you can hear a pin drop

Well it's 4 p.m. eastern-standard time and we haven't heard anything from Orioles club president Andy MacPhail. MacPhail told Sun reporter Dan Connolly that the O's have received offers for closer George Sherrill, but, "We didn't have a lot that would make a lot of sense for us, frankly."

It seems like a lot of the veterans (Kevin Millar, Jay Payton, Ramon Hernandez, Chad Bradford, and Jamie Walker) could be traded through waivers in August if there's a market. Sherrill and Brian Roberts, presumably, will remain on the team at least until the off-season.

But all of this will become more clear when MacPhail holds a press conference at 5 p.m. More to come.

congrats!

I realize I'm a little late on this, but I forgot to congratulate Luke Scott for being named American League's Player of the week on July 21. The previous week he batted .538, which included two doubles, three homers, six RBI's and four runs scored in four games. His OBP was .571. Way to go, Luuuuuke!

thanks, but...

Does anyone else think that this is a little bit odd? I'm not one to venerate Yankees history or anything, but you would think that a) at the end of the 85-year-old ballpark's last season, the organization would plan to play the Red Sox, Mets, or another team with a long shared history. And b) shouldn't their last game be at home? I'm sure scheduling is way more complex than I can wrap my little head around (and I know it's just moving across 161st Street), but c'mon! This is the end of an era! It's the House That Ruth Built! Though I'm flattered, it seems like an anti-climactic ending to me.

touché, yanks get their revenge

Bobby Abreu slides into home, AP Photo/Frank Franklin II.

The Orioles' series at Yankees Stadium has sure been interesting. And yesterday's game was no exception. The Yanks pounded the O's 13-3 to avoid a three-game sweep. The star for the Bombers was designated hitter Bobby Abreu, who hit two home runs and doubled for a total of three RBI's.

Top of the first, Roberts scored off of Huff's RBI. Seemed par for the the course. But things got off to a bad start in the bottom of the first with rookie starter Dennis Sarfate on the mound. Derek Jeter and Abreu both walked, then A-Rod got a base hit to right field. Markakis tried to nab Abreu at home, but his throw was high. Then A-Rod came home on a past ball. Yanks winning 3-1.

In the third, the Orioles got one back on an RBI single by Markakis, but the bottom of the inning was the beginning of the end. Abreu hit a two-run homer off of Sarfate with Damon on board to make it 5-2.

The Yanks added four more in the sixth, getting RBIs from Jason Giambi and Xavier Nady. After Fernando "Wilder Than Daniel" Cabrera came into pitch, he issued a bases-loaded walk to Melky Cabrera (no relation!) and threw a wild pitch to Jeter. Sweet. 9-2.

There was more drama in the seventh inning when Yankees reliever Edwar Ramirez threw his first pitch over the head of Kevin Millar. Because of Tuesday's incident plate umpire Mark Wegner immediately rejected Ramirez. Then Orioles reliver Alberto Castillo hit Jose Molina in the eighth, but the pitcher remained in the game, which caused a chorus of boos from the crowd.

And Abreu got another solo home run in the eighth and A-Rod followed him with a solo shot to right. This was the third time New York has gotten back-to-back homers this season. Juan Castro got his first home run of the season in the eighth! But it didn't do much becuase the final score was 13-3 Yanks.

Though people say it's silly to consider us rivals with the Yankees, this series was a testament to the tension between the two ball clubs. During the first two games, New York was outscored 20-10, so the last game they really came back swingin'. Not to mention three different incidents of controversial wild pitching.

A sweep would have been incredibly awesome, though. Considering we haven't taken all three in the Bronx since 1986 (when I was one!)

teixeira gets a halo

On Tuesday, Severna Park native Mark Teixeira was traded to the Los Angeles Angels, who already have the best record in baseball. The Angels sent first baseman Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Steven Marek to the Braves.

This is a bold move for the Angels and will almost certainly increase their chances of going to the World Series. Kudos to the Angels for making such a ballsy move.

cabrera controversy

To give a little recap of the Cabrera incident last night: It was the top of the eighth and Bobby Abreu was on second with nobody out. With a 6-1 lead, Cabrera threw a high-and-tight fastball that hit A-Rod in the shoulder. Home plate umpire Chad Fairchild immediately ejected the starting pitcher. Cabrera was very confused and Dave Trembley ran out of the dugout to argue the call. If you didn't see what went down, these will give you an idea:

So that's what happened. And there's been a number of responses. First of all Yankees manager Joe Girardi (probably steaming from his team's three straight losses) said: "I don't know. I mean you never know. Danny Cabrera is wild and I don't like it. He was down in the zone all night, and we just don't like it." Going right the source of the matter, however, reporters asked A-Rod if he thought it was intentional, to which he said, "No." Asked again, he responded, "6-1 score?"

Then the starting pitcher weighed in for himself. "I was surprised because the score was 6-1, nobody out...How can I put somebody on base?" Cabrera said. "So [it] surprised me." Then Fairchild (the ump) gave his explanation. "There had been no warnings given to that point in the game, but my thinking with the ejection is when Alex came to bat the prior time, he had hit a home run, and the very first pitch his next at-bat was up towards the head area," Fairchild said. "I deemed that pitch intentional and I removed Cabrera from the game."

And Girardi still wouldn't let it go and pointed out that this was not the first questionable encounter with Cabrera; he also hit Derek Jeter earlier in the season. "It's happened a few times with this guy, Daniel Cabrera," Girardi said. "We know at times he has control issues, but it's just awful dangerous when you're up there."

Then today's addition of the New York Daily News had this on the cover of their sports section:

The headline and deck (particularly the words "dirty" and "drilled") blatantly imply that the pitch was intentional. The article recapping the game was mainly focused on the pitch/ejection. And apparently Dennis Sarfate saw the cover and had this to say: "He's leading the league in (expletive) walks," Sarfate said. "You think he’s got pinpoint control?” You can read more about the cover reaction here.

Seems like a lot of drama over one inside pitch. But I need a chance to add to it! First of all, let's look at the specific situation last night. The Orioles were winning 6-1, there were no outs, and he already had a runner on second. It seems crazy that Cabrera would intentionally put a stunt like that. And what's worse, Trembley was probably going to pull Cabrera anyway, considering he had just passed 100 in the pitch count and he had two men on with no outs. Waaay presumtiuous of Fairchild to eject him.

Now, let's look at the broader context. As Girardi kindly points out, "Cabrera is wild." That's a bit of an understatement. He is very wild and he's known for that. He led the AL in walks in both 2006 and 2007. And he's currently leading the league again in walks (66), hit batsmen (15) and wild pitches (12). So for Girardi to think that this was an isolated incident is ridiculous. Cabrera is a wild pitcher, that's just a fact. The ump should have known Cabrera's track record and not have reacted so impulsively.

Girardi and the New York Daily News can do all the finger-pointing they want, because at the end of the day, we're still 2-0 in the series.

o's hold off yanks!

Wow last night's game was pretty eventful. First of all, the Orioles held off a ninth-inning rally to beat the Yankees 7-6 last night, extending New York's losing streak to three consecutive games. This is also the Orioles' first series win since July 24-26 against the Cubbies.

Our productive hitting against the Yanks showed itself early last night. In the top of the first Markakis (10-for-12 lifetime against Rasner) hit a single to shallow right, Huff singled up the middle, and so did Mora to score Markakis. In the top of the fourth, Millar homered to left field for his 16th of the season. God, the Yanks must hate him.

The Yankees get on board in the bottom of the sixth when A-Rod homered to center for the 540th of his career. But the game really blew open in the top of the seventh when Roberts singled up the middle and Jones got hit by a pitch. Damaso Marte came in for Rasner, but Markakis still singled to center to load the bases. Then Aubrey Huff (who's hitting .388 in July) hit a three-run double. Mora hit another to make it 6-1.

Then this is where things get strange. Bottom of the eight and Cabrera was still in. Awesome. Abreu doubled to right. A-Rod came up and Cabrera threw a high-and-tight fastball that hit Rodriguez's left elbow. Home plate umpire Chad Fairchild immediately ejected Cabrera, which came as a shock to the pitcher and Dave Trembley (and me! more on this to come). Next Jim Johnson came in, but Giambi singled to left to load the bases. Cano hit a two-run single up the middle. It's now 6-3.

Top nine, Huff (amazing!) hit a home run, making it 7-3. But then Rivera retired the next three. Bottom nine, George "Scarier Every Time He Comes In" Sherrill was on the mound. Damon singled. Jeter walked. Abreu hit an RBI double, which brought the Yanks to 7-4. I continued to get really nervous. A-Rod struck out swinging. Zing! Giambi hit a two-run single that bounced off Flat Breezy and into shallow center. 7-6. Oh god! Christian (pinch runner) stole second. Cano and Betemit both struck out...phew! O's win 7-6. Not sure why every time Sherrill comes in he has to load the bases and/or allow runs. THEN strike the last two guys out like cake. It needs to stop!

This is tough, but the gold medal goes to Aubrey Huff. His July stats are AMAZING (.388 BA, .409 OBP) and he had four RBIs last night. He hit his second home run in two days and 22nd of the season (lots of 2's!). Without that last crucial homer in the ninth, we might have seen extra innings. He tied a career high with four hits and is 17-for-34 in an eight-game hitting steak. Definitely gold material -- keep it up!

Silver to Cabrera for sure. First of all he (7-6) pitched into the eight inning. He was changed with three runs and eight hits, improving to 3-0 with a 3.15 ERA against the Yanks. If Cabrera hadn't gotten ejected in the eighth, he would have had the team's longest start since his complete game against the Kansas City Royals on July 2. Also, good job handling yourself after the surprising ejection. You did look a little confused, but it could have been much worse.

Bronze to Millar, who put the Orioles ahead 2-0 with a leadoff drive in the fourth inning. It was his 16th of the season and he's batting .362 (17-for-47) with six homers and nine RBI's against the Yanks this season. I guess it's that Red Sox blood still flowing through him that revs him up against New York. I'm likin' it!

So the game was definitely strange, but we ended up on top once again thanks to our veterans on offense. Never thought our little orange bird would strike so much fear into the Bombers!

o's vs. yanks preview, 7.29.08

It's pretty ironic (and awesome) that the team in the AL East giving the Yankees the most trouble is the Baltimore Orioles. As of last night's defeat, New York (58-47) is 4-6 versus the last place O's (50-55).

It goes without saying thats yesterday's 13-4 game was really sweet, but if we want to win this series, we're going to have to work on some things tonight. First of all Daniel Cabrera (6-6) has been totally struggling recently with only two wins in his last 13 starts. Cabrera needs to stay focused and in control or else we could have another 7-1 loss, like his game against Toronto on Thursday. But, like most other Orioles, Cabrera has shined against the Yankees, with a 2.77 ERA against the Bombers this season.

On that same token, Yanks starter Darrell Rasner (5-7) has been successful against Baltimore this season, limiting them to 10 hits in 13 innings while walking two and striking out nine. But Nick Markakis seems to have Rasner's formula down: Cakes is 9-for-11 (.818) with a home run against the pitcher.

So we need our offense to remain productive against Rasner so Cabrera will have the confidence to stay focused and maintain ball control. Pray for no wild pitches.

time: 7:05 p.m.

tv / radio: WJZ / 105.7

teixeira trade talk (say that three times fast)

So many bloggers and fans out there want the Orioles to make a play for Atlanta first baseman Mark Teixeira, who becomes a free agent at the end of this season. As the Major League trade deadline looms (THIS thursday!), O's fans are surely thinking about this Severna Park native who, in a 102-game total for the Braves this season, has been .283 with 20 home runs, 78 RBI's and an OPS of .902. We could use a little of that, I'd say.

Now I know we need to be concentrating on getting a truckload of pitchers, but we shouldn't lose sight of what an important impact getting Teixeira could have on the team. First of all, he's a local guy. Everybody loves a local guy. And if we didn't get him by trade deadline, then we'd have a lot more work ahead of us to sign him in the offseason. I know it makes sense for him to make a deal with Boston, Tampa Bay, or Arizona in order to boost their tight October races, but he was quoted as saying this:

"I realize that things are going to happen in this game that are out of your control. And over the next two months, a lot of things are going to happen that are going to be out of my control. But once I get to free agency, that's when I get to start making the calls."

So maybe when he's calling the shots, he'll remember the soft spot he has for his hometown.

pitching shake-up

Dave Trembley certainly doesn't just let things lie. Yesterday he announced that Dennis Sarfate is replacing Brian Burres in the rotation. This was after the Orioles optioned Radhames Liz to Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday. They haven't announced a replacement for Liz yet, but won't need a fifth starter until August 5. Trembley explained to MLB.com that all the changes are meant to get the O's pitching rotation back on the right track.

"Sarfate will pitch on Wednesday as a starter. Burres will go in the bullpen as a long guy," he said. "We'll go with a four-man rotation with the off-day on Thursday and Olson will just go his regular turn on Friday, and we'll pick it up from there."

Though Sarfate is improving (he threw 3 1/3 innings in his most recent relief stint), he has never started in the majors and has yet to throw more than 50 pitches this season. His first game will be a big test, Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.

Still, Trembley's coaching seems to be a lot about risk-taking and constant change. Whether it's the ever-changing lineup, risky base-running, or a shakeup in the starting rotation, he never lets the team get stuck in a rut. And that's a welcome change for an Orioles team who have dealt with 10 straight losing seasons.

If it's broke, DO fix it.

o's clobber the yanks!

John Dunn for The New York Times

The game just kept getting better after my update last night! The Orioles crushed the Yankees 13-4 thanks to a powerhouse offense (every Oriole got a hit last night) and a solid start from Jeremy Guthrie. The Orioles set a season high for runs and matched its top hit total with 17.

To pick up where I left off: To start off the fifth, Brian Roberts hit a double, then Adam Jones tripled and scored on Aubrey Huff's sac fly. Mike "Moose" Mussina was pulled after allowing six runs and eight hits in five innings. Mussina continues to falter against his former team -- a phenomenon that is oh-so-fun to watch.

David Robertson comes into pitch and what follows is the highlight of the game: Jones hits his first career grand slam to left in the sixth. It was the first home run allowed by Robertson in his professional career, which began last year. Ouch.

Guthrie was shutting the Yankees down until the bottom of the seventh when Xavier Nady hit a solo shot for his first base hit as a member of the team. The Yanks also got pumped up when Johnny Damon (always hits us well) hit a three-run homer down the right field line, making the score 11-4. But the O's responded in the top of the eight when Aubrey Huff hit his 21st homer (a two-runner), bringing his RBI count to three for the game.

Adam "total domination" Jones also singled in the eighth and scored three runs. He (almost!) hit for the cycle in the ninth, but he flied out with the bases loaded. Hey, we're not complaining! And I've got to mention Jamie Walker, just off the disabled list, who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings to close it out.

The gold medal definitely goes to Adam Jones, who hit a grand slam, an RBI triple and single to almost clinch the cycle. Also, in the bottom of the fifth, Jones made a nice play on a fly ball to center by Robinson Cano. During last night's game, you could hear chants of "AJ!" from across the Baltimore metro area.

Silver's for Kevin "Morale" Millar. He hit a three-run drive in the second (his 15th HR of the season) and finished a triple shy of the cycle. Bronze to Guthrie (7-8) for his awesome start: he shut out New York on two hits through six innings, giving the Orioles offense his second consecutive solid outing.

The Orioles improved 6-4 against New York for the season...I guess we just have them down!

game update

Orioles are off to a hot start! There has been some dangerous base-running: Brian Roberts got thrown out by a mile at home, but Mora went first to third on Luke Scott's single and both were safe. Then Millar got a three-run home run to make it 3-0. Ramon Hernandez stepped up to the plate and his 1000th career hit was a solo shot out of Yankee Stadium! Awesome. And props to starter Jeremy Guthrie who retired the first six Yankees.

I had a feeling we'd psyche Moose out again...let's hope it conitues!

o's vs. yanks preview, 7.28.08

After yesterday's rejuvinating win, the Baltimore Orioles (49-55) head up to the Bronx to face the New York Yankees (58-46). The Yanks are looking to win their 11th straight home game as they open this three-game series. In May, the Orioles took two out of three from the Yankees, but the pinstripes have been on a roll ever since the All-Star Game. After the break, the Yankees won their first eight games, sweeping a six-game homestand. They also just took two out of three from the Red Sox, so they're probably amped about that. Now they are only three games behind division leaders Tampa Bay.

Obviously our toughest challenge is going against former Oriole Mike "Moose" Mussina (13-6). In his two starts since the All-Star break, Mussina has allowed one run in 14 innings. But we all remember his start against the Orioles on May 20, when we won 12-2. Since 2006, Mussina is 1-3 with a 6.18 ERA against the Orioles. So we can hope playing his former team can continue to psyche Moose out. However Johnny Damon and A-Rod have dominated against the O's, hitting eight RBI's in the last seven games and 13 RBI's in the last 12 home games, respectively.

But, of course, the Orioles are coming out with the motivation of ending their 15 straight Sunday losing streak. Jeremy Guthrie (6-8) is starting for the Orioles and he allowed only two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings to Toronto on Wednesday. In Guthrie's only start of the season against the Yanks on May 28, he allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings of a 4-2 loss.

All in all, we're going to have to score a lot of runs to out-hit the Yanks, something we don't usually do with Guthrie on the mound. But given Moose's track record pitching against the Orioles, we might just be able to pull it off.

game time: 7:05 p.m.

tv/radio: MASN HD, WHFS 105.7

thong song

I read about this before yesterday's game. Besides the fact that playing baseball in 90-degree weather in a thong is probably one of the most uncomfortable things ever, I think it's awesome. And no not because I want to get my hands on the undergarments of Brian Roberts or Nick Markakis. But, because it builds morale.

Ever since Millar signed with the Orioles in 2006, he has been boosting the mood in the clubhouse. From dying his hair crazy colors to playing lead singer in the Orioles Magic video, Millar has always tried to pull more tricks out of his sleeve. Maybe it's coming from a World Series championship team, but he has become the unofficial leader and, more importantly, motivator.

And, apparently, the team met before the game at Millar's locker and took part of some sort of mysterious ritual where they "broke something." Hey, whatever works!

bat-breaking work

We all know that in every ballpark there are certain foul ball danger zones. But soon there might have to be shattered bat ones, too.

Major League Baseball instructed all 30 teams to save broken bats since July 2, a span of 260 games that has produced 257 broken bats, or nearly one per game. The MLB is consulting with a wood research institute at the University of Wisconsin, a statistician at Harvard and Forest Products Laboratory to understand why so many bats break during games.

It's been suggested that the bats are shattering because of inferior wood, players shaving their bat handles or the needs for stricter qualifications for companies to be approved to make bats. The study is also surveying more than 30 manufacturers to try to solve the mystery.

Why do you think bats shatter so easily?

sunday surprise

Some people out there are saying that yesterday's post-game celebration was a little over-the-top. Yes, we are still in last place in the American League, our pitching is completely unreliable and even our (almost) all-star Brian Roberts sat out because of a recent slump. So some might say it was excessive when the Camden Yards crowd went wild, the word "FINALLY!" was broadcast on the bottom of the MASN screen and Dave Trembley showed up to the post-game press conference puffing on a cigar.

All I say is that it's obvious what the Orioles are (and aren't) going to do this season. But that doesn't mean we should not be able to celebrate a winning game, especially against a starting pitcher who's 11-5 on a team that had scored 31 runs in its previous three games. If we don't have excitement for the Orioles, we don't have much.

so long, streak!

(Garrett Olson, AP Photo/Gail Burton)

When I walked into Camden Yards yesterday, I had a good feeling. I didn't want to vocalize it to my father, as not to jinx it. After all, the Orioles had lost their past 15 Sunday games, not winning on the day of rest since April 6 against Seattle. Not to mention the fact that today was my dad's birthday, so he had high hopes that everything would come together just for him.

And come together it did! Starting pitcher Garrett Olson retired the Angels in order to start off the first inning, no small feat for this team. Then Nick Markakis hit an RBI double and Carlos Santana hit Luke Scott in the shin with a pitch (he walked it off for five minutes with trainer Richie Bancells) with the bases loaded to force in a run. Then Jay Payton didn’t deliver and Quiroz struck out. But we were wining 2-0 after the first.

In the third, the Orioles loaded the bases with two walks and a single. Then chokes-under-pressure Payton struck out. But unsung hero Quiroz singled in two runs with a broken-bat hit to left. That brought it to 4-0. The Angels scored a run in the fourth when Guerrero got an RBI with runners on the corners. But Olson held his own and retired Robb Quinlan with two outs and the bases loaded.

Payton finally delivered in the sixth with a triple and Quiroz again made a clutch hit to bring him home. Anderson singled in a run for the Angels in the seventh, bringing the final score to 5-2. They had finally done it.

The gold medal for this game has to go to starting pitcher Garrett Olson. Olson (7-5) allowed two runs and seven hits in six-plus innings, which was his first win since June 28. When Trembley took Olson out in the seventh, the boisterous crowd gave him a standing ovation. Imagine that. A starting pitcher on the Orioles, who isn’t Jeremy Guthrie, lasting until the seventh. Pure bliss.

The close silver goes to the underdog backup catcher Guillermo Quiroz, who went 3-for-4 with a career-high three RBI’s for the Orioles. He was the shining light in what would have been an abysmal bottom of the lineup (Payton, Quiroz, Castro). The bronze goes to George “Flat Breezy” Sherrill. Not only does he seriously rev up the crowd when he jogs out of the bullpen, but he worked the ninth for his 30th save, which matches the totals of the entire Orioles pitching staff in 2007.

After the game, we realized that the man in front of us was also celebrating his birthday. We joked that the Orioles pulled it off just for them. But there is no doubt that yesterday’s game felt like a gift-wrapped package for Sunday ticket holders all over Baltimore.