The Bad Oriole

The never-ending agony of the Baltimore sports fan

2012-01-25T12:18:00.002-05:00

Well, here we are again.

Another January and another devastating Ravens playoff loss.

This one hurts.

Maybe not as much as last year’s loss to the Steelers or the loss to the Colts in January 2007, but this still hurts, none the less.

Victory was in hand, for at least a split second, before Sterling Moore made a flukey motion for the ball and knocked it out of the hands of Lee Evans.

Despite that drop, we always had a field goal kick in our back pocket to force the game into overtime. But even that wasn’t in the cards, as Billy Cundiff raced out onto the field after being confused, distracted, whatever, and shanked it.

Not only did Ravens fans have to suffer through another playoff loss, they ran the gamut of emotions -- from victory, to the relief that we can still tie the game, to losing the game. All within twenty seconds.

And that’s why being a Ravens fan is so hard. They play with your soul like Chris Farley played with that biscuit in Tommy Boy. I had prepared myself for the realistic outcome of a loss to avoid the devastating feeling that always accompanies a playoff loss. After all, going to New England and beating Tom Brady and Bill Belichick is a daunting task.

But as the game progressed and the possibility of winning became greater as each minute ticked off the clock, and Joe Flacco drove the offense down the field in the last minute of the game, I knew that any preparation I’d made to deal with a loss was out of the window.

We.

Were.

So.

Close.

So what’s left now is the thought of what could have been and the image of what actually happened. A crushing contrast.

And that, in a nutshell, is what being a Baltimore sports fan is all about. What exists in our minds compared to a sobering reality. What splendid agony.

Outside of the “it happened too fast” Super Bowl that the Ravens won in 2000, Baltimore sports fans have known mostly nothing but misery over the last 30 years.

From the Colts leaving town for Indianapolis – from the Orioles losing 21 straight games to start the 1988 season – from Jeffrey F*cking Maier – from the O’s racking up 14 losing seasons in a row after 1997 – from tragic Maryland losses to Duke basketball – and finally from the stinging playoff defeats that have mounted for the Ravens since 2001.

Compare that to the fortune that Boston has experienced in the last ten years. Each of their four sports teams has won at least one championship in that time. The Red Sox and Patriots have five titles between them, and the Patriots will be going for another in two weeks.

That is where the torture exists for Ravens fans in that loss. We wanted that feeling so bad. With the Orioles continuing to wallow in the annals of the American League, we have no choice but to put all our eggs into the Ravens basket. But no. Boston fans are celebrating another championship game appearance a mere seven months after the Bruins won the Stanley Cup.

I know Baltimore has a long way to go to equal the epic misery of Cleveland sports fans. But we’re getting close. And I know that doesn’t offer fans any consolation, but at least we can embrace our tragic sports heritage instead of dreading it.

What the hell else are we gonna do?

Festivus 2011

2012-01-04T14:26:00.002-05:00

It's been a while, but the Bad Oriole is back.

Luckily, I've been able to do some professional writing for the Frederick Gorilla magazine, which has taken up a lot of my time these last few months. So I'm sorry if I've left you tweaking without a Bad Oriole fix these last two months. I'll try not to let that happen again.

Well, a lot has happened in these last two months, no? Where to begin?

For starters, 2011 came to an end. I don't know about you, but 2011 was a great year for me. I got to do some writing for the Gorilla magazine, traveled to Portugal and San Francisco/Napa Valley and cheered for the Ravens as they finished the 2011 season with a 12-4 record and a first round bye.

In fact, one of my last posts was about "Steeler Week" before the Ravens traveled to Pittsburgh and beat the Steelers in an amazing come-from-behind victory that was Joe Flacco's finest moment as QB of the Ravens. But it doesn't look like we're finished with the Steelers just yet, since the paths of these two teams are destined to cross at some point this postseason.

As for the Ravens this postseason, the sky's the limit. When the defense is playing well, they're as good as any team in the NFL. You only need to look back to the ass-whipping the Ravens put on the 49ers on Thanksgiving night for proof of that. But when the defense doesn't play well, and the Chargers game was proof of that, the Ravens look like a team that doesn't belong in the playoffs. Thankfully, the only high-powered offensive AFC team that made the playoffs is the Patriots and they'll be tough to beat, especially in New England.

Offensively, the Ravens look to have committed to the run again, which is where the strength on offense lies. It seems as if Cam Cameron needs to be reminded about four times each season that the running game is still this team's strength and that the Ravens aren't ready to become the Packers, Saints or Patriots just yet. Ray Rice is in the prime of his career and playing for a contract so you might as well ride that horse for as long as you can.

It looks like the Ravens could have gotten a break with the #2 seed since the Texans are likely to beat the Bengals and then come to Baltimore in round 2. But I don't want to get ahead of myself. The Bengals are a good young team and are capable of beating the Texans in Houston, only losing by one point in a game played there earlier this year, and a Bengals win would make things very interesting for the Ravens, likely sending the Steelers to Baltimore in round 2 if Pittsburgh can beat the 8-8 Broncos this weekend.

Moving on. The Orioles. Remember them? Yeah, they're still a Major League Baseball team believe it or not (they even have their own website), and one of my other last posts was about who they'd pick as their new GM following Andy MacPhail's exit from the warehouse. Well, after they were whored by just about every solid GM candidate in baseball, they settled on Dan Duquette, formerly of the Expos and Red Sox. Duquette had been away from MLB baseball for a decade. So Duquette and the Orioles were actually a match made in heaven since you can say the Orioles have been out of MLB baseball for just as long, and even longer.

So far, Duquette has done some good things, like shaking up the front office staff and replacing them with some of the most experienced people in the game in Lee Thomas and Fred Ferreira. Their age may be a concern for some, since the Orioles rarely ever hire young front office personnel in key positions, but Lee's and Ferriera's track record speak for themselves.

Duquette's roster moves have been pretty bland, reeking of depth moves (Dana Eveland, Matt Antonelli, Taylor Teagarden, Jai Miller) but he did many things that MacPhail always talked about but never actually did, like creating a presence in the international market and streamlining the development program in the minors. Then again, who knows....maybe I am just being to high on Duquette because his initials are DD, the best bra size there is.

Speaking of DD's, Christina Hendricks was in Drive, the best movie I saw in 2011, although I will admit it's been a crappy year for movies. However, Drive would rank high on my list for the last few years. It's that good.

Game of Thrones and American Horror Story ruled the TV airwaves. Justified starts back up in a few weeks.

If you ever can get to Portugal, please do. It's cheaper than most European destinations and just as beautiful. The city of Porto is Europe's hidden gem and replete with port distilleries which are reason enough to fly 7 hours to Lisbon and hop on a train for 4 hours, which is what my wife and I did when we first arrived. We then trained it to Lagos, on the southern coast, and then Lisbon.

A visit to San Francisco forced me to question my recent liberal leanings as much as it reinforced them. SF's mass transit system is on par with New York -- and you read that right. The arts and culture there is top notch. The homelessness -- and the attitudes of the homelessness -- and added taxes to support the homelessness were sickening.

As a Virginia wine fan, it was assuring to find out that many Napa area wines are inferior, especially the mass produced ones which can be harkened to the Budweiser of wines. However, the small batch wineries, usually located up in the mountains, blow VA wines out of the water. But it was interesting to learn first hand that not all Napa wines are the end all be all of wine.

Anyway, I'm working on another world city tour entry....and I'll try not to leave you for so long again.

Promise!

Here we go again...

2011-11-02T09:50:00.002-04:00

The Orioles made an offer to GM candidate Tony LaCava yesterday following his second interview with the team on Monday. Word was that LaCava left the interview "impressed", saying that he'd "take the job if it was offered to him". LaCava had been rumored to be the Orioles top choice since the search for a new GM to replace Andy MacPhail began in mid-October.

But yesterday LaCava turned down the Orioles offer, deciding to stay at his current assistant GM position with the Blue Jays.

Tony Pente, who runs the Orioles Hangout website and message board, wrote an article that appeared last night (the website has been down so far today) mentioning that an inside source said Angelos informed LaCava that he would not have complete control over who in the organization he could keep or let go, meaning both players and personnel. Reading between the lines, it's Buck Showalter who will have that control, especially on the player side. And since Andy MacPhail was not allowed to fire Dave Stockstill shortly after MacPhail was hired, you can bet your sweet ass that Angelos would have the ultimate say on who can stay and who can go on the personnel side.

It comes as absolutely no surprise that Angelos is still making outrageous demands as owner of the Orioles. You know that saying about old dogs not learning new tricks? Angelos is 82 and won't be making any drastic changes as owner at his age. He continues to mismanage the Orioles, like he always has, by interfering at inopportune times and being vacant at other times when decisions are needed to be made swiftly. He's also butchered the GM hiring process by ultimately having Buck Showalter and Matt Klentak hire their boss. What GM candidate worth their salt is going to work in that kind of situation? LaCava made the right choice. I expect him to be hired as a GM elsewhere after the 2012 season.

Meanwhile, the Orioles are down to two candidates: DeJon Watson from the Dodgers and John Stockstill from...you guessed it, the Orioles.

Word is Watson is Showalter's favorite, but who knows if Watson will sign up for a job in which his freedoms will be severely limited by Angelos and Showalter. Chances are it will Stockstill, which would be par for the course. Stockstill, who has been with the organization for five years as director of player development, already knows the workings of this organization. He's also done absolutely nothing to earn the job. The player development in the organization is terrible and has been for years. The Stockstill brothers have also been pets of Angelos' for years, which is why Angelos refused MacPhail on firing Dave Stockstill.

Oh, and all of this chaos is taking place just two days before free agency starts.

It's nothing new, 0's fans. Just another reminder that nothing will change as long as Angelos is the owner and getting in the way.

Angelos might as well save his money and just let Showalter, Stockstill and Klentak call the shots. They will be anyway, no matter who becomes the next GM.

It's Steeler Week

2011-11-02T09:18:00.004-04:00

Going back to week 1, when the Ravens routed the Steelers 35-7, Ravens fans felt as if they'd already clinched an appearance in the Super Bowl. I can't lie, it felt good. Damn good. The Ravens had just gotten revenge on the Steelers following a heartbreaking playoff loss in Pittsburgh, where the Ravens led at halftime, 21-7.

But the feelings following that big opening day win have slowly tapered off. The Ravens failed to show up in the following game at Tennessee, losing to the Titans, 23-10. And outside of a blowout of the Rams in St. Louis, the Ravens are 1-2 on the road and their offense has been inconsistent regardless of where the games have been played, culminating in an embarrassing performance on Monday Night Football in a 12-7 loss to the Jaguars in Jacksonville a little over a week ago.

The following week, the Ravens needed to mount the biggest come-from-behind win in franchise history to beat the 1-6 Cardinals in Baltimore. Now they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the 6-2 Steelers on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, the Steelers haven't looked back following their last loss to the Texans in Houston in week 4, and are playing their best football, coming off of a big home win over the Patriots. Ben Roethlisberger, who started the season slowly, has thrown 11 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in his last 4 games. And the Steelers defense, while still flawed, is playing better than they were at the start of the season.

The Ravens are once again a team searching for an identity on offense. Cam Cameron's play calling fails to put players into positions for success. All Pro RB, Ray Rice, isn't used like he should be and outside of a big game against his former team last week, Anquan Boldin has been a non-factor in the passing game. And Flacco, who has gone on the record saying he wants to lead a pass-first offense, has been erratic in the pocket, completing a career-worst 53% of his passes and failing to produce a QB Rating above 78 in his last 4 games, throwing 4 interceptions to just 1 touchdown in that time frame.

However, in the second half of the comeback win over the Cardinals, the Ravens stumbled into an offensive game plan that actually worked. Down 21 points late in the first half, Cameron had Flacco lining up in a shotgun hurry-up offense. It is the same kind of offense Flacco led at Delaware, where he excelled. Many fans, frustrated with Cameron's conservative offensive play calling, which included short out routes and crossing patterns, resulting in minimal receiver separation, wondered why Flacco rarely lined up in the shotgun offense he ran so effectively in college. And after watching Flacco get into a grove for the remainder of the game, hopefully Cameron employs the offense against the Steelers, who may be missing LB's James Harrison and Lamarr Woodley and whose secondary the Ravens exposed in week 1.

But the Ravens cannot expect to call the same week 1 plays against the Steelers this Sunday and produce the same results. You can bet your bottom dollar that the Steelers will have memorized the week 1 game film and will be fired up to seek revenge on the team that embarrassed them to the tune of 7 turnovers. Head coach Mike Tomlin is a great coach and I'm sure he'll be in the players' ears all week, reminding them of the week 1 rout. This game was circled in the Steelers locker room as soon as the last second expired from the game clock in week 1.

So I don't have high hopes for this game. I don't believe Cameron will be able to put together a game plan that will take advantage of the Steelers weaknesses on defense while at the same time putting our offensive players in the best position to win. Cameron is notorious for being stubborn, case in point his failure to adjust in the Jacksonville loss where he only ran Ray Rice 8 times in a game the Ravens never trailed by more than 9 points.

It's the simple case of two teams passing each other on opposite directions. The Steelers are back to playing at their usual high-level, while the Ravens are once again struggling offensively. I expect a close game, much like many of the Ravens/Steelers contests of recent memory, one where the game comes down to a play being made, or not being made, late in the game.

It pains me to say it, but I see the Steelers taking this game to the tune of 20-13.

I hope I'm wrong.

Me & My Friends in JAX

2011-10-26T15:09:00.002-04:00

Hoping that the unorthadox can work

2011-10-10T12:11:00.003-04:00

With Andy MacPhail officially no longer the Orioles GM, and Buck Showalter staying in the dugout, a new GM will need to be hired. And the sooner the better since the postseason will be complete in a little over two weeks. To say the Orioles have a lot of work to do this offseason is an understatement.

But the question of who will hire this new GM is tricky. One would hope that it is Buck Showalter who is involved in the process, and that he hires the best candidate based on their vision and determination to put a winning team on the field. Peter Angelos is proved time and time again that he cannot make the important decisions that result in the Orioles improving their record. He hires "yes men". And in Andy MacPhail, Angelos hired a GM who was not going to spend a lot of money on free agents, international signings or draft picks.

But therein lies the rub. If you look at a baseball front office as a hierarchy, and you should, since that is how they usually exist, the GM is the second most powerful person in the front office. So why would Showalter, a manager, be involved in the decision to hire his boss?

I believe that a GM and a manager should be equals in most ways, the same way an accounting manager and a sales manager would be viewed as equals in a company. They represent two different departments. But baseball is baseball and the Orioles are the Orioles, and GM's are the ones who make most of the decisions about baseball operations -- including who the manager should be.

So why would a GM want to come to Baltimore when he is hired by one of his subordinates? Why would a GM want to come to Baltimore where he's forced to keep Showalter on as manager? Why would a GM want to come to Baltimore when the word on the street is that Showalter is Angelos' favorite and have to contend with that preexisting relationship?

These are the confusing and cumbersome situations that have been created time and time against under Angelos. In the past, he's muddied the chain of command, hiring several people to do a similar job, which has only resulted in backstabbing and general chaos in the front office. At least under MacPhail, there was one person who was the lightning rod for the organization. MacPhail had his flaws, no doubt, but at least the Orioles appeared to be a little more well run while he was the GM. Especially when it came to trades. MacPhail was able to pull the trigger quickly, whereas previous GM's had to get Angelos' approval, which could take days, killing most deals.

But as the Orioles start to interview GM candidates, we're left to hope that the unorthodox process of a manager hiring a GM can work. Because from a fan's perspective, Peter Angelos is the last person who should be hiring people.

And that's what Orioles fans are left with -- hoping against hope that something positive can still come out of an Orioles organization that still has Peter Angelos as its owner.

Ravens shoot down Jets, 34-17

2011-10-04T14:34:00.002-04:00

It wasn’t pretty, but the Ravens trampled over the Jets last Sunday night to the tune of 34-17. It was a game marked by defensive touchdowns for both teams, with both QB’s turning in similar crappy performances.

Joe Flacco turned in one of the worst statistical performances of his career, going 10-32 for 168 yards and an interception. Similarly, Mark Sanchez went 11-35 with 119 yards and an interception.

Thankfully, the Ravens defense rose to the occasion, holding the Jets to 150 total yards, forcing four turnovers and scoring three defensive touchdowns.

However, it’s a win that doesn’t sit well with fans. The Ravens had 267 yards of total offense. Flacco played poorly. And the offensive play calling was suspect with the Ravens holding such a big lead.

But you know what? You have to take these kinds of wins. An offense, no matter how good it may be, is going to have off days. And the Jets have a stout defense. Granted, the Ravens need to take the bye week to figure out their offensive game plan for the rest of the season, but they found a way to win a game in which the offense wasn’t clicking, and still managed to win big.

And when the Ravens saw that the passing game just wasn’t there, they pulled a 180 and started running the ball down the throat of the Jets defense. That’s called an “adjustment”, folks. Even though it was such a drastic adjustment, how many times have we seen the Ravens stick with something even though it’s painfully obvious that it’s not working? Ravens fans need to look no further than the Lions/Cowboys game this past weekend to see why teams should commit to the run when they take a big lead. Throwing interceptions and giving a team life in a blowout is a colossal mistake.

The Ravens have an elite defense still capable of taking over games. And when that happens, the offense just needs to control the clock and protect the ball, much like what the Ravens did in the second half. If you have Ravens players on your fantasy team, too bad.

I guess that’s just the era of the NFL that we live in. Lots of scoring. And as much as we may wish the Ravens can become the next high-powered offense, they don’t necessarily need to be, especially on a night where the defense is bringing the pain. Yes, the Ravens need to get better on offense. Yes, they need to find an identity. There’s no arguing that.

The Ravens just trounced the Jets 34-17, folks. We embarrassed those loudmouth players, coaches and fans.

Enjoy it.

2011: Another great finish, but an overall disaster, Part I

2011-09-30T10:24:00.002-04:00

The Orioles celebrate their win over the Red Sox, which eliminated Boston from the postseason. But the 2011 season was nothing to celebrate.

A night removed from what many are calling the best day of MLB baseball, ever, which featured the Orioles knocking the Red Sox out of the wild card in dramatic fashion, I’m looking back at the entire 2011 season and being reminded of one of the most brilliant masterpieces in the history of cinema.

I am of course talking about the 1987 film, Predator.

In that film, a team of commandos gets picked off one by one in the Central American jungle by an alien who can turn himself invisible. In the end, Dutch, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, goes toe-to-toe with the beast and eventually forces it to commit suicide. After the dust has settled, Dutch is rescued and a somber trumpet plays on the soundtrack. Ducth is alive, but all the members of his team are dead. It was a pyrrhic victory.

And in many ways, the O’s win over the Red Sox on Wednesday night was also pyrrhic, in that they finished their sixth consecutive season with at least 90 losses and fourteenth overall losing season. Yes, they went 15-13 in September. And yes, they stopped the Red Sox from advancing to the postseason, but like Arnold in Predator, they gained nothing.

It was a great night of baseball, however, and the lone accomplishment of the night was that the Orioles played a major part in it and will likely go down as a major villain in Red Sox lore. But now that the night is over, it’s time to look ahead to the future, and the changes that will spread the magic of Wednesday night across an entire 162-game season.

The first step, of course, is finding out what’s going to happen with Andy MacPhail and Buck Showalter. Word is that MacPhail, whose contract ends this year, will not return as GM and most people think that Showalter will move into the front office and take over the GM role while someone like Willie Randolph becomes the new manager or the Orioles hire someone from outside the organization.

Last month reports stated that MacPhail and Angelos were “fed up with one another”, so unless a major bridge-building effort has taken place between the two men since then, I doubt that MacPhail will be back as GM. There is the possibility that he takes another role within the organization, an Angelos specialty, who rarely makes clean breaks with people he’s hired. Personally, I think MacPhail shouldn’t be involved with the Orioles moving forward, but if he’s kept on as a “Trade Adviser”, I wouldn’t complain, since trades were the one area that MacPhail was excellent.

Meanwhile, Showalter as GM creates some interesting possibilities, both positive and negative. Apparently, Showalter is currently Angelos’ favorite pet, which may have come at the expense of MacPhail. It was, after all, Angelos who wanted to hire Showalter, with MacPhail wanting to hire Eric Wedge. So with Showalter as GM, he will at least have total control over the organization – at least for the time being. We all know that MacPhail apparently had total control when he was first hired too, but somewhere along the way, Angelos soured on MacPhail, which lead us to where we are now.

On the other hand, Showalter has no GM experience, and while his connections through baseball are no doubt solid due to his past managerial experience and time spent on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, one has to wonder if he is familiar with many of the other GM’s in baseball, with whom he will have to deal with while making trades and other moves required of a GM.

I’d say that Showalter as GM is probably the best move for the Orioles under the circumstances of Angelos being a finicky owner who grows tired of people at the drop of a hat. Showalter currently has his respect, and any outside GM candidate wouldn’t. Then there is the whole superiority problem that would exist if another GM is hired. Who works for whom? The Orioles might as well ride the wave of Angelos’ respect for Showalter and hope that he is able to turn the franchise around before the expiration date on Showalter arrives.

Outside of the GM position, changeover should occur in the front office on down to minor league coaches and scouts. The Orioles are in desperate need of a house cleaning and even MacPhail in his honeymoon phase with Angelos was unable to make these moves, as evidenced by the blocked firing of John Stockstill by Angelos. Stockstill was reassigned to Director of International Scouting. So it’s unclear whether Buck will have the authority to make these kinds of moves on his own.

It’s also unclear what approach Showalter would take to turning the franchise around. Showalter has always been a manager who prefers veteran players to unproven prospects, so if he becomes the GM, look for the Orioles to be busy in the free agent market this offseason, and potentially trade a young player or two for a more proven commodity. Hopefully, however, the veteran approach doesn’t come at the expense of the minor league system, which is in desperate need of improvement. The Orioles have an awful track record at developing players, and there doesn’t seem to be a streamlined approach to bringing players through the system. Showalter needs to implement a single philosophy to player development as well as hiring in the best coaches and scouts that money can buy.

To his credit, Showalter has a solid track record with his previous teams. Both the Yankees and Diamondbacks won the World Series a year after Showalter left, and in Texas, he took the Rangers to a winning record in his second season. All of this came as manager of those teams, so who knows if he’d be able to do similar things as GM.

No matter what happens, decisions should be made quickly. The Baltimore Sun reported that Angelos, MacPhail and Showalter met yesterday afternoon so an announcement on the front office could come as early as today. The Orioles have a lot of work to do this offseason, so there is no time to waste. And they might as well take advantage of the buzz they created on Wednesday night and force fans to take notice of the moves they make this offseason to gain momentum going into 2012.

The age-old question still remains, however. Can the Orioles win with Angelos as the owner? We have fourteen years of proof saying they can’t. But maybe, just maybe, Showalter can be the one who changes all that.

Spoiler Alert!

2011-09-28T15:17:00.001-04:00

In case you haven’t heard, the Orioles have the chance to knock the Boston Red Sox out of playoff contention tonight. Most Oriole fans, for lack of important games in September, are treating this as if it’s a playoff game. And while the game probably is more important than any other game they’ve played this late in the season in the last ten years, let’s not go overboard here. If the Orioles win, they don’t move onto the “next round”, unless that “next round” is a round of golf. No, the only thing at stake is a chance to twist the dagger into the backs of the Red Sox nation. Misery loves company, after all.

Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to see the O’s knock the Red Sox out of the wild card. This was the same Red Sox team that the Boston media was predicting could be “the best team ever” back in April after the Red Sox had signed Carl Crawford to a 7-year deal that will pay him $20 million for the next 6 years in addition to the $14 million they gave him this year to post the lowest OPS (.694) since 2003. They also traded for Padres 1B slugger, Adrian Gonzalez, who unlike Crawford, has had an excellent season. And don’t even get me started on Red Sox fans.

But while others are ready to treat this as a real playoff game, I can’t buy in completely. The Orioles are headed for their 6th consecutive losing season of 90 or more losses. The future is as muddled as a puddle, now that GM Andy MacPhail is not coming back and word on the street is that a career manager, Buck Showalter, is about to become the GM. Whether that’s good or bad remains to be seen. But last time I checked, Peter Angelos is still the owner, so any moves they make this offseason are moot in my eyes as long as Angelos still owns the team. Professional sports organizations, like dead fish, rot from the head on down.

Back to tonight’s game. Jon Lester, he of a 14-0 career record against the Orioles, takes the mound tonight for the Red Sox. He’s pitching on 3 days rest, and the last time he did that, he was shelled. I’d love for his first loss to the O’s also be the game that keeps them from advancing to the playoffs.

So can the O’s do it? Can they play spoiler to the Red Sox? Can the Rays cap off a sweep of the Yankees tonight to win the wild card?

I will be watching tonight. There’s no denying that. I just can’t get too excited about it. I prefer my playoff games to actually have something at stake other than spite.

Ravens ram the Rams 37-7

2011-09-28T14:41:00.004-04:00

The Ravens took out their frustrations on the Rams after losing to the Titans a week ago, winning 37-7.

It was a game the Ravens needed to take control of early after looking so flat against Tennessee, and thankfully the opponent was the lowly Rams who are 0-3 so far in 2011. Joe Flacco, frustrated after Cam Cameron’s play-calling in Tennessee, took over more control of the offense, resulting in what was a career day for the fourth-year QB. Flacco threw 48 times, compared to just 26 rushes and the Ravens never looked back after taking a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.

Rookie WR Torrey Smith caught 3 touchdowns in his first 3 NFL receptions, totaling 158 receiving yards and QB Joe Flacco threw for 389 yards in addition to those 3 touchdowns to Smith. With Lee Evans out nursing a leg injury, rookie WR’s Smith, Tandon Doss and LaQuan Williams needed to step up, and Smith answered the call in a big way.

Defensively, the Ravens punished second-year QB Sam Bradford and the Rams offense, holding them to just 244 total yards. Bradford was picked off once and fumbled, which resulted in a defensive touchdown.

So now that Flacco has more control in the offense, how will the Ravens fare moving forward? They face a test in the New York Jets this Sunday night at home, in a game that should test their new high-powered offense against a stout defense, including the complex blitz-schemes of Rex Ryan. The Jets are licking their wounds after getting beaten soundly by the Raiders, and are 2-1 on the young season.

Last year, the Ravens dominated the Jets in the opening game of the season, despite the deceiving 10-9 score. The Ravens held the Jets to just 176 yards of total offense while the Ravens racked up 282 yards. The Ravens also turned the ball over 3 times in that game, so as long as the Ravens protect the ball this Sunday, they should come out with a win and head into the bye at 3-1.

The biggest difference, this time around, is that the Jets have Raven-killer Santonio Holmes, who was serving a suspension to begin the 2010 season.

The downfall of Brian Matusz

2011-09-20T09:35:00.004-04:00

What have I done to deserve this???

Brian Matusz was given one last chance to end his disastrous 2011 season on a high note, despite the fact that pitching in Fenway Park is not the best environment to nurture success. Matusz's performance last night was to be expected from a pitcher whose struggles are well known by now, as he was unable to get out of the second inning, ending with a line of 1.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB and 0 K.

His 2011 stats look even worse: 1-8 W-L, 10.68 ERA, 44.2 IP, 2.13 WHIP, 16 HR. I don't have the record books close by but I think I recall hearing that Matusz's 2011 season will go down as the worst pitching season of all time for a pitcher with at least 44 IP.

During spring training, Buck Showalter and Mark Connor made it a point to get the O's pitchers faster to the plate to cut down on steals. This caused a large ripple effect throughout the pitching staff this year, causing many pitchers (Matusz, Bergesen, Gregg and Gonzalez) to struggle because of it. Shortly after, Matusz injured his back and missed a majority of the season. A coincidence? We may never know. Just like we may never really know what caused Connor to quit, but I think it's pretty obvious that the Orioles pitchers were not happy with what they were being instructed to do and Connor didn't want any more of it.

Meanwhile, Matusz could be ruined for good. All because they wanted to get a fraction of a second faster to the plate.

What was it that Jim Palmer has always said? The best way to cut down on steals is keep runners off the bases. Words to live by. And Matusz was doing just that. In his last 11 starts of 2010, he finished with WHIP just under 1.00 to go with a 7-1 record and a 2.17 ERA. If anyone deserved immunity from Buck and Connor's change in delivery, it was Matusz.

Brian Matusz's downfall could very well be Buck's legacy in Baltimore...messing up Matusz to the point where he has to go sell insurance to make a living. The shame of it is many scouts said that Brian Matusz was major-league ready on the day he was drafted 4th overall in 2008. The Orioles could have drafted Matusz and not said a word to him and he'd probably be better off for it. I severely doubt that Buck is going to do anything substantial with the Orioles, regardless of the position he's in next year, whether it be GM, manager or some other fancy title. He could have very well destroyed one of the best pitching prospects the Orioles have had in a very long time.

I know Matusz will go back to the minors and work hard to get back to where he was in 2010. Throughout this nightmare of the season, Brian has owned everything this year, accepting blame and saying that he wasn't mentally prepared for this season, which, in my opinion, is a diplomatic way of saying, "I wasn't ready to come into spring training after finishing the 2010 season with a 7-1 record and have my wind-up fucked with".

But Matusz may never make it back. The damage may have been done, and it could very well be irreversible.

Thanks, Buck.I hope you're happy with yourself.

Role Reversal: Ravens lose to Titans, 26-13

2011-09-19T14:21:00.001-04:00

Just a week after they dominated the Steelers in every facet of the game, the Titans (yes, the Titans) did the same to the Ravens in a humbling 26-13 loss.

In a game where the Ravens did little right, they were also outcoached by a coaching staff making their second NFL start. Remember that adage about John Harbaugh not losing to teams with losing records? Well you can throw that out of the window. Especially during week 2, the same week the Ravens dropped a game in Cincinnati.

The Titans (1-1) weren’t on many playoff prediction lists, but they played like defending Super Bowl champions yesterday, taking away the Ravens ground game and putting ample pressure on Joe Flacco all day. All this coming from a team that lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 1 – a team that could contend for the worst record in the NFL when it’s all said and done.

Flacco turned in a stinker of a game, completing just 15 of 32 for 197 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT. His two picks were awful, especially the first one, where he threw the ball right at the numbers of waiting defender. However, receivers were rarely open and Flacco didn’t have much time for check-downs as the pocket collapsed quickly the entire game. It was the kind of game you’d hoped that Flacco had put past him on his way to becoming an elite QB in this league. But yesterday was another painful reminder that he still has a long way to go to reach that elite level.

Ray Rice managed just 43 yards rushing on 14 carries, but did haul in the only Ravens TD of the game on a screen pass he took 31 yards for a touchdown. He wasn’t used enough in the passing game where screens would have taken away the impact of the Titan’s pass rush. Ricky Williams carried the ball only 4 times for 2 yards and a fumble.

The receivers also had a poor game. Anquan Boldin had 46 yards on 3 catches. Lee Evans had 2 catches, one of them for 32 yards and hopefully a sign of things to come once he gets completely healthy. Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta had 49 total yards while failing to have the impact they had against Pittsburgh a week before. Torrey Smith failed to make a catch despite being the Ravens #3 WR. He needs to step up and become a part of this offense, and fast.

On defense, the Ravens didn’t fare any better, failing to pressure Matt Hasselbeck enough. He picked apart the Ravens defense for 358 yards. They did contain Chris Johnson on the ground, which wasn’t very hard since he’s not in game shape just yet. Kenny Britt absolutely scorched a weak Ravens secondary for 135 yards and a TD. Nate Washington also hauled in 7 passes for 99 yards.

All in all, it’s a game the Ravens want to forget, and move on. The Titans clearly treated the game the same way the Ravens treated week 1, wanting to play a physical game against a team that expected to show up and win. Hopefully the Ravens learned a valuable lesson, and can come out a better team for it.

The Ravens travel to St. Louis next week to take on the Rams, who will be coming off a short week.

Ravens dismantle Steelers

2011-09-11T22:51:00.000-04:00

That hurts! Jarret Johnson goes after Ben Roethlisberger, who threw 3 interceptions on the day.

On a day where football fans tried to keep things in perspective, being the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2011, it was tough to bottle up the emotions and relief that came along with a 35-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Baltimore.

The Ravens hadn't beaten a Ben Roethlisberger-led team since 2006, and since Joe Flacco had been in the league, he'd previously been winless against Roethlisberger in head-to-head match ups. The subject had been the topic of many criticisms against Flacco. But he shed that criticism in a big way, throwing for 224 yards and 3 TD's in the win. In fact, shedding criticism became the theme for the day for the Ravens.

Flacco a slow starter?
He throws for a touchdown on the third play of the game.

Can't run on the Steelers defense?
Ray Rice rushes for 107 yards and a score, and the Ravens rush for 170 total yards.

Can't finish off the Steelers?
The Ravens forced 7 turnovers (a Steelers record) and put the game away in the 3rd quarter.

Will the Ravens be OK without Derrick Mason?
Anquan Boldin, 4 catches, 74 yards, 1 TD.

Will the Ravens miss Todd Heap?
Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta combined for 7 catches and 104 yards receiving.

The offensive line played great, giving Flacco all kinds of time to throw and opening running lanes for Rice. Flacco was sacked only once. Vonta Leach punished Steelers defenders, paving the way for the running game.

Meanwhile, the defense was on the prowl, delivering blows left and right. It didn't matter who they hit, as long as they were wearing black and gold. Haloti Ngata flatted Rashard Mendenhall and forced a fumble, which Hgata recovered. Jarret Johnson upended Hines Ward, wiping that perma-smirk off of his face. And Ben Roethlisberger was cut down several times. It's a wonder he was able to continue playing after taking some of the hits he received. I'm sure the talk of nagging injury will begin with Roethisberger now.

The biggest noticeable thing, though, was the Ravens aggressiveness. They attacked the Steelers secondary on the first drive. They went for a two-point conversion early in the 3rd quarter to go up 29-7. They went for it on 4th and 1 on the Pittsburgh 8 yard line shortly after the two pointer coversion, but were unable to move the chains. But much of the aggressiveness came with the execution of Cam Cameron's playcalling. Gone were the horrible end-arounds, but Cameron stuck with the run and it worked. Just goes to show you how much better play-calling cam look when players execute.

In short, the experience at the stadium yesterday was amazing. To get the monkey off their backs, the Ravens have to be feeling good moving forward. They just humiliated their most hated rival to start the season. Steeler fans were fleeing the stadium en masse during the 3rd and 4th quarters, their yellow rags between their legs. The tribute to the 9/11 victims and soldiers was heartfelt. And the "Seven Nation Army" chant taught on and people were still chanting it on the way out of the stadium after the game was in the books.

It doesn't get much better than that. We're alive, the Ravens won, and they beat the Steelers.

Next week the Ravens play the Titans in Tennessee.

The O's Pitching Woes

2011-09-06T18:16:00.000-04:00

Wanna know what I have hidden in my glove? One of the worst seasons as a pitcher with over 40 IP, ever.

Surprisingly, the Orioles offense has been mediocre in 2011. And amongst Baltimore baseball fans, mediocrity is reason enough to throw a ticker-tape parade down Pratt Street. The O's are 8th out of 14 teams in runs scored and have hit the 5th most home runs in the AL.

With just a mediocre pitching staff the Orioles could have actually had a shot at breaking .500 for the first time in 14 years. But as you know, the Orioles pitching has been downright atrocious this year...historically, epically, universally bad.

Consider this. Last year the Orioles ERA was 4.85, which was good for 13th in the AL. The league average was 4.14. So the Orioles were just a measly -0.71 below mediocre.

Well, this year, the AL average is 4.04, so you'd think that the Orioles ERA in relation to the league average would have lowered along with it, right?

Wrong.

The O's ERA this year sits at 4.92, good for last in the MLB. A difference of -0.88 points from mediocrity. So whereas the league average ERA has gone down, the Orioles ERA has headed in the other direction.

It's nothing earth shattering, of course, but just another snapshot of how bad the Orioles pitching has been this season.

So I'll leave you with this. Remember Brian Matusz, the pitcher we'd pinned a lion's share of our hopes on? The guy who went 7-1 down the stretch last season and we all thought he'd lead the rotation in 2011?

Well his 9.84 ERA puts him right there in the discussion for the "worst season of all time" by a pitcher who has pitched more than 40 innings. That's right. The guy we pegged as our ace going forward has just had one of the worst seasons in baseball history.

Now you know why this blog is called "the Bad Oriole".

2011 Ravens Predictions

2011-09-06T17:45:00.000-04:00

With the season a mere five days away, we might as well lock in our projections for the 2011 season while we still can.

I was a game off last year, predicting a 13-3 record with the Ravens finishing 12-4. And this year I'll go in reverse, predicting a 12-4 record while expecting a 13-3 season.

After the brutal loss to the Steelers in the playoffs, in addition to the regular season loss at home to Pittsburgh, I think this is the year the Ravens finally get over the Pittsburgh hump. I've got nothing riding on that other than the laws of probability, since the Steelers with Ben Roethlisberger starting under center are 7-2 against the Ravens. It's time the Ravens started to even out that record on statistical averages alone. And adding a deep threat in Lee Evans, shoring up the offensive line and a better pass rush should go a long way in bringing down the Steelers.

And that's really what the 2011 season comes down to: beating Pittsburgh. With the Ravens and Steelers each having an easy schedule on paper, the games between these two teams will likely be what determines the AFC North.

So what better way to start the season than with the Ravens hosting the Steelers in week 1?

Having said all that, I do wonder if the Ravens can beat the Steelers. It's gotten to the point in this rivalry where Ravens fan just have to expect something to go wrong. And how could I not feel that way after the playoff loss in Pittsburgh last January, where everything did go wrong? So while I am excited for the season, I am reserved in my excitement, because until the Ravens actually prove that they can beat Roethlisberger and the Steelers, I don't believe they can.

So instead of going through each game, I'll say this. The Ravens will split with the Steelers this year and drop three out of four games against the Texans, Jets, Colts and Chargers. They usually have trouble beating better teams -- and those five teams are easily the best teams they'll face this year. That said, I do hope they can surpass my expectations because I believe the Ravens are better than the Texans, Jets, Colts and Chargers. It's time we started beating the better teams in the NFL instead of feasting off the also-rans and losing close games to elite teams. The Ravens should be an elite tam this year, so they better play like one.

So while I am predicting another 12-4 year that could likely see us getting the wild card and going on the road....again...deep down I am hoping for more. If this team plays to its ability, two losses starts to sound pretty realistic.

Until then, I'll see you on Sunday. Go Ravens.

Big offseason looms for Orioles, but will anyone care?

2011-09-06T10:02:00.000-04:00

In the week or so following the tragic news of Mike Flanagan's suicide, reports came out about GM Andy MacPhail stepping down after his contract expires at the end of the 2011 season. MacPhail himself has been silent on the issue, but the reports were picked up by USA Today and CBS Sports so they look to be accurate. Then came Keith Law's tweet about Director of Scouting Joe Jordan stepping down as well. Needless to say, it was a brutal week for Orioles fans. And all of it could be tied back to Angelos in many ways.

By now we've heard all the theories about Flanagan's death and the role Angelos may or may not have had in pushing Flanagan to commit suicide. But the more damning news is that MacPhail doesn't want to come back and continue what he called his "dream job" upon being hired. Until recently, it seemed like all was kosher between MacPhail and Angelos, with Big Pete dropping sound-bytes like "Andy isn't going anywhere". But it seems that a wedge has been driven between then, and not Eric Wedge, the manager that MacPhail wanted to take over for Juan Samuel last season. Angelos wanted Showalter, and as you can see, Showalter is the current manager of the team and confidant to Angelos.

Jordan on the other hand is a more curious situation. He's had some questionable drafts (Matt Hobgood) and some first round draft picks that didn't pan out (Billy Rowell) but one has to wonder the role that the Player Development John Stockstill has played in Jordan's resignation. After all, Jordan can only select players in the draft. After that, it's up to Stockstill to harvest the juice from the fruit, and the Orioles are notorious for their spotty player development.

So with these two job openings needing to be filled this offseason, it could be a busy winter in Baltimore, especially if these two major departures lead to an organization-wide overhaul of personnel.

But does anyone care?

Last time I checked, Peter Angelos still owns the team. He'll likely hire one of his good ol boy friends like John Hart or promote someone within the organization like Matt Klentak, current Director of Baseball Operations. From what I have heard of Klentak, he would be a good candidate for the job. However, as long as Angelos is the owner, one has to assume that Klentak (as well as any GM) would have to maneuver through Angelos' mine field of restrictions. Case in point: Angelos' refusal to allow MacPhail fire Dave Stockstill (John's brother) when MacPhail took over as GM in 2007. Instead, Stockstill was exiled to International Scouting. Maybe that is a less than desirable position in Baltimore, but the rest of baseball hires intelligent and forward-thinking people for that position, not people who are about to be fired.

What's even worse, is the thought of one of Angelos' confidants like Dave or John Stockstill being promoted to GM, or someone like Rick Dempsey. Angelos has a fondness for these people, so nothing would surprise me at this point.

So as this season winds down, and GM candidates are discussed for the Orioles, I don't think you'll find many Orioles fans who give a shit. We've been through this song and dance before, several times, and it always ends the same way.

Remember the feeling you have right now, O's fans. Because in a few years, you'll likely feel it again.

CBS: MacPhail will not re-sign with Orioles

2011-08-31T09:14:00.003-04:00

Reports say that Andy MacPhail will not re-sign with the Orioles at the end of the season.

According to this article, MacPhail will walk away from his job as GM of the Orioles at the end of the season. That's when his contract expires, but reports are that MacPhail will not seek to re-sign with the team.

The most interesting line in the article is that "MacPhail and Angelos were fed up with each other". Hmmm...really? Could there really be in-fighting in the front office of the Baltimore Orioles? Could someone really be fed up with Peter Angelos?

The most shocking revelation is that Angelos was "fed up" with MacPhail, who was hired in 2007 to take over for Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette. Oriole fans and media alike thought it was a good fit, for better or worse. During his time with the Cubs, MacPhail never spent a lot of money on free agents, made some conservative trades while occasionally making a "risky" move. So it was clear that MacPhail would work within Angelos' comfort zone when he was hired by the Orioles. But right off the bat, MacPhail opened eyes by trading away the O's two best players: Miguel Tejada and Erik Bedard.

The trades were universally praised by O's fans and the baseball world even though the returns on those trades have diminished somewhat since. But since those trades took place during the offseason before the 2008 season, MacPhail has been on cruise control for the most part -- acquiring former Cubs reclamation projects like Felix Pie, Jake Fox and Rich Hill and signing expensive bullpen pitchers like Mike Gonzalez and Kevin Gregg, guys who weren't worth their contracts. He made the occasional good move, trading bullpen arms in David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio for Mark Reynolds, who leads the Orioles with 31 home runs and trading JJ Hardy for Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson, who MacPhail signed to a three-year extension.

But Angelos being "fed up" with MacPhail can only mean one thing: and that's probably proof that MacPhail wanted to do more. The one knock against MacPhail was that he was too slow, too methodical. And that may still be true. But if Angelos is "fed up" with you, that probably means you wanted to do too much: Make a risky move, trade away a fan favorite or invest a lot of money in the minor leagues or internationally. This was, after all, MacPhail's self-admitted "dream job". You have to think that someone who felt that way wanted to do more than what MacPhail did as GM.

Within the last few months or year, MacPhail seemed defensive when he was questioned about his moves by the media. He basically admitted that the modern state of baseball had passed him by when he went on a rant about spending big money on international prospects such as Miguel Sano. And those were probably MacPhail's words, which is why I am somewhat relieved that MacPhail will not be coming back. But his defensiveness probably reflects some of the stress he was under from Angelos. We'll only be left to wonder what really happened. But we do know that MacPhail wanted to hire former Indians manager Eric Wedge, and Angelos wanted Showalter. We know who won that battle. And this past offseason, reports are that it was Angelos who pushed to sign former slugger Vladimir Guerrero, ponying up $8 million to sign the future Hall of Famer who has struggled mightily in Baltimore.

But one thing is for sure. And that is Angelos is still the #1 problem in Baltimore. In Flanagan and MacPhail he had two men for whom being GM of the Baltimore Orioles was a dream job. And what are we left with? One of those men just took his life and the other is willing to walk away from his job.

The circus in Baltimore will never leave town as long as Peter Angelos is the owner. So while people will be interested to see who takes over for MacPhail as GM, it won't matter one bit. They won't be allowed to execute their vision and in three or four years, we'll be right back where we are now.

It's actually ironic when you think about it. The Orioles. The O's. The letter "O" is a circle. The number zero is close. The vicious circle continues.

Round and round we go.

Thoughts on Preseason Game #3

2011-08-26T14:41:00.003-04:00

Anquan Boldin reaches for the pylon on a 30 yard catch that resulted in a Ray Rice 1-yard touchdown.

Having missed preseason game #2, I entered the third game of this pre-season excited to get my best look at the Ravens before the start of the season since the third pre-season game is the closest it gets to the real thing. And since it was against the our neighbors to the south, the Washington Redskins, it made it a little more exciting than your standard pre-season game

What I saw was a mixed bag of positives and negatives that left me both excited and anxious about the 2011 season.

To start, Joe Flacco threw a boneheaded interception on a stop route that was picked off and returned for a touchdown by DeAngelo Hall. When he wasn't throwing interceptions, Flacco was under pressure as the offensive line collapsed regularly. But once the first quarter was over, and the Ravens were down 14-0, Flacco and the offense got going, and the positives started flowing.

Flacco hooked up with Anquan Boldin for gains of 18 and 30 yards on a drive that ended with a Ray Rice 1-yard TD run. On the next drive, Flacco connected with Ed Dickson for a 33 yard gain and scored on a perfectly thrown 35-yard bomb to newly acquired WR Lee Evans. After halftime, Flacco led the Ravens on their third scoring drive of the night, hooking up again with Boldin in the middle of the endzone.

Flacco ended his night on a high-note, 17-27, 219 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT.

Tyrod Taylor came in and played well for the second game in a row, further cementing the belief that Taylor can enter the season as Flacco's understudy. He finished 11-18 with 125 yards and a touchdown pass that won the game with just a few seconds left. RB Anthony Allen impressed yet again, exploding through holes with speed and power.

The pluses and minuses existed on defense as well, with DE Pernell McPhee recording a sack and fighting for a spot not only on the team, but as a possible impact player. The defensive line kept constant pressure on QB's Rex Gressoman and John Beck, but when they had time to throw, they exposed the Ravens secondary, namely Ladarius Webb and Jimmy Smith. Since Smith is a rookie, it's to be expected, but Webb hasn't looked the same since his injury. Although Webb ended the night good on paper -- recording a sack and an interception -- he was abused all night. The same can be said of Dominique Foxworth, who is also coming back from injury and looks less than ready.

In the end, the game was exciting for a pre-season game and the Ravens won 34-31 with seconds left on the clock. But the win was somewhat hollow since there were as many negatives as their were positives and when the hated Pittsburgh Steelers are looming on the horizon as your opponent in week 1, you want to be running on all cylinders. There's one more preseason game to go, but don't expect to see the starters much, if at all, as the coaches use the game to evaluate players on the bubble.

What you saw last night may look a lot like the team we see in 2011. And that can be a good thing, or a bad thing.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Mike Flanagan dies...

2011-08-25T11:19:00.002-04:00

I woke up this morning and got on-line to see how the Orioles did in their game against the Twins and was shocked to find out that Mike Flanagan, former Cy Young pitcher for the Orioles (and Blue Jays), had been discovered dead near his home in Sparks, MD.

No reports are official, but word on the street is that Flanagan committed suicide and WBAL reporter Gerry Sandusky had linked Flanagan's apparent suicide to Flanagan's "despondent" feelings about the current state of the Orioles. Flanagan was the team's GM from 2003-2007, and his contract was not renewed after the 2008 season. One has to wonder if Flanagan never recovered after being let go or felt guilt over his perceived failings as a GM.

While those reports are still forthcoming, no one can deny Flanagan's love for the Baltimore Orioles. Reading some of the recollections of Flanagan from several writers this morning has reminded me how great a guy he was and how much he meant to this team and the city. One story recalled how Flanagan, 39 at the time and at the end of his career, begged not to be traded from the Orioles during the 1991 season, the final season in Memorial Stadium. He wanted to pitch in the final game, and he did, recording the game's final two outs in a loss to the Detroit Tigers. That's awesome. Had he been traded, Flanagan likely would have been dealt to a playoff team. He was having a good year that year. But no, he wanted to be a part of the stadium's farewell ceremony. That meant more to him.

I have some hazy memories of Mike Flanagan the player, and that last game at Memorial Stadium. And Flanagan, along with Cal Ripken, are some of the earliest memories I have as an Orioles fan. That makes it that much sad to learn that Flanagan is gone.

As a broadcaster, he wasn't the best. His monotone voice (combined with the quality of most Orioles teams) lent to uninspired TV, but his humor was always there. It was dry, and always lighthearted. He never made fun of someone in a mean-spirited way and was never afraid to make fun of himself. And no one can deny Flanagan's baseball smarts in the booth and in the clubhouse, where he was a pitching coach with the Orioles, two different times. His mantra: work fast and throw strikes. That was it.

His tenure as a GM was not great by any means, but you could not deny the desire to make the Orioles better. Following the dark ages of the Syd Thrift era, Flanagan and co-GM Jim Beattie attempted to breathe life back into the Orioles by signing Miguel Tejada, Javy Loopez and Rafael Palmeiro in the offseason before 2004. They missed on signing Vlad Guerrero that year, despite having the best offer on the table. They hired rookie manager, Lee Mazzilli, a former Yankee, in a brave move that suggested at a new era of Orioles baseball. The following year, they traded for slugger Sammy Sosa. And even though that trade bombed, it was a decent move at the time. No one could have predicted Sosa's rapid decline from 35 home runs in 2004, to the 14 he hit as an Oriole in 2005.

The 2004 Orioles came close to breaking the .500 mark, but fell short. The next year saw the Orioles in first place for the first two months of the season before injuries and off-the-field problems took their toll and the Orioles collapsed during the second half. But it can be said that Flanagan was the only GM to have put together a winning team over 162 games, when you combine the second half of 2004 and the first half of 2005.

As more and more answers come into the light as to why Flanagan died, nothing will lessen the tragedy of a life cut short. Either way, Flanagan, who was 59, leaves behind a family. One has to wonder why, if the suicide reports are true, a man would do this...especially a man who according to former players and friends, was always cracking jokes and having a good time.

If it is true that Flanagan's death was somehow linked to his feelings about the current state of the Orioles -- and his perceived failings at making them better, the best thing the Orioles can do to honor his death is to put together a competitive team.

Rest in peace, Flanny. You will be missed.

Ravens trade for Lee Evans

2011-08-12T16:12:00.003-04:00

Welcome to Baltimore, Lee!

The Ravens solidified their WR corps by trading a fourth round draft pick for Bills WR Lee Evans today.

You may remember Evans from the 2010 game against the Ravens where he torched the Ravens secondary to the tune of 105 receiving and 3 touchdowns. What he did in that game was probably fresh in the minds of the Ravens when Evans went up on the trade block.

Evans, 30, has had some big seasons for Buffalo in 2006 and 2008, but his stats dropped off since '08 due to some poor production at QB and the acquisition of Terrel Owens in 2009 and the emergency of Steve Johnson as a weapon in 2010.

That said, Evans is a speedster and a deep threat, something the Ravens currently lacked at WR unless Torrey Smith became that guy.

And after yesterday's game in which Tandon Doss was impressive, it's looking like a receiving corps of Boldin, Evans and Doss may be potentially dangerous.

Thoughts on Preseason Game #1

2011-08-12T09:25:00.004-04:00

Well it wasn't pretty but did we expect it to be? Short offseason, lost a lot of depth and a lot of first and second year players are being asked to step in as starters. So it's going to take some time for this team to gel, if it ever does to the point we expect them to.

The first team offense only managed to score 3 points in about two drives, but Dennis Pitta was the bright spot, looking every bit like Todd Heap as he hauled in a 27 yard pass from Joe Flacco over the shoulder of his defender on the first play of the game. Pitta finished with 4 catches and 47 yards. WR Tandon Doss (3 rec. for 26 yards) also impressed, showing good route running skills and solid hands.

On the ground, Ray Rice only managed 7 total yards but looked good on a couple of runs. Jalen Parmalee owned the team's best drive that resulted in a turnover at the goal line. He rushed for 35 yards on 7 carries. But QB Tyrod Taylor gained the most yardage, 59 yards on 6 carries. The OL looked weak and couldn't open many holes for Rice and Flacco didn't have much time to check down on passing plays.

As for Taylor, he showed signs of promise, especially when running the ball, and completed 67% of his passes for 179 yards. His two interceptions were disappointing, especially one at the goal line, but Taylor is a work in progress and it's unrealistic to ask a 6th round pick to look polished. But you could see why people compare him to fellow VT alumni, Michael Vick.

The defense was a mixed bag as well. Paul Kruger was the unit's standout, recording a sack and putting good pressure on the Eagle's QB's. But starters Chris Carr and even Ed Reed were burned on a big play in a drive that resulted in an Eagles TD. Thank God the Ravens signed Bernard Pollard, who played well, recording an INT and making some big tackles. But when the first stringers were on the field, Eagles QB Michael Vick was running the offense like a well-oiled machine and the Ravens had no answer to stopping them. The defense as a whole allowed too many big plays and even Eagles third string QB, Mike Kafka, was able to throw the ball in the middle of the field all night.

On special teams...well, the special teams didn't get a chance to play much due to the new kick-off rules that moved the ball up five yards which allowed for tons of touchbacks. Over the course of the season, the amount of touchbacks is going to get ridiculous.

As I said, the new faces and lack of depth on offense provided some interesting plot lines, but most of the results weren't pretty. Moving forward, the Ravens have a lot to work on if they consider themselves Super Bowl contenders, and last night proved the need to get a veteran presence at WR and back-up QB.

This is nothing we already didn't know, so the Ravens need to get busy filling some holes.

Preason Game #1: What to look for tonight

2011-08-11T17:09:00.002-04:00

Is it just me or did this football season sneak up on us? Maybe it was the labor dispute. Maybe it was from my self-imposed exile from football after losing to the Steelers last January. Maybe it was because I've been too busy hammering the Orioles for being the worst team in the American League.

Anyway, tonight is the first preseason game for the Ravens as they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles.

Much has been made of the Ravens offseason and their inability to make any impact signings, especially at the wide-receiver position, after losing Derrick Mason to the Jets and being left with Anquan Boldin and a bunch of rookies or unknowns.

But the crisis at WR will at least give fans something to look out for tonight. The first preseason game usually features 3.5 quarters of second, third and fourth string players eating up minutes. So players like Torrey Smith, Tandon Doss, James Hardy and Brandon Jones will get plenty of chances to show the coaching staff -- as well as Ozzie Newsome -- that the Ravens needs at WR aren't that desperate.

It'll also be interesting to see Tyrod Taylor play at QB for much of the game, since Joe Flacco will probably only play in a series or two. Taylor, who like Eagles QB Michael Vick, went to Virginia Tech and is a mirror image of Vick. And with the Ravens having lost last year's back-up, Marc Bulger, to retirement, Taylor will also be able to show the Ravens that they may not need to go out and sign a veteran QB to hold a clipboard all season.

On defense, Sergio Kindle will see his first live action. Kindle was the Ravens first draft pick in 2010, taken in the second round. However, he missed the entire season after falling down two flights of steps just weeks before training camp was to begin and suffering a fractured skull. The Ravens sorely lacked a pass rush in 2010, and if 100%, Kindle could help improve the pass rush and take some pressure of Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs who are routinely double-teamed. Also keep an eye our for DE Paul Kruger, who is probably down to his last chance to make an impact on this team after getting drafted in the second round in 2009 and being left inactive for most of his career.

On the other side of the field, you'll have your first chance to see the Eagles, who were the big movers and shakers this offseason, acquiring the likes of Nnamdi Asomugha and Ronnie Brown. They're the hands on favorite to come out of the NFC, so they should give the Ravens a tough time, even though it's just glorified practice.

So enjoy! At least football is back!

The march toward 100 losses

2011-08-10T11:39:00.002-04:00

The Orioles lost last night to the White Sox and I was there, unfortunately. The whole experience was much like a funeral. Buck Showalter made it exciting by getting ejected but that was nothing more than making a funeral interesting by knocking over the casket and having the body spill out. Someone in the crowd started a Redskins chant. Other people heckled Felix Pie, who is still an Oriole, although I don't know why.

At 44-69 the Orioles have themselves the worst record in the AL. An 18-31 record in the next month and a half will get them 100 losses.

Why does it matter? Why should we root for it to happen?

There is the draft pick reason. Right now the O's trail the Astros by 6 games for the #1 overall pick. But maybe, just maybe, 100 losses will sound off some alarms down at the warehouse. I know we've come close to 100 losses in the past, but there is something special about a three-digit number in the loss column.

Maybe Angelos will get mad and start firing people and actually hiring some competent people. I know it's a long shot, but that's all we O's fans can hope for.

In a season this bad, it's all we have.

It's July 25th. Do you know how many losses your Orioles have?

2011-07-25T16:27:00.004-04:00

I won't blame you if you don't know the answer. I had to look it up myself.

That would be 58.

58 losses on July 25th.

Do you know what the average number of losses the AL East Champs have had over the last 13 years?

63.

The Orioles will have that many within a week's time. They're on pace for a 64-98 record, worse than last year's record, which at one point was on pace to set a record for futility in the modern area. I also doubt there will be another Late Season Buck Miracle in August and September. Whatever magic Buck had when he took over the team last year as run out.

58 losses.

I know it's not rocket science we're talking here, or any analytical stats that provide a wealth of information. But it's just another reminder of how bad the Orioles are -- and how far they have to go to contend in the AL East.

Baltimore becoming a one sports town again

2011-07-19T15:08:00.004-04:00

I was born in 1979. The Colts left in 1984 meaning I came of age as a sports fan in a city with one team: the Orioles. Needless to say, it sucked. Baseball seasons became that much more important even though they usually ended in heartbreak. I hung on every pitch, every at-bat. Because during football season I was relegated to rooting for another team in another city.

Fast-forward some fifteen-odd years later. The Browns moved to Baltimore, became the Ravens and won a Super Bowl a few years later. The Orioles, meanwhile, fell into the abyss of horrible sports franchises sometime around 1998 and they've yet to crawl out. Actually, they're only sinking deeper and deeper into it.

So here we are, back in that same place, living in a one sports team city.

Let's face it, the Orioles might as well join the ranks of the Blast, the Bayrunners, Mariners and any other minor-league cut-rate sports team that plays its home games in Baltimore. The O's should move to the Baltimore Arena and play the games there, inside that old, decrepit monstrosity of terribleness. The Orioles don't deserve Camden Yards.

Even die-hard Oriole fans are starting to turn in their fan cards. And why shouldn't they? The Orioles have turned their back on fans for years. It's time the remaining fans do the same to them. Sports fans around Baltimore are praying that the labor dispute that has the NFL on hold gets resolved soon so we can forget about the Orioles and focus all our attention on the Ravens.

It happens every year.

This year was supposed to be different. But shame on us for thinking that could ever happen.

So here we are again, folks.

We might as well join the ranks of Buffalo, Tennessee, Green Bay and Jacksonville as one-team football cities. Because let's face it, the Orioles don't play Major League quality baseball.

Steelers' Clark: Ravens/Steelers not a rivalry

2011-07-15T10:24:00.003-04:00

Ryan Clark is speaking out of his ass.

Ryan Clark is either not very bright or he's just trying to get under the skin of Ravens players and fans. He recently said:

"People try to make this game between the Ravens and the Steelers like so much of a rivalry, of a fight, you know," Clark told KDKA-FM in Pittsburgh. "You can say it's a rivalry if you like, but for something to be a rivalry, I think both teams have to win equally. The hate between the fans doesn't make it a rivalry. Teams have to win equally, and that really hasn't been the case in our situation."

Yes, it's true that the Steelers have a better record against the Ravens. That record soars to dominate levels when Ben Roethlisberger is playing. But to say that the Ravens/Steelers is not a rivalry is completely outlandish.

Most of the games are decided in the 4th quarter, usually by a single play. Both teams were 12-4 last year and 9-7 the year before. They've played 3 times in 2 of the last 3 seasons. At least one of the games between these two teams is a nationally televised game.

But yes, it would be nice if the Ravens could level out the record some more, but that doesn't mean that this isn't a rivalry.

It's the best damn rivalry going on in the NFL right now, and will be for the foreseeable future.

So sorry, Ryan. You're absolutely wrong.

Stupid, stupid, stupid...

2011-07-14T15:45:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm reserved to the notion that second half the season is going to be one massive FAIL meme, and it appears that I will only write entries on the team when they do something stupid that deserves commenting on.

Well, today's stroke of Orioles genius comes via Brittany Ghiroli, the Orioles beat reporter for MLB.com. Ghiroli does a great job following the team and always has her finger on the pulse of what fans want to know. After the hapless writing of Spencer Fordin, Ghiroli is a breath of fresh air.

Anyway, today Ghiroli wrote about Jim Johnson and the Orioles' stance that he's "untouchable".

Relievers Koji Uehara and Jim Johnson are both having excellent seasons in the later innings, but Uehara has drawn tepid interest given his age and injury-prone status. Johnson has established himself as one of the best setup men in the American League, and the organization -- which has told several teams it's unwilling to discuss offers for the reliever -- continues to have internal discussions about moving Johnson into a starting role next season.

Well then.

There's no denying that outside of a few bad outings, Johnson has had a terrific year. He's also on pace to throw over 100 innings as a relief pitcher and will be 29 next year. He's not some young buck who the Orioles are hoping will be a part of their next winning team. He's a prime trade candidate.

You know the saying, "sell high"? Well the Orioles clearly don't.

And the talk of converting Johnson to a starting pitcher? There's been rumblings about Johnson wanting to be a starter (like he was in the minors) but as the other saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Even if the Orioles were to keep Johnson (and they shouldn't), making him a starting pitcher would be a colossal mistake. Johnson excels where he is. Leave him there.

No, actually trade him, so his new team can leave him there.

Hopefully Andy MacPhail is simply posturing here, but really, would you be surprised if everything Ghiroli wrote was true?

I wouldn't. And I expect the Orioles to say and do a lot of dumb things for the remainder of the season.

Stay tuned.

The Bad Oriole is about to really live up to its name.

City Tour #5 -- Porto, Portugal

2011-07-13T23:31:00.000-04:00

Before and after my recent vacation to Portugal, many people asked me "why Portugal?" when they found out where I was going.

My usual answer was, "why not?"

I'm lucky enough to have already visited some of the bigger, cultural cities in Europe: Athens, Rome, Florence, Venice, Prague, Vienna and Budapest. And since my wife and I are saving France for our 10th Anniversary, we settled on Portugal since it's relatively cheap compared to other European countries such as Spain, Germany and Belgium, and can be reached by a direct flight.

And I'll be honest. We picked Portugal for superficial reasons. It's not like we were really interested in the country's culture or history ahead of time. For us, the price sounded good and the country has a good mix of geographical landscapes, meaning we could visit Porto, the home of Port wine, the coastal town of Lagos, and the bustling metropolis of Lisbon all within a week.

Our first stop was Porto, which is located in the northern part of the country. The people who didn't ask "why Portugal?" because they had some previous experience with the country, highly recommended Porto, even saying that we should skip Lisbon if we had to, as long as we made it to Porto.

So did my experience in Porto meet their praise?

Yes, it did. And then some.

Porto has been called "Europe's hidden gem" and I can see why. It's a small city when compared to some of Europe's giants, and very picturesque due to its waterfront, which gives it a cozy feeling. It's cheap -- cheaper than the rest of Portugal -- and the access to wine, especially Port wine, is not to be missed.

1. Arts & Culture -- 7 -- Porto has a very interesting history, having once been settled by the Romans and occupied by the Moors, making for some impressive architecture that was spared by the 1755 earthquake that decimated much of central Portugal. But for me, Porto offered up a jarring contrast of the past in its architecture and the present when the Porto F.C. won the Portuguese Cup our second day there and the town literally exploded into honking car horns and people chanting the fight song through the streets of the city. I listened to Antena 3, an indie rock station, whenever I could. I basically pay Sirius $12 a month to get the same station. I also attended a concert by the American band, The National, while in Porto and it also reminded me how modern this city really is. The crowd was so into the show -- more into any show I have ever attended in the states -- and the band fed off of that energy turning in an awesome live performance. I left Porto impressed for several reasons, key among them being the energy that the city has for the now.

2. Food -- 8 -- Porto's cuisine -- and Portugal's to a larger extent, especially so close to the coast -- predominantly featured pork and seafood. Sometimes the seafood was wrapped in pork. The offerings in Porto were good, but they didn't blow me away, even when we dined at the #1 Trip Advisor rated restaurant. OK, I was blown away by the sandwich in that picture, but I didn't come to Porto to do a "Man Vs. Food" episode. I wanted some really good food. And what I found was solid, but failed to leave a lasting impression. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be many tourist traps in Porto due to the city being a minor tourist city in Europe, so it was a relief to know you could walk into almost any restaurant and get decent food at decent prices. There is something to be said for that. But what earns Porto its score is the Port wine. We made a day out of touring the different port cellars and met a really cool British couple who traveled to Porto for the weekend. Each port cellar offers a tour, which we never took. Just the port, please! And each place we visited was generous with the tastings. So generous, that my wife got drunk and I caught a solid buzz. And if Anton and Sarah are out there, cheers!

3. Mass Transit -- 8 -- For a city its size, Porto has an impressive mass transit system comprised of a light rail "metro", buses and a funicular. The metro got us from the train station to our condo, and to and from dinner one night but Porto has a very walkable city center and after a while, we realized that the bus better served us if we needed to take mass transit at all. The zone system in Porto is confusing, which made purchasing tickets a chore. But the system is very clean, efficient and laid out well.

4. Look & Feel -- 10 -- The feeling you get when you first arrive in a European city can't be matched in America except for maybe New York City. You rise out of the subway and boom -- you're in the middle of all the action. This feeling never ended for me in Porto. I could have wandered around the city for weeks, just taking in the city views, the architecture and the churches covered in azulejos. Down by the river is where one can just sit and take it all in. On one side you have dozens of Port wine cellars seemingly stacked on top of each other, and on the other side, you have restaurants, cafes, shops and the historical center rising above it. Both sides of the river are connected by an iron bridge that gives off a Paris meets Pittsburgh vibe. Up close, the city can be dirty and run down: abandoned houses are next door to brilliantly restored ones. But when viewed from afar, all of that grime disappears.

5. Overall -- 8 -- Porto is a European city you can explore at your own speed. There were no famous landmarks to see, no famous museums to slog through to see that one famous painting by that one painter. All there was in Porto was a ton of great Port wine, wonderful views of the city, and all the time in the world.

Total -- 41/50

All Star Broken

2011-07-11T17:03:00.005-04:00

36-52.

6-21 in the last 27 games.

Did the All Star Break come at the right time, or what?

Any chance we can just forfeit the rest of the season? Because, really, what's the point in playing the rest of it?

Our starting rotation is made up of guys who you never heard of a few weeks ago and others who were thought to be serving a jail sentences this past offseason.

Meanwhile, former superstar players such as Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero are making their farewell tour. Even the homegrown players like Markakis, Jones and Wieters are just "meh".

And Buck Showalter? His downfall as savior of the Orioles is probably the most tragic to watch. Someone who could do no wrong last year, is now nothing more than a frustrated parent who knows its useless to get upset at their pain in the ass kids.

So what does this all mean?

It means the end of the Orioles for a lot of fans, including this one. I don't watch them anymore, I don't think about them anymore (except for when writing here or at Orioles Hangout). Put simply, I don't give a f--- anymore.

The Orioles are dead to me.

How about you?

And if you do still care, why?

The Last Excuse

2011-07-08T11:00:00.003-04:00

In the last 14 years, fans have called for players to be traded or released, managers, coaches and GM's to be fired, uniforms to be changed, better promotions at the stadium -- and about a dozen other things to change the fortunes of this team.

Most of them have been done. But the Orioles just keep on losing.

All that remains is Peter G. Angelos.

Now I'm not saying that replacing Angelos with a new owner today would mean the Orioles would start winning tomorrow. It would probably take a few years before we'd start to see the positives of a new owner start to trickle down throughout the entire organization, if ever.

After all, aside from the owner, we've pretty much turned over everything there is to be turned over within this organization. But the results are still the same.

So is Angelos the last thing standing in the way of returning the Orioles back to respectability? Does he meddle in the baseball operations so much that people are unable to do their jobs? Maybe that is the case. Teams with less resources than the Orioles have been able to get more out of their organization than the Orioles, so the O's don't have many excuses as to why they can't compete in the AL East when the cash-strapped Rays have been able to do it for 4 years running.

So is Peter Angelos the last excuse as to why the Orioles are still so bad?

Is it time to start rooting for the Nats?

2011-07-07T10:17:00.007-04:00

Here we are, back in the same place we're always at this time of year.

Twelve games under .500.
14.5 games out of first place.
The pitching, hitting, fielding...the O's are doing nothing well.
There's no prospects in the minors who will be called up to spark the interest of jaded fans like they have in years past.

This is going to be a long second half, folks.

Of course you could talk trades but the Orioles have always held onto players too long as opposed to trading them a year or two early (Luke Scott, Brian Roberts, etc...), so it's doubtful that the O's will be major players at the deadline. Luke Scott, who should have been traded last offseason, is hurt. Add to that, the team's seemingly biggest trade chips at the start of the season -- Derrek Lee and Vlad Guerrero -- are having such poor seasons that if you combined their stats they'd still be disappointments. No one is going to want them enough to give up anything of value. The O's are stuck with them like so many under-performing veteran players of years past.

On the other hand, players like Mark Reynolds and J.J. Hardy are playing well. I'll be surprised if the Orioles trade the team's two biggest bright spots, despite the fact that Hardy is a free agent after the season and would probably be reluctant to extend or re-sign with a team that has no hope to compete over the length of his contract. And Sun columnist Peter Schmuck recently wrote a column in support of keeping Reynolds and Hardy.

Jeremy Guthrie is coming apart at the worst time possible, right when teams are keeping a close eye on him in hopes of acquiring him for the pennant race. And outside of Koji Uehara and maybe Jim Johnson, no one in the bullpen will bring back anything, due to their contract and/or performance.

Adam Jones could be traded, his value is pretty high and he could bring back a hefty return, but the Orioles will never trade a player they've built a media campaign around. So you can toss that idea right out of the window.

So what else is there to discuss? What reasons do we have to continue watching this team?

None.

Absolutely, positively nothing.

The future looks as grim as it ever has, maybe even worse.

Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals are having themselves an exciting season. A season, I might add, that we all thought the Orioles would be having this year.

The Nats are 45-43 and are unlikely to make the postseason (they trail the first place Phillies by 10 games and the wild card leading Braves by 7 games), but they're playing exciting baseball in July thanks to the emergence of some of their talented young pitchers.

Sound familiar?

After last season, the Orioles were supposed to parlay their late season pitching success into a solid staff in 2011, but it hasn't happened. Brian Matusz was injured to start the year and is now in Norfolk after losing velocity. Brian Bergesen has shuttled between Norfolk and Baltimore and still hasn't found consistency. Like Matusz, Chris Tillman has lost velocity and is struggling in Norfolk. Only Zach Britton has really opened eyes (3.47 ERA) but even he has shown signs of unraveling lately (5.91 ERA in his last 2 starts). Meanwhile, Jake Arrieta has 9 wins but still has an ERA of 4.74. Thanks to the meltdown of 2/5 of their rotation, the Orioles have been forced to use fodder such as Chris Jakubauskus (6.75 ERA) and Mitch Atkins in the rotation.

Down in D.C., the Nationals entire rotation has an ERA below 4.11. And despite the tragic injury to Steven Strasburg that's sidelined him for over a year, the Nationals still have a wealth of pitching talent. Jordan Zimmerman, 25, has an ERA of 2.82 and walks just 1.7 batters per 9 innings. But the real firepower is found in their bullpen, where 23 year old Drew Storen has 22 saves and a 2.53 ERA. Tyler Clippard, 26, has an 11.4 K/9 rate and an impressive 1.86 ERA. Henry Rodriguez, 24, has a 1.91 ERA and a 10.2 K/9.

What do the O's have in their bullpen?

Koji Uehara, 36, and Jim Johnson, 28, both of whom should be traded this year.

Offensively, the Nationals are getting some good production from journeyman players like Michael Morse (.889 OPS) and Laynce Nix (.831 OPS). Their star player, Ryan Zimmerman, has been injured for most of the year and their second baseman, Danny Espinoza, has 16 home runs and an .809 OPS. Jayson Werth, signed to a massive long-term contract the Nationals are sure to regret, is scraping by with a .694 OPS. So offensively, the Nationals resemble their Baltimore counterparts: a few bright spots sprinkled in amongst drek.

The Nationals will benefit from Strasburg coming back next year, as well as the emergence of their #1 pick from 2010, Bryce Harper. The Nats also have a better farm system and a GM in Mike Rizzo, who's not afraid to make bold moves and spend money.

Meanwhile, the Orioles have a barren farm system with their best prospects 2-3 years away and a GM who is conservative and refuses to spend money internationally.

The Nats also have Davey Johnson as manager. Remember him? Yeah, it's the same guy. He took over for the Nationals when their previous manager, John Riggleman, oddly resigned a few weeks ago after Rizzo wouldn't extend his contract. Talk about falling up instead of falling down.

Yeah, Buck Showalter may still be a good manager but his stock is at an all-time low in Baltimore. Gone is the messiah-like aura from last August and September and his take-no-prisoners attitude. Unfortunately it seems like he's been replaced by an android programmed to manage exactly like the last couple of Orioles managers: Dave Trembley and Sam Perlozzo. Remember that organizational depth chart that was supposed to light a fire under players when they saw the list of players gunning for their jobs? Showalter has relentlessly stuck with his aging veteran players despite their struggles while talented players like Nolan Reimold rot on the bench.

I'm pretty much finished with the Orioles at this point. I was excited for this season, thinking we'd be better -- thinking we'd be having a season much like the Nationals. But as hard as it is for me to say it, there's more to like about the Nationals, now and moving forward. The Orioles will always be my first love, but it may be time to move on and start dating again.

And the Nationals are looking pretty cute right now.

Is it just me?

2011-06-22T16:55:00.002-04:00

Or has this been one big slog of a season thus far?

Sure, it's better than last year's Orioles team, which was 20-52 after 72 games, and there's been a decent amount of winning streaks this year, but they've promptly been erased by equally as long -- or longer -- losing streaks.

This year's team is just so...boring.

And it's making it hard to care about this team.

Usually, I'd be at code red levels of irate right now, especially after the O's lost 5-4 to the Pirates to lose the series in Pittsburgh, and fall to 33-39, 10.5 games out of first, but I have a hard time mustering that anger. I mean, it's been 14 years, people. After 14 years I'm willing to bet Andy Dufresne had a hard time getting all worked up about being falsely imprisoned at Shawshank.

Maybe it was the heart-breaking loss in Boston last month or the extra-innings loss at home to Tampa Bay a week ago -- games that I tuned into and watched from beginning to end. Why do I always happen to watch every pitch of the worst losses of the season? UGH!

OK, OK, you got me. I was at one time excited about this year's team. But then reality sunk in. Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee are two of the latest on a long list of great players to come to Baltimore and promptly forget how to play baseball. Kevin Gregg might as well stuff butter fried steaks with eggs on them down our throats because he's giving Orioles fans heart attacks each time he enters a game. And it's maddening to even think that the Orioles forfeited a draft pick to sign Michael Gonzalez, who is demonstrating that professional pitchers can -- and do -- forget how to throw a ball across home plate with regularity. Sorry, haters. Watching aging veterans flail away at the plate does not inspire interest. Been there, done that. It was called Baltimore, 1999.

OK, so Jake Arrieta is tied for the league lead with wins. Good job, Jake. (And Brian, you may win that bet after all. At least you have a good chance. It's probably the only thing that interests me about this team right now.) Zach Britton looks good, and I do believe he's going to have a good career, but his progress thus far has been erased by Brian Matusz' injury and struggles since coming back from the DL.

But it mostly comes down to the dumb style of play this team seems to fall into year after year. Wasn't Buck Showalter supposed to whip this team into shape the way he did last August and September? Or was that 34-23 record under Showalter last year one of the biggest flukes in the history of baseball? Watching this team give away outs and botch routine plays with little or no response from Showalter makes it seem so.

So there you have it. 2011 will be known as the "at least it wasn't as bad as 2010" season, but it's still just as frustrating in many ways.

No one expected them to make the playoffs. But they were supposed to be better than this.

Failed.

2011-06-16T11:23:00.003-04:00

Remember that test I was talking about in the last entry?

They failed.

The Orioles won game 1 of a 3 game series with the Rays, putting them in position to get back to .500. But they lost the second game -- after battling back down 3-0 against David Price and scoring the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th. But they gave that lead right back in the top of the 9th, thanks to thanks to a Felix Pie dropped flyball (it was a tough play to his credit) and another shaky Kevin Gregg outing that resulted in the blown save. The offense, as its prone to do in extra innings, disappeared.

What's happened since then? Take a guess.

The O's lost their next 3 in a row and they're currently on a 4 game losing streak. They've also lost 16 in a row in Toronto, who is going for a sweep of the Orioles today.

So we saw this coming. Still doesn't make it any easier to take, though.

Test lies ahead for O's in form of Rays

2011-06-10T11:46:00.003-04:00

Well here we are again.

The Orioles just swept the A's -- for the first time since 1998 -- and have crawled back to a 29-31 record.

We know what's happened in the past. Whenever the Orioles have taken a few steps forward, they immediately took a few steps back. Especially when it came against better teams.

So the O's have beaten up on the lesser competition and choked against the AL's better team. The A's are in a tailspin. They just fired their manager and have the league's worst offense. But they were a team that routinely gave the Orioles fits, even when they were mediocre. So one can take some pride in sending them home licking their wounds.

And now here come the Tampa Bay Rays, 32-29, 3 games out of first place. To date, the Orioles have actually played well against them, sweeping the opening series in Tampa, then getting swept in Baltimore in early May before taking two of three from them back in Tampa for a 5-4 record.

But with the O's having just accomplished something in sweeping Oakland, and reaching spitting distance of .500, you have to wonder if the floor will give way again and the Orioles will erase the positive steps they have taken.

They've done it like this all season.

So a test awaits the Orioles this weekend. Let's hope they studied hard, had a good night's sleep and ate a healthy breakfast.

Because if the Orioles are ever going to make the 2011 season interesting -- in a good way -- now is their chance.

O's continue erasing positives

2011-06-01T10:30:00.003-04:00

The O's got back to the elusive .500 mark after sweeping the Royals in Baltimore last week, but whatever helped them get back to .500 didn't get packed for their west coast swing to Oakland and Seattle because the Orioles are 0-5 on their 6 game road trip thus far.

And so it continues. The predictable erasing of any positives the Orioles manage to gain.

Are the players and coaches satisfied by getting back to .500 (mediocrity) that they mentally take the next few games off? Maybe. And the offense has crawled back into it's suck shell. They've scored just 13 runs in their 5 losses.

Whatever.

I just got back from Portugal where I spent 9 days eating, drinking and sightseeing -- thinking about the Orioles very little.

And now with their 5-game losing streak, they've given me even less reason to think of them.

Two for two

2011-05-19T16:22:00.003-04:00

Two games against the Red Sox and Yankees.

Two heartbreaking losses.

Read my last post to get the rundown on what happened in Boston. But what happened last night was just as painful to watch, even though you could argue that the Orioles should have never been in the opportunity to win the game in the first place.

Remember Bartolo Colon? 2005 Cy Young Award Winner? I'll always be partial to him since he was an Expo for a brief period of time -- and that trade crippled the Expos/Nationals since they gave up Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips and Grady Sizemore to get him for three months in which they weren't going to get to the post-season anyway. Thanks, Omar Minaya.

Anyway, Colon pitched 8 innings of 3 hit baseball opposite Zach Britton, who pitched 7 innings of 1 run baseball (and that run was unearned, BTW). So Joe Girardi pulls Colon after 8 innings and 85 pitches to get his future hall of fame closer Mariano Rivera into the game. Just as Mike Flanagan and Jim Thorne are going over the worse-than-expected career numbers Rivera has against the Orioles, he blows the save, allowing a sac fly to Vlad Guerrero which ties the game 1-1.

It was an exciting comeback after a devastating loss in Boston. But they hadn't won the game just yet.

The O's went quietly in the bottom of the 10th, and the 11th is where it got interesting. Luis Ayala was on the mound of the Yankees, and Felix Pie lead off the inning with a single. Adam Jones sacrificed him over. Nick Markakis was walked. Guerrero hits a hard grounder to Alex Rodriguez, who fields the ball but is unable to make the throw. Bases loaded, 1 out.

What happens next will go down in infamy. Luke Scott has one of the worst at bats of his career, striking out on a slider down and away. I think it actually bounced into the catcher's glove. And then Matt Wieters flied out to end the inning.

After Jim Johnson retired the Yankees for the second straight inning, the O's had another chance to win the game, facing a Yankees relief pitcher who was making his MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT. This game was prime for the taking.

JJ Hardy and Mark Reynolds both struck out. Noesi was dealing. But wait. Robert Andino walks. Pie singles. Andino moves to third. During Adam Jones' at-bat, Pie nabs second although it's defensive indifference. Jones then walks to load the bases. Nick Markakis comes to bat. Nick, who's had a slow start to the season (even though you could say it's not even the start of the season anymore, being May 18th and all, Nick is having what is called a "down year") has a chance to come up big and win the game.

Nick takes the first pitch for a ball. Wait. You mean that pitch ten inches off home plate was a strike? Are you kidding me? Now that Nick's head is all messed up, he weakly swings at the next pitch in the dirt. If ever there was a sound effect to accompany a swing, that one would deserve a big juicy fart. Down 0-2, Nick takes the next pitch for a ball and then grounds out weakly.

So if you're counting, that's two, TWO chances blown to win the game with bases loaded. At this point I am headed to bed. If the O's hadn't won the game yet, then they're not going to win the game plain and simple. So I head to bed, but turn the game back on. Jeremy Accardo luckily gets out of the inning with the bases loaded and Vlad Guerrero leads off with a base hit to start the bottom of the 13th inning. Luke Scott flies out. Wieters grounds out. Hardy is walked intentionally. And here comes Mark Reynolds.

What does he do? Strikes out looking at a ball thrown right down the middle of the plate.

And with that, I turn the TV off and drift off to what is actually a pleasant night's sleep.

The O's went on to lose 4-1. I hear Brandon Snyder made a blunder and got doubled up at first base on a line drive out and Mike Gonzalez beaned a Yankee in the head after he let up a game winning double.

Well hey, he might be worth keeping after all.

Well, that figures

2011-05-17T10:33:00.003-04:00

After the Orioles swept the Mariners and took two out of three from the first place Rays in Tampa, they headed to Boston 19-20, just a game away from that elusive .500 mark.

In the last 13 years, the Orioles have struggled mightily to get above .500. They've typically either reached it, or a game within it, and then promptly gone on a losing streak to blow any chances of getting back there for the season. The best example of this was 2002, when the Orioles were 61-61 on August 23rd. They finished the season 4-32, good for the worst 36 game stretch in modern baseball history.

And so yesterday, the Orioles held a 6-0 lead over the Red Sox heading into the bottom of the 6th inning. Chris Tillman had walked a tightrope the entire game, but hadn't allowed a run through five. He was pulled from the game with back tightness after just 88 pitches. And so it was up to the bullpen to hold onto a 6-run lead for 4 innings.

As soon as I saw Mike Gonzalez enter the game, I had that knot in my stomach, similar to the feeling you get during bad turbulence after just having eaten Chinese food in the terminal. And it didn't take long for my fears to be realized, as Gonzalez promptly allowed a single to JD Drew. Next batter? Jed Lowrie, double off the monster. 6-1. Carl Crawford hit a dribbler that ate up Mark Reynolds at third. Runners at first and third with no outs. Yeah, here comes the pain.

Jason Varitek, who entered the game hitting .151 looped a single into left field, scoring Lowrie. 6-2, no outs, runners on first and second. And finally, Gonzalez records an out, getting Jacoby Ellisbury to line out. And then came Buck Showalter to relieve Gonzalez, wanting to end on a high note, I guess.

In short, Gonzalez should have never entered the game. A 6-0 lead in Fenway is a 2 or 3 run lead anywhere else. And with it being the 6th inning, it was way too soon to play lefty match-ups. It was a risky move because of Gonzalez's up and down nature as a reliever and he's mostly been down so far this year. So Buck got what he asked for.

Jeremy Accardo relieved Gonzalez, but kept the fire burning. Even though he got Dustin Pedroia to fly out, he gave up a single to Adrian Gonzalez (scoring Crawford) and a double to Kevin Youkilis, scoring Varitek and Gonzalez. Accardo was replaced by Clay Rapada who walked David Ortiz before getting JD Drew, who lead off the inning, to ground out.

And with the score 6-5 after six inning, the writing was on the wall. The Red Sox had three remaining at bats to score just two runs. The Orioles could have forfeited the game at that point and I wouldn't have raised an eyebrow.

But wait. Mark Reynolds hit a home run to lead off the seventh inning. So now we're up 7-5. But that didn't last long, because Jim Johnson allowed a base hit to Jason Varitek in the bottom of the inning, which scored that pesky Jed Lowrie who lead off the inning with a triple. But JJ was able to minimize the damage, keeping the O's lead at 7-6.

The 8th inning was uneventful. Vlad Guerrero hit a double with 1 out but of course they couldn't get him in. And so Kevin Gregg was called on to close the game out. Here's how his masterful 9th inning went:

Varitek - flied out
Ellisbury - walk (Flanagan: Gregg doesn't give in. Translation: he walks a lot of batters)
Pedroia - walk (Gregg still not giving in)
Gonzalez - double off the monster. Ballgame.

Red Sox win, 8-7.

Now, it was a brutal loss. No bones about it. But it was at least lessened by the sixth inning, where the Red Sox scored 5 runs. At that point in the game, I knew the lead would not be held. No way. Our bullpen sucks. And Buck Showalter lied in his commercial about "the win rule". He clearly believes in the "save rule" which is why he keeps crowbaring Kevin Gregg into save situations. Now I know Koji Uehara is not the poster child for stamina, but he sailed through the 8th inning. So why would you bring him back out for the 9th when you can bring in your closer, with his 7 walks per 9 innings ratio, to face the top of the Red Sox line-up in a 1-run game?

I don't know.

Kevin Gregg is not closer material. The way he has been pitching this year he doesn't deserve to be in the majors, actually. And Mike Gonzalez, it was nice know you, pal. The next time you pitch and make that drastic falling motion toward third base, just keep going. Like, completely out of Baltimore. At this point, it's for your own safety.

People can say "it's just one loss" all they want. This was not just one loss. This is the kind of loss that sends this team into tailspins. Not to mention they were trying to reach .500.

My prediction? Here comes another massive losing streak. Book it.

These are the same old Orioles.

They can't hold down leads on the Yankees and Red Sox.

They still can't build a decent bullpen.

And they still can't get above .500.

Same old crappy Orioles.

O's Sweep Mariners

2011-05-13T13:58:00.004-04:00

Easy there, fellas. That's JJ Hardy.

The Orioles appear to be alternating between hot and cold this season with no cool setting on the clubhouse thermostat. After losing 6 of their last 7, including suffering a home sweep at the hands of the Rays, the Orioles swept the Mariners in a wacky series that featured two come-from-behind wins in extra innings and another win coming from a David and Goliath situation.

On Tuesday night, the O's won a crazy game in 14 innings, which involved so many outs at the plate they should put a swinging guillotine in front of it. The most memorable out was JJ Hardy, who was waved around third by O's 3B coach John Russell and thrown out by at least 45 feet. Hardy didn't bother sliding or colliding with the Mariner's catcher, and that's probably a good thing since he probably would have injured himself again. Leads changed at the drop of a dime. But the Orioles pulled it out, thanks to Matt Wieters blooping a base hit into shallow center field with two outs, scoring a very animated Felix Pie who nearly cold-cocked the home plate umpire with a pumped fist.

On Wednesday, the Orioles faced a tough task with 2010 Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez on the mound. Meanwhile, Chris Tillman, fresh off his horrendous start in Kansas City where he lasted 3.2 innings, giving up 10 hits and 8 runs, was pitching for the O's. That's a game the O's lose 9 times out of 10. But they battled Hernandez, making him throw a lot of pitching and getting him out of the game pretty early. And Tillman bounced back in a big way, allowing 1 run in 6 IP in the win, despite throwing his normal 100 pitches to get through 6 innings.

And last night, the Orioles won an exciting pitcher's duel featuring both Jason Vargas and Zach Britton pitching 9 innings of shutout baseball. Britton allowed just 3 hits, all singles, in his 9 innings of work. The Mariners got the game's first run in the 12th, but the Orioles were able to take advantage of Mariners' closer Brandon League for the second time in the series. Derrek Lee started off the inning with a single. Then League drilled Guerrero in the middle of the back. Then League's fastball clipped Jones' leg loading the bases. The next batter, Matt Wieters (looking to earn the second game winning hit of the series), lined out on a play that could have very well doubled up Jake Fox at second, who was running for Guerrero. The next batter was JJ Hardy, who was red hot since coming back from injury, and he lined a ball straight up the middle that was able to score Lee and Fox for the winning runs.

The post game celebration was fun to watch, as the players stormed Hardy on the infield while Buck Showalter stood by the dugout and looked on like a proud father, unable to hold back a smile. The image was reminiscent to the end of a sports movie. It's a shame that the season is filled with so many ups and downs and that image of Buck standing there, proud of his team, is bound to get lost in the remainder of the season.

But will the Orioles be able to continue the celebration? Was that win and celebration the turning point for the 2011 season?

The O's travel back to Tampa to face the Rays again, just three games since they last played. So which Orioles team will show up? The one that was swept? Or the one that does the sweeping?

The shortest (and most true) blog article I will ever write...

2011-05-10T09:11:00.001-04:00

To answer the question I posed at the end of my last blog post...Yes.

Al Pacino said it best...

2011-05-03T16:36:00.004-04:00

"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."

That's the Orioles for you. Just when you thought they were headed for another 100-loss season after losing 10 of 12, they started playing better baseball, taking 2 of 3 from the Red Sox and 3 of 4 from the White Sox.

5 of their last 7 ain't bad. And they now sit at 14-15, 3rd in the AL East, 4.5 games back of the Yankees.

The pitching has been solid. The bats are starting to wake up. And the Orioles actually resembled a good team, taking advantage of the many mistakes the White Sox made in this last series. And they made a lot.

The O's now head to Kansas City to face the upstart Royals who are 15-13 behind a powerful line-up that's 3rd in the AL in scoring. Their team ERA, however, is 10th, and their starting pitchers have a collective ERA of 5.11. So the Orioles may not want to get into the Royals bullpen. Just string the Royals starters along like a cat with a mouse, letting them live just...long...enough.

And while the Orioles are currently 11th in runs and 12th in pitching, they've been playing a lot better lately: getting good starts out of their rotation (3.98 ERA) and getting some great clutch hitting (.885 OPS with RISP), and look to ride some momentum into KC.

But that's the O's for you. Setting you up just to disappoint you.

Will it happen again?

Worst case scenarios

2011-04-26T09:13:00.003-04:00

Worst case scenarios. In Baltimore they're as seasonal as leaves changing color and the first flowers of spring.

Each year, there are some new faces in the dugout, some increased optimism that "this can be the year the O's take a step forward", and then boom! The Orioles are back in last place and fans are left to wonder why this keeps happening each year.

The 2011 Orioles weren't on many postseason lists, but they were supposed to play better baseball, maybe even finish with a record above .500. But after getting off to a hot 6-1 start, the Orioles have lost 10 of 12 and are facing another long season where the losses mount and the frustration and anger spreads through the fanbase like a cancer.

In 2010, the Orioles finished April with a 5-20 record and were at one point 2-16. The worst case scenario that year was the Orioles' inability to knock in runners in scoring position. At one point they were something like an astounding 2 for 50 with RISP. But as the season wore on and the losses mounted, it became clear that the O's just weren't any good. New faces like Garrett Atkins were excruciatingly bad, and Brian Roberts was lost for most of the season, ultimately contributing to a season that many O's fans would like to forget.

But then Buck Showalter arrived, snapped his fingers, and the Orioles began to play better -- much better -- finishing 34-23 under Buck's watch. And fans felt there was reason for legit hope in Baltimore again. Throw in a "good on paper" offseason where the Orioles added some power in the guise of Vladimir Guerrero, Derrek Lee and Mark Reynolds, a 6-1 start to the 2011 season, and Oriole fans were ready to line-up for playoff tickets.

But then the other shoe dropped -- another worst case scenario. Despite the big names in the line-up, the hitters haven't been, well, hitting.

Guerrero and his .943 career OPS? .663 OPS in 2011.

Lee and his .862 career OPS? .570 OPS in 2011.

Reynolds and his .810 career OPS? .606 OPS in 2011.

And what about the other guys? The ones who have been here for the last few years? Not much better....

Nick Markakis and his .825 career OPS? .591 OPS in 2011.

Adam Jones and his .743 career OPS? .681 OPS in 2011.

Luke Scott and his .853 career OPS? .666 OPS in 2011.

Only Brian Roberts and Matt Wieters have avoided being terrible at the plate, with a .759 and .789 OPS respectively.

By the same token, the pitching, with a 4.74 team ERA, is good for 14th in the AL. Their struggles have no doubt contributed to the Orioles woes, but they have also allowed lot of runs in single games (13 vs Texas, 15 vs New York and a pair of 8 run losses to Cleveland) which has inflated the ERA. The starting pitchers (Jeremy Guthrie, Zach Britton and Jake Arrieta) have been decent thus far, minus one or two bad appearances from Brad Bergesen and Chris Tillman. Meanwhile, the bullpen clearly has a "A team" and a "B team".

All this adds up to a 2-10 record over the last 12 games. Is it just a bad streak of baseball or is it a sign of things to come?

So there you have it. Another worst case scenario: the hitters aren't hitting and to a lesser extent, the pitching is the worst in the AL.

Remeber that hope we had after the finish to last season? After the 6-1 start?

It's Baltimore, folks. Nothing lasts forever.

O's limping into series with Yankees

2011-04-22T09:43:00.003-04:00

The Orioles have lost 9 of their last 11 games after dropping a frustrating 3-1 game to the Minnesota Twins, last night. The Twins, with several key injuries, resembled their AAA team more than a MLB team. Despite this, the O's only managed to split the 4-game series with the Twins after coming off an 8-game losing streak.

The series split was akin to a cat allowing a wounded mouse to get away.

Now the Yankees come into town. And then the Red Sox. And their fans.

It would have been nice to steal last night's game from the Twins and head into the Yankees series with a 9-9 record. But it still doesn't change the fact that the Orioles have a tough task ahead of them. And despite a 2-game stretch where the bats finally woke up, the offense is still struggling to find their groove.

You know it's bad when Robert Andino leads the offense with a .308 batting average. And Brian Roberts, Vlad Guerrero, Matt Wieters and Felix Pie are also hitting well. But the big boppers in the line-up -- Nick Markakis, Derrek Lee, Adam Jones and Mark Reynolds -- all have averages .222 or under with slugging percentages that wouldn't even be good batting averages.

The Orioles are throwing Brad Bergesen, Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta against the Yankees. All the pitchers are very up and down, although Arrieta has had success against the Yankees in his brief career thus far.

So it looks like the probability of getting swept or stealing just one game from the Yanks is high.

And while the Red Sox got off to a poor start, they're playing better as of late and are only a game behind the Orioles in the win column.

If the Orioles are going to take any steps forward in 2011, now is the time to do it.

R.I.P. Willie Don!

2011-04-21T12:27:00.003-04:00

Being born in 1979, William Donald Schaefer (mayor of Baltimore from 1971-1987, governor of Maryland 1987-1995) was always a familiar figure to me growing up, but I didn't fully grasp who he was and what he meant to Baltimore until I was much older.

I probably never will fully grasp it.

Schaefer passed away earlier this week, at the age of 89. People say he was hands down the greatest mayor the city of Baltimore ever had, and quite possibly one of the best mayors any city in America has ever had.

Much of the reasoning for that high praise can be found in this Esquire article, published in the mid-80's when Schaefer was getting coast-to-coast props for cleaning up Baltimore and making it a tourist destination at a time when American cities were dying (for example, in its first year of operation, Harborplace outdrew Disneyworld!). Esquire calls the article one of the best they've ever published and while reading it, it's not hard to tell why.

But for me, a die-hard Baltimore sports fan, two of Schaefer's biggest victories were getting the Orioles a new stadium, thus guaranteeing that they wouldn't follow the Colts out of the city, and lobbying hard for the NFL's return to Baltimore, after the Colts left and broke Schaefer's, and everyone else's heart, in 1984.

In a nutshell, Schaefer believed that the city of Baltimore should have everything, despite it's "second city" image. He didn't care if bigger cities like Washington, DC or Philadelphia were just a short distance away. And in the end, the city of Baltimore looks like it does today thanks in large part to the work Schaefer did throughout his life as a public servant.

He will be missed and there probably won't ever be another politician in the same vein.

Losing streak reaches eight in a row...

2011-04-18T23:08:00.000-04:00

That's not me, but it might as well be.

The Orioles lost 5-3 to the Twins last night, bringing their current losing streak to eight in a row.

And right now I feel so hopeless, so angry, so devastated that I am having trouble focusing.

It shouldn't this bad, right? But it is. Again.

A year removed from a horrific April, where the Orioles started 2-16 and finished the month with a record of 5-18, the Orioles are doing their best to erase any goodwill built up from their strong 34-23 showing under Buck Showalter in 2010 and the 6-1 start they jumped out to in 2011.

Losing streaks happen to good teams and bad, but this one is different. At least for me.

I'll tell you why.

I keep getting my hopes up. This past offseason the O's made some flashy moves to "improve the team". The season got off to a good start and I threw down $200 on a 4-game ticket plan.

And what do I get for it?

An eight game losing streak the third week of the season.

I feel like a dope. I feel embarrassed. I feel like the guy who keeps going back to the wife who cheats on him and throws plates at his head. And just when I think everything will get better, it only happens again, but in a slightly different way, just to keep surprising you with how bad it can get.

I am tired of always having that dreaded feeling in the back of my head come true when it comes to this team. You always know they will fuck it up when they actually do something good. And I always get angry and embarrassed when it comes true all over again.

I have tickets to this Friday's game against the Yankees. And right now I can't even envision the thought of going to a game, much less a Yankees game, where the Yankee fans will be out in full regalia and the Yankees will no doubt pound the shit our of our beloved zer0's.

So why do I put up with it?

I try not to, to be honest. I haven't watched much of the last four losses although I did tune in just in time to see Kevin Gregg cork one in the dirt with the bases loaded, which allowed a run to score. Gregg, by the way, is fast on his way of becoming another one of Andy's "Epic MacFail" bullpen signings. But for the life of me I can't help but allow my happiness and anger be largely dictated by this baseball team.

So until I somehow figure out how to make a clean break, I'm just another suffering Oriole fan. Hopefully the players will have mercy on me and win tonight, giving me at least a brief reprieve of bliss in what is sure to be another disappointing Orioles season.

Trying to find the words...

2011-04-17T21:06:00.000-04:00

Well, here we are again. It's a new season, with many new players, a (kinda) new manager and yet the results are still the same. After a quick 6-1 start to the season the Orioles have lost 7 in a row and appear to be back in the same old Orioles funk that they get into year after year.

It is still early, yes, but you don't have to be a calculus major to see where this is headed.

However, I do believe this year is different. At least it was supposed to be different. I mean, we added some good players. Buck Showalter was demanding better performance. We got off to a good start...

So why am I back here, trying to grasp in the dark for some words to put down in a blog about the Orioles?

I guess you could say that all teams, good or bad, go through losing streaks. But seven games in a row? That is the kind of thing to be expected from the Orioles of the past -- the ones with little talent on their roster and a manager in the dugout who no one respected. This year the Orioles were supposed to avoid extended losing streaks through better pitching and more beef in their line-up. Yet so far the pitching has been hit or miss, especially in the bullpen, and the hitting, especially 3-6 in the line up where no one has an OPS above .700, has been downright dreadful.

In short, it's the same old Orioles -- doing what they can to lose games they could easily win.

Thankfully, the Twins limp to town with a line-up that lacks star sluggers Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. And if ever there was a time to right the ship, it would be back at home where the Orioles play their next ten games against Minnesota, New York and Boston.

So where do you think this season is headed? Another hapless near-100 loss season? Or is this team different, and we just haven't seen them get on the same page yet?

I really don't know. But I don't have a lot of faith in the Baltimore Orioles right now. They really need to start showing me something, and fast.

Chickens come home to roost in loss to Yankees

2011-04-15T09:39:00.005-04:00

You're out! Pie's sorry excuse for a slide costs the Orioles a crucial insurance run in the 8th inning that eventually lead to a stinging 6-5 loss to the Yankees.

Well, thank God for that rainout, or else the Orioles would have probably been swept in three games by the Yankees instead of just two.

Last night was one of those losses that throw fans into a meltdown on internet message boards and sports talk shows. After holding a 5-0 lead heading into the 5th inning on the back of a gutsy Jake Arrieta performance, the Yankees did what they always do -- chipped away at the lead until they entered the ninth inning trailing by one run.

They also benefited from a play at the plate in the top of the 8th inning. Joba Chamberlain was pitching with men on first and third (Pie). Chamberlain corked one in the dirt which bounced to the backstop and back again, allowing Yankees catcher Russel Martin to flip the ball to Chamberlain who was covering the plate in a way that deterred Pie from sliding. Instead, Pie awkwardly dragged his foot around Chamberlain and didn't get low enough. His foot missed the plate by an inch and Chamberlain was able to turn and tag Pie out.

It was a good play by Chamberlain and Pie was going to have to come up with a brilliant slide in order to be safe. He almost was. But Pie was Pie and didn't come through. I would have liked to seen Pie plow into Chamberlain, who was in the basepath (to his credit). It's time the Orioles attack the Yankees aggressively and show the world they are not going to bow down to the Yankees anymore. I know it would be impossible for Pie to process all that in a split second and make a decision based on that past history, but I think Buck should be drilling it into his players to get that run no matter what, even if it means making contact. Especially against the Yankees.

Anyway, after failing to get that crucial insurance run, Buck Showalter opted to bring in newly-signed closer, Kevin Gregg, to finish the Yankees in the bottom of the ninth, but Gregg wasted no time, allowing a first-pitch game-tying home run to the ageless Jorge Posada. It's a move that Showalter is getting criticized for and probably justifiably so. Buck had Koji Uehara warming up in the bullpen, but went with the shaky Gregg instead.

Gregg was signed for 2 years, $10 million during the offseason despite putting up some concerning stats last year as the closer for the Blue Jays. Yeah, he saved 37 games last year, but averaged 4.6 walks per 9 innings and had a 3.51 ERA. He did, however, pitch well against the Yankees last year, saving 4 games with a 1.23 ERA.

That success went out the window with just one pitch.

Gregg closed out the rest of the ninth, sending the game into extra innings. And with the Orioles scoring 5 runs, thanks in part to a Nick Markakis 2-run home run, you had the feeling that they were done for the night after the fifth inning. They went quietly in the top of the tenth and Buck brought in Michael Gonzalez who promptly lost the game.

It wasn't the best night for Buck, but I think he deserves a pass for most of it. Andy MacPhail did sign Gregg to be the closer, after all. But it's just a reminder of the shoddy work MacPhail has done at improving the bullpen. The Orioles have committed $26 million and forfeited two draft picks to sign Gregg and Gonzalez, both shaky pitchers who put too many men on in what are usually crucial times.

In the grand scheme of things, it was just one loss, but the O's are in a 4-game slide and the momentum they had with their 6-1 start is quickly evaporating. Stealing a game in Yankee stadium this early would have been huge for this team, but instead, the Orioles did what they always do, and gave the game away.

SS, DY.

Koji should inspire O's to find more Asian pitchers

2011-04-08T09:27:00.004-04:00

Uehara is third all time in appearances without a walk, with 35 after last night's appearance.

You see it every time Koji Uehara takes the mound.

The Japanese (and Asian) values of discipline and quiet integrity. Uehara hasn't walked a batter in 35 appearances and is third all time in appearances without a walk. He throws strikes and isn't afraid of contact. If you beat him, at least he gave you his best. But he will not beat himself by giving you a free base.

While watching the Japanese team win the last two World Baseball Championships, as well as seeing the South Korean advance deep into both WBC's, it became obvious to American fans that many Asian players share Koji's values when it comes to baseball. And after watching what Uehara has done the last two years in Baltimore, GM Andy MacPhail should be kicking in every door trying to find the next Uehara.

In a bullpen filled with pitchers who are prone to high numbers of base on balls -- especially Michael Gonzalez and Kevin Gregg, who are both being paid to be the closer -- Uehara is quietly collecting a modest contract and delivering results.

Uehara has his drawbacks, namely his frailty, which can include the slightest injury or inability to adapt to heat and humidity, but when healthy, Uehara has performed at the highest level possible.

I don't know who the next big Asian pitcher would be. Maybe Yu Darvish, who seems destined to sign with the Yankees and Red Sox.

But MacPhail should be working day and night to find out who that next pitcher is. And for proof of that, he needs to look no further than under his nose at Uehara.

At a loss

2011-04-07T14:20:00.003-04:00

It was painful: The Orioles allowed four home runs in a 7-3 loss to the Tigers, the O's first loss of the season.

Well, the Orioles couldn't have gone undefeated all season, could they?

The Birds lost 7-3 loss to Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers in a game where Verlander got an early lead and coasted to a victory with 9 K's over 8 innings.

Brad Bergesen, who was making a start in place of Jeremy Guthrie, who is recovering from pneumonia, allowed a 3-run home run to Tigers catcher, Alex Avila in the second inning after Brian Roberts dropped a weak fly ball into right field and Bergesen made a throwing error himself. And in the 4th inning, Bergesen did the same, allowing another HR to Aviles. Both bombs came with 2 outs in the inning. Bergesen didn't last long, going only 3.2 IP, allowing 5 hits, 2 walks and striking out two.

The Orioles did manage to pull within 2 runs with a Derrek Lee home run in the bottom of the 4th, but then reliever Josh Rupe promptly allowed two more home runs (Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez) to put the O's back down by 4 runs. Rupe threw mostly fastballs in his appearance and his pitches seemed to have decent life and movement, topping out at 95 MPH, but his mistakes were costly, and the sluggers make him pay. The bullpen troubles continued as Michael Gonzalez made a shaky appearance, allowing a run in his 1.1 innings pitched and Kevin Gregg allowed 2 hits in his inning of work.

But if the Orioles are going to lose they might as well get all of that shakiness out all at once, especially when facing another team's ace pitcher while throwing up a replacement pitcher of their own.

Tonight, the Orioles look to take their second series in a row to start the season as Chris Tillman takes the mound against the Tigers' Brad Penny. Tillman pitched six hitless innings in Tampa last weekend and looks to build off of that encouraging start against Penny, who is coming off a brutal, 4.1 IP, 8 ER performance against the Yankees.

The O's better get their wins in quick, because the slugging Texas Rangers come into town tomorrow, before heading to New York to take on the Yankees next week.

4-0

2011-04-05T09:54:00.005-04:00

Brian Roberts hit a three-run home run on opening day to propel the Orioles to a win and a 4-0 start.

It only took the Orioles four games to win four games, something that it took twenty games for the O's to do in 2010. And by getting off to their first 4-0 start since 1997, they've injected the city of Baltimore with a virus called Oriole Fever.

I was at the sell-out opening day game yesterday and it was obvious that Oriole fans were hungry for winning baseball. Fans hung on every pitch and cheered loudly with every strike out and run scored.

Brian Roberts provided the fireworks on the day, hitting a 3-run home run, his second 3-run bomb in 3 days. But so far this season, it's been the pitching that's put the Orioles where they are in the standings. O's pitchers have allowed only 1 run per game thus far.

Jeremy Guthrie and Chris Tillman have combined for 14 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 11 K, and 4 BB.

Zach Britton, filling in for Brian Matusz who is going to miss 4-6 weeks with a sore back, made his MLB debut on Sunday, going 6 IP, allowing 3 H, 1 ER and striking out 6. And yesterday, Jake Arrieta went 6 IP, allowing 6 H, 1 ER, 3 K and 2 BB. And in the bullpen, Jason Berken has been absolutely dealing, pitching 3 innings with 6 K's and a 0.00 ERA.

On the offensive side, Roberts leads the team with 8 RBI while Matt Wieters, Mark Reynolds, JJ Hardy and Nick Markakis each have 2 RBI. Other than Roberts, Markakis (.429 AVG) and Matt Wieters (.385 AVG), the offense has been workmanlike, and most of the new faces have yet to get going. But it's still early. And if the Oriole pitching keeps chugging along like they have, the offense won't be a problem.

So there it is, O's fans. For once, a best-case scenario has happened in Baltimore. The Orioles are 4-0 to start the season and have exercised any demons that still lingered from last year's historically bad start.

****

Going into their first off day of the season, the Orioles received word that Jeremy Guthrie has pneumonia and is likely to miss 5-7 days and possibly 2 starts. Brad Bergesen will pitch on Wednesday.

And so it begins...

2011-04-01T16:37:00.002-04:00

In almost two hours the Orioles will take the field in Tampa Bay to begin the 2011 season.

I am happy baseball is back. Win or lose, it's a lot more fun talking about actual games than it is talking about player signings or who is looking good or bad in spring training. So at least there's that.

And while I'm not ready to go all-in with this team, I am excited, and I do expect them to be a lot better than the 66-96 record they compiled a year ago. They've brought in better players and Buck Showalter has instilled his system during spring training. You have to think that will make a big difference.

And most everyone is healthy, which is the most important thing coming out of spring training. Hopefully it will remain that way as the season evolves. While the O's are a little better prepared to deal with injuries in 2011 with Nolan Reimold and Zach Britton waiting in Norfolk after excellent grapefruit campaigns, the Orioles have been decimated by injures in the past. They can't let it happen again.

Yet I still believe this team has a lot of question marks. Age, health, and the ability to bounce back from down years linger over all of the new faces. And we've yet to see any one of the younger players take that big step forward to become the centerpiece of the franchise.

So if I had to make a prediction, I'd go with 82-80 -- just enough to finally end that 13-year losing streak -- but still being somewhat disappointing since it means no serious run at the playoffs.

But I believe the team's ceiling is higher than that -- closer to 90 wins.

Will I regret such an "optimistic" prediction? Probably. But whereas in years past the team's ceiling wasn't much better than a .500 record, I don't feel that way about this year's team. More is being asked for from this team. It's no longer a developmental year -- no more shooting for .500. Buck is demanding wins. And this is a perfect time to do so at this point in the careers of these players. So I do feel like the team is demanding more from themselves --more importance on each at-bat, each out, in each game -- which could translate into things falling into place, ie, more wins. Hopefully we won't see the Orioles fall into a slumber for weeks at a time where they seem to be going through the motions like they did for most of the 2010 season.

If we know anything about the 2011 season, it's that Buck will not stand for that.

So it's time to put up or shut up.

And with that, I'll end it here.

Go O's!

Britton, Reimold starting 2011 in AAA

2011-03-29T15:02:00.004-04:00

Chin up, Nolan, you'll be back sooner than you know it.

Zach Britton was the O's best starting pitcher this spring.

It's bittersweet to see Nolan Reimold and Zach Britton sent to Norfolk to start the 2011 season.

For Reimold, he was squeezed off of the 25-man roster because Luke Scott became the starting LF when Vladimir Guerrero was signed. And even though Reimold outplayed Felix Pie this spring (.315 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI), Pie is out of options and the O's will likely give him a month or so to sink or swim. And while I like Pie, I don't believe he's ever going to put it together, so Nolan probably shouldn't have to wait long.

In the case of Britton, it was a smart business for the O's to keep him down for a couple weeks to gain an extra year of control over the 3-year-old lefty. It's a similar move to sending Matt Wieters to Norfolk in 2009 to start the year when he should have made the team. Britton should have made the team, too, allowing just 3 ER in 20 IP -- with two of those starts coming against the Yankees. He was arguably the best Oriole pitcher this spring. But this is the way the business goes and Zach, who was pretty peeved at not making the team, should understand that.

So while it pains me to see these guys start the year in the minors, it also gives the Orioles two bullets in the chamber should any problems arise. Chances are not everyone is going to make every start this year and Reimold and Britton will have their number called sooner than later.

They're [already] here!!!

2011-03-29T12:21:00.006-04:00

Over the last two nights I watched two similar movies about alien invasions: District 9 and Monsters.

Each had their own spin to the invasion, and handled it differently, but at their core, they were movies that used the alien invasions to take a hard look at today's social issues.

District 9, which is set in South Africa, immediately draws comparisons to apartheid. A ship full of aliens docks itself over Johannesburg, and humans being curious, explore the ship and find a million malnourished aliens. But the good gesture of helping these creatures soon turns, and the humans clash with the creatures, they dub "prawns". They are then locked away in a segregated area, called District 9, which resembles the slums of any overpopulated city across the world.

In Monsters, the premise involves a space probe sent to explore life in our solar system which then crashes back onto earth, "infecting" most of Mexico with the life form it brought back with it. The creatures are dangerous, and the US military seeks to wipe them out. But by the end of the movie, we come to see that the creatures are less the "monsters" of the title, and just lifeforms, like any other species among us on earth. They can be dangerous, yes, but beautiful, if viewed from a safe distance as the characters in Monsters do at the end of the film.

And in their endings, Monsters and District 9 takes a similar approach. The aliens aren't all bad, just misunderstood, and our ignorance of them makes us fear them. Hey, isn't that what's going on between Christians, Jews and Muslims right now in the middle east? And right here in American between liberals and conservatives?

District 9 and Monsters are two of the best sci-fi movies to come out in years. They don't sensationalize the invasion, like Independence Day, War of the Worlds and Battle: Los Angeles. And these are not movies where the alien beings need to be wiped out to insure our survival. They are more about life returning to normal after earth shattering events (9/11, anyone?) and how those events shape the people who lived through them.

But perhaps the biggest similarity between the two movies is this: our reactions to creatures from outer space aren't that much different than the reactions we have to other humans.

And that is a scary thought.

Is there a bigger douchebag than Nasty Nestor?

2011-03-24T17:31:00.000-04:00

Mothers, don't let your babies grow up to be assholes.

It's hard to believe I was once a big fan of Nestor "Nasty Aparicio.

Actually, maybe not.

He's related to former Orioles shortstop Luis Aparicio for starters. And back in the mid-1990's he was a brash, opinionated Baltimore sports talk show host on small AM radio stations that were a welcome change from the milquetoast sports talk that filled Baltimore airwaves at the time.

I'll always have fond memories of listening to Nestor's show when the news broke of the Cleveland Browns moving to Baltimore. I was eating dinner with my parents with Nestor's excited voice coming through the speakers as he hosted callers who couldn't contain their own excitement of the NFL coming back to Baltimore after 13 long years.

I've also run into Nestor a few times. The first being at BWI Airport the night that Art Modell arrived in Baltimore after the move was announced. The second was while in Cincinnati for a Ravens road trip back in 2008. Both times they were simple exchanges of excited cliches, but I felt like he was a down-to-earth heartfelt guy who loved Baltimore. Especially in that first meeting, before Nestor became who -- or what -- he is today.

So what sent me over the edge and caused me to take to my blog to write about Nasty Nestor?

It's his most recent article on his WNST website, where he tells O's skipper Buck Showalter to "shut up" after Buck made some comments about Derek Jeter and Red Sox GM Theo Epstein.

Buck's comments were harmless. They were simply intended to fire up his players and fans, and get them ready for a season of baseball where losing will not be accepted. But Nestor has it completely wrong -- or simply doesn't want to see what Buck was striving for with his comments. He simply uses Buck's comments as a jumping off point to do what he always does -- remind us how low the Orioles have fallen in the last 13 years -- and how great the Yankees and Red Sox have been in that same period.

We get it, Nasty.

However, Nestor fails to understand that what happened before Buck doesn't mean a thing. So all that "13 years crap" doesn't apply here. Buck has no impact on what happened before he arrived on August 3, 2010. All I know is, since Buck Showalter has been manager of the Orioles, his team has gone 34-23 and managed to play .500 ball against the Yankees and Red Sox.

Even Nasty Nestor would have to hope that Buck Showalter can build on the instant momentum in 2011.

But then again, maybe not.

For better or worse, Nestor has built such a reputation on being so anti-Orioles that it's almost impossible for him to turn back now without looking like a total fair-weather fan asshole. Maybe at his core Nestor still hopes the Orioles return to glory. Maybe his Orioles hatred is simply a tool to gain listeners and attention. But I also think that the damage has been done. Oh well, who cares, right?

Nestor had a legit beef with the Orioles when he started getting dissed by the team in the early 2000's. His media credentials were apparently revoked. And the incident that seemingly sent Nestor over the edge was, get this, the Oriole bird squirting him with a water gun.

Yeah, that's what caused him to throw his Oriole jersey in a trash can and walk away from it like Spider-Man -- an Oriole fan, no more. A fucking water gun.

But it only got worse when Nestor created his own radio station, WNST. He used his Orioles hatred as a publicity tool and wore it as a badge of honor. And he was probably smart to do it since it was easy to hate the Orioles in the early 2000's. Angelos was in full megalomaniac-owner mode and Sid Thrift was going on the radio and saying that Gary Dell'Abate (Baba Booey from Howard Stern) was "looking good" as a prospect when someone called in and pranked him.

Nestor's anti-Oriole fever-pitch reached its pinnacle with "Free the Birds", a night out at an Oriole game where Nestor and his listeners walked out during the middle of the game and roamed around the stadium chanting "Sell Pete Sell".

But since then, the Orioles have at least tried to clean up their image. They hired Andy MacPhail, who despite his shaky track record as GM so far, he's at least brought an air of respectability back to the team. The Orioles have also introduced a ton of promotions at games to bring back fans. And this offseason they've totally revamped their food options, bringing back National Bohemian beer on tap and introducing a slew of local-inspired dishes.

And most importantly, let's not forget, they hired Buck Showalter, who gave the Orioles even more credibility.

But here is Nasty Nestor Aparicio, still thumping his chest and reminding us how bad the Orioles still are. Meanwhile, the few talented hosts that Nestor employed at WNST have all left, leaving Nestor all alone as he spews his tired bullshit to people who don't care any more. It's a mere week from opening day, where hope springs eternal for fans of every team in baseball. People want to believe the O's can get better, at least for a couple of weeks. But Nestor wants to steal even that away from them. Just because Buck Showalter made some harmless comments about Derek Jeter.

Nestor, just take a clue from yourself, dude and shut the fuck up.

Two Week Notice

2011-03-18T16:46:00.003-04:00

Brad Bergesen is at least healthy, but he's had a tough spring so far.

Well, we're two weeks away from Opening Night in Tampa Bay.

It's hard for me to read into every little detail that comes out of spring training, since you never know what players are working on during exhibition games. For me, it's all about who's healthy and who's not. And right now there are four players who are still battling injuries and trying to get into games.

Those players are Justin Duchscherer (hip), Koji Uehara (elbow), Brian Roberts (back) and Derrek Lee (wrist). According to Rotoworld, all of these players are practicing and could see playing time within the next week, and all of them are still on schedule to be ready by opening day.

However, the chances are slim that Duchsherer will be ready to go, given his injury history. And my money is on Koji to suffer a setback sometime soon as well. And since Lee hasn't gotten into a game yet so far, it is unlikely he'd be ready for regular season games by opening day, too. That leaves Roberts, who has his own tough injury history, but out of the four, I'd say he's the best bet to be ready by opening day. And he's played in 4 games thus far.

As for healthy players, here's who's hot and who's not:

WHO'S HOT

Jake Fox
.356 AVG
.911 SLG
7 HR
12 RBI

Brandon Snyder
.353 AVG
.559 SLG
1 HR

J.J. Hardy
.333 AVG
.455 SLG
1 HR

Nick Markakis
.333 AVG
.704 SLG
2 HR

Nolan Reimold
.333 AVG
.564 SLG
2 HR.

Adam Jones
.278 AVG
.583 SLG
3 HR

Vlad Guerrero
.257 AVG
.543 SLG
3 HR

WHO'S NOT

Luke Scott
.067 AVG
.100 SLG

Felix Pie
.211 AVG
.263 SLG

Mark Reynolds
.206 AVG
.265 SLG

On the pitching side:

WHO'S HOT

Zach Britton
0.00 ERA
9 IP

Josh Rupe
0.00 ERA
11.2 IP

WHO'S NOT

Brad Bergesen
6.94 ERA
11.2 IP

Jeremy Guthrie
6.00 ERA
9 IP

So take from that what you will. Overall, I'd say spring training is cruising along nicely so far with only four players dealing with injuries. Unfortunately, all four players are supposed to be key contributors in 2011.

City Tour #4 -- Miami, Florida

2011-03-15T15:59:00.000-04:00

Miami.

The name alone conjures so many different images that it's often difficult to know where to start. Palm trees? Bikini-clad women? Miami Vice? Bad Boys? Dexter?

Like Los Angeles, I had a pre-conceived image of Miami from various reality shows and movies. I felt a natural instinct to reject it based on its image alone. But when I arrived while Baltimore was in the midst of a blizzard and felt the warm Florida sun on my face, I let all that celebrity and reality show bullshit fall away. And since then I view Miami the eyes that actually drank in the city instead of the eyes that watched TV shows and movies based in Miami.

Ironically, Miami has been kind of a rest stop to me, having driven through it on three separate occasions to reach the Florida Keys. And with the Keys a little over an hour away, it almost felt like there was no reason to stop in Miami. Why would you want to spend time in a city all the way down here instead of pristine vacant beaches? If you wanted to do that, you should have stayed in Ocean City.

And that is probably why I enjoyed Miami so thoroughly, because in many ways, it reminded me of my childhood memories of a city on a beach -- Ocean City, MD. But about a million times better.

I should also specify, I didn't set foot in downtown Miami. So this review could probably be called South Beach just as easily, but do people really travel to Miami for leisure and spend time downtown?

I don't think so. It's South Beach or nothing.

1. Art & Culture --5-- Just saying the word "South Beach" evokes many images: bikinis, palm trees, blue water and art deco architecture. The city's Cuban, Latin America and Caribbean influences make it feel like the most foreign city on U.S. soil -- all while being an incredibly clean and well-kept city. Also, Miami has been the setting for some of the best TV shows and movies in the history of the medium. Perhaps that's because of Miami's infamous history as the cocaine capital of America. That said, Miami seems to be missing something that most other cities have...a surviving nucleus at its core that goes back to the beginning of the city itself. The Miami we all know and love seems to have been established within the last 30 or so years and maybe that's why beside some art deco buildings, there isn't many major sites to see in the city other than the newest trendy restaurant or bar.

2. Food --8-- Nowhere else can Miami's many cultural influences be seen more than in its food. Cuban, Mexican, Caribbean...it's all there on every street corner and in every restaurant. I bought a six pack of Quilmes beer at the local liquor store, which is from Argentina. And although I am sure you can find it at many liquor stores across America, it felt right at home in Miami, as if the city said to me, "You're almost in Argentina. Try it."

3. Mass Transit --6-- Although Miami lacks a comprehensive rail-based system, it does have a monorail line that runs north to south and a people mover in the downtown area. While I didn't use any of that while I was there, I did use a very effective bus that picked me up at the airport and took me to South Beach -- all for $2.50 each way. That's a steal. You can get a lot of places on the city's bus system, and while that may not be as sexy as a metro subway or a light rail system, it works for now.

4. Look & Feel --7-- Despite it's lack of major sites to see, Miami remains a very attractive city in every sense of the word. It's CBD skyline is colorful in a playful way and the same can be said of South Beach, especially at night, with the marquees of the many hotels lining Ocean Drive illuminated by neon signs. Their art deco architecture takes you back to the early 1900's while the crowds popping in and out of the swanky restaurants and bars located in many of the hotels remind you that you are here, now. The feel of Miami is relaxed, with the desperation of being seen, yet so many people in the city try to remain discreet in a tented chez lounge at an upscale hotel pool or VIP lounge.

5. Overall --8-- Miami is a cool city. I mean, come on...Will Smith wrote a song about it. That said, Miami lacks a certain historical aspect that makes many northern cities more aesthetically pleasing. But this is Florida, after all. You're supposed to relax, enjoy the sun, and wear as little as possible. Miami remains America's gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America, and for that reason alone, it's one of America's most unique cities.

Total -- 34/50

City Tour #3 -- Los Angeles, California

2011-02-25T23:16:00.000-05:00

For my first American city, I'll reminisce over Los Angeles, a city so big and sprawling that it encompasses many smaller cities and towns that each bring something different to the collective table.

I was only there for three days in 2009 before disembarking to Tahiti, so forgive me if L.A. didn't get my full attention while I was there. But I did enjoy my time in L.A. -- more than I thought I would.

Growing up, L.A. seemed to be too overwhelming to visit and I couldn't help but have the same impression when I started to plan for our visit. I'd been raised to think that traffic in L.A. was horrific but didn't experience any of it while I was there and I was surprised to see that the city was aggressively expanding its mass transit system even as the state of California faced an epic deficit.

In short, I didn't want to like L.A. As an east coast native, I wanted to reject the L.A. lifestyle of being famous for no reason, worshiping celebrities, being a Lakers fan and everything else that has become synonymous with Los Angeles. But I came away from L.A. with a deep appreciation for the city. I found that it wasn't completely a playground for the Kardashians or the cast of Laguna Beach. And maybe that's because our unofficial tour guide while in L.A. was so anti-L.A. despite living there that it rubbed off on me.

Perhaps my most favorite thing about the city was that while you could be in L.A., you could also be in a certain neighborhood that had a feel all its own, and not even feel like you're in L.A. -- Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Hollywood, Downtown...

So here is how I thought L.A. stacked up as a whole.

I saw the sign. And it opened up my eyes. I saw the sign.

1. Arts & Culture --10-- There is a little place called Hollywood that makes pretty much every movie that gets shown on a theater in America each year. Plus, all of the major television networks have studios in the city. L.A. also has a rich history of novelists (James Ellroy, Brett Easton Ellis) and has been home to many rock bands and rappers since...forever.

The bomb-ass shrimp tacos.

2. Food --8-- L.A. isn't known for one thing when it comes to food, it's known for pretty much everything. The melting pot of cultures and ethnic groups within the city have made L.A. a food paradise. From Mexican to Japanese, L.A. has it covered. One of my favorite places where this is on display is the Farmer's Market where I had some bomb-ass fish tacos. I never had a chance to make it to Olvera Street in downtown L.A., but I hear there are some good Mexican street vendors there. The sushi in L.A. was among the best I've ever had.

"L.A. has a subway?" -- Lethal Weapon 3

3. Mass Transit --5-- There are songs written about L.A.'s lack of mass transit and its dependence on the automobile and the city has a long way to go to make its system a comprehensive one. But they have also come along way within the last decade. You can now travel by rail from Long Beach all the way to North Hollywood and soon you'll be able to go from East L.A. all the way to Santa Monica. L.A. buses are said to be some of the most efficient in America, and they better be, since the bus replaced what was once the best network of streetcars in America. Since L.A. is so spread out, it takes a long time to get anywhere, whether by car or by rail, but the city has made great strides in improving its transit system and they must be commended for that.

Farmer's Market

4. Look & Feel --9-- L.A. has many vantage points. It all depends where you are. The beach? The mountains? Downtown? Is there smog? That said, L.A. is a beautiful city in almost every way, from the Hollywood sign to its palm trees down to its people. Perhaps its only downfall is its lack of a walkable city center, but Hollywood will suffice.

Nope, that's not Vancouver.

5. Overall --8-- L.A. is a world-class city. It has everything you want in a city, and probably a lot more. It's huge and can be overwhelming, and doesn't have a walkable city center as many cities do, but that doesn't stop L.A. from being completely awesome, as much as you may not want to admit it.

Total -- 40/50

City Tour #2 -- Athens, Greece

2011-02-24T22:30:00.000-05:00

For my next act, I'll review the city of Athens, which was the first trip I'd ever taken to Europe.

Back in 2005, the extent of my travel experience had mostly been to Caribbean resorts. But like me with Montreal, my wife has always had an obsession with Greece, so I wasn't exactly going to protest a trip there. So we decided to broaden our horizons and fly across to the pond to a whole new world.

Until then, Europe to me seemed like some distant land from a fairy tale. It was just one of those places that I never really expected to see when I was young and unconcerned with the world outside of my narrow viewpoint at the time. I knew there were some big important things to see over there, but I never imagined being able to afford to visit those places or having the cajones to step so far outside of my all-inclusive Caribbean resort comfort level. After all, they speak Greek in Greece, so there was no chance of being able to speak a little bit of the native tongue and stories of pickpockets, gypsies and unfriendly Greeks didn't make it any easier.

But I hunkered down and boarded that plane in the first step of a journey that took me to Athens, Mykonos, Rhodes and even Kusadasi, Turkey. Turkey! Although this trip was more than just Athens, this city will always hold a special place in my heart for awakening me to the realization that the world is bigger than just Maryland and the Caribbean. And since then, I've been completely obsessed with seeing as much of the world as possible.

Here's how Athens stacked up.

1. Arts & Culture --10-- The Acropolis. Greek Mythology. The Olympics. The origin of modern thinking. Need I say more? There was so much history and culture in Athens that I sometimes had to pinch myself to remind myself that I was in the same city where all of this stuff happened.

2. Food --6-- The Greeks are known for many specialties, but in my finding, none of the food really wowed me while I was there. Pardon me. I should have said "none of the food really wowed me while I was there except for a lamb kabob stand across the street from our hotel". Holy shit was that stuff good. But aside from that, the food was so-so, and maybe that's because we were so new to European travel that we didn't know where to go for good, local food. We mainly stayed close to tourist-friendly locations and didn't go off exploring like we are so prone to do now. So while I didn't have much amazing food in Greece, I can respect the tradition of Greek cuisine and give Athens the points it deserves. It was a "my bad" on that one. In the beverage department, Greece also left me a little cold. Ouzo is probably the most rank liquid that I've ever tasted and Greek wine and beer leaves much to be desired. I came away from this experience realizing that the Greek people and terrain are very tough, which explains the tough cuisine.

3. Mass Transit --6-- Again, because this was our first trip to Europe, we didn't explore much on our own, which meant that the mass transit system was unused by me. However, I do know that the Athens metro is serviceable and largely new, largely built for the 2004 Olympics. Had I known about the metro back then, I wouldn't have had to take the hour and a half long taxi ride from Pireaus to the airport.

4. Look & Feel --9-- Athens itself may not be much to look at: lots graffiti and run down buildings, but all you need to do is look at the Acropolis and all of that other stuff just falls away. Also, historic parts of town like the Plaka and Psiri -- at the foot of the Acropolis -- offer markets, bars, restaurants and night clubs. The view from Lycabettus Hill is breathtaking. While my wife and I had dinner at a restaurant located at the top, we could see the lights come on, illuminating the ruins located across the city one by one after sunset. It was one of the most memorable views I have ever seen. Overall, Athens may not be a handsome city, but it's stunning where it counts.

5. Overall --9-- Take away the stunning Acropolis and some of the other ancient ruins that are scattered across the city and Athens may become just another bustling city on the Mediterranean. But come on, this is Athens! Those are the reasons this is one of the most important cities in the world! No matter where you're standing in the city, a thousand important people stood there at one time before doing a thousand important things. And that experience alone is reason enough to see Athens for yourself. Ok, so the food may not have been all that great, but I know it exists. And you can always survive on lamb kabobs.

Total -- 40/50

City Tour #1 -- Montreal, Quebec

2011-02-24T22:28:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd start in Montreal, a city that I've had an odd obsession with since childhood. Growing up I rooted for the Expos (as my #2 team behind the O's of course) and always found it odd that there was a French city in North America. I still hadn't quite yet grasped the whole French Canadian thing.

So in October 2006, I talked my wife into driving to Montreal for our anniversary. We drove up and spent the night in the Catskills, since the drive alone is around ten hours each way. And by doing this, the drive went by in a breeze. I also have to admit, since Montreal has had a hold on me since childhood, it was a pretty surreal experience to drive there. Flying into a city is one thing, but driving to a city is another. Especially a city as foreign as Montreal. It's been called "the Paris of North America" and here I was, essentially driving to Paris. Once we crossed the border and I started to see signs on the highway, it hit me: I am going to Montreal. And when I saw the skyline in the distance, I couldn't help but feel like I'd accomplished something.

So did Montreal live up to my self-created hype?

1. Arts & Culture --7-- Montreal has the benefit of taking the best of Francophone and Anglophone Canada and claiming it as its own, which is why it feels like such a European city. The sculptures throughout the city are decidedly modern, which are a stark contrast to some of the old town decadent Catholic churches. McGill University is one of North America's most prestigious colleges, and Montreal's mid-2000's indie-music scene was on par with Seattle's grunge revolution of the early 1990's. Case in point is the Arcade Fire's recent Grammy win for Best Album of the Year. Other bands such as Stars and Wolf Parade also put Montreal on the map, not to mention dozens of other smaller independent bands which draw inspiration of such a culturally rich city.

2. Food --7-- It's obvious that Montreal is going to have a heavy French-influenced cuisine, which alone gives it very high marks. But on the Anglophone side of things is an old Canadian trapper tradition as evidenced in restaurants serving game meats such as Que de Cheval, Gibby's and the Beaver Club. Poutine (french fries, gravy and cheese curds) is probably the city's most popular and recognizable native dish, which is disappointing despite poutine being delicious, since Montreal is so much more culinarily rich than just gravy fries. As for beverages, Canada is known for its beer, and while the French are more about their wine, Montreal thankfully defers to beer as its drink of choice as evidenced by Molson, North America's oldest brewery.

3. Mass Transportation --8-- The comparisons to Paris are very much alive on the city's metro subway, as the Montreal metro has rubber tires, just like Paris. The city boasts a very well laid out metro system that offers good circulation within the city. The headways were 5-10 minutes, which means short waits for trains. Montreal's metro allowed me to leave my very tired car at the hotel and navigate through the city as the locals do.

4. Look & Feel --9-- Montreal's old town is the city's most charming section, and is where one is most likely to be reminded of Paris. Shops and restaurants housed in old stone buildings line cobblestone streets. The view from Mount Royal offers a different view of the city, this one highlighting its central business district and sprawling downtown grid. And across the St. Lawrence River at the Parc Jean Drepeau, one can take in beautiful water views of the city.

5. Overall --8-- Montreal may get higher marks from me because of my odd obsession with the city from childhood, but it stacks up to most North American cities in every way. I had a wonderful time there, and it met and exceeded the hype I had created for it. One night, my wife and I took a carriage ride through the old town, and someone called out to no one in particular, "Happy Montreal"! I think that would make a great slogan for the city.

Total: 39/50

The Bad Oriole City Tour!

2011-02-24T22:11:00.000-05:00

OK, so in case you couldn't already tell, I've got a case of the Februarys.

So to kill time, I thought I'd rummage through the memories I have in each city I have visited in the last few years and rate them based on five categories.

1. Arts & Culture -- what the city has to offer in terms of history, entertainment and fun.

2. Food -- not so much the quality of restaurants the city has...this is more about the city's indigenous food.

3. Mass Transportation -- yeah, I'm a train geek but when visiting cities, mass transit is a crucial component.

4. Look & Feel -- Architecture, water views, the city layout and pretty much the feeling I get from being in the city.

5. Overall -- how each category comes together in creating my overall opinion of a city.

I'll admit, I haven't been to as many cities as I would like. I'm still waiting to visit such gems as Paris, Tokyo, London, Barcelona, Seattle, Chicago and San Diego. But I also do think of myself as being pretty well traveled, having visited Rome, Athens, Florence, Venice, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Boston.

So obviously I am only going to review cities that I've visited. And as I visit more, I'll add them to my list. I'll try to add a city every week or so, as I have the time.

So in the meantime, enjoy! And feel free to let me know what you think.

The Baltimore Blahs

2011-02-22T22:44:00.000-05:00

It's February 22nd. We just got six inches of snow. The Terps are headed for an NIT appearance, the NFL is headed for a potential work stoppage and Orioles baseball is still a month and a half away.

Anyone else have the Baltimore blahs like me?

Time has healed some of the wounds I suffered when the Ravens choked away a the AFC Championship in Baltimore, but I'm still very much ticked off about it even though the Steelers lost in the Super Bowl.

Times like these it would be nice if Baltimore had an NHL or NBA team to follow, but with the new arena still years away from breaking ground -- much less being completed -- that is nothing but a pipe dream.

I spent a nice Sunday down in Fells Point at Max's Belgian Beer Festival, which helped kill some of this idle time. A trip to somewhere warm sure would be nice right about now. Last year during this time, my wife and I went to Miami.

Note to self: Take more mid-February trips.

That's all I got.

Radiohead, The King of Limbs

2011-02-21T10:10:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, it's better to let someone else do the work. In this case, it's my buddy Andrew, who runs Binge Listening. His review of Radiohead's new album, The King of Limbs is spot on with how I feel about this challenging new release from the current best band in the world. Enjoy.

Arcade Fire win Grammy

2011-02-15T15:07:00.006-05:00

There may be hope for the Grammys after all -- the Arcade Fire won "best album of the year" over the likes of Eminem, Lady Antebellum and Lady Gaga.

It's still an insult for the Arcade Fire to have been nominated with those other shitbombs, but thankfully, the Grammys got it right in the end. The Suburbs was one of the best albums of the year -- and shocker -- actually an album. It had a common theme from beginning to end and wasn't a vehicle for a slew of radio-friendly singles to be strung together. And the Arcade Fire are one of the best bands around today. Three albums into their career, you have a feeling that they're just getting "Ready to Start".

Yeah, I just said that.

Anyway, their win should have fans of indie rock cheering. It's about time an indie band gets some mainstream accolades. Not only are indie tunes routinely used in commercials, they are also supply the soundtracks of many of today's popular television shows. Yet no mainstream radio station dares play an indie band like the Arcade Fire. And I doubt their Grammy win will change any of that any time soon.

Oh well, I almost prefer it to be that way.

But like Kanye West said on Twitter after the Arcade Fire shocked the world, "There is hope!!! I feel like we all won when something like this happens! FUCKING AWESOME!"

ESPN personalities chime in on Orioles

2011-02-11T16:44:00.007-05:00

Whether you like the moves or not, you have to admit that the Orioles were busy this offseason and have assembled a team that has elicited different opinions from some of the most well-respected baseball personalities over at ESPN.

Here's what they had to say:

Keith Law

Jayson Stark

Buster Olney

Well at least it's nice for ESPN to actually spend some time talking about teams other than the Red Sox and Yankees, even if they don't always have positive things to say.

But out of the three of them, Stark and Olney liked what the O's did this offseason, and Law, who used to be a writer for Baseball Prospectus, usually bases his opinion on value-per-dollar-spent, and if a few things go wrong this season, the O's could have spent millions for nothing, much like they did with Garrett Atkins in 2010.

When the Lights go out

2011-02-10T16:48:00.004-05:00

Clear eyes! Full hearts! Can't lose!

Last night, one of the best TV shows of all time came to an end, and not many people even knew the show existed in the first place.

That name of that show, you ask? Friday Night Lights.

Unlike The Wire, which started off largely ignored until it started to gain traction with audiences in its fourth season, Friday Night Lights never got the same "better late than never" attention and acclaim it rightfully deserved.

It seemed like each season of the show was a last-minute announcement, leaving fans wondering if there would even be another season. Thankfully, after its third season, DirecTV stepped in and bought the first-air rights, giving it a much needed home for the show's fourth and fifth season, which came to a close last night. The show will air on its original home, NBC, sometime over the summer.

Based on the book and film of the same name, FNL followed the Dillon Panthers -- a Texas high school football team so ingrained in the community that one ponders if Dillon would even exist if not for the team -- its coach, Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) his wife, Tami (Connie Britton), their daughter, Julie, (Aimee Teegarden) and the travails of the many players who came and went, among them being Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) and Jason Street (Scott Porter).

But wait.

Not only did Friday Night Lights better the movie upon which it was based, a rarity for TV shows based on films, the show also reinvented itself during the fourth season, moving Coach Taylor to a new school and adding a new cast. It did all that, and got even better!

There's more.

FNL was primarily a family-themed show, both literally and figuratively. LITERALLY - At its core, the Taylor family, one of the best portrayed families in the history of television. FIGURATIVELY - The show never steered away from serious family issues: teen-drinking, premarital sex, abortion and rape. The difference between FNL and most other TV shows was the way in which FNL handled each issue with tenderness for its characters, whereas other shows use those issues as plot devices to generate ratings and exploit characters.

And that was FNL's biggest quality -- its ability to tell stories realistically -- from camera angles and direction down to the improvised dialog.

I don't know many people who watched FNL, but I am glad I am one of the few. For five years I was treated to some of the best TV that will ever exist.

I only hope that people will retro-actively discover this show and keep its legacy alive.

It's a Vlad, Vlad, Vlad, Vlad World

2011-02-04T19:32:00.005-05:00

He looks good in orange, no?

It's not 2004, but the Orioles signing Vladimir Guerrero to a one-year, $8 million dollar contract is still a good move. Sure, it would have been nice to have had Guerrero's services since 2004, when the Orioles lost out to signing Guerrero to the Angels, but at 36, Guerrero can still perform as long as he's healthy, and last year Guerrero proved that he still is, playing in 152 games.

The one-year, $8 million contract was about $3.5 million more than the O's initial reported offer, but it doesn't matter. Even at $8 million, signing Guerrero is a coup for the O's, who have put the finishing touches on a pret-ty good 2011 line-up.

The Guerrero signing means that Luke Scott goes back in LF, and Felix Pie and Nolan Reimold get relegated to the bench and Norfolk respectively. And as much as I want to see Reimold rebound in 2011, having him start the year in Norfolk just speaks to the depth that the Guerrero signing gives the Orioles.

Most important, the move gives manager Buck Showalter a veteran-laden team, something that he worked wonders with in Arizona. Sure, many of the veteran players the Orioles have under contract in 2011 are here on one-year deals, but a manager of Showalter's stature can milk the most talent possible out of a roster filled with this much experience. That isn't to say that the Orioles are headed toward the postseason, but the O's have at least given Buck Showalter some real tools to work with, something that previous managers cannot say.

Yet, at 36, you have to wonder when the aggressive-swinging Guerrero will start to break down. Maybe he already has, and the Orioles are paying $8 million to find out.

But I think it's worth the risk.

Guerrero had 115 RBI and 29 home runs a year ago, and with more rest (something the O's can afford to give Guerrero), Vlad should be able to put up similar numbers for at least one...more...year. And even if he is not at 100%, or on a decline, I still think Guerrero could still be an asset to this line-up. He just knows how to hit, having hit above .295 over the course of his entire career.

And let's not forget what the 2011 season should be about -- ending the 13-year losing streak. I know one winning season doesn't translate to anything more than just that, but O's fans are absolutely starved for a winning season and with Guerrero on the roster, the O's have one more weapon to achieve that task.

And with the Pittsburgh Steelers playing in the Super Bowl this weekend, the Guerrero signing should give Baltimore sports fans a little something to smile about for the time being.

At least until those goddamn Steelers win the Super Bowl.

Pondering the red line

2011-02-04T10:22:00.009-05:00

I can barely believe it myself, since I am a huge transit nut and have been pushing for the red line for the last few years, but some people over at the Baltimore/Washington, DC forum at SkyScraper City have actually challenged my opinion on the red line and whether it is the best transit system that the city could build -- and I am starting to wonder if the red line is what's best for Baltimore.

That's not to say that I am no longer in favor of the red line -- I definitely am. But I am beginning to side with some of the people who have been criticizing the red line and thinking about some of the alternatives.

The red line, as it is currently planned will be a 14-mile light rail line running west from Woodlawn/Social Security to Canton and out to Dundalk. It will go underground downtown, avoiding the sluggish street-level path that the current light rail makes through the downtown area. But aside from that improvement over the current light rail, the red line is primed to make many of the same mistakes.

For one, the red line is planned to run at street level down Edmonson Avenue on the west side of the city, where there are many traffic lights, as well as Boston Street in Canton. This will make for a slow ride through the area, putting it on the same level with the #40 QuickBus, which takes a similar route down Edmonson Avenue and route 40 on its way downtown.

Once it gets downtown, the red line will not use any of the current tunnel systems already in place, opting for an entirely new tunnel instead, meaning that it will not directly connect with any of the existing transit lines (metro subway or light rail) despite Charles Center having the capability to handle a second line. Instead, the red line will be connected to Charles Center via an underground walkway. Sure, it's better than the current transfer point between the subway and light rail, which exists at street level without much signage, but it still doesn't take advantage of what is already in place.

Once the red line arrives in Canton, it will go back to street level and proceed down Boston Street, much to the chagrin of Cantonites who want the red line put underground. And as it continues east toward Dundalk, the red line will pass by abandoned factories or areas not primed for Transit Oriented Development (TOD). And when the red line terminates in Dundalk, it still doesn't give the east side of town a good transit line downtown like the subway does for Owings Mills on the west side.

So basically, despite its positives, which there are many, the red line is a brand-new transit line being built by an administration with a track record of mistakes, and will not be fully integrated with what already exists. It's a lot like someone building an addition onto their home when the rest of their home is in dire need of repair.

So what is being suggested in place of the red line?

The one thing I can definitely agree with is that the current subway line should be expanded east past Johns Hopkins hospital to Morgan State University and out toward the White Marsh area, like the metro does on the west side for Owings Mills. The east side of town and county needs a line downtown to alleviate the heavily driven portion of I-95. And White Marsh, a booming retail and residential center, can dispel the notion that the subway was to blame for killing Owings Mills mall.

Some other suggestions are to use the tunnels that already exist in the downtown area to build segments of heavy rail systems that will connect to current ones. They won't allow for park and ride systems like the current red line is planning at the end of route 70 in Woodlawn, but they will get people to crucial MARC train stations and increase the circulation of people in the downtown area, something that the current system severely lacks -- something that the red line will not improve upon either.

And finally, there are people who are just in favor of building the red line entirely with heavy rail, since it is the fastest method of transit available, but the most expensive. However, to offset the heavy price tag, people point to the $2 billion dollar price tag of the red line and say "if you're going to be spending that much money, spend a little more and do it the right way." And that is where I probably fall. I like the idea of the red line and the extra line of transit it gives the city, but realize the flaws that it creates. A heavy rail line would erase many of those flaws.

So while I am still very much in favor of the red line getting built, even in its current inception, I do realize that it is not a perfect system and it will not fix the many transit problems the city of Baltimore currently suffers from. But I do believe that it can be a good starting point to build an east-west system in Baltimore, even though that is not what the city should set out to do. They should build something, from the beginning, that is going to work from the beginning, instead of piecing it together as they go, like they did with the subway and light rail.

O's sign Duchscherer

2011-01-31T11:40:00.003-05:00

The O's signed the oft-injured Justin Duchscherer to an incentive-laden deal.

The O's made a low-risk, high-reward signing this weekend, signing 33 year old pitcher Justin Duchscherer to an incentive-laden MLB contract. The move will barely register with most Oriole fans, but it could be a big part in giving the Orioles their first winning season since 1997.

Duchscherer, who was with the Oakland A's from 2003 to 2010, has battled injury problems throughout his career. And while missing the entire 2009 season he dealt with depression. So his risks don't only come in the physical form.

That said, when healthy, Duchscherer can be an asset. He has a 3.13 career ERA and in 2008, as a starting pitcher, he went 10-8 with a 2.54 ERA and made it to the All Star Game. He doesn't strike out a lot of batters (6.9 K/9), but he keeps the ball in the park (0.9 HR/9).

The signing may mean that Chris Tillman will once again start the season in Norfolk, but it gives the Orioles an extra level of pitching depth headed into the season. All in all, this is a small but very solid signing for the Orioles.

I feel the need...the need for high speed rail

2011-01-27T15:56:00.004-05:00

Amtrak's overpriced Acela Express is all that passes for high-speed rail in the United States.

In his state of the union speech the other night, President Obama spoke about the importance of high-speed rail in America.

It probably caught some people off guard since the speech was primarily about cutting the government's spending, and building a high-speed rail network would cost hundreds of billions of dollars, but Obama laid out a 25-year plan that would give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail.

And I am glad he brought it up, since the state of America's passenger rail service is a sad state of affairs. In Europe, the train is the number one mode of inter-city transportation. It's cheap, the trains are clean, and they run on time. Meanwhile, Amtrak -- the government-aided company which currently is the only major passenger service in the country -- overcharges for tickets and offers slow service.

For example, I just went to Expedia and punched up a flight from Washington DC to New York City on March 1, 2011 and returning on March 3, 2011. Tickets start at $140 and the flight time is 1 hour and 11 minutes. Yet on the same dates, Amtrak charges $98 for a round trip ticket and it takes 3 hours and 39 minutes to get there. Is $40 worth 2 and a half extra hours to you? Probably not. The Acela Express train trims off 50 minutes but the tickets are $280 for round trip service.

Why anyone traveling on their own dime takes trains these days is beyond me. Sure, flying can be a hassle with security and waiting to board, take off, etc...but saving money and time are the two biggest factors when traveling and Amtrak fails in both areas. I'm willing to bet that most passengers on Amtrak are businessmen, traveling at the expense of their company, since working on a train is easier to do than on an airplane.

Trains still have that romantic nostalgia to them, and they could be an effective way to travel close distances if overhauled. Hopefully Obama's high-speed plan is able to depart from the station. It would create tons of jobs and make America more connected, with potential for living in one city, say Philadelphia and commuting to another, say New York, Baltimore or Washington, DC.

In the end, it's probably a pipe dream, since America has not relied on the train for over 50 years and airline companies and their lobbyists will try their hardest to kill any progress. But I am glad Obama put a light on rail service in America, because right now, it's pretty much a joke.

When is the last time you even considered taking the train anywhere?

National Bohemian back on tap!

2011-01-26T09:49:00.003-05:00

Now you can taste Natty Boh the way nature intended it -- straight from the tap!

This could be the greatest news to hit Baltimore since the Cleveland Browns announced that they were moving to Baltimore.

National Bohemian beer, ie -- Natty Boh -- is coming back in kegs, meaning fans of the nostalgic Baltimore beer can taste it the way it was intended -- straight from the tap!

To celebrate this glorious occasion, several Baltimore-area bars are hosting "tap the keg" parties. I hope to attend the one at Brewer's Art on February 5th.

The only remaining thing that the Pabst-owned beer could do to make this better is re-open a brewery somewhere in Maryland -- maybe have it contract brewed at the Flying Dog brewery in Frederick -- so that we Natty Boh fans can proudly proclaim that our favorite beer is once again brewed in Maryland!

Academy Award Nominations

2011-01-25T14:27:00.005-05:00

The 2011 Academy Award nominations were released today.

I don't know about you, but no movie I saw this year blew me away like movies have in previous years. I have yet to see 127 Hours, The King's Speech and Toy Story 3, but all the other nominated films left me just pleased instead of awed. The closest any movie came to blowing me away was Inception, for obvious reasons, but it was emotionally empty.

The Kids Are Alright would get my vote, but it seems like The Social Network or The King's Speech are the current front runners. I expected more out of True Grit, and was slightly disappointed when its tone was so light compared to some of the Coen Bros. darker films such as No Country for Old Men or Miller's Crossing. Winter's Bone was more of a Coen Bros. movie and could have filled the void, but I was disappointed the way the film's mystery fizzled instead of building into a suspenseful climax.

I really wanted to root for The Fighter since I love boxing films and it has the best acting of any of the films nominated, but instead of becoming a Rocky for Massachusetts, the inter-family drama in the film was swept under the rug too easily.

Thankfully, there were a lot of great performances in films this year. My money's on Jessie Eisenberg, since this is likely the only time he will ever be nominated, and Natalie Portman -- Hollywood's hottest current commodity. It will allow the academy to celebrate young Hollywood and pass the torch from one generation to the next. The supporting actresses from The Fighter will probably split their votes, meaning that Hailee Steinfeld will win for True Grit. Christian Bale is the only lock of the Oscar's so far, winning for his portrayal of Micky Ward's drug addict brother in The Fighter.

For best director (where's Christopher Nolan for Inception?), I think David Fincher will take home the statue for The Social Network for his ability to condense a real-life multi-faceted drama into an engrossing film -- like he did in Zodiac. And despite The Fighter's flaws, I think David O. Russell deserves the recognition for getting three Oscar-worthy performances from his supporting cast in a sports movie -- something usually populated with cliched characters.

And on a final note, did Toy Story 3 really need to be nominated for both best animated film and best film?

So there you have it. I do feel like there are a lot of good films this year, but no great ones, unless the ones I have yet to see are the best of the bunch.

The Baltimore inferiority complex is real

2011-01-24T11:15:00.004-05:00

I feel your pain, girl.

Baltimore fans have it tough.

In the NFL, they have the Steelers, who made their third Super Bowl appearance in six years yesterday with a win over the Jets. And make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen, "Sixburgh" is about to become "Sevenburgh" or "Seventh Heaven" or whatever cute name Steeler fans invent for themselves. As my friend Jay said after the Ravens loss, the Steelers winning the Super Bowl is the stone cold lead pipe lock of the year.

In the MLB, they have the Red Sox and Yankees, who combined have won seven of the last fifteen World Series. Even the the Tampa Bay Rays have risen from the ashes to win two of the last three AL East Divsion titles.

Think it gets easier for University of Maryland basketball fans? Think again. Duke and UNC have won four total championships since 2001.

And if you count the Capitals as a Baltimore team, which you could, and why not, since it gives the city another chance to root against Pittsburgh, the Penguins are fresh off their own back-to-back Stanley Cups victories in 2008 and 2009.

So when does it end? Each year it seems Baltimore fans are tortured as they forced to watch a bitter rival bring home another title while poor little Baltimore gets nothing but freezing temperatures.

Maybe it's worse this year, since the Ravens were primed to go all the way, and the loss to the Steelers was so epically disappointing that it makes you more aware of this stuff.

I don't know.

But what I do know is that the Baltimore inferiority complex is real. How could it not be?

Thank God for the Baltimore Mariners.

Vlad the Impaler

2011-01-23T08:14:00.004-05:00

The Orioles and Vladimir Guerrero are reportedly dancing.

There have been several reports that the Orioles are close to a deal with free-swinging slugger, Vladimir Guerrero, formerly of the Expos, Angels and Rangers.

Guerrero was always one of my favorite players, especially when he was on the Expos, a team I rooted for throughout my childhood until they moved to Washington and became the Nationals. I loved Guerrero's hack-first, ask questions later approach at the plate and his ability to take a pitch two inches off the ground and put it into the seats.

I was very disappointed when Vlad rejected the Orioles in 2004 to sign with the Angels. After the additions that the Orioles had made that year (Miguel Tejada, Javy Lopez and Rafael Palmeiro) signing Vlad and putting him into that line-up would have been a coup. But Vlad wanted to play in a city with a large Latino population and as we all know, Los Angeles has muchas Latinas.

Guerrero, now 36, with a back that is on life support, can still be an offensive weapon. Last year he hit .300 with 29 home runs and 115 RBI's. He also played in 152 games after missing 80 games over the two previous years before that. So while his health and age would be a major concern, there is still reason to believe that Guerrero could make it through the season.

But looking at the current roster, one has trouble seeing where Guerrero would fit. Luke Scott is currently the team's DH, and his 2010 campaign was even better than Guerrero's. Signing Guerrero, who shouldn't be playing any position in his physical condition, would move Scott to LF, a position he hasn't played regularly since 2008. Scott would also supplant defensive whiz, Felix Pie, and stick him on the bench and place comeback hopeful Nolan Reimold back in Norfolk.

The O's could also trade Scott if they signed Vlad, but I would be against it. Vlad would be here for one year and Scott is signed through the 2012 season for about $ 5 million dollars a year, depending on arbitration, and is a steal at any contract that pays him less than $10 million. Unless the O's were able to land a young SS or 1B prospect for Scott, I'd rather keep him despite his radical political views.

So while adding Guerrero to a line-up would give the team some offensive depth, it would decrease our defense and handcuff Showalter since Guerrero would be a DH-only. Also, signing Guerrero for 1 year does nothing for the long-term future of the team. If the Orioles believed they could contend in 2011, Guerrero could make some sense. But not even Andy MacPhail or Buck Showalter should believe that they can contend for the postseason this year so adding Guerrero really doesn't do anything for the Orioles. Especially when you consider the very real possibility that he will miss a portion of the season.

So while I would enjoy seeing one of my former favorite players in an Orioles uniform this season, it would only be for one year, and the Orioles would probably be better off taking the money they'd spend on Guerrero and invest it into the amateur draft or international scouting -- two things that would help the future of the club.

What the hell...

2011-01-21T11:28:00.004-05:00

The Ravens sacked themselves in the loss to the Steelers. It was another one of those kinds of games where fans say "they beat themselves" and not "we lost to the better team".

It's been almost a week since the Ravens ripped my heart out of my chest by losing to the Steelers to end their 2010 season. So I guess I might as well get it over with and move on.

Although I still put the 2006 home loss to the Colts above this one, I do believe this was the hardest Ravens game to watch in franchise history. The first half saw the Ravens dominate the Steelers, go into halftime up 21-7, and the second half saw them give the game right back to Pittsburgh, ultimately losing 31-24.

And yet it was a game much like the Ravens other losses this season: they were unable to gel on offense when it mattered, the defense couldn't get off the field on third down by allowing some big plays at crucial times, and the penalties called on the Ravens were at times questionable to downright horrible (pass interference on Josh Wilson, holding on Marcus Smith), not to mention some penalties that should have been called on the Steelers, and weren't (Chris Kemoeatu's late hit and Ike Taylor's head butt on TJ Houshmandzadeh).

But in the end, the Ravens have no one to blame but themselves. They gained just 125 yards of total offense. In the second half Ray Rice fumbled, Joe Flacco threw an interception, and Matt Birk fumbled a snap. All of these mistakes allowed Pittsburgh to close the gap and win the game. Then there were key drops by Anquan Boldin and TJ Houshmandzadeh -- two all-pro wide receivers who were brought in to help take this team to the Super Bowl -- who ultimately contributed to the loss.

In the week since the loss, fans have been busy laying blame on just about everyone, from John Harbaugh down to the waterboy. I can understand the frustration after such an emotionally draining loss to a hated division rival, but fans need to get a hold of themselves. Yes, this loss was hard to swallow, and will be until the 2011 season begins, but fans need to also look at the bigger picture.

The playoffs are all about the hot team. Look no further than the Green Bay Packers or New York Jets. If you keep making the playoffs, which the Ravens have done in all of Harbaugh's 3 years as head coach, you give yourself a chance to get hot and make a run...much like the Ravens did in 2008. So while there is some cause for concern after such a tough loss, there is a bright side to things, as difficult as it may be to see.

It appears that Cam Cameron will be back as offensive coordinator next year, which is a big part of concern for many fans. Cameron did a poor job calling plays this season, and no one would shed a tear if he were let go. I really don't know why it's been reported that he will be kept, but I guess I have to defer to Ozzie Newsome and John Harbaugh on this one. Another key factor in retaining Cameron is the uncertainty that hangs over the 2011 season. With a hold out and late start to the season a possibility, maybe the Ravens want to keep as much consistency as they can on offense, even though it will be Cam Cameron who is calling the plays.

On the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Gregg Mattison left the Ravens to take the same position at Michigan, so the Ravens promoted former secondary coach Chuck Pagano to defensive coordinator. Like Cameron, Mattison was heavily blamed for the defensive struggles, especially in the second half of games. Pagano is said to be a very aggressive and well liked coach, who will try to maximize turnovers, something that should work with the current make-up on defense. So Mattison's departure could be a blessing, because it had been reported that he would also be returning in 2011.

Moving forward, I would like to see the Ravens upgrade their offensive line, and if Jared Gaither does in deed return to Baltimore, that would be a big step in the right direction. The OL allowed the second most sacks in the NFL and had trouble opening running lanes for Ray Rice and Willis McGahee for much of the season. The Ravens may also want to consider moving Michael Oher back to the right side of the line since he had an unimpressive season as the left tackle.

I think we can also agree that the Ravens need a deep threat in their passing game. Derrick Mason, Anquan Boldin and TJ Houshmandzadeh are very similar receivers who aren't known for their speed. So with a Mike Wallace or DeSean Jackson kind of down field threat, the Ravens offense should become much more dynamic and dangerous.

On defense, the Ravens should continue to look at pass rushers and linebackers. They did a poor job pressuring the QB for most of the season and were unable to stop the run like they have done in the past. In the secondary, it should help that Dominique Foxworth will return after missing the entire 2010 season, and if Ed Reed decides to return, a Pagano-lead defense should be exciting to watch with the likes of Josh Wilson, Chris Carr and Ladarius Webb all having turned in solid seasons for a unit that was projected to be the Ravens weakness on defense and turned out to be one of its strengths, especially once Reed returned.

So that's it.

The Ravens 2010 season will always remain a very sweet and sour mix of emotions for fans. A 12-4 record is not something to overlook, but losing to the Steelers in the playoffs the way they did has the ability to erase all the positives that happened before. Throw in the offense never clicking and living up to its potential and the defense falling from a dominant unit to just an above average one, and many Ravens fans will have you believe that the Ravens were 4-12.

But with a solid draft and offseason, the Ravens can reload for another shot at the Super Bowl in 2011.

Just keep repeating that as you watch the Steelers, and not the Ravens, hosting the AFC Championship Game against the Jets this weekend.

PECOTA Projections

2011-01-19T13:51:00.003-05:00

It's no surprise that the 2011 PECOTA projections have the O's finishing in last place with a record of 77-85. It's still a disappointing record, but it would be the team's best record since 2004 when they won 78 games.

Man, has it already been 7 years since the high water mark of the 00's? Ouch.

I do believe that many people around baseball view the O's as a team on the rise, especially after some of the solid but shortsighted moves they've made this offseason. I do believe they could be better, but also much worse, as we saw occur last year to a team that many predicted to win around 75 games.

PECOTA also gives the O's a 5.3% chance of winning the division, 5.6% chance of winning the wild card and an 11% chance of making the playoffs.

To borrow a line from Lloyd Christmas, "So you're telling me there's a chance!"

Charm Card / SmarTrip Card

2011-01-18T10:01:00.007-05:00

The SmarTrip card (above) is DC's version of the Charm Card (below).

The MTA and the WMATA recently partnered up and released the Charm Card, a transit card similar to the SmarTrip card in Washington, DC which allows riders to add money to the card and swipe it at turn-styles and on buses to avoid the time-consuming and often frustrating process of buying a fare card for each journey on the metro or bus. In Baltimore, this process can often mean missing a light rail train and being forced to wait upwards of 10-15 minutes for the next train or fumbling with money on a bus as it pulls away from a stop. So when this partnership was first announced, many people celebrated, myself included.

Also, the Charm Card would work not only on all MTA services (metro subway, light rail and local bus), it would also work on all WMATA services in Washington. And presumably, the SmarTrip card would work the same way.

However, when I used the metro last week to head downtown, I tried to add money to my SmarTrip card at the West Cold Spring Lane metro station and received a message saying that money could not be added to my SmarTrip card.

I sent an email to Michael Dresser, from the Baltimore Sun's "Getting There" blog, and he responded with the following email:

Could this be a case of just one machine being out of order? Did you try any other kiosks? I haven't been hearing a lot of complaints.

Unfortunately, I was already running late and didn't want to spend any time following up on the matter. I should have just asked the person working in the booth if the SmarTrip card worked, but based on what I hear of many MTA employees, they may not have been able to give me a straight answer.

In the mean time, I have an email into the MTA Administration, and they usually respond within 48 hours. So I will update this entry when I hear back from them.

As a mass transit nut, I was excited to use this new process on the MTA since buying individual fare cards can be a minor pain in the ass. So I was disappointed to see that I wasn't able to add money to my SmarTrip card at an MTA kiosk. Since I use the MTA more often than WMATA services, I don't know when I will be able to add money to my card since I am unable to do it on line.

Hopefully, the future will bring a fully comprehensive system, where you can add money to either card at either system. After all, that's what this whole thing was supposed to be about, right?

EDIT:

The MTA finally got back to me and had the following to say...

Mr. Jester,

Thank you for your email in reference to using your SmarTrip card. You can add money to the card at all Metro Subway Station TVM machines, Light Rail TVM machines and on the local bus where SmarTrip and CharmCard(r) are accepted in the Baltimore and Washington DC area. You cannot add money to the card on-line at this time; however, we are hoping to have that technology in the near future.

Denise Hagans
MTA
Customer Services Officer

So I guess it was just a broken kiosk I was using to add money to my card. We shall see...

The one and only...

2011-01-18T09:50:00.003-05:00

If you've followed the Bad Oriole at all, you know that this has been a blog about the Orioles during it's 4 year run. But I've recently decided to funnel all my blogs (Impressions from 540 and Random Musings) into this one.

So while I'll still continue to focus heavily on the Orioles, I'll also write about the Ravens and whatever else comes to mind.

Thanks.

Ravens/Steelers III

2011-01-15T09:19:00.000-05:00

When the smoke clears, will the Ravens be victorious?

Well, the day has arrived.

The Ravens take on the Steelers this afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

All the shit talking, all the analysis and all the predictions that took place earlier this week don't mean a thing now. All that's left is the game to be played.

Am I nervous? Of course. These are the Steelers -- the Duke or Yankees of the NFL, where things seem to always go their way, especially late in games. They are just one of those teams. Hard to kill.

I am expecting another hard-fought, physical game, as are most fans and analysts. But for some reason I expect this game to get a little more out of hand than they have in the recent past. And if there is a lop-sided win, I believe it will be the Steelers winning and not the Ravens.

I would love a lop-sided win in Pittsburgh though. It would give my blood pressure a rest and it would be nice to see those Steeler fans heading for stadium exits early. It also eliminates the chances of a key turnovers or questionable penalty playing a part in the outcome. I'd hate to see something like that cost the Ravens the win today.

But it all comes down to execution. The Ravens need to protect the ball while being creative on offense. They can't expect to do the same things they've done against the Steelers and have greater success than they have. They need to be aggressive on offense, attack the Steelers secondary and maintain drives. Keep Ben Roethlisberger off the field and keep our defense rested. Have you noticed how much better our defense has played lately? That's because they have been on the sidelines a lot, staying rested.

Well, that's it. I really don't have anything else. I am already exhausted by this game and there are still seven hours until kick-off.

So until then, all I have to say is Let's go Ravens! Beat the Steelers!!!

Ravens pound Chiefs, advance in playoffs

2011-01-11T16:52:00.000-05:00

Oh no he didn't: Willis McGahee mocks the Chiefs chop after scoring a touchdown to put the Ravens ahead 30-7.

First it was the Dolphins, 27-9 in 2008. Then it was the Patriots, 33-14 in 2009.

And last Sunday, the Ravens continued their trend of making short work of their first-round opponent in the playoffs, beating the Kansas City Chiefs, 30-7.

It was also the first dominating win for the Ravens in 2010.

The Chiefs racked up only 160 yards of total offense, including just 70 yards passing for Matt Cassel, who also had 3 interceptions on the day. It was one of the worst statistical performances from a QB in playoff history. A stunning accomplishment, considering that Cassel had been one of the most efficient QB's in 2010, throwing just 7 interceptions all season.

Remember those second halves when the Ravens would go on autopilot and let their opponent creep back into the game? Not this time. The Chiefs managed drives of 43, -7, 1, 3, and -12 yards in the second half. Meanwhile, the Ravens totaled 184 second half yards and scored 20 points.

Joe Flacco, having performed poorly in five career playoff games, turned in his best postseason performance by far, throwing for 265 yards and two scores.

Todd Heap was a dominant force in the offense, catching 10 passes for 108 yards. Anquan Boldin, who had all but disappeared in the passing attack for the last month or so, caught 5 balls for 64 yards and a touchdown.

The rushing attack didn't boast gaudy numbers, but it got the job done on a day when the passing game was working well. Ray Rice lead the way with 17 carries and 57 yards while Willis McGahee fared better with 44 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.

The defense took a while to reach the level they played at during the second half of the game, and for a little while, it looked like they were going to have trouble containing Chiefs stud RB, Jamaal Charles, who scampered for 82 yards and the Chiefs lone score. But the defense chomped down in the second half and kept Charles, as well as the entire Chiefs offense, in check. The Chiefs star WR Dwayne Bowe didn't even record a catch on the day.

So where do the Ravens go from here? I'll give you one guess.

Pittsburgh.

Would you want it any other way?

Thankfully, the Ravens are pretty healthy and peaking at the right time. The Steelers have had the Ravens number with Ben Roethlisberger as QB, but the Ravens are still smarting after their tragic loss to the Steelers in Baltimore and are thirsty for revenge. And with Joe Flacco playing well, having gotten the "poor performance in a playoff game" monkey off his back, the sky's the limit for the Ravens, even with a daunting task ahead of them this weekend.

So, it's going to be an epic battle.

Ravens vs. Steelers III

Wow.

These are your 2011 Orioles...

2011-01-07T16:19:00.007-05:00

With this week's signings of Derek Lee and Kevin Gregg, you could say that the Orioles are finished significantly upgrading the team for the 2011 season. As it is now, the 25-man roster looks like...

Guthrie
Matusz
Bergesen
Arrieta
Tillman

Vanden Hurk
Accardo
Berken
Johnson
Uehara
Gonzalez
Gregg

Wieters
Lee
Roberts
Hardy
Reynolds
Pie
Jones
Markakis
Scott

Reimold
Fox
Izturis
Harris

So how do you feel about that team?

I can get excited about that team. But at the same time, I am as skeptical as I am excited.

The pitching turned it on during the last two and a half months of the 2010 season and the offense looks to be much improved with the additions of Mark Reynolds, Derek Lee and JJ Hardy. So predicting a .500 finish in 2011 is not crazy talk.

But every offseason, O's fans find themselves looking over the roster and saying the same semi-optimistic things, only to be proven wrong by June. So is this team any different from those disappointing teams from the last 13 years?

Yes and no.

For the first time in many years, the Orioles enter the season with a line-up that boasts some real power in the middle of the order. But each of the new additions in Reynolds, Lee and Hardy come with their own risks. I am sure each of them will have their own struggles in 2011 but overall they should give the Orioles the power surge they've lacked over the last few years.

The key to a successful 2011 season still lies with the pitching. Yeah, the rotation pitched extremely well at the end of the season last year, but can they maintain that level for an entire season against the best division in baseball?

Did Buck Showalter make *that* much of an impact last year when the Orioles were the second best team in the AL with Showalter as the skipper?

That's why I'm not ready to pencil this team in for 80 wins next season. I just don't believe that this team is capable of sustaining that kind of play over a 162 game season.

Guys like Wieters, Jones, Matusz, Arrieta and Tillman *should* take that giant step forward this year, but every time we as O's fans say that, players usually end up taking a step backward.

And that's the kind of team Andy MacPhail has assembled...again. A team full of promising players with risks. He's still hoping, as are fans, that the planets can align and more goes right than wrong over the course of a season.

The problem is, Andy's only been here for a little over 3 years. So for him, it's worth one more try. But us O's fans have been hoping and praying that the duct tape will hold for an entire 162 game season.

And until now, it never has.

Maybe the duct tape reference wasn't fair. This year Andy's used duct tape *and* super glue.

Here's to hoping it holds up.

Ravens beat Bengals to end season

2011-01-05T18:12:00.000-05:00

Ray Rice lead the Ravens offense with 77 yards rushing and a touchdown.

The Ravens finished their season with a win over the Bengals this last weekend.

The win was basically the season in a nutshell: the Ravens did what they needed to do to win, but it wasn't pretty and it left fans feeling uneasy.

The Ravens beat the 4-12 Bengals by a score of 13-7. The Bengals, who were playing without Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson (you'll never be Ochocinco here, sorry Chad), had a chance to win the game at the end, needing a touchdown. Their drive stalled at the Ravens' 2-yard line.

Thankfully the Ravens have won the last two games they've played when their opponent had the ball with a chance to win the game. The first win came against the Saints two weeks ago. So at least they're closing out victories although you could say that they shouldn't be doing it in this fashion in the first place.

But I digress. The Ravens finished 12-4 which ties their second best season record, which came in 2000. The Ravens also beat a Carson Palmer-lead Bengals team for the first time since week 1 of the 2008 season. Thankfully it appears to be his last game as a Bengal. And with the win, the Ravens defense finished 3rd overall in points allowed and 10th in yards allowed.

But the offense has been the fans' bugaboo this season and it was again on Sunday. The offense mustered a paltry 199 yards against the Bengals defense. Flacco passed for only 125 yards and threw a pick. And the running game managed only 98 yards on the day.

Thankfully the defense held up their end of the bargain and played a solid game, forcing 5 turnovers on the day including 2 Carson Palmer interceptions. And thanks to the turnovers, the defense held the surprisingly effective Bengals offense to only one touchdown. Jerome Simpson had a big day to cap off what has been a monstrous few weeks for the former reserve WR, catching 12 balls for 123 yards and a touchdown. With the Ravens traveling to Kansas City for their first round playoff game, Dwayne Bowe must be licking his chops.

So can the Ravens beat the Chiefs? Sure...they can beat any team...as long as Cam Cameron is calling a good game plan and the offensive line can block for Flacco, who was sacked 4 times last Sunday and was the second most sacked QB in the NFL this season.

The Chiefs are a solid young team who may be a little out of their league at this point. They played a weak schedule which included the entire NFC West, where the 7-9 Seahawks won the division, and a last place schedule which included the Browns and Bills. However, they went 7-1 at home, same as the Ravens, and feature the best running game in the NFL. Matt Cassel, their protective QB, threw 27 touchdowns to only 7 picks. Their defense is solid, 11th in points allowed and 14th in yards allowed.

But like what I said about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier in the season before they came to Baltimore, I have to believe that the talent and experience on the Ravens' roster gives them a big advantage over the Chiefs, who's average age is 25.3 compared to the Ravens, of 27.3. And while those may only be 2 years, they are mostly 2 years of playoff-caliber football, in which the Ravens have gone 3-2, all on the road.

So do the Ravens have a tall order ahead of them? Of course. Whenever you go on the road in the playoffs you're facing an uphill battle. But the Ravens are familiar with playing on the road and have done well over the last 2 seasons away from home.

And how the Ravens do in the playoffs will largely determine how people view the 2010 season. All season, the Ravens were waiting to reach their potential and it never happened for a variety of reasons. Finger pointing amongst the Ravens fanbase has been a hobby this season and I'm sure it will continue into the postseason. Much of it is deserved, but at times, the fans are demonstrating why they are on the sidelines and not being paid to call the shots.

I believe the Ravens will win in Kansas City, but all bets are off if they have to travel to New England or Pittsburgh. Sure, the Ravens should have won in New England earlier this season and did win in Pittsburgh, but the Patriots are in "take no prisoners" mode after losing to the Browns in week 9 and the Steelers have Ben Roethlisberger back, who was suspended when the Ravens won in Pittsburgh earlier this season.

So it's looking like the 2010 season is headed for disappointment. But if it doesn't, it'll mean we're Super Bowl Champions. So fans should get used to that idea in the next few days.

O's ink Kevin Gregg

2011-01-04T15:40:00.004-05:00

Will Kevin Gregg be fist-pumping as the Orioles closer?

The Orioles signed relief pitcher/closer Kevin Gregg this afternoon, ending what had been a month long song and dance between the team and the pitcher. Gregg reportedly signed for a 2 year, $11 million contract, which is eerily similar to the one the Orioles gave Mike Gonzalez last offseason.

And like Gonzalez, Gregg is a wild card with an emphasis on wild. His walk rate is higher than you'd like to see in a potential closer at 3.7 per 9 innings. Last year it was the highest it's been in his career, at 4.6 BB/9. His K/IP rate is solid, at 8.3 for his career, and he's known to get up into the 9's. Unfortunately, his ERA hasn't been below 3.50 since his rookie year in 2003. And at 33, Gregg is headed toward the downward curve of his career, which means that his already worrisome numbers could get worse.

But he does have some gaudy save numbers -- 37, 23, 29 and 32 -- in the last four years which is probably what the O's decided to pay for. Which means the Orioles have not learned much from the rash of bad bullpen signings they've made in the past, which explains the multi-year signings of Gonzalez last year and Gregg today.

Gregg is basically a right handed version of Mike Gonzalez (thanks Ben) and the Orioles are paying both pitchers closer money in 2011. Meanwhile, Koji Uehara is the team's best closer. So while the Orioles continue to be a frugal ball club when it comes to signing bigger name free agents to more expensive contracts, they don't hesitate to burn millions on risky bullpen arms like Gonzalez and Gregg and reclamation projects that were doomed to fail from the start (Garrett Atkins).

I've always believed bullpens should be made up of talented young arms who for whatever reason couldn't crack a starting rotation. And the Orioles have seen guys like Jim Johnson and Jason Berken become solid bullpen arms after their MiL careers as starting pitchers flamed out. But the Orioles obviously like Gregg for some reason despite his troubling walk rate in 2010.

We'll just have to wait and see what that was -- if there was ever anything to like at all.

O's sign Lee

2011-01-03T16:52:00.007-05:00

The Orioles signed Derrek Lee to a one year deal.

The Orioles signed Derrek Lee this past weekend, filling a vacancy at 1B that’s remained open since Rafael Palmeiro left after the 1998 season even though many first basemen have come and gone since then.

And you could still say that the vacancy remains open despite the Lee signing.

Lee will not be a long term fixture at 1B, but he shouldn’t embarrass the Orioles at the position the way Garrett Atkins did in 2010. Lee, 35, is coming off a down year in which he had a .774 OPS but was dealing with an injury for most of the season and missed 14 games.

In 2009, Lee had a .972 OPS with 35 home runs and 111 runs batted in. And while he probably won’t bounce back enough to replicate that season in ‘11, he should be able to give the Orioles a .850 OPS with around 30 homers. And that would be just fine for one year. Plus, with the additions of Mark Reynolds and JJ Hardy, the Orioles are making themselves a nice little slugging line-up if all goes according to plan.

In the end though, it’s a safe move by the Orioles. Lee most likely won’t be with the O’s in 2012, putting them back in 1999 when they were looking for someone to replace Palmeiro. But if you’re going to go with a one-year stop gap – better to do it with someone who is still playing at a high level in Lee than go with an all out risk like Garrett Atkins.

And what do you know…Derrek Lee is a former Cub to boot.

Oh, Andy.

Best Albums of 2010

2010-12-28T15:04:00.000-05:00

Wow. It's over already, huh?

It seems like just last month that WOXY went off the internet after playing "Answer to Yourself" by the Soft Pack as its last tune.

Shit.

So looking back, 2010 was pretty good for music. Aside from the whole surf rock "slapping an echo on my voice is awesome" craze that bands like Best Coast reintroduced to us in the Big Dime, 2010 will go down in the record books as a solid, if not stellar year, for indie rock.

Here are some of the albums I had on heavy rotation this year....

1. Beach House, Teen Dream

Like The Wire, it's always awesome when something comes out of your hometown and completely knocks your fucking socks off. That said, Beach House could be from Iowa and that would not stop Teen Dream from being the absolute best album of the year and it's not even close. I discovered this album in January while painting a room in a blizzard and it will be something I remember for the rest of my life. It was one of those instant connections between an album and an action. Yeah, painting a room isn't as cool as cruising for chicks or a summer of baseball, but it will still always take me back to a moment in my life. On Teen Dream, Beach House took their cheap Casio keyboard drum machine sound and made it bigger without selling out. Now, instead of wishing Beach House songs were bigger, they are. It was like watching that scrappy shortstop come back after an offseason of hard work and hit 40 homeruns.

2. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs

I know what you're thinking. This album should be #1. And you may have a good argument as to why it should be. But #2 is still good, is it not? On The Suburbs, Arcade Fire strung a clothesline across the length of the album and hung their grievances with suburban sprawl on it. Although it's more restrained than their previous work, the band still knows when to turn it up and let it loose. This is the album we'll all come back to when we're forty, balding, with children who don't know us, and say "Fuck. Did these guys get it right or what?" And at the same time, our kids may be listening to the album thinking, "I'll never turn out like my parents" when we all know its inevitable.

3. The National, High Violet

If ever there was an album that upon first listen prompted disappointment and the feeling that "they'll never be like they were ever again" before giving way to acceptance and pure enjoyment, High Violet is it. For months, I couldn't get past a few songs on this album. The melancholy subject matter, the monotone way in which Matt Berninger delivers his lyrics, and the restraint the band showed throughout the album...it wore me out. It still does. At times I still think "this is the point where they're going to let loose" and then comes "Afraid of Everyone" and the band does the complete opposite. But in the end, I've come around. This is a great album to throw on when you're driving home after a hard day's work and you don't feel like feeling anything. And the National make that seem so easy.

4. The Walkmen, Lisbon

Lisbon, is basically High Violet times ten. If you know me, you know that The Walkmen can practically do no wrong, and with Lisbon, the same is still mostly true. But I still can't help but feel a little let down after what I thought was their best album, You & Me, where they reinvented themselves as a Sun Records revival act. On You & Me, everything worked. On Lisbon, there are hits and misses. Songs that were performed live a year ago are different on the record, and IMHO, different for the worse. "Juveniles", which was a country western tune, complete with whistling (!) when I heard it live in the fall of 2009, is now an almost cheesy lounge-act Rod Stewart wannabe tune. "Angela Surf City" was also much different live, but for whatever reason, the band changed it and it is what it is now -- one of my least favorite tracks on the album. But aside from that, Lisbon continues The Walkmen's evolution away from "The Rat", and whatever they got wrong before is made right with "The Sky Above". In the end, Lisbon is a great album, one of the best of the year, but an album that could have been better. The Walkmen, by default, usually have the top spot reserved when they make an album. Just not in 2010.

5. Wolf Parade, Expo 86

Maybe I didn't listen to enough music this year because Expo 86 fails to ignite much passion in me like the other four albums do. Yeah, that must be it. Maybe I need to go check out Kayne West's new album. Now that I think about it, Wolf Parade has let me down ever since their stellar 2005 debut, Apologies to Queen Mary. Maybe it's the dozen side-projects between them. Maybe it's just because their debut was just that good. Whatever he reason, Expo 86 is the band's most sonically crowded album to date, which is a change from a band that sounded like it was performing on the top of a scrap heap after an apocalyptic event with just a guitar, a crashing symbol and a synth keyboard straight out of a John Carpenter film. Now, there's too much drumming going on, as if every verse needs a breakdown ripped from the intro from "Hot for Teacher". Overall, Expo 86 reminds me that the bands I love will not always make music I love, and that I should be thankful for the ones that still do. There are some bright spots on Expo 86, but it's gotten to the point where this supergroup has stopped being super, and the band members' original/side-projects are where they make their best music.

Get on the bus, Gus

2010-12-27T12:04:00.000-05:00

The #40 QuickBus has been an effective addition to rapid transit in Baltimore.

For whatever reason, the bus gets a bad rap in Baltimore.

Maybe the beating of a white passenger, Sarah Kreager, in 2007 by nine black school children is still fresh in everyone's mind. But what I've come to find in my experience with the bus in Baltimore has been nothing but pleasant.

Coming from Frederick County, I've long been waiting for work on the red line to begin so I am able to get to Baltimore without having to drive on 695 to catch the light rail or metro subway. But since the red line has been held up in red tape for the last few years, I got antsy and wanted to find a different way to get downtown.

After looking at the MTA bus schedule, I quickly learned of a couple of routes called "QuickBus". These bus routes don't act like most other buses, in that they stop at key transfer points and major landmarks, whereas the local bus can stop every block or two, making for a very long bus ride.

Currently, there are only two full-time QuickBus routes, the #40, which runs from Woodlawn to Dundalk and the #48, which runs from downtown Baltimore to Towson.

So I investigated the #40 a little more, seeing that it could satisfy my fix for a mass transit option into the city from the west. When I found out that the bus ran right by the park and ride located at the end of route 70, I pulled up Google Maps and found that I would need to walk on the shoulder of the entrance ramp to route 70 in order to catch the bus at the Forest Park stop.

So therein lies the one catch with the QuickBus -- it doesn't take advantage of any park and ride lots to allow commuters who don't live on the immediate bus route to take the bus downtown. Had the MTA built a walkway from the park and ride lot to the Forest Park stop, they could advertise the QuickBus as an alternative to the light rail and metro subway as a way to get to work or other events in the city. For now, adventurous riders, like me, can park at the park and ride and hoof it down the entrance ramp to the Forest Park Avenue bus stop.

The #40 QuickBus has 15 minute headways all day, meaning that buses are scheduled to arrive at any stop every 15 minutes. So far in my experience, this has been pretty accurate with a few instances of having to wait longer, but on average, I've waited 5-10 minutes for a bus.

From Forest Park Avenue, the ride downtown takes about 25 minutes. It travels down Cooks Lane, makes a left on Edmonson Avenue and then takes a right on Franklin Street before taking the two mile stretch of the "Highway to Nowhere" before entering downtown Baltimore. The route is very similar to the route planned for the red line, so getting downtown is a cinch. The Baltimore and Paca Street stop is close to the stadiums and the Charm Bus route is just a block away if riders want to head to the Inner Harbor, Harbor East, Fells Point or Federal Hill.

Another major issue with the QuickBus is that it's currently designed for work-day commuters only. The bus stops running around 10 p.m., which means it's not a good option for Oriole games that commonly run later than 10 p.m. or other nighttime events downtown. For that, the MTA feels that the light rail and metro subway should suffice, since both run until midnight.

So while the QuickBus may not be the answer to your east/west transit blues in Baltimore, it could be a start, and hopefully it's a preview for what is to come with the red line.

Ravens beat Browns, heading to playoffs

2010-12-27T11:38:00.000-05:00

Ray Rice had another good game, rushing for 92 yards in the Ravens 20-10 win over the Browns.

On various Ravens message boards and sports talk shows, fans have been noticeably critical of the Ravens coaching staff this year, Cam Cameron and John Harbaugh in particular.

But the fact that cannot be argued is that Harbaugh and Cameron have taken the Ravens to the playoffs three years in a row. With a 20-10 win over the Browns in Cleveland, the Ravens clinched a playoff spot. It's looking like the #5 seed right now, but with a Steelers loss and a Ravens win over the Bengals this Sunday, the Ravens would find themselves with the #2 seed and a first round bye. And that would be about the time I kick myself for not buying playoff tickets.

So while there is plenty to be critical about when it comes to Harbaugh and Cameron, they have taken the Ravens to the post-season three times in a row -- something Brian Billick never did in his 9 years as Ravens head coach.

Yesterday, the Ravens relied on their bread and butter: their running game and creating turnovers.

Ray Rice rushed for 92 yards on 25 carries and the Ravens took away the ball from the Browns 4 times. And as the weather gets cold and the playoffs draw closer, it's about time that Cameron returned to the smashmouth football that has been the Ravens M.O the last decade.

Running the ball comes at the expense of the passing game, which us why Flacco threw for 102 yards yesterday. He chucked 2 more touchdowns and had a deep pass picked off. And while Flacco is capable of doing much more in this offense, these are the kinds of games we want to see him play.

Derrick Mason was the leading receiver, with 50 yards and a touchdown, while TJ Houshmandzadeh hauled in 4 passes for 30 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Anquan Boldin caught just 2 balls for 15 yards. You have to wonder when the Ravens are going to work in Boldin more, but if he's content playing the decoy role for Mason and Houshmandzadeh to flourish, it's OK with me.

The defense rose to the occasion. After allowing an early touchdown, the Ravens defense hunkered down and put the brakes on the Browns offense. They scored only three more points and turned the ball over a total of four times on the day. Peyton Hillis, who had shredded the Ravens defense earlier this season, was held to 35 yards on 12 carries.

So even though there is one more game left on the schedule (Bengals), the playoff scenario is pretty much locked up. If the Ravens win and the Steelers lose to the Browns, the Ravens will get the #2 seed and a first round bye. But otherwise, they are the #5 seed and most likely headed to Indianapolis to take on the Colts.

Ugh.

And it doesn't get any easier, with the road to Dallas likely going through Pittsburgh and New England.

But at least the Ravens have made the playoffs again, and we can have this discussion.

And that alone feels good.

Ravens edge Saints

2010-12-23T16:31:00.000-05:00

Ray Rice had a huge day, both on the ground and through the air.

While walking down the route 70 on-ramp to to get to the #40 QuickBus stop, Ben and I saw a bad omen. A Raven had been hit by a car and lay dead on the asphalt. A feeling of dread rushed through me. Was this a sign? Were the Ravens going to lose to the Saints?

Thankfully, that omen was proven false, as the Ravens snuck by the Saints, 30-24 in the kind of close game that the Ravens have made a habit out of losing this year.

Actually, the Ravens played what could be called their most solid game of the season. Cam Cameron went back to the Ravens bread and butter -- running the ball a whopping 39 times. That meant Ray Rice had a huge day, carrying 31 times for 153 yards and a score.

The ground game was running on all cylinders last Sunday, and the Ravens simply dared the Saints to stop them. But the Saints, thanks to some very poor tackling, could not.

Joe Flacco continued his streak of mistake-free football play, passing for just 172 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions on the day. He completed 50% of his passes, but on a day that Flacco wasn't asked to do much, he did what he had to do to win the game, completing several big passes to extend drives.

Just to show you how big a day Rice had, he lead receivers with 80 yards and another touchdown. And when Flacco only completes 10 passes, guys like Anquan Boldin (1 catch, 2 yards) and TJ Houshmandzadeh (2 catches, 15 yards) aren't going to have big days.

But the Ravens won, so everyone should be happy. Let's hope.

The defense played a solid game, and had the Saints not scored their final touchdown on a fluke catch, the game wouldn't have been as close as it was. But that said, the Ravens held the explosive Saints offense to just 269 yards of total offense, intercepted Drew Brees once and sacked him 3 times. They kept him flustered, which meant he had to get rid of the ball quick and missed out on what could have been potentially big gains.

The only question mark of the day came with 9 seconds left in the game when John Harbaugh opted to kick a field goal to put the Ravens up 30-24 instead of going for it on 4th and 1 and ending the game. Had the Saints been able to return the kick for a touchdown, the loss would have created a mob outside of M&T Bank Stadium after the game. Thankfully, it all worked out, but I didn't see the harm in going for it. Had they not converted, the Saints would have gotten the ball on their own 9-yard line, with 9 seconds left and no timeouts. And ironically, DeSean Jackson of the Eagles did the very thing that Ravens fans had feared would happen when the Ravens kicked off to the Saints. Jackson's punt return capped off a wild comeback win over the Giants.

Next week, the Ravens take on the Browns in Cleveland, where wins are never easy. And with a win, the Ravens clinch a playoff spot, their third playoff appearance in three years -- a team record.

And yet people want Harbaugh fired.

Ravens survive Texans

2010-12-14T18:30:00.000-05:00

That's right, Josh. The Ravens won by that much.

The Ravens almost gave away a game as well as their season in Houston last night in one of those wins that feels more like a loss.

The Ravens led 21-0 in the first quarter and 28-7 after David Reed's kick-off return for a touchdown at the start of the second half, but couldn't put the 5-8 Texans away. Instead, the defense looked the worst they've looked since 1996, allowing Matt Shaub and the Texans to put together drives of 99 and 95 yards to tie the game at 28-28 and force overtime.

The Ravens won the coin toss in OT, but were as hapless on offense as they'd been for the entire second half. After a short drive went nowhere to start overtime, the Ravens punted the ball to the Texans, thankfully pinning the Texans within their own 10-yard line. Two plays later, Josh Wilson picked off Shaub and took it to the house, ending the game and giving the Ravens a narrow escape.

Had the Ravens lost, they would have been 8-5 and a game in front of the Colts for the #6 seed. But thankfully, the Ravens were able to survive Houston and earned themselves the #5 seed, with the tie-breaker over the Jets, who are also 9-4.

However, with the hair-raising win, the Ravens don't look poised to make much noise in the playoffs. First and foremost, the defense was downright embarrassed last night. After turning in a dominant first half, they were absolutely torched in the second. They couldn't get off the field on third down, which resulted in the defense wearing down to the point of them almost not even being on the field at all.

The offense played the same kind of game. They moved the ball well through the air in the first half, scoring 3 touchdowns with relative ease before packing it in with 1:37 left in the second quarter. The offensive line really melted down in the second half, getting Flacco sacked a total of 6 times. They also failed to open substantial holes for Ray Rice to run through. Rice rushed for only 54 yards with a dismal 2.8 yard per carry average on the night. All signs for the Ravens offensive problems point to their inability to run the ball.

Joe Flacco played well, when he wasn't on his back, completing 22 of 33 passes for 235 yards and 2 touchdown passes. But his games are becoming repetitive. He plays well for a half while disappearing for the other half. Whether it's Flacco or Cameron to blame, something needs to be done to spark this offense because it's downright maddening to watch. And while Flacco isn't getting much time in the pocket to throw, he needs to be smarter under pressure and start throwing balls away to avoid costly sacks.

But Flacco deserves credit for his performance. He was responsible for 235 of the Ravens 253 total yards of offense. While many Ravens fans will surely be critical of Flacco after this game, it's important to remember that the Ravens won because of what Flacco did.

Derrick Mason had a great game, despite dropping a long pass in the first quarter that would have given him about 60 more yards on the night. He caught 6 balls for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ray Rice had the screen game working well last night, catching 8 passes for 66 yards. Meanwhile, Anquan Boldin had trouble getting going, catching 3 balls for a paltry 41 yards.

And so it comes down to this: Cam Cameron needs to start utilizing the talent he has on this offense. He has 4, count 'em, 4 all pro wide receivers...and he can't even devise a way to take advantage of something that would give other offensive coordinators wet dreams. He's been calling the same ho-hum offensive game plan all season, despite costing the team several games. He almost cost the team another game last night with his one-dimensional play calling. Has a 9-4 football team ever fired their offensive coordinator? I don't think anyone in the country would bat an eye lash if the Ravens were to do just that.

Meanwhile, John Harbaugh deserves his share of the blame, too. When his defense was getting beaten like they stole something, Harbaugh opted to keep two timeouts in his back pocket rather than give his defense some time to breathe while the Texans were mounting their epic drives. When the Texans scored their final touchdown to bring the score to 28-26 and took the field for a two point conversion, Harbaugh AGAIN failed to call a time out. Instead, the Texans were able to convert their two-point conversion and force overtime.

While the Ravens may be 9-4 and holding down the 5th playoff spot, they look like a team headed more for trouble than making noise in the playoffs. And with the New Orleans Saints coming to town this week, you might get your preview of what will happen to the Ravens if they do hang onto their playoff spot and make the postseason.

And it won't be pretty.

O's trade for Hardy & Harris

2010-12-09T10:22:00.002-05:00

JJ Hardy has potential to significantly upgrade production from the SS position.

GM Andy MacPhail is still busy at the winter meetings, pulling off another trade, this time sending minor league pitchers Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson to the Twins for SS JJ Hardy and utility infielder Brendan Harris.

Hardy is the centerpiece of the deal, as he is a player who has once hit 26 and 24 home runs. Unfortunately, Hardy has seen his production slip the last 2 years due to injury. In 2010, he batted .268 with 6 home runs and a .714 OPS in 101 games. And while that is already a huge upgrade from Cesar Izturis, there is potential for Hardy to offer even more.

So already, the O's have made two significant upgrades at positions of need in Reynolds and Harris. At 3B and SS last year, the Orioles got an OPS of .668 and .549. In 2010, Reynolds and Hardy each had an OPS of .753 and .714. And with MacPhail left with several options at 1B, it'll be almost impossible not to upgrade on the .625 OPS the O's got from that position last year.

Harris looks to be a decent utility player. His career .701 OPS is average, but he's had an OPS of .672 and .446 in the last two years, so it won't be a surprise if Harris doesn't last long in Baltimore. But the O's got the player they wanted -- Hardy -- for much less than it would have cost to get the other SS they were looking at, Jason Bartlett. The Rays were rumored to have wanted Nolan Reimold and Alfredo Simon for Bartlett, who is about the same kind of player that Hardy is at this point in their careers. And the O's were right not to give up on Reimold yet. Although he is 27 years old, his off the field issues resulted in a 2010 season that Reimold is hoping to bounce back from. And there is reason to hope he will. His OBP has always been solid and his potential for power is tough to ignore. Hopefully Reimold will be one of the better stories throughout the 2011 season.

To get Hardy and Harris, the O's gave up Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson, and it doesn't look like the O's gave up much. Hoey has a 8.13 ERA in 34.1 innings pitched with the Orioles, but his MiL numbers point to him being a live arm out of the bullpen. But with many live arms, there is potential for little control, which resulted in Hoey's departure. Jacobson, the player the O's received in the Aubrey Huff trade to Detroit in 2009, is the more promising pitcher. The 23 year old posted an 8-1 season in Frederick with a 2.79 ERA in 2010. And while he is a little old to be in Frederick, he still could be a useful arm for the Twins down the road.

So there it is. The O's continue to improve, although not drastically, and not in ways that are going to sell many tickets ahead of time. But there is potential for each move to work out more than it doesn't.

I guess we can be happy about that.

O's trade for Mark Reynolds

2010-12-06T12:25:00.003-05:00

The O's traded for 3B Mark Reynolds, who many O's fans will no doubt compare to Rob Deer.

The Orioles made their first big move of the offseason, trading pitchers David Hernandez and Kameron Mickolio for Diamondbacks 3B, Mark Reynolds.

It's a solid move to get a right-handed power bat into the line-up and fill a position of need at 3B. Reynolds has hit 32, 44 and 28 HR in the last 3 years and has a career .908 OPS against LHP.

The downside?

He hit .198 last season and lead the NL with 200+ strikeouts the last three seasons.

Yeah, you read that right.

Reynolds is not without some risk, but his upside is pretty big. He may strike out a ton but he can also get on base. Last year, with his .198 average and 211 K's, he was still able to get his OBP up to .320. And while Reynolds will never be a .300 hitter (his best year was .260 in 2009), if he can just get his average up to .220-.240 range, he could get on base at a .360 clip.

Then again, he could continue to struggle to get his average above the Mendoza line and his power could continue to decrease. He is, after all, going to be facing some of the best pitching the MLB has to offer in the AL East.

But when you consider what it took to acquire the 27-year old player, it was a good move.

David Hernandez was a promising pitcher, when he was coming up through the O's system with a K/9 rate that was around 10. But when he broke into the majors in 2009, the strikeouts weren't there. Hernandez threw a lot of pitches and never had an out pitch. He did well in the bullpen in 2010 (2.95 ERA in 39 IP with a 11.1 K/9), but you have to give up something to get something in return, and Hernandez was the centerpiece of the deal for Arizona.

Mickolio, whom the Orioles acquired in the Erik Bedard trade back in 2008, always had potential to blossom into a powerful arm out of the bullpen, but he never lived up to that potential due to injuries and control issues. Mickolio had a K/9 rate above 12 in Norfolk this year, but his BB/9 went up to 4.

The Diamondbacks needed bullpen help, and with Hernandez and Mickolio, they got two good youngish arms that could do well with a change in scenery. And since the DBacks made it well known that they wanted to shed some of the K's in their line-up, Reynolds was not going to cost the Orioles that much.

Strangely, rumors were that the O's wanted to trade Chris Tillman to the the Diamondbacks, but the Dbacks were insistent on Hernandez. Why the O's would give up on Tillman so soon is curious. Do they know something about Tillman that fans don't? Sure, Tillman hasn't done well outside of a few promising starts here and there in his two brief stints in Baltimore over the last 2 years, but he's still 23 and younger than both Hernandez, 26 and Mickolio, 24.

So at least the O's made a move. It's not something that's going to sell a lot of tickets, but it could be a move that we look back on by mid-season and think, "I am glad the Orioles made that move".

But then again, we could be asking ourselves, "Why did the Orioles make that move?"

Ravens fumble away win to Steelers

2010-12-06T09:09:00.000-05:00

Fumbled Away: Troy Polamalu causes a Joe Flacco fumble that set up the Steelers game-winning touchdown.

Well, it finally happened.

Baltimore sports fans had to endure that rare coaching blunder that haunts fans for weeks, months...maybe years.

It was as bad as Bill Belechick going for it on 4th and 2 on his own 30 yard line against the Colts last year. It was almost as bad as Marty Morningweg opting to kick the ball off in overtime.

Trailing 13-10 with less than a minute to go at the Steelers 31-yard line, John Harbaugh elected to go for it on 4th and 2 instead of bringing in strong legged kicker Billy Cundiff for a 49 yard field goal attempt.

On that 4th down, Flacco passed to the left for an incomplete. The ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage and bounced to Ed Dickson. Game over, Ravens lose to the Steelers, 13-10 and put themselves in the hunt for one of two wild card spots at 8-4.

Granted, Cundiff's potential 49-yard game tying kick wasn't a gimme by any stretch of the imagination. But it was the call that should have been made. Going for it on 4th and 2 would have only prolonged the drive, and Harbaugh used the last timeout before opting to go for it. Had they converted the 4th down, there would have been no more timeouts and Cundiff would have had to rush a field goal kick.

It was just an inexcusable decision by Harbaugh. And this is coming from someone who has routinely stuck up for him when Ravens fans criticize him for being too smug with the media and a jerk. But his decision last night was just troubling on every level.

Harbaugh blamed the wind for the decision to go for it, and said the ball wasn't tracking well during field goal practice kicks before the game. And yes, the wind was blowing hard last night and Cundiff would have been kicking into the direction of the wind on the east side of the stadium. But from where I was sitting, the flags on the eastern goal posts were not blowing at the time of the 4th and 2. The Ravens had a window to kick a field goal and they decided to close it instead.

Harbaugh's questionable decision making was the final nail in the coffin, but it is arguably not the biggest turning point of the game. Up 10-6 on their own 43 yard line, with 3:13 remaining, Flacco dropped back in the pocket to pass on 2nd and 5 and was immediately hit by Troy Polamalu (who else?) and fumbled the ball. The Steelers recovered the ball and returned it to the Ravens 9 yard line where they scored on a Ben Roethlisberger pass to Isaac Redman 3 plays later.

So why were they passing you ask? It's your basic damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.

The Ravens are routinely blasted for being to conservative with small leads late in games, and they played conservative many times last night. But just when they decided to get aggressive, and pass on that 2nd and 5 so late in the game, it blows up in their face. No one touched Polamalu on his way to Flacco, so there was a missed assignment in there somewhere. It was the Steelers being the Steelers, and getting the big play they need late in the game to steal another win from the Ravens.

There were some positives that are sure to be overshadowed. Joe Flacco played pretty well, completing 17 of 33 passes for 266 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions. He made some great passes on the scoring drive in the first quarter. Anquan Boldin had a huge night, catching 5 balls for 118 yards and a score. And the defense played exceptionally well last night, bending but not breaking against the Steelers, who scored their only touchdown after the Flacco fumble gave them the ball at the Ravens 9 yard line. The defense's lone stumble was on the Redman touchdown, where they missed several tackles.

After the game, Derrick Mason was critical of the offense, saying what has been on the minds of Ravens fans since the beginning of the season. Why is the Ravens offense failing to take advantage of the multiple weapons it has? There has never been a good rhythm on offense since the beginning of the year, and it looks like there never will be one in 2010. It's week 13 and the Ravens are a mediocre 14th overall in yards and 17th in points scored. Is it Cam Cameron's play calling? Too many chefs in the kitchen on offense in Boldin, Mason and Houshmandzadeh?

Who knows. But the Ravens better figure out what they want to be on offense and stick with it. Last night they came out with a game plan -- to pass on the Steelers -- and it worked for a short period of time, as Anquan Boldin slipped past his defender for a wide open touchdown catch in the endzone in the first quarter. But after that touchdown, the Ravens predictably let off of the gas and allowed the Steelers to do what they do best -- chisel their way back into the game.

So where does this loss put the Ravens? At 8-4 and in the 6th playoff spot. Whoever loses between New England and the New York Jets tonight will have the 5th spot with the winner of tonight's game, the Steelers, Jaguars and Chiefs as the leaders in their division.

The Ravens still control their own destiny to make the playoffs, but with last night's loss, a division title is looking impossible. The Ravens have a tough schedule remaining, with games at Houston, home against New Orleans, at Cleveland and then home against Cincinnati.

The Steelers, meanwhile, have three home games in a row against Cleveland, New York Jets and Carolina before closing out the season at Cleveland. It's gonna take an epic Steelers meltdown for the Ravens to make-up two games against the Steelers for the division. I don't see it happening, which is why I'm not sending in the money for home playoff tickets. If the Ravens make the playoffs, they're gonna have to do what they've always done: go on the road.

Meanwhile, the Ravens locker rom is not a place you'd want to be right now. Reports are that the underlying tensions between offensive and defensive players are starting to come to a head. The dislike of Harbaugh by some players is starting to cause problems. How this team responds in Houston next Monday night after such a demoralizing loss at home to the Steelers is what could be the difference between a playoff spot and watching the playoffs from home.

So there it is.

It was the kind of game you expected, but in the end, the result was inevitable against those MF Steelers. And as with each loss so far this season, Ravens fans can't help but feel like they let another one slip through their fingers.

Dunn signs with the White Sox, O's offer lowball deal

2010-12-03T09:23:00.003-05:00

Stop right there, Andy. I will not take $16 million dollars less to come play for the Orioles. Thanks but no thanks.

Left-handed slugger Adam Dunn signed with the White Sox for 4 years, $56 million. $14 million a year for a clean-up hitter who hasn't hit below 38 home runs since 2003 is a very fair deal to me. Plus, Dunn is only 31 years old, so it's not likely that he starts to decline by the end of his contract like most of the other available 1B free agents.

And it should also come as no surprise that Dunn signed with the White Sox, a competitive team that won 88 games a year ago.

But what is surprising -- and embarrassing -- is that the Orioles offered Dunn a deal far below the deal he got from the White Sox.

The Orioles offer? 4 years, $40 million dollars.

That's right -- $16 million dollars below what he got from the White Sox.

Dunn turned down a 3 year, $45 million dollar extension from the Washington Nationals, so what the hell did MacPhail think Dunn was going to do with his offer? Dunn is probably lining his birdcage with the Orioles offer sheet today.

And so it continues. The Orioles keep offering free agents far below their market value. It's like Andy MacPhail is an elderly shopper, refusing to believe that it's 2010. He still believes he should be able to buy stuff for what it cost back in 1976.

With the Orioles having had a great final 2 months to the 2010 season, and Buck Showalter in the manager's seat, MacPhail should be doing all he can to add talent to this roster and shed the image that the Baltimore Orioles are a failure.

But his lowball offers are doing nothing to squash that image. As a matter of fact it's only making that image worse and frustrating the few remaining fans that the Orioles haven't alienated over their 13 year losing run.

Does MacPhail really think that a player of Dunn's stature would accept $16 million less to play on a team that hasn't had a winning record since Dunn was 17 years old?

Or is this just another CYA move so that the Orioles can say "We offered him a deal". I wonder if we'll start to hear "confederate money" being thrown around the warehouse again. The ghost of Sid Thrift lives.

Wake up, Andy. Either make a fair deal or don't offer anything at all. Your cheapskate lowball offers are only embarrassing the Orioles even more.

Who's on first?

2010-11-30T10:12:00.003-05:00

Derrek Lee makes a lot of sense for the Orioles in 2011.

As the Orioles are gearing up for baseball's winter meetings, the only major free agent to have been signed thus far is Victor Martinez, who sighed a 4 year, $50 million contract with the Detroit Tigers last week.

Martinez was on the Orioles radar. They offered 4 years, $48 million for the catcher, who has played 1B in the past. But Martinez wants to catch, and playing with fellow Venezuelan Miguel Cabrera was too much for Martinez to pass up.

As the Orioles move on, the major candidates for 1B include Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn, Carlos Pena, Adam LaRoche and Derrek Lee.

None of those players would be bad options for the 2011 season, but each player comes with their own issues: money, age, defense, years of contract, declining numbers, etc...

Konerko would perhaps be the biggest name of them all, but he'd likely command a 3 year deal. And for a 35 year old player coming off a career year in which he hit 39 home runs and had a .977 OPS, there is some risk involved. Will Konerko be worth a 3-year deal? Will he decline past 35 years old? If the Orioles could snag Konerko for a 2 year deal, I'd put the right-handed slugger at the top of the list. But players are paid for past performance in free agency, and it's unlikely that Konerko is worth the life of the contract he gets this offseason.

Adam Dunn is another big-name free agent, as evidenced by his gaudy home run totals (he hasn't hit less than 38 home runs since 2003. But he is infamous for his horrific defense and he's refused to move to the DH role for an American League team. He is also likely to command a 3 or 4 year contract for well over $15 million a year. But at 30 years old, Dunn is likely to be well worth the contract.

Carlos Pena was making the most sense out of all of the candidates until he turned in a poor 2010 season where he hit .196. He still hit 28 home runs and got on base at a decent clip compared to his average (.325 OBP), but his numbers have been in a steep decline since he joined the Rays in 2007 and caught lighting in a bottle. Pena's defense at 1B is stellar and coming off a down year he could be had for cheap. But he's struggled to hit LHP in his slump, and the Orioles are desperately in need of players who can hold their own against LHP. So after years of failing to get consistent production from the biggest power position on the field, will the O's commit to another project at 1B? Especially after the epic fail that was Garrett Atkins?

Adam LaRoche may remind people a lot of Aubrey Huff. He bats left-handed and seems to alternate between up an down years. LaRoche, 30, could be nabbed for a cheap 1 or 2 year deal, but it would be viewed as another safe, low-reward move for the Orioles, who are in desperate need of a big splash signing to keep fans interested. But LaRoche is at least consistent in the home run department, averaging 26 home runs over 162 games throughout his career. However, LaRoche could very well end up as Huff did in Baltimore, turning in 2 down years compared to one very good year.

Last on the list is Derrek Lee. You may remember Lee when he was traded to Baltimore from Florida before the 2004 season. But Peter Angelos (yeah, that guy) didn't want to extend Lee and he ended up in Chicago with the Cubs for some very productive years. The GM of the Cubs back then? Andy MacPhail.

Lee had a down 2010 season, hitting only 19 home runs and a .774 OPS while splitting time between the Cubs and Braves. But Lee was hampered by an injured thumb for most of the season which may have lead to his down season.

Lee was not offered arbitration by the Braves last week, meaning that if he signs with another team, that team will not have to give up a second round draft pick. You might remember the fans frustration over the Orioles parting ways with a second rounder to sign Michael Gonzalez last offseason, especially when Gonzalez imploded and then went on the DL at the start of 2010. So Lee will not cost a lot of money, and no draft pick.

That said, Lee has his drawbacks. Injury or not, the mediocre 2010 season cannot be ignored. And Lee, who will be 35 for most of the 2011 season, is no spring-chicken. But he is a right-handed hitter who kills LHP (.907 career OPS) and has a solid glove at 1B.

And then there is the MacPhail connection. I don't have enough time to list all of the former Cubs players the O's have acquired since MacPhail arrived, so that alone should be enough reason to say the Orioles as seriously considering Lee for 1B in 2011. And when you factor in Lee's price and the 1 or 2 years he will command, it's a no-brainer for the O's.

That isn't to say he's the best option -- or a player that fans will go bonkers for if signed -- but he makes a lot of sense for the Orioles in their current position.

I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see the O's sign Derrick Lee, whether it's this afternoon or in 2 months.

And you shouldn't be either.

Ravens top Bucs

2010-11-30T09:44:00.000-05:00

Derrick Mason hauls in a touchdown pass in the Ravens 17-10 win over the Buccaneers.

It was another one of those games that'll give critical Ravens a lot of ammo for the week.

The Ravens beat the Buccaneers, 17-10, in a game they dominated on both sides of the ball for most of the game. However, the Bucs drove the ball 77 yards over 4 minutes and 38 seconds for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to make the game look a lot closer than it really was. The Ravens lead 17-3 for almost an entire half of football.

If they had been able to stop the Bucs on that final scoring drive, they would have turned in their "statement game", in which they put the game out of reach early on. But as they have done against the Jets, Broncos, Panthers and now the Bucs, the Ravens have a way of making a game look closer than it really was.

Tampa Bay is a good young team who is going to be in the hunt in the NFC South for the next few years as their guys mature and keep learning to win. But the Ravens clearly showed that they were the better team.

The Ravens won the time of possession battle, 31:02 to 28:58. They accumulated more total yards, 349 to 263. They had more first downs, 18 to 14. And they had only 4 penalties for 30 yards to the Buccaneers 9 for 78 yards.

Joe Flacco kept his roll going, tossing for 289 yards, 2 TD's and 1 INT. He completed 71.4% of his passes. He held onto the ball too long, resulting in 4 sacks, but overall he had another fine game in what is sure to be his best season as a pro. He is on pace for 3,946 yards, 26 TD's and 12 INT's.

Derrick Mason, who'd had a spat with Flacco last week in Carolina, rebounded in a big way, catching 2 balls for 87 yards and a score. And Todd Heap, who is infamous for making tough catches while he's draped by defenders, caught a pass in stride and took it 65 yards for a TD.

On the ground, Ray Rice played the role of the closer, catching a pass for a first down and rushing for another on the game's final drive that allowed the Ravens to take a knee for the win. He had 85 yards on 20 rushes on the afternoon.

The defense turned in a solid performance against a tough QB. While they didn't record a sack, the defense flushed Bucs QB, Josh Freeman, from the pocket regularly, forcing him to make passes off balance. He completed only 46% of his passes. The Ravens D also did well against the run. They allowed 101 yards on the day, and 4.5 yards per carry, but they limited the big plays, which kept the Buccaneers in many 3rd and longs.

Would I have liked to see the Ravens be more dominant? Sure. They left at least 7 points on the field, and seemed uninterested to stop the Bucs on their final scoring drive. But for the most part, they played well, and beat the Bucs soundly in most statistical categories.

It wasn't pretty, but it was a win. And if that gets this team deep into the playoffs, I'll take it.

Moving on, the 8-3 Steelers come to Baltimore for a Sunday night matchup. The Steelers needed OT to beat the 2-9 Bills in Buffalo, and are banged up on the offensive line. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 5 times by the Bills defense and is said to be nursing a sore ankle.

The Ravens have to be licking their chops.