Orioles News - 10/3/07 - Worst of the 2007 Season

As a part of the 2007 season wrap-up for the Baltimore Orioles, I will write about the Orioles worst moment and worst players of 2007. (And believe me, there were plenty of moments and players to choose from.)

Worst Moment in the 2007 Season:

It was one game, but it was a terrible game. The Orioles allowed 30 runs to the Texas Rangers on August 22 to lose, 30-3. The Rangers had 29 total hits, with every starter getting at least 1 hit, with one player collecting 5 hits. The Ranger's 8th and 9th hitters drove in 7 runs each!!! Each!!! That's 14 runs the Orioles gave up to a total of 2 players! That's terrible. But then again, it's fitting because the Orioles' season was terrible too....

Worst Oriole of 2007:

This dubious award goes to... Daniel Cabrera in a close race against Dany Baez! Cabrera, the frustrating flame thrower, had 18 losses this season, leading the Majors in that category. He also had a 5.55 ERA, gave up 126 earned runs, and 207 hits. Daniel led the league in walks too, with 108. He gave up 25 homers, the most on the entire O's roster. Well, every body's good at something. Unfortunately, Cabrera is good at helping the other team.

Runner Up:

Dany Baez. He was signed to a 3 year, 19 million dollar contract this off season to help out our bullpen. Well, he certainly didn't help Baltimore. Baez went 0-6 with a 6.44 ERA, in 53 games. He gave up 36 earned runs, and walked 29 batters while allowing 50 hits. Now you tell me, is Dany Baez really worth a 19 million dollar contract?

Coming tomorrow: Grading the Orioles Pitching in 2007. - John T.

Orioles News - 9/23/07 - O's shutout

The Baltimore Orioles lost yesterday to the Texas Rangers, 3-0. The O's were blanked again. That's the 4th time this month that the O's have been shutout. The Orioles wasted a great pitching performance from Jon Leicester. Leicester went the whole game, allowing only 3 runs. But the Orioles didn't score, as they left 8 men on base. 6 of those men were left in scoring position. That's a shame. We finally get a good pitching performance, yet it's wasted as we can't score. Baltimore also hit into 3 double plays. Two of those double plays came with men in scoring position. The Rangers however, took advantage of their opportunities as they left only 1 man on base in scoring position. Texas scored twice in the 2nd inning, with a triple and a single that brought in runs. They also scored again in the 6th on 2 singles, a wild pitch that advanced the runners, and a groundout to bring in the game's final run. It was a great pitching performance by Jon Leicester but in the end, it doesn't matter if you can't score. - John T.

Orioles News - 9/22/07 - O's win in shootout

The Baltimore Orioles won last night, 11-9 over the Texas Rangers in a shootout. Rightfielder Nick Markakis had 5 RBI's. That's right, Nick Markakis, the Orioles 2nd year player had 5 RBI's. That's what the O's need. Markakis now leads the team in home runs, RBI's, and runs scored. In his 2nd year in the Majors. Nice. Markakis also had a homer in the game. But, the Orioles still had plenty of missed opportunities as they left 11 men on base. That's poor.

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

The Baltimore Orioles lost on Friday to the Texas Rangers. The final score was 3-2. It was a heartbreaking loss for Baltimore. The O's left 6 men on base. But, Miguel Tejada hit a homer, his first opposite-field homer all year. Wait, his 1st opposite-field homer all year? And Tejada is a power hitter right? That's sad. After that homer in the 2nd inning, the Orioles bats seemed to fall asleep. Until the 9th inning. In the 9th inning, the bases were loaded with no outs and Scott Moore hit a sacrifice fly to bring in a run. Now with 1 out, Paul Bako came in with the game on the line and.... Bako struck out. Melvin Mora was then caught stealing, and the game was over. That hurts. So, it was another loss for the Baltimore Orioles. (Sigh.) - Jon T.

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.

Orioles News - 9/19/07 - O's swept

Swept. The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles last night, 2-1 to sweep the O's. The O's wasted a great pitching performance by Brian Burres. Burres went 7 1/3 strong innings, allowing only 2 runs on 5 hits. But, Burres' effort didn't matter because the Orioles only scored 1 run, on Melvin Mora's single to bring in Brian Roberts. It's tough to win when you only score 1 run. It's not like the Orioles didn't have chances to score. They had plenty, leaving 7 men on base. The Yankees scored only twice, once in the 2nd inning on a home run by Hideki Matsui and on a wild pitch by Burres in the 5th. If you have any kind of good run support at all, you can expect to win a game when holding your opponet to 2 runs.

Also in the game, Jay Payton was ejected in the 5th inning after striking out on a 3-2 pitch, a called third strike. Payton said something to the umpire, and as he walked away he tosed his helmet in the general direction of home plate. The umpire didn't like that, ejecting Payton from the game.

The O's play a 4 game road series with the Texas Rangers, the O's last road series of the year. Remember one of the last times the O's and Rangers faced off? If not, the final score was 30-3. Hopefully that won't happen again... - John T.

Orioles News - 8/22/07 - O's lose in doubleheader 30-3

Last night was a terrible night for the Orioles. They lost the first game of the doubleheader 30-3, which was the most runs scored in a game since 1897. They lost the 2nd game too, 9-7. But there will be more on that later. Heres how game 1 was.

Game 1.

This was the worst game in Orioles history. They were absolutely crushed, 30-3. It was ugly. Just to show you how ugly it was, here are some stats from it:

The Rangers set a record for most runs ever in a doubleheader-BEFORE GAME 2 EVEN STARTED!!!

This is the most runs the Orioles ever allowed in a game.

The 29 hits the Rangers had were the most the O's have ever given up in a game.

The 27 run margin was the largest that the Orioles ever lost by.

Erik Bedard, an O's pitcher, has given up 30 earned runs in his last 18 starts....The O's bullpen and Daniel Cabrera gave that up in 1 night.

The bullpen allowed 24 earned runs.

Brian Burres' ERA went from 4.45 to 5.24 in one game.

Rob Bell's ERA went from 4.18 to 6.14 in one game.

Paul Shuey's ERA went from 6.75 to 9.49 in one game.

The 8 and 9 hitters for the Rangers each had 7 RBI's.

So, all this leaves me with a question. What happened to that 40 million dollars that the Orioles management spent this offseason to "revamp" the bullpen?

Game 2.
This game was a little more respectable, but the O's still lost to the Rangers, 9-7. The O's had the lead but lost it in the 8th inning. Chalk another loss up the bullpen. The O's fought the Rangers early in the 2nd game, a homer by Jay Payton, and a 2 run shot by Nick Markakis, to tie the score at 3-3 in the 3rd inning. Down by 1, Miguel Tejada and Kevin Millar got on base for the O's. A few batters later, with the bases loaded and 2 outs, Jay Payton hit a 2 run single to give the O's the lead. Unfortanetly, the Rangers came back in the 8th to get the lead. They hung on to win the game though. Also, Kevin Millar tied the O's record for consecutive games reaching base with a single inthe 2nd game. So, all in all, a terrible day for the Orioles. - John T.

Orioles News - 8/20/07 - Tribute to Wild Bill

The Orioles game against the Texas Rangers last night was postponed because of rain. It was rescheduled for Wednesday as part of a doubleheader. Meanwhile, for O's fans, there is bigger news. William "Wild Bill" Hagy died yesterday. He was the Orioles biggest fan, attending all home games for the O's in the late 1970's and early 1980's. He lead chants from his section 34 in Memorial Stadium. He made up the famous O-R-I-O-L-E-S! chant where he would bend his body to form the letters and the O's fans would yell out the letters. He was so popular with fans that the O's even let him stand on top of the dugout to perform his cheers. Wild Bill was there in the glory days, when there was Orioles Magic. Sadly, Wild Bill would eventually boycott Memorial Stadium because of a rule that didn't allow him to bring his own beer into the stadium. He would eventually return, but this time to Camden Yards.

Just last month, Wild Bill led his last O-R-I-O-L-E-S! chant at Cooperstown, New York where he was watching as Cal Ripken Jr. got inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. This chant was shared with those who were sitting near him. Fortanately, I was one of the lucky few who was there to share this time with Wild Bill. This is my fondest memory of Wild Bill, and it will mean even more to me now that he is gone. Wild Bill was 68 years old. William "Wild Bill" Hagy, R.I.P. -John T.