Orioles Update

They Still Exist

2011-09-29T11:32:00.004-04:00

Of all the now 14 years of the Orioles streak of consecutive losing seasons, this has been one of the most disappointing. Under the leadership of Buck Showalter and behind an impressive performance by its core of young pitchers, the Orioles stormed to a strong finish at the close of 2010.

There was real reason for hope in 2011. That hope was tempered by realism -- I don't think anyone expected the Orioles to compete this season -- but a run at .500 and continued growth from the young players who needed to develop for the team to eventually -- down the road a year or two -- turn into a contender.

That didn't happen. Matusz, Britton, Arrieta, and Tillman all struggled with ineffectiveness or injury. Jeremy Guthrie, or "Guts" as he's effectively known, couldn't get any run support. Brian Roberts missed most of the year with concussion symptoms. Nick Markakis continued his inexplicable decline.

There were bright spots, such as J.J. Hardy's great season and the continued development of Matt Wieters, but not only did the O's underperform expectations for the season, it seemed as if the young nucleus of the pitching staff that looked so promising a year ago would go the way of Ainsworth, Riley, Dubose, Cabera, and so many others. The jewels of the O's farm system had been called up, they were not ready for prime time and there was little else in the farm system with hope of being a key contributor in Baltimore in the near future. There is, much more than a year ago, no end in sight to the losing.

Though the season was a clunker, the Orioles brought it to one hell of a finish last night, knocking the Red Sox out of the playoffs with a two-run bottom of the ninth that along with a huge comeback by the Rays, will leave the much-hyped Red Sox sitting at home.

The Orioles were 5-2 record against Boston over the last two series and cemented their role as spoilers. As Nolan Reimold slid home after Robert Andino's soft line drive to left field, which dropped just under the glove of high-priced free agent acquisition Carl Crawford, the O's players and fans reacted as if a playoff game had just been won. Moments later, the Rays won and a historic collapse by the hated Red Sox was complete.

For years, Red Sox fans have shown up in Baltimore with their "Fenway South" signs and their "Let's go Red Sox chants" and their arrogance. Last night, they were sent home packing.

The 2011 Orioles weren't especially good at baseball by major-league standards. But they played hard for 162 games and they didn't quit. And for one night only, it seemed like Orioles Magic was back.

Thanks for the memories, guys. Whether or not they're a better team, I'll be a better fan in 2012. Contention may still be a long way off, but there's something to be said for the spoilers, too.

While the O's briefly returned to relevance, I still think a permanent return of Orioles Update is probably not in the cards. But you never know what spring training will bring...

Smell You Later...

2011-04-14T22:25:00.005-04:00

I'll always be an Orioles fan, but I just don't have the desire to write about this team anymore. 13 consecutive seasons of awful, going on 14, is just too long. Finding interesting ways to lose isn't interesting.

Goodnight, Orioles. Screw you, Kevin Gregg.

Undercover Orioles Fan

2011-04-03T10:01:00.003-04:00

Undercover Orioles Fan ate some bad pizza but watched a pretty good Phillies game last night at Citizens Bank Park, but missed an even better Orioles game.

As I mentioned, on paper the matchup of James Shields vs. Chris Tillman favored the Rays. And indeed, although Shields kept the Orioles off the board for seven innings, Tillman was up to the task. Tracking on my (non-smart) phone, I noticed that Tillman had no-hit the Rays through six innings, before being pulled with 101 pitches for Jeremy Accardo, who would promptly surrender the no-hitter yet preserve the shutout on the strength of a great throw from left by Felix Pie and a block at the plate by Matt Wieters. Wieters as a hitter hasn't lived up to the hype, but his skills in calling a game and blocking the plate have been considerably lauded in his short career. Hopefully, greatness still lies ahead.

The Orioles got two runners on against Shields in the eighth, and Brian Roberts rudely greeted reliever Jake McGee with a three-run homer to give the Orioles a lead they would not surrender.

But, oh, how they would try. I'm not sure if I'm happy that I didn't see this until later, when I was sure of the result, or if I would have loved to watch it live -- when I might have had a heart attack but then would have been in Orioles Heaven (like regular Heaven, but with more orange) enjoying this moment:

Kevin Gregg -- the Orioles new and very suspect closer -- starts allowing baserunners . Sent in to hold a 3-1 lead, he gives up a single to BJ Upton, who is erased in a fielder's choice by Matt Joyce, then walking Kelly Shoppach to leave two on. He strikes out Elliot Johnson for the 2nd out. Ben Zobrist is at the plate, and he does not miss the first pitch. Crushed to deep right, this is going to tie the game, except Nick Markakis makes the play of the night (according to MLB Network's Quick Pitch) with an outstanding leaping catch at the wall that. Watch and listen to Gary Thorne freaking out here:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=13419047

As always, I am always cautious about overestimating early season results. The Orioles still face long odds to finish above .500. But last season it took them eighteen games two get their second win. This season? Two.

Zach Britton: Finish them.

1 Down, 161 to go.

2011-04-02T13:31:00.002-04:00

Regretfully, I don't have time for a longer recap of yesterday's 4-1 win over the Rays. Jeremy Guthrie was dominant, and that's all you really need to know. Jim Johnson had a bit of a hiccup, giving up a solo home run in the 9th to Ben Zobrist, but then retired Johnny Damon, Evan Longoria, and Manny Ramirez to end the game. It's ok. No one knows who the closer is, anyway.

The new-look offense looked...well, kind of the same. Markakis and Roberts knocked in the runs, Vlad did contribute a single, and J.J. Hardy had a first good game as an O. To the team's credit, at first it looked like they would be completely overmatched David Price, but they hung in there and got enough runs for Guts to get the win.

Other than Guts' great performance, the big news is that Zach Britton is being called up to take Brian Matusz's place in the rotation as Matusz goes on the DL with a back injury. While this unfortunately starts the service time clock earlier than anyone not named Zach Britton would have liked, hopefully if he is the star he's projected to be, the O's will be able to get a long-term deal worked out, anyway. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, say the ghosts of Matt Riley, Kurt Ainsworth, Eric Dubose, the Professor, and Maryann.

Tonight, Chris Tillman takes on James "Don't Call Me Jamie Anymore, You Jerks" Shields in another pitching matchup that favors the Rays on paper. I'll be watching via cell phone as I pull my "Undercover Orioles Fan" routine from the Phillies game. My baseball thoughts, as always, will be with the black and orange -- You don't need Cliff Lee when you have DERREK LEE.

Let's go O's!

Here We Go Again

2011-04-01T12:19:00.004-04:00

Which way are the Baltimore Orioles going?

Are they taking a step toward respectability, or will this be another in a long line of disappointing seasons? Is the end in sight, or will another generation of prospects flame out without making its mark in Charm City.

The Orioles added some pieces, such as Mark Reynolds, Derrek Lee, and Vlad, in the offseason that will hopefully make this year more entertaining than the last 13 but are unlikely to be long-term solutions for the Orioles.

If you ask me, and if you're reading this, I guess you did, that's ok. I want to see this team be the perennial contender it was in the days of Weaver, halcyon days that are mostly before my time or beyond the reach of my memory. But in the short term, I feel like the string of 13 straight losing seasons has taken on a life of its own.

Obviously, I do not want to see Andy MacPhail mortgage the future -- whatever that means -- just to get to 82 wins. It's not worth trading away Zach Britton for the difference between 78 wins and 82, for example. But Lee and Vlad aren't blocking any great, or even especially promising young prospects. There was not much real risk to the Orioles in signing them, but if it helps them get to 82 -- even 81 wins, I think the reward will have been great. The beast must die.

If the O's do improve their record, however, it likely will have more to do with the growth of younger Orioles like Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, and Chris Tillman, and (currently AAA-bound) Nolan Riemold. Will these guys take the next step?

If they do, I think this is an 82-win team. And right now, that'll do. The Orioles played well last year once Buck Showalter was hired, maintaining the best record in the division over that time. It's probably a stretch, though, to believe that they can play that well over a full season.

But, it's Opening Day, and who knows? Why not...

Orioles Update Responds to Luke Scott: In Haiku!

2010-12-08T15:31:00.006-05:00

Luke Scott hits home runs.
Says Prez not born in U.S.
Stick to hitting, Luke!

(Click here if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

Disclaimer: "Orioles Update" is not a place for arguing about the merits or lack thereof of Luke Scott's beliefs. Our admiration of Luke's ability to ~~sometimes~~ occasionally hit the ball a long way does not represent endorsement or repudiation of any of his non-baseball or non-Orioles-related views or interests.

Orioles Update just wanted to write haiku. Any resemblance to real haiku, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Paging Dr. Emmet Brown

2010-08-14T10:29:00.003-04:00

It's not too often you get two "Orioles Updates" out of one game. I know, I know, it's not too often you get two Orioles Updates a week anymore. Just shut up and cherish it already.

Anyway, last night was "Turn Back the Clock Night" at Tropicana Field.

Wait a second, the Rays have only existed since 1998. Where they going to turn back the clock to their early years where they regularly the worst team in baseball?

No. To avoid this awkwardness, they turned the clock all the way back to the 1970s, when they didn't exist.

It showed, as the powerhouse O's of the 70's defeated the nonexistent Rays 5-0.

(The Rays actually wore the uniforms of the Tampa Tarpons, a minor league team previously existing in the region.)

Safety First

2010-08-14T10:12:00.006-04:00

Not only did the Orioles defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0 last night, they didn't get shot by hunters, either.

(AP Photo)

This Orioles fan loves the uniforms. While the all-orange was a short-lived phenomenon lasting through through 1971 and '72 seasons, and would only have been worn on the road in '72, I wouldn't mind seeing them more often. I don't think that will happen, though I do think the cartoon bird will eventually make a permanent return.

Always Bet on Black (and Orange)

2010-08-12T21:28:00.004-04:00

The Orioles were in the midst of an historically bad season, but when yours truly was in Vegas earlier in the week, I couldn't resist laying a little money on the Birds. I lost on Saturday night, but the O's came through for me on Sunday and Monday to put me solidly in the black. Monday's extra-inning win, brought to a close by Brian Roberts' first HR of the season.

I debated another bet Tuesday night, but felt I had pressed my luck enough. My lack-of-faith was punished, and Bird's won again on Tuesday and Wednesday. While tonight looks like it will be the second loss of the Showalter era, this Orioles fan feels that the Birds are once again worth a gamble.

What the Buck?

2010-08-05T22:31:00.003-04:00

It's not that often that an Orioles Update is requested. More often, it's kind of forced upon people. (But quit your complaining, it's not like you paid for it!)

Yesterday, we received the following e-mail at Orioles Update HQ:

I need me some Orioles Update – particularly because I want to hear your opinion on Showalter’s debut and a renewed sense of hope for that team.

Well, I could tell you that the Orioles are 35-73, are the worst team in the American League with a bullet, and are on a pace to match the comically inept 1988 team.

I could tell you that the organization is rotten to the core, with fundamental problems in talent identification and/or player development at both the minor and major-league levels (Look at the regression of Bergesen; the struggles of ALL of the Big Three of Tillman, Arrieta, and Matusz; the overall general failure of the system to consistently churn out MLB-caliber players.).

I could tell you that the Orioles are currently 32.5 games out of first place and remind you that they are in the midst of their 13th straight losing season, with no clear relief in sight. I could tell you to forget the Yankees and Red Sox; the Rays and even the Blue Jays, who are 12-0 against the Orioles this season, are out of reach.

I could opine that they've squandered the goodwill of their fans, and lost legions of fans to more successful franchises and that their beautiful stadium is a ghost town.

I could tell you that they have been surpassed by their more recent regional rivals, the Washington Nationals, who appear to be well ahead of the Orioles on the road to respectability, and whose top prospect has lived up to his considerable hype, compared to the disappointing Matt Wieters.

I could tell you that this mess is far too big for one man to fix. I could remind you that the Orioles have had four Managers in the last five years.

I could tell you that there is no hope.

But I would be lying. Since Buck Showalter assumed command of the Baltimore Orioles, the team is a perfect 3-0. They are only 32 games out of the Wild Card with 54 games left to play. The season after 1988 became one of the most amazing and fondly-remembered seasons in Orioles history.

It's Buck Season, and Hope abounds.

Why not (forfeit)?

2010-07-28T21:50:00.003-04:00

The Orioles are 0-12 against the Blue Jays this year. They're 2-10 since the All-Star Break.

(Maybe the O's could beat the Etown Blue Jays? Maybe not.)

This season can't end soon enough. There's just not a reason to watch this season play out. The cavalry has arrived in the form of Matusz, Tillman, and Arrieta, and they are no better than they scrubs they've replaced, It's too early to write off those guys, or Matt Wieters and Adam Jones, but they have not lived up to expectations. There seems to be no more help on its way from the minors -- Josh Bell and Scott Moore seem clearly overmatched at the major-league level.

I admit that I'm not a qualified general manager or coach (surprise surprise), but the organization seems broken from top to bottom. Other teams call up prospects and guys play well and contribute the their teams. Ours don't. There has to be a reason, and it needs to be found or this franchise will die.

Free agency has gone no better. Kevin Millwood sucks in an almost Adam Eatonesque way (ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!!) Garrett Atkins is long gone. The fruits of the Bedard and Sherrill trades have not yielded the productivity the O's hoped for.

It's so bad that I just don't have words to describe it..and that's not the way to run a successful blog.

Which is maybe why this isn't a successful blog.

So That's All it Took?

2010-06-26T05:31:00.004-04:00

Interestingly, as soon as Orioles Update posts its much-anticipated contraction issue, the Orioles respond with a two-game winning streak. Nervous, guys?

At any rate, the past two games have been two of the most exciting of the year. Thursday's 11-5 win over the Marlins demonstrated that the team is capable of actual offense as they scored double-digit runs for only the second time this year.

Last night began very inauspiciously for the Birds, opening a three-game set against their interleague rivals, the Washington Nationals. Jake Arrieta was ineffective for the second consecutive start, quickly spotting Washington six runs in only four and a third innings of work. Meanwhile, the Orioles managed nary a run.

Very depressing. With their earlier sweep of the O's, better record, and the excitement over the excellent start to Stephen Strasburg's career, you get the sense that the Battle of the Beltways is tilting in favor of Washington.

But not on this night. The Orioles would not go quietly into the night, for a change. In the fifth inning, Miguel Tejada, Nick Markakis, and Adam Jones picked up RBIs to cut the Nats' lead to 6-3, while Mark Hendrickson, Frank "What's the" Mata (I can't take credit for that one) and Will Ohman shut down their powerful (when they play the O's, at least) offense.

The O's bats re-emerged in the 8th. Matt Wieters drew a walk, and Scott Moore, batting for the underachieving and hopefully soon released Garrett Atkins, crushed a 3-1 fastball from Tyler Clippard to the flag court. 6-5, Nationals. Two batters later, Corey Patterson, robbed of a home run earlier on an amazing catch by Nyjer Morgan, singed to center to drive home Cesar Izturis and level the score.

The Orioles had a tense 9th inning. Ryan Zimmerman singled to lead off the inning, and Alfredo Simon struck out Adam Dunn. Josh Willingham singled to advance Zimmerman, who then moved to third on a sac fly Pudge "The Fish" Rodriguez. He controls the weather. (approximately 1 person will get that joke), Willingham stole 2nd, giving the Nationals 2 men in scoring position with two outs. Wouldn't it be just so Oriolesque to come back from a 6-0 deficit only to lose 7-6 in the ninth?

Roger Bernadina drilled a liner into the hole, only to be erased on an amazing, game-saving, throw to first by Izturis. Hail Cesar!

Adam Jones popped out to lead off the ninth. There are signs that he's coming around, but this was a poor at bat. Wieters walked again, and Scott Moore, already one of the heroes of the day for replacing Atkins with actual production, singled him to second. The not-much-faster-than-Wieters new Oriole Jake "Crazy Like A" Fox pinch ran.

Julio Lugo then hit into a sure double play, only to be saved by a throwing error. Fox chugs home and the Orioles win. Amazing.

It's too late to save this season. But, if Atkins gets DFA'd and the team can play like it has the past two nights, maybe they can at least be watchable for the second half of the season.

Maybe.

Let's go O's!!

Contraction -- the Last Desperate Hope of the Baltimore Baseball Fan

2010-06-24T00:07:00.004-04:00

I think it's become apparent to all of us at this point that the Baltimore Orioles cannot do a single thing right. Except for the mascot and the aforementioned free ice, of course.

I think all we can do as fans is quietly root for the Orioles to continue to lose. Not because they'll get the #1 draft pick, which they'll just screw up anyway, but because perhaps Major League Baseball will contract the franchise.

Perhaps a double or triple A team could do very well in Baltimore, and after several years be considered for an expansion team, which would move back into TBD Stadium @ Camden Yards.

It sounds farfetched, but I think it's the quickest way back to contention for Baltimore baseball.

It's Not a Total Loss

2010-06-18T08:29:00.003-04:00

After so many years of losing and what appears to be a complete failure of a rebuilding effort, a fellow Orioles fan recently posed the question, "What does this franchise do right?" Well, I'm here to tell you that it's not a total mess. I can think of two things right off the top of my head:

I like the mascot. The team is named the Orioles, and their mascot is appropriately an anthropomorphic Oriole Bird, rather than some imaginary creature, similar to the Phanatic, Downtown Yorkie, Mr. Met, or Wally the Green Monster. It would have been easy for them to design some orange furry monster "that mysteriously crawled out of the Bay and discovered a love for awful baseball".

(The Capitol City Goofball would perhaps not be inappropriate for this year's team. But let's stick with The Bird)

Secondly, free ice. I went to 7 games last year, but only one of them was on a really hot day -- a Sunday game at the end of April where temperatures got up into the 90s. The Orioles had big tubs of ice that fans could take ice from for free to keep themselves cool. I thought that was nice. I'd never seen this at any other stadium on hot days, and I'm sure the Yankees or Red Sox would have charged $5.00 or more for a cup. That's something you can build on.

So keep up the great work, Orioles!

A Reminder that the Present Sucks

2010-06-14T10:31:00.001-04:00

The Orioles' amazing streak of series in which they didn't get swept is halted at two by the New York Mets.

Welcome to the Future!

2010-06-11T17:09:00.002-04:00

Congratulations, Orioles!

Two series in a row in which you didn't get swept. That's something to build on!

Despite my sarcasm, yesterday was a big win for the Orioles. In his Major-League debut, Jake Arrieta, last of the Orioles' top 3 pitching prospects, picked up the win vs. a tough Yankee lineup with six strikeouts in his six innings of work. Arrieta allowed 3 runs and just four hits...not too shabby. This performance helps us to again hope for a day in the not-so-distant future in which Arrieta, Brian Matusz, and Chris Tillman headline an excellent young Orioles rotation.

The O's bullpen had a nice day too. Frank Mata, Will Ohman, and David Hernandez were all effective in relief, holding the Yank$ scoreless for three innings. Hernandez, pitching the ninth inning, picked up his first Major League save.

Continuing the trend, Scott Moore hit his first HR of the year for the Orioles. Congratulations to Jake, David, and Scott!

In other news, A-rod, everybody's favorite Yankee, suffered a groin injury.

THE IMPOSSIBLE IS POSSIBLE

2010-06-07T08:54:00.003-04:00

Perhaps I'll wish I'd held on to this post title for better times. Or maybe, hopefully, I'll have reason to non-sarcastically recycle it someday in the distant future.

But the Orioles won yesterday. They tried their hardest to lose it, even blowing a save to give Boston a chance to come back.

But in the 11th, Nick Markakis hit a one-out single to score Cesar Izturis from second, giving the Orioles an improbable (every Orioles win is improbable) victory, the first of the Juan Samuel Era, however long that may last.

WBAL news, Baltimore's NBC station, left on after the Flyers game, had the audacity to suggest that the Orioles had "righted the ship.'

Really? I wouldn't go quite that far.

But a win is nice.

Every Silver Lining's Got a Touch of Grey

2010-06-06T09:02:00.005-04:00

From the Orioles' Official Site:

"O's avert shutout but take 10th straight loss."

I don't get it. Is not getting shut out supposed to be some kind of moral victory?

Calling all Captains

2010-06-05T09:03:00.006-04:00

Captain Morgan is throwing out the first pitch at the Orioles game tonight. Orioles fans would like to know if he can throw out all the other pitches, too. And will there be samples for the fans? That might make the Orioles a bit more watchable. Probably it would just result in Camden Yards being burned down by obnoxious Red Sox fans, though.

"The Captain's" appearance seems to be part of a league-wide promotion in which guys in pirate suits throw out the ceremonial first pitch at ballparks throughout the league.

It's interesting to contrast this partnership between MLB and Captain Morgan with some recent action by the "No Fun League". As described in this article by Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson, in a November game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, Eagles tight end Brent Celek caught an 11-yard TD pass from Donovan McNabb, backed up to face the TV cameras, and with a little help from Jason Avant that resulted in an illegal celebration penalty, struck a recognizable Captain Morgan pose.

It turned out that this wasn't just a funny TD celebration. It was a guerrilla marketing campaign in which Diageo, Captain Morgan's parent company solicited players to imitate the rum mascot's signature leg-up pose in exchange for a $10,000 donation being made to a fund to help former NFL players who experienced hardships after leaving the game.

The NFL quickly shut down the promotion, threatening to fine any future Captains.

In this case, it seems like the NFL's concern is about companies paying players to advertise products directly during games outside of advertising contracts with teams or leagues, rather than disapproval of Captain Morgan itself.

Still, it was clearly for a good cause, and I find it interesting how MLB and the NFL, which can't be said for one second to be about anything other than money, had such different reactions to getting a little Captain in them.

Next!

2010-06-05T08:56:00.002-04:00

As expected, the Orioles fired Dave Trembley yesterday.

Last night, in the first game of the likely short-lived Juan Samuel era, the Orioles lost to the Red Sox 11-0.

Who's next?

Professionalism, or the Lack Thereof

2010-06-03T15:28:00.005-04:00

Right now, as we speak, Dave Trembley is managing the Orioles in a day game against the New York Yankees. It's currently 6-3 Yankees, and the O's will probably lose their eighth straight game, but that's hardly the point. The point is the headline that appears right now on the Orioles' official site, "Orioles Expected to Dismiss Trembley."

The story, available here, goes on to say:

According to the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles are expected to dismiss manager Dave Trembley from his role as manager prior to Friday's series opener against the Boston Red Sox. The report said Trembley will be replaced immediately by an internal candidate, which will likely be third-base coach and former All-Star Juan Samuel.
A club official declined comment on the Baltimore Sun story and Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail did not join the team on the trip to New York.

I like Trembley, and I wish him well. But, there seems to be no accountability and no focus on fundamentally sound baseball, despite these being the things Trembley emphasized when he was named manager. I think it's time for him to go. Most O's fans seem to have felt that Trembley's job was in danger. And it should be -- the team isn't a good one in terms of its talent level, but it definately appears to be well less than the sum of its parts.

This blog entry isn't about Dave Trembley being fired, though. It's about the shared-services web marketing approach of Major League Baseball. Does it make sense that the Orioles' news site reports third-party rumors about the team? Especially in a situation like this, where wouldn't just having that headline on the site imply that this is was a done deal? After all, this is the official site of the Orioles, the subject of the story. I think this is rather unprofessional of the O's, but that shouldn't surprise us one bit.

Perhaps the fault isn't the Orioles' so much as it is MLB's. All MLB teams share the same website template, and they seem to be centrally administered. (So, it's not really the Orioles' site, it's the Orioles section of MLB.com.) I suspect that content is aggregated from news sites, and that this gets tagged "Orioles" and posted, despite the conflict of interest in having this on their supposed official site.

Relegate Me

2010-06-02T09:42:00.000-04:00

Across the Atlantic, fans of the English football (the other kind of football that we know as soccer, that is) clubs Burnley, Hull City, and Portsmouth are probably pretty disappointed right now. (Please note that the author does not claim to know ANYTHING about European soccer.) By virtue of finishing in the bottom three of the English Premier League, the country's highest-level league of teams, these three teams are demoted, or relegated, to the next level down, while the top-three in that lower level move up to take their places.

A few weeks ago, a friend who does follow international football posted on his Facebook status that MLB should adopt a similar system, which would of course damn the Orioles to AAA, if they had already not dropped in one of these dark years since 1998. Despite being a diehard O's fan, I reluctantly admit that I think this is a good idea. I knew they were going to be horrible, but if they finished fourth from the bottom and avoided relegation, that would seem like winning something, right? In 2005, fans of an English Premier League team that avoided relegation on the last day of the season stormed the field in celebration.

We're fourth from last!!

Or they might be able to win a trophy in AAA. Ok, AA. But that might be fun, right? The Owners would never agree to this, but in theory it would give real consequences to teams like the O's, Pirates, and Royals who have just been awful for years. And as I said, I don't follow soccer closely at all, but it seems like the teams that do get demoted make moves and spend money to try to quickly get back to the higher division, so maybe that lower-division title/promotion chase might be more interesting to Orioles fans then an MLB season where the only question is how far under .500 are they going to be.

It would be extremely difficult to execute because of the affiliated structure of professional baseball's minor leagues. If you demote the Orioles to AAA, what becomes of their affiliation with the AAA Norfolk tides? Likewise, a major league team could lose its AAA franchise if that AAA team is one that is promoted. The independent leagues in the US have far too wide a talent gap with the major leagues for that to be an option, they are probably equal to Double or Single A teams in the affiliated leagues, though more talented players do use them as a way to play their way back into the attention of affiliated teams. Making relegation and promotion a part of the MLB landscape would require a radical reorganization of professional baseball's entire structure at every level. It just isn't going to happen. Ever.

But still, I think it's an interesting thought experiment. Would it be more fun as an Orioles fan to watch a team that's competitive in a lower division, or would winning promotion or avoiding relegation feel like a victory. Or knowing that this was formerly one of MLB's proudest franchises, would minor-league success always just feel "minor league"?

Stop the Bleeding!

2010-05-07T11:47:00.004-04:00

Fresh off a brutal 12-game stretch against the YankSox in which the O's actually managed to do some damage to the Boston squad (The "B" Team) in between bouts of complete and utterly humiliating domination by the New York-based version (clearly the "A" Team), the Orioles headed to...ugh...Minneapolis, to face the first-place Twins. This sounds like a recipe for disaster and if I told you that the Orioles scored only two runs you would probably make the safe assumption of another depressing Orioles loss. And you'd be right.

Wait...no, YOU WOULDN'T BE RIGHT! Because despite the totality of the Orioles offense coming on a two-run homer by the incomparable Ty Wigginton in the second inning, the Orioles managed to end their three-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory.

Brad Bergesen, in his second start since being recalled from Norfolk, pitched six and two-thirds scoreless (obviously) innings, escaping from a bases-loaded jam in the third.

The Twins also had an excellent opportunity in the seventh, when Will Ohman entered the game with two runners on and two outs. Ohman walked Justin Morneau before striking out Jim Thome to end the threat.

Koji Uehara made is 2010 debut in the 8th, and Alfredo Simon picked up the save.

Also, since we've already established that Wiggy is awesome, I wanted to share a Wiggy anecdote from 2006.

On December 20, 2006, Wiggy was forced to handle the delivery of his son Matt Wieters at home when his wife went into labor unexpectedly. Following the instructions of a 911 operator, he delivered the baby in a bedroom closet of their home and tied off the umbilical cord with one of his shoelaces.

Ok, I may have changed one detail of the story, but it's otherwise completely true. Hooray for Wiggy!

Before we part ways till tomorrow, Orioles fans, I just wanted to note that the Twins' new stadium, Target Field, where the Orioles are now undefeated, looks very cool.

Since it lacks a roof, which seems a risky idea in Minnesota, where I suspect winter lasts until at least June, it might look even cooler for tonight's game if the region receives the 1-3 inches of snow that are currently predicted to land on the Twin Cities tonight.

Keep warm, Orioles fans.

I Know the Yankees are Good, but...

2010-05-04T22:16:00.002-04:00

Two 4-1 losses to the Yankees sucks all the new-found fun right back out of the season. These are the games I can't stand -- the opposition gets a 1-run lead and it just feels completely insurmountable. It's happened far too much this year. Guys are not taking a patient approach at the plate and they've been completely hideous, the worst team in the league, with runners in scoring position.

The Yankees go for the sweep tomorrow. I think they'll get it.

Can We Play Boston Again?

2010-05-03T21:40:00.004-04:00

I've often said in this space that if you can tell the Yankees and Red Sox apart, you're a better man than I. For all their supposed "rivalry", they're pretty much the same thing: Huge payrolls and huge legions of bandwagon fans in parts of the country where there shouldn't be so many YankSox fans.

So as public service, we here at Orioles Update have put together this handy guide to help you tell the Yankees from the Red Sox.

Here's the Executive Summary:

Unlike the Red Sox, the Yankees are actually good this year.

Come on O's, please don't ruin the sudden bust of respectability by getting swept by the Yankees.

I Love this Quote from Dustin Pedroia

2010-05-03T15:12:00.003-04:00

"It doesn’t get any easier. Everyone thought Baltimore was three easy wins, and we got our asses kicked three times."

Corrections and Clean-up

2010-05-02T17:53:00.006-04:00

Perfection is an unattainable goal, and even the finest online publications make mistakes.

And so does Orioles Update.

In one of our recent updates, "Welcome Back, Miguel Tejada!", we wrote:

"Indeed, right now, when the game is on the line, there is no Oriole this blogger wants at the plate more than #9, Miguel Tejada."

Well, Orioles fans, this is where we have made a critical error in omitting the Oriole who is off to the best start this season, the incomparable Ty Wigginton.

Wiggy played a critical role in this weekend's sweep of the Boston Red Sox. In yesterday's 12-9 victory, he homered twice. In today's game, he delivered the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the tenth inning, driving an 0-2 pitch from Red Sox closer and jackass Jonathan Papelbon over the head of Darnell McDonald to score Nick Markakis and give the O's a 3-2 win.

Wiggy's at bat was a thing of beauty. Wiggy fouled off Papeljerk's fastball, and then a pickoff error advanced Nick Markakis to second. Ty fouled another fastball off to bring the count to 0-2. With an 0-2 count he then fouled off the next three pitches before delivering the game-winning double.

With all due respect to Tejada and Kevin Millwood, who has been excellent this year and had another very good outing today, Ty Wigginton is the early leader for the coveted inaugural Orioles Update Bird of the Year award.

Keep up the great work, Wiggy! And did I mention, THE ORIOLES SWEPT THE RED SOX!! THE ORIOLES SWEPT THE RED SOX!!

Update: This is the first time in since 1998 the Orioles have swept the Red Sox in a four-game series. Pathetic, yes. But amazing that this team -- which has struggled so much -- is the one to break that streak.

Power Surge

2010-05-02T05:29:00.004-04:00

In about three hours I will begin a 10-mile trek down Broad St. in Philadelphia in 80+ degree temperatures. I am not looking forward to this, as my training has mostly been in the cooler weather that we've had EVERY DAY TILL THE WEEKEND WHERE I HAVE A TEN MILE RACE.

But I digress. If this should prove to be the last issue of Orioles Update, then I am glad to have seen that the Birds can win a three-game series against the Red Sox. It has been a long time, as they won only two games against the Sox last season, a number that they have already bettered.

The Orioles found themselves down 4-1 after four innings last night, but then decided to turn on the offense as a six-run fifth inning, a four-run sixth inning, and a measly one-run seventh propelled them to victory.

Ty Wigginton, having the best start of any Oriole, homered twice, and Nick Markakis, Luke Scott, and Matt Wieters also homered for the Birds.

In true Oriole fashion, though, even a game in which they scored 12 runs wasn't an easy victory. Boston got four runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to make the final tally 12-9.

Alfredo Simon preserved what remains of my sanity by blanking Boston in the ninth for his second career save.

The Red Sox are struggling this year (relative to their own expectations -- not the Orioles' record), posting a losing record in May despite their bloated payroll. Usually they can count on a trip to Camden Yards to set things right.

Not this time.

Stay cool, Orioles fans.

Update: As you can see, I survived to post another day. According to my GPS device, I ran 10.7 miles 1:37. So either my Garmin is possessed by the spirit of Peter Angelos, or more likely I added that much distance zigzagging back and forth to make sure I ran through every fire hydrant.

Welcome Back, Miguel Tejada!

2010-05-01T09:15:00.004-04:00

Orioles Update has only a few minutes today, so there's no time for the in-depth analysis that you all come here for.

But Orioles wins have been few and far between this season, and Orioles wins over the Boston Red Sox have been scarce over the past decade.

Wins over the Red Sox, with their Yankees Lite payroll and their "Nation" of bandwagon fans, are especially sweet.

This season, no Oriole has delivered against the Red Sox like Miguel Tejada. In Sunday's nail-biter, Tejada delivered a huge two-run homer that pulled the Orioles even in a game they went on to win.

Last night, after the Red Sox pulled ahead late, Tejada homered to tie the game and then delivered single up the middle that scored Adam Jones (whose own bat has started to show signs of life) from second.

With the win, only the fifth for the Orioles, they equaled their total of two victories over the Red Sox from all of last season.

Even more encouraging is the attitude and hustle that Tejada has been showing. Many thought he was sulking through much of his previous tenure with the Orioles. He reportedly asked to be traded after the disastrous 2005 season, and showed a lack of hustle at times in 2006 and 2007 before being traded.

Here at Orioles Update, we do not condone that behavior, but we do sympathize with Miggy. He was told he'd be the centerpiece of an Orioles return to excellence. He largely delivered, but the pieces around him were not adequate.

So far this year, he seems be providing nothing but positive influence both on the field and off. He got injured running out a ground ball and has refused to come out of games when he's clearly in pain. And he's delivered clutch base hits against the Red Sox. Indeed, right now, when the game is on the line, there is no Oriole this blogger wants at the plate more than #9, Miguel Tejada.

Awful

2010-04-29T21:44:00.008-04:00

So much for "Return of the Jedi."

After a season-long two game win streak, the Orioles came crashing back to earth in the final two games of their series against the Yankees.

Last night the Orioles were soundly defeated 8-3, though they had plenty of opportunities to make it a game but, as usual failed to drive in runs, going 2-12 with runners in scoring positions.

Tonight, the offense completely failed to show up against AJ Burnett. It's currently 4-0 in the top of the ninth, but it feels like 30-0. (Update: The Orioles indeed were shut out. The Yankees actually Last night they had 12 men in scoring position. Tonight, they only have 3 hits. Robinson Cano has three hits.

The Orioles are now 4-18. No other team in baseball has won fewer than 8.

(Vincent Van Gogh must have been an Orioles fan.)

The Red Sox come to town starting tomorrow. They actually managed to lose to the Orioles, so they're going to be pissed.

The Empire Strikes Back

2010-04-29T09:02:00.003-04:00

Too easy? Yeah, probably. Kind of like the Yankees win over the Orioles last night. Guthrie pitched his worst start of the year, and the Orioles had chance after chance against CC Sabbathia to make this a game, but couldn't come through in the clutch. Unfortunately I was napping during Nick Markakis' home run, which sounds like the only real highlight of the game from an Orioles fan's perspective.

I know the Evil Empire/stormtrooper/Darth Vader jokes are kind of cliche when talking about the Yankees, but so far this series has played out very much like the original trilogy. Let's hope that trend continues in tonight's game.

"When 12 straight losing seasons you reach, look as good you will not."

Strong in the Force

2010-04-27T23:47:00.002-04:00

YES!!! Take that, Evil Empire!

Orioles hang on for a 5-4 win in their first contest of the season against the Yankees.

This was truly a team win:

Another great start from Kevin Millwood
Timely hitting in the sixth inning from Rhyne Hughes (who has been en fuego since making his MLB debut on Saturday), Nolan Reimold, and Cesar Izturis, who delivered key two-out hits with men on base. Izturis added another RBI, which ended up being the winning run, in the eigth.
Strong relief appearances by Alberto Castillo and Jim Johnson.
Alfredo Simon survives a shaky top-of-the-ninth, made harder by an Izturis fielding error, to earn his first career save, making it the second consecutive game in which an Orioles reliever has earned his first career save. Who's got it tomorrow?

Congratulations Orioles, and Orioles fans, on the first winning streak of 2010!

What's going on here?

2010-04-26T00:37:00.003-04:00

I had a post all written in my head. It was about how the Orioles, despite getting swept by the hated Boston Red Sox, Yankees Lite, whatever you want to call them, battled the whole series.

You can't say they didn't. On Friday night, the Orioles came back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game, before the struggling Matt Albers gave up the losing run in the eighth inning.

On Saturday, Brian Matusz pitched 5+ strong innings, holding the Sawx to one run as the Orioles clung to a 3-1 lead, before the struggling Matt Albers and friends gave up 6 runs in the 7th inning.

Today, the O's scored first but could get no more as David Hernandez pitched another good game, before yielding three runs in the 6th inning. Boston would add another run in the inning against former Sixer Mark Hendrickson, giving the Red Sox a 4-1 lead to complete the sweep.

But wait. What's this? A glimmer of hope? Nolan Reimold doubles and is knocked home by a Nick Markakis double off Hideki Okajima, who has struggled in the past several season against the hard-hitting Orioles (I couldn't type that with a straight face in case you were wondering.).

Miguel Tejada, in a scene reminiscent of the fleeting glory of the first-half of 2005, then crushed a 2-run homer over the Green Monster -- just barely fair -- to tie the game, as it would remain until the top of the 10th, when the Orioles seemingly blew it open on RBIs by new Oriole Rhyne Hughes and Matt Wieters.

At this point, I left home to hurry to the Harrisburg Airport to depart for a business trip to sunny Winston-Salem North Carolina. Unfortunately this means I was operating a motor vehicle during a another not-so-fresh performance from the Orioles bullpen.

.

Jim Johnson returned for his third inning of work in the 10th, and was clearly gassed. Kevin Youklis double and was advanced to third by a scary-sounding sac fly by David Ortiz. J.D. Drew doubled to score Youklis, and then Drew was moved to third by a single by Adrian Beltre. Bill Hall singled to move the tying run to 2nd.

Here we are clearly in another Orioles bullpen meltdown, when the Orioles made a call to the bullpen. Enter Cla Meridith, he of no major league saves. Yet in one of the few truly excellent relief appearances by an Orioles pitcher, he got former Oriole first-round pick Darnell McDonald to pop up and Marco Scutaro to line out to Ty Wigginton to end the game.

Orioles win. We don't get to type those words often enough. The post I'd half-composed can be left unwritten for now. The Orioles did battle, but did not get swept. The record is still an abysmal 3-16, but the team gets to head into a day off on a good note.

As for me, I was bumped to later flight, barely made my connection, and had the worst cab ride ever from Greensboro to Winston-Salem. But on this night, it doesn't matter, because Orioles magic is back in the world.

We Love Kittens!

2010-04-23T22:53:00.004-04:00

The Orioles lost to the Red Sox, like they do every time they play the Red Sox. But that's a GOOD thing!

The Orioles are saving a lot of kittens this year.

(No kittens were harmed in the making of this blog post. Elizabeth the Kitten is a little puffier than she is in this picture, but is hanging out with the Orioles Update staff right now.)

Different Kinds of Pain

2010-04-23T08:25:00.000-04:00

For better or for worse -- mostly worse -- sports are really my only hobby. I'm a fairly avid runner and an occasional basketball or volleyball player, and a much more frequent follower of pro and college sports teams. I am a fan of the Orioles, of course, a National Football League team, also possessing an avian theme and a history of futility; a minor league hockey team that has won its league championship 10 times, including the 2006 and 2009 championships; an awful independent league minor league baseball team; and a college (not mine) sports program with a glorious football past that has achieved a recent return to national prominence, and a basketball team that is usually not very good at all.

My level of attachment to these teams varies. I don't do as good a job following the hockey team as I should, but when I'm at a game I find myself very invested in the outcome. The independent league baseball team, which came to my hometown in 2007, is an enjoyable distraction. I enjoy going to the games and rooting for the team, but it's nice to be a fan of a team without living and dying with them (Though their 4-3 walkoff win in their home opener last night was very satisfying). I don't follow college sports as much as I used to.

The two teams in my "franchise" that I am most attached to are the Orioles and my favorite NFL franchise.

The Orioles have a proud history, with three World Championships, seven AL Pennants, and eight division titles since their move to Baltimore from St. Louis in 1954. In my time as a fan, they have been less fortunate. They won the World Series in 1983. I vaguely remember it, but was too young to really appreciate the significance. After a terrible season in 1988, they had a magical rebound season in 1989, going the whole season in first place before falling to the hated Blue Jays in the final weekend. The O's made the playoffs in 1996 and 1997, but fell short of the ultimate goal. (I still hate you, Jeffrey Maier.) As stated often here, they have not finished a season with a winning record since the 1997. Their still-beautiful stadium stands empty. Division rivals with larger budgets, better farm systems, and smarter baseball operations personnel have won multiple pennants and world titles. Hope is nearly lost.

The football team, by contrast, has had a memorable first decade of the 21st century. Five division titles and three more wild card playoff appearances; five conference title games; one Superbowl appearance. They have been the model of consistency throughout the decade, and although they seem to be in the midst of a rebuilding process, having jettisoned multiple iconic players over the past two off-seasons, they can almost certainly be considered one of the best-run franchises in the league. However, the lack of a league title in the Superbowl era is a huge hole in their resume, and each "close but no cigar" moment is crushing to fans.

In particular, the 2009 season epitomizes the frustration of their fans -- well, at least this one. After a very inconsistent season, the team trounced its biggest rival in the last game of the season and made the playoffs due to a series of unlikely events around the league. They won two playoff games, including one against another division rival which was the defending league champion, and earned a berth in the conference championship against a franchise that has been the definition of NFL futility in the Superbowl era. They lost. Given the regular season, the deep playoff run should have been an unexpected treat. But for this team, to blow a chance against a beatable opponent, after so many near misses, can only be considered a huge missed opportunity.

But still, the team has a very good young offensive core. There are pieces missing, particularly on defense, and I think 2010 will likely be a year of growing pains, but I expect them to be right back in the mix in 2011 and beyond. Raising hopes only to crush them again.

As you should know by now if you're read Orioles Update before, it doesn't have to have a point. But I sort of do this time. My question to my hypothetical readers is this: Is it better to root for a team that is consistently good and entertaining to watch but ultimately falls short or a team that consistently awful, but at least your expectations are kept in check?

To have expectations raised and hopes smashed, or have no hope at all?

My mix of teams might be somewhat uncommon -- Baltimore did not have a football team during my formative years and so I adopted the NFL team of another relatively close major city, most likely since they were on TV every week and I liked their uniforms. But I suspect most sports fans have walked in these shoes at some point.

I'm not sure I can answer which one I think is worse. I've found it easier to come back and root for the O's each season, even though they're probably less deserving of continued loyalty. I have a hard time believing in both of my favorite teams. Once the optimism of opening day fades, It seems as if the O's will never turn things around, and that the other team will ever achieve the prize it's been so close to so many times. I enjoy the wins, but it's like I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. And it always does.

The two teams have a nice symbiotic -- or perhaps parasitic -- relationship with each other from my perspective as a fan. Because the Orioles are so bad, my thoughts turn to football long before training camp opens. And since NFL season always ends with a crushing loss, I always look forward to the false hope of Spring Training.

So, imaginary readers, which is worse for a fan?

(cough) Time's yours.

A Guarantee

2010-04-22T13:14:00.004-04:00

Look, Orioles fans. Like I said, I'm running out of ways to say "Orioles stink." It's been 13 years and the stench is getting really really bad. However, there is good news. I can guarantee that the Orioles will not lose today. It is finally a much-needed day off for the team. Both players and fans can take a breath before the Orioles take on their most hated of rivals.

After another punchless offensive performance in a 4-1 to Seattle, I'm not certain that Dave Trembley has not managed his last game for the Orioles. If he has not, I wonder if he will survive 12 straight ~~losses~~ games against the YankSox.

I've never thought a manager made that big a difference on a baseball team unless he was really, really good or really, really bad. No offense at all to Charlie Manuel, but I don't think he's necessarily a brilliant tactician and I don't think he needs to be to be an excellent manager of the Phillies. But compare his tenure in Philly to Larry Bowa's. Sure, Charlie has a little more talent on his teams. But Bowa's teams underachieved in part because guys hated him and didn't want to play for him. (Pat Burrell and Todd Pratt were too of the main culprits). Manuel, who is much more easygoing than the fiery Bowa, but has still shown that he will discipline players when necessary, has gotten much more out of the team's considerable talent.

The Orioles are obviously not on the same planet in regard to talent. But, I -- and the front office, more importantly -- thought the talent level is high enough that this is the year where performance finally must be evaluated not just on growth of young players but on wins and losses. There, the O's are falling short. The players, Nick Markakis in particular, have defended Trembley. This could just be a temporarly, ill-timed but not completely unsurprising slump that they need to play their way out of. The players may need to "just go out and remember to have fun," to paraphrase Markakis again.

I don't think Trembley is a brilliant tactician either -- there are only so many Earl Weavers in the world -- but there's been a lack of fundamental soundness and discipline on this team since long before he took the helm. What is troubling is that Trembley, upon his promotion, promised a return to fundamental baseball and seemed to be more of a disciplinarian than Mike Hargrove, Lee Mazzilli or Sam Perlozzo.

Yet when Julio Lugo obviously did not run out a ground ball on Tuesday night, why wasn't he pulled from the lineup? Brian Roberts and Miguel Tejada are far better players than Lugo and have better track records as Orioles, but they're also known to show a lack of hustle at times on the basepaths. There is absolutely no reason to not run out every ball. You never know what might happen. Watch Nolan Reimold and Cesar Izturis if you want to see Orioles who hustle on every play.

To the degree that a fan can feel like he or she knows the people in the clubhouse, I like Dave Trembley and feel terrible for him as a person. You can see on his face that this is hurting him. But I think if the losses keep piling up at this rate, then it may be time to make a change to shake things up in the clubhouse.

A more distressing possibility would be the that the talent level might just not be as good as expected, in which case firing Trembley would do little good. Andy MacPhail joined the Orioles in 2007, so I think it is still too early to evaluate how the rebuilding of the system is going under his watch. The minor league system is more highly rated, but many of the players drafted under his watch are not yet MLB-ready.

Of the signings and trades he's made, the Bedard and Tejada trades seem to have been wins for the Orioles despite Adam Jones' long slump. Trading for Felix Pie looks like a good move. Free agent signings have mixed results: Izzy is a good defensive, but light-hitting shortstop who is meeting expectations; Luke Scott is streaky and slumping now, but I think has been what he was expected to be; Millwood looks great so far. Garret Atkins, not so much.

I still that from a big-picture perspective, the franchise is moving in the right direction. The team is riddled with injuries already and that no doubt is a large contributing factor to the poor record. But this free-fall must end. They must play better than this.

After 12 years of complete futility, the fans are running out of patience, and Peter Angelos never had much to begin with. Every Orioles fans' nightmare should be a scenario in which Angelos returns to micromanagement of the team.

I Don't Know What to Say

2010-04-21T00:01:00.003-04:00

I've run out of ways to say "Orioles Stink." It's 3-1 Mariners in the 7th after a very nice pitching performance by David Hernandez and another non-appearance by the Orioles "offense."

Barring a miracle, which I'm not going to stay up for, the Orioles are going to lose again to fall to 2-13. At this pace, we're looking at a 22-win season, which would be the worst season by any MLB team since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders.

As you can imagine, this isn't very much fun at all to blog about, especially about a team that hasn't been good since 1997.

Orioles Update will continue in some form, but expect some big changes around here.

We Now Return to our Regularly Scheduled Programming.

2010-04-20T00:00:00.002-04:00

It's the bottom of the 7th, it's 7-1 Mariners, and I'm going to bed.

Brad Bergesen was bad, the Orioles' defense was worse, and Mariners' starter Doug Fister (snicker) had a no-hitter through 6. So at least the O's avoid the history books....this time.

YES YES YES!!!! IT'S A MIRACLE!!!! THE ORIOLES DID NOT GET SWEPT!!! ORIOLES WIN!!! WOOHOO!!!

2010-04-18T18:38:00.004-04:00

Today is a truly great day. Orioles fans. The Orioles' 9-game losing streak is vanquished with an 8-3 victory over the A's.

The winner was rookie Brian Matusz, who tossed 6 and a third innings of three run ball, which turned out to be enough on an afternoon where the O's offense finally provided ample support. Matusz was a preseason Rookie of the Year favorite. I don't think he'll be able to pick up enough W's on this team to win the award, but hopefully he can be the Orioles' stopper for many years.

Today's hero was Ty Wigginton, who was 2-5 with four RBIs, including a two-run double in the third that got the Orioles on the board and a two-run homer in the top of the ninth that made things a lot more comfortable for shaky closer Jim Johnson.

With a series against Seattle, and then 12-straight against the YankSox, there are still some bad times ahead that Dave Trembley may not survive. But for now, I urge you to take a few minutes to savor this feeling.

The Worst of Times

2010-04-17T19:03:00.004-04:00

The Orioles continue to find gut-wrenching ways to lose. In today's game vs. Oakland, they led 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth. Oakland's leadoff man Adam Rosales singles of interim closer Jim Johnson, and is advanced to 2nd on a sac bunt. Johnson strikes the next batter out, but he reaches first on a wild pitch. Johnson promptly wild pitches again, and the runners advance. Johnson intentionally walks Daric Barton to load the bases with one out, and Ryan Sweeney singled to score the tying and go-ahead run for the A's.

The Orioles now sit at 1-11 and are the proud owners of a 9 game losing streak.

Miguel Tejada strained a quadricep and is likely headed for the DL, where he'll join Brian Roberts, Felix Pie, Koji Uehara, and awful closer Mike Gonzalez. (Update: Now they're saying it's a miled groin strain, and Tejada is day-to-day. Ouch, but not as bad as a DL stint.)

Neither of these is the worst news to come out of Birdland today though. Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr met with GM Andy MacPhail about rejoining the organization, only to be rejected by Peter Angelos.

Angelos denys the rumor, but if this is true, it is Orioles Armageddon. Not only would the Nationals be glad to have Ripken, and likely with him most of the Orioles' remaining fans, but it would imply that Angelos is micromanaging the team again.

Bad at Baseball. Awful at Merchandising.

2010-04-16T08:42:00.004-04:00

The Orioles lost again, this time 6-2 to the Oakland A's, who absolutely own the O's the past few years. During the broadcast, Mike Flanagan said he thought he was 12-0 at Oakland Coliseum. Mike, I know you're 58, but can you please pitch tonight? We need you, buddy.
The only mercy it was that it was a West Coast game with a 10:05 EST start, so I didn't watch the whole thing. I watched more than I probably should have, though, sticking around until the top of the 6th when F. Garrett Atkins flied out with the bases loaded.

Houston won yesterday to bring the Astros to 1-8, meaning that the Orioles are now the worst team in baseball with their sparkling 1-9 record. This team is in desperate, desperate need of a day off, but the schedule doesn't give them their first day off until April 22, next Thursday. Looking at the schedule, there's 3 more games against Oakland, 2 against Seattle, and then TWELVE STRAIGHT games against the YankSox. So, I think 2-13 is about the best we can hope for in that stretch.

This is getting really, really close to being 1988-bad.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO POINT #2 OF THIS BLOG ENTRY:

Because I didn't stay up for the last four innings, I masochistically checked the O's official site to see what the damage was.

And I see this:

25% off of caps. Cool, right? Yeah...ok, pretty cool. Baseball caps are somewhat of an addiction for me.

BUT WHY IN THE NAME OF CAL RIPKEN JR. WOULD AN ORIOLES FAN BUY A HAT WITH A HUGE "88" ON IT?

1988 is the worst year in relatively recent Orioles history. The team started off 0-21 and finished 54-107.

1988 was the last year of the popular cartoon bird. But even if you're going to sell a cartoon bird hat, which the above is not, put "1983" on it. They won the world series that year. The Orioles stink. But MLB merchandisers don't have to rub our noses in it.

I am reminded of a Chicago White Sox advertising campaign that I believe they ran early in the season in which they eventually won the world series. The campaign, which was their way of taking a shot at the more popular yet perpetually inept Cubs, consisted of huge banners around the city that read "THERE'S NOTHING LOVABLE ABOUT LOSING."

So no, I won't be buying that hat.

I heart work.

2010-04-14T15:01:00.004-04:00

It's 8-1 Rays at the end of the fourth in today's businessperson's special, and I'm turning the TV off for today.

Congratulations, Orioles. You're now officially less entertaining than work.

1 Point for the Orioles.

2010-04-13T23:09:00.001-04:00

They tried. They blew a 3-run lead in the 8th. Tied it, and then lost in extra innings.

At least they get 1 point for the OT loss, right?

What? They don't?

Screw baseball.

I didn't see a second of today's game.

2010-04-11T19:16:00.003-04:00

Somehow, I don't feel like I missed anything.

I can't imagine what the August-September swoon is going to look like this year.

(And in case you think we're being overly negative here at Orioles Update, YES, YES WE ARE. 12 losing seasons is a long time.)

Depressed

2010-04-10T23:40:00.003-04:00

Positives:
David Hernandez was ok tonight.
Mike Gonzalez didn't blow a save.

Negatives:
Everything else.

Dana Eveland, the Blue Jays' number 5 starter, didn't even break a sweat tonight. The Orioles' offense was pathetic in this 3-0 loss.

There's absolutely no way this team avoids 100 losses this year. This lineup is awful.

Mike Gonzalez You Stink.

2010-04-09T18:02:00.002-04:00

Two blown saves and two losses in three opportunities. The Orioles would be 3-1 if not for the efforts of their new "closer", Mike Gonzalez. Orioles Update is livid. Absolutely furious.

A lot went wrong in this game. A sub-par effort from Bergesen. A defensive miscue by Adam Jones. But still, the Orioles had the lead in the top of the ninth, and Gonzalez blew it in front of the largest crowd in Oriole Park history. And the crowd rightly gave him a piece of its mind.

PHEW! Crisis Averted.

2010-04-08T22:41:00.003-04:00

Well, Orioles fans, unfortunately yours truly was unavailable to blog last night's game due to an extremely painful flare-up of gout.

But maybe that was for the best, since the Orioles lost again, 4-3, in a game in which they got pretty much shut down by the Devil Rays' Matt Garza.

Tonight, the Orioles pinned their hopes for avoision of the sweep on rookie phenom Brian Matusz (pronounced "Matis") , who delivered mixed results. Brian walked 5 Devil Rays (yes, I know that's not really their name anymore) including a third inning during which he walked the bases loaded with no outs and was fortunate to give up only two runs.

Matusz settled down after that, with a scoreless fourth and a fifth in which he showed his stuff by striking out the side.

The O's also showed a smidgen of situational hitting tonight. Through five innings, the O's lone run came on Nolan Reimold's solo home run off of Rays long man Andy Sonnanstine, who entered the game when their starter Jeff Niemann, was drilled in the shoulder by a Miguel Tejada line drive. In the sixth however, the Orioles loaded the bases with no out. The Rays brought in Grant Balfour, who promptly gave up an RBI single to Matt Wieters to tie the game at 2-2. Tejada scored on a wild pitch to give the O's the lead, and then Reimold struck out. Garrett Atkins, who was in the running for "Worst New Oriole" TOTALLY redeemed himself with a two-run single.

The Orioles bullpen did their best to give the game away. Matt Albers (7th) and Jim Johnson (8th) each gave up a run, and the Orioles couldn't score again, setting up Mike Gonzalez for a chance to redeem himself.

He DID, but he also made us long for the old reliable days of George Sherrill by loading the bases before finally getting Ben Zobrist to fly out for the final out. So he got the job done, but it didn't really inspire any more confidence than he did in game one. He remains the frontrunner for "Worst New Oriole".

But, we won. That's the important things. The Ghosts of 1988, when the Orioles lost 21 straight at the beginning of the year, are exorcised. Hopefully, this is the first win of at least 82.

Well, That Sucked Part 1,998,772

2010-04-06T22:15:00.003-04:00

Orioles leave 24 men on base and blow a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 9th.

Urge to kill...rising.

Positives:
Solo homers from Jones, Wieters, and Scott.
Millwood was very, very good.
Albers, Ohman, and Johnson were very good in relief.
Tejada brings the leather.

Negatives:
F. Garrett Atkins
Tejada trying to hit.
Situational hitting.
Mike Gonzalez making George Sherrill look like Mr. Reliability.

Way to ruin the one day of the year when an Orioles fan really has hope, Mike.

Orioles Update: The Prediction Issue

2010-04-03T20:17:00.005-04:00

Orioles Update is wrong sometimes. Like last week when we said "This won't be the year the Orioles win the World Series." We've done the math, and it looks like it'll be a rematch of the 1983 World Series this year, with the same result. Let's get it on!

NL West
LA
Colorado
San Diego
Arizona
San Francisco

NL Central
St. Louis
Chicago (Wild Card)
Milwaukee
Houston
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh

NL East
Philadelphia
Atlanta
Florida
NY
Washington

AL West
LAA
Seattle (Wildcard)
Texas
Oakland

AL Central
Minnesota
Chicago
Detroit
Cleveland
Kansas City

AL East
Baltimore
YankSox
Tampa
Toronto

Playoffs:
Division Series: St. Louis defeats LA, Philly defeats Chicago, Orioles defeat Seattle, LAA defeat Minnesota.

LCS: Philly over St. Louis, Orioles defeat LAA

World Series: Orioles defeat Philly

I Can't Figure Out Why This Exists....

2010-04-02T19:43:00.009-04:00

The Orioles' logo and color scheme is very logical and appropriate. The team is named after a bird, the state bird of Maryland, and the team's colors appropriately match those of the actual bird.
Makes sense.

The Orioles have had lots of other cool logos over the years. (Thanks to the Orioles' official site for the logos)

This is my favorite:

Kind of reflects how I feel after 12 straight losing seasons.

Still, many of the team's greatest achievements took place under the famous Cartoon Bird banner:

They won two of their three World Championships wearing this on their caps. Cal Ripken began his career wearing it, and so did lots of other guys.

The Cartoon Bird is awesome, and most Orioles fans would welcome its return. Orioles Update loves the Cartoon Bird.

Still, I just can't figure out why this exists:

My only theory is that this is the hat that some weird parallel universe Orioles wear, which has somehow found its away to our little corner of space & time. No doubt that these Orioles, unlike our heroes, are evil, evil, evil to the core. They've also probably NOT had 12 straight losing seasons.

So, in summary, welcome to Evil Orioles Update, where we cheer the Evil Orioles to their thirteenth-consecutive World Domination Championship.

A New Hope

2010-03-29T16:11:00.007-04:00

It is a dark time for the Orioles. Not only are the vile New York Yankees the defending World Champions, but it has of course been a span of 12 seasons since the team has had a winning season.

During that time, the Orioles have gone through a complete organizational upheaval in an attempt to stop the slide. Miller, Hargrove, Mazzilli, and Perlozzo all tried and failed to guide the team out of the gutter. General Managers have been fired and minor league operations re-tooled, with (unfortunately) only the Angelos family remaining unscathed.

But with Angelos taking a less-vocal backseat to respected baseball executive Andy MacPhail, it seemed that the tide had began to turn. Uber-prospect Matt Wieters signed with the team at the literal last possible second. The Mariners paid a king's ransom for Erik Bedard that included young All-Star outfielder Adam Jones and highly regarded young pitcher Chris Tillman. The farm system has seemingly begun to turn out useful position players and pitchers again: Nick Markakis, Nolan Reimold, Brad Bergesen, Brian Matusz are all young homegrown Orioles expected to play a key role this season. The team has a new Spring Training home in Sarasota, alleged to be a good upgrade over it's Fort Lauderdale training ground.

There is a feeling here in Birdland of guarded optimism. The buzz in the blogosphere is that this team may be on the verge of a return to respectability, and perhaps the cusp of something even greater than that.

But here at Orioles Update, we guard nothing. Subtext and innuendo are not our forte. Bold proclamations and visions of orange and black glory are more our style.

This is the year.

There. We put it out there. Now it is up to the team to answer the call.

This is probably not yet the year the World Championship returns to Baltimore. A playoff berth is unlikely and fourth place might still be forgivable. But here at Orioles Update we think that this is the year, the first year since 1997, in which the Orioles will finally win more games than they lose and erase themselves from the company of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Detroit Lions, the New Jersey Nets, and the other sports laughingstocks amongst which they have dwelt for far too long.

After 12 years in darkness, let there be light in Baltimore again. The Orioles' return to respectability begins in 8 days, and once again Orioles Update will bring you along for the ride.

Epilogue

2009-11-06T22:05:00.004-05:00

I'm glad to be with you, fellow Orioles fans, here at the end of all things.

It's been another disappointing season here in birdland, but in one sense, it's one we here at Orioles Update will always remember.

The Orioles had another losing season. Like every season since 1998. It began so well, back in April, with an Opening Day win over the Yankees that reminded us that there was still good in the world, and that Orange and Black wouldn't stay down forever.

The Orioles started ok, but then, like Orioles do, they lost and they lost and they lost and they lost some more. I'd hoped that we'd see the start of turnaround this season, and it was not to be.

But something did happen this year that hasn't happened in a long time. The Orioles much-maligned farm system began to churn out talent again. Super-prospect catcher Matt Wieters, and pitchers Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz, the best and brightest prospects of the organization, were called up and did not seem over-matched. Lefty Brad Bergesen, before his injury sidelined him, was on his way to a stellar rookie campaign. Left fielder Nolan Reimold, was mentioned as a candidate for Rookie of the Year. Reimold, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and fourth outfielder Felix "Strawberry" Pie, give the Orioles an outfield that compares favorably to their competitors in the power-packed AL East.

For the first time in a long time, there was hope.

But then, the bad guys won, and the world fell into darkness.

There is only one thing to do Orioles fans. Only one thing can save us now: click this button and don't stop clicking it until pitchers and catchers report!

See in you the Spring, my friends. If there is a spring, that is.

Jerry Hairston, Jr: True Oriole

2009-09-01T08:48:00.004-04:00

The Orioles are horrible. Contrary to all my hopes for this year's team, they are awful, with the once-bright prospects of 2010 dimming a bit too as the star players of the farm system have been called up and look quite mortal so far. To be fair, Wieters, Tillman, and Matusz (who was excellent on Sunday) are all rookies, but the O's still seem to have no long-term solutions for the corner infield spots.

But I digress. The Orioles are awful. But, thanks in part to an old friend, they aren't PERFECTLY AWFUL.

If I had to pick a low point of the past 11 seasons, I would probably say that Jack Cust tripping twice between third and home epitomized the frustration of being an Orioles fan during this era of incompetence. The "Mother's Day Massacre" of 2008 and Clay Bucholtz's no-hitter against the O's certainly warrant mention, too, as do I'm sure dozens of even-worse-than-usual Orioles games that I'm too numb to remember.

Yesterday almost topped all those moments that will live in infamy, though. Losing to the Yankees stinks, but it's expected. Losing to Andy Pettitte stinks, but it's even more expected. Getting perfect-gamed by Andy Pettitte and the Yankees? Horrible.

That's where the Orioles found themselves yesterday. After 7 and 2/3 innings in which they had been completely baffled by Pettitte, former Oriole second baseman Jerry Hairston Jr, playing third for the Yankees on this nearly-historic night, let a routine ground-ball roll through his legs to spoil Pettitte's perfection. Clearly rattled, Pettitte gave up an opposite-field single to Nick Markakis, and then lost even his shutout bid on home run by Melvin Mora in the 8th.

The O's still lost of course, and that stinks. Still, the less they're on the receiving end of "Great Moments in Yankee History" the better. (**** you, Jeffrey Maier.)

And Jerry, don't feel bad. You may have put on the pinstripes, but last night when it counted, you proved that you were still and always will be an Oriole.

Finally.

2009-08-11T21:35:00.002-04:00

The Orioles snapped a 9-game losing streak to the Oakland A's, despite a completely Oriole-esque (that's not a good thing) baserunning error by Brian Roberts.

But, since Roberts also had 3 hits, all is forgiven.

David Hernandez was effective enough, and Albers and Baez were actually not terrible, holding a one-run lead into the 9th inning, when Jim Johnson coordinated a successful defense of the lead. (Speaking of Jim Johnson, Orioles Update mourns the passing of one of our favorite sports figures, Eagles Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson)

Hopefully, it's the Orioles' turn to win 9 straight, but somehow I doubt it.

But anyway, WOOHOO!

This is Not High-Quality Baseball, Year 12

2009-08-10T22:50:00.008-04:00

Ok Orioles. Look, I'm sure you tried. But this baseball thing just isn't working out, and it hasn't been working out for a long time. Maybe you should try hockey or shuffleboard or Senior Design Consulting or something. Maybe you should find someone really terrible at something else and just become huge fans of them. And write a blog about it. Because you're really making this torturous on your blogging contingent. The Oriole-parazzi is seriously depressed if not downright suicidal at this point.

I tried to be optimistic, I really did. The season started out well, and there have been a few hot streaks, including some early series wins over the Yanks and a complete dismantling of the NL East (not including the Marlins). Some of the O's vaunted young prospects, namely Bergesen, Wieters, and Riemold coming up and making up some noise.

But, mostly, it's just looking more and more like a typical season of Orioles baseball. Completely dominated by the Red Sox and Yankees. Losers of 9 straight vs. the Oakland A's, tying a ML high of one team consecutively losing to another team.

Tillman and Matusz rushed to the majors and failing, it seems to stop the bleeding.

I didn't really expect the O's to be good this year, but I hoped this was the year we'd see them start to turn the corner. But with their traditional second-half collapse again, I'm not sure there's much reason to believe that 2010 will be any better than 2009.

(Administative note: I learned the other night that Orioles Update has at least one reader! We assure our loyal readership that our several month-long hiatus had NOTHING to do with the Orioles' second-half collapse, absolutely NOTHING. Instead, a busy summer schedule and general laziness as a blogger have been the main reason. But, one can only say "Orioles stink" in so many ways, so maybe it does have just a tiny, tiny bit to do with the traditional second-half collapse.)

Everything's Back to Normal...

2009-07-01T16:55:00.002-04:00

One day after the biggest comeback win in franchise history, the Orioles demoralized their fan base by recreating the well known (among Orioles fans, anyway) "Mother's Day Massacre" of 2007, blowing a 5-1 in the top of the ninth before falling to the Sox 6-5.

Winning 1 series from the Red Sox? Is that too much too ask?

The Long-Awaited Return of Orioles Update

2009-07-01T10:18:00.006-04:00

Greetings my feathered friends. It has been awhile.

The absence of Orioles Update has more to do with the business of my work and my laziness as a blogger than it does with the fact that right after my last three posts in one day burst of activity, the Orioles went on a nice little nose-dive where they only won once in two weeks.

You'll notice that the blog was also not updated when the O's won consecutive series against high-profile interleague opponents the Braves, Mets, and Phillies, and then proceeded to be swept by the anonymous Florida Marlins. Then they took 2 of 3 from the Nats. (But really, who doesn't?)

And now, the Red Sox are in town. With their loud contingent of fans and their unpleasant habit of whomping the Orioles in embarrassing fashion, this did not look like it would be pleasant. Monday night's 0-4 loss to John Lester was exactly what I expect from Orioles vs. Red Sox. And so were the first 6.5 innings of last night's rain-interrupted game, as the Sox took a 10-1 lead. Honestly, I'd ceded control of the TV to the local Phillies fan, and was halfheartedly watching the annihilation on MLB Gameday, when something strange happened. Let's let the front page of Yahoo Sports tell the story, shall we?

And the story.

Did the O's really score 5 runs in the 7th and 5 runs in the 8th and hang a blown save on obnoxious Red Sox closer Jonathon Papelbon? Did we really see George ("Never a doubt, Georgie.") Sherrell get out 5 consecutive right-handers at the heart of the Sox lineup for the save? Did we really just witness the greatest comeback in the Orioles' 55 year history? Yes to all.

This is another great reminder of the potential of this year's team. Yes, the Orioles are streaky. The Orioles are still largely bad. There will be weeks at a time where what they're doing out there will hardly resemble baseball at all.

But, on the other hand, this year's squad has already given us more memorable wins than the last few versions combined, with the Opening Day win over the Yankees, the Nolan Reimold-powered walkoff win vs. the Jays, the recent walkoff win vs. the Mets, Brian Roberts' ninth-inning homer to beat the Phils, and especially this unlikely, historic comeback. Games like this remind me that this team is worth watching, and hint that a brighter orange future is on its way.

(AP Photo -- Nick Wass)

Obligatory MATT WIETERS Post

2009-05-30T12:59:00.003-04:00

MATT WIETERS!
MATT WIETERS!
MATT WIETERS!
MATT WIETERS!
MATT WIETERS!
MATT WIETERS!
MATT WIETERS!
MATT WIETERS!
MATT WIETERS!

I don't EVER remember as much hype and excitement about an Orioles prospect as there's been about MATT WIETERS (His name really is in all caps. Check his birth certificate -- copies are available from the Orioles' online store.)

(Gail Burton -- AP)

From the time he was drafted, and then signed at the last minute of the last hour of the last day before he would go back into the draft (Sleazy superagent Scott Boras represents him, unfortunately), WIETERS has been regarded as the Orioles' savior, and ever since Andy MacPhail announced earlier this week that he'd be called up, Birdland has been abuzz with WIETERSMANIA RUNNING WILD. (I would be remiss to not point my loyal reader in the direction of www.mattwietersfacts.com, where they can order lots of great MATT WIETERS t-shirts.)

So, in true Orioles fashion, WIETERS was 0-4 in his debut. But, the rookie catcher had a great day behind the plate, helping his old pal Brad Bergesen to pitch his best game of HIS rookie season. As mentioned in a previous post, Luke Scott supplied all the offense needed to beat the Tigers.

There will be many more at-bats for MATT WIETERS, and we here at Orioles Update think that he will live up to the lofty expectations that he's set with his systematic destruction of minor-league pitchers. But right now, he is just one of many exciting young players to watch on an Orioles team that seems to finally seems to be reaping the fruit of improved drafting and player development.

Now go, MATT WIETERS. Go out and smite the enemies of Birdland. Smite them with thy magic powers and save us from the tyranny of the YankSox.

Endangering Species

2009-05-30T12:29:00.004-04:00

When a famous Tiger once said, "They're Grrrrrrrrrrrreat!", he was talking about his favorite cereal, not the status of the world's tiger population.

Poaching for fur and destruction of habitat have greatly reduced tiger populations in the wild. At the start of the 20th century, it is estimated there were over 100,000 tigers in the world but the population has dwindled to about 2,000 in the wild. (Wikipedia)

The Detroit Tigers are also endangered, but for a far different and more unstoppable reason: Luke Scott.

Luke Scott's career numbers against the Detroit Tigers (thanks to Camdenchat.com):

9 games
31 AB
18 H
11 R
4 2B
9 HR
19 RBI
5 BB
.639 OBP
1.581 SLG
2.220 OPS
OPS+ 387

During the first two games of this three game set, Luke's hit 4 home runs, including a grand slam in last night's 7-2 win over Detroit. Only 3 left handed hitters have EVER homered off Dontrelle Willis. One of them is Luke, who took Willis yard twice in last night's game.

If you touched Luke Scott right now, you'd burst into flame.

He's just that Grrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaat!

Turning Point...

2009-05-29T19:15:00.007-04:00

It's not in the nature of Orioles Update, the website that brought you the world-famous Adam Eaton Kitty Picture Day (ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!), to be serious. But, work has caused me to fall a little behind, including giving short shrift to one of the best Orioles victories in many years. On Monday and Tuesday, the Orioles beat the badly-slumping Toronto Blue Jays by scores of 4-1 and 7-2, respectively, for their second consecutive series win after taking two of three from the rather bad Washington Nationals.

But, the Orioles had yet to complete a 3-game sweep this season, and with Roy Halladay on the mound, their chances did not look good. Working busily from home, I periodically checked the score, and upon seeing that the Blue Jays had taken a 7-2 and then 8-3 lead, it seemed that there was little point in checking scores the rest of the afternoon. In between conference calls I checked to see what the final damage was, and was surprised to find that the Orioles had clawed their way back to tie the game with a 5 run 8th inning, only to give up the lead in the top of the 11th on a two-run homer by Aaron Hill.

But, while some may question the talent, there is no quit in the team. In the bottom of the 11th, Nick Markakis led off with a single against former Oriole BJ Ryan. Aubrey Huff popped out, and then Melvin Mora singled off new BJ pitcher Brian Wolfe, advancing Markakis to second. Luke Scott, who had homered earlier in the game, his first since returning from the DL, singled to score Markakis and advance the tying run to third. Rookie Nolan Reimold came to the plate, and had no intention of either letting the Orioles lose or playing any more baseball on this day. Reimold hit a line drive into the first row in leftfield to give the Orioles a memorable 12-10 win and their first series sweep of the season, and thier first three game sweep against Toronto since 1994.

So far this season, Adam Eaton has been released, and Brad Bergesen, Jason Berken, and David Hernandez have earned their major-league wins in their debuts in the Orioles' rotation; the Orioles look to have a very good young outfield of Markakis, Adam Jones, and Nolan Reimold; and as we speak, uber-prospect Matt Wieters is playing his first major league game as the Orioles' catcher.

David Hernandez got his first win, and pie in the face for his troubles.

With these positive developments, and with the O's most highly-rated pitching prospects still in reserve, it seems that the team has passed its long-awaited turning point, and finally back on the road to competitiveness.

(Matt Wieters' first Major League at Bat)

Catching up with...Adam Jones!

2009-05-24T22:43:00.006-04:00

Today, your humble author ran in the Maryland Center for Veterans Education & Training 10K in Baltimore.

It was a warm and sunny morning, and I wasn't sure I could finish my longest race ever. But, inspired by "This is Birdland" signs along the route and leveraging the power of my lucky Orioles shirt, I paced myself very well and finished in just under an hour, which I'm really happy with.

One of the themes of this blog is "Adam Jones completely rules at everything." So, obviously, I was not surprised when Adam Jones* not only entered the race, but won it by finishing in an absolutely sick 32:22.

And even though I couldn't catch Adam Jones* during the race, I caught up with him after the race for an Orioles Update exclusive interview.

Orioles Update: "Hey Adam Jones! Adam Jones! You're great at everything!!! How do you do it? How are you so awesome?!!

Adam Jones*: (Silence.)

Orioles Update: "Mr. Jones! Mr. Jones! Will you sign my bagel for me?"

Adam Jones*: "Go away, you weirdo! I'm not Adam Jones!"

Orioles Update: "Sorry to bother you sir. Please don't annihilate me with your awesomeness."

So, Adam Jones* likes to keep a low profile. Can't really blame a guy who won a whole table of trophies.

So what did we learn today, Orioles fans? Two things:

1. Adam Jones is awesome at everything.(But you knew that already.)
2. The Natinals beat the Orioles today because the Orioles' bullpen is not Adam Jones-like.

*There is a slim chance that this might possibly not have been Adam Jones.

We're not the worst!

2009-05-24T20:27:00.005-04:00

Thank you, ye baseball gods, for the Washington "Natinals". The MLB franchise that can't even spell their name right on their own uniforms also loses 2 out of 3 to the Orioles. That's pretty much the definition of rock bottom.

The Day the Purring Died

2009-05-22T20:39:00.010-04:00

It's been a little while since we've posted here at Orioles Update, and I do so now to report that the Orioles have released Adam Eaton this morning following his 4.1 inning, 7 run "performance" in yesterday's loss to the Yankees.

Eaton was 2-5 with an 8.56 ERA. Orioles fans all over the world looked forward to Eaton's starts because he gave them an excellent chance to see adorable kittycats.

Sadly, Eaton's release spells the end of our most popular feature (let's face it, the only popular feature) here at Orioles Update: Adam Eaton Kitty Picture Day. (ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!!)

And so, it is with heavy hearts that, in honor of the favorite player of fluffy cat-loving Orioles fans everywhere, that we present a very special goodbye edition of ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!!

Hurry back, Adam. We'll be waiting.

MEOW MEOW MEOW -- IT'S ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!

2009-05-16T19:32:00.004-04:00

Adam Eaton has an ERA of 7.51. Kansas City starter Zach Greinkie had an ERA of 0.51. So, the Royals 8-1 victory made perfect sense. So, rejoice fans of adorable kitties: ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!!

ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!!

Congratulations to Nolan Reimold!

2009-05-14T23:35:00.004-04:00

We're going to keep this post to four short points, because your humble author is supposed to be working on a webinar.

1. Orioles Update would like to congratulate rookie LF Nolan Reimold, who got his first major league hit, an infield single in his debut today. May it be the first of many as an Oriole.

2. Former Oriole jackass Sidney Ponson came into the game to pitch one inning in relief for KC. As usual, he had no control at all, walked 2 batters, and was extremely lucky to only give up 1 run. Frustrated Sidney? Tell it to a judge, jerk.

3. The Orioles won 9-5. If Adam Jones had been in the lineup, they would have won 17-2. Fact.

4. If anyone knows how to develop a webinar, or even what a webinar is, please e-mail the author posthaste.

LOST

2009-05-14T13:59:00.006-04:00

I though it was pretty obvious that the last thing we saw was going to be the bomb going off, but that we wouldn't see any results of it until next season.

So, we now know a little bit about Jacob (which is a lot more than we knew about him before), but nothing new about Richard, the hostiles, etc. At least they decided to tell us what happened to Rose, Bernard, and Vincent (who I assumed had gone to live with Brett Favre).

I think they might set up the final season of LOST pretty much like this: The bomb goes off, and “the future” is changed and they never land on island. But, since we saw last night that our favorite band of castaways been chosen/identified by Jacob for some reason, they’ll be brought together anyway and we’ll find them on the island at exactly the moment Jacob needs them. I think that just like Ben Linus has for almost his entire run on the show, Jacob is (and has always been) somehow manipulating everyone, including Ben and Undead Locke Lookalike, to do exactly what he wants.

(And Jacob and his enemy? In typical Lost fashion, there will be another, higher-level, layer of conflict beyond those two. Maybe it’ll be transforming robots vs. killer bees this time. NO NO! One will be the Yankees and one will be the Red Sox. That's it!)

I think the guy with Jacob at the beginning (and who it’s strongly implied is also Undead Locke Lookalike) is the embodiment of the Smoke Monster. The Monster, dressing up as Ben’s daughter, threatened Ben to do exactly what “John” wanted, which was to kill Jacob. I guess that’s the loophole? Mystery guy can’t kill Jacob himself, but if he can engineer a ridiculous enough set of circumstances over a 5-year period, and can convince the leader of Jake’s people to betray him, then sorry Jacob, you're screwed.

BUT(!), with the bomb going off, the “past” will be changed, plane never hits the island, etc, so Ben’s not convinced to kill Jacob. The “survivors”, who never crashed in Oceanic 815 since it landed safely at LAX, are brought to the island through some other way (maybe a cruise ship crashes this time or maybe it’s just another plane crash). There’s some dramatic final confrontation involving Ben and Widmore, Jack, Sawyer, Locke, Jacob, and Mysterious Island Dude.

I’m definitely wondering if the writers knew where they were going with the series the whole time. It just seems like some things that were implied to be very important, like Walt’s superfreaky powers, Mr. Eko, and you-can’t-have-babies-on-the-island, seem to not be that important to how things are shaping up.

I’m sure they have no idea how to tie this all together, so it’s probably a good thing I bailed them out by storyboarding Season 6 for them here on Orioles Update.

Oh, and as the title of this post refers to, the Orioles lost to the Devil Rays last night. But, that may not matter if Jack is right about what the explosion will do.

Cease and Desist

2009-05-13T19:36:00.004-04:00

Dear ESPN,
It has come to my attention that you have made an unauthorized use of my copyrighted work entitled ADAM JONES: COOLER THAN ICE (the "Work") in the preparation of a work derived therefrom. I have reserved all rights in the Work, first published on April 26, 2009, and have exclusive right to gush extensively at THE EXTREME AWESOMENESS OF ADAM JONES . Your work EXTENSIVE FAWNING OVER ADAM JONES' AWESOMENESS ON "BASEBALL TONIGHT" AFTER ADAM JONES' TWO HOME-RUN PERFORMANCE IN LAST NIGHT'S WIN OVER THE DEFENDING LEAGUE CHAMPION DEVIL RAYS is essentially identical to the Work and clearly used the Work as its basis. For example, on last night's Baseball tonight John Kruk yelled at viewers that ADAM JONES IS ONE OF THE BEST YOUNG PLAYERS IN BASEBALL, and that HE, with only minimal assistance from his sidekick Evan Longoria, IS SAVING BASEBALL IN THE WAKE OF THE STEROID ERA. We believe these comments to be directly derivative of our April 26, 2009 statement on THE SUBJECT OF ADAM JONES' STATUS AS AN EMERGING BASEBALL ICON:

Adam Jones is awesome. Adam Jones is going to be a star. Adam Jones is the best centerfielder in baseball that people who don't read Orioles Update have never heard of. Get in on the ground floor. Buy your Adam Jones stock now. Be the first on your block with an Adam Jones jersey or t-shirt. This kid is the real deal, a superstar in the making.

As you neither asked for nor received permission to use the Work as the basis for John Kruk's unecessary harangue of his viewers, I believe you have willfully infringed my rights under 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq. and could be liable for statutory damages as high as $150,000 as set forth in Section 504(c)(2) therein.

I demand that you immediately cease the use and distribution of all infringing works derived from the Work, and all copies, including electronic copies, of same, that you deliver to me, if applicable, all unused, undistributed copies of same, or destroy such copies immediately and that you desist from this or any other infringement of my rights in the future. If I have not received an affirmative response from you by [date give them about 2 weeks] indicating that you have fully complied with these requirements, I shall take further action against you.

In other words, he's my Adam Jones, so get-your grimy, stinky, Red-Sox-loving hands off him. Or at least hire me to be your official Adam Jones correspondent.

Very truly yours,

Orioles Update

I Know You Were Expecting Cat Pictures....

2009-05-10T17:01:00.008-04:00

One of the most popular regular features here at Orioles Update is "Adam Eaton Kitty Picture Day" (ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!). Your humble blogger was honored to be attended to Saturday's scheduled Adam Eaton Kitty Picture Day (ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!), and I also noticed that many fans of the New York Yankees had also driven down to Baltimore for this rare opportunity and managed to avoid the temptation (and my exhortations to) swim in the Inner Harbor. So, imagine my surprise when I got to the stadium only to find a sign on the gate that read:

Today's regularly-scheduled Adam Eaton Kitty Picture Day has been canceled due to AWESOMENESS.

What? How inconsiderate of the Orioles! How disrespectful! And when the game began, Adam Eaton was on the mound. Surely many Yankee runs and many pictures of adorable fluffy cats couldn't be far behind. Maybe Adam Eaton Kitty Picture Day would go on as scheduled. Well, many runs did follow -- but not for the Yankees. The Orioles batted around, scoring 8 runs in the 2nd inning, no doubt causing some Yankee Bloggers (if there are such things) to post PHIL HUGHES ADORABLE BABY ANIMAL DAY. But, this was Adam Eaton we're talking about, and he loves nothing more than to see pictures of adorable fuzzy felines. He gave up back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Yankee fans hope for seeing cute cats. But, Danys Baez came in and stopped the bleeding, Adam Jones hit another home run in the 8th, and everybody (except Yankee fans) went home happy.

Administrative Note:
Of course, the Yankees won today's game to take the series. The Orioles have only won 13 games. I've been to three, and the O's have won them all. What more will it take for them to give me an apartment in the warehouse and a cushy, well-paying job with front office? I promise, guys, I'll never say anything bad about the team again!

So Maybe This Isn't Such a Good Idea...

2009-05-08T21:19:00.006-04:00

So, the Mid Atlantic Sports Network wants Orioles fans to record and upload their Orioles “Defining Moments”, to win a chance to be part of a series of commercials that they've been running.

The Orioles have had 11 straight losing seasons. By definition, aren’t their defining moments going to bad?

Blowing a 7-0 lead to the Red Sox and getting shut out by the Yankees don’t make very good commercials.

Blame it on the Rain

2009-05-07T12:10:00.002-04:00

Let's not beat around the bush. The rain saved the Orioles last night. Brian Bass got himself out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam, but there would have been plenty of time for them to blow the lead if the game hadn't been called just after midnight.

So if the O's should take an early lead, bust out the rain dances again, Orioles fans!

Riots! Swine Flu! Apocalypse!

2009-05-04T23:46:00.005-04:00

Adam Eaton vs. Scott Kazmir? Really? Looks like the Orioles were headed toward their 15th loss in the past 18 games. But then, something amazing happened: Adam Eaton was not completely terrible. He approached mediocrity and kept the Orioles in the game in an eventual 8-4 victory, in which the bats finally came to life behind homers from Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis.

That's right, folks. Truly we are at the end of civilization. The Rapture has come. The unexpected has come to pass.

For the 2nd time in the last 3 starts, Adam Eaton Kitty Picture Day (ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!) is pre-empted by a totally expected Orioles win. Bury your dead. Hug your loved ones goodbye. And prepare yourselves for the End of Days.

Orioles Update Goes to the Playoffs

2009-05-02T23:18:00.000-04:00

Yes, playoffs. Orioles Update is going to the playoffs. Game one of the AHL Divisional Finals pitting the Hershey Bears (Yay!) vs. the Wilkes-barre/Scranton Penguins (BOOO! And hey, make up your mind about what city you're from!)

To put it mildly, these teams do not like each other, and neither do their fans. So when Mrs. Update and I got our nosebleed level seats and saw we were in the middle of the Penguins' Booster Club, I thought we could be in for a long night.

Early on, it looked like I would be right. The Pens controlled the puck, but repeatedly were turned away by the Bears and rookie goaltender Michal Neuvirth.

Then, Bears jumped out to an early lead beyond first period goals by Staffan Kronwell and Chris Bourque, and it looked like it was going to be a rout for the good guys.

But, the Pens responded in the 2nd period, tying the game. It looked like Wilkes-Barre, or Scranton if you prefer, would go into the final period with all the momentum.

But, with only 43 seconds left in the period, Andrew Gordon gave the Bears a lead they would never relinquish, and the Bears held on for a 5-3 victory.

Alas, the Orioles lost 4-5 to the Blue Jays in extra innings. Good thing you get a point just for making it to overtime, right? Right? RIGHT?

Halladay vs. Hendrickson? Come on.

2009-05-02T10:43:00.008-04:00

That's not even fair. Not fair at all. The O's jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, only to be completely shut down from there by Roy Halladay. As usual, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis were in the middle of all the scoring. Also, as usual, the bullpen melted down and the Orioles couldn't keep it close in what became a totally predictable 8-4 win. Today at 1:07, the birds will attempt to snap their 4-game losing streak, which has sunk them to their rightful place in last place in the AL East.

But, I hardly paid attention at all, since I was the York Revolution's home opener. The Revolution did make the playoffs last year, which was only their second year in existence, but in last night's game they jumped to an early lead only to suffer a catastrophic bullpen meltdown from which they were unable to recover. So, it was basically like an Orioles game.

It was a nice night, and I took some cool photos that I thought I'd share.

Here's Keoni DeRenne's RBI Triple:

This was a cool shot of the batter after long foul ball that was almost a game-tying HR.

I can only assume this is the Yankees' new logo:

So, if the Yankees are appropriately using a dollar sign as their new symbol, do I need to get a black and orange hat that says "Global Economic Meltdown" to show my antipathy?

Now, where would I go to get a thing like that?

Sports as Social Contract

2009-04-29T20:00:00.005-04:00

The Orioles lost again today, a listless 3-2 defeat to the Angels. Koji was good enough until he got hit in the groin by a line drive (ok, ok, it was the chest, but that isn't as funny), Adam Jones is still awesome, and Nick Markakis continued his hit streak. Chad Moeller had a nice day at the plate, and I wonder if he might stick around instead of Zaun when/if Matt Wieters is called up as expected later this season.

Other than that, not much is going on.

So, it seemed a good enough time to pose the first of a few questions that I think about pretty often in relation to sports. They basically lead up to the central issue of, "Why do I keep watching this crap?"

First of all, I occasionally like to ponder sports as social contract. What do sports teams owe their fans in exchange for continued loyalty?

For example, I buy Orioles tickets, Orioles merchandise, and waste several hours a night on 100-odd (I don't plan my life to watch every single game, but I end up following almost every one) evenings over the Spring and Summer. In exchange, it seems fair to expect some level of competence.

Now, where is that level of competence? That's harder to answer. There are always going to be good teams and bad teams, but there seems to me that there is a certain level or longetivity of badness at which point the team is not fulfilling its obligation to the fans.

Is not 11 straight losing seasons well beyond that point? Especially when no clear end to the losing seasons is in sight. The Orioles think they have a good farm system now. I believe them this time. BUT, they've thought that before. They think that in 2010 or 2011, they have the makings of a very good young homegrown rotation. They thought the same of the 2004 rotation that included Erik Bedard, Matt Riley, Eric Dubose, and Kurt Ainsworth. Of those 4, only Bedard had any success at all. The current crop including Tillman, Arrieta, Matusz, Patton, Bergesen, and the rest could certainly fail to produce a viable big-league rotation and the losing could go on and on. Their goal should be a championship. But, realistically, there are teams that have gone almost 100 years without a World Series title. But, there are only handful of teams that have been as horrifyingly bad over the last decade as the Orioles. The Pirates and Royals come to mind, but I think every other team has at least shown flashes of contention while the Orioles have continued to struggle.

11 years is a long time to be horrible. If I successfully completed less than half my projects, I wouldn't last a year -- much less 11 years. If your boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife treated you badly most days, you probably wouldn't stay together 11 years. So why do I (and other O's fans) still care?

Yes, attendance is very far down from the early years of Camden Yards, but I still think the Orioles have gotten more support from their fans -- have better fans -- then the organization deserves.

I hope that the Orioles will soon be in position to hold up their end of the bargain. Because there's no fun in being a fan looking forward to a future that never gets here. There needs to be hope in the present, and this is beginning to look like, as expected, another lost season.

But, Orioles Update will be there. We'll try not to be this depressing, but we need a little help from the Birds.

MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW

2009-04-28T22:41:00.004-04:00

IT'S ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!!!

6IP, 6H, 5ER, 4BB, 1K, 1HR

And the Orioles got a ~~a little bit~~ royally hosed on a bad balk call by "Los Angeles" Angel "Of Anaheim" Hernandez, but IT'S ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!! ADAM EATON KITTY PICTURE DAY!!

Great News, Everyone!

2009-04-27T22:53:00.005-04:00

I should spend some time talking about the Orioles latest devastating, loss, but that's not important right now.

I should be working or sleeping instead of writing this stupid great blog, but that's not important right now, either.

What is important is that one one of our loyal readers has created what I'm sure will be the first of many Orioles Update T-shirts.

Get this great shirt here, and be the first one in your neighborhood to show your Orioles Update pride!

Prototypical Orioles Loss

2009-04-27T22:40:00.003-04:00

This seems to be the basic model for the Orioles' losses this season. Get a lead early in the game, then completely stop hitting. Meanwhile, bullpen can't hold said lead. Matt Albers was our Orioles Update Goat of the Game tonight, congratulations on helping us to launch what will surely be a regular feature.

I know the guys at the bottom of the lineup are at the bottom of the lineup because, well, they're not the best hitters on the team to put it lightly. But who outside of Roberts, Jones, Markakis, and Huff do opposing pitchers fear at all?

Melmo was off to a nice start -- we really need him to get healthy, or the O's are destined for last place again.

(That's called irony, folks, because it's pretty much predestined for them anyway).

The Angels up next. Oh joy.

Adam Jones: Cooler than Ice

2009-04-26T22:04:00.010-04:00

I capped off a fun weekend with today's Orioles vs. Rangers game. After two straight losses to the Rangers, I was excited to see Brad Bergesen on the hill to snap the skid.

First of all, it was really hot today! Ok, it was 88 degrees. Hot, but brutal by any means -- if this were July. But for this early in the year, and compared to temperatures in the 40s just a few days ago, it seemed really hot.

Therefore, a new addition to the hat roster, with a little built-in air conditioning, was in order.

Now, onto the game: Brandon McCarthy for Texas vs. Brad Bergesen & the Orioles.

Nick Markakis sac fly'd home Brian Roberts to give the O's an early 1-0 lead, but Bergey couldn't hold it, as the Rangers relied on the long ball to take a commanding lead. In the 2nd inning, Chris Davis (which was my wife's maiden name) hit a 2-run homer. David Murphy hit a solo shot in the third, and Hank Blalock hit another two-run homer (driving in Friday night's Oriole killer Michael Young) to give Texas a commanding 5-1 lead.

But, after 11 straight years, the Orioles are turning things around. On this hot spring day, the Orioles made the extremely competent decision to offer all fans FREE ICE.

Free ice and my new hat kept me cool, even as I was SEETHING WITH ORIOLES-RELATED RAGE on the inside. I went for a pretzel. It was tasty. It looked like an Orioles "O" logo. Awesome. Still down by 4 runs. Not awesome.

But, if you watch the Orioles as much as I do, you know that the Orioles always battle till the end. Ok, not always. Not even usually. But free ice wasn't the only thing that stayed cool under pressure at Camden Yards, as the O's refused to let another one get away.

Before I even finished my pretzel, Brian Roberts homered to right, and Aubrey Huff and Luuuuuuuuuuke Scott knocked in 2 more runs. 5-4, Texas. beep...beep...beep. Dr, we've got a pulse!

Danys Baez came in and shut down the Rangers, keeping the game within reach.

The real Orioles Magic happened in the 6th inning. With one out, Texas relief pitcher Jason Jenning hit Caser Izturis, giving the Orioles a baserunner and making them very, very angry. Brian Roberts singled, and then Adam Jones came to the plate. Now let me tell you this: Adam Jones is awesome. Adam Jones is going to be a star. Adam Jones is the best centerfielder in baseball that people who don't read Orioles Update have never heard of. Get in on the ground floor. Buy your Adam Jones stock now. Be the first on your block with an Adam Jones jersey or t-shirt. This kid is the real deal, a superstar in the making.

All he did was hit a three-run homer to give the Orioles a sweet 2-run lead!

The Orioles would add another run, with Nick Markakis' RBI single in the bottom of the 8th. And guess who scored that run. Oh yeah, ADAM JONES!

Now, we all know of the trials and tribulations of Orioles closer Georege Sherrill, but he had a three-run lead to work with, and after being shut down by Baez and "Eagles Defensive Coordinator" Jim Johnson, the Rangers were ready to pack this one in. Sherrill gave up a leadoff double to washed-up Brave Andruw Jones, who is rejuvenating his career at the expense of Oriole pitching, but got out the next three batters, Michael Young, Hank Blalock, and Marlon Byrd, to end the game. Never a doubt, Georgie. Never a doubt.

Orioles, please take note: Your team has had 11 straight losing seasons. You are 2-0 this season when I am in attendance. Do the math. Can you really afford not to provide me with season tickets?

Orioles lose to Texas, 5-6

2009-04-26T21:21:00.003-04:00

I didn't watch or listen to a second of the Orioles Saturday April 25 game vs. the Rangers, so you're going to have to rely on the mainstream media for this one.

You're no Closer, George Sherrill

2009-04-24T22:33:00.003-04:00

I'm too annoyed to post any more about this one. It won't be the last time.

Sorry, Cats

2009-04-23T21:39:00.004-04:00

In light of tonight's unexpected, but very welcome, burst of competence from Adam Eaton, tonight's Adam Eaton Kitty Picture Day has been suspended.

Orioles 6
White Sox 2

Eaton's line: 7.1IP, 6H, 2ER, 0BB, 9K

Congratulations on your first win as an Oriole, Adam Eaton. Wannabe Internet Celebrity Cats are very disappointed in you.

And This is Why We Shouldn't Watch.

2009-04-22T23:13:00.004-04:00

Sorry readers, I'm tired and it was a bad game, so it's just a short entry tonight.

That's 2 games out of the last 3 where both the pitching and offense have been atrocious. 6 losses out of the last 7 games. Is it time to panic? If we'd had higher expectations, yes, it probably would be.

But they'll come back strong tomorrow and claw their way back to .500.

Or, more likely with Adam Eaton on the mound, we'll get to see pictures of adorable kittens!

This is Why We Should Watch this Year...

2009-04-22T07:11:00.003-04:00

I was going to continue with my ramblings about the relationships between fans and their teams, and what I think each one owes the other, but last night the Orioles gave us a good example of why this year's team is worth paying attention to.

Not just the 10-3 win over the White Sox. They've showed in the first two weeks that there are night when they're going to play very well, score runs, and win. But last night Brad Bergesen picked up the win in his major league debut. Bergesen pitched 5.2 innings, allowed only 1 earned run (an error by Ty Wigginton got him into some trouble), walked two, and struck out four. He worked quickly and had good control.

This team is going to get smacked around plenty of nights. But this year more than any of the last few, I think we'll have opportunities to watch the guys who will be part of the next good Orioles team. Nick Markakis and Adam Jones will likely be manning the outfield for the Orioles for a long time (get well, AJ!), super-prospect Matt Wieters will likely join the club in summer. Bergesen could be part of the Orioles rotation of the future, and Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, and Troy Patton could join him shortly.

Felix Pie, off to a slow start, will turn things around, or we'll more of Lou Montanez, called up yesterday, or Nolan Riemold, who is hitting well at Norfolk.

After many years during which few Orioles prospects amounted to anything, I think help is finally on the way.

Told ya so.

2009-04-20T23:41:00.003-04:00

And it was awful. 12-1. Mark Hendrickson was pretty good today, but the bullen and offense were, well, offensive.

Early-season optimism is pretty much if not completely shot at this point, and I would be pretty surprised if the Orioles hit .500 at any point in the rest of this season. Free fall starts early this year, folks.

Which leads me back to something I posted earlier in the season, that I said had to be our motto this year:

I know what the Orioles are about this season: there will just be a lot of games like this and I just have to be ok with it until the farm system hopefully provides some reinforcements. (A prospect that finally looks a little bit promising).

I think the Oriole organization is finally turning a corner under the watchful eyes of Andy MacPhail, but it will not be pretty to watch this year.

It stinks as fan when there's no hope. And hope for next year, which there hasn't always been here in Birdland either, is not the same as hope that this year won't stink. Next year is never any guarantee. The majority of prospects don't turn out.

The Orioles are right to try to build a long-term contender and not bet the farm in a short-term attempt to climb to .500 and bring the fans back. It's the right strategy. But, as a fan, sometimes I think I would settle to just have a team that's interesting to watch. I mean, this is 11 straight seasons of terrible baseball. Mediocrity would seem like success. I am thankful they are setting their sites higher than that, but it's times like this I wonder "why do we bother to watch this team right now?"

I still will...I'm just not sure there's a rational reason to.

Seriously guys, just forfeit.

2009-04-19T16:20:00.002-04:00

2-1 loss to Boston today. It's not a question of will they lose tomorrow, it's just a question of how.

Koji was awesome today. Unfortunately, Jon Lester just owns the Orioles. Like lots of other pitchers in the AL East.

I hate this.

2009-04-18T22:24:00.008-04:00

Can they just forfeit the rest of the games against the Red Sox and save me the trouble of getting mad?

And, without further ado, the next installment of Adam Eaton Kitty Picture Day:

"You hurt my adorable kitty feelings, Adam Eaton."

"You make me stop purring. I am going to scratch you in the face, Adam Eaton."

"Hey Adam Eaton, I crapped in your laundry. I hate you."

It can't get any worse than last night, right?

2009-04-17T22:46:00.005-04:00

You want to know why Orioles Update peters out every April?

Games like this.

A 7-0 lead and they end up losing 10-8 to the Red Sox. 11 years of of that $#% doesn't really inspire blogging now, does it?

I'm going to try to keep the blog going this year, though, no matter how painful it is. (Expect a lot of short entries, though, win or lose.)

There's not much you can say about a 19-6 loss.

2009-04-16T08:08:00.004-04:00

Well, actually there is, but I think this sums it up quite nicely:

At least they won the series, right? The pattern so far is to win the series and then lose the last game horribly. I'll take that all year long.

The suspicion around Orioles Update HQ, unfortunately, is that the Orioles we saw last night are the version we'll be seeing most often this year.

Well, That was a Little More Exciting than I'd Hoped, Part 2

2009-04-15T07:40:00.000-04:00

It doesn't bode well when your starter leaves with an injury after 1.1 innings. Allegedly it's an arm injury, but he may have strained his neck watching those three home runs he gave up leave the yard.

At any rate, get well soon, Alfredo Simon, because every day you are injured is a day in which Adam Eaton has a little more job security.

The Orioles bullpen can probably be labeled "suspect" to say the least, but Dennis Sarfate did a great job with 3.1 scoreless innings, especially because he got absolutely JACKED UP! by Aubrey Huff when the two collided trying to catch a foul pop up. Admirably, Sarfate held on. The Orioles tied the game and Sarfate, Jamie Walker, Chris Ray, and Jim Johnson held the Ranger's scoreless through the bottom of the ninth.

In the 10th, the Orioles took a 5-3 lead on an Adam Jones 2-run homer, and added two more runs on an RBI double by Luke Scott.

Ballgame, right?

Almost. Enter George Sherrill, the O's closer. George decided to make things exciting, allowing four consecutive singles before getting a ground ball that scored a run. At this point, the O's were clinging to a 7-5 lead, with one out and the winning run at the plate. I was sweating profusely.

Hank Blalock hit a deep fly ball to left, advancing a runner to third, but causing no damage. George got the last out on a Nelson Cruz fly ball, even deeper this time, to end the game and preserve the victory. But, wow, off the bat it sure looked like a game-winning home run.

Never a doubt, Georgie. Never a doubt.

Well, That was a Little More Exciting than I'd Hoped.

2009-04-14T08:59:00.007-04:00

The Orioles quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead against Rangers starter Vicente Padilla in the first inning last night, but then let the Rangers come back to take a 4-2 lead in the third.

The Oriole bats came to life for five runs in the fifth inning and three in the sixth to give the Orioles a 10-4 lead. 10-4? Roger that, good buddy, this lead's insurmountable, right?

How quickly you forget which team we're talking about here. The Baltimore Orioles have not had 11 straight losing seasons through bad luck. This is a matter of extreme pitching crapulence. (C'mon spellcheck, don't try to tell me that "crapulence" isn't a real world!)

Koji Uehara was "ok" for five innings -- giving up four runs, which is not terrible at the Ballpark at Arlington, a notorious hitter's park. He completely melted down in the sixth, though, and the O's were actually very fortunate to only give up three runs that inning. Danys Baez looked like, well, Danys Baez, rather than the superhuman reliever we've been suprised to see this year.

Jamie Walker exceeded our meager expectations -- striking out the only batter he faced in a pressure situation, Jim Johnson was fine, and George Sherrill made things much more interesting than a closer should, but held on thanks to an absolutely incredible catch in left field by Nick Markakis that kept Texas from tying the game.

The pleasant suprise of the Orioles this season has been the offense. The pitching is the mess we thought it would be, though. Alfredo Simon and Mark Hendrickson pitched well in their only starts so far, but we have pretty low expectations for 3/5 of the rotation (Simon, Hendrickson, and ugh, Eaton) and most of the bullpen. The bottom line is Koji has to be better than this, and get through six innings. That said, a win's a win and this was certainly a good one.

*********************************************************************************
While watching the game last night, they repeatedly focused on Orioles fans, who seemed well-represented, in the crowed. However, during the crowd shots, they also repeatedly showed a guy who epitomizes one of my pet peeves of sports fandom: Wearing clothing of both teams playing in the game. In this case, it was a guy with an Orioles shirt and a Rangers hat. I understand that some people like more than one team. But you have to like one more than the other, right? When they play each other, pick a side.
************************************************************************************************************
On a more serious note, Orioles Update would like to express its condolences to the family, friends, and many many fans of Phils' broadcaster Harry Kalas. Great broadcaster with a distinctive, legendary voice, and seemed like a really nice guy, too. He'll be missed.

Happy Easter from Orioles Update

2009-04-12T15:36:00.010-04:00

Today is Easter Sunday. On this day, we celebrate the most miraculous, inspirational event in human history, when Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his death on the cross to achieve victory over sin, death, and the power of the Devil.

Billions of Christians around the world are familiar with the story of Easter Sunday.

Orioles fans are becoming quickly familiar with another Easter story that is less miraculous and less inspirational -- the tale of how on the third day of a three-game series, Adam Eaton rose from AAA Norfolk to achieve horrible, horrible defeat to the power of the Devil (Rays).

Jesus' resurrection was so miraculous that his followers, despite hundreds of years of prophecy to prepare them for it, had trouble believing that it happened.

Eaton's suckitude, on the other hand, was predicted by every follower of the Orioles.

So, here we are, 10-0 Rays. We know the Orioles don't rise from the dead on Sundays, so we're going to launch what I think will become a pretty regular feature here at Orioles Orioles: Adam Eaton Kitty Picture Day!

"I dream of a day when you are off the team, Adam Eaton," says Higgy.

"This is what I think of your pitching, Adam Eaton and Brian Bass," says Pooka the Cat.

"Purr purr meow meow I hate you Devil Rays!", says Elizabeth the Kitten.

Why Not 2009?

2009-04-12T00:08:00.003-04:00

Now, not to overreact to the Orioles 2nd straight series win or anything, but OMG THE ORIOLES ARE GOING TO WIN THE WORLDSERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I mean, a 6-0 win over the Rays, Guts shuttin' 'em down; Chris Ray even shuttin' 'em down; MELVIN MORA WITH THE GRAND SLAM!!! MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC ORIOLES MAGIC!!!

What? Oh, yeah. Adam Eaton pitches tomorrow. Crap.

Congratulations to the 2008 AL Champion Baltimore Orioles!

2009-04-11T14:24:00.004-04:00

I spoke a little too soon in Thursday's post, because things are NOT back to normal in Birdland.

The Orioles knocked off the defending AL Champion Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays to take the 2008 AL Pennant. They'll defend their newly-won last year's pennant against the Rays tonight with Guts on the mound.

Let's go O's!

Back to Normal in Birdland

2009-04-09T16:50:00.003-04:00

Game 3: Yankees 11, Orioles 2. Another bullpen implosion (That's 3 straight, folks).

Still, I'll take two out of three against the Yankees any series.

I know what the Orioles are about this season: there will just be a lot of games like this and I just have to be ok with it until the farm system hopefully provides some reinforcements. (A prospect that finally looks a little bit promising).

I think the Oriole organization is finally turning a corner under the watchful eyes of Andy McPhail, but it will not be pretty to watch this year.

This must be our mantra this year. There IS hope for the future, but there's gonna be a lot of games like this in the present. For now, look forward to Guts' and Koji's starts, and cross your fingers otherwise. (Alfredo Simon pitched ok today, though.)

You Can't Help but Admire the Yankees

2009-04-09T09:18:00.003-04:00

Though some jealous fans refer to them as "The Evil Empire", it's completely obvious that the Yankees are the polar opposite of evil, and indeed empitomize class and sportsmanship.

I mean, wasn't the way Chien-Ming Wang went out of his way to try to make CC Sabathia feel not so bad about his rough Opening Day -- by allowing 7 runs in 3 2/3 innings -- one of the most admirable things you've ever seen in any sport? "See CC, it can happen to anyone?" I'm sure the big guy appreciates the emotional support, but that's what being a True Yankee is all about.

This Orioles fan is impressed.

But not impressed enough to root for the Yankees even though the Orioles are my favorite team, Mark Teixeira. Oh wait, Mark, maybe you're right. Like I've always been a Yankee fan, but whichever Oriole pitcher is facing you is my favorite player, so I'm going to wear Orioles stuff and cheer for the Orioles.

Teixeira should probably just shut up, before he says something that just makes him look like an even bigger liar and hypocrite.

reb"O"rn

2009-04-08T09:25:00.013-04:00

In some form or another, Orioles Update has intermittently existed since 2002. Typically, however, I've run out of jokes (and the Orioles have run out of steam) by about the end of April.

11 straight losing seasons is a long time. Long enough that the NFL offseason and preseason of a competitive team start to seem more interesting than the Orioles' regular season. I get excited at the beginning of each Orioles' season, believing against my better judgment that this might be the year we'll finally start to see positive results of the O's never-quite-getting there rebuilding program.

2005 seemed like it was that year, as the O's held first place for half a season. Then, the monumental collapse, capped by Rafael Palmeiro's implication in the steroid scandal and his rather laughable (but perhaps not groundless) accusation of Miguel Tejada's complicity. Never had a team that was that far over .500 finished that far below .500.

As a fan, it has been hard to come back from that. Over the next three seasons I could count on the Orioles being mediocre at best, and collapsing late in the season (which has been O's trademark for much longer than that). I'd gotten tired of it. Tired of the losing, tired of going down to a mostly empty ballpark, or one filled with Yankees or Red Sox fans (if you can tell the difference between the two, you're better than I.), but at the same time largely unmotivated to pay to go watch the O's get pounded more often. My relationship with the team, too often a love-hate one, had turned to bitterness.

But on Monday April 6, 2009, that changed. The Orioles beat the Yankees 10-5 on Opening Day in rather dramatic fashion. I assure you that I am not one to overestimate the importance of one or two games in a 162 game season. The Phillies lost their first two games last year, and won the World Series. They could do the exact same this year and no one should be too surprised. The O's won their first two games last year and finished in last place and, again, no one would be surprised with similar results. The Orioles play the Yankees tonight, and the Yankees will probably win. Same for Thursday. I think the Oriole organization is finally turning a corner under the watchful eyes of Andy McPhail, but it will not be pretty to watch this year. But I'm going to.

I'm going to because on Monday I saw an Oriole Park filled with loud Orioles fans, and I saw a team that held on to win when it looked like it would just be another mystique-and-aura-filled Yankee comeback. I saw that baseball isn't dead in Baltimore and got a vision of what it can be like again someday. I've been an Orioles fan for a long time, and during that time there's been a lot of great memories ('89, Camden Yards opening, the playoff runs of the late 90's, and Cal Ripken) and some not so good ones (most of the last 11 seasons). This game is one of the best memories, and for the first time in many years, I believe again.

So thank you Brian Roberts, Adam Jones, Jeremy "Guts" Guthrie, Dave Trembley, Nick Markakis, Cesar Izturis, and all the members of the 2009 O's who were part of this inspiring win; and even more thanks to my wife who bought me the ticket. I've been going to O's games since '82, but this was my first Opening Day. I know it won't be like this every game, or even most, but just to know it CAN be like this, was much needed. So Orioles, I ask that you not fade away too quickly this year, but I promise that I will still be there in September.

So, whither the seldom updated Orioles Update? I'm retiring the "Iraqi Information Minister hypes the Orioles" schtick, because I'm out of jokes. But I still like to write about things other than work though, so I think Orioles Update will stick around, even if it's just a lonely chronicle of one fan's journey to the pennant with the Orange and Black.

Something magic happens, every time you go...

Not Today, Devil Rays.

2008-04-03T11:02:00.004-04:00

Good morning Orioles fans!

If you follow Major League Baseball as closely as I do (which you don't. I mean, I'm writing this from an office in the basement of the Warehouse at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Come on.), you would realize that the team formerly known as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, which has now apparently gotten some old-time religion and is just known as the Tampa Bay Rays, is supposed to actually be pretty good this year. And Major League Baseball's flagship franchise, the 1983 World Champion Baltimore Orioles, is supposed to be pretty horrible.

But things hardly ever work out the way they're predicted to. I mean, who would have predicted that the Oakland Athletics would travel all the way to Japan just to embarrass the American people with their exploits? Not this Orioles fan.

But I digress. My point is, that once again, that Devil or no Devil, the Orioles are better than the Rays. I mean, Daniel Cabrera, who couldn't hit the side of the Warehouse from 3 feet away, even spotted the Rays a 3-run lead. He later gave them 3 more runs because he's a kind, generous soul.

Our heroes last night were Brian Roberts, one of Orioles Update's favorite people, Aubrey Huff, who is not one of our favorite people, and Adam "Indiana" Jones, who Intern Sam Perlozzo and I think will become one of our favorite people.

Roberts led off the game for the Orioles with a home run, quickly showing the Rays that they wouldn't just cruise to an easy victory because of their mystique and aura. Aubrey Huff, who got himself labeled a "jackass" when he drunkenly insinuated on a shock radio show that Baltimore was a "horseshit" town, somewhat redeemed himself with a 3-run homer and a 5 RBI night overall.

Adam Jones, who was acquired in the Erik Bedard trade, got his first Oriole hit, scored his first Oriole run, and stole his first Oriole base. No time for love, Dr. Jones, we've got bases to steal!

The trio of Roberts, Huff, and Jones, plus a great bullpen performance out of Randor Bierd, Jamie Walker, Chad Bradford, and George Sherrill, proved too much for the Devil Rays.

With this win, Orioles fans, our birds reach .500 for the first time since last April, and have a solid hold on 2nd place in the AL East.

***************Intern Sam Perlozzo's Corner******************************
Hi everybody! I'm former Oriole skipper and current Mariners coach Intern Sam Perlozzo. I want you all to know that even though I coach for the Mariners, I still think the Orioles are the greatest team in all the world. Because I coach for the Mariners, I will be able to keep you posted with all the details about how except for Erik Bedard, the Mariners are crap because they traded all their good players to the Orioles for Erik Bedard. And Mariner Moose is way cool, too.

That's all for now!

********************************************************************************
Orioles Update Puzzle of the Week.

In honor of Celebrity Orioles fan Pat Sajak, who threw out the first pitch at last night's victory, let's see if you can solve this missing letter puzzle:

TH S S B RDLAND!

Check the next issue of Orioles Update for your answer!

Until next time, keep cheering on the Black and Orange!

Saving the World Again.

2007-04-26T23:26:00.000-04:00

The Orioles took another night off to fight aliens. This time the aliens were from Uranus.

That's right, Uranus.

Thanks, Orioles.

Orioles Lose to Red Sox, but Save the World

2007-04-26T13:39:00.000-04:00

Greetings my fellow Orioles fans. It's my honor and privilege today to be able to describe to you one of the most remarkable adventures in the entire 53 year history of the Baltimore Orioles.

For, although it may have seemed like our heroes lost to the Red Sox yesterday in rather unimpressive fashion, I assure you that this was not the case.

Just as the Orioles were about to take the field for batting practice, which they don't really need, the orange emergency phone in the locker room began ringing. Manager Sam Perlozzo picked up the phone and conducted a brief conversation in hushed tones.

"Gentlemen," said Perlazzo, "That was the President. We've been informed that right now on the planet Mars, the Martian Empire is preparing to launch a massive attack against Earth. Because we've already won one series against an Evil Empire, the President felt that we were the logical choice to save the world. We have a choice, my friends. We can either defeat the Boston Red Sox tonight and bring joy to millions of Orioles fans around the world, or we can fight the Martian Empire. It may cost us a game in the standings, but it's a chance to save the world and possibly they the entire galaxy."

For a group as brave and honorable as the Baltimore Orioles, the decision was easy. A group of adorable fluffy kittens was hastily attired in Orioles uniforms to take on the Red Sox at Camden Yards that night, while the real Orioles headed to the Warehouse, where they boarded their starship, the U.S.S Earl Weaver, to boldly go where no Oriole had gone before.

Flying faster than a Daniel Cabrera fastball, the Orioles arrived on Mars in only a few innings. What they saw amazed them. Huge space warships larger than Oriole Park at Camden Yards itself. Warehouses thousands of feet high filled with instruments of destruction.

"Let's take this out -- the Oriole Way!" snarled Melvin Mora. And faster than you could say "Chris Gomez", the Orioles took their bats to everything in sight, smashing the entire weapons stockpile of the Martian Empire in a matter of minutes.

Then the aliens arrived. Slimy green creatures with sharp cartoon fangs. Our heroes were being slowly but surely pushed back to their ship, overwhelmed. But then Daniel Cabrera, Adam Loewen, and Jeremy Guthrie began launching fastball after fastball at the Martians. Although they didn't always hit their targets, they got enough of the Martians out to keep the battle close until the Oriole bats heated up again. Melvin Mora, Miguel Tejada, Kevin Millar, Jay Gibbons, and Aubrey Huff crushed Martian after Martian. Nick Markakis patiently waited to swing until the aliens were in perfect position, and then blooped their heads to centerfield. Brian Roberts fielded sharply hit grounders. Corey Patterson used his blazing speed to avoid the Martians' death rays.

At last, Tejada unleashed the fury of nine-straight losing seasons onto the last Martian, sending his head flying over 407 feet. The Orioles were victorious as usual, the universe was saved, and Orioles Update was there, as always, to bring you the story.

Orioles Update Special Edition: Don't Believe the Hype

2007-04-24T21:00:00.000-04:00

My Fellow Orioles fans, I am sorry to write this issue of Orioles Update, but we have been wronged. You see, the Orioles have taken a well-deserved two-day break after their 3-game sweep of the hated Toronto Blue Jays, the pride of Evil Canada. And it was a well-deserved break. After all, it was the first such sweep of the Blue Jays at Camden Yards since 1994.

You'd think the Orioles would be able to enjoy their brief vacation without any distractions, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, they could not. A nefarious Internet prankster has fostered a nasty rumor about our beloved O's. He or she has claimed that the Orioles have lost two games to the Oakland A's, primarily because of stupid mistakes on the basepaths and in the field, rather than enjoying a few days off in the pristine weather. The far-reaching conspiracy includes doctored photos, fake websites posted to "reputable" websites, and even cleverly faked TV broadcasts, complete with Imitation Jim Palmer and Imitation Gary Thorne, that appeared when MASN's cable feed was hijacked, interrupting our regularly scheduled program with these fake games.

Don't worry, Orioles fans, after extensive investigation, we here at Orioles Update have deemed these rumors to be false - and we have proof.

Look closely at this photo -- allegedly of A's catcher Jason Kendall, who the A's stole from the Pirates, tagging out Oriole hero Jay Gibbons. As you can plainly see, both players are actually cartoons.

Now examine this photo, which suppossedly shows Melvin Mora making an error in the first inning.

Upon closer examination, this is actually a picture of a bear. Does this mysterious A's fan really expect you, my esteemed, well-eductated Orioles Fan readers, to believe that bears play baseball?

So what did the Orioles do during their vacation? Well, Melvin Mora took his wife and their many children to the Baltimore Zoo. Erik Bedard enjoyed the warm spring weather, which he doesn't get much of in his native town of Frozen Wasteland, Ontario, with a round of mini-golf.

The rest of the team, along with Manager Sam Perlazzo, took a bus trip to nearby Colonial Williamsburg, where they learned about American History, of which the O's are a critical piece, unlike those vagrants currently residing in Oakland, who have already been kicked out of two cities.

This overly enthusiastic A's fan, who probably grew up near Pittsburgh but roots for a random collection of Oakland, Nebraska, Philadelphia and Indiana teams for weird reasons, has also claimed that Orioles Update has been bought out by an Oakland A's newsletter.

This is utter hogwash. Orioles Update is not for sale (unless actual cash money is involved). Yours truly has been an Orioles fan for 25 years, and will bleed black and orange till I'm in my grave, hopefully many, many decades or centuries from now.

And as for the lads in Black and Orange, they're 7-2 in the division, having won every divisional series they've played, and face of against the Boston Over-Red-ted Sox next.