The Orioles have won a game against the Angels. The streak is over, The Streak IS Over, for now. They beat the Angels 4-1 today. Of course I didn't watch it because I couldn't find anywhere on tv.
In Sam Perlozzo's first game as the manager of the Orioles, they finally get some key hits and good pitching on the same day. Rod Lopez allowed one run on 2 hits, while Eric Byrnes and Sammy Sosa were the offense the O's needed. Eric did it with a triple and Slammin Sammy did it the long ball way. Maybe this could be a start to a beautiful relationship with players and manager. Of course, it could be like the Royals. 4 games of winning, then they suck again. Cross your fingers everyone.
After a year and a half of coaching for the Baltimore Orioles, Lee Mazzilli gets fired. Mazz was 78-84 with the O's and riding a 8 game losing streak. The Orioles are 10 1/2 out first place and 5 games under .500 (51-56). A common thought around sports is that the O's were winning the first half in spite of Mazz, not because of him.
I think this true about the Orioles. I think the problem with the Orioles right now is that they need a stern coach and not a players coach. The Orioles are a very young team with a few veterans. Mazz is definitely a players coach. He nice, laid back type of coach, and they need a coach with the enthusiasm like Tejada. Sam Perlozzo, Orioles bench coach, is going to be the interim Manager for the rest of the season. He might not be able to stop the bleeding, but he really can't do any worse.
I want to know what you think. Should the Orioles kept Lee Mazzilli or not?
According to the Major League Baseball steriod testing, Raffy Palmeiro has failed his last urine test. He has officially been suspended for 10 games. If all of you remember correctly ( or read it 20 times today), Raffy totally denied taking steriod in front of congress and now it looks like he has lied. To us as fans and Congress. What do all of you think about this? I am still undecided. Here is his official statement to reporters today:
Thank you very much for joining me on this call today. I am saddened that we are here to address this issue, but because of the importance of it, I feel the need to make a brief statement and address your questions. At the outset, let me say that under the rules of the basic agreement and the order of the independent arbitrator, there is an order of confidentiality governing the specifics of this case. I will attempt to state as much as I can and be as forthright as possible, but there will be issues I can't address based on orders imposed on me by the basic agreement and the arbitration process.I am here to make it very clear that I have never intentionally used steroids. Never. Ever. Period.
When I found out that I failed a test under the new drug policy, I filed a grievance and challenged the suspension on the basis that I have never intentionally taken a banned substance. Ultimately, although I never intentionally put a banned substance into my body -- the independent arbitrator ruled that I had to be suspended under the terms of the program.
I am sure you will ask how I tested positive for a banned substance. As I look back, I don't have a specific answer to give. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to explain to the arbitrator how the banned substance entered my body. The arbitrator did not find that I used a banned substance intentionally - in fact, he said he found my testimony to be compelling -- but he ruled that I could not meet the heavy burden imposed on players who test positive under the new drug policy.
I accept this punishment and want to address it publicly. I want to apologize to MLB, the Baltimore Orioles organization, my teammates, and most of all, my fans. Given my role with the No Tolerance Committee and my relationships with Congress, I feel the need to communicate a serious message to my fellow players and to kids everywhere. All of us have to be responsible and exercise extreme care in what we put in our body. I hope that all MLB players and kids will learn from what has happened to me. I have never intentionally used a banned substance, but I unfortunately wasn't careful enough.
I take my role as a professional athlete seriously. I love baseball and have great respect for all of the players who played before me. I have always done my best to live each day in ways that would make my family proud. Everything I have accomplished is the result of hard work and dedication to being the best possible player I can be.
I feel terrible that this has happened, but I think there is something to be gained from it. If my situation results in the education of current and future players about the dangers of taking anything without a prescription from a licensed physician -- that is a positive. At the end of the day, it is important for all players to understand the risk of contamination and to be very careful about what they put in their body.
This suspension is going to be incredibly difficult for me, my wife and my 2 boys. Over the next week and a half, I am going to spend time with my family. I am going to come back and will be as determined as ever to help the Orioles win this pennant race that we are in. We have worked very hard to be in a position to bring our fans a title, and I will not let this be a distraction.
Finally, I would like to thank Commissioner Selig and Mr. Angelos for their strong words of encouragement. I had the opportunity to speak with both of them and I am extremely appreciative of their support and friendship.
On the last day for trades, Peter Angelos has reportedly rejected a few trade proposes from the Beattie/Flanny team. It was reported on ESPN's Baseball Tonight 12:00pm special that the Orioles are going to stand pat today. There is still 2 1/2 hours until the deadline, but I wouldn't expect to much from the O's. The Larry Bigbie/Eric Byrnes trade looks like all that is going to happen.
Eric Byrnes was traded to the O's for Larry Bigbie on Friday. Byrnes was in the 2 hole for the Orioles line-up on Saturday. Even though the Orioles lost another heartbreaker( haven't they all been), Byrnes was an immediate impact in the 4th inning by plating Brian Roberts in the 4 run inning. He went 1-5 in the game with a RBI.
But the O's couldn't stop their woes in the losing department, their relief pitching fell apart yet again. Now it is Chris Ray who is the new struggling pitcher. Going into Thursday against Texas in which the O's lost the game 2-1 because of a homer against Ray, he had an ERA under 1.00. Ray has now given up 4 runs in 2 games, three of which was yesterday.
The Orioles should have had plenty of offense with a 6-4 lead going into the 8th inning, but they couldn't finish the game off. Nothing is going their way. When the O's have good pitching, the batters can't hit. When they have the run support, the pitching lets the team down. On of these days, they will figure it out. Hopefully.
One last note: For the first time since April 7th when they were 1-2, the Orioles are under .500 and now 7 games out of first place.
The Orioles are digging themselves into a deep hole in the AL East. They dropped 3 out of 4 games against the Texas Rangers, and they continued their losing ways in the series opener against the Chicago White Sox.
With a little over 24 hours until the trade deadline, the Orioles are the most desperate team looking for help. By losing to the White Sox last night, the Orioles are now at a season high 6 games behind the AL East leading Red Sox. The O's swapped outfielders with the Rockies last night to get Eric Byrnes for Larry Bigbie. They both have about the same numbers for the season, so the trade wasn't a real help for the O's.
The Orioles need only two players to get themselves back on track. The first a clutch hitter. The major difference between the first half of the season and the second half is the lack of timely hits. During one game of the Texas series, the Orioles stranded 16 base runners and had the bases loaded 4 times without a run. The front office really cannot blame the starting pitching in any of the games, for they lost because of lack of run support. There is no reason why Tampa Bay and Texas should have shut down the O's hitters. Javy Lopez has tried to add a spark to the team, but the other batters don't seem to reacting.
The other player the Orioles need is a solid pitcher. They really don't need a #1 starter, just one that can eat inning and keep the O's close in the game. The Orioles pitching has gotten back on track, and they need someone to replace the ineffective Ponson in the rotation.
On the other hand, the Orioles have gone into the second half struggling over the last couple of years, only to surge in August and September. Is this going to be the pattern this year? I have no idea, but it would be nice.
One of my readers asked me to give an opinion on the Nats coming to Washington. Adam Karlin wrote a great article on the effects of the Nats in Washington and on the Orioles. If you want to read it, follow this link: http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0719/p03s01-ussc.html
What if all the trades went through for the Orioles by the 1st of August. What would the Orioles team look like? Very different from the start of the season. They have been in contention since the beginning of the year with their current line-ups and pitchers. Here is what it would all look like:
Line-Up
1B Phil Nevin/Raffy Palmeiro
2B Brian Roberts
SS Miggy Tejada
3B Mike Lowell
LF Melvin Mora
CF Luis Matos
RF Jay Gibbons/Sammy Sosa
C Javy Lopez
DH Palmeiro/Nevin/Gibbons
Starting Pitching
A.J Burnett
Rodrigo Lopez
Bruce Chen
Erik Bedard
John Maine
Relievers
Chris Ray
Tim Byrdak
Jason Grimsley
B.J. Ryan
Todd Williams
Daniel Cabrera
My question to all of you is whether or not you want this team? Are they contenders with this team?
I finally got some time to write. I am going to look at what the O's have and what they need. What happened in the first half, and what needs to happen in the second half?
The O's are off to their best start in 7 or so years. They are 7 games above .500 and 2 games behind the Red Sox. The Yankees are biting at the Orioles heals, 1/2 games behind the O's. Until the last series with the Red Sox, the Orioles have been struggling badly. The pitchers couldn't last past the 3rd inning, and the hitters couldn't pull through in a clutch. The O's have suffered so many injuries that every time Lee Mazzilli sent someone down to the minors, the Orioles had to reactivate them within days. Through all of this, the Orioles are in contention at the start of the second half. They will be getting Javy Lopez and Erik Bedard within the next week or two. The both of them will be able to give the Orioles a much need shot in the arm. With only one or two moves before the trade deadline, the Orioles could give the Red Sox and the Yankees a run for their money.
The outfield and pitching staff are the most need of overhauling. Sammy Sosa has been a bust thus far, and Larry Bigbie is just now starting to hit in the last couple of days. Bigbie was supposed to be a savior for the Orioles, and he has come short over the last two years. The pitching staff has also needed some work once the O's entered June. Erik Bedard was placed on the DL in late May, and the starting pitching staff hasn't recovered. The O's tried to fill the void with young Hayden Penn, but with no run support, Penn lost his confidence. He was shortly sent back down to the minors. Mazz tried to go into a 4 man rotation, which really didn't work because the starters couldn't last.
So what do the O's have to do? They need some pitchers and outfielders that are worth a crap. The best suitors for the O’s so far are the Marlins. They are trying to unload Juan Encarnation and A.J. Burnett for a young starter, reliever, and a left handed outfielder. I would say bye-bye to Bigbie and Jorge Jolio. The next part of the deal is up in the air for me. I like Cabrera and Penn very much, but I think Penn is more of a trade bait than Cabrera. Daniel Cabrera has already proven that he could be dominating, and Hayden Penn has not. Sure, Penn has a ton of potential, but the Orioles need to make a move for now.
Oh, and I have a plan for the relief pitching too. Trade Julio is the first and foremost action. Take the Steve brothers out of the set-up job. Bring in Kline against righties and send Reed to triple A. Make Chris Ray and Todd Williams the primary set-up men. Demote Ponson from starter to long reliever, and start James Baldwin (he can't do any worse). Sir Sidney "I can't pitch" Ponson hasn't been able to pitch a game without giving up at least 4 runs (usually more).
The Orioles finished the first half 2 games behind the 'Sox. They finished strong and hope to continue their good luck into the second half. So here is my question to you:
I put a poll up yesterday about an A.J. Burnett deal by the Orioles. Thus far, 1 out of 7 believes that it will happen. The rest think that it will fall through. Well, I was reading an article from Ken Rosenthal of Sportingnews.com. According to Rosenthal, talks between the Orioles and the Marlins have cooled off because the Orioles don't want to deal Daniel Cabrera. Is this a good thing or bad thing?
It could be a great move for the O's to trade for A.J. Burnett because he is in his prime at 28 years old and a dominate pitcher that pitches strikes. In the last game Burnett started, he struck out 14 batters in 6 innings. He is toting a 3.33 ERA and a 111 strikeouts with a 5-5 record. Currently, A.J. Burnett has pitched in 113 innings so far this year. He is on pace to pitch over 200 innings this season, barring any injuries. The Orioles would also be sending Jorge Julio to the Marlins in the proposed deal. I have never liked Julio because he doesn't seem to miss a bat when the game is on the line. Julio gets frustrated to fast and loses concentration when in a jam, and he doesn't have the killer instinct that is needed coming off the bench.
On the other hand, the Orioles would have to give up either Hayden Penn or Daniel Cabrera and Larry Bigbie with Jorge Julio. Larry Bigbie wouldn't be that much of a lose because the Orioles would get Juan Encarnacion in the deal. They are comparable with the only real difference being that Bigbie hits left and Encarnacion hits right. But is Cabrera or Penn worth giving up for Burnett? Pitching coach Ray Miller loves Daniel Cabrera as a pitcher. He has commented that Cabrera is a sponge when it comes to learning. This is a good quality coming from a 24 year old. He is pitching tonight, so these stats aren't totally accurate. But thus far, Cabrera has pitched in 93 innings with a 5.05 ERA. He does have 81 strike outs (20 less than Burnett) and 45 walks (5 more than Burnett). The biggest factor in this deal is the age and injury comparisions. Cabrera is 4 years younger than Burnett, and Burnett hasn't pitched a full season since 2002. Cabrera is still a wild card because of his age, and the O's don't know what it is his future, whereas Burnett is in his prime and pitching like it. Another bad hit against A.J. Burnett in my opinion, is that he pitches in the National League. The NL's batting lineups are much easier to pitch against because of the lack of a DH and the rotating of pinch hitters. NL teams doen't always put their best batters in the lineup because the need to pinch hit for the pitchers. AL's lineups are more potent throughout. So, can a National League pitcher be successful in the AL? If the Yankees are any indication, then NO. Carl Pavano and Randy Johnson both came from the NL, and both are struggling in New York (Pavano just got put on the DL today).
To be honest, I still can't decide what the O's should do. Part of me just want the Orioles to make a move that can improve their team and add another spark to a slumping team. But the other part of me says to stand pat and wait for the players to fix themselves.
The biggest rumor going around right now is whether or not the Orioles are going to trade for A.J. Burnett. The O's would have to give up Daniel Cabrera or Hayden Penn and Larry Bigbie. Their are some other players involved but they keep changing from day-to-day.
The Poll is closed
The Orioles have lost six straight games, and they are in their worst funk of the year. The O's started the bad streak when they were up in Toronto and lost 3 out of 4 games. They dropped the last two games against the Blue Jays and headed to Atlanta for a losing sweep. The Braves out played the O's in all the games and ended one with a walk off homer from Andruw Jones. The O's haven't started their current series with the Yankees on a good note either. The Orioles gave up a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning and lost the game in the next inning when Steve Kline got kicked off the field. And that is the real problem right now, the relief pitching is blowing to many games.
I have heard all the arguments saying that the starting pitching is wearing out the relief pitching. That the real problem is the starting pitching not lasting long enough. But I am going to throw up the B.S. flag on this one fellas. Daniel Cabrera is our worst pitcher according to stats at 5.6 innings per game and a 5.48 ERA over 85.1 innings in 15 games. The rest of the starters are lasting, on average, over 6 innings. Ponson has the next worse ERA of 5.42, and Rodrigo Lopez has a 4.47 ERA. Bruce Chen is the Orioles best active pitcher at 3.54 ERA. I am not counting Hayden Penn because he hasn't really started enough, and I am not counting Erik Bedard because he his on the DL.
On the other hand, the Orioles relief pitchers are failing the Orioles on a daily bases. None of the pitchers are overworked considering stats from last year. The only pitcher that has a legit argument is Todd Williams. Williams only pitched in 29 games last year, and he has pitched in 33 thus far this year. The biggest argument I have heard on T.V. and radio (ESPN, Comcast, and 105.7am on the radio) is that Steve Kline is pitching too much. Well lets look at the numbers, Kline has pitched in 37 games already and 28 innings. Last year, Steve Kline pitched in 67 games and 50 innings last year with St. Louis. That isn't really that dramatic of a change with only a couple games of rise. What is more amazing is that the Steve Brothers are the worst pitchers in the bullpen, and they were suppose to help the club. Kline has a 5.08 ERA and Steve Reed has an 7.39 ERA. Let me repeat that one for you, "A relief pitcher has an 7.39 ERA". Why isn't this guy in triple A? Bring back John Parrish.
Stop blaming the batters. Other than Not-Slammin Sosa, most of the batters are hitting well. The only difference right now is the lack of clutch hits. Even with their best hitters, Tejada and Roberts, they can't anyone across the plate. The Orioles could have taken over the game last night by hitting more, but they game up. You could see it on their faces. Tejada has to get these guys back on the right track. He is stuggling at the plate, but he needs to have a positive attitude anyway. Miggy is the leader of the Orioles.
With the lost last night to the Atlanta Braves, the Orioles were knocked out of first place. They are now 1/2 games out of first behind the RED HOT Red Sox. God that sucks to say. The Orioles had been in first place since April 22nd and couldn't hang anymore with all the injuries they has sustained. It isn't excuse, it is a fact. They have two great hitters out, Javy Lopez and Melvin Mora, and their best pitcher, Erik Bedard. The Orioles have been putting band-aids on their wounds since May, but the injuries have finally caught up to them. The goal now for the Orioles should be to stay as close as possible to the Red Sox so they can make a second half run.
On the bright side, the Yankees lost last night to the Mets. The Yankees are 5 games behind the O's and 5 1/2 behind the Red Sox. As of today, the Orioles are leading the Wild Card race (it is never to early to talk about this stuff). As long as the Yankees keep on struggling, the Orioles have a great chance of making the post season. The O's have a chance next week to help themselves out in this matter when the Yankees come to town for three games starting Monday.
I haven't lost hope in taking back 1st place, but it is always a good idea to have a "plan B".
I haven't written anything in a couple of weeks because of lack of free time. But I am finally back to my normal routine. (Damn family) Even with my hectic schedule I still have been able to follow the O's, and I am glad to announce that they are coming back together again.
Let's take a look over the last month. Sammy Sosa was the first to go out with an injury. Sosa was put on the DL with a abscess and staph infection of left foot on May 5th. This injury forced Jay Gibbons to play more right field. In case you didn't notice, Gibby has gone back to first with the O's size and isn't that fast. In total, Sosa missed 20 games and returned to the lineup on the 24th of May. Larry Bigbie was next to go down with an injury when he left a game on May 12th with a strained hammy injury. He finally came back on June 13th. He has only had 13 at bats since returning from the injury. Larry Bigbie has raised his average to .280 and has 11 RBIs. Luis Matos on a freak hit by pitch, broke his right index finger. Matos was out from May 11th till yesterday. The O's have rotated so many players into center field that I don't remember all of the names. I know that Newhan was out there a few times, and a bunch of minor leaguers have made a rotation out there(None are active now).
Two major players for the Orioles are still MIA (Missing in Action for all those who don't watch the news), Erik Bedard and Javy Lopez. Erik Bedard has been MIA since May 22nd and was suppose to be back at the end of this month. Now, Bedard is suppose to be back with the O's after the All-Star break. Before Erik Bedard went down, he was the best and most dominate pitcher for the O's with a 5-1 record and 2.08 ERA. Hayden Penn was called up from the minors to replace Bedard and has gone 2-0 with a 4.23 ERA. Penn has pitched very well thus far in the replacement of Bedard, but he really hasn't pitched against a good team other than the Boston Red Sox. We will really see what he can do when the Orioles go against the Blue Jays, Yankees, Red Sox, and the Braves. Javy Lopez is the other MIA player who really has been irreplacable (if that is really a word or if I spelt that right) since going down May 25th with a broken right hand. Geronimo Gil and Sal Fasano have been splitting time behind the plate, but neither of them can replace Javy's bat. Between the both of them, Gil and Fasano have 9 HRs and 21 RBIs combined. Javy Lopez had 7 HRs and 22 RBIs before he got injured with a .278 batting average. He will also be coming back after the All-Star break.
Last nights game didn't help the injury list of the O's much when Melvin Mora came up lame trying to beat out a throw to first base. Buck Martinez, O's commentator, said it looked to a hammy injury. Not a good sign for the O's. Just when the O's looked like they were finally recovering from their injuries, it looks like the O's will be filling in that vacated spot on the DL that Matos gave up. Everyone cross your fingers.
The Orioles lose the final game of the 4 game series with the Red Sox up in Boston. The Red Sox took an early lead in the first inning by scoring one run. But the Orioles struck back in the next inning. It wasn't until the fourth inning that Boston would take the lead again. The Orioles would comeback again in the sixth to tie the game up at 3-3, and the scored stayed that way until the 9th inning.
With both starting pitchers, rookie Hayden Penn and Matt Clement, only allowing 3 runs a piece and not pitching past the 6th inning. It was up to both teams' relievers to win the game. For the Orioles, they threw out John Parrish, Steve Reed, Steve Kline, Todd Williams, and Jorge Julio in 3.2 innings. They all pitched scoreless baseball (Steve Kline didn't record an out, but didn't allow a run either). The Orioles finally took the lead in the top of the 9th inning when Raffy Palmeiro beat out a double play with the bases loaded to score David Newhan. The O's had a one run lead (4-3) going into the bottom of the 9th inning.
Enter B.J. Ryan. Mr Automatic (Ryan) made the big error in the 9th inning by throwing a fast ball down the middle of the plate to David Ortiz in a 3-2 count. Ortiz launched it to straight away center field. This homer happened with 2 outs and 2 runners on base. He should have just walked him by trying to make Ortiz chase a ball outside of the strike zone. But I can't get to mad, this blown save was only the 2nd given up by Ryan this year. Unlike Julio over the last couple of years, Ryan is pretty automatic once he enters the game. Everyone is going to make mistakes. This one just happened to be huge.
In the end, the Orioles are no worse in the standing than when the entered this series against Boston. Boston was within 3 games of the Orioles, and Sox still are now. The one benifit is that the Yankees have been losing to the Royals, the worse team in MLB, and can't get closer than 4 games behind the O's.
Next up for the O's are the Detroit Tigers. They play tomarrow at 7:05, and the O's are seeking revenge after three in a row at home against the Tigers.
Sir Sidney Ponson pitched the third game of a four game series last night, and he actually pitched well. He only allowed 3 runs in 6+ innings, but he had a 5 run lead by the third inning. Ponson has allowed a lot of runs so far this year despite his 6-3 record. Why you ask? Because he is getting over 6 runs a game an outing. This year, he doesn't have to be perfect to win, which allows him to pitch more freely. He has made some costly mistakes thus far this year, but his team has been able to recover from Ponson's mistakes. That is the difference between this year, and last year. The Orioles can comeback from being down, or they can get a big lead early in games. Last year, the O's had to have great pitching from a young staff, and clutch hits from injured young batters. The O's added depth with Chris Gomez in the infield and kept David Newhan to compensate for the Brian Roberts and Luis Matos injuries. When Sosa was out, the O's were able to move Jay Gibbons from 1B/DH to right field. This fact help them handle the injuries. Even the Javy Lopez injury isn't as bad as it could be. Gil and Fascona aren't going to be able to replace Javy's bat, but they both command the pitchers very well.
People, this is how good teams are made. Every team has injuries, but can they still with the injuries. So far, the answer for the Orioles is YES.
My rambling is now over. The O's got the game started offensively by a Geronimo Gil three run shot off of Tim Wakefield in the second inning. Miggy and Sosa went back-to-back in the 3rd inning with homers. That was all the O's need for the game, but they added some more runs in 5th (1), 6th (1), and 9th (2) to insure a win against a great comeback team.
A Funny Note: In center field, there was a chalk outline where Johnny Damon ran it to the wall. It looked like what a cartoon character looks like when they run through a wall.
Half way through a 4 game series with the Red Sox, the Orioles are no better or worse in the standing after splitting the first two games. The Orioles got solid pitching in both games, only got run support in one game.
When Rodrigo Lopez was pitching, the Orioles scored 8 runs. With Daniel Cabrera on the mound, the Orioles only managed one run. There was plenty of miscues from the Orioles durning the game, two of which came from the pitcher, and a lot of men stranded in scoring postion. It seems to me that what made the O's so successful in the being of the year was the ability to score runners no matter how many outs. Now it doesn't look like they can drive anyone home. Even last night, after the 3rd inning when the Orioles scored 7 runs, the O's only managed one more run in 6 innings. Cabrera did allow 4 runs in the 5th inning of tonights game, but the O's were averaging 7.2 runs a game coming into this battle. Their is no reason why the Orioles should have lost this game with the power and as many chances as they had tonight. This was a disappointing game for me because I expected them to win, and they failed.
The O's lost their 3rd straight game to the Tigers, and for the first time this season the Orioles lose 3 in a row. I didn't get a chance to watch the game yesterday. All I know is that Steve Reed pitched very badly and allowed 5 runs in the 7th inning. Steve Kline also gave up a run that allowed the Tigers to beat the Orioles 8-6. Why the Orioles brought in Steve Reed is beyond me. He has been nothing but trouble since putting on a Orioles uniform. Send him down to the minor leagues or release. Don't let him into another game PLEASE. I will try and have a better article tonight about the Orioles and Red Soxes game.
For his second straight start, Sidney Ponson gave up too many runs for the Orioles to recover from. Last week, Ponson gave up 4 early runs against the Phillies in 7 innings, and Ponson gave up 4 runs over 8 innings against the Tigers last night. He is carrying a 5.66 ERA and has allowed 4 homers over the last two games. This guy was suppose to be the Ace of the Orioles going into Spring Training. He was demoted to the #4 starter before the regular season started, and promoted to #3 starter when Eric Bedard went on the DL yesterday. Ponson threw to home run fastballs against the Detroit Tigers and they took advantage of it. Dmitri Young and Craig Monroe hit 2 run homers to give the Tigers the lead for the game. This game was another example of Ponson spotting the opposing team at least a 4 run lead. The Orioles batters always have to play catch up when he pitches. This time they failed because Ponson couldn't keep his control of his pitches.
The O's batters had their big chance to beat the Tigers in the 9th inning. They had the bases loaded with 2 outs when the rookie, Jeff Fiorentino, struck out. I am not going to get on his case because he is a rookie. Ugueth Urbina of the Tigers just made to good of pitches against Fiorentino for Jeff to have a chance. The O's pecked away from the 4 run lead in the 6th and 8th innings. But in the end, they just came up short.
To make matters worse, the "Yank-These" are now in 2nd place and only 3.5 games behind the O's after beating the "Red Sucks."
With Rodrigo Lopez struggling over his last couple of starts, the Orioles beat the winningest pitcher to face the O's, former Orioles pitcher Jamie Moyer. The Orioles have guarenteed themselves a series win against the Mariners by winning tonight in one of the Orioles shortest games of the season, 2 hours.
Rodrigo Lopez started the season as the Orioles #1 starter, but he has struggled badly in his last 10 starts. Lopez hasn't won since April 10th, and he has had a 6.53 ERA and a 0-2 record over that time. In his last game against the Royals, the worse team in major league baseball, Rodrigo Lopez allowed 6 earned runs and walked 3. Now for the good news, Rodrigo Lopez looked like a true "ACE" tonight by allowing 1 run off of 5 hits in 8 innings of work. He placed his fastball for strikes and had a wicked slider all night. Lopez didn't allow one walk and only one batter to pass first base, which eventually scored the lone run for the Mariners, and threw only 82 pitches in 8 innings. If all it takes for Lopez to pitch well is cool weather, I don't want summer to arrive.
The arch rival of the Orioles has been Jamie Moyer over the last 19 years. Until tonight, Moyer was 15-2 against the Orioles over his career and definite bird killer. Other then the first inning, Jamie Moyer pitched like a bird killer. But all the Orioles need was the 1st inning. Melvin Mora got the inning started with a single and the next batter, Miguel Tejada, doubled. With runners at 2nd and 3rd, Sammy Sosa for the second straight night hit a sac fly to score Mora. Palmeiro came to the plate with two outs against a southpaw pitcher, Palmeiro has struggled with lefties since last year, and hit a tailing slider out of the park down the right field line. Those three hits were all the Orioles need to win the game. Moyer allowed only 3 baserunners after the first inning, and only one reached 2nd base. This was a great win against a known foe of the Orioles. Jamie Moyer does have a couple of excuses for tonight, struggling with control and he is 42 years old, but it was good to beat him any way.
What made tonight even better is that the Red Sox lost its second staight game to the B-Jays. With the win tonight, the O's have a 4 game lead over the Sox.
Notes: Roberts didn't play today and listed day-to-day. Palmeiro hit his 556th homer of his career tonight.
After a 20 minute rain delay, the Orioles opened their home stand against the Seattle Mariners tonight. They welcomed back ex-Oriole manager Mike Hardgrove, two years removed, with a much different lineup then he was used too.
The Orioles had southpaw Bruce Chen on the mound tonight to face the Mariners. He pitched great despite not having good control in the cold soggy weather. Chen gave up 2 runs to the Mariners off of 8 hits in 7 innings of work. Both runs came from Ichiro Suzuki getting to second base, and Richie Sexson singling him in. Was I the only one that noticed that Ichiro had his first name on the back of his jersey during the game? Richie Sexson showed tonight how valuable he would have been if he joined the Orioles tonight. Sexson was clutch in both at bats with Suzuki on second. The Mariners could have scored a lot more runs had it not been for Chen pitching himself out of jams. Chen got 2 clutch double plays, one of which was started by Chen, and he picked off a runner with Suzuki at the plate. In the end, Chen got a no decision, but he did his job in keeping the Orioles in the game. Todd Williams came in for relief in the 8th inning and pitched a scoreless inning to earn the win. B.J. Ryan closed the game to get his 13th save of the season, which is 2nd in the league.
The Orioles batters struggled during the game in clutch situations tonight. They left 13 men stranded on the bases, and they had the bases loaded twice only to score one run. Mora drove in one run with Jeff Fiorentino on second in the in the first inning. Sammy Sosa returned to the lineup for the first time since May 4th, and he tied the game up with a sac fly when the bases were loaded in the 7th inning. The 7th inning turned out to be good and bad, for the O's tied the game but Brian Roberts got hit by a pitch on the side of the knee and was taken out of the game. So far, Brian Roberts status is still in question with a bruised knee. Jay Gibbons won the game for the Orioles when he hit a solo homerun in the 8th inning to give the Orioles a 3-2 lead. On a couple of websites, I have seen that a trade of Gibbons for a veteran pitcher is a posibility. I have even mentioned this much in a previous post comments, but I don't think it is very likely now with the injuries the O's keep having. Javy Lopez was also injured during the game with a broken hand that he sustained on his throwing hand while trying to catch a foul tip. Lopez got hit by the foul tip in the third inning , and he will be out for 6 to 8 weeks.
The O's widen the Al East lead between themselves and the Red Sox with the win tonight. The Sox lost tonight against the B-Jays, and opened the gap up to 3 games. The Orioles will have to make some roster moves to replace Javy Lopez on the 40 man roster, I'm not sure how that is going to work, with Geronimo Gil being the only catcher on the team. Chris Gomez will likely be taking the place of Brian Roberts for at least a couple of days. Gomez has been a hot hitter no matter how much he plays, but he is not as versitile as Roberts.
Tomarrows game will be broadcasted on CSN at 7:05. The Orioles will have Rodrigo Lopez (2-2) pitching against the Seattle Mariners' Jamie Moyer (4-1). Can the Orioles finally stick it too Moyer tomarrow? I think so, even if they are a little beat up.
With the O's having a day off tonight, I am going to start something new. I am going to have a new poll everytime the Orioles are off.
Leave a comment on your pick..
Playing their first interleague steries of the year, The Orioles lost two out three games against the Phillies this weekend. The O's have struggled over the last couple of years against the Phillies by only winning one game out of six over the last two years. This series was no different with the Phillies winning both games 9-2 and 7-2.
The Phillies came into the series completing a series win against the Cardinals. They carried the momentum into the Orioles series when they hammered Daniel Cabrera in the first game for 7 runs in 4 innings. Cabrera had no control with his curveball or breaking ball. Cabrera had to depend on just his fast ball which is the wrong way to pitch the hard hitting Phillies.
Bedard started the second game, and he was fantastic yet again. He shut out the Phillies through 7 innings, and Bedard is still the most consistant pitcher the Orioles have at the moment. When Bedard did get into a jam, he was able to pitch his way out of it. Bedard has proven so far that the front office of the Orioles were right not to trade him. He has just been that solid with the ball in his hand. Jorge Julio and Steve Kline finished the last two inning to complete the shut out.
In the rubber game, the Orioles got off to good start with a triple from Roberts and a sac fly by Fiorentino. The Phillies were held in check by Sidney Ponson until the 3rd inning when Pat Burrell hit a three run shot. Ponson allowed another homer in the 4th inning to Lieberthal giving the Phillies a 4-1 lead. Ponson didn't give up any more runs in his 7 inning which gave the Orioles a chance to come back. Miggy Tejada hit a solo home run in the 6th inning, but he couldn't rally the rest of the team in his come back effort. The game got out of reach in 8th inning when Steve Kline came in relief. Kline gave up 3 runs and got no one out. So far this season, Steve Kline and Steve Reed have been hit and miss. It seems like if Reed is struggling, Kline is awesome. If Kline is struggling, Reed is pitching well. The last one was the case last night. Kline couldn't miss a bat, and Reed allowed one walk and no hits.
I still read in the papers, Washington Post and Baltimore Sun, that the panic button should be hit. To me, the only starting pitcher to struggle in this series was Daniel Cabrera. Bedard was lights out, and Ponson pitched well enough to win by only giving up 4 runs. Sure, Lopez has struggled as of late, but I think he is mature enough to recover soon. I believe Sidney Ponson when he told the AP reporters this:
"It's only the first series. We're not going to dwell on it," said Sidney Ponson, who allowed four runs and seven hits in seven innings. "We're much better than last year. Let's wait and see. Things are going to turn around."
The Orioles lost the final game against the Kansas City Royals today. Rodrigo Lopez, the Orioles #1 starter, struggled early in the game and took the lose. After giving up 6 runs in the first 3 innings, the Orioles couldn't recover against the Royals relief pitchers.
Rodrigo Lopez lost control of the 2nd and 3rd inning after retiring the first 3 batters he faced in the 1st inning. In the 2nd inning, Lopez gave a free pass to Matt Stairs and was brought in off of a Diaz triple. The next batter grounded out, but Diaz scored. In the third inning, the major blows were done by 2 homers given up by Lopez. One of the homers was a single, and the other was a costly three run shot. Rodrigo Lopez got control of himself after the 3rd inning, and didn't allow another run in the next 4 inning. Steve Reed replaced Lopez in the 8th inning. He walked two batters in a row, one of which scored a run.
The Orioles did score 4 runs in the 4th inning, but they were held in check from that point on. The O's got the runs in to home from a couple of doubles, Bigbie and Newhan, and one triple by Jay Gibbons. The young relief pitchers of the KC Royals did their job after the 4th inning, and didn't allow the Orioles to get back into the game.
Notable: Miggy and Raffy were both hitless in this game. Miggy's hit streak ended on 10. The Orioles will be back for a home stand that starts tomarrow with interleague play against the Phillies. Daniel Cabrera (3-2, 4.93 ERA) will be taking the mound for the O's.
The Orioles are now guarenteed a series win with their defeat of the Kansas City Royals tonight. The Orioles had another offensive power flex his mucles as Melvin Mora hit 2 long balls in the 7-4 win. Bruce Chen won his 5 game of the season, and B.J. Ryan got his 12 save in 13 tries.
Bruce Chen had a pretty good outing tonight against the Royals with 8 strikeouts and 4 runs allowed. The bulk of the KC's runs came in the 2nd inning when Chen allowed three, but he didn't allow a long ball out of the stadium. Bruce Chen's 8 strikeouts equaled his season high, and shut the door on the Royals until the seventh inning when he allowed 1 more run. Todd Williams faced one batter in relief of Chen in the 7th inning, and he got him out with a ball that was deflected off of Williams. Todd Williams went down to the training facility between innings after being hit by a line drive. Luckily for the Orioles, the deflected ball went right to Rafeal Palmeiro to end the inning. Steve Kline came in the 8th and didn't allow a hit in the inning. B.J. Ryan shut the door in the 9th with his usual drama, for he walked the lead-off batter and allowed a 2 out single to put the Royals in scoring position. Ryan got a ground ball to B-Rob that ended the game.
The O's got most of their offense from one man, Melvin Mora, who accounted for 4 runs with a 3 run shot in the 3rd inning and a solo shot in the 6th. Mora is now hitting just under .300 for the year, and he now has 24 RBIs. Newhan also added is own homer in the 6th that scored himself and Brian Roberts. Javy Lopez also got an RBI in the 5th inning by hitting a double that barely scored Palmeiro. The offensive power of the Orioles is just amazing because it seems like every time the O's need someone to step up, one or more batter do. In both games against the Royals, the Orioles have trailed and eventually won because of big hits.
Notable: Miguel Tejada extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Raffy got 2 more hits tonight to extend his career hits to 2954.
Rafeal Palmeiro signed a one year contract this off-season so he could retire as an Oriole. He is chasing the 3000 hit/500 HR mark this season to solidify his entry into Cooperstown. The front office of the Orioles told Raffy that he would be splitting time as a first baseman and DH. Through all this, Raffy proved tonight why he a valuable asset to the O's organization.
Raffy went 4-5 tonight against the Kansas City Royals, the worst team in the majors, by hitting 3 singles and a solo long ball. In the 1st inning, Raffy hit a single to plate David Newhan and Melvin Mora which gave the O's a 2-0 lead. Over the next two innings, the Royals scored 8 runs and chased Sidney Ponson off the mound after 1.1 innings. Brian Robert shot a line drive homer in the 3rd inning to pull the O's within 5 runs. But it wasn't until Raffy got to the plate in the 4th inning that the O's broke out against KC's pitcher Jose Lima. Raffy hit his 4th long ball of the year to lead off the 4th. After another 8 batters and 4 runs, Raffy was up to the plate again with 2 outs when he hit a single into center to score Mora. The Rafeal Palmeiro hit put the Orioles up one run with a 9-8 lead. As if that were not enough, Palmeiro singled again in the 7th inning to plate the unofficial team captain, Miguel Tejada, to give the O's a 2 run lead at the time. Rafeal Palmeiro was clutch during this game by hitting in 5 runs, and he had his best game in an Orioles uniform over the last two years. Raffy raised his average from .222 to .246 with 15 RBIs. Great performance Raffy, what a sweet swing.
Rafeal did have some help from his fellow Orioles batters. Roberts hit his 11th homer of the year to lead the Orioles team. Jay Gibbons went 2-4 with his 6th homer, 1 single and 3 RBIs. Sal Fasano also went yard in his 5th at bat of the year. Fasano was pinch hitting for the thrown out B.J. Surhoff when he hit a solo shot. Sal Fasano's pinch hit homer was the first for the Orioles of the year from a pinch hitter.
The starting was a forgettable one for the O's, for Sidney Ponson lasted only 1.1 innings and surrendered 7 runs. The good thing is that he didn't give up a long ball, but he did allow the Royals to hit him around like a pinball machine. Thank goodness for the depth in the relief pitching. John Parrish replaced Ponson in the 2nd inning and gave up 3 walks, but he struck out 4 batters. Parrish did struggle with his location; however, he had not pitched in 15 days and was a little rusty. Parrish was then replaced by Steve Reed. Reed pitched a superb 2.1 innings and allowed only one hit. This was a great outing because of the struggles he has had since putting on an O's uniform. Reed was able to locate and keep his pitches down in the strike zone. Steve Kline took over for Reed in the 6th inning and allowed only one hit and walked one batter. Kline has also struggled at times, but he was very strong against one of the worse hitting clubs in the league. Jorge Julio replaced Kline in the 8th inning, and my heart stopped for the 1.2 innings. Julio was all over the place the whole time at the plate. It looked like the Royals were going to be able to score, but then the pitching master, Ray Miller, calmed Julio down to get a fly out. In the 9th inning with two outs, Julio walked a batter and gave up a single before Mazz pulled him out for the closer, B.J. Ryan. Ryan faced one batter to earn the save with a strikeout, and he got his 11th save of the season.
The O's continue their small winning streak by making it 3 in a row by riding Raffy and the bullpen to victory tonight. On Wednesday, the Orioles will have Bruce Chen (4-2, 3.38 ERA) against KC's pitcher D.J. Carrasco (0-0, 3.00 ERA).
According to CBS Sportsline, the Orioles are now ranked #3 in the league. The other two teams higher then the O's are the Chicago White Sox (1) and the St. Louis Cardinals (2). As everyone knows, the Orioles just finished a 4 game series with the White Sox and split the series. The O's go from facing the best team in baseball to playing the worst team in the MLB, Kansas City Royals. This should be an easy series if the Orioles can keep their heads in the game. Go O's.
The Orioles finished a 4 game series in Chicago against the White Sox earlier today. After being disappointed the first 2 games, the Orioles took the next two to even out the series. Todays game showed the White Sox how explosive the O's could be.
Both pitchers in the game, Eric Bedard of the O's and Jose Contreras of the WS, had some of their best stuff. Bedard didn't give up a run until the 7th inning, and Contreras only surrendered 2 runs until the same point in the game. The game looked as if it were going to be another pitchers duel in the the series. Then the 7th inning happened, and both teams combined for 5 runs. The only difference for Eric Bedard this game is that he actually had run support. In his last three starts, he has had none to speak of. Today, Eric didn't have to be perfect because the Orioles scored 5 runs in his 7 innings of work. Todd Williams came in relief during the 8 inning and didn't blow it this time. Williams was finally able to keep his sinker down in the strike zone today. B.J. Ryan finished the game for the O's in the 9th innning for a non-save situation. The O's manager said the following about Eric Bedard:
"Bedard was strong today and tremendous," Mazzilli said. "He was throwing strikes and getting his curveball over."
The offense was surprise today when 2 long balls came from an unlikely place. David Newhan and Sal Fasano both shot solo long balls in the game. They both earned their first homers of the season against one of the better pitching teams. Newhan added another RBI in the 7th with a sac fly. David Newhan has been a valuable utility man since last year. I was very happy this past off-season when the front office duo decided to keep him. For Fasano, this game was the first of the year. He was called up from Triple-A Ottawa on Wednesday to add some depth as a catcher. Todays homer was Fasano's first since 2001. Fasano added another RBI in the seventh as well by scoring Jay Gibbons, who doubled to lead off the inning. As an added note, Miggy added another RBI to his yearly total that is up to 38 and still leading the majors.
The two best teams in the AL squared off in this series, and they split it. When will ESPN finally give both teams some respect?
The O's continue their road trip on Tuesday when the visit KC.
The O's completed a three game series today against the Twins, and took 2 of 3 games from the supposed AL Central winners. The O's got good pitching for all three games, and one was blown. Some of the Orioles problems came from fielding errors and others came from the umpires.
In the first game, Daniel Cabrera had a career day by striking out 11 batters and shut out the potent offense through 8 innings of work. B.J. Ryan closed out the game for his 8th save of the season at the time. Miguel Tejada homered in the game and drove in 2 runs. But the real story was Daniel Cabrera. He was untouchable during the whole game. He allowed only 3 hits over his 8 inning of work. This is exactly the way the Orioles need to start a series to be competative this year. Ron Gardenhire and Michael Cuddyer told the AP News the following:
"That's nasty stuff. I'm glad I wasn't hitting," Gardenhire said. "Then, I would have been frustrated. I think our hitters were frustrated."
"You've got to tip your hat to the way he threw the ball tonight," Cuddyer said. "It was 99 mph with an 89 mph slider, and he was throwing strikes."
Well Daniel, I tip my hat to you as well. After starting the year struggling, you have shown the fans your true self.
The second game went just as well for the Orioles starter, Eric Bedard. He allowed only one earned run through 7 inning and again got little support from his defense and offense. Now to be truthful, it was not all the Orioles fault. The plate umpire did blow a lot of calls during the whole game. It started getting out of hand in the bottom of the 8th inning when Luis Matos was hit by a pitch that would have loaded the bases with no one out and the score tied. But the non-call, in which Matos got his finger broken, was called a foul tip on a bunt try. Geronimo Gil was called to pinch hit for the hurt Matos, and bunted badly to the pitcher. Jesse Crain of the Twins pitched out of the rest of the inning. The top of the 9th inning was no different when Todd Williams was called on a balk for a move the Jesse Crain did in the bottom 8th. The plate ump also made Williams strike out the same player twice when he missed a swinging strike out and called it a foul tip. Luckily for Williams, the Twins couldn't capitalize on the blown calls. It didn't stop there, for the plate ump called B.J. Surhoff out on obvious balls that magically turned into strikes. This whole innings worth of events changed the outcome of the game and was eventually won by the Twins in the 10th with back to back solo shots. Melvin Mora did make some costly mistakes during the game, but I have ranted enough about this game. Let’s move on...
The final game of the series showed the Orioles resolve when the faced the Twins Ace, Johan Santana. Ponson was pitching for the O's and gave up his typical 4 runs, but did hang on to pitch into the 8th inning to earn the win. But the real story is beating last years AL Cy Young winner. Well, he didn't get the lose, but the Orioles chased him of the mound and took advantage of the Twins bullpen. Santana's ERA was just over 2.00 coming in to face the O's, and the Orioles scored 4 runs 5 inning, Santana lasted 6 inning. Ponson kept it together after the 3rd inning when he gave up the 4 runs, and he allowed the O's batters to pick him up. The O's scored 3 runs in the 8th inning to help Sidney to a 5-1 record. B.J. Surhoff was the hero today by hitting a single down the first base line to score Miguel Tejada. The O's would score two more runs when all was over, but B.J. Ryan didn't really need them. After allowing a lead off double in the 9th, Ryan retired the next three batters to earn his 9th save.
Players of the series-All three pitchers. Sidney Ponson for not imploding on himself when times got hard. Daniel Cabrera for getting back to his dominate self that we saw in Spring Training. Eric Bedard for pitching one heck of game, even with getting a no decision.
The Oriole got their best start from 2nd year pitcher Eric Bedard and a clutch hit from the Sammy "The Strikeout King" Sosa yesterday to halt a losing skid. After only scoring 3 runs in 2 games, the Orioles scored 5 runs in the 8th yesterday.
Eric Bedard pitched his heart out yesterday and the best of his short career by limiting the Blue Jays to 1 run off of 4 hits. He struck out a career high 12 batters in 8 innings and earned the win yesterday. His stuff was so good that 5 batters were struck out looking. This outing was a testament to what Ray Miller is doing to the young staff of starting pitchers. He was just plainly awesome. Javy Lopez was quoted as saying the following to the Associated Press:
"Bedard was throwing amazing, and losing a game by one run again would have been hard for us," said Javy Lopez, who added a three-run homer after Sosa's hit. "The key of the game was Sammy Sosa hitting that double."
The Orioles batter finally awoke during the eighth inning with "Mr. Dependable", Brian Roberts, hitting a leadoff single to start the 8th. Melvin Mora flied out after a long struggle at the plate, and Miguel Tejada singled to move Roberts over to second. Sammy Sosa stepped to the plate to make something happen, which hasn't happened all year with men on, and doubled down the left foul line. Brian Roberts scored easily and Miguel Tejada followed after running through a stop signal, which he later apologized for. His reasoning was a true sign that he is the unofficial captain of the O's. He wanted Sosa to have the game winning hit, his first as an Oriole, to build his confidence. Javy Lopez added some more insurance runs later in the inning with a long ball to left field and scoring 3 more runs. The homer was Javy's 5th of the year.
The Orioles have yet to lose more than 2 games in a row. That is how teams have winning seasons my friends.
For the second straight day, the Orioles lose to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles pitching was not at fault, but it was the Orioles bats that faltered. The O's now have a losing record at home in Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Is it time to panic now?
The simple answer is...NO. O's fans, don't panic just yet. Even if the O's get swept by the Blue Jays tomorrow, they will still be in first place with a one game lead in the AL East. The Orioles had an 8 game winning streak come to halt against the Blue birds, but how long did you really expect them to continue that? No team has ever gone undefeated all season. There are no wheels falling off the winning bus yet. There is no reason to worry just yet. It is early in the season, true, but the Orioles do have a couple of things going for them thus far.
If you would have picked a reason why the Orioles would struggle for a series, pitching would be the answer. It has not been the case against Toronto the last couple of days. The Orioles have lost because the batters didn't produce. In the last two games, the Orioles have scored only three runs with the Jays scoring 7. The hot batters of late, Roberts and Tejada, cooled off a little, and no other players stepped up their game. The two pitchers that faced Toronto, Rodrigo Lopez and the struggling Daniel Cabrera, pitched great in both games by allowing only three runs between them. The most surprising aspect of the Orioles thus far this season is the starting pitching. There has been just a hand full of games that got out of control for the starters which is a testament to the pitching coach, Ray Miller. I see no reason why this would change during the season. I think it will only get better with more confidence from the starting pitchers.
As far as the hitting goes for the Orioles, every team will have games like this throughout the season. No one batter can stay on top of their game for the season. The Orioles' players will have to get over these games as fast as possible. That is what makes great teams. Not that they lose games, but that they recover quickly from losing. The same goes for the Orioles. If the Orioles can bounce back quickly like in April, they will have a chance to stay on top of the division in May. Don't worry O's fans, Miguel Tejada will right the ship and the Orioles will start winning again. And Maybe. Just Maybe. The Orioles will start making believers out of ESPN.
The O's have won three series in a row to continue their winning streak now up to eight. The Orioles have made 2 comebacks during this series with solid relief and clutch hitting. Actually, the Orioles have been doing that for the whole streak. It has been pretty amazing seeing the O's play lately, and today was no different.
Bruce Chen didn't start off the greatest way today when he gave up a run in the top of the 1st inning. The Orioles' batters had his back though, and they cameback in the botton of the 1st by scoring two runs thanks to Melvin Mora. Brian Roberts did his job by getting on base which allowed Mora hit a two run homer. Bruce Chen got some more help in the bottom of the second with help from Jay Gibbons and Brian Roberts. Gibbons tripled with one out, and Larry Bigbie couldn't get him home. With 2 outs, B-Rob hit a single to bring home Gibbons. Newhan singled to move over Roberts, and they both pulled off a double steal. Toby Hall threw to third for a pickoff of Roberts. To bad it was off line, Brian Roberts was able to score on the throwing error, making the score 4-1.
Gibbons added to the lead by homering in the 4th inning with a solo shot. Nick Green and Aubrey Huff of the Devil Rays hit back-to-back doubles to make it a three run game in the top of the 5th. O's lead 5-2. In the 6th inning, Bruce Chen faced his last batter when Toby Hall hit a solo shot to left field. Steve Kline came in relief after the Hall homer to shut the door on any other threat. Kline didn't allow a hit and walked one player, Nick Green, in one inning. Enter Mora and Tejada in the bottom of the 7th inning; both hit back-to-back homeruns to give the O's a 7-3 lead. Todd Williams relieved Steve Kline in the 8th, and he gave up his first run of the season to make the score 7-4. Williams did minimize the damage, and he didn't allow another run. B.J. Ryan came into the 9th inning looking for his 5th, and he got it by not allowing one baserunner and striking out 2.
On Monday, the O's will be trying to continue their streak against the team they started it on, the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays are coming to Camden Yards to face the red hot Orioles. Rodrigo Lopez (2-1, 3.98) will being going up against Gustavo Chacin (4-1, 2.48).
Player of the Series: Brian Roberts-three run homer to win Saturday, 6 hits, 4 RBIs, 1 HR, 3 stolen bases, and 2 base on balls
After a day of rain, the Orioles and Devil Rays played the second game of a three game series. Miguel Tejada was one RBI behind Mike Bordick's April RBI record of 29 set in 2000. The Orioles were also looking to stretch their winning streak to 7 games in a row going into this game.
The Orioles were down early because Sidney Ponson didn't pitch well the first couple of innings. By scoring 1 run in the first inning and 3 runs in the second inning, the Devil Rays were up 4-0 in the game. LET THE COMEBACK BEGIN. Miguel Tejada tied the Orioles club record in the third inning with a RBI single to score Chris Gomez; O's down 4-1. In the 4th inning, the token left handed batter, B.J. Surhoff, homered over the right field scoreboard; O's down 4-2. Fast forward to the 7th inning with Melvin Mora standing on 1st base and Tejada at the plate. Could he pass Mike Bordick? With Tejada even at 2-2 in the pitch count, Miguel Tejada hits a long fly ball and it is gone. Tejada passes Bordick for the Club Record in RBI's with 31 in the month of April. After the seventh inning, the game was tied up at 4-4.
The O's were looking for a hero; enter Brian Roberts. Luis Matos started off the 8th inning with a single. Rafael Palmeiro was then intentionally walked, and Geronimo Gil flied out. Brian Roberts steps into the batters box looking for an RBI, and he got 3 with a high homerun over the right field scoreboard. He told an AP reporter:
"I don't have an answer anymore. I've run out of stupid one-liners," Roberts said when asked about his power numbers.
B-Rob has simply been clutch in every aspect of the game. If the O's need a spark, he is there. If the O's need a man on base, he is there. If the O's need a baserunner in scoring position, he steals it. If the O's need a homer, he lauches it. Does anyone remember that other second baseman who was traded.
The O's won the game 7-5 by giving up one run in the next 7 innings. A Devil Ray, Jonny Gomes, hit a solo homer against B.J. Ryan in the nineth inning. To little, to late for the Devil Rays. Ponson finally found some control after the 2 inning and lasted till the seventh inning. Steve Kline, Todd Williams and B.J. Ryan came in relief, Ryan for a save, and kept the game out of reach for the O's. What a great team effort. Bruce Chen will be on the hill for the O's in the series finale, and he will be looking to sweep the Devil Rays.
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 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 mis