Baltimore Orioles Blog Posts

Twins-Tigers game was exactly what I wanted

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:47:38 EDT

The 12-inning thriller that was the last regular season game ever played at the Metrodome was exactly what I wanted to see. When the Twins and Tigers played a four-game series in Detroit last week, I found myself rooting for the Twins to close the gap in order to create an exciting finish to the regular season – ideally a one-game playoff. When that happened, I decided it would be great for the city of Detroit to send their team to the playoffs, but what I wanted most was to see a great game. My wish came true when the two teams played a nail-biter that could have gone either way, but eventually sent Minnesota to the postseason. Props to both teams for giving the fans what they deserved.

How ‘bout that?

How about Jason Kubel? The Twins slugger hit a pair of three-run home runs in his team’s must-win game against Kansas City just to force Game 163, and added a solo shot in the game against the Tigers that decided the AL Central. For the season, Kubel hit .300 with 28 home runs, 103 RBI’s, and a .907 OPS – all career highs. Additionally, since taking over in right field when Justin Morneau went on the disabled list and Michael Cuddyer moved to first base, Kubel has not made a single error, giving Manager Ron Gardenhire confidence in his team despite the loss of one of his best players.

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Bobby Cox has one more season in him

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:31:03 EDT

Braves manager Bobby Cox announced this week his plans to retire after the 2010 season and to immediately take on a consulting role with the team. Cox has won 2,409 games as a manager and is fourth all-time in the category, behind only Connie Mack (3,731), John McGraw (2,763) and current Cardinals manager Tony La Russa (2,550). Cox has five pennants and one World Series title to his name, and won the Manager of the Year award four times. Under his leadership, the Braves have won 100 games six times. The next manager of the Atlanta Braves will have big shoes to fill.

How ‘bout that?

How about Adam Laroche? Since being traded back to the Braves mid-season, Laroche has slugged .622 to go with his .355 batting average and .426 on-base percentage. In 126 fewer at-bats, Laroche has hit twice as many home runs (12) as did his predecessor, Casey Kotchman. To top it off, Laroche has made just one error in 47 games with Atlanta and boasts a .998 fielding percentage.

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Poor behavior on and off the field is Bad for Ball

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:57:51 EDT

In the last week, baseball fans have been exposed to a number of unfortunate incidents that involved big-name, All-Star players. My thoughts on each of them follow.

Kevin Youkilis charging the mound: Youk let his emotions get the best of him on Tuesday night after getting plunked in the back for the second consecutive night. The Red Sox need Youk’s bat in the lineup and his glove in the field. Now they have neither for five games.

Josh Hamilton’s relapse: A man’s personal struggle with alcohol is his business, but when a recovering alcoholic is a role model for young people, he needs to take responsibility for his actions before the public finds out from someone else. In this case, Hamilton should have made a statement prior to the release of the photos taken at the bar this past January.

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While I was out

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:42:22 EDT

Since I last posted before my trip to Spain, there have been a number of noteworthy occurrences in Major League Baseball.

The American League won yet another All-Star Game – by a single run for the fourth year in a row. Manny Ramirez returned from his 50-game suspension. The Nationals fired manager Manny Acta. Jonathan Sanchez threw the season’s first no-hitter. The Braves gave up on underachieving hometown boy Jeff Francouer, and traded him to the Mets for Ryan Church, who hit the foul ball I caught at RFK in 2007. The most exciting news, however, took place the day I returned from my voyage: Mark Buerhle of the White Sox threw a perfect game. The following day, the A’s traded slugger Matt Holliday to the Cardinals, who now have protection for Albert Pujols.

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Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star Break Analysis

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:21:45 EDT

Pittsburgh Pirates Mid-Season Analysis

I moved to Western Maryland a couple of weeks ago and this is part of my ongoing attempt to learn about the sports interests here. Baseball-wise it’s the Pirates, Orioles, and Nationals, and I wanted to get into the one with the best current chance of a playoff push. The Nats are obviously out and the Orioles are 14 games behind first in a ridiculously hard division, so that leaves the Pirates, a tantalizing Homer-pick at 9.5 behind in the absurdly mediocre NL Central. On paper it looks possible that any team could take it, and I hoped that statistical analysis would show some obscure Pirates advantage that could take them over the top, but I just can’t find it. I’m not saying that an X-factor doesn’t exist, just that anyone who claims there is one is obviously from Pittsburgh. In fact, this team so cries for the use of the “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” comparison that I spent ten whole minutes looking up how I could work it in. And here it is: Mario Brega, who played Cpl. Wallace, the big cross-eyed prison guard in the film who beat up Tuco to get the name of the cemetery the money was buried in for Angel Eyes ,died 15 years ago this month. So to honor his memory, here’s a breakdown of the Pirates in the spirit of that great film (I resisted using a corresponding pirate-based ranking system, i.e.; Avast Ye Maties, Walk the Plank, and Totally Somalian because even I have standards).

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Your Worst Face-to-Face Experience With a Sports Celebrity

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:30:10 EDT

LeBron James' alleged confiscation of a tape in which Xavier sophomore basketball player Jordan Crawford executed a two-hand dunk on him took on a larger life of its own than it would have had the tape been made public.

The story of James getting dunked on during a pickup game at the LeBron James Skills Academy by now has made the rounds several times over -- not to mention piqued the interest of basketball fans of what that scene might've looked liked.

Hmm. ... My first thought that comes to mind is Michael Jordan reversing course baseline against Patrick Ewing and throwing down in a classic Bulls-Knicks confrontation. My second thought is of Nate Robinson using Dwight Howard as a prop and jumping over him in the NBA Slam Dunk competition in February.

In any case, I began to wonder what the cameramen recording the event must have thought of The Chosen Brat after he reportedly dispatched a Nike official to take possession of the tapes.

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A College Students Perspective of Tuesdays 11-10 Loss

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:37:01 EDT

I’ll tell you right now that it’s not better than viewing it as any other person.

I’ll also tell you that even though it’s the summer, we still maintain some of the college atmosphere here in Salem. A lot of us Salem Staters have off campus apartments so we get to see each other even when school is not in session.

Personally I was looking forward to watching an entire game on Tuesday night, which is hard to do between multiple jobs and summer classes. However, I got a text last night before the game started saying that there were going to be some cool people meeting up at Salem Beer Works that night. I figured I’d go after the game. So I sat in my room watching the Sox dominate the Os for the first 4 innings. Thanks to some great offense and a much better start for Smoltz, things seemed to be going our way.

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BoSox Bullpen Blows a 9 Run Lead

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:49:42 EDT

Boston Red Sox Bullpen Blows a 9 Run Lead!!
So last night the 42 year old John Smoltz would get his second start of the year!! In the last game he pitched he gave up 3 runs in the first inning, but then he was lights out. So I believe it was because it was his the first start and 1st inning jitters, so I didn't know what to expect. Well he was on point again and looked great. He only gave up 3 hits, 1 earned run and had 2 strikeout-- awesome! But the story is far from over. Meanwhile the Red Sox bats looked like they where going to explode, scoring 9 runs giving Smoltz a 9-1 lead, but that's when the rain came and this was big trouble for Smoltz and the Sox.(rain always seems to be trouble for the Sox).
After the rain came and went, a delay for about a hour and 20 minutes had gone by, Smoltz couldn't come back out, leaving a 9-1 lead up to the bullpen. At this point all of Red Sox Nation, including me, were thinking it's over, we got this in the bag and when it came to the 7th and the Sox now had a 10-1 lead I thought it's definitely over, but I was way off!! The Orioles would put our bullpen to work-- Masterson then Delcarmen and Okajima would allow 7 hits and 5 runs in the 7th making it a 10-6 game heading into the 8th!! Okajimia would start the 8th gave up a quick 2 runs with runners on, so the Sox would bring in Saito who gave up another run making it 10-9 with men on 1st and 2nd and 1 out, BIG trouble!!! So of course the Sox would bring in Papelbon who is looking for the save which would set a new franchise record by moving past B. Stanley for No. 1 in saves, but after getting a strikeout and the 2nd out of the inning he would give up a double which rolled all the way to the wall allowing both runners to score giving Baltimore a 11-10 lead and the win. This was a hard one to watch and definitely write about, well we got Beckett going today at 1:35 for a day game, so let's get a win!! Sox Nation here.
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Lester Amazing Again

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:41:28 EDT

J. Lester and the Sox traveled to Baltimore last night to play the Orioles in what would be the Lester show. He has been amazing in his last 6 starts he hasn't giving up no more than 3 runs and has 4 wins and 48 strikeouts, Awesome!

Last night would be no different, Lester pitched 7 scoreless innings with 8 k's and allowing only 5 hits, so was deffinitly in the works for another win just as long as his offense stepped up for him. The Sox only had scored 1 run in their previous 2 games. Not tonight, JD Drew who was moved and now hitting in the #1 spot went 3-5 leading the game off with a triple and later hitting a homer and was just a double shy of the cycle(maybe we should leave him at lead off)!! After the lead off triple, Pedroia would knock him in on a base hit and the Sox would lead 1-0 before Lester even started the bottom of the 1st. That would be all the support he would need. Even though the Sox would add 3 more runs in the 4th with everyone in the lineup helping like Variteck who went 2-4 with a run and RBI and Ellsbury who was 1-3 with a run and 2 stolen bases-- Sweet. The offense seems to be comming back around.

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