Sunday, September 30, 2007
Orioles News - 9/29/07 - O's fall in close one, 11-10
Daniel Cabrera's line for the game: 3 innings, 10 hits, and 7 runs. Looks like a typical pitching performance by Cabrera.
There were only 2 bright spots in this game for Baltimore: Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts. Markakis homered last night to bring his season total to 23. He also has 112 RBI's, 18 stolen bases, and a .300 batting average. Brian Roberts stole his 50th base of the season last night, so congratulations to him. Here's to several more seasons like that in an Orioles uniform.
The O's wrap up their season today with another game against the New York Yankees. If the O's win today, then they will have won the season series against New York. If not, they will have gone .500 in the season series with the Yanks. I figure the Orioles have a good chance since the Yankees will be resting most of their stars for the playoffs. Ahh, the playoffs. If only we could get there... (Sigh) - John T.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Orioles News - 9/28/07 - O's win in extra innings
Coming into this game, the Yankees were 85-1 when leading after the 8th inning this year. Throw in the fact that future Hall Of Fame closer Mariano Rivera is on the mound, and the game seems to be over for the Orioles. Now throw in a 2 out, bases loaded triple by Jay Payton, and the O's sent the game into extra innings. Then in the 10th inning, Tike Redman hit a 1 out double, eventually moving to 3rd base on a passed ball. Nick Markakis and Miguel Tejada were intentionally walked to load the bases. Kevin Millar then came up to bat with the game on the line and... he struck out. Ok, lets try this again. Melvin Mora came up to the plate with 2 outs, the bases loaded, and a chance to be the hero. And Mora.... laid down a bunt to bring in the game winning run! A walk off bunt! (How many times do you hear that?) It was a gutsy call by the O's, but a call that paid off.
Our starting pitching wasn't much last night, as Jon Leicester went 4 1/3 innings, allowing 7 earned runs and walking 3 batters. But, our bullpen did a nice job after that, as they allowed only 2 more runs all game in this rare Orioles win. - John T.
Orioles News - 9/27/07 - Guthrie returns as O's win
A win! The Baltimore Orioles won last night, 8-5 over the Toronto Blue Jays. Rookie Jeremy Guthrie did great after coming back from a strained oblique. Guthrie allowed 3 runs (all earned) in 5 innings. Guthrie threw only 80 pitches due to the fact that he was on a pitch count. Guthrie was left with a no-decision because left fielder Jay Payton misjudged a fly ball which allowed a run to score. He also dropped a line drive which allowed a run.
Geez, Guthrie can’t catch a break anymore. Most of the time, the O’s aren’t providing him enough runs to win. But when they do, like last night, defensive mistakes cost him a decision. The rookie pitching sensation now has 7 no-decisions in his last 9 starts.
Jay Payton did make up for his mistakes in the field, as he drove in 3 runs. Also, Luis Hernandez hit his 1st major league home run last night. Congratulations to him. Hopefully this will be the 1st of many homers from him. J.R. House also homered, his 2nd this year.
So, a good day for the Orioles. – John T
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Orioles News - 9/26/07 - 8 run Toronto 1st inning leads to O's loss
The Baltimore Orioles lost last night, 8-5 to the Toronto Blue Jays. This game was terrible. The Blue Jays began the game with a 8 run 1st inning. Yes, an 8 run 1st inning. With the pitchers we have, I'm not surprised. You can tell the game is going to be bad when on the 1st pitch of the game, you hit your opponet with a pitch. The Blue Jay who was hit was Reed Johnson. That was followed by a walk and then a single. So now the bases are loaded with Frank Thomas up and no outs. Great. Thomas crushed a pitch deep to left field but was robbed of the grand slam by Jay Payton (In picture). A run did score on that sacrifice fly though. After that, there was a single, a walk and another single. Then there was a fielder's choice and the O's got their 2nd out!!! Only 1 more out to go, right? Yes, but in the meantime, Toronto scored 3 more runs to run their total to 8 before the O's even went to bat.
So, after that 8 run inning by the Blue Jays, the O's were now down 8 runs against former Cy Young award winner Roy Halladay. But we can still rally to win, right? Fat chance. We did get some runs though, as Ramon Hernandez, Jay Payton and Tike Redman drove in runs. Redman drove in 2, as a matter of fact.
Just thought I'd share this with you: Victor Zambrono's line yesterday: 2/3 innings, 8 earned runs, and 3 walks. I'll leave you with that. - John T.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Orioles News - 9/25/07 - O's fall to Toronto - Baez out all of next year?
The Blue Jay's runs came in bunches as the scored 3 runs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 7th innings. The Orioles did get some runs as they scored 3 runs in the 5th inning on 5 hits and 1 error. They also scored again in the 7th inning, but it was too little, too late as this game was already decided.
In more news, reliever Dany Baez will likely miss all of next season with an elbow injury. Baez will have Tommy John surgery. My take on this: He won't be missed much by me. Baez is 0-6 with a 6.44 ERA in 53 appearances. Now you tell me, is he really worth a 3 year, 19 million dollar contract? - John T.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Orioles News - 9/25/07 - O's sweep season series against Royals
The Orioles struck first in this game, as they scored 2 runs in the 5th inning. The runs came after a Ramon Hernandez single, a groundout to advance Hernandez, and then a double by Tike Redman to score Hernandez. Brian Roberts then walked, and Melvin Mora singled to bring in another run. The Royals came back and scored once in the 6th to make the score a little closer. Daniel Cabrera left the game after he finished the 7th inning, as he allowed only 1 run all game. No, that's not a misprint. Cabrera really did allow only 1 run. He had a 2-1 lead when he left the game. That lead soon turned into a tie after a pinch hit home run in the 8th inning by Kansas City. That homer robbed Cabrera at his chance of getting a decision in the game. But, the O's proved they have some heroics in themselves too. In the 8th inning also, Nick Markakis hit a solo homer to give the O's the lead for good. Markakis now has 22 homers and 109 RBI's this season, a franchise record for a 2nd year player. Maybe we do have some young talent, but we're going to need plenty more players like him and Jeremy Guthrie if we ever want to compete. - John T.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Orioles News - 9/23/07 - O's shutout
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Orioles News - 9/22/07 - O's win in shootout
Congrats to Brian Roberts on stealing his 47th and 48th base last night. Hopefully he can turn that into 50 before the year ends.
Radhames Liz, our starter, went 2.2 innings giving up 6 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks. Reliever Rocky Cherry came in, giving up 2 runs. Chad Bradford also gave up a run, but the Orioles could still take a victory. But let's face it. Your not going to win giving up 9 runs in one game. Most of the time at least. You need better pitching or your always going to lose. - John T.
Orioles News - 9/21/07 - O's fall to Texas
Friday, September 21, 2007
Orioles News - 9/20/07 - O's win in 10 innings
The Baltimore Orioles won last night, 6-3 in the 10th inning over the Texas Rangers. A big part of the win is due to this guy, Brian Roberts (left), who hit a 3 run homer in the 10th inning to help lead the Orioles to a win. Miguel Tejada had the game tying hit, which at that point was only the Orioles 2nd run in their last 26 innings. The Orioles were doing badly, losing 1-0 in the 9th inning before a few hits turned into a run. In that game, the O's were 0-9 with runners in scoring position before the 9th inning. Another key factor in the O's win was pitching. (How often do you hear about the O's pitching doing well?) Starter Victor Zambrano went 5 strong innings, allowing only 1 run on 3 hits. He only walked 2 batters. Reliever Jim Hoey came in and mowed down the Rangers, not allowing a run. Rocky Cherry, Chad Bradford, and Jamie Walker all did the same, as they didn't allow a run. Fernando Cabrera did allow a run, 2 as a matter of fact but the Orioles still picked up a victory. Jamie Walker was the reliever who got the win.
Now for Miguel Tejada. He is our starting shortstop. But is it time for him to move? But where? To 3rd base? Or to another team? His range is declining at shortstop and he's making more errors then ever on the field. Should he move? I say yes. His play is declining. He's not doing well at the plate either. So, as much as I hate to say it, the O's need to trade him, possibly for some pitching prospects.
By the way, I am going away this weekend and I won't be able to post on Saturday and Sunday. - John T.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Orioles News - 9/19/07 - O's swept
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Orioles News - 9/18/07 - O's shutout by Yanks
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Orioles News - 9/17/07 - Cabrera gets another loss
Monday, September 17, 2007
Orioles News - 9/16/07 - A series win!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Orioles News - 9/15/07 - O's fall to Blue Jays
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Orioles News - 9/14/07 - O's win 2nd straight
Friday, September 14, 2007
Orioles News - 9/13/07 - O's win - Trembley suspended 3 games, Cabrera suspended 6
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Orioles News - 9/12/07 - A Loss Again... - Trembley Tossed
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Orioles News - 9/11/07 - O's drop 17 of 20
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Orioles News - 9/10/07 - Off-season needs
What do the Orioles really need this offseason? They have several young pitchers, (Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Burres, Garret Olson, Radhames Liz) that could be great starters for the rotation in a year or two. So what do they need? Run support. Right now, the O’s aren’t driving in many runs. They are terrible. We need the run support for the pitchers, so we can win games. Also, a power hitting left fielder. Our left field now is Jay Payton, who is good but we need some more runs. If we got a power hitting left fielder, then we would be in a much better spot right now. Also, we need a first baseman. Aubrey Huff is good, but if we had a power hitting first baseman, we would be in much better shape. Preferably Mark Teixara, a free agent soon and a Baltimore native. And a better bullpen. We need a better bullpen, one that doesn’t blow games all the time. Those are our main needs, and the O’s really need to address them this offseason. - John T.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Orioles News - 9/9/07 - Gibbons & Steroids - Bedard out for year, Guthrie too? - O's lose again
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Orioles News - 9/8/07 - A rare win vs. Boston
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Orioles News - 9/7/07 - Shutout by Boston
Orioles News - 9/6/07 - Another Loss
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Orioles News - 9/5/07 - 17-2 loss to the Devil Rays
This offseason, the Orioles need 2 things: A better bullpen and Peter Angelos to sell the team. How many games has the bullpen lost us so far this year? How many times have we had the lead in late innings, only to have the bullpen blow the game? Too many. And since Angelos doesn't want to spend the money to overhaul this team, he should sell. With a new owner who is willing to spend money to get stars, instead of 2nd and 3rd rate players, the O's would be in a much better situation. More fans would come to the ballpark, and with reason because they know their team can compete. Now, hardly anyone comes out to games simply because they don't care. They always know the end result: A loss. Angelos needs to go! - John T.