Loving the Orioles Right Now

Have you been watching the Birds lately?? I know it can be hard to do so with football season now in full swing, but I encourage you to follow this team to the finish line. They are REALLY fun to watch. And they are beating the big dogs of their own division.

The O’s have been playing some outstanding baseball since new manager Buck Showalter arrived. The way they have been able to flat-out win in this final third of the season has been nothing short of remarkable. So with the help of the Orioles sections of baltimoresun.com, baseball-reference.com, and espn.com, I did a little bit of research…and the numbers are amazing.

They had a great August, going 17-11. Only one A.L. club, the Twins had a better record than the O’s. And at 12-7 this month, they are well on their way to producing the club’s first winning September since 1999 when they went 20-8.

Not surprisingly, the have gone hand in hand with a drastic change in the performance of the pitchers. During each of the first four months, Baltimore never ranked higher than 12th out of 14 A.L. teams in team ERA. In August they ranked 3rd, and this month they rank 5th

Here a few more notes to think about:

The Orioles have won 12 of their past 16 games. 10 of those 16 games were against either the Yankees, Red Sox, or Rays (all have appeared in the last three World Series’)

-They are 32-31 since the All-Star Break.

-Since Showalter took over, they are 29-17 overall and 13-7 on the road. (Road record under Trembley and Samuel? 14-40!!).

-And If the O’s can get a victory tonight, it would be their first three-game sweep of the Sox in Boston in 16 years.

Buck Showalter & The Rejuvenated Orioles

The first four months of Orioles baseball in 2010 have been tough to bear witness to. Not to mention the twelve losing seasons that preceded them. But a different and exciting style of play has swept over the team since the debut of new manager Buck Showalter this past Tuesday.

Baltimore completed a three game sweep of the L.A. Angels last night, and they did so with an attitude of “This is how it should be.” It is hard to say how much a manager can really affect a ballclub. After all, skippers don’t hit, pitch, or field. But to anyone who saw the three victories the Orioles rattled off this week, the energy level was completely different, from the usual, as was the result on the scoreboard.

The games haven’t been perfect or pretty by any means. Take last night for example, when relief pitcher Jason Berken gave up a 3 run shot to Torii Hunter in the eighth to tie the game at 4. Showalter had the confidence to leave Berken in there, and he went on to retire four of the next five batters while recording the win.

The offense seems to have had a big spark as well. Adam Jones, Felix Pie, Luke Scott, Josh Bell, Matt Wieters, Brian Roberts, and Nick Markakis all swung the bat well and drove in runs in the three wins this week.

Buck summed it up pretty well in the post-game news conference last night: “Nothing’s as bad as it seems, and nothing’s as good as it seems. I tried to come into it with a real open mind. There’s enough track-record players here that you know they’re better than that, but things snowball. We all know that.”

The Birds finally have a guy who knows baseball, and knows baseball talent when he sees it. He is going to be evaluating the whole roster in these remaining two months to find out who are his guys are, who he can count on, who can handle adversity/injury, and who just doesn’t belong. I couldn’t be more optimistic about the future of the club, it’s in the right hands. The foundation is set, and now the time has come for a winning team to emerge.

Time For Trembley To Go

Ok let me preface this little rant by saying that I rarely call for a coach to be fired. To me it just doesn’t make much sense. I usually defend the coaches of my local teams tooth and nail. I can’t explain it, maybe it’s because I would want the same from my fan-base if I were in the position of leading a team.

A few local examples have been former Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick and current University of Maryland men’s basketball coach Gary Williams.

I defended Billick because I liked his attitude and because he brought the city of Baltimore a championship. Many did not like his attitude, he rubbed people the wrong way. People didn’t like that he was an “offensive guru” and couldn’t improve the offense of a team built on defense. But he was unique. He always defended his players even if it meant offending the media. He didn’t care what others outside the team thought, he just wanted to win. I admired that about him.

And I defend Gary Williams, every season it seems like, because a monitory of Terp “fans” are clueless and want him out. I defend Mr. Williams because he is Maryland basketball (with all due respect to the likes of Lefty Driesell and the late Len Bias). He took over a program that was having a hard time recovering from the whole Bias incident, and went on to win a national title in 2002. He has always done more with less talent compared to the Duke’s and the UNC’s. Just like Billick was, Gary is a players coach. Gary is a hard worker, a grinder. You always hear about how hard his guys play for him. They do it because they know he has their back and he believes in them.

I really could go all day talking about how great Gary is and how moronic it is to ask for him to be fired, but I’ll save that for another day. This post is about Orioles manager Dave Trembley.

For a while I’ve always taken his Trembley’s side, given him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he is managing the Orioles.

Last year the Orioles had more than their fair share of base-running miscues. My dad, whom I always vent my Oriole frustrations to, blamed it on Trembley. He said there are some things you cannot control: things like whether the guys are hitting well, or whether pitchers are throwing strikes. But mental lapses on the base paths? He put that one on Trembley and said he should be gone. I wasn’t as ready to cut him loose.

NOW I AM.

As of this morning the Orioles are 2-14. A civic embarrassment. They have lost every series they have played so far in this young season, including three sweeps. They have the worst record in the major leagues. It really is unbelievable.

The final straw for me was Tuesday evening. In the second inning Julio Lugo grounded to short and jogged is way down the first base line and was out easily (See my piece on Derek Jeter). That isn’t Dave Trembley’s fault. It was Lugo’s decision to do that. However I was waiting for Dave to chew him out on the bench or even take him out of the lineup, because that is not how you play that game. That is NOT the Oriole Way. Instead we got nothing…absolutely nothing. Trembley sat there, stone faced, and the game went on. Oh and the team lost…AGAIN!

Hold all the closed-door meetings you want, Dave. But I need to see that you care. The fans want a manager who has pride. I need to know that during a game it bothers you that one of your guys isn’t giving 100%. Cause you know what? It’s a reflection of YOU when that’s happening. I’m not a major leaguer. But if I was and I knew my manager was going to humiliate me and remove me from the game like it’s freaking little league, maybe I’d give 100%. As if being paid $9.25 million (Lugo’s 2010 salary) isn’t enough of an incentive to give it your all.

Yesterday when asked about the fans calling for Dave’s head, right fielder Nick Markakis said, “I don’t think you can blame Trembley, we’re the ones out there pitching and hitting. I think he’s done a good job overall. There’s only so much a manager can do. The rest of it is up to the players. If you’re going to point fingers, you can put it on my shoulders. I’m not swinging the bat the way I’d like to.”

God bless Nick, he’s my favorite Oriole, but what else can he say. It’s not like he’s gonna blame his boss. I feel bad for him because he has to answer these questions in the first place. All the guy wants to do is play ball.

Why was Mr. Trembley brought back for 2010? And why do I have a feeling it is going to take a while before his time as the O’s skipper is up? Earlier this week WNST’s Nestor Aparicio made an interesting point that I keep thinking about. He noted that president of Orioles baseball operations Andy MacPhail is most likely in no hurry to can Trembley because as soon as the manager is fired, blame for the losing will turn to him. Because whoever the next guy is, will be MacPhail’s guy. That could be stretch, but it makes sense to me and very well could be true.

So we shall wait and see. I’m horrible at predictions, but I’m going to say his days are numbered. I’d be shocked if he was still in charge by the All-Star break.

There you have it. I’m now on the ever-growing “Fire Trembley” bandwagon. And you know what? I’m happy I am.

O’s Finally End Streak, Dump Athletics 8-3

Ty Wigginton celebrates after hitting a two run home run in the ninth inning

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Ty Wigginton homered and drove in four runs, and the Baltimore Orioles snapped a nine-game skid by beating the Oakland Athletics 8-3 on Sunday and spoiling Brett Anderson’s first outing since receiving a hefty new contract.

The Orioles avoided their first four-game sweep in Oakland since Aug. 23-26, 2004, jumping on Anderson (1-1) two days after the A’s gave the pitcher a $12.5 million, four-year contract.

Brian Matusz (2-0), like Anderson a hard-throwing lefty, delivered a much-needed morale boost for the struggling Orioles in his first career outing against Oakland. He struck out eight, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk in 6 1-3 innings.

Baltimore (2-11) had lost nine in a row since its lone previous victory at Tampa Bay on April 8, and is off to the franchise’s worst start since beginning 0-21 in 1988. The Orioles also ended a nine-game losing streak at the Coliseum dating to July 22, 2007.

It doesn’t get any easier as the Birds leave the Bay Area, either. The Orioles continue their 10-game trip with three games in Seattle followed by three at Fenway Park against Boston.

Anderson, an 11-game winner in his rookie campaign of 2009, needed only 25 pitches to get through the first two innings. He retired the first eight batters of the game before giving up consecutive two-out singles to Cesar Izturis and Adam Jones and then Wigginton’s two-run double.

Nick Markakis followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0, Lou Montanez singled in a run in the fourth and Nolan Reimold hit his two-run double in the fifth.

Wigginton hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth off Chad Gaudin.

And as Orioles radio play-by-play man Joe Angel would say…”You can put this one in the win column!!”

The nine game losing steak is over and I’d have to believe an immense feeling of relief has swept through the Orioles clubhouse.

The bats finally came alive on Sunday as Baltimore tallied 11 hits. The birds also went 5-11 with RISP and only stranded four. Since Wednesday Ty Wigginton has four home runs and 10 RBI’s.

Brian Matusz was solid once again. It is hard to believe that Sunday was only his tenth career start. He has struck out seven or more in each of his three starts and has yet to give up a home run.

And give credit to closer Jim Johnson. He went out there and redeemed himself today after Saturday’s abysmal performance. Two innings pitched, one base runner, and no runs. A strong effort and he was rewarded with his first save of the season.

The road trip continues tomorrow night in Seattle with Brad Bergesen taking the hill for the O’s. Doug Fister gets the start for the Mariners. First pitch is 10:10

The Freefall Continues, Athletics 4 – Orioles 3

Oakland's Ryan Sweeney is mobbed by teammates after his game-winning hit against Baltimore on Saturday afternoon



Associated Press – Ryan Sweeney hit a game-ending two-run single with one out in the ninth inning, giving the Oakland Athletics a 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.

Adam Rosales singled leading off the ninth and advanced to second on a sacrifice. Rajai Davis struck out but reached base on a wild pitch before the Orioles opted to intentionally walk Daric Barton and load the bases. Sweeney, who earlier extended his major league-leading hitting streak to 12 games, singled to right to drive in pinch-runner Eric Patterson — he took over for Rosales at second base — and Davis, who easily scored ahead of the throw from Baltimore right fielder Nick Markakis.

Jerry Blevins (2-0) pitched an inning for the win. Oakland has won nine straight home games against Baltimore. The A’s are 9-4, their best start after 13 games since 1992. They also moved five games over .500 for the first time since July 19, 2008.

The Orioles fell to 1-11, their worst start since opening the 1988 season with 21 consecutive losses, and lost third baseman Miguel Tejada to a possible leg injury in the sixth inning.

The Orioles scored a pair of unearned runs off Oakland starter Justin Duchscherer in the sixth inning then took a 3-2 lead on Ty Wigginton’s sacrifice fly in the eighth.

So I was following the conclusion of this game online with MLB Gametracker since there was no telecast. And staring at the screen, watching the little animated baseball diamond fill up with Oakland baserunners in the bottom of the ninth, I just had the feeling that the result wasn’t going to be good. And your boy was right haha!

Really, I mean at this point in the O’s losing streak, which is now nine, you begin to expect things to go wrong. Having a lead in the ninth inning seemed to good to be true…and it was! Jim Johnson had two wild pitches in the inning, and sure enough his lack of control ended up blowing the game.

Listen, they are doing things well, let’s not forget that. Those good things by no means make up for losing. But it is so frustrating to see yet another solid pitching performance go to waste.

Jeremy Guthrie gave up two runs and only walked one in 6.2 innings pitched. I’ll take that kind of line any day of the week from this starting unit. Although I would have liked some more runs from the offense, the fact is they scored three and Guthrie gave up two. In relief, Will Ohman, Matt Albers, Mark Hendrickson, and Cla Merdith were solid in giving up none! Johnson couldn’t finish the job and the end result is another W when in fact this is a game that Baltimore should have won.

I can only imagine how difficult it must be for Dave Trembley and his players to have to explain all of these defeats before and after every game. It’s tough watching these performances, it must be a nightmare to be living them.

No TV for Saturday’s Orioles-A’s Game

So I’m wondering why the O’s game scheduled for Saturday afternoon is not being aired…and after a quick Google search I stumbled upon this:

Due to Major League Baseball’s national broadcast restrictions, the Baltimore Orioles 4:00 p.m. ET game in Oakland on Saturday afternoon cannot be televised by MASN.

Major League Baseball’s agreements with national television networks forbid any regional network from broadcasting any Major League Baseball game during the window reserved for nationally televised baseball games.

According to MLB’s website:

Due to Major League Baseball exclusivities, live games occurring each Saturday with a scheduled start time after 1:10 PM ET or before 7:05 PM ET and each Sunday with a scheduled start time after 5:00 PM ET, will be blacked out in the United States.

I mean thank goodness this isn’t an important game or anything. It’s not like anyone is going to be missing out on stellar baseball, but there are some folks out there (including me), who love the game and enjoy following their team day in and day out no matter how awful they are. Just a note: this also affects Athletics fans, they won’t be able to see the game on television in the Bay Area either.

For once I am going to direct my anger at a club besides the O’s, in this case it’s the Oakland. As the home team, they are in charge of deciding when this game is played. This is the fault of the A’s and whomever is in charge of their operations.

This is not Fox’s fault. They paid a lot of money to have exclusive rights on Saturday’s and it is common knowledge that when they are on the air, your local team’s broadcast can’t be. It’s the responsibility of the home clubs to schedule start times so that the game won’t coincide with Fox’s on Saturday or ESPN’s on Sunday.

And it certainly isn’t MASN’s fault either, they aren’t allowed to broadcast the game because of its time slot. If the game is played at 6 or 7 local time (9 or 10 on the East), fans of both teams would be able to watch.

I could understand and sympathize if this was in August or September and there was a scheduling conflict with the NFL’s Raiders (whom the A’s share the Oakland Coliseum with). But even that wouldn’t be a reasonable excuse at all! Because in the MLB, very rarely (if ever) is a weekend series over on Saturday. They always finish on Sunday or Monday.

What befuddles me even more is how this happens more than once! I just checked Oakland’s remaining 2010 schedule, and the same scenario happens four more times! So this goes beyond me being frustrated that I can’t see my Orioles. Fans of teams like the Indians and the Rays, among others, will be blacked out in their local markets when their teams have to play in Oakland on a Saturday.

I’m sincerely hoping that this is just a case of me not having all the information at hand and that the Athletics organization really does have some sort of legitimate reasoning for playing this game when they are.

Sorry for the rant haha. It’s all good though, I’ll still be able to watch the O’s lose on TV for all the other games they play this year. YES!

Have a great weekend everyone. Peace!

Make It 7 In A Row, Athletics 6 – Orioles 2

Associated Press – Ben Sheets pounded the strike zone like his old aggressive self and finally commanded his fastball, winning for the first time since September 2008 in the Oakland Athletics’ 6-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.

Sheets (1-0), who missed all of 2009 recovering from elbow surgery, pitched six scoreless innings and made good for the first time on general manager Billy Beane’s bold offseason move of giving him $10 million to be the A’s new ace. Beane believed Sheets could return to the form that has made him a four-time All-Star.

The 31-year-old right-hander gave up five hits, struck out four and walked three to win for the first time since a five-hit shutout of San Diego on Sept. 6, 2008, while with Milwaukee.

Oakland gave Sheets a one-year contract in January, 11 months after his elbow surgery.

Ryan Sweeney had an RBI groundout and a fifth-inning double to give him a 10-game hitting streak to start the season and Kevin Kouzmanoff and Eric Chavez each hit sacrifice flies for the A’s, who got back on track offensively. Cliff Pennington drove in a pair of runs.

Another tough loss to swallow. Although the birds had eight hits, including four doubles, their scoring continued to be a major cause for concern. The team went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base. I’ll continue to post these numbers in my blogs because I feel that until Baltimore can improve them, they are going to continue to suffer defeats similar to Thursday night’s.

Of the eight hits, Nick Markakis and Adam Jones had half of them. The two were also responsible for driving in the only Oriole runs of the night.

There were two fielding errors, one by Jones and one by Ty Wigginton. Jones could have easily been charged with a second. In the bottom of the fifth Eric Chavez hit a line drive to shallow center and Jones caught it running at full speed. When he reached to take it out of his glove, the ball came out. The out was still recorded, but Oakland’s Ryan Sweeney was easily able to tag up and score the A’s fifth run.

At 24, David Hernandez is expected to go through some growing pains in 2010. Thursday’s outing was a prime example. He was able to strike out six batters in 5 innings pitched, but that was about all it did well. He gave up five runs on seven hits. Surely that was not the type of performance he would have liked, and this isn’t to make excuses for him, but it has got to be hard for him go out there and do well when in the back of his head he knows the offense isn’t going to give him run support.

The O’s will try to reverse their bad fortune tomorrow night two of this four game series against Oakland. Kevin Millwood takes the mound for Baltimore while Dallas Braden takes the hill for the A’s. First pitch is 10:05.

Orioles Drop Matinée, Fall to 1-8

Associated Press – B.J. Upton homered twice and drove in four runs, Carlos Pena hit a three-run shot and the Tampa Bay Rays ended a dreadful homestand for the Baltimore Orioles with a 9-1 victory Wednesday.

David Price (2-0) allowed one run and four hits in seven innings for the Rays, whose 6-3 start is the best in franchise history. Tampa Bay swept the three-game series, something it did only once on the road last year.

Miguel Tejada homered for the Orioles, who went 0-6 and were outscored 37-16 during their opening homestand against Toronto and the Rays. Baltimore is 1-8, its worst start since going 0-21 in 1988.

Orioles starter Brad Bergesen (0-1) gave up eight runs, five earned, in three-plus innings. After enjoying a promising rookie season in 2009, the right-hander has an 11.74 ERA after two starts.

The Rays scored three unearned runs in the first inning, courtesy of an error and Pena’s second homer in as many at-bats. After Tejada misplayed a popup between third base and shortstop that plopped onto the infield, Bergesen issued a two-out walk and Pena followed with a drive to left-center.

This single loss by itself doesn’t really bother me too much. Bergesen is young and a rough start to the season should have been expected. But the cumulative effect of all of these defeats is just sickening right at this point.

The offense showed a bit of life last night but today was another unacceptable output. Aside from Tejada’s solo shot, they did close to nothing today. Once again they failed to cash in when it counted, going 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position and leaving seven on base.

Things have to turn around soon, right?? The law of averages has to kick in sooner or later. But then again the law of averages doesn’t apply when you are playing horrendous baseball.

On a side note, today the team placed struggling closer Mike Gonzalez on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left shoulder. Kam Mickolio is expected to fill in during Gonzalez’s absence.

Pena Goes Yard in 10th

Oh Boy. After a scoreless ninth by both teams, the Ray’s Carlos Pena may have just delivered the knockout blow.

Matt Albers entered the game to begin the tenth inning but walked the first two batters he faced.

Pena came up to the plate and on a 2-2 fastball he hit a towering home run to right, giving Tampa Bay an 8-5 lead.

This is tough to watch…

Update: Ty Wiggington hit his second HR of the night, this time a solo shot, with two outs in the bottom of the tenth. However it was too little too late as Baltimore dropped it’s fifth straight game. They are now 1-7 on the season and winless at home.

Whole New Ballgame

So its the bottom of the eighth and I’m sitting here stunned. I can’t believe the bullpen has blown it once more. O’s are gonna fall again. Right? WRONG!

At least for the moment.

With Garett Atkins on first, Luke Scott was brought in to pinch hit for Cesar Izturis. Scott then got a hold of a 1-0 Randy Choate fastball and drove it onto Eutaw St. make the score 5-5.

It was Scott’s first career pinch hit homer in 72 career pinch hit at bats.

An 8th Inning Pitching Nightmare

Starter Brian Matusz was superb for seven innings, recording seven strikeouts and allowing just two hits. But in the top half of the eighth, after recording the first out, things started to unravel fast for the birds.

Matusz began the inning by striking out  Willy Aybar. But he allowed the Rays to get on the board via four straight singles and was then pulled in favor of Jim Johnson.

Johnson, who took over with the bases loaded and only one out. He was able to get Ben Zobrist to pop up for the second out. However Evan Longoria tie the score at 3 apiece, driving in a pair of runs on a single to left.

Johnson was then replaced by Will Ohman, who didn’t fare much better, giving up RBI hits to both Carlos Pena and B.J. Upton before finally getting out number three.

Finally…Bats Come Alive!

Ty Wigginton just came up big in the bottom half of the sixth.

On a 1-0 pitch with Nolan Reimold on first, Wiggy blasted a 87 mph slider into the left field seats to put the birds up 3-0.

Brian Matusz’s is very deserving of the run support. he has been very tonight. Through six, the young gun has only given up one hit and one walk while fanning half a dozen.

Tonight’s Orioles Jerseys

The O’s are wearing their Orange batting practice uniforms for tonight’s game.

I couldn’t find any official word as to why that is. I have a few guesses though.

First would be to coordinate with the fans…tonight is a “t-shirt Tuesday” giveaway and those shirts are orange.

Second…maybe they are good luck charms? I’m being serious here! The team has started out 0-4 at home. These jerseys were probably brought out to help get a win. Here is my reasoning:

Former Orioles pitcher Brian Burres wearing the orange BP uniform on July 20, 2008

The last time Baltimore wore their BP jerseys for an actual game was on July 20, 2008. It was a hot Sunday afternoon and the Birds were in the midst of a 14 game losing streak on Sundays. It didn’t change the result though, as the team went on to lose their 15th straight Sunday contest.

Another Defeat?? Rays 5 – Orioles 1

Tampa Bay's Jason Bartlett beats the tag of Baltimore's Cesar Itzuris for a double during the third inning of Monday night's game

What is happening to this team! The bats have just gone very quiet in the last few games. Not to mention the fans…Monday night’s contest drew the lowest crowd in the 19-year history of Camden Yards.

In Dan Connolly’s recent blog post he brings up a great point: “The Orioles have scored three runs in their past three games – all, by the way, have been played without Brian Roberts, the offense’s catalyst who was put on the disabled list Monday.”

Not having Roberts has hurt the team I agree. And it will probably cost them some games while he is on the D.L. But tonight I doubt having B-Rob in there would have made too much of a difference. That’s because Tampa Bay’s Matt Garza was just superb.

Garza started out a bit shaky, giving up a solo HR to Felix Pie on just the second pitch of the game. He settled down though, giving up no more runs while striking out six the rest of the way. Garza improved his career record against Baltimore to 8-1 .

O’s starter Jeremy Guthrie wasn’t really all that bad. He didn’t walk a batter, struck out five, and only allowed three runs. And even though he gave up eight total hits, Guthrie was able to hold the Rays to 3 runs before getting pulled prior to the eighth inning.

The bullpen was lovely once again…NOT. In the top of the eighth, Mark Hendrickson gave up a solo HR to Carl Crawford, who went 4-4 on the night. Matt Albers was brought in with one out in the top half of the ninth. He then proceeded to give up three consecutive hits, the third of which drove in Tampa Bay’s fifth and final run.

The birds left six on base and did not record an extra base hit other than Pie’s lead-off homer.

Same two teams are at it again tomorrow evening, first pitch is 7:05.

Weekend Recap

•Loved the final round of the Masters yesterday. Great golf, great drama. Personally I was cheering for Tiger. He’s my favorite and I thought it would be cool for him to go out there and win it all after going through a tumultuous winter of shame and disgrace. I know there were quite a bit of folks who just couldn’t bring themselves to cheer for the man, but you got to respect his game. CBS’ Peter Kostis made a great comment during yesterday’s telecast: “Say what you will about Tiger the person or Tiger the brand. Tiger the golfer is still exciting.” It looks as if viewers agree. Preliminary Nielsen  estimates indicated CBS’ rating for Saturday’s third round was 33 percent higher than 2009’s third round coverage.

•And although it was who Tiger drew the ratings, it was Phil Mickelson who finished atop the leaderboard to earn his third green jacket in seven years. Mickelson has always been “the peoples champ” and it was so enjoyable to see him win the tournament given the circumstances surrounding his wife Amy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last summer. He played tremendous golf, shooting 67’s on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Sunday’s final round was also bogey-free for Mickelson, what a great way to finish.

•Now on to a topic slightly less heartwarming. The state of the 2010 Orioles after 6 games.  They own a record of 1-5, their worst start since 2002. Like I always do because I’m a homer, I’m going to look at this situation with the glass half-full.

The starters have for the most part done their job, through six games they rank 13th in the league with a 3.89 ERA. I know it’s early to be referencing stats but they really do not lie and the starters have held up their end of the bargain, plain and simple.

The run support was one run short in the first four losses. But on Saturday and Sunday scoring zero and two runs respectively is just not enough. Garrett Atkins is hitting .350 and Matt Wieters .409, however they bat towards the bottom of the order. No one else on the roster owns an average higher than .300.

Mike Gonzalez has now blown two saves and people are calling for his head. I was fine with the first one on opening night in St. Petersburg, and pretty frustrated when he did it again in the home opener on Friday. I’ve given him the benefit of the doubt but now my leash is short with him. He better rattle off a few solid scoreless innings before his next blown save. If he can’t, its time for Dave Trembley to make some changes at closer.

So it’s a new week of what is still a very young season and grabbing two out of three or dare I even say sweeping  this upcoming series against Tampa Bay is critical for the team’s confidence. After these three upcoming home games they hit the road for a seven game trip on the west coast against Oakland and Seattle. Then they have to face the Yankees and Red Sox for twelve consecutive games! The Birds went a combined 7-29 in ’09 against the two powers of the A.L. East.

•And a very interesting and unexpected move in the NFL last night. The Steelers have traded wide receiver and Super Bowl 43 MVP Santonio Homes to the Jets for a fifth round pick in this month’s draft. Holmes will be suspended for the team’s first four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Well this is good news if you are a Ravens fan. Holmes has always been a dangerous weapon at receiver and has made big plays against Baltimore several times in his career, most notably in the 2008 AFC Championship Game when he scored on a 65 yard catch and run.

O’s give up 2 in 9th, fall to Rays 4-3

ST. PETERSBURG — Carl Crawford drove in two runs with a bases-loaded double in the ninth inning to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 4-3 season-opening victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.

Adam Jones, Luke Scott and Matt Wieters homered for the Orioles, who were unable to put the game away because of a lack of timely hitting with runners in scoring position.

Evan Longoria homered in the sixth for the Rays, who loaded the bases in the ninth against Baltimore’s new closer, Michael Gonzalez, with a single, double and an intentional walk. Crawford lined a 1-0 pitch into right field, driving in the winning runs before a sellout crowd of 36,973 at Tropicana Field.

That was a tough loss to take. I was very pleased with how Jones (a triple shy of a cycle) and Wieters (2-4 w/ a HR) performed. However, the whole lineup going 1-12 with runners in scoring position kept Tampa Bay in the ballgame and gave them the opportunity to come away victorious. And that 1 hit out of twelve didn’t even drive in a run.

Starting pitcher Kevin Millwood gave up nine hits and allowed two runs over 5 innings pitched. I really liked the way he commanded the location of his pitches and how he got out of a few jams in the third and fifth innings. He escaped the third inning unblemished thanks to Nick Markakis gunning down Dioner Navarro at the plate after Ben Zobrist’s single to right. He struck out five and only gave up one walk. He did struggle in the top of the sixth, failing to record an out while giving up the Longoria homer and then two straight base hits.

But the middle relief was a huge bright spot. Compared to 2009, when Oriole relievers gave up an A.L. worst 314 total runs, things looked much better last night. Matt Albers entered the game for Millwood with runners on first and second and got Pat Burrell to ground into a timely double play. He then proceeded strike out Sean Rodriguez to end the inning.

Relievers Will Ohman and Jim Johnson were rock solid in the seventh and eighth, retiring all five batters they faced on a combined 22 pitches.

Gonzalez came in to try to preserve the one run lead and struck out the first batter he faced. However he then gave up a single and two straight doubles, the second of which drove in the tying and game-winning runs for Tampa Bay.

It was frustrating to have the middle guys do so well in relief only to have Gonzalez blow it like that. It’s still early though, no need to press the panic button. He is a very good pitcher who will save this squad plenty of games in 2010.

Game 2 of the 3 game series is tonight at 7:10 on MASN2

Orioles 2010 Preview: Hope Springs Eternal

(Image Courtesy of Orioles.com)

Tonight symbolizes a fresh start for the Baltimore Orioles. All the opening days of the past 12 years have been fresh starts in a sense. But they way those last 12 seasons have ended up…yikes!

My favorite team has been hard to watch for the past decade. It has been frustrating, embarrassing, and sad to see sub par baseball year in and year out.

But there is plenty of optimism this year amongst players and fans alike. When I look at the 2010 Orioles I see serious potential for growth. That growth is what will hopefully translate into contention with the big boys in the A.L. East in the years to come

So here is my brief outlook of this year’s team:

The starting pitching staff is young (Brian Matusz, David Hernandez, and Brad Bergesen are 23, 24, and 24 respectively) but the they are anchored by veterans Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Guthrie. One would hope there is some improvement from 2009 in which Baltimore’s starters tied for the worst ERA in baseball at 5.37

Brian Roberts once again will lead things off and play second base. He was limited to 19 at-bats during spring training due to a herniated disk in his back. Despite this he is set to go and will play in tonight’s game.  batting second is Center fielder Adam Jones. Jones was named an All Star and won his first career Gold Glove award in 2009. He has improved vastly since joining the team 2 seasons ago. He has tremendous range in the outfield and has become more patient as a hitter. I still feel he has another season or two before he really blossoms at the plate. Right fielder Nick Markakis’ stats dipped a bit in ’09. He is entering his fifth full season as a pro and I’m looking for him to be firing on all cylinders this year. An average of over .300, 25+ home runs, and 100+ RBI’s are very realistic numbers for him.

A familiar face in Miguel Tejada is back on the squad. He will play third and bat cleanup this year. DH Luke Scott and catcher Matt Wieters fill the 5 and 6 spots respectively. This will be Wieters’ first full season in the major leagues and he’d like to pick up where he left off at the end of his rookie campaign. He had a very solid September last year, finishing the month hitting .362, knocking in 14 runs, and having an on base percentage of .425.

Also entering his first full season is Nolan Reimold. He will bat seventh and occupy left field. But he will miss tonight’s opener with a sore Achilles tendon. Felix Pie will fill in. Garrett Atkins joins the O’s after seven seasons with the Rockies. He will play first and bat eighth. He is a career .290 hitter who like Markakis, is capable hitting 25+ HR’s driving in 100+ RBI’s in a good year. His numbers dropped off considerably in 2009, it will be interesting to see if he can rebound in 2010. And batting ninth is shortstop Cesar Izturis. Last year the Orioles needed major help defensively at short and they got it in Izturis. In 2009 he had a .984 fielding percentage and committed only eight errors.

There you have it. I assume it would be appropriate to make a prediction here. I’m going to say the O’s finish 4th in the American League East and just barely miss reaching the .500 mark with a record of 80-82. Just some perspective: the birds have not had more than 79 wins since 1997, when they won the division with 98! I’ll refer back to this post in October when all the dust has settled. Hopefully I’m not too off. Enjoy the season!!!