The Orioles have allowed 30 runs in a game and been no-hit by a rookie with only two major league starts. So what’s next? Someone accidentally takes the field naked, assuming he’s having one of those weird dreams you had as a kid?
I may no nothing about women (true fact) but even I know you would have to be a complete moron to propose to your girlfriend at an Astros/Nats game. I mean come on now killa, what are you thinking? Of course this would happen:
The biggest unrest happened in the stands when a fan failed in his very public attempt to propose matrimony. With all the attention placed on the couple as they were highlighted on the big screen, the mood soured after the man took a knee to offer the engagement ring.
Wearing a brick-red replica Craig Biggio jersey, the lady angrily dumped a bag of popcorn on the man before rushing up the stairs amid a loud chorus of boos. After the top of the sixth, the man left amid cheers from the sympathetic crowd.
Brooks Robinson makes Rawlings’ all-time Gold Glove Team. Sounds about right, guy did have 16 Gold Gloves after all.
One of my favorite blogs is MLBTradeRumors.com, its a daily must-read for me. Today though there is a guest post up which includes the suggestion that the Orioles trade Eric Bedard to the Phillies (with the Pat Gillick connection being the main reason here). How to put this politely? Um, thats not going to happen. The Orioles arent about to trade Eric Bedard. The author of the post makes this point:
If the Orioles don’t feel they can retain Bedard long-term, they might be wise to listen to offers and begin another rebuilding.
Here’s the problem with that statement: The Orioles haven’t tried rebuilding in the first place. We’ve been losing for a lot of years now but we’ve never torn the whole thing down and tried to start over with youngsters. Thats why we signed Jay Payton and Aubrey Huff this off season, thats what the O’s front office thinks of as rebuilding. We didnt trade Tejada last year, when his value was high, why would we trade our ace pitcher now? Especially when he’s coming off a performance like his last start (first career shutout, career high 15 strikeouts). Not only do we not want prospects for our 28 year old ace but thats never been the team’s philosophy.
Look, I appreciate the fact that being 11 games under .500 at the halfway point means there’s going to be a rash of speculation about who the Orioles are going to be dumping, if anyone, but Bedard isn’t on that list. Kevin Millar, Jay Payton, Steve Trachsel, they are all on that list but Bedard isn’t. Sorry to disappoint Phillies fans.
Jon Heyman gives Jeremy Guthrie an honorable mention for AL Rookie of the Year, do mostly to lack of run support.
I was always taught that when a pitch was coming inside that you were supposed to turn your front shoulder to protect yourself. The Tiger’s Craig Monroe was apparently told something else entirely. After watching this video (after the jump), I like my way a lot better.
….in a column talking about this year’s free agent busts YOUR ENTIRE BULLPEN is listed. Sigh. From John Donovan:
The Orioles’ bullpen
Baltimore had the right idea in beefing up its bullpen. The Orioles just picked the wrong guys to pull it off, and paid them way too much money. The team shelled out around $42 million for Danys Baez (three years, $19 million), Chad Bradford (three years, $10.5 million), Jamie Walker (three years, $12 million) and Scott Williamson ($900,000 for ‘07). Baez was ineffective (6.52 ERA) in his 31 appearances and he’s currently sitting on the disabled list with a forearm injury. Williamson made a brief stop on the list, too. And the bullpen, as a whole, has a 5.16 ERA, 11th in the league. That’s a lot of dough to pay for below-average results.
Not much to argue with here. I might half-heartedly mention that Williamson hasn’t really been given that many opportunities, when he’s healthy but Baez has been beyond awful. In the end the O’s bullpen has 20 losses, which leads the majors. Its all very depressing.
This is not a surprise: Sam Perlozzo has been fired. I’m not the biggest Perlozzo fan but I’m not sure exactly what he could have done differently, its not like he was working with the Red Sox’s roster here. Our high-priced bullpen has been awful, our hitters can’t hit generally and can’t hit for power specifically. Will Joe Girardi (rumored to be Sam’s successor) change things? Maybe a little but he won’t change this flawed roster. Hiring Andy MacPhail as COO is interesting but I’m not sure how that changes our already confusing front office structure. Ah life as an Oriole fan. Always a pleasure.
Here’s a depressing anecdote from Ken Rosenthal’s latest (via MLB Trade Rumors):
For sheer intrigue, it’s a shame that high-school infielder Mike Moustakas went to the Royals with the No. 2 pick of the first-year player draft.
If Moustakas had been available at No. 5, the Orioles would have faced a trying decision. Their scouts weren’t particularly high on Moustakas, but their owner, Peter Angelos surely would have wanted him to receive strong consideration.
Angelos, the son of Greek immigrants, helped develop the first baseball team to represent Greece in the Olympics in 2004. Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis, the team’s first-round pick in ‘03, was a member of that team. Moustakas also is of Greek descent.
If the Orioles had passed on Moustakas, the Nationals would have taken him at No. 6. Angelos might have fired his entire front office if Moutsakas had become a star for the Orioles’ geographic rivals, but the Royals prevented the possibility from even occurring.
Fantastic. The mere possibility that our drafting strategy centers around what national team a prospect played for is enough to make me cry. Any chance we could get a new owner, like, soon?