The O's game was rained out today, and ended the sweep of the Red Sox to only 2 games. Though it was only two games, they were filled with excitement.
Bruce Chen held the Sox to only 3 runs in 7 innings after being slammed in the prior meeting by allowing 5 runs on April 20th. This game was a rematch of David Wells and Chen; this time the O's line-up gave Bruce Chen the advantage with 7 runs of support. Everyone but Rafeal Palmeiro and Geronimo Gil had a hit in this game, and B.J. Surhoff hit his first homer of the year. Though it barely cleared the low wall in right field, it counted for two runs. For this reason, the Orioles keep players like Surhoff, who can hit off of left handers. Roberts continued his hot streak by hitting 3 out of 5 appearances at the plate. Roberts also added to his RBI count by knocking in 2 runs.
The second game shows why teams should fear the Orioles this year. They were down big two different times in the second game of the series. Before the first pitch was thrown, the match up of Rodrigo Lopez and Matt Clement looked like another pitching duo. Both pitchers didn't allow one run in their previous games against each other. Clement won off of an un-earned run on the 21st of April against the O's. This game had none of that. Within the first 4 innings, both pitchers gave up 11 runs combined, the Red Sox being up 8-3. Manny Ramirez had 5 RBIs during that time, 2 off of a single and 3 off of a homer. In the second inning, the Sox sent 10 players to the plate and Lopez lasted only 3.1 innings. To everyone, including me, this looked like vintage O's of the last 7 years. Have a good start, and let the wheels fall off midway through April. But the Orioles didn't give up. They kept on pecking away at the lead with a lot of 2 out RBI hits. The O's unofficial team captain started the comeback off in the 5 inning by doubling. Former Cubs strike out king, Slammin' Sammy Sosa singled after falling behind in the count and picked up an RBI with Tejada scoring. I don't see how Sammy was a cancer to the Cubs, he has had nothing but upside so far in an O's uniform. To Continue...after Palmerio lined out, Javy Lopez singed and Gibbons reached on a fielders choice with Lopez getting thrown out. With two outs, the fun started for the O's. Matos singled to bring in Sosa. Is anyone doubting the O's staying with Matos now? Let me give you his numbers thus far... 1 HR, .339 batting average, 12 RBIs, and 7 stolen bases. This is the Orioles #8 batter. And what does the Orioles #9 batter do? All Larry Bigbie does is hit a double down the left field line to bring in Gibbons and Matos and pull within 1 run of the Red Sox. Knowing the heart of the order is coming up for the O's, Terry Francona brings in Keith Foulke an inning early. BAD MOVE TERRY. Mora doubles to lead off the 8th inning, and then luck shines on Tejada. On what seemed to be a fair ball down the left foul line, the umpire calls it foul. The next pitch Miguel Tejada jacks over the green monster. THE ORIOLES HAVE THE LEAD. But are they done, not by a Javy long shot. Palmerio singles to get on base, and Javy Lopez steps up to the plate. Lopez jacks the second 2 run homer of the 8th inning to give the O's a 3 run lead. That was all she wrote when Jorge Julio and B.J. Ryan shut down the Red Sox for the next two innings. Actually, once Rodrigo Lopez leaves the game, not one more run was scored by the Sox. Steve Reed and Steve Kline finally pitched like they were brought to Baltimore to do. The Steve brothers each pitched 1.1 innings of shut out ball. This was one of the best comebacks from the O's in a very long time.
Player of the Series- Miguel Tejada, 5 hits in 11 at bats, 3 RBIs, 1 HR, and 2 runs scored
The Ravens didn't have any holes to fill on their team other than another receiver. They needed a receiver to play opposite of Derrick Mason who was signed during the off-season. From there, the Ravens could pick the best available player.
With their first pick of the draft, #22 overall, the Ravens selected Mark Clayton out of Oklahoma. He is a 5'11 receiver that weights 187lbs. Clayton was a steal at #22. He was largely regarded as better then both Mark Williams and Braylon Edwards. Clayton is shorter then the other two, but he is faster then them too. He has great hands and break away speed. Clayton does have a small frame which a concern is going over the middle. Mark Clayton's biggest attribute is the ability to stretch the field. He will be a great #2 receiver for the Ravens and be an instant impact.
After addressing the wide receiver position, the Ravens added depth to a lot of positions. They selected defensive end Dan Cody from Oklahoma in the second round. Cody is a little on the small side, but has a great attitude of search and destroy. If he hits the weight room, he will be a great addition. With their 2nd round two pick, the Ravens added some depth to the tackle position by selecting Adam Terry from Syracuse. Terry is a finesse type of tackle, lacks some strength, and is a smaller then most. With the rest of the picks, the Ravens selected a center, fullback, quarterback, and a linebacker to add some much needed backups on their team.
The Ravens had a very successful draft this year, and they picked players that could have an immediate impact to the team. With only one player that has pressure on him (Mark Clayton); the drafted players can learn from older players and fix the small flaws they have as rookies. The Ravens have made themselves very deep in players that will help when injuries accur.
The Orioles needed to get back on track after going 1-3 against the Tigers and Red Sox this weekend, and they did just that by sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays. The O's got great pitching and the bats showed up for these division rivals.
The O's started the series a little shaky when Daniel Cabrera gave up 5 runs in 5.2 innings. The O's lineup kept the game close by scoring 4 runs while Cabrera was on the mound. Then came the 8th inning. The Orioles exploded for 6 runs in the 8th and another 3 runs in the 9th inning. Mora tied the game up with a solo homerun and the flood gates opened up. The O's sent 11 batters to the plate in the 8th inning that ended on a Tejada pop-up. In the 9th inning, Jay Gibbons hit a 3 run shot to deep right field.
The second game was much more boring and a better starting pitching performance. The Orioles had Eric Bedard pitching, and he didn't disappoint this time. He pitched 7 scoreless inning to the Blue Jays. The Jays only run came in the 9th inning off of B.J. Ryan in a non-save situation. Brian Roberts began the game with a lead off homerun, and the O's played small ball for the other 3 runs. This game was the least flashy of the 3 games, but it was one of the better pitching performances of the year. At least until the 3rd game of the series.
Sidney Ponson surprised everyone with his pitching performance in the final game of the series. He allowed one run in 9 innings of work. Ponson did walk 4 batters, but he struck out 7 Jays. Sammy Sosa also had his first multi-homerun game in a Orioles uniform. Both of Sosa's homeruns were solo shots and so was Melvin Mora's homerun in this game. Again, the O's batters hit clutch singles to score the other 4 runs in this game, and showed why they are a force to be reckon with.
Player of the Series: Sammy Sosa-5 hits, 4 RBIs, 2 HRs
Next Game: Red Sox in Boston with projected starters of Bruce Chen and David Wells
The Orioles played the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox over four days this week. The O's went 1-3 over that span and slipped to 2nd in the AL East division. What happened to the offense?
Against the Detroit, the O's gave up 13 runs and only scored 3 runs in the first game. They did comeback and beat the Tigers 8-4 the next game and split the short series. What concerns me is that the Orioles got out scored 17-11 in this short series. I know that the Tigers are second in runs scored and batting average(O's were #1), but looking at the lineup the O's have, this shouldn't have been a contest. The pitching is about the same for both teams, both are young and still learning.
The Red Sox series was even more disappointing because the O's didn't score a single run the whole two game series. During the first game against the Red Sox, the O's were battling David Wells. Wells was pitching pretty well, but the O's had their chances to get back into the game, and the middle of the lineup couldn't produce key hits. After 4 inning with no support, Bruce Chen threw one bad pitch that went the distance for a 3 run homer that gave the Sox a 4-0 lead. The bullpen didn't help either and gave up 4 more runs. These are the struggling pains of having a young pitching staff, but the bullpen was suppose to be a strong area on the O's. The additions of the Steve brothers (Kline/Reed) have not helped the O's pen, but have allowed teams to score a bunch of runs. B.J. Ryan, Jorge Julio, Todd Williams, and John Parrish have all been solid. It has been the other three that have been shaky (Reed, Kline, Baur). The second game was a good pitching contest that lacked hitting for the O's again. Rodrigo Lopez and the bullpen only gave up 1 run in the game, but the O's put up a donut for the second straight game. Again, the O's had plenty of chances to score but failed. One instance out of the whole game was luck on the Red Sox part when Trot Nixon threw out Palmeiro at home after missing the cut-off man. Brian Roberts streak also came to an end against the Red Sox. B-Rob had hit in all the O's games until the Red Sox came to town. Roberts went 0-8 against the Redsox, and reached base once on a walk in the first game. His average fell to .375 because of the Sox. Next Monday (Apr. 25th), the O's face the Red Sox again to seek their revenge.
If the O's plan on winning their games against the Blue Jays this weekend(starting tonight in Toronto), they need to start hitting again. At no point this year has the pitching been bad enough that the O's couldn't win a game. The big bats need to be held accountable in these past games, for they need to be more focused on winning and not hitting the ball out of the park every at bat. This series is important because the O's need to prove they can rebound after a bad series.
After winning the series against the Yankees and the Devil Rays on the road by taking 2 of 3 in each, the O's hosted the Yankees for their second series this season. Thus far, the pitching has been a big surprise in a good way. This series would be much harder to win because the Yankees know what to expect, yet they let the O's take all three games in Camden Yards.
Bruce Chen looked like the ace of the O's by allowing only one run in 8 inning during the first game. He had plenty of run support when the O's lineup scored 8 runs. The game was tied until the 7th inning when Miguel Tejada and Sammy Sosa both hit homeruns back-to-back. The O's were facing Carl Pavano in this game. Everyone remembers how he turned down the O's to be closer to home in Conn. Both of his losses so far this year has come against the Orioles. In the first game, the O's got poetic justice when Melvin Mora lined a base hit off of Pavano's head and knocked him out of the game in the first series. It looks like the O's got lucky not to pick up Carl from free agency considering how well Bruce Chen is doing. W,8-1!
The second game of the series looked like the second game in the first series. By the top of 7th inning, the Yankees had a 3-2 lead, and they added to during the 7th inning by scoring 3 more runs. Rodrigo Lopez allowed 4 runs, one in the 7th, before being relieved by Steve Kline. The wheels seemed like they were falling off when Kline took the mound. Brian Roberts and Miguel Tejada couldn't get on the same page, resulting in a couple of missed double plays that allowed 2 more runs to score. The O's looked like they were down and out. Enter Slammin' Sammy. Sammy didn't hit a home run like everyone expects everythime he enters the batter box. Instead, Sammy hit a lead off double at the bottom of the seventh inning to start off with. Javy Lopez singled and Sosa made it home. Matos came up 2 batters later and hit a single to move Javy Lopez to third, which allowed Gibbons to bring him home during the next at bat. with a double. Enter the "Game Breaker". Brian Roberts steps in and launches the third pitch he sees. The next two inning were intense with the Yankees threating in both, but B.J. Ryan got the O's the win by pitching out of a bases loaded situation and the 9th inning with a runner (Sanchez) on 2nd to earn the save(2). W,7-6!
For the final game, the Orioles were up against Kevin Brown, who was making his season debut. Melvin Mora got the game started by hitting a homer in the first inning to get the game started. Sosa also singled to drive in Tejada in the first to give the O's a 2 run lead in the first. The O's sent 7 batter to the plate in the first inning, so the O's entered the 2nd inning with Larry Bigbie, Geronimo Gil, and Roberts scheduled up. The first two batters were retired, and the fun began. The O's loaded the bases for Miguel, and he didn't disappoint. Miguel Tejada hit his 8th career grand slam and gave the Orioles a 6-0 nothing lead in the 2nd inning. Cabrera had to just hold off the Yankees to earn the win, and he did just that. Daniel Cabrera gave up 3 runs in 6 inning for his 1st win of the season. Steve Reed gave up one more run in the game to A-Rod, and the Yankees were stopped in their comeback tracks with Steve Kline and B.J Ryan(non-save situation) shutting them down. The O's tacked on 2 more runs in the 7th for insurance, and the O's complete the sweep. W,8-4!
As good as the O's have been playing, ESPN radio and ESPN(tv) have not acknowledged that the O's are, but have mentioned that the Yankees are in a slump. Even one of Baltimore's announcers during the 2nd game of the series had to bring up that the O's were in the position last year. Hey everyone of you non-believers, the O's have taken 5 out of 6 games from the Yankees. The O's didn't have to go up against the Yankees last year this early. The first 12 games the O's had in '04 were against the Blue Jays, Tampa Bay, and the Red Sox. The O's play Boston on Wedsday and Thursday this week, and we will really see if the O's are for real or just pretending. I am going with the first.
The Baltimore Ravens signed Tommy Polly to a one year deal. He was brought into Baltimore to replace Ed Hartwell, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons. Polly is originally from Maryland, and he went to Dunbar High School. Polly is a 4 year veteran, and he played with the St. Louis Rams last year.
The O's finished playing the Yankees on Sunday by winning the series. The Orioles' bats finally showed up in this series after scoring only 5 runs against the Athletics. I covered the Friday night game on the previous posting, so I will only go over the weekend games.
On Saturday, the Orioles battled Randy Johnson, the new "Ace" pitcher, and the the O's sent Bruce Chen to the mound for his first start. The Orioles beat up on Randy Johnson by scoring 5 runs against one of the best pitchers in the game. Matos got the scoring started by hitting a sacrafice fly to score Javy Lopez in the second inning. The 3rd inning began the umpires help with the Yankees that would continue all weekend. Jeter stole 3rd base according to the umpires, when in fact Geranimo Gil threw him out. The O's then had a 4 run 4th inning by batting completely around in the lineup. Javy Lopez doubled to start of the inning; B.J Surhoff singled and Matos got hit by a pitch to load the bases; Chris Gomez worked Randy Johnson for a walk and brought in Lopez; Geronimo Gil singled and brought in Surhoff and Matos; Miguel Tejada singled and brought in Gil. Jason Giambi got one run back with a home run in the 4th. In the 5th inning, the officials decided the Yankees needed some more help and didn't call an illegal roll block on A-Rod, which allowed Ray Sanchez to score. The Orioles had a scare too because it looked as if Brian Roberts was hurt on the roll block. Roberts only had a blooded nose. The sixth inning was no better for the O's because Mazzilli called a squeeze play with Roberts at the plate and Gomez on third. The problem was that Roberts didn't make contact with the ball, and Posada was able to run down Gomez between home and third. The misfortunes of this game continued in the seventh for the O's once the 2 Steves came into the game to replace Chen (Steve Reed and Steve Kline). Reed allowed a run and left 2 on base before being yanked out of the game. And then the game was lost with the next pitcher, Steve Kline. Kline was facing Matsui when a fluke hit landed behind third base out of the reach of Tejada and Surhoff, which allowed Jeter to score. The next batter was Ruben Sierra, who knocked out a pitch off of Steve Kline. Three Run Shot, and the O's don't recover.
Sunday had Rodrigo Lopez up against Carl Pavano. This game was more interesting because Pavano was rumored to be coming to Baltimore and chose New York instead. The O's had their payback in the third inning. Up 1-0 in the 3rd inning, the Orioles had Brian Robert on first base. Mora stepped up to the plate to face Pavano. Mora should have been out on pop up to Giambi in foul territory, but Giambi missed the ball in the sun. Then it happened, Mora singled off of Pavano's head. It was a line drive at Carl Pavano, who couldn't get out of the way. It hit so hard that the ball went over Giambi's head. Pavano had to leave the game with a concussion. Should have came to Baltimore Carl. The O's scored 3 runs in the 3rd inning. The Orioles continued to beat up on the relievers and scored 3 more runs over the next 6 inning. One run came off of Brian Roberts hitting another homerun. How funny is it that the O's leading home run hitter is Brian Roberts at 3 HRs. None of the "Power Bats" have hit over a 2B hit. The Yankees did score two runs in the game, but Lopez only allowed one run in 8 innings and had 8 strikeouts. B.J. Ryan came in to relieve Lopez in the 9th inning. Ryan game up one run in the inning. O's Win The Series. Lopez has amazed even me at this point by filling in the roll as the #1 starter for the O's. I have always liked Lopez, but I thought he was a #2 at best. Can he really continue this?
The O's have off today and will be travelling down to Tampa Bay to face the Devil Rays on Tuesday. Both teams are at .500 on the year at 3-3. As long as Jorge Julio isn't given a chance to save a game down in Tampa Bay, the O's have a good chance at winning the Series. Daniel Cabrera will be starting on Tuesday for the O's.
The Orioles lose their first series of the season by losing 2 straight games to the Oakland Athletics. After a great showing on Opening Day, the O's offense produced one run and gave up 14 runs. The second game of the series seemed to be doomed when Daniel Cabrera gave up 5 runs in the 2nd inning. The offense during the second game didn't show up at all, so the O's put up a donut. The relief pitchers didn't put up much of a fight after Cabrera left the game in the 4th inning. The relief gave up another 4 runs before the end of the game. The final game of the series was a pitching duel between Eric Bedard and Danny Haren with both pitchers only allowing 1 run. Then, in the 8th inning, the wheels fell off for the Orioles when Steve Kline came in the game. Kline was pitching to Eric Byrnes and was crushed by Byrnes for a three run homerun. The A's scored another run in the 8th inning. The sole run the O's scored during the final game came from Brian Roberts, currently the O's homerun leader with 2.
After the game on Thursday, the O's travelled up to New York to start a three game series with the Yankees. Under the Friday Night Lights, the Orioles had their way with the Yankees pitchers. The O's had 12 runs off of 18 hits and one homerun from Brian Roberts. Sidney Ponson started the game for the O's and lasted until the 6th inning and allowed only 3 runs. It was not Ponsons best performance, but it was a good performance against one of the best offenses in baseball. Ponson did allow Jeter to get on base every time, but he didn't allow A-Rod to reach base at all. Sheffield did homer off of Sidney in the 5th inning, but by that time the O's had a big lead. Later in the game, B.J. Ryan threw a slider over the center of the plate to Matsui, who homered with no one on base. The bats finally came alive against the Yankees, yet the only homeruns from the O's have been from Brian Roberts (2) and Luis Matos (1) so far this season. If the the Orioles want to have a chance at a Wild Card spot, the homerun hitters need to start hitting homeruns. Other then Cabrera's outing, the pitching has been there.
The O's surprised alot of people on Opening Day when the best players of the day were the ones no one was expecting.
Luis Matos homered in his first at bat against one of the best pitchers in baseball, Barry Zito. Matos has taken a lot of criticism this off-season for not being productive at the plate. This is the first game of the season, but I hope he does keep surprising people and this isn't a one time thing. Jay Gibbons also did very good on his first day by showing his patience at the plate and taking two walks. One of the walks came right before Matos homered. Another surprise during Opening day was the reception Sammy Sosa got while sprinting out into right field. He proved to be not only a homerun machine by delivering two base hits.
The pitching on Opening day was a great sign for Rodrigo Lopez. The last time Lopez was named the #1 starter, he failed. Lopez didn't look like had all of his stuff on Monday, but he was able to get some key outs at the right time. Lopez also got some good help defensively behind him with base runners. The only two mistakes were a Brian Roberts error and a misplay in right field by Sosa. Lopez blanked a team in which the O's have struggled in recent years and earned his first victory of the year. Steve Reed stepped in and replaced Lopez after 6 innings and allowed one hit. Next, Jorge Julio came in the 8th inning at his new position as set up man and took out the side. B.J. Ryan finished the game in a non-close situation to get him into rythym, and he took care of the side.
Hopefully this is a good sign of things to come this year, for every expects the big sluggers to hit some homeruns and score. However, the O's got offense from there #9 hitter, and they had a solid outing from their new #1 starter.
With opening day on Monday, the Starting line-up has been set. Here is what the starting rotation, relief pitchers and batting order looks like:
Starting Rotation:
1. Rodrigo Lopez
2. Daniel Cabrera
3. Eric Bernard
4. Sidney Ponson
5. Bruce Chen
Relief Pitchers (in no real order)
1. Rick Bauer
2. John Parrish
3. Todd Williams
4. Jorge Julio
5. Steve Reed
6. Steve Kline
7. B.J. Ryan (closer)
Batting Order:
1. 2B Brian Roberts
2. 3B Melvin Mora
3. SS Miguel Tejada
4. RF Sammy Sosa
5. DH Rafael Palmeiro
6. C Javy Lopez
7. 1B Jay Gibbons
8. LF Larry Bigbie
9. CF Luis Matos
Bench:
1. Chris Gomez
2. B.J. Surhoff
3. David Newhan
4. Geronimo Gil
Lots of runs and maybe some pitching will show this year.
I am sorry for the way this site has been looking this week, but I was changing formats and trying to figure it out. I almost have it the way I want it, but not quite. Hopefully I haven't lost to many of you. If this site doesn't look quite right, refresh the site.
The only thing that has happened this week with our teams is that the O's have traded Matt Riley to Texas for infielder/outfielder Ramon Navar. I don't really know much about him other then he was doing really good in spring training for Texas. I think he was hitting over .300, but that is all I know. Navar and Eric Dubose have been optioned down to the minor leagues.