O's Odds and Ends: Could Someone Please Send ESPN an O's Media Guide?

O's Odds and Ends: The Appreciation Edition.

The rundown: Luke Scott deserves appreciation, Brian Matusz looks like he'll earn some of his own, and the O's would appreciate having their names prounounced correctly.

-He's been the American League Player of the Week. Curtis Granderson figuratively tipped his cap to him back in June. And after his career-high seven RBI night during the O's 12-4 victory Tuesday in Seattle, Luke Scott is the talk of the town. Still, it doesn't seem like enough given the effort that Scott has put together so far during a season that he entered with an uncertain role.

Scott's 17 homers lead the team, and he's third in RBIs behind Aubrey Huff and Nick Markakis. This despite the fact that he's sixth on the team in at-bats, more than 80 behind Adam Jones and Huff and more than 100 behind Markakis. He leads the team (minus Danys Baez ... no, seriously) in slugging percentage, and his .981 OPS would rank third in the American League had he played in enough games to qualify in the rankings. (Note: Scott has only seven fewer at-bats than the Rays' Ben Zobrist who leads the American Leage with a .998 OPS.)

Earlier this season Scott became the first Oriole to homer in four straight games since Miguel Tejada in 2005. His consecutive multi-homer games as part of that binge were the first for the club since Albert Belle did it in 2000. On Tuesday, he became first O's player to drive in seven runs in a game since Ramon Hernandez on May 23, 2006. His seven RBIs were two off the club record, set by Jim Gentile against the Twins on May 9, 1961.

Say it loud, say it proud: Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuke.

Other O's odds and ends:



-As the O's faced their former homegrown, left-handed ace in the Emerald State on Tuesday, a new homegrown, left-handed ace took the mound in Bowie and pitched a gem.

Brian Matusz fanned 11, walked none, and allowed just one hit for the Baysox in a 6-0 victory over the Harrisburg Senators. Matusz started his Bowie career in June with a six-inning, 10 strikeout "masterpiece" against the Reading Phillies.

Matusz and Man Crush both start with the letter "M." Coincidence?


-Could someone please send an Orioles media guide to the folks in Bristol?

One day after changing Kam Mickolio's first name to "Kim," the SportsCenter crew messed up Dave Trembley's last name. ESPN's Steve Levy called Trembley by the name "Trombley" twice on Tuesday morning.

Kud-O's to The Sun for Catching Up

As a fan of Orioles history, I've been somewhat remiss in not posting a link to The Sun's "Catching Up With" series that appears on the paper's Toy Department blog. No longer.

The latest "Catching Up With" article tracks down Gary Roenicke, a current O's scout and former platoon left fielder, who offers some comments of interest.

Consider his thoughts on platooning, which reflect just how gracious Luke Scott has been about his own shifting prospects in left field since the season started. Face it: No one likes to platoon, but some guys accept it for what it is and make the best of the circumstance.

Publicly, Roenicke shrugged off his part-time role.

"How can you argue when you’re winning?" he said. "But if I could change anything, I probably would have asked why I didn’t play a little more."

Scott doesn't have the benefit of winning, but he still hasn't argued, and he has produced.

Also enjoyable is Roenicke's subtle - but completely honest - jab at the Yankees.

His best memory of Baltimore? The unity of the ’79 team that lost the World Series to Pittsburgh, 4 games to 3.

"We really were family," he said. "That should have been our song, not the Pirates’. There were no fights, no shouting matches. On off days, our families went out together.

"As players, we all knew our roles. We might not have liked it, but we respected it. Talk about chemistry, well, we had it. You don’t have to have chemistry to win – the Yankees have proven that – but we had it."

Roenicke was among my favorite players as a kid if only because I had my picture taken with him at an Orioles baseball clinic at Memorial Stadium. He was among a cast of likable characters from the O's teams of the early '80s including Floyd Rayford, who was the subject of last week's "Catching Up With" article.

Roenicke played eight seasons in Baltimore, during which time he batted .250 with 106 home runs, and 352 RBIs in 850 games.

Was it a Mistake to Put the Nationals in D.C.?

So why did MLB go to Washington, where Forbes currently values the Werner's $450 million investment at $406 million? ... Ganis' thoughts echo those of many others. Labor strife, cable fights and steroids mean lots of congressional hearings. "Baseball decided it needed a beachhead in Washington," Ganis said. So, call the Nationals a cost of doing business.

Major League Baseball made a mistake by putting the Nationals in D.C. rather than Northern Virginia and has therefore hurt Baltimore and Washington's respective baseball franchises, according to the Forbes article "Baseball and the Beltway: A Bad Marriage." A lone bright spot in the deal was the creation of the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), which has put both teams among the Top 10 in cable revenue.

Some excerpts from the Forbes article follow:

"I had guys that came up on the train from Washington, have dinner with me and go back. Then I'd see them again the next night," he said before the Orioles' June 18 match-up with the New York Mets. Are the Washington Nationals, born in 2005 out the ashes of the Montreal Expos, to blame? "I don't think there's any doubt," he said.

As the July 4 holiday looms, marking the midway point of baseball's fifth season in Washington, Powell isn't alone in thinking the league made a big mistake in matching baseball with the capitol, classically American as both may be. Time may yet show otherwise, but as the Nationals team nears its 1,000th game, it resembles a drowning man pulling others--namely the Orioles, 39 miles to the northeast and struggling at the gate--down with him.

...

The one silver lining: an attractive cable deal with the Mid Atlantic Sports Network, which the teams jointly own, with the Orioles as majority partner. Baltimore owner Peter Angelos figured that since the league was intent on putting a team right down I-95, he might as well make the best of it. And that meant collaboration rather than an all-out territorial war. The deal was negotiated by Major League Baseball on behalf of the Nationals, before the league turned over its ownership of the team to the Lerner family as it shifted the troubled franchise from Montreal. And while the two clubs have to share, the ability to showcase 324 major league games a year gives MASN a strong enough foothold to ward off any competing regional sports networks, most likely.

The agreement puts both teams in MLB's top 10 in cable revenue for now. That, along with low payrolls (both rank in the bottom eight in the big leagues), have them in the black.

...

Industry observers have never liked baseball's move into D.C.

"People said it could cannibalize the Orioles, and it came true," said industry consultant Marc Ganis, of Sports Corp. Ltd., of MLB's decision to bypass Charlotte, Las Vegas and nearby Northern Virginia. The big mistake, he said, was not capitalizing on the fact that Northern Virginia is far enough away from the District of Columbia to eliminate a lot of fan territory overlap--which both clubs estimate at 25%--but close enough to maintain the joint cable venture.

So why did MLB go to Washington, where Forbes currently values the Werner's $450 million investment at $406 million? Officials didn't return calls for comment. But Ganis' thoughts echo those of many others. Labor strife, cable fights and steroids mean lots of congressional hearings. "Baseball decided it needed a beachhead in Washington," Ganis said. So, call the Nationals a cost of doing business.

The Examiner's Jay Trucker has his own tongue-in-cheek suggestion for how to improve things for MASN: Shut down the Nats broadcasts and run some baseball-themed Reality TV programming. Some of his suggestions are as follows:

Melvin and Gisel Plus Six

The show featuring the longest tenured current Oriole, his wife, their quintuplets and an additional daughter, would be a lot like Jon and Kate Plus Eight, except Melmo and his wife seem to actually love one another and they didn't need cable TV blood money to become wealthy.

Making the Staff 13

After a dozen years of unsuccessfully trying to field a winning pitching staff the conventional way, next season the O's host a Sean Combs' Making the Band-style reality competition. Of course, hitting the corner of the plate with a 95 MPH fastball is much harder than crunk dancing and warbling like a girl, but the concept could translate well to Spring Training. With all due respect to the coaching staff, I'd let Diddy host this show. He might have more luck fielding winners.

Flavor of Huff

Don't laugh. In three season's of VH1's Flavor of Love, the basic cable channel found 60 women willing to compete for the love of Flavor Flav. I'm sure there are enough female Huff Daddy fans out there to fill a mansion. Just make sure you program your v-chip to keep the kids from tuning in. At the end of each episode Huff would vote one woman out of the mansion by telling her, “I no longer want to knock one out of the park with you.”

(author's note: If you want to keep your computer disease free, do not do an image search for "Flavor of Love." You've been warned.)

Young Oriole All-Stars

If the past is any indication of future performance, the American League should put up 13 runs and a "W" with an O's young gun in the lineup.

O's fans looking for a little good news following a dispiriting string of games can find it in the forms of Adam Jones and Nolan Riemold. Jones, acquired in the Bedard trade, was named to the All-Star team just two days after Reimold, whom the O's drafted in 2005, was named "Rookie of the Month" for June. In other words, there's hope for the future.

At 23, Jones is the Birds' youngest All-Star since Mike Mussina in 1992. Jones is the team's youngest All-Star position player since some guy named Ripken, who made his first appearance in the Midseason Classic at the age of 22 in 1983.

In honor of Jones' All-Star berth, Roar from 34 revisits the 1992 and 1983 contests to see how our young Birds - and other players with O's connections - performed in those games. If the past is any indication of future performance, the American League should put up 13 runs and a "W" with an O's young gun in the lineup. After all, they've done it twice before.



1992

AL 13 - NL 6

Mike Mussina pitched one inning, retiring National League All-Stars Darren Daulton, Gary Sheffield, and Ozzie Smith in order. No runs, hits, or errors. In a strange twist made possible by the peculiarities of an All-Star Game, Mussina technically replaced Cal Ripken Jr. on the scorecard in the fifth inning.


Other Key Details:

-Winning pitcher: Kevin Brown, who spent one season as an Oriole in 1995.

-Losing pitcher: Tom Glavine who surrendered five earned runs on nine hits in just 1.2 innings pitched, enabling Brown to get the win after just one inning pitched.

-MVP: One year after Ripken won the award, Ken Griffey Jr. took home the MVP after going 3-for-3 with a home run (off Greg Maddux) and a double, two RBIs, and two runs.


Other Orioles in Action:

-Ripken: 1-for-3 with an RBI to go with a putout and an assist in the field.

-Brady Anderson: 0-for-3 at the dish; one putout in the field.


Other O's Connections:

Future Orioles

-Roberto Alomar went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and a run scored.

-Joe Carter, who spent one season as an Oriole in 1998, went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

-Will Clark, an Oriole in 1999 and part of 2000, went 1-for-2 with a three-run home run.

-Juan Guzman, an Oriole in 1998 and part of 1999, allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out two in a scoreless inning of work.

-Lee Smith, who spent one season with the Orioles in 1994, was on the All-Star roster but did not appear in the game.


Former Orioles

-Dennis Martinez, an Oriole from 1976 to part of 1986, tossed a scoreless inning with one strikeout and one walk. Martinez pitched a perfect game a season earlier.


1983

AL 13 - NL 3

In the first of his 19 consecutive All-Star appearances, Cal Ripken Jr. entered as a sixth-inning replacement for the Brewers' Robin Yount and went 0-for-0 with a walk. He recorded one putout in the field.


Other Key Details:

-Winning pitcher: Dave Stieb, three innings pitched, one run, four strikeouts, one walk.

-Losing pitcher: Mario Soto, two innings pitched, two runs, two hits, two strikeouts, two walks.

-MVP: Fred Lynn, who would sign with the Orioles following the 1984 season, went 1-for-3 with a grand slam. It is the only grand slam in All-Star Game history.


Other Orioles in Action:

-Eddie Murray: 0 for 2, with four putouts in a reserve role.

-Tippy Martinez: Named to the All-Star roster but did not appear in the game. It was Martinez's lone trip to the All-Star game. Later in the 1983 season he would pick off three Blue Jays in the 10th inning of a 7-4 Orioles victory.


Other O's Connections:

Future Orioles

-Ron Kittle, who appeared in 22 games as an Oriole in 1990, finished 1-for-2 with a run scored representing the White Sox. Kittle would go on to win the 1983 Rookie of the Year award over Julio Franco and Mike Boddicker.


Former Orioles

-Doug DeCinces, who played with the Orioles from 1978 through 1981 before being traded to the Angels for Dan Ford, went 0-for-1 representing his new team. DeCinces finished third in the 1982 MVP voting behind Robin Yount and Eddie Murray.

Flashback Friday: Leon Day Way

This week's Eutaw Street Week-themed edition of "Flashback Friday" considers the career of Leon Day, the 12th Negro League baseball player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Eutaw Street plaza entrance to Camden Yards was renamed "Leon Day Way" in 1995 by then-Mayor Kurt Schmoke, a fitting tribute to the ballplayer and the significant African-American history on the stadium's grounds; Camden Station was once part of Harriett Tubman's Underground Railroad.

A native of Baltimore, Day was raised on Pierpont Street along the B&O Railroad tracks and regularly attended games at Westport's Maryland Baseball Park to watch the Baltimore Black Sox, with whom he began his career.

Day played for the Black Sox in 1934 before jumping the next season to the Brooklyn Eagles. In 1936, after the Eagles were sold and relocated to Newark, Day established a Negro League record with 18 strikeouts against the Baltimore Elite Giants. In 1946, after returning from military service in World War II, he became the only Negro League pitcher to toss an Opening Day no-hitter.

Day ended his Negro League career where it started, in Baltimore, leading the Elite Giants to the championship in 1949. He later pitched briefly in the International and Eastern leagues.

Day died in Baltimore on March 13, 1995, just days after learning that he had been selected for the Hall of Fame. His .708 winning percentage is tops among all Hall of Famers.

From the National Baseball Hall of Fame:

"The Negro leagues' outstanding strikeout pitcher with a dominating fastball and
wicked curve, quiet Leon Day was the mainstay of the Newark pitching staff in
the late 1930s and '40s. Also a superb contact hitter and speedy baserunner, Day
was versatile enough to play second base or the outfield when he wasn't
pitching. He spent two years pitching on integrated Army teams during World War
II, and in his first game back with the Eagles in 1946, he tossed a no-hitter
against the Philadelphia Stars."

Sources:

Negro League Baseball Players Association

Baseball Library

Trust for Public Land

National Baseball Hall of Fame

Daily Press

Image Source: The Sun (click photo for original)

The Eutaw Street Chronicles ... of Pitchers

The bronze baseballs that adorn Camden Yards' Eutaw Street walkway provide four pieces of information - the batter, his team, the date, and the distance - but that's only half the story. Who were the pitchers?

Presumably, no organization would create a monument to shame pitchers, although if that option ever came in vogue I have some candidates in mind for the first statue - 2007 bullpen, I'm looking in your general direction.

Nevertheless, there's a curiosity factor there for me in this regard, so I reviewed the 50 Eutaw Street home runs to consider the pitchers who gave up the long home runs instead of the batters who struck them.

Overall, the Orioles have served up 30 Eutaw Street home runs. No visiting pitcher has given up more than one Eutaw Street home run, but Detroit has been the most-victimized opponent.

[The others: Texas (3), Seattle (2), Kansas City (2), Cleveland (2), the White Sox (2), Toronto (2), Milwaukee (1), Philadelphia (1), and Pittsburgh (1).]

But which Orioles pitcher has served up the most bronze bombs?

Answer provided after the jump.



Sir Sidney Ponson has given up the most Eutaw Street home runs, a total of five. Jason Johnson ranks second with four. Three other O's pitchers have been victimized twice: Erik Bedard, Jeremy Guthrie, and Radhames Liz.

Consider this: Ponson alone is responsible for every bronze baseball from 1998 and 1999, which happened to be his first two seasons in the majors. (Ponson allowed a career-high 35 home runs in 1999).

No other Eutaw Street home runs were hit between the time that Ponson allowed his first (to the Rangers' Lee Stevens on May 30, 1998) and his last (to the Athletics' Matt Stairs on Sept. 23, 1999). Average distance of the five home runs: 417 feet.

The Birds' Scott Kamieniecki allowed the longest Eutaw Street home run, Henry Rodriguez's 443-foot drive on June 17, 1997. The Nationals' Adam Dunn fell a foot short of that record last weekend, allowing rookie David Hernandez to breathe a sigh of relief.

The record for longest Eutaw Street home run allowed by a visiting pitcher - 420 feet - belongs to five players: Detroit's Bill Swift, Kansas City's Jeff Suppan, Detroit's Brian Moehler, Philadelphia's Brett Myers, and Detroit's Freddy Dolsi.

Which is Worse: A Collapse Against the Red Sox or a Doubleheader Loss to the Yankees?

Checking back on the 1956 "day after" following the O's previous biggest comeback win

I can't imagine it being any worse than Wednesday's disheartening follow-up to the biggest comeback win in modern franchise history, but the Orioles did manage to break some hearts in Baltimore following their previous biggest comeback win, an eight-run rally on Sept. 2, 1956, that produced an 11-10 victory over Boston. What the O's did for an encore back then was lose a double-header to the Yankees.

First came a 6-1 loss to the Casey Stengel-led Yankees, followed by a 5-0 shutout against New York's Don Larsen.

Larsen pitched a complete game in the '56 nightcap, giving up four hits in nine innings. Brad Bergesen gave up four hits in eight innings on Wednesday.

Eutaw Street Week: 2110 Eutaw Street Update

Following up on Tuesday's post about the Orioles' "2110 Eutaw Street" promotion, Communications Director Greg Bader reports that the original 500 seats for the promotion sold out, so the team has added 250 more seats, which are expected to sell out today.

The Orioles will announce additional 2110 Eutaw Street game dates as soon as Thursday.

The Eutaw Street Chronicles: April 27, 1996

Brady Anderson's 1996 power surge yielded multiple records, and his first Eutaw Street home run

In a season defined by his rare display of power at the plate, Brady Anderson became a first-time bronze bomber in 1996 by hitting the shortest Eutaw Street home run in the history of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Anderson's eighth-inning homer off Bobby Witt traveled a "mere" 380 feet. The Rangers' Hank Blalock later matched the distance on July 22, 2003.

The Orioles 4-2 loss to the Rangers on April 27 was their ninth loss in 11 games following an 11-2 start to the 1996 season. However, with the Yankees also losing, the O's maintained a one-game lead in the A.L. East. They ended up four games behind the Yankees but earned their first and only Wild Card with an 88-74 record.

Anderson's home run was his 10th of the young season, tying Frank Robinson's club record for most home runs in April and leaving him one short of the then-Major League record of 11 for the month. (Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez have each since hit 14 April home runs.)



After tying Robinson's record Anderson joked: "I'm just going to stand and stare at him until he acknowledges the record. In fact, I may be calling Frank tonight."

Anderson would exceed Robinson's April total and match the MLB mark the very next day, putting him on pace for 66 home runs, 140 RBIs, 147 runs, and 113 extra-base hits. After battling a strained quadriceps and appendicitis, Anderson finished the year batting .297 with 50 home runs, 110 RBIs, 117 runs, and 92 extra-base hits.

The center-fielder had already established an MLB record earlier in the month by hitting a lead-off home run in four consecutive games, from April 18 to 21. On the season, he matched Bobby Bonds' record 35 home runs while batting lead-off and hit 12 home runs leading off a game to top Bonds' 1973 record in that category. (Alfonso Soriano topped Anderson with 13 in 2003.)

Among the Oriole records Anderson set in 1996 were most home runs (50), home runs while leading off (34), home runs leading off a game (12), extra-base hits (92), and total bases (369).

In 1996, Anderson joked on ESPN that "grease" was responsible for his sudden power surge as he was now eating fattier foods. He later stated in Outside Pitch magazine that "massive" doses of the (legal) supplement creatine were in fact contributed to the outburst. Former Oriole pitcher Jim Palmer raised Anderson's ire when he instead insinuated that the outfielder benefited from the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

"I know what I did and how I accomplished it," Anderson said. "I am proud of it and know that it was done with integrity."

Anderson reached Eutaw Street twice more in his career. His three Eutaw Street home runs are tied with Jason Giambi for the second-most in Camden Yards history behind Rafael Palmeiro, who accomplished the feat four times.

In addition to his Eutaw Street home run against the Rangers, Anderson recorded his fifth of what would be 21 total stolen bases for the season. He became the first player with both a 50-20 (homers-steals) and a 20-50 season.

Read previous entries in The Eutaw Street Chronicles here.

Birds Go Back to the Future, Beat Red Sox 11-10

The Sun's headline says it all: "Believe it: Orioles rally from 10-1 deficit, win."

However, that doesn't mean more hasn't already been said as O's fans start to recover from that speechless feeling following Tuesday's unprecedented comeback against the Red Sox. And though it doesn't fit with Roar from 34's "Eutaw Street Week" theme, the largest comeback in the modern history of the franchise must not go without mention in this space.

Last night's heaping does of Orioles Magic topped an eight-run rally the team mustered on Sept. 2, 1956. Final score of that game? 11-10. The opponent? The Boston Red Sox. It seems everything old is new again.

A rundown of comeback-related headlines follows, including my personal favorite from Weaver's Tantrum. First, though, let's revisit the history.



In the 1956 game, attended by 12,529 fans at Fenway Park, the Red Sox put up consecutive four-run innings to start the game, blasting O's starter Ray Moore for six runs on three hits in one inning pitched.

Billy Loes, the Birds' fifth pitcher of the game, ultimately got the win after pitching two hitless innings as the Orioles scored two runs in the eighth and three runs in the ninth for the victory. First baseman Bob Boyd, third baseman George Kell, and left-fielder Bob Nieman each had three hits for the O's. Nieman, who finished seventh for the 1956 MVP won by Mickey Mantle, also tallied 3 RBIs.

The O's finished the 1956 season with a 69-85 record for sixth place in the eight-team American League.

Now, back to the considerably more exciting recent history.

Here are some of the early takes on the game from around the sports world and the Blog-O's-phere:

Associated Press: Orioles rally for stunning 11-10 win over Red Sox.

MASNsports.com: Orioles Magic: More on one special comeback.

MLB.com: O's stage historic comeback vs. Red Sox.

Reuters: Orioles complete record rally to soar over Red Sox.

CBSSportsline: Baltimore makes comeback history.

SI.com: O's stun BoSox with biggest rally in team history.

ESPN.com: O's 9-run rally stuns BoSox.

Boston Globe: Old Bawl Game.

Camden Chat: Orioles 11, Red Sox 10: Greatest Comeback in Franchise History (you can look it up).

Around the Harbor: What? Really? What? This is the Greatest Thing Ever.

Wayward Oriole: super reverse dOuble massacre.

And finally, Weaver's Tantrum: HOLY F#$%ING &*%$!!!

Eutaw Street Week: Inside 2110 Eutaw Street

"Nick and Adam jumped at the opportunity to get closer to the fans, and that is why I think the program will be a success."

Day two of Roar from 34's "Eutaw Street Week" provides an interview with Greg Bader, director of communications for the Orioles, about the team's new 2110 Eutaw Street promotion. Bader discusses such topics as Anita Marks' role in the creation of 2110 Eutaw Street, the process that bring these types of marketing efforts to life, and factors that contribute to a player's marketability.

As most Bird Watchers know, the promotion, which celebrates young outfielders Nick Markakis (21) and Adam Jones (10), debuts on July 12 when the O's take on the Blue Jays. For $21, fans get a Eutaw Street bleacher seat and a limited edition "I Live at 2110 Eutaw Street" t-shirt as well as the opportunity to catch baseballs tossed into the stands throughout the game by Markakis and Jones. Should either player homer during the game one fan in the 2110 section receives an autographed bat.

Here's what Bader had to say:




RF34: How did the idea for the 2110 Eutaw Street promotion come about?

Anita Marks actually approached me after attending a game in the bleachers earlier this year. She felt that while the section was pretty full, the overall feel of the area could be kicked up a notch. After spending nearly four hours on the Scott & Anita show taking phone calls about possible names for that area, we sat down to discuss a new program that would create fan excitement, highlight two franchise players in Nick and Adam, and provide a great value and experience for Nick and Adam's biggest fans. After a few weeks of finalizing details, we announced 2110 Eutaw Street as the new program.

RF34: What has the response been like for the promotion? Has there been a measurable increase in ticket sales beyond what you would normally project for a Sunday game in the summer?

Response has been overwhelmingly positive. People have been excited that the club is embracing two of its young stars and put together a program designed to link the players and the fans in a direct manner. July 12 is the first game (and only announced date) and we had earmarked 500 tickets for the event. At this time, we are over 2/3 full and expect to sell out the area soon. [Editor's note: response provided on June 24.]

RF34: How do you evaluate the success of a given promotion?

Success will of course be based on ticket sales, but also whether the overall atmosphere of the Eutaw Street Bleachers area picks up for this game. Our fans are so critical to our success, and to provide our players with an opportunity to directly connect to the fans--especially in-game--is an exciting proposition. If that connection is made, we will have succeeded.

RF34: How many additional 2110 games might we see this season? Could this promotion live on beyond the 2009 season?

We are expecting an additional 3 or 4 games this season featuring the 2110 promotion-- all most likely on weekends, when it is often most convenient for fans to attend games. If successful, this promotion may continue into next season and beyond.

RF34: How do the Orioles' marketing efforts in the past two or three years differ from what's been done in previous years at Camden Yards?

The club has always looked to keep ticket and concessions prices as low as possible, providing the most affordable opportunities possible for all fans. Student Night, Bargain Night, Bleachers and Boog's, and the Dugout Club have all been around for several years. We added promotions this year including Kids Nights (children 10 and under free on Thursdays) and the Birthday Offer (free tickets in each fan's birthday month) as part of the Birdland Stimulus Package. But overall, the concept in how we market our product has not changed... Camden Yards is the premier ballpark in baseball and we always try to highlight the ballpark experience and overall value whenever possible.

RF34: Who is responsible for the team's marketing decisions? What's the process for making something like 2110 Eutaw Street happen, from idea to implementation?

The club has several dedicated employees across various departments that are ultimately responsible for executing the team's marketing initiatives. The management team in place provides the overall objectives and goals, and the club's staff works to execute such objectives. With a promotion such as 2110, members of the Communications, Programs/Promotions, Sales/Fan Services, and Ballpark Operations all work together to make sure that the program is properly implemented.

RF34: What factors determine a player's marketability?

Orioles fans have traditionally not only supported the superstar player but also the 25th man on the roster, and in turn, we try to spread our focus across a variety of players. Obviously guys like Nick Markakis, Brian Roberts and Adam Jones seem to get the most attention because of their on-field exploits and their off-the-field community efforts; however, guys like Wieters, Reimold, Huff, Mora, Uehara and others have been highlighted in promotions this year as well. On-field success, relationship with fan base and personality all play an important role.

RF34: Are there any contractual restrictions on how a player is used as part of marketing promotions?

Players on the roster do not need to provide their approval for promotions such as bobbleheads, t-shirts and other promotional materials or ticket programs. However, we usually try to get the player to buy in before we announce anything to ensure that everyone is on the same page with the program or promotions overall goal. In the case of 2110, Nick and Adam jumped at the opportunity to get closer to the fans, and that is why I think the program will be a success.

Eutaw Street Week: What if the Warehouse Were in Left Field?

Roar from 34's Eutaw Street Week begins with an architectural thought exercise: What if Eutaw Street ran behind left field rather than right field?

A simple change of direction at Oriole Park at Camden Yards - a shift of 15 minutes, maybe even less, in a clockwise direction - would alter the course of the ballpark's history and with it much of the local lore.

Here are four considerations of what might be different had HOK and the decision makers responsible for our jewel of a stadium momentarily lost their senses and favored parking-lot and on-ramp vistas over a center field view of Baltimore's fair cityscape.

We'd Remember Gonzalez Rather Than Griffey

It's easy to forget that Juan Gonzalez won the 1993 All-Star Home Run Derby because Ken Griffey Jr. walked away with the more memorable prize that July day, namely a 465-foot blast off of the Warehouse brick. No batter has accomplished the feat in game action.

Griffey was, and one assumes always will be, a key part of Camden Yards history. No matter that Gonzalez out slugged The Kid 12-11 in two overtime sessions to claim back-to-back Derby titles. No matter that Gonzalez hit a longer home run to left - an estimated 473-foot shot off of the upper-deck facade - than Griffey's Warehouse blast to right. Griffey was the story that day and has been ever since.

But if Eutaw Street, and the Warehouse, were in left field rather than right field, Gonzalez would have walked away with a bigger prize and the associated piece of history. Instead, he's a footnote in the Camden Yards story.

Which brings us to our second observation.

Righties Would Displace Lefties in the Camden Yards History Book

Memorial Stadium's most prized long-ball legend belonged to Frank Robinson, a right-handed batter and the only player ever to put a ball completely out of the park. He did so on May 8, 1966. The spot was marked with an orange-and-black flag in left field that read simply, "Here."

Less well-remembered are the near-misses of the left-handed batters who took the ball deep, but not quite deep enough, to right. Those hits are flagged only in the memories of the individuals who witnessed them. Consider Jason Jubb's recollection - with video evidence - of Eddie Murray's April 25,1985, home run that landed in the far reaches of the right-field bleachers, or my own less-evidenced memory of a prodigious foul ball off of Sam Horn's bat.

Because of the newer ballpark's design, Camden Yards' long-ball legends belong instead to the lefties - the Mickey Tettletons (first Eutaw Street home run), Henry Rodriguezes (longest Eutaw Street home run), and Kevin Basses (first Eutaw Street home run by an Oriole) of the baseball world.

Cal Ripken, the Orioles' all-time leader in home runs, who played 10 years and several hundreds of games at Camden Yards, doesn't have a bronze baseball on Eutaw Street. There's little doubt that he would have one if Eutaw Street were in left field rather than right. He may even have parked one there during his three-game home run streak in the days leading up to and including his record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game.

It seems hard to believe, but those memorable September nights at Camden Yards in 1995 could have been even more memorable if Eutaw Street ran behind left field.

Center Field Would Still Rule the Roost

Ultimately, Camden Yards is the political spectrum of baseball stadiums. Left and right get most of the attention, but the majority still rest closer to the middle.

A review of longest home runs in Camden Yards' history reveals that the biggest blasts tend to take flight toward center field.

I actually had nightmares (sad, I know) after the Yankees' Daryl Strawberry sent a Mike Mussina offering 465 feet to center field on June 17, 1998. No ball has been hit farther during game action.

The second-longest Camden Yards home run, by Pedro Munoz (yes, you read that correctly: Pedro Munoz), traveled 463 feet to ... center field.

Overall, four of the five longest home runs in Camden Yards history have traveled to center field. In addition to Strawberry and Munoz's efforts, Russell Branyan homered 459 feet to center this season, and Mo Vaughn drove a ball 457 feet in the same direction on July 7, 1996.

(Baseball Reference doesn't indicate the direction of Vaughn's home run, but deductive reasoning suggests that it was center field. An earlier home run that day by Vaughn traveled 419 feet to right field and landed on Eutaw Street, and Vaughn has only one bronze marker to his credit. He surely didn't go 457 feet the opposite way.)

The only roundtripper among the top five on Camden Yards' list of longest home runs that may have traveled to left field (again, Baseball Reference does not indicate the direction of the hit) was Jeffrey Hammonds' 460-foot shot off of Eric Plunk on Sept. 15, 1997.

Which leaves us with one final question ...

Would the Warehouse Still be Untouched?

This is perhaps the most fun (or "funnest," depending on your grammatical flexibility) inquiry of this whole "What If?" exercise: If Eutaw Street ran behind left field, would a right-handed batter have hit the Warehouse by now during game action?

Given the shifting distances it takes to reach the Warehouse depending on where the ball leaves the yard, no two Eutaw Street home runs are created alike. The best chance of accomplishing the feat comes with a shot straight down the line, but the approximate distance and location required to accomplish the feat is difficult to measure accurately.

On the day of 1993 Home Run Derby, newspapers estimated that a ball would have to travel 470 feet to hit the Warehouse; Griffey's home run is marked with a plaque that reads 465 feet.

The best baseball arguments are hypothetical rather than concrete, which makes this final question all the more intriguing. So who would fare better in the Warehouse chase: a lefty or a righty?

A review of multiples lists of home run leaders (from this season, the all-time list, etc.) shows a fairly balanced mix of right-handed and left-handed batters. However, there is evidence to suggest that ballpark dimensions and the preponderance of right-handed pitchers favors lefty sluggers, which translates to more home runs but not necessarily longer home runs.

Were the Warehouse in left field rather than right field, my money says that a batter would be more likely to hit it with a home run in game action.

Feel free to disagree. After all, that's in part the beauty of the exercise.


Image source: Flickr.

Dunn Hits 50th Eutaw Street Home Run

Home run is the second-longest hit on to Eutaw Street in game action


It's fitting that as Roar from 34 kicks off "Eutaw Street Week" another batter became a bronze bomber by putting a ball onto the walkway between the stadium and the warehouse. Unfortunately, it wasn't for the home team.

Adam Dunn stroked a 442-foot home run in the second inning of Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Nationals that one-hopped the warehouse. Dunn's blast was the second-longest Eutaw Street home run during game action, missing Henry Rodriguez's 443-foot shot on June 17, 1997, by just a foot.



According to Roar from 34's unofficial tally, Dunn is the second player to visit Eutaw Street this season after Aubrey Huff did so in April. Dunn's was the 50th Eutaw Street home run overall.

Here's a link to the full list of Eutaw Street home runs through the 2008 season.

Flashback Friday: Jesse Orosco, The Snapdragon, and a Relief Record

Thursday was the 10th anniversary of Jesse Orosco setting the major-league record for relief appearances. This week's Flashback Friday revisits that game and Orosco's tenure in Orange and Black, which had Baltimore fans talking about the pitcher's "snapdragon" curveball.



Orosco spent five of his 24 MLB seasons with the Orioles, pitching for the Birds from 1995 through 1999. During his time in Baltimore the left-handed specialist pitched 336 games, compiling a 15-11 record with a 3.35 ERA, 241 strikeouts, and 133 walks. He led the American League in games in 1995 with 65, although it was the fewest appearances he would make during any one season in Baltimore. Orosco was a key part of the O's 1997 Wire-to-Wire run in the AL East as he tallied a 2.32 ERA in 71 games.

On the night he broke the relief appearances record Orosco pitched 1/3 of an inning against the Yankees. He surrendered an RBI single to Tino Martinez that was charged to Scott Kamienicki, induced a Paul O'Neill groundout, and intentionally walked Chili Davis in a game the O's lost 9-8.

A fan and media favorite, Orosco has a plaque honoring his accomplishment in the home bullpen at Camden Yards. In 2004, he was named to the O's list of 50 All-Time Favorite Players. These days Orosco follows the career of his son, Jesse Orosco Jr., who debuted as a rookie minor leaguer in 2008.

Sources:

Baseball Library

Baseball Reference

New York Daily News

School of Roch

Sports Illustrated

Image: NumerOlogy (click photo for original)

An Encyclopedic Knowledge of the Game

"Only books about the Yankees and Notre Dame sell."

If you're an O's fan and you happen to have $55 burning a hole in your pocket ($34.65 if you go the Amazon route) you may want to check out "The Orioles Encyclopedia: A Half Century of History and Highlights."

I have an immediate soft spot for the exhaustive 821-page effort, which took more than six years to compile and features 425 rare photographs along with nearly 400 player profiles. (Note: I don't have a copy myself. I'm just a messenger.)

For one thing, the author, Michael Gesker, grew up in my native Catonsville (I suppose the area just breeds diehard baseball fans).

Then there's the fact that the original publisher dropped the project "because only books about the Yankees and Notre Dame sell." The publisher neglected to mention that you have to sell your soul to root for either team.

And I'm a sucker for a sentimental baseball story like Gesker's tale in The Catonsville Times of how he got hooked on the Orioles .

"One day, he and two friends took a public bus to Memorial Stadium to watch the Baltimore Orioles play the Kansas City Athletics.

When the game ended, the three boys ran to the parking lot where the home team's players parked their cars.

Out walked Clint Courtney, the Orioles' catcher known as 'Scrap Iron' whom Satchel Paige once called 'the meanest man I've ever met.'

Gesker and his buddies casually walked up to Courtney and said, 'Hey, Mr. Courtney! Can we get a ride home?'

They knew Courtney lived on Midvale Avenue, in Catonsville, in a house previously owned by Hall of Fame knuckleball pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm.

They also knew that was just around the corner from Gesker's home on North Beechwood.

Courtney responded, 'Yeah, come on. Get in the car,' and the three had their ride home.

For Gesker, now 60, it was 'really a memorable moment,' he said."

Press Box also has written about Gesker's "Encyclopedia of the Orioles."

Yanks Going Online; Could the O's Be Far Behind?

Big news on the business side of the game today as Major League Baseball announced that two teams, the Yankees and a second unnamed franchise rumored to be the Red Sox, will deliver live games online within their home broadcast territories starting in July.

Not surprisingly, an effort that involves the Beasts of the AL East is already raising concerns about disparity. However, before O's fans get frustrated, it's worth noting that the Orioles have looked into the possibility of streaming games online. (Emphasis added below.)

The deal also sets up a potential "Pandora's Box" scenario in which other club-owned RSNs would look to launch in-market streamed games. The Red Sox and Orioles are but two clubs that have looked into the possibility. If so, it will create a have and have-not issue based on the new revenue stream for clubs that are in the position to foster carriage deals through their club-owned RSNs.

It's a lesson that bears repeating: Don't underestimate the importance of regional sports networks to the health of a team's bottom line.

These Thoughts I Had ... And Shared

Tuesday was my "MASN Day," and the Orioles almost didn't disappoint.

Despite the outcome of the game, the Birds' ninth-inning comeback offered a thrilling start to my new life as a North Carolina satellite subscriber and therefore MASN viewer.

I typically prefer to collect my thoughts before writing; however, in order to celebrate my new-found freedom from Time Warner's non-baseball dominion I used Twitter (I believe the cool kids call it "Tweeting") to provide instant analysis of the Orioles' extra innings loss to the Marlins.

Here are the 16 thoughts that ran straight from my head to the virtual page during 12 innings of Birds baseball. Topics for further discussion are in italics.



Tuesday Night Tweets:

Just watched some "Defining Moments." How'd MASN get Screech to do the "Miracle in May" spot? Did Dennis Sarfate notice the resemblance?

1-0 just like that. Says Buck Martinez: "Baseball can look so easy at times."

Koji strikes out. On the upside, he didn't swing at the first pitch like many O's are doing tonight. He even fought off some pitches.

Robert Andino tracks down the pop-up. So who has the cooler flat brim: Andino or George Sherrill? Is that even a fair question?

New nickname for Nolan Reimold: wheels. His hustle out of the box caused Hanley Ramirez's error.

Buck Martinez jinxed Koji. As soon as he said Koji was "really sharp tonight," Uggla went deep. 1-1.

Uehara hit hard but defended his position to preserve the lead. It's crazy that the O's almost turned two on a sac bunt. That's MelmOsity.

Another double-play attempt on a sac bunt. How far in was Melmo playing for that one?

Baez must not want to be traded. His strategy for staying put: mess up. Pretty sure I saw a similar thing once on Everybody Loves Raymond.

Matt Wieters is a smart ballplayer. After the controversy with his 1st home run ball he made sure the second one didn't stay in the stands.

Random 9th inning fact: "Rookie" Koji Uehara is older than all the Marlins who started tonight. Among O's who started only Mora is older.

Magic, Magic, Magic, Magic? One more run ties it up. Go with two, O's, go with two.

Tie game! Magic indeed.

@DempseysArmy Okay, I'm a believer. Two hits on the night including the game-tying RBI with two out in the ninth. Hail Salazar!

Did Ty Wiggington suddenly think he turned into Emilio Bonifacio? Great hit, bad baserunning mistake.

Ugh. Zaun challenges Wiggington for most frustrating Oriole tonight. Passed ball in 12th and he missed Scott's throw at the plate. O's lose.

Appreciate the Rookie Rather than Despising the Veteran

It would be easy to pile on Gregg Zaun right now. Zaun wasn't able to glove Luke Scott's throw at the plate and prevent speedy Emilio Bonifacio from scoring the winning run in the 12th inning of Tuesday's 7-6 loss to the Marlins. "An above-average throw ... a play I should have made," Zaun explained afterward on MASN.

Earlier in the inning Zaun failed to knock down Brian Bass' wild pitch - an errant but blockable throw that put Bonifacio on second base.

Both were tough plays, but since when are passionate baseball fans fair in their snap judgments at the end of an emotional game?

Nevertheless, even the cold-hearted, cynical baseball fan has to feel for Zaun, who initially was keeping the catcher's position warm for Matt Wieters and is now keeping the bench warm to allow Wieters to blossom. You want to see a veteran like that succeed when he gets his chances.

So my message is this: Save your anger for Ty Wiggington. (That's another post altogether.)

Okay, the larger point - regardless of what happened with Zaun in extras - is that Wieters' efforts behind the plate deserve attention.


Admittedly, the rookie phenom's bat can be distracting, especially on a night when he went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs, but consider also Wieters' composure in some tight defensive spots on Tuesday, and you can see why the guy could become a special player.

Bottom of the fifth inning. Dan Uggla led off the home half with a game-tying home run, and the Marlins suddenly were putting good wood on Koji Uehara's previously strong offerings. The floodgates appeared ready to part as Florida loaded the bases with one out.

Then, Koji fielded a tough shot from Bonifacio - there's that guy again - and tossed to Wieters covering home. Wieters calmly converted the double play with a strong throw to first. It seemed like a routine effort because it was so well executed. And for that, Wieters - who was only part of the play, but a keep part at that - deserves credit.

Meanwhile, Wieters blocked some tough pitches in the dirt during key situations in a tight contest that kept Marlins runners from advancing on the base paths.

So my second, more important message is this: Don't get distracted by Zaun's miscue(s). Instead, focus on what his mentee, Matt Wieters, is doing behind the plate. It's worth noticing.

My Own Personal MASN Day

Tuesday is MASN Day in North Carolina. Okay, so it's only MASN Day in one North Carolina home, but that home happens to be mine.

After various fits and starts (as my wife can attest, there have been plenty of fits), I will finally be able to watch the Orioles on MASN this evening when I return home from work. Gone is Time Warner Cable; we're a satellite family now with all the ugly-dish-in-the-side-yard benefits.

I've written a fair amount about MASN's continuing dispute with Time Warner, which became personally frustrating when I relocated to North Carolina last summer. The News & Observer provided an effective overview of the problem back in April.

Frankoff, like other Time Warner Cable subscribers, is stuck in a perpetual on-deck circle, awaiting his turn to tune in the Orioles and the Washington Nationals, the designated home teams for much of North Carolina. Until the cable company's fight against MASN ends, he can't.

Not even the extra $169 he spent to get the MLB Extra Innings package of games from Time Warner this season allowed him to see the Orioles beat the New York Yankees 10-5 on Monday in the season-opening game for both teams. MASN -- the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network -- owns the rights to the Orioles and the Nationals, so ESPN's telecast was blacked out.

...

Two arbitrators and the Federal Communications Commission media bureau chief already have ruled in favor of MASN, saying the cable company discriminated against the regional sports network by not making its programming available on its basic digital service. TWC has insisted on putting MASN on a more expensive digital sports tier.

Despite its 0-3 record, Time Warner has appealed the most recent ruling to the full FCC, and there's no indication when that five-member body will deal with the issue. The FCC lists it as an "item on circulation," and it is not on the agenda for the commission's meeting today.

Here's the rundown of previous MASN/Time Warner postings on Roar from 34:




More Press on the MASN Situation

The MASN Dispute Gets Personal

The Business of Baseball: In Praise of Peter Angelos?

MASN in North Carolina, Sammy in the Dominican Republic

Dempsey in Durham

Baseball's Most-Ejected Managers

Forbes' list of "Baseball's Most Ejected Managers" only goes back to 2004, but that doesn't stop Monte Burke from giving a nod to Earl Weaver.

Earl Weaver, the fiery, longtime manager of the Baltimore Orioles, was perhaps the art's most flashy practitioner. While he argued, he furiously pecked the brim of his hat on an umpire like a bird. He once tore up a rulebook and scattered the pages all over the field. In an infamous incident, Weaver was tossed for smoking a cigarette in the dugout. The next day he delivered the lineup card to the ump with a candy cig dangling from his lip. He was tossed again.