Through 9 innings tonight, the Yankees 5-9 batters (Cano, Posada/Cervelli, Granderson, Swisher, Gardner) were 11-for-24 with 5 runs scored, 4 RBI, 1 3B, 1 HR and 2 2-out RBI.
That lineup has no real holes. Curtis Granderson, who bats 7th or 8th often, hit 30 HR last year. Nick Swisher, batting 8th tonight, hit 29 last year. You get through Jeter, Teixeira and A-Rod, and you still have proven Major League hitters with which to deal.
The O's, on the other hand, have one player who even hit 20 dingers last year (Luke Scott with 25).
Meanwhile, Nick Markakis is on pace for 8 HR now after his first HR of the year ... beats the pace he had coming into the game.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Luke Turns the Tide
Some game tonight.
Two-out hits, clutch relief pitching, good baserunning, some good small-ball. And then of course it almost all falls apart on yet another hard to believe error by Cesar Izturis. (Even the game-ending groundout by A-Roid was almost flipped away by Lugo. And was surprised to see Rodriguez first-pitch swinging.)
But there were plenty of stars tonight.
Rhyne Hughes continues to get huge hits and look good at first. I think Trembley would be crazy to sit him tomorrow night, even against the lefty Sabathia. Go with the hot hand. This kid seems to be sparking the offense.
Izturis finally showed some life with the stick, with 3 ribbies.
Reimold had a big hit.
Wiggy found his way on base a bunch of times and scored the go-ahead run.
Lugo stole a big base and advanced to third on Posada's errant throw, eventually scoring the much-needed 5th run.
Castillo continued to look fantastic, JJ was back to himself in his more comfortable 8th (although he still doesn't look the same), and Simon was electric in the closer's role on his first day back in the bigs.
But I'd like to be the first (I think) to bring up the fact that Luke Scott had a tremendous at bat in the 6th inning. He was down 0-2 in the count and worked a tough walk off of Logan who was brought in to face him. Seemed trivial at the time with two outs, but then the gates opened up and the O's scored three times for the 4-2 lead.
I think that Scott's walk was the turning point in the game. It would have been quite easy for Luke, who's now batting .217, to be swinging for the fences - down by one run and trying to protect the plate.
Give him credit where it's due on a night of many heroes.
Two-out hits, clutch relief pitching, good baserunning, some good small-ball. And then of course it almost all falls apart on yet another hard to believe error by Cesar Izturis. (Even the game-ending groundout by A-Roid was almost flipped away by Lugo. And was surprised to see Rodriguez first-pitch swinging.)
But there were plenty of stars tonight.
Rhyne Hughes continues to get huge hits and look good at first. I think Trembley would be crazy to sit him tomorrow night, even against the lefty Sabathia. Go with the hot hand. This kid seems to be sparking the offense.
Izturis finally showed some life with the stick, with 3 ribbies.
Reimold had a big hit.
Wiggy found his way on base a bunch of times and scored the go-ahead run.
Lugo stole a big base and advanced to third on Posada's errant throw, eventually scoring the much-needed 5th run.
Castillo continued to look fantastic, JJ was back to himself in his more comfortable 8th (although he still doesn't look the same), and Simon was electric in the closer's role on his first day back in the bigs.
But I'd like to be the first (I think) to bring up the fact that Luke Scott had a tremendous at bat in the 6th inning. He was down 0-2 in the count and worked a tough walk off of Logan who was brought in to face him. Seemed trivial at the time with two outs, but then the gates opened up and the O's scored three times for the 4-2 lead.
I think that Scott's walk was the turning point in the game. It would have been quite easy for Luke, who's now batting .217, to be swinging for the fences - down by one run and trying to protect the plate.
Give him credit where it's due on a night of many heroes.
Another Millwood No-Hitter in the Offing?
On this date in 2003, Kevin Millwood (of the Philadelphia Phillies) threw a no-hitter against the S.F. Giants.
Millwood will be opposed tonight by Phil Hughes, who had his no-hitter broken up in the 8th inning of his last start against Oakland.
In fact, throughout baseball history, April 27th leads (actually is tied with two other dates) all dates in no-hitters thrown with six.
Notably, Tom Phoebus of the Baltimore Orioles threw one of them in 1968 vs. the Boston Red Sox.
It has been almost 19 years since the last (and 5th) no-hitter in Baltimore history, thrown by Bob Milacki (who was taken out in the 7th after being hit by a line-drive), Mike Flanagan (a starter at the time), Mark Williamson and the great Gregg Olson. At the time, it tied a record for most pitchers used in a no-hitter.
Only three franchises have no no-no's in their history. Tampa Bay (only in the league since '98), San Diego ('69), and the New York Mets (1962). The Mets have played over 7700 games without a no-hitter.
Millwood will be opposed tonight by Phil Hughes, who had his no-hitter broken up in the 8th inning of his last start against Oakland.
In fact, throughout baseball history, April 27th leads (actually is tied with two other dates) all dates in no-hitters thrown with six.
Notably, Tom Phoebus of the Baltimore Orioles threw one of them in 1968 vs. the Boston Red Sox.
It has been almost 19 years since the last (and 5th) no-hitter in Baltimore history, thrown by Bob Milacki (who was taken out in the 7th after being hit by a line-drive), Mike Flanagan (a starter at the time), Mark Williamson and the great Gregg Olson. At the time, it tied a record for most pitchers used in a no-hitter.
Only three franchises have no no-no's in their history. Tampa Bay (only in the league since '98), San Diego ('69), and the New York Mets (1962). The Mets have played over 7700 games without a no-hitter.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Baby Steps
Greg Calcaterra of "Hardball Talk" on NBC Sports has the Orioles ranked 29th in his recent power rankings, ahead of another perennial loser, the Pittsburgh Pirates.
(1) That's reason enough for me to celebrate. The O's are out of last in someone's opinion.
(2) How Calcaterra ranks a 3-16 team ahead of a 7-11 team is beyond me, even if the Pirates did lose a three-game set to the Brewers last week by a combined score of 36-1 (including an ugly 20-0 loss). Fact is, they have more than twice the wins the O's do.
(3) Can this be a sign of things to come? Dare we dream? Ranked 28th by June? You never know.
(1) That's reason enough for me to celebrate. The O's are out of last in someone's opinion.
(2) How Calcaterra ranks a 3-16 team ahead of a 7-11 team is beyond me, even if the Pirates did lose a three-game set to the Brewers last week by a combined score of 36-1 (including an ugly 20-0 loss). Fact is, they have more than twice the wins the O's do.
(3) Can this be a sign of things to come? Dare we dream? Ranked 28th by June? You never know.
Anyone Want this Job?
Perhaps Dave Trembley lengthened his stay with the O's with the nail-biter win over the Sox yesterday. Maybe the front office ain't gonna stick a new manager in front of 9 more games with the Yankees (6 games) and the Red Sox (3 more), but you've gotta believe Trembley is on a very short leash. I mean, in a season that was supposed to be about "wins and losses," how do you keep a guy that's managed his way to 3 wins and has certainly managed his way to 16 losses?
But here's the thing. Who would take this job? Who wants to get tagged with a potential 100-loss season?
Obviously guys with no experience would be happy to have the job, a la Rick Dempsey, or any of the league's bench coaches.
But if they'd want to hire a bigger name, would they even accept the job?
That could be what has influenced the club to sit tight with Trembley through this miserable start to the 2010 season.
But things might have been much different.
I still think that had Angelos opened the purse a lot wider, Girardi would be the manager here. The O's offered 3 million/3 years. Should have been more like 9 million over 3 years.
And don't believe Girardi was sitting and waiting for Steinbrenner to call.
The lesson here - and with other lost "free agents" is that when you have this much failure, you need to overpay for the real talent. (See Guerrero, Vlad and Teixeira, Mark.)
But here's the thing. Who would take this job? Who wants to get tagged with a potential 100-loss season?
Obviously guys with no experience would be happy to have the job, a la Rick Dempsey, or any of the league's bench coaches.
But if they'd want to hire a bigger name, would they even accept the job?
That could be what has influenced the club to sit tight with Trembley through this miserable start to the 2010 season.
But things might have been much different.
I still think that had Angelos opened the purse a lot wider, Girardi would be the manager here. The O's offered 3 million/3 years. Should have been more like 9 million over 3 years.
And don't believe Girardi was sitting and waiting for Steinbrenner to call.
The lesson here - and with other lost "free agents" is that when you have this much failure, you need to overpay for the real talent. (See Guerrero, Vlad and Teixeira, Mark.)
Friday, April 23, 2010
A Look at Some Former O's and How They're Faring
It's always interesting to see how these guys do after they leave the organization.
Here are some selected players and their stats through yesterday:
(A tip of the cap to Jeff Zrebiec on the idea.)
Kris Benson: (ARIZONA 0-1, 3.00 ERA, 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER
Russ Ortiz: (LA DODGERS) 0-1, 10.29 ERA, 7 IP, 10 H, 8 ER
Rodrigo Lopez: (ARIZONA) 1-0, 3.50 ERA, 18 IP, 24 H, 7 ER. (Looks pretty good, but he has a dreadful 1.667 WHIP)
Brian Burres: (PITTSBURGH) 0-1, 9.00 ERA, 8 IP, 11 H, 8 ER, 1.875 WHIP (Actually not far off his career number of 1.685!)
Luis Hernandez: (NY METS MINOR LEAGUE AFFIL.) 46 AB, .304 AVG, 1 HR, 1 SB, 3 CS, 5 BB, 5K
That's just some recent players who popped out to me - here are some others from Jeff's posting earlier today, focusing on the "memorable" O's of 2009:
Here are some selected players and their stats through yesterday:
(A tip of the cap to Jeff Zrebiec on the idea.)
Kris Benson: (ARIZONA 0-1, 3.00 ERA, 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER
Russ Ortiz: (LA DODGERS) 0-1, 10.29 ERA, 7 IP, 10 H, 8 ER
Rodrigo Lopez: (ARIZONA) 1-0, 3.50 ERA, 18 IP, 24 H, 7 ER. (Looks pretty good, but he has a dreadful 1.667 WHIP)
Brian Burres: (PITTSBURGH) 0-1, 9.00 ERA, 8 IP, 11 H, 8 ER, 1.875 WHIP (Actually not far off his career number of 1.685!)
Luis Hernandez: (NY METS MINOR LEAGUE AFFIL.) 46 AB, .304 AVG, 1 HR, 1 SB, 3 CS, 5 BB, 5K
That's just some recent players who popped out to me - here are some others from Jeff's posting earlier today, focusing on the "memorable" O's of 2009:
Hitters
Aubrey Huff (S.F. Giants): .268 avg., 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 11 runs, 7 BBs
Chad Moeller (Scranton/W.B., Yankees’ Triple-A): .182 avg. (2-for-11), 0 HR, 0 RBIs, 1 BB, 3 K
Melvin Mora (Colorado Rockies): .273 avg. (6-for-22), 0 HRs, 2 RBIs
Oscar Salazar (San Diego Padres): .000 avg. (0-for-10), 1 run, 1 BB
Gregg Zaun (Milwaukee Brewers): .133 avg. (6-for-45) 0 HRs, 2 RBIs, 2 BBs
Chad Moeller (Scranton/W.B., Yankees’ Triple-A): .182 avg. (2-for-11), 0 HR, 0 RBIs, 1 BB, 3 K
Melvin Mora (Colorado Rockies): .273 avg. (6-for-22), 0 HRs, 2 RBIs
Oscar Salazar (San Diego Padres): .000 avg. (0-for-10), 1 run, 1 BB
Gregg Zaun (Milwaukee Brewers): .133 avg. (6-for-45) 0 HRs, 2 RBIs, 2 BBs
Pitchers
Danys Baez (Philadelphia Phillies): 0-1, 6.35 ERA (5 2/3 IP), 4 ER, 4 hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks
Brian Bass (Indy, Pirates’ Triple-A): 0-1, 4.05 ERA (13 1/3 IP), 6 ER, 15 hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks
Sean Henn (Las Vegas, Blue Jays’ Triple-A): 1-0, 0.00 ERA (7 2/3 IP), 5 hits, 6 BBs, 7 Ks
Rich Hill (Memphis, Cards’ Triple-A): 1-1, 4.08 ERA (17 2/3 IP), 8 ER, 14 hits, 13 BBs, 15 Ks
Radhames Liz (Portland, Padres’ Triple-A): 2-0, 2.57 ERA (14 IP), 4 ER, 10 hits, 6 BBs, 22 Ks
John Parrish (Kansas City Royals): 1-1, 1.50 (6 IP), 1 ER, 3 hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks
Chris Ray (Texas Rangers): 0-0, 3.00 ERA (6 IP), 2 ER, 4 hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks
George Sherrill (L.A. Dodgers): 0-1, 10.13 ERA (5 1/3 IP), 6 ERs, 7 hits, 9 BBs, 4 Ks
Chris Waters (Nash., Brewers’ Triple-A): 2-0, 3.78 ERA (16 2/3 IP), 7 ERs, 15 hits, 5 BB, 14 Ks
Brian Bass (Indy, Pirates’ Triple-A): 0-1, 4.05 ERA (13 1/3 IP), 6 ER, 15 hits, 3 BBs, 6 Ks
Sean Henn (Las Vegas, Blue Jays’ Triple-A): 1-0, 0.00 ERA (7 2/3 IP), 5 hits, 6 BBs, 7 Ks
Rich Hill (Memphis, Cards’ Triple-A): 1-1, 4.08 ERA (17 2/3 IP), 8 ER, 14 hits, 13 BBs, 15 Ks
Radhames Liz (Portland, Padres’ Triple-A): 2-0, 2.57 ERA (14 IP), 4 ER, 10 hits, 6 BBs, 22 Ks
John Parrish (Kansas City Royals): 1-1, 1.50 (6 IP), 1 ER, 3 hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks
Chris Ray (Texas Rangers): 0-0, 3.00 ERA (6 IP), 2 ER, 4 hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks
George Sherrill (L.A. Dodgers): 0-1, 10.13 ERA (5 1/3 IP), 6 ERs, 7 hits, 9 BBs, 4 Ks
Chris Waters (Nash., Brewers’ Triple-A): 2-0, 3.78 ERA (16 2/3 IP), 7 ERs, 15 hits, 5 BB, 14 Ks
Amazing some of these guys still have careers ...
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Why Darnell? Why Tonight?
At the start of the evening last night, one small thing an O's fan could take solace in was the fact that the smug fans of the Boston Red Sox had to look at the standings, too, and see their beloved team sitting at 4-9. I happened to glance at the scores at some point last night to see the Sox losing once again, 6-4 in the 8th inning to the Texas Rangers. Maybe I'm a small man, but that made me feel a little better.
You can imagine how much it pained me, as I'm sitting there watching another O's lifeless defeat, to see that the Red Sox came back to win the game, 7-6.
Then to learn how they did it was yet another dagger in a painful season.
Darnell McDonald, former 1st round pick of the Orioles in 1997, and one of many busts for the organization over the last 20 years (Beau Hale, Mike Paradis, Chris Smith, Richard Stahl, Mark Smith, and the list goes on and on ...), tied the game with a pinch-hit 2-run-HR in the bottom of the 8th and then won the game with a single off the Green Monster in the bottom of the 9th.
Now, I'm under no impression that this is a case of the O's giving up too soon on a guy. Far from it. They obviously made a mistake even drafting the guy. (This is his 6th club over the course of an almost non-existent career.)
But to see the also struggling Sox get an emotional walk-off win spurred not once, but twice, by another example of why the Orioles organization has been a disaster for oh-so-many-years is yet another indignity suffered. All while watching a passionless, emotionless, apathetic Orioles club meekly lose again.
We get Boston Red Sox cast-off Julio Lugo not running out ground balls.
They get game-saving heroics from Darnell McDonald.
And who thought things couldn't get worse?
Now pitching for the New York Yankees, Adam Loewen ...
You can imagine how much it pained me, as I'm sitting there watching another O's lifeless defeat, to see that the Red Sox came back to win the game, 7-6.
Then to learn how they did it was yet another dagger in a painful season.
Darnell McDonald, former 1st round pick of the Orioles in 1997, and one of many busts for the organization over the last 20 years (Beau Hale, Mike Paradis, Chris Smith, Richard Stahl, Mark Smith, and the list goes on and on ...), tied the game with a pinch-hit 2-run-HR in the bottom of the 8th and then won the game with a single off the Green Monster in the bottom of the 9th.
Now, I'm under no impression that this is a case of the O's giving up too soon on a guy. Far from it. They obviously made a mistake even drafting the guy. (This is his 6th club over the course of an almost non-existent career.)
But to see the also struggling Sox get an emotional walk-off win spurred not once, but twice, by another example of why the Orioles organization has been a disaster for oh-so-many-years is yet another indignity suffered. All while watching a passionless, emotionless, apathetic Orioles club meekly lose again.
We get Boston Red Sox cast-off Julio Lugo not running out ground balls.
They get game-saving heroics from Darnell McDonald.
And who thought things couldn't get worse?
Now pitching for the New York Yankees, Adam Loewen ...
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