Anyways, today I want to talk about a couple things and avoid talking about the Yankees series and the upcoming Jays series. The Yankees series was a microcosm of our season, in that all our problems over the past 112 games were squeezed in to three. And the Jays series, what with Russ Ortiz starting tonight and Daniel Cabrera starting tomorrow after being recalled from Ottawa, could prove to be one to avoid completely. What I want to discuss in today’s post is, first, what I want to see from the O’s over the course of the next two months and, second, what I think about the recent Comcast/MASN deal that, according to some, will be the panacea to the O’s losing ways.

In regards to my first topic of discussion, I think this season, at least what’s left of it, could be very valuable to our team’s future. Here’s why: we’ve got a ton of young guys who could use some time up in the big leagues to simply experience it with no strings attached. That is, no pressure to perform (although that’s easier said than done), no expectations, no game-plan, just up-and-coming prospects getting a chance to taste what’s to come. Now, by saying “no strings attached”, I don’t mean we should throw these kids to the wolves and hope for the best, not caring whether they succeed or fail miserably. Instead, I think we should take on a “sink or swim” attitude. Put these guys in pressure situations and see how they handle it. Bring up a young outfielder and see how he does manning the outfield at Camden Yards. Give ‘em 10 or 20 ABs, see how they do. Stick a prospect in the bullpen and put him in different situations, maybe he’ll take a liking to long relief or the seventh inning or spot-starting….who knows?

The whole point of this is, for starters, some guys just are not contributing anything at all. Others just seem to not be giving enough effort, even when considering there’s about one-third of a season remaining. Kevin Millar, although a consummate competitor, has been horrendous in every aspect other than working counts. Javy Lopez, now that he’s gone, will no longer take up an unnecessary roster spot that we could fill with a prospect who’d benefit from what I see as a learning experience. Russ Ortiz? Don’t even start with him; by tomorrow, we’ll all be saying that they should have just DFAd him and called up some random guy from Ottawa to spot-start. And Todd Williams will probably not even be in the team’s future plans so why keep sending him out to fail when we could send out some 23-year-old to gain valuable late-season experience? When that hypothetical player arrives in MLB for good, he’ll have “the monkey off his back” since he’s already experienced pitching in September.

Look, I know some of you may go by the book, so to speak. You may say that calling up prospects for the sake of “giving them experience” is detrimental to a their generally linear route to the big leagues. It will do more harm than good, you may say. It’s not how it’s done….right? Well when some players are dogging it and others aren’t doing anything more than filling a roster spot, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched to want to call up some young talent….talent that will possibly be what comprises our future teams. After all, they’re big kids….if they go through tough times, whether it’s in MLB or AAA, they’ll make adjustments and improve in the off-season. I mean, not everyone’s a head-case like Zack Greinke….

Now, on to the MASN deal. Comcast, as many of us Mid-Atlanticites know (sorry, it’s the best I could think of….), is the monopolistic cable and Internet provider for our area. They pretty much provide TV for everyone and their momma in the Baltimore/Washington area. But now that Verizon FIOS is arriving on the scene, things may change….Verizon’s arrival on the cable TV scene, however, is a whole other issue that you can examine on your own. Anyways, here’s the beef on MASN/Comcast:

For the past year-and-a-half, basically since the Nats moved from Montreal to D.C., Comcast and Orioles-owned MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network) have been negotiating a deal to get Comcast to run the MASN channel on its cable TV network. Comcast, of course, provides Orioles games on Comcast SportsNET but, off and on, games will either be broadcast on UPN (for me, at least….others maybe not UPN) or be blacked-out. At any rate, Comcast was not very big on the idea of losing the right to broadcast Orioles games since….well….that’s pretty much the only reason to watch CSN.

Anyways, in an attempt to avoid as much legal speak and technical jargon as possible, here’s what’s happened and what it means:

Comcast will now carry MASN and this will start September 1, 2006. After a year-and-a-half of not being able to see their team’s games, Nationals fans will now be able to watch every game since MASN will broadcast both the O’s and the Nats. Peter Angelos and the Orioles are the owners of MASN and, you guessed it — this is good. Why? Ever heard of YES Network? That’s the Steinbrenner and Yankee-owned network which exclusively broadcasts Yankees games in New York. Unless the game’s on ESPN, you ain’t watching the Yanks in New York unless you’ve got YES. And that’s essentially why Steinbrenner can afford a $200 million payroll….YES rakes in several hundreds of millions of dollars annually from advertising revenue and subscription fees. Yes, Yankee fans have to pay to watch the Yanks. Luckily, other than our monthly cable fee, we won’t have to pay for MASN.

At any rate, the reason why this is good is this added revenue for the O’s will allow Angelos to dedicate much more money to the current $70 million payroll and upgrade other facets of the franchise. Imagine what the O’s could do with another $30 million to put towards top free agents and resigning players who, in the past, we’d have to let go since we couldn’t afford them (B.J. Ryan and, even earlier, Mike Mussina).

Now, even though this deal will possibly put the O’s total-worth somewhere in the ballpark of $600 million, don’t expect the O’s to be shelling out payrolls comparable to the Yankees. But a $100 million – $120 million payroll wouldn’t be out of the question. In regards to this aspect of the issue, Baltimore Sun columnist David Steele put it best:

“So know this much: the Orioles won’t be layering eight-figure contracts on top of each other until they find the combination that works. They won’t shrug off Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui getting hurt and simply plug in Bobby Abreu.”

Anyways, before I start getting ahead of myself due to my excitement regarding the possibility that we could have a “Blue Jays-esue” off season in the free agent market (i.e. signing F.A.’s until we pass out), I think I’ll leave it at this: if it is, in fact, the case that the Orioles now have the resources (as if they didn’t before….) to field a highly competitive team mixed with talented young players and seasoned veterans at the top of their game, the winning has got to start. We O’s fans are some of the most loyal, knowledgeable, and best fans in baseball and we’ve literally suffered for the past decade. Watching Mussina go was really tough. Seeing Cal on losing teams year after year in the twilight years of his career sucked. Realizing that Tejada’s essentially been wasting away on a bottom-of-the-barrel team the past few years has been disappointing. And all the Sosas, Bells, Bautistas, Browers, Grimsleys, Klines, Millars, Lopezes, Seguis, Cordovas, Daals, and Chens that have passed through here over the past 10 or so years have added up to one big slap in the face of Oriole Nation. You call those guys answers to our losing ways? Please, the idea that some of those names could lead any team to a winning season is laughable. The worst, though, was seeing the Yankees and Red Sox win World Series and 80-100 games a year while we wallowed with the Devil Rays in the depths of the AL East.

So here’s to a brighter and more victorious future for the Baltimore Orioles. We fans deserve nothing less than plus-.500 ball, a packed stadium, and someone other than Jeff Conine batting cleanup.

Now I know some of you may be thinking this is bad news. But in reality, it’s not. For starters, Lopez will be a free agent next year so odds are he won’t stay with the Sox for 2007 and beyond, unless he happens to perform well enough to show Theo Epstein and Co. that he’s not declining (which he is) and he’s worth keeping (which, for them, he isn’t). Odds are he won’t be in the AL East next season since, for starters, all five teams have their catchers set for next season (Hernandez in Baltimore, Posada in NY, Molina in Toronto, Navarro in Tampa, and, of course, Varitek in Boston).

But not only are the team’s catchers set for next year, their DHs are too. Jason Giambi has shown he’s still one of the most talented and feared left-handed power hitters in MLB, so NY is straight. Plus, with the acquisition of Bobby Abreu, the Yanks still have Gary Sheffield as a DH/OF option. The Red Sox have David Ortiz….’Nuff said. Toronto has a two-headed monster in Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay. And Tampa has their young, up-and-coming slugger, Jonny Gomes. What about us? We’ve got Jay Gibbons and several others, including David Newhan and even Miguel Tejada from time to time, can fill in to DH when necessary….and I think the O’s will get a younger, cheaper bat that Javy to fill the spot.

But enough of the prospective future — what’s this mean right now? For starters, the O’s are getting rid of a guy who, in my opinion, is bitter and can bring down team morale. And, aside from his $8,000,000 salary, he’s got every right to be bitter. After all, we brought in Ramon Hernandez to essentially take his job. But Javy was offered to be our everyday first baseman and/or DH….and he didn’t capitalize on the opportunity a la Nomar Garciaparra in L.A.

It’s kind of sad to see Javy go because he’s always been a player I’ve enjoyed to watch. He’s a great hitter and seems like a nice guy, but I don’t think keeping him would be fair to him or to Oriole players who shouldn’t have to deal with a log-jam at, of all positions, DH and catcher. I wish him luck wherever he goes and if it’s Boston, which it probably will be, I wish him just enough luck so that it doesn’t affect the O’s but hurts the Yanks!

Anyways, as for this weekend’s series, like I said, it could get pretty ugly. The Yanks are playing really good ball right now and are mowing through teams as they try to solidify their place at the top of the standings. I’m sure their players know this circumstances they find themselves in; the AL Central is extremely strong what with the world champion White Sox, the gutty and talented Twins, and, of course, the best team in baseball, the Tigers….so the chance of the Yankees earning a wild-card spot, in contrast with past years, is slim. After all, unlike the three Central teams, the Yankees lack a strong starting rotation and will surely be vulnerable down the stretch. If their pitchers can’t get it together, things may not work out like they’d hope.

But, once again, back to the series. I’m going to avoid analyzing this one and simply say that the O’s need to get some reliable pitching from their bullpen. This has been the biggest problem for this team as of late and, honestly, it’s killing them. Finally, Baltimore is enjoying some consistency from their bats as they’ve averaged about five runs-scored per game over their last three series. If the starters can go at least six innings each, the bullpen has to do its part to see that the team has a chance to win since it’s really unfortunate when a great game is ruined by a reliever leaving balls up in the zone, hanging for whomever happens to be at the plate to crush in to the left-field seats.

It would be great if the O’s could ruin the Yankees recent streak of solid baseball by taking two games in the three game set….but GOD, what I wouldn’t do for a sweep! The only team we’ve swept all year is the Royals and that was back in May….

Here are this weekend’s match-ups:

Randy Johnson, LHP (11-9, 5.07) vs. Bruce Chen, LHP (0-6, 7.07)

Mike Mussina, RHP (13-3, 3.40) vs. Adam Loewen, LHP (1-3, 6.44)

Jaret Wright, RHP (7-6, 4.57) vs. Rodrigo Lopez, RHP (8-11, 6.20)

More later…have a great weekend and remember the name of Javier Lopez Torres….

Rodrigo Lopez

And my prediction from yesterday (“Tonight may very well be a game you may not want to watch.”) was obviously wrong since the pitcher’s duel that was last night’s game was very exciting to see, especially coming from the O’s. So yeah, my bad guys.

At any rate, Jamie Moyer wasn’t helped by his offense whatsoever as the M’s only managed to get on base four times the whole game. In fact, since this series started, hit-machine Ichiro Suzuki has gone 0-for-8 and committed his second error of 2006 by mishandling a ball in the first inning, allowing Brian Roberts to extend a routine single in to a double. So aside from the bullpen’s implosion from last night, the O’s have pretty much had Seattle’s number since yesterday’s first pitch.

Aside from Lopez’s great performance, the other guy who really shined last night — and has been since July 1 — was rookie Nick Markakis, who, by all means, is definitely not playing like a rookie. Kakes hit an RBI ground-rule double last night, a hit that would have netted him two RBI if it wasn’t for the fact that it bounced in the stands and forced Fernando Tatis to stay at third. And speaking of Tatis, he’s been hitting very well since joining the Orioles about a week ago; he’s hitting .375 (3-for-8) and barely missed a homer last night as the ball hit literally six or seven inches below the top of the left-field wall….

….but back to Markakis. If this kid doesn’t win player of the month honors, or at least rookie of the month, a major injustice will have occurred. In the month of July, Markakis hit .403 (31-for-77) with two homers, 10 RBI, six doubles, and six walks while only striking out nine times. He raised his season average 27 points and increased his slugging percentage by 44. Frankly, I think this is a sign of things to come and Nick will be one of the best players on the entire team within the next two years.

Anyways, it was nice to see a solid, fundamentally sound game last night from the Birds. This kind of game doesn’t happen very often but when it does, we can see our team has many bright spots that need to be complimented by players who will no doubt be on the market in the winter. Getting them is a matter of finishing this season strong and going in to the winter meetings with a set plan as to what types of players we need to acquire to put the icing on the cake.

Now, there’s something I would like to address, and that is the subject of post-trade deadline waiver moves. I don’t think the media — an entity that completely bashed the O’s inactivity during the trade deadline and put all the blame on Peter Angelos — really paid much attention to the fact that the waiver period was approaching and most of the expendable players we have didn’t command much value on the market to begin with.

I think the O’s will make some key moves in the coming days/weeks, starting with that grumpy old man, Javy Lopez. You know, for a guy who really hasn’t done anything more than complain and hurt his back all season, you’d think he’d be happy to have a role on an MLB team. It seems like after every game he catches, he’s hurt. Yet he says he should be the starting catcher for someone….but obviously, no one came calling. But now that Jason Varitek is out with a torn knee cartilage, it looks like Javy would be a perfect fit as a rental for the Sox’ pennant race since Tek is likely out for the remainder of the regular season. I wouldn’t mind the O’s working out a deal with the Sox to send Javy to Boston in exchange for a pitching prospect, someone like Abe Alvarez.

Maybe we can even send them Todd Williams, too….just as long as they include a box of sunflower seeds.

Anyways, aside from Javy and, yes, Todd Williams, there are a few more guys who could be gone this month. Kevin Millar and/or Jeff Conine would both be viable options at DH or first base for a team in need of that type of player. LaTroy Hawkins would also command decent value on the waiver wire market. Even Bruce Chen and/or Rodrigo Lopez would be decent options for teams looking for starting pitching….and that looks like pretty much every team in the race minus the Tigers.

So cross your fingers and hope the front office can pull something off. Because after the completely inactive deadline period, I think it would only make perfect sense to do something….

Moving along, let’s talk about today’s game; it looks like this afternoon’s match-up will be another pitching duel. Youngster Felix Hernandez will take on Erik Bedard in a battle of who can out-duel the other. Both are having phenomenal years. Bedard has finally broken out as the O’s clear-cut ace and Felix, at age 20, is showing the baseball world that he’s going to be around for a looong time. His massive frame (6’3″, 235lbs.) and his uncanny stamina, especially at his very young age, allow him to eat up innings and his “stuff” provides him with the ammunition to strike batters out and avoid walks, something very rare (see: extremely rare, as in pretty much never happens) among pitchers his age.

I’m going to avoid bringing in numbers and stats for this one. Come 3:00, just tune in to this game and prepare to watch two of the best young pitchers battle it out as two solid hitting teams attempt to drive in some runs on guys who generally hold teams to only two to four runs a game.

By the way, how about Mel Gibson? What a jerk-off! If you don’t know, he was arrested for DUI and was spouting off anti-Semitic slurs to the arresting officers and carrying on like a crazed, drunken, Jew-hating madman. To be honest with you, I think the man is bat-s**t crazy. I kind of feel bad for him….but still, a person in his position of influence and celebrity who directed and produced the Passion of the Christ (and, not to mention, lost his right from Disney to make a Holocaust-related film) saying things like that? The only conclusion I can come to is that he’s messed up in the head and need serious help.

But I digress….this is an Orioles blog! Let’s stick to the bat and ball business and leave the Gibson Gossip to Gawker or something….

More later. That is, more baseball later!

But enough of the excuses; the O’s fell to the Mariners 10-5 last night in yet another tough loss which came at the hands of the Orioles’ late-game pitching. Loewen was simply superb through the first five innings as he surrendered no runs and struck out five, including sitting-down Ichiro in the top of the first as the All-Star right fielder swung at a low-and-inside strike three. But it seems the heat caught up with him as he fell apart in the sixth inning, giving up three runs (he gave up one more in the seventh before being pulled) and guaranteeing at best a no-decision as the game was tied 3-3.

This was Loewen’s longest outing of his young career but one is left to wonder if the heat wasn’t so severe, could the result of Loewen’s effort have been much different if Camden Yards wasn’t an open-air barbecue? Nonetheless, Loewen did very well and is visibly improving as each start passes.

Eddy Rodriguez didn’t do much to allow another Oriole comeback; after he came in with no outs in the seventh and got out of a jam after allowing only one run, the score was 5-3 entering the bottom of the seventh. Nick Markakis hit his fourth homer of the season, a solo shot to left-center field, to cut the M’s lead to one. But Rodriguez proceeded to allow four runs in the top of the eighth to put Seattle up 9-5. He started the ninth and surrendered another run, was pulled for Julio Manon, (who finished the game after striking a guy out, allowing a hit, surrendering a walk, yet allowing no runs), and retreated to the dugout as the game ended with the M’s winning by a margin of five runs.

Last night was simply a matter of whether or not the O’s young pitchers could get the job done in the intense heat. Starter Gil Meche was lucky to avoid a loss and young Emiliano Fruto was fortunate enough to not blow the lead as he looked extremely vulnerable. Nonetheless, the O’s were out-hit and lost as a result.

Tonight may very well be a game you may not want to watch. Oriole-killer Jamie Moyer is taking the mound for the M’s and the O’s, against Moyer, have a career team-average .243 and a slugging percentage of only .370 (in 292 ABs). Jeff Conine and Brian Roberts, who hit a mammoth lead-off homer yesterday off of Boog’s BBQ on Eutaw St., have fared the best against Moyer of all Oriole hitters. Both have nine hits off the 43-year-old lefty and Conine has three homers. In 79 ABs, Miguel Tejada (didn’t get traded) has accumulated a .253 average with two homers and seven RBI in 20 hits. Everyone else pretty much can’t see Moyer at all.

As for Rodrigo Lopez (didn’t get traded either), let’s just say the M’s like to face him. Their .292 team batting average in 137 ABs shows they can get the bat on the ball when he’s tossing them. Although the M’s have hit only three homers off RoLo, the “important players” (i.e. Ichiro, Raul Ibanez, and Richie Sexon) have netted a .380 average in 58 ABs against Lopez. So, yeah, tonight may be a bit tough to watch.

….But then again, the way the O’s have been swinging lately could lead to a little something in the win-column. For us, that is.

(P.S. – I’m going to stop telling you ahead of time when I plan to post. I know all three of you probably don’t care but I feel like me saying “expect something later” is a bit…dumb. Reason being, I said I’d post more yesterday — the trade deadline — and didn’t. So I kinda feel bad about that…at any rate, I’ll post pretty much five out of every seven days, so there WILL be a lot of content. That I can guarantee you.

But I’m going to cease my preemptive guarantees of posts.

Okay. That’s it. Thanks!

More later….and you can count on that!)

And, as most of you surely know already, Miguel Tejada is one of the biggest names on the market and is speculated to go, if he’s traded, to either the Angels or the Astros. I think he’ll still be here after 4:00 passes, but you never know….

Other O’s who’ve been mentioned in trade talks are Rodrigo Lopez, LaTroy Hawkins, Javy Lopez, Jeff Conine, and Kevin Millar. I wouldn’t mind seeing Todd Williams and/or Russ Ortiz get dealt, too….but the chances of those jokers going anywhere other than the free agent pool are slim.

At any rate, I’m at work now (not working) and will naturally be checking the wire for breaking trade news. If anything big happens, you will surely find it added to this very post. Let’s cross our collective fingers and hope something good happens!

At any rate, the O’s, not surprisingly, have lost their two first games to the White Sox. But what was surprising was the manner in which these losses came. Both games saw the Birds’ bats come alive. However, the pitching kept them in the loss column, which is too bad since the offense and defense, without a doubt, came to play.

The first match-up, a 6-4 loss which essentially came at the hands of backup first baseman Ross Gload — he hit a granny off Chris Ray in the top of the 9th — was the type that rips the collective heart out of fans of the orange and black. The O’s, guided by their ace, Erik Bedard, led the world champs for the entire game. Brian Roberts hit his second homer on the year off of Freddy Garcia and Miguel Tejada, a target of much trade rumors the past few days, drove in two runs as he DH’d his way to a 2-for-4 night. Kevin Millar added an RBI, too.

Bedard should have won his eighth-straight game; his 7.0 IP with seven Ks and two walks, along with eight hits allowed, was good enough to keep him ahead by two runs after Sam Perlozzo replaced him with big Chris Britton. Britton is continuing to have a very solid year; since we last checked his numbers here on Since 1954, he’s bettered his stats as he’s lowered his ERA to 2.70 and now stands at 32 Ks and 10 BBs in 40.0 IP.

Then came Ray.

In the spirit of keeping this short and not bashing Ray any more than he needs to be bashed, he gave up two consecutive base hits, walked a guy, and then surrendered a very untimely grand slam to an unlikely candidate in Ross Gload. That was Ray’s second blown save of the year, which is  one less than former teammate B.J. Ryan….he’ll get over it and so will we.

Yesterday, however, was a different story. The O’s still lost, but this one came in a different fashion. Starting for the Birds was six-foot-five, 22-year-old prospect Jim Johnson, who was possibly auditioning as part of a potential trade package. Too bad for Jim, though, as he was facing A.J. Pierzynski (5-for-5 with four RBI and a homer) and the White Sox.

The Sox won 13-11. Here’s how:

Johnson made it through 3.0 innings. In those three innings, he gave up nine hits, walked three, and surrendered eight runs. He threw 93 pitches (54 for strikes) and, obviously, showed he needs more time down on the farm.

At any rate, that made the score 8-4 after three.

Russ Ortiz then came in and pitched 4.1 solid innings — well, solid for him — as he gave up three runs and five hits. The worst part of his outing was the homers he surrendered immediately after taking the mound. Jermaine Dye and Pierzynski hit back-to-back shots off Russ to make the score 10-4. At that point, I though Russ was cooked but he turned it around and gave up only three hits after the unfortunate dingers. On one occasion, Russ was helped out big time by Corey Patterson, who made a fantastic Web Gem-worthy catch in center field to rob Brian Anderson (at least I think it was Anderson) of a double and an RBI; Patterson also doubled-up Juan Uribe at first due to the fact that no one in the stadium, including Uribe, thought that ball was remotely catchable.

To sort of run through this, Melvin Mora was 3-for-5 with an RBI, a walk, and three runs scored. Miguel Tejada hit his 19th homer on the year as he went 4-for-6 with three RBI. Jay Gibbons made his long-awaited return as he collected two walks and a double. Along with his great catch, Patterson added three hits, and RBI, and a stolen-base. And Nick Markakis, after going 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI, raised his season average to a very respectable .290.

The hardest part to watch was Ramon Hernandez‘s shot to dead centerfield with the bases loaded fall just short of a grand slam as Brian Anderson caught it with his back literally against the wall. If it would have cleared the fence, it would have put the O’s up by one after they made a gutty comeback in the sixth. It’s worth noting that the Birds scored runs in each of the final four innings, but the effort was slightly too little.

The O’s are playing, well, right now, actually. Bruce Chen takes on Javier Vasquez in a game which decides a whether or not the Sox sweep. Hopefully, the time off from starting has given Chen some time to compose himself and regain his control, command, and confidence….wow, that’s a whole bunch of “C’s”.

Ok, at any rate, let’s hope for a win. For the O’s, that is.

And luckily, for the sake of my sanity, the O’s beat the Royals last night, 4-3, behind a solid performance by rookie Adam Loewen, who collected his first big league victory after eight opportunities. “I was kind of antsy, just because it was my first win,” Loewen said to the Baltimore Sun. “I really wanted to get this out of the way. It was a little nerve-racking, but that’s baseball. That’s the way the game goes.” I think that now the monkey’s off Loewen’s back, he’ll perform with much less nervousness and will go out and give his team a chance to win.

On a side note, Adam missed out on a common practice after one wins his first Major League game: keeping the game ball after the final out’s recorded. After catching the final out, a liner to left field, Luis Terrero tossed it in to the stands….

From the Baltimore Sun:

While Loewen celebrated his first victory with handshakes in the dugout, Luis Terrero, who caught the final out, tossed the ball in the stands, denying the Orioles’ rookie pitcher, who was their No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft, the game ball from his first victory.

Loewen, who gave up one run on seven hits and three walks while striking out five, took the news in stride, saying that he didn’t know where he would have put the ball anyway. Several Orioles presented him with other balls from the game, including the one Conine hit out, on what turned out to be the last pitch of the night from Kansas City starter Runelvys Hernandez, for his eighth home run. The Orioles have vowed to try to get back the ball Terrero tossed away.

Asked what he would have done with the ball, Loewen said: “Probably toss it with the rest of them until I get a house. I’d have to get a cabinet, I guess.”

As far as the game went, rookies Brandon Fahey and Nick Markakis both collected doubles; Markakis went 2-for-2, drove in a run and scored a run as he pushed his season average over .280. Kakes also had a great outfield assist when he threw out Esteban German at home. The stars of the game were Melvin Mora (3-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base), Jeff Conine (4-for-4 with a homer), and recently-returned utility man Chris Gomez, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Brian Roberts and Miguel Tejada put up goose-eggs as they combined to go 0-for-9 with eight men left on base.

Todd Williams, recipient of much criticism from your’s truly, pitched a solid sixth inning after he inherited two of Loewen’s base-runners on first and second with no outs. He got out of the jam and kept the O’s three run lead. LaTroy Hawkins then came in and proceeded to make this game interesting (good for K.C. fans, bad for O’s fans) by surrendering two hits and two runs in his 1.2 innings of work. After allowing his second run, Hawkins was removed with two men on base and one out remaining in the bottom of the eighth. Chris Ray was put in, got out of the jam, and recorded his 25th save in 1.1 innings of work.

The O’s look to take the series tonight as Rodrigo Lopez (6-11, 6.73), possibly making his final start as an Oriole, takes on youngster Jimmy Gobble (3-3, 4.88). The O’s haven’t seen much of Gobble during his three year career; in 22 team at-bats, Kevin Millar has fared the best against the lefty, going 2-for-6 with a double and an RBI. As for Lopez, Matt Stairs loves facing Rodrigo, as shown in his eight hits in 13 ABs (.615), which include a double, homer, and three RBI. Matt Stairs (4-for-12, 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI) and Angel Berroa (4-for-11, 2 HR, 5 RBI) both like facing RoLo, too. However, Lopez definitely has Joey Gathright‘s number as the speedy outfielder has only netted one hit in 13 opportunities (.077) against the 30-year-old right-hander.

I’m really hoping the O’s can win tonight because losing four of six to the D-Rays and Royals prior to entering in to a series with the White Sox would not be good for momentum. Although there’s no “prize” to play for anymore — there hasn’t been for quite some time now — the O’s must show their fans they still care. After all, they are professionals….

Until tomorrow….Mahalo!

But last night? Pathetic.

Just pathetic.

More later….I just don’t think it’s worth writing about this “team” when they play lousy ball.

At any rate, if you happen to care, Adam Loewen is taking on Jimmy Gobble (what a great name!) in a battle of young southpaw prospects pitching for “winning-challenged” teams. Hopefully, Loewen can give us a good start against this Royals team.

Oh, and by the way, someone please get Kurt Birkins off this team! And while you’re at it, get rid of that joker, Kevin Millar, too. And Todd Williams, the pictured-fellow right above this paragraph, likely celebrating after throwing a rare strike. Regarding their standing with the team…like that terribly-annoying White Sox announcer so disappointingly says: “He Gone!” Simply put, these guys have played like garbarge the past few weeks and I’m sick of seeing them wear Orioles’ uniforms. They Gone!
End rant here.

(UPDATE: Per Baltimore Sun:

Kansas City, Mo. // When the media was allowed in to the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium last night, Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo’s voice had lowered considerably, but his frustration level hadn’t.

In a loud post-game meeting, following a 7-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals, easily one of the Orioles’ poorest games of the season, Perlozzo ripped into his team, questioning their effort and focus. His voice was loud enough where it was audible to reporters waiting several yards outside the closed clubhouse doors.

“He got his point across,” said Orioles first baseman Kevin Millar .

The Orioles (45-56) left 13 runners on base and were 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position, failing to blow open a game that Kansas City had no business being in. The Orioles committed three errors, including one by catcher Ramon Hernandez that led to a game-tying, two-run home run in the sixth inning. Kris Benson , once considered the most consistent starter on the team, couldn’t hold a 4-0 lead against the worst team in the American League, and then the bullpen surrendered a one-run seventh-inning advantage.

Kansas City third baseman Mark Teahen had two home runs and five RBIs and the Royals erased a 5-4 deficit with three seventh-inning runs off relievers Kurt Birkins (5-2) and Todd Williams. The Orioles then heard about it afterward.

“He’s frustrated, just like us,” Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora said. “We just need to play better, take the game more seriously. This ain’t funny.”

Asked if the club agreed with Perlozzo’s message, Mora said, “He’s the manager. We’re 100 percent behind him. “

….Here’s the rest of the article….WOW! I think this really is the first time Sam’s really laid into the guys. I’m proud of him. After that sickening display of ball yesterday, what with the total lack of ability to drive runners in when the situation is almost in their favor, the O’s deserved to be knocked down a couple notches.

Nonetheless, I’m not even thinking about them for a few days because, as you can see, I’ve been devoting way too much attention to a team that is hardly worth watching. Except for Bedard.)

First Base – What a way to start this off! The “black hole” of the O’s defensive alignment, first base is our biggest need other than starting pitching. Before the start of 2006, fans were generally pretty comfortable with Kevin Millar and Jeff Conine platooning after the “Javy Lopez 1B Experiment” failed to come to fruition. Both Millar and Conine are proven Major Leaguers who have a lot of experience on winning teams and are solid hitters and fielders. However, from Opening Day all the way up through May and in to June, neither Millar nor Niner was producing at a rate that meant anything to the success of the team. So to get to what I think we’ve got in store for next year….I think Conine will be gone before the July 31 deadline and we’ll keep Millar for next year. However, the O’s starting first baseman will be soon-to-be Free Agent Craig Wilson. Wilson is on the trade block up in Pittsburgh and will probably be dealt to a team currently in the playoff hunt. But there’s a possibility he won’t get re-signed and the O’s can scoop up his 25-30 homers and 80-100 RBIs in the off-season. And if Jay Gibbons gets around to playing first, which I think he will, we’d have quite a DH/1B tandem in Gibbons and Wilson….oh, the possibilities!

Second Base – This position is filled and will be for the next several years. Brian Roberts is not only one of the best middle-infielders in the game, but he’s home-grown and has been in the Orioles’ system for the better part of the past decade. His contract is up after this year, but I think the 28-year-old will re-sign and will bat at the top of the O’s order for the next three or four years. Put it this way — if your team makes bobble-heads for you, you know you’ve found your home.

Third Base – After signing a three year extension with a no-trade clause this season, Melvin Mora sealed his stay in Baltimore, likely for the remainder of his career. The 34-year-old is still producing like he’sfour or five years younger, but many forget that he got a late start on his baseball career (he was a pro soccer player in his home country of Venezuela). Melvin’s got several good years left in him and will contribute, on top of his solid hitting, great defense at the hot-corner and a wonderful team-oriented, loyal attitude to the soon-to-be very young Orioles team.

Shortstop – This is where things get a bit iffy. Miguel Tejada, although I’ve said we should trade him, is a great player — scratch that….a fantastic player — who, honestly, is a bargain at $12 million per year due to his power, ability to hit for average, and fielding. He is rumored to be the focus of trade talks with Houston but O’s owner Peter Angelos has gone on record saying the organization has no interest in dealing Miggi….unless, of course, they’re blown away (see: Adam Everett and Roy Oswalt for Tejada). Nonetheless, I’ve changed my mind over the past couple weeks and think it’d be a good idea to keep Tejada. Doing so would show the team and the fans that when we sign big-name guys like Miggi, we intend to keep them around. I think he’ll be playing for us in 2007 and will have another monster year in which the 30-year-old will be more productive since he’s been banged up a bit this year, leading to a bit of a drop-off in the field and at the plate. Still, he’s one of the best and will be for a few more years.

Left Field – Just like first base, left is another question mark. At the start of the year, this position was supposed to be a platoon between David Newhan and Nick Markakis., with Jeff Conine making occasional starts there, too. That plan, of course, went to hell as Newhan broke his leg and Markakis moved to right after Jay Gibbons went on an extended DL vacation. Brandon Fahey has stepped in as a solid option in left and Conine has played on par with what was generally expected of him out there. But, as far as the future is concerned, I think someone new out there is of the utmost importance. Carlos Lee will be a free agent in 2007, but he’ll probably be traded before the deadline and whoever gets him would be extremely stupid to not work out an extension to keep him around. Regardless, he’d be my number one choice as the guy to fill that spot. Also, Bobby Abreu would be a great fit there as the O’s have expressed interest in acquiring him in a trade with the Phillies. This is really up in the air still and, for all we know, no one will be signed and Newhan will be our starter there next season. I’m going to bank of Lee, however, and stay optimistic.

Center Field – It’s funny that at the beginning of 2006, we weren’t sure who’d be our center fielder — Corey Patterson or Luis Matos. Well, that question is clearly answered now as Matos was designated for assignment and is now a National and Patterson has solidified himself as the O’s permanent center fielder. C.P. is only 26 and has the talent to be one of the better outfielders in the game. He’s got power, speed, and defensive skill and the only think keeping him from being the O’s guy next year is us re-signing him. I think this will happen since we gave him a chance to prove himself after essentially being ousted from Chicago last year. Let’s hope Corey Patterson is an Oriole for many years to come.

Right Field – After Gibbons went on an extended DL stint, Nick Markakis was able to move to his natural position in right field. And since then, he’s basically won the job there and, as an added gift, raised his average about 50 points. Kakes is a great outfielder, but seems to completely be in his element in right. It would be completely stupid to put Gibbons back out there since Kakes in better in every facet of fielding. Plus, keeping Gibbons out of the outfield will be better for his hitting — which is why we’ve got him in the first place — since he’d be less physically strained because he’d avoid strenuous outfield activity. This is one position the O’s have locked up for the next decade and, to be quite frank, I’m really damn excited!

Catcher – In what seems to be the Orioles best off-season acquisition, Ramon Hernandez showed O’s fans that he’s one of the best catchers in the entire league. His ability to produce offensively and defensively is uncommon among catchers and we’re lucky to have a guy like him who can do just that. The 30-year-old will most likely do even better next year since he’d have a full season under his belt of working with Orioles pitchers and coaches. Hernandez should be here for at least three or four more years pending his production, which surely will continue at a 15-20 HR/70-90 RBI/.260-.280 AVG rate. Folks, we’re really lucky to have this guy!

Designated Hitter – This has got to be, without a question, Jay Gibbons. According to O’s beat writer, Spencer Fordin, Jay will not be playing any outfield for the remainder of the year and will soon give first base a try once again. Jay is too valuable a bat to risk getting injured again and keeping him at DH or 1B will not only be better for his knees, but it will be good for the longevity of his career. At age 29, Gibbons is still young. But for a guy with a bad knee, things only get worse as the years pass and the stress from running in the outfield takes its toll on his precious ligaments. I think if Jay fully dedicates his spring training to hitting and getting comfortable at first, he’ll be more productive and will stay healthy the whole year through.

Bench – Brandon Fahey has solidified himself as the O’s utility man. Former O’s catcher Sal Fasano was just released by the Phil’s, so he could be a nice backup catcher. Luis Terrero, when given enough ABs, could be a solid backup outfielder and hitter. Chris Gomez, although most-likely pushed to the back-burner by Fahey, is a dependable backup. David Newhan is a guaranteed member of this 25-man roster. Jeff Fiorentino and Val Majewski are possible backup options, too. In the spirit of keeping this one short, those are likely faces you’d be seeing on the bench in April ’07.

Starting Pitching – Without a doubt, Erik Bedard will be the ace of this staff in 2007. That’s a given. The rest of the rotation is questionable. Adam Loewen, due to the stipulations of his contract, will be in the rotation next year. Daniel Cabrera should be a much more productive pitcher next year; it’s unlikely he’ll suffer from similar control problems next season like he did this year. Hayden Penn is ML-ready at age 21 and will be set to take the 4th or 5th spot in the rotation in 2007. The only true question mark is who will be the fifth man? James Johnson and Garret Olson are close to being ready; they’ll most likely be the “Loewen and Penn” of 2007 and won’t be viable options as starters come April ’07, but later in the season, they could (will) get call-ups. The O’s have several more pitching prospects, but none are close to being ready yet. What about Kris Benson? It’s likely the team hangs on to him, but his $8.7 million salary is a bit unsettling considering his average performance this season. I think it’s a 75% chance we keep Benson (Bedard-Benson-Cabrerea-Loewen-Penn) and a 25% chance we sign someone like Tony Armas, Jr., Jason Marquis, Vicente Padilla, or — wouldn’t this be nice — Mike Mussina. Either way, we’ll definitely be a much better staff come ’07 than we are this season.

Bullpen – If there’s one guarantee, it’s that Chris Ray will be our closer for the next four or five years. He’s sickeningly good. As far as the rest of the pen goes, we need to do some major house cleaning if we want a solid pen. Chris Britton is a keeper; he could possibly be our set-up man, but I’d be more comfortable with him as a middle reliever. Kurt Birkins and Sendy Rleal should have good seasons next year and will be valuable middle relievers and even long relievers. I’d like to see us hang on to Bruce Chen and give him one more go-around, only this time, start him off in the bullpen and see how that goes. But LaTroy Hawkins and Todd Williams need to go. Hawkins will probably be traded within the next couple days and Williams, I think, has worn out his welcome here in Baltimore. If we could sign one or two guys, such as Dennys Reyes, Aaron Fultz, Chad Bradford, Brian Meadows, or Justin Speier, we’d be much more solid in the bullpen and wouldn’t lose leads late in the game as often as we seem to be doing this year.

And now, just to go out on a limb and play a little guessing-game, here’s what I think the 25 man roster will be come Opening Day 2007:

Lineup:

1. Brian Roberts 2B

2. Melvin Mora 3B

3. Miguel Tejada SS

4. Carlos Lee LF

5. Jay Gibbons DH/1B

6. Craig Wilson 1B/DH

7. Ramon Hernandez C

8. Corey Patterson CF

9. Nick Markakis RF

Bench: David Newhan, Brandon Fahey, Chris Gomez, Luis Terrero, Sal Fasano

Rotation: Erik Bedard-Kris Benson-Daniel Cabrera-Adam Loewen-Hayden Penn

Bullpen: Chris Ray (CL), Brian Meadows (SU), Chris Britton, Kurt Birkins, Sendy Rleal, Bruce Chen

I know, some of this looks very unlikely, but who cares? Besides, this is my blog so I do what I want! At any rate, I just hope that we sign guys similar to the new names you see on my hypothetical roster. We need a legit power threat like Lee and we need solidarity in the bullpen and off the bench.

Let’s just hope Angelos and Co. realize they can put out a magnificent team next year if they dedicate a few more million dollars to salaries. And let’s hope ‘Year 10′ of our losing ways is the final year in a decade of suffering and futility.

In the mean time, let’s beat the crap out of the Royals tonight!

“The keys to winning this series are, first and foremost, to strike Tampa’s pitchers hard and early. If the O’s put them out of the game by scoring runs or even draining them by prolonging innings and fouling-off balls, they can make them more vulnerable.”

And the Orioles did just that. In three games versus Tampa, the O’s scored 23 runs and had 65 base-runners (on 48 hits). But (sorry, back to our pitching) the D-Rays basically matched us and scored 29 runs and had 46 base-runners (on 35 hits) so our offensive onslaught was essentially a wash.

All this in the unsuspecting series with the Devil Rays….

Anyways, I don’t think it’s worth scrutinizing that series. It was an aberration for both teams; it’s so rare that both of any two clubs average, in a three-game series, 18 base-runners and 14 hits per game. And it’s rare that a starter as bad as Russ Ortiz actually starts — but that’s a whole other issue (he was demoted to the bullpen). So congrats to both teams’ hitters — all of you put on magnificent performances! But the pitching was equivalent to a Juggs machine lobbing ‘meat balls’ at 60 mph….

Okay, so what’s my point here? Well, the O’s are off today as they head to Kansas City to take on another bad team in the Royals. The difference between K.C. and Tampa? Tampa can hit. K.C. can….uh, they….well….okay, K.C. may as well be playing in the Pacific Coast League or something because they’re simply horrendous.

The Royals are the only team in the American League with no players with 10 or more homers. Their leading batter is questionable; veterans Mark Grudzelanik and Doug Mientkiewicz (believe it or not, I spelled both names right without reference!) are having solid years at the plate, yet they severely lack power numbers with their combined eight homers (four each). Reggie Sanders and promising young third baseman Mark Teahen lead the team with nine homers each. And Esteban German and David DeJesus are both showing they can hit and have great plate discipline at their young ages.

But there’s no one there who really scares opposing teams. In fact, as a team, the Royals struggle against the upcoming Orioles starters. Versus Tuesday’s starter, Kris Benson, the Royals are batting a combined .196/.235/.278 with only 19 hits and two homers in 97 ABs. Not surprisingly, no Royal has yet to face Wednesday’s starter, Adam Loewen, and the fact that the K.C. hitters have yet to see any of the young southpaw’s stuff will make matters even worse for them. Finally, Thursday’s starter, Rodrigo Lopez, has seen some success against K.C., as well. The Royals are batting .284/.333/.526 against him — not a bad line at all — unless you eliminate Mike Sweeny and Matt Stairs‘ solid numbers against him….then things get bad for the Royals.

Nonetheless, all these numbers don’t mean much at all when the teams take the field. Poor execution and lack of concentration by the pitchers will lead to runs no matter who it is. But still, the O’s pitchers need to come out and pitch some great games because this series is as easy as it’s going to get.

As far as K.C.’s pitchers go, I think we all know where they stand. Other than the D-Rays and the anemic Athletics’ offenses, the Royals are dead last in the AL in runs scored. And their 577 runs allowed is the worst in the entire league (FYI, the O’s 561 runs allowed puts them right ahead of K.C. for second-worst).

But recently, the Royals pitchers have performed well. In 10 of their last 11 games, the Royals have allowed six or less runs and just last week, they lost two amazing games to the Red Sox 1-0 on consecutive nights. “All-star” pitcher Mark Redman, who played very mediocre baseball in the first half, has done well as of late; he suffered his first loss in seven decisions against the Red Sox on Wednesday. Redman allowed one run and seven hits over eight innings. He struck out nine batters and did not walk a single batter on the day.

However, on the season, the pitching has been bad. With the exception of four pitchers with less than 16.1 innings of work, no Royals pitcher has an ERA less than 4.50. Redman leads the team in wins with six. Wednesday’s starter, Jimmy Gobble, leads the team with 50 Ks. And Scott Elarton, the team leader in innings pitched with 114.2 (Redman is a close second with 95.0), just went on the DL; that may not be too bad, though, since Elarton’s 49 Ks and 52 walks aren’t too savory a statistic.

So you can clearly see we’re dealing with a very, very bad team here. However, if we don’t show up to dominate them and sweep this series, I honestly think the rest of 2006 will be a very rough road. After all, what else do the O’s have to play for other than pride and a paycheck? Well, making the Yanks, Sox, and Jays’ playoff dreams more bleak would be a start….

Here are your match-ups for Baltimore @ Kansas City:

Tuesday: Kris Benson (9-9, 4.72) vs Mark Redman (6-5, 5.02)

Wednesday: Adam Loewen (0-2, 7.09) vs Jimmy Gobble (3-3, 4.88)

Thursday: Rodrigo Lopez (6-11, 6.73) vs Runelvys Hernandez (2-4, 6.75)

There you go! Let’s just hope our guys come out and beat this team to a pulp….because the O’s sure as hell need that kind of a picker-upper. Recap tomorrow, maybe I’ll squeeze something in around mid-afternoon….