Teixeira flirted with the Birds, I'm not getting my hopes up.

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Ballard Calls B.S. on Red Sox Nation and Moneyballers

Sports Illustrated's Chris Ballard uses the magazine's latest "Point After" column to call b.s. on the sports world, including Red Sox fans and Moneyballers. Read the piece in context before you form any conclusions.

Ballard's critiques are tough, but fair - and, for me, much appreciated - as they cut through the pretense that so often surrounds the otherwise simple joy - and if you're lucky, shared joys - of watching games being played at their highest levels.

Writes Ballard:

In fact, it's high time to call b.s. on lots of stuff in sports. It's the rare precinct in which we're encouraged to be ourselves, unburdened by the solicitousness and the affectations of polite society. In sports there should be no equivalent of obscure indie rock bands people say they love but never listen to, or Stephen Hawking books that are displayed yet never opened. No, this world is about winning and losing and loving and hating. This is no place for pretense.

So for starters, I call b.s. on Red Sox Nation. You are not a "nation." Your fandom and your suffering is no more or less important than anyone else's. To insinuate so is to insult all of us who passionately follow our teams. No, at best you are a province. Please stop migrating.

I know and like Boston fans who when it comes down to it are just good baseball fans. They enjoy talking about your team as well as their own. They respect the game and its history. They're easy to root for.

But then there are the others - the bandwagon jumpers, the BIRGers and CORFers, the never-lived-in-or-near-Boston-nor-knew-anyone-who-did-but-still-manage-to-live-and-die-by-the-Sox types - who give the "Nation" its numbers and its obnoxious qualities.

So Ballard is tough on Red Sox nation. But fair.

Key line: "Your fandom and your suffering is no more or less important than anyone else's." Fans who realize that fact - and they are out there - show a glimmer of the Red Sox mythology that at one time was actually endearing.

More from Ballard:

Moneyballers, come on down, because I'm calling b.s. Not on the stats revolution (valid) or Billy Beane (ahead of his time) or even the measures themselves (OPS is pretty damn useful). No, I'm talking about the holier-than-thous who profess to prefer a game predicated on driving in runs with walks, never stealing bases and acquiring a fleet of Scott Hattebergs. The ideas may have been enlightening, but we all know that when it's late at night and no one's around, you revel in watching Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval bushwhack his way on base and Rays outfielder Carl Crawford swipe second and third. You know why? Because sports aren't homework; they're entertainment.

After some initial skepticism, I've come to appreciate the value of the stats revolution in baseball. Heath at Dempsey's Army has helped me with that journey as he often provides valuable context to O's fans by playing the numbers game.

However, as Ballard points out, let's not allow slavish devotion to formulas to keep us from enjoying the bushwhacking and swiping of bases. After all, we're still fans, not GMs.

Key line: "Because sports aren't homework; they're entertainment."

In the end, I think that's the primary point underlying Ballard's entire column: sports are entertainment. So allow yourself to be entertained.

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Alomar is Already in the Hall of Very Good; Will He Make the Hall of Fame?

He won't be an Orioles Hall of Famer; more likely a Blue Jays or Indians Hall of Famer. Or perhaps, given how many future nominees would benefit from such a thing, Cooperstown will create a new category for vagabond players, who won't be required to choose just one team's hat for their plaque.

Whatever the case, Roberto Alomar will be in the Hall of Fame regardless of which team claims him as its own. Maybe not first ballot - given, um, that incident I'm sure you remember - but he'll be there.

The Hall of Very Good sizes up Alomar's candidacy.

Alomar went to twelve straight All-Star games (nine as a starter), compared to Ryno’s ten. Incidentally, his ten Gold Gloves over a span of eleven years is the most ever by a second baseman.

His .984 fielding percentage is a hair behind Sandberg’s .989.

His 2724 hits (and career .300 batting average) is the most by any every day second baseman since Charlie Gehringer’s 2839. Gehringer was inducted in 1949. FYI…Sandberg finished with 2386 and a .285 batting average.

Even, Alomar’s OPS+ (a stat that I am not that high on, but some people are) of 116 is smack dab in the middle of the pack when you look at those already enshrined. For the record, Sandberg’s was 114. Joe Morgan...a surprising 132.

Alomar even slugged .347 in back to back World Series victories for the Blue Jays
And yes, for every “case for”…there is a case against:

...

Alomar was the type of player that, because he was so damn solid for nearly 17 seasons…people forget that he was a hitting machine. From his second year in the majors (1989) until 2001, Alomar hit under .295 only twice. He even had an impressive run of nine out of ten years where he hit .300 or better.

Open your doors for Robbie, Cooperstown, I’ll be watching...all the while knowing that the best second baseman I ever saw play is getting his just desserts.

Alomar seemed to dog it toward the end of his three-season stay in Baltimore when his numbers dropped accordingly. The fact that those numbers rebounded enough for him to finish third in the MVP voting in 1999 after returning to Cleveland only added to existing accusations that he played hard only when he really wanted to. Nevertheless, when Alomar gave it his all there weren't many who were better at the position.

I first saw Alomar play in Toronto, where he dominated the Blue Jays game I attended. It's not very often you walk away from a baseball game most impressed by a second baseman, but that's exactly what happened that night.

I went to Toronto to see the SkyDome; I left there talking about Robbie Alomar, a future Hall of Famer.

The Hot Stove Wasn't Always So Tepid for the Birds

The Hot Stove season is likely to be a fairly tepid affair for the Orioles this year. Rather than comb the current class of free-agents and potential trade targets I revisited the team's moves headed into the 1998 season, when the the O's became the first team in baseball to post a $70 million payroll.

Take a minute and let that sink in: the O's were baseball's biggest spenders just a little more than a decade ago. In fact, Baltimore holds the distinction of being the last team to outspend the New York Yankees, who have had baseball's highest payroll every year since 1999.

Unfortunately, the end result for the Birds in '98 was a 79-83 record, the first of an active 12-season losing streak. 

Mo' money, mo' problems? Try mo' money, mo' intrigue.

Big bats, frontline pitchers, aging veterans - the O's chased them all back then.

[To be fair, much of the team's '98 payroll went to players who led the team to back-to-back ALCS appearances in 1996 and 1997, including Robert Alomar ($6.3 million), Brady Anderson ($6.2 million), Mike Mussina ($6.5 million), Rafael Palmeiro ($6.5 million), and Cal ($6.3 million).]

Here's a rundown on some of the Birds' 1997/1998 Hot Stove maneuverings:


-Fresh off a league-leading 45 saves in 1997, closer Randy Myers spurned the Orioles' two year, $11 million offer in November to sign with Toronto for three years, $18 million.

Myers recorded 28 saves in 41 games for the Blue Jays, who let him go in August when the Padres claimed Myers off waivers and inherited the remainder of his contract. Myers did not pitch again after the 1998 season.


-The Orioles chased future first-ballot Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, who ultimately signed with the Twins for $4.25 million in early December.

O's fans bummed about losing out on Molitor received good news days later when Brady Anderson signed a five-year, $31 million extension with the team

Here's what the Washington Post had to say on Dec. 8, 1997:

“The Orioles will be one of baseball's highest-spending teams next year. In the past eight months, though, Angelos has gotten the club's three cornerstone players -- third baseman Cal Ripken, pitcher Mike Mussina and Anderson -- to sign contracts below their free agent market values. Anderson, 33, agreed to receive $ 1.5 million of his $ 6.25 million  salary in each of the first four years of his new deal as deferred compensation without interest.”

"I thought the whole thing was cool," Anderson said. "I was surprised how concerned the fans were. They seemed to care a lot more than I thought they would. That's one of the reasons I got out of Baltimore. I thought I was getting ready to sign for whatever the Orioles were offering."

-On Dec. 12, the Orioles signed free-agent pitcher Doug Drabek to a $1.8 million, one-year contract that included $600,000 in performance incentives.

Drabek won 12 games for the White Sox in 1997. He went 6-11 with a 7.29 ERA in Baltimore.


-On Dec. 13, the team inked free-agent outfielder Joe Carter to a $3.3 million one-year deal. According to the New York Times the move "added another sizable bat to their lineup."

Carter hit 11 home runs in 85 games before being traded to San Francisco for Darrin Blood.


-Ozzie Guillen and Norm Charlton signed minor-league deals with the Birds in January.

Said Guillen: "I picked the Baltimore Orioles because I think they have the best chance to win." Both players finished the '98 season in Atlanta.


-In January, the Orioles also re-signed pitcher Scott Kamieniecki, who went 10-6 with a 4.01 ERA in '97, for two years, $6.2 million. Kamieniecki won four games in those two years.


-The intrigue continued into the spring when the O's retained the services of free-agent-to-be Scott Erickson by signing him to a five-year, $32 million extension in May.


When it was all said and done, the Orioles produced a payroll that was larger then ($70.4 million in 1998) than it is now ($67.1 million in 2009). The record-setting '98 figure would rank in the lower two-thirds among teams today. It's essentially what the Royals ($70.5 million) are spending these days.

Sherrill Being Shopped

I hope Erik Bedard and George Sherrill are renters rather than buyers; otherwise, they should be lauded for their efforts to stimulate the nation's real-estate market.

As you've surely heard, the O's have an interest in re-acquiring Bedard. Now Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports reports that the Dodgers are shopping former Oriole closer George Sherrill on the trade market.

But when teams have inquired about those relievers, according to one rival executive, they have been encouraged to instead submit proposals for left-hander George Sherrill.
It appears that Sherrill is available for two main reasons: He's about to earn a raise (perhaps as high as $4 million) through salary arbitration; and he had a lousy NLCS against the Phillies.
The Dodgers are looking for a starter in exchange for Sherrill.

 Talk about short-term fixes.

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The Nets, The Orioles, and The Larry Sheets Family Amusement Center

So 'Duk - Kevin Kaduk - at Yahoo's Big League Stew blog has made the inevitable New Jersey Nets - Baltimore Orioles comparison now that the Nets have set the NBA's season-opening record for futility.

More importantly, though, 'Duk directs us to the website for the Larry Sheets Family Amusement Center.

In other words, there is baseball news this off-season, and it is decidedly good. 

Here's an excerpt from "The resurrection of the 1988 Orioles, courtesy of the Nets":

As you might remember, the 1988 Orioles lost their first 21 games of the season, setting a record for a pro sports franchise and becoming fodder for wise aleck columnists like Tony Kornheiser and a national punchline in the process. (If you're a certain age, you remember that Michael Jackson glove joke. If you're not, you've heard it about another team.)More than 20 years later, the '88 O's are still the standard bearer for downright bad debuts and will be the first team mentioned unless the Nets have four more losses in them before their first victory.

Am I the only one who has a strange appreciation for the 0-18 Sports Illustrated cover featuring Billy Ripken?

Mister Irrelevant also examines the Nets - O's comparison (and provides the 0-18 cover).


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Jason Berken, the anti-Cy Young?

Joe Posnanski has awarded Jason Berken his "anti-Cy Young" award, noting that "Basically, the whole league was an MVP candidate when Jason Berken was on the hill."

Posnanski's says he's not giving up on the young O's hurler: "Berken was only a rookie, and there is reason to believe he still has a bright future ahead of him, maybe in the bullpen. So I'm not writing off his future by any means."

However, the SI.com writer had a hard time overlooking this line: "The league -- the whole league -- hit .327/.384/.522 against him."

Read the full article here. 

Taking it back to the Old School

Your work day just became even less efficient.

Thanks to The Lost Ogle, I located the Internet version of RBI Baseball 2, where you can reunite many of the 1989 Why Not? Orioles.

Choose among Jeff Ballard, Bob Milacki, Dave  Schmidt, and Pete Harnisch for your starting pitcher.  (Where's the Pride of Middle River?)

Go with the regular starting lineup that includes Cal in the three hole, Mickey "Fruit Loops" Tettleton batting cleanup, and Joltin' Joe O offering protection in the five spot.

Or look to the bench for Steve Finley, Bob Melvin, Billy Ripken, Jim Traber, and Brady Anderson.

(Want another flashback? The Lost Ogle also  provides this YouTube clip from "Dream Team." Listen for the Ken Gerhart and Rene Gonzalez references.)

As if you needed another distraction.

Remembering One of Baseball's Military Veterans

Bob Neighbors of the St. Louis Browns appeared in seven big league games, totaling two hits in 11 plate appearances in 1939. One of those hits was the 21-year-old's lone career home run, a solo shot to left at Fenway Park on Sept. 21 against Denny Galehouse.

An estimated 598 fans saw the rookie's first hit. Fellow rookie Ted Williams, playing for the Red Sox, went 0-for-4 in the game Boston won 6-2.

Nearly thirteen years later, on Aug. 8, 1952, Neighbors, at age 34, was shot down during the Korean War. He was listed as missing in action and later declared dead.

Neighbors was the only major league player killed in the Korean War. Williams survived a crash-landing after his jet was hit during a bombing run.

Here are two profiles of Neighbors worth reading:

Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society - Bob Neighbors: A Hero Remembered, by Ronnie Joyner

SABR's Baseball Biography Project - Bob Neighbors, by Bill Nowlin


Image Source: Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society

Just Call Adam Jones Silence, Because He's Golden

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones was awarded his first Gold Glove on Tuesday, making him the team's second Golden Glove outfielder after Paul Blair who won eight.

The good news for Jones is that every Orioles Gold Glover - there are 12 others - has won the award more than once. And for multiple Gold Glove winners in Baltimore, consecutive wins are the norm.

Only Luis Aparicio, Blair, Mark Belanger, and Roberto Alomar won multiple Gold Gloves in non-consecutive fashion. The team's other winners are Cal Ripken Jr., Brooks Robinson, Davey Johnson, Bobby Grich, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, Mike Mussina, and Rafael Palmeiro.

(See the detailed list of O's winners here.)

Blair set a high bar for Jones in the outfield; coming into today's announcement his career Gold Glove total trailed only five other outfielders: Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays (12 each), Ken Griffey Jr., Andruw Jones, and Al Kaline (10 each).

However, Torii Hunter and Ichiro each earned their ninth Gold Glove on Tuesday, bumping Blair down on the list.

As for the team record, that bar isn't even in sight for Jones. Only pitchers Greg Maddux (18) and Jim Kaat (16) have equaled or exceeded Robinson's 16 career Gold Gloves, which he earned at third base for the Orioles every year from 1960 through 1975.

However, Jones is already halfway to Ripken's two Gold Gloves, earned in 1991 and 1992.

Orioles shortstops have done well overall: Mark Belanger totaled eight Gold Gloves while Luis Aparicio earned nine, though only two - in 1964 and 1966 - came with the Birds. 

Among pitchers, Mussina won four of his seven career Gold Gloves with the O's. His total in Baltimore matches that of Palmer, who won the award each season from 1976 through 1979.

At second base, Alomar (1996 and 1998) won two of his 10 Gold Gloves while wearing the orange and black. Alomar's career total is tops among all second baseman, one better than Ryne Sandberg of the Cubs.

Other O's second basemen to win multiple awards at the position are four-time winner Bobby Grich (1973-1976) and three-time winner Davey Johnson (1969-1971).

Eddie Murray (1982-1984) and Rafael Palmeiro (1997-1999) each won three Gold Gloves at first base, although Palmeiro's final award came with Texas.

See The Sun's story about Jones' award here.

Happy Randy Milligan Day

It's Randy Andre "Moose" Milligan day in Baltimore.

Twenty one years ago today, on Nov. 9, 1988, the Orioles acquired Milligan from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later, who turned out to be Peter Blohm.

Milligan played four seasons in Baltimore. He hit for a .258 average, with 59 home runs, and 228 RBI. More impressive, he maintained a .388 on-base percentage. Milligan slugged a career high 20 home runs in 1990. Blohm, meanwhile, never advanced beyond the Triple-A level.

Milligan emerged as a central figure in the Birds' Why Not? season. His game-tying three-run homer at Fenway Park on Aug. 2, 1989 is a key highlight from that magical year. The clout helped the Orioles avoid a four-game sweep in Boston and extended the team's lead over the then-second place Red Sox to two games.

Like many O's fans, I have a soft spot for the Moose. Among other factors that made him so likable to me, Milligan hit a batting practice home run that landed in my teenage hands at Memorial Stadium. It's one of only two baseballs I caught as a kid. The other came off the bat of the Milwaukee Brewers' Dante Bichette.

Here are some appreciations for Milligan from the blog-O's-phere: Camden Chat, Orioles Card "O" the Day, Birds in the Belfry (an outstanding chronicle of the '89 season).


Image Source: Baseball Almanac.

Sure, it got the Yankees a ring, but what else does $423.5 million buy?

The Yankees spent $423.5 million during the off-season, and what did they get in return?
 
C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira, and a World Series ring.

That's nice and all, but have you considered what else you could buy for that kind of money?

-You could have your choice of 17 other MLB franchises, 18 if you ponied up an additional $3 million for the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees already treat smaller market organizations like their own farm teams. Why not make it official? 

-You could pay off Barack Obama's campaign debt and still have plenty left over to lobby on behalf of the Evil Empire. Given the team's lack of success with Republicans in the White House, it'd be a wise investment. 

-How about purchasing the stadium naming rights for two of the Yankees' three vanquished playoff opponents - the Phillies and Twins? Heck, maybe you can convince the Angels to sell their ballpark's name while you're at it.

-Perhaps you heard the Boston Globe was available this summer? I'm sure Red Sox fans would appreciate the gesture.

-Just because you're rich doesn't mean you can't be thrifty. Check out the McDonald's Dollar Value Menu. That kind of money is good for 423.5 million Hot Fudge Sundaes.

-A nice centaur painting can be had for $3,700. Those two over A-Rod's bed may not be enough to satisfy his ego.

-Derek Jeter can't get enough Minka Kelly. Take care of your franchise player with six million copies of the "Friday Night Lights" three DVD set.

-Oh, and A-Rod can't get enough of Kate Hudson. But he's an easy target regardless of how many post-season RBI he gets. Buy 36 million copies of "You, Me and Dupree" and ask him what he thinks of Owen Wilson's performance. 

-Mark Teixeira would make good use of four million Don Mattingly jerseys.

-Why not download 423.5 million copies of "My Way" on I-Tunes and see if you can ruin another Sinatra classic?

-While you're on I-Tunes, check out "Empire State of Mind"? Forget buying the song; buy the artist. Jay-Z's a veritable steal at $150 million. You can throw in Russell Simmons for a little Old School flavor at $110 million and house them each in their own Yankee Stadium suite.

Then again, the Yankees are traditionalists at heart. They believe in the purity of the game just like everyone else.

And $423.5 million buys a hell of a lot of peanuts and cracker jacks.

Former Orioles Sporting World Series Rings

Jerry Hairston played one season in New York, appearing in 45 games.

Mike Mussina played eight seasons in New York, starting 248 games.

Hairston has a World Series ring; Mussina never won one.

You can call it the "Curse of Mussina" or pair the former Orioles ace with Don Mattingly and pronounce the pair "the two unluckiest men to ever don the pinstripes"; Mike Mussina still says he has no regrets about retiring after last season.

Fair enough. But does he know about Josh Towers?

Towers, who started his career in Baltimore when Mussina left Charm City, pitched two games for the Yankees this season.

Yes, even he now has a World Series ring.

Happy Hall-O-ween

 The Orange and Black holiday. Go O's!

Flashback Friday: Baltimore's 1979 World Series Parade

In New York or Philadelphia, they will soon hold a parade to celebrate the World Series champions.

To the victors go the spoils. Usually.

On Oct. 18, 1979, Baltimore had a parade for its beloved Orioles despite the fact that the team lost the World Series in excruciating fashion to the Pittsburgh Pirates, blowing a three-games-to-one lead, including the final two home contests.

Wrote Malcolm Moran in The New York Times: "The sun came up here, as hoped, at 7:19 on the morning after. The victory parade started, as planned, shortly after 11:30. Earl Weaver, the manager of the Baltimore Orioles, reminded everyone that his team had won more games than any other team in baseball this season. And for a little while, thousands of people chose not to remember that the Orioles had lost the last one."

At City Hall, Rick Dempsey sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

Wild Bill Hagy led the O-R-I-O-L-E-S cheers that turned him into a local legend.

And the crowd chanted for its cleanup hitter, who batted .154 in the Series: "Ed-die, Ed-die, Ed-die."

An estimated 80-million people - then the largest audience in the history of televised World Series games - watched the Orioles' lose Game 7.

A day later, 125,000 Baltimore fans showed up downtown despite the outcome.

"It's the greatest parade I've ever seen," said Mayor William Donald Schaefer. "Never seen anything like it."

Perhaps the words emblazoned on a billboard near Memorial Stadium said it best: "We love you, Birds."
 
Image source: Here.