Even though Jay Payton had a pair of two-run homers, the rest of the Orioles stunk out the jernt (well, Luke Scott had two hits on his 30th birthday -- happy birthday, Luuuuuke!) and the pitching was a mess, leading to a 7-4 loss.

Brian Burres was scratched for flu-like symptoms and the like prior to the game, so Albers got the start. Albers left in the first inning, having gotten just one out. Lance Cormier came in, and he and Ryan Bukvich did their best to save the rest of the bullpen. They did as well as you could expect under the circumstances. Whole lotta things went wrong. We lost. It happens.

Dennis Sarfate walking everyone was bothersome, but Jamie Walker got a strikeout in a one-batter appearance, so hey.

Tomorrow night former Oriole Miguel Tejada makes his triumphant return to Charm City, his first appearance since being traded to the Astros this past winter. One would think that unlike his former teammate Erik Bedard, Miggi won't be faking any injuries to get out of facing his old team.

Since his departure, Miggi has been through quite a bit. The tragedy of losing his brother in a motorcycle accident, his appearance in the Mitchell Report (and the subsequent federal investigation), and the revelation that he is actually two years older than he'd claimed his entire career.

Despite all that, Miggi has responded well to the change of scenery. He's currently batting an even .300 with 9 HR, 41 RBI, and an OPS+ of 112. It's not surprising, really. Though Miggi's luster had faded a bit by his fourth year in Baltimore, he left us an above average player worn down by years of losing, unfulfilled promises, and clubhouse controversy.

Because of the state of the Baltimore Orioles after the 2007 season, the Tejada trade was marked as a success by pretty much everyone. Everyone knew Miggi had to go for the good of the team as well as for the good of Miguel Tejada. Obviously the long term benefits of the pieces that came back to the Orioles won't be known until we have more than just a few months to evaluate Matt Albers, Dennis Sarfate, Luke Scott, Troy Patton, and Mike Costanzo, especially since what was considered the centerpiece of the trade, Patton, currently sits on the shelf after having season ending shoulder surgery.

The most immediate benefit of the trade is Luke Scott, for he finally put a stop to revolving list of mediocrity in LF.

List of players who spent time in LF for the Orioles in 2007: Jay Gibbons, Kevin Millar, Jay Payton, Jon Knott, Tike Redman, Freddie Bynum, and Brandon Fahey.

In 2006? Jeff Conine, Nick Markakis (he played 24 games in LF in '06 in case you forgot), Luis Matos, David Newhan, Eddie Rogers, Brandon Fahey, Luis Terrero, Jeff Fiorentino, and Fernando Tatis.

2008? It's been just Luke and Jay Payton. Luke, with his sky pointing and his home run hitting and his fighting with LaTroy Hawkins, has easily become my favorite player of the 2008 season. We still have a lot to learn about Luke. Can he sustain his success? Can he hit left handers? But everything I've learned so far makes me happy. In addition to his competence offensively, Luke really enjoys being in Baltimore. It's obvious every time you hear him talk. Every post game interview, every newspaper article, it shines through. Luke is having fun in Baltimore, is thrilled to have an opportunity.

If you've been to Oriole Park this year and sat in left field when Luke is playing, he has probably waved in your direction. He loves hearing the fans call his name and he acknowledges it. Personally, my favorite seats are in left field, have been for years. This year, that area has become something of a Luke Scott fan club. From the guy in the Darth Vader costume to the dozens of people who shout his name when he runs out onto the field, Luke connects with the fans, and I think it's awesome.

I know Luke, at 30, is a little older than the players most of us want to rebuild with, but I think he can continue to be a valuable part of this team. His attitude, his work ethic, and his desire to be here all point in that direction.

It was clear at the end of Miggi's tenure in Baltimore that he no longer wanted to be here, and it's clear that Luke does. So hopefully this is just the beginning for him.

Guillermo Quiroz hit a two-run homer to break a 0-0 tie in the sixth inning, and Brian Burres had a magnificent start, leading the O's to a 5-1 win in the first game of today's double-header in Chicago.

Burres went eight shutout innings, striking out four and allowing three hits. He didn't walk anybody, which is the real stunner.

Luke Scott was 0-1 in a pinch-hit appearance, which extends his slump. If you haven't noticed, he's down to a .310 average and hasn't seen first base since April 19. Jay Payton got the start against John Danks, who took a perfect game into the sixth inning before Guillermo bombed him, and went 1-for-3. So if you can say anything about Payton, it's that he's doing his best when called upon.

The Birds sealed the deal in the top of the ninth against Octavio Dotel, with Eider Torres (pinch-running for Huff) scoring on a Paul Konerko error, and Brian Roberts doubling Quiroz and Adam Jones home to make it 5-0.

Matt Albers came in for the ninth and got his cage rattled a little bit. George Sherrill replaced him with the bases loaded and two out, and promptly drilled Carlos Quentin, but then got Joe Crede, so big whoop.

The O's are 14-9, y'all.

Game 2 starts at 7:05, and I'll get a new game thread up for that one. I leave you with a question: Why does Toby Hall have a landing strip on his face?

via l.yimg.com

I came into tonight's game late, and it was 5-0 Mariners. First thing I saw was Jay Payton go deep. The Orioles went on to win 8-7, after I immediately proclaimed that we would win tonight. Just had a feelin', ya know? The first thing I see is a Jay Payton home run. We're winning this thing.

I missed another fabulous start from Adam Loewen, who went two and two-thirds (60 pitches, 33 strikes) with three walks, a strikeout, four hits, five earned runs, and a homer allowed to Adrian Beltre. His ERA is now 7.85. Does anyone really think this dude deserves a rotation spot instead of Matt Albers? Really? I know the team is invested in Loewen, but at what point do you have to STOP THE INSANITY?

The guy can't pitch. Trembley is on record as saying we're foolishly carrying thirteen pitchers (and thus, a bench consisting of Brandon Fahey, Guillermo Quiroz and Jay Payton) because Loewen can't go deep into games.

He's not getting any better about it! You can stick him in the bullpen (since optioning him isn't really an, um, option), but that'll spell disaster, most likely. A couple of years ago, one of the Baseball Prospectus guys said that Loewen might be better off there. The way he simply can't keep the ball over the plate, I have my doubts. Sure he could pump his fastball, but he can't control that thing any better than the rest of his junk.

So what do you do with him? He's taking up a valuable spot on the 25-man roster.

After he was gone, it went a lot better. Matt Albers and Jamie Walker gave up an earned run each (both on Ichiro's two-run bomb off of Walker, but we've already discussed the stupidity of matching Ichiro by the book, as he kills lefties and had healthy numbers against Walker career), but RAN-DOOOOOR! pitched two scoreless right after Loewen, Bradford went one and a third, and Sherrill shut the door after some drunks ran onto the field. I had the dreadful Mariners TV broadcast, but apparently Gary Thorne said they were "not taking it lightly" on the knuckleheads (that one credit to the Seattle booth) that got out there.

That gives Shutdown eight saves on the year, five against the Mariners. And that skirt-wearing weiner Erik Bedard is still too afeared of the mighty, mighty O's. As well he should be!

You know who I hate? Yuniesky Betancourt. 3-for-4. That guy kills us. Get him out of here.

Markakis was 2-for-3 with two walks, Millar managed a sac fly, Huff was 1-for-5 with an RBI, Roberts homered in the eighth to put us up for good, and Adam Jones (Player of the Year, 2010 Seattle Mariners) was 3-for-4 with a two-run, go-ahead double in the seventh.

Much fun all around! Now we have a bunch of games in Chicago against the White Sox, so that wraps up our season series against them, too. Let's do it to it!

Another series won. Can't argue with that.

Once a year or so, it's good to update these. Players come and players go, much like the asinine nicknames that generally spring out of the game threads. So here's a quick primer for anyone who's new and might not know what in God's name we're talking about during certain points of a game.

Albers, Matt

• Fat Albers

This is not in any way intended to be mean. Honest. I know the dude's a little pudgy, maybe still carrying some baby fat, or maybe he's just like most of the rest of us and likes to reward himself for a fine day's work of breathing air and being a cool dude by wolfing down a Baconator or six. I'm not here to judge Matt Albers. It's just something that happened in my head and then I put it on a blog. Hey, hey, hey!

You gotta do it right though. Listen for yourself, if you're unfamiliar. It starts loud, so be prepared. That site is long faded as far as being funny goes, but whatever. RAN-DOOOOOR!

Bradford, Chad

• ChadBrad
• Chadwick
• Chadstache

Ain't found a way to kill me yet

Eyes burn with stingin' sweat

Seems every path leads me to nowhere

Wife and kids, household pet

Army green was no safe bet

The bullets scream to me from somewhere

Yeah, they come to snuff The Rooster

Yeah, here come The Rooster

You know he ain't gonna die

Walkin' tall, machine gun man

They spit on me in my homeland

Mora, Melvin 

• MelMo
• Melly Mel
• Melvin Moron
• Playoff Hero Melvin Mora

Did Babe Ruth ever slap at someone's glove while they tried to tag him? Did Mickey Mantle? Did Hank Aaron? Did Cal Ripken? Did Dane Iorg? Did Kiko Garcia? Seriously. He's a player to admire, but a total weiner.

That's why I prefer "Brian Bob."

Sarfate, Dennis

• Dennis the Menace

via d.yimg.com

Matt Albers got the job done in a spot start and George Sherrill picked up a shaky sixth save on the season as the Birds remained in first place with a 4-3 win over Toronto.

The O's are now 6-1 at Camden Yards this season, quite a turnaround from last year's dismal 35-46 home record. Trembley went bullpen crazy as usual, giving Jim Johnson two and a third before calling in Jamie Walker and Chad Bradford to get one out apiece. With a 4-1 lead, Sherrill came in to pitch the ninth and allowed a two-run, pinch-hit home run to Alex Rios, but he survived the brush with crap and got us out of there with one more in the win column.

Pretty good game at the plate, too. Kevin Millar was 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, and Brian Roberts, Melvin Mora and Luke Scott all had two hits apiece. Adam Jones was 3-for-3 with a walk, and looked really good at the plate, even though his first hit was sort of an off-balance hack at a breaking ball. After that, he appeared to be dialed in. And this after Dave Trembley went around telling everyone he could find that he really thought about pulling the struggling Jones today.

I still wonder what purpose that serves. Is it motivation? Doesn't it seem like that would make the kid press even harder? And if he had pulled him, then why is he on the team anyway? He's here to learn on the Major League level.

The other O's RBI came from a Ramon Hernandez sac fly. He was 0-for-3 to push his average down to a sparkling .179.

With 13 hits, the O's should have scored more runs, which is a pretty familiar feeling. They grounded into three double plays and made two outs at the plate. The first was Luis Hernandez hesitating to run anywhere on a Nick Markakis chopper where he absolutely should have scored or at least not run at all, but them's the breaks. The second came in the eighth, when Juan Samuel sent Jay Payton on a medium-depth fly ball to left field with one out and Brian Roberts coming up with two men in scoring position.

Let's think about this. Payton runs fine, but he's not fast. Shannon Stewart can't throw, but he wasn't throwing very far. There is another out to go and the insurance run(s) would certainly help. So Samuel sends him?

You're on notice, Juan. You're Trebelhorn II.

But a win is a win is a win. I'm also worried about the fact that in eight wins, Sherrill has six saves. We're not exactly whomping on the competition, and close games can turn against you very fast. But a win is a win is a win. This is Birdland.

So I get bored sometimes, which leads me to think of music, the Orioles, and the combination of the two.

Since we've got a few hours until the double header at Texas, part of which I'll have to miss, I decided to kill some time by coming up with theme songs for all of the O's in their current states.

DISCLAIMER: Not all of these songs are safe for work or for your kids' ears. Play with discretion.

The team gets four songs on this playlist: "Orioles Magic," of course; Saliva's "Click Click Boom" because that is, somewhat sadly, what they come out onto the field with these days; "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," of course; and "Right Back to Where We Started From" by Maxine Nightingale. In addition to having some parallels to Major League, the team is also sort of Slap Shot-y, which is a natural since Major League is just a baseball version of Slap Shot in many ways. Whenever I think of improbable, goofy winning streaks for bad teams, I think of Maxine Nightingale and the Charlestown Chiefs bus.

Luis Hernandez kicks off the player set with the timeless "Theme From Greatest American Hero (Believe it or Not)" by the beloved Joey Scarbury. Believe it or not, he's starting at short. I never thought he would ever be-he-he. (It should've been somebody else.)

Up next is Luke Scott's at-bat music, "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by The Stooges. What Luke says goes right now. The man is slugging .800 and getting a hit every other at-bat.

We dip into the somewhat melancholy for Brian Roberts. The title of this Dylan track says it all: "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go." Odds are, Brian's still going to get dealt this season. This is one of those guys who is definably our player. Remember when he was a slap-hitting little guy? Now he drives the ball with authority to the gaps, steals bags, has become one of the team's leaders, and man, THAT'S OUR BOY. This ain't free agent Tejada or too-frequently-hurt Bedard. This is Brian Roberts. OUR player.

Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry" could only represent one man: Aubrey Huff. God bless the guy, he's trying really hard to do and say all the right things, including pounding the crap out of the ball. He has won a couple of games for us already, and went 4-for-4 the other night in Texas. He made a mistake. He's sorry. He's playing his ass off. He's part of the team. He's sorry. So sorry. Please accept. His apology.

Ain't no joke, whenever I think of Bocephus' "A Country Boy Can Survive," the first thing that pops into my mind is Jamie Walker. His entire career is proof that a country boy can survive, really. He throws slop, gets people out, and does his damn job, damn it. Jamie Walker rules just as hard as Hank, Jr. I think he might take that as a fine compliment, and I mean it as such.

Razor Ramon gets "I Feel Good" by James Brown. The only nice thing we've heard about Hernandez lately is he's in good shape. He's certainly not hitting. Maybe, like the song, Ramon will start kicking ass quickly.

Bruuuuuuuce! Melvin Mora's "Glory Days" may be behind him, but it's not all bad. He can still play a little bit, still can have a good time, still can remember hitting .340 or the wink of a young girl's eye.

Daniel Cabrera gets two songs. Good Daniel Cabrera gets the classic Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs hit "Stay," which is a song I frequently sing when I get bad drunk, because I remember being a kid, reading a Lewis Grizzard book, and he said he did that. It's just something that pops in my head. And yes, I was reading Lewis Grizzard books when I was a kid. I was a weird kid.

Bad Daniel Cabrera gets Ray Charles' "Hit the Road, Jack." Because seriously.

In the late 1980s, Public Enemy was awesome and I bet Jay Payton was a hell of a high school ballplayer. In the 1990s and beyond, Public Enemy had moments of greatness among their overall mediocrity and inconsistency, and that's pretty much Jay Payton as a pro player at his peak. Last year, Public Enemy released another album, and it had only one great song -- actually, it had only one good song, which also happened to be great. "Harder Than You Think" is the sound of a group that was phenomenal 20 years ago throwing all their eggs into one basket. Jay Payton also stinks now, but he's making the best of his chances so far this season.

Scott Moore is willing to play "Whenever, Wherever." That is also a song by Shakira. Also, it's lucky that Moore's breasts are small and humble, so we don't confuse them with mountains.

I didn't want to leave Frederick Keys catcher Matt Wieters out of the party, so he gets "Get Ready" by The Temptations, which was quite excellently sampled by Fergie, too. Sorry, Fergie's great. It's the law.

Another future star, Adam Jones, is already starting in Baltimore's center field, but man, "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet." Ha! I love this shit. I feel like Tom Verducci or Roch or Jeff Passan. But it's true. Jones might hack away a little in the earlygoing, but so did another current Orioles outfielder before he found his groove. I'm not worried about Dr. Jones.

Blue Öyster Cult's most awesome song is, in fact, "Godzilla," about the movie monster that has a habit of destroying cities and scaring the piss out of everyone in Japan. Greg Aquino thus far has a habit of scaring the piss out of me when he trots in from the bullpen.

This one isn't a real song, at least not in the traditional sense. But comedian Jon Lajoie struck gold with "Everyday Normal Guy," a hit on Funny or Die. Steve Trachsel is just a regular, everday, normal guy. If ya got a pet cat, put your hands up. (I'm not saying the things in this song are true of Steve Trachsel -- not all of them, anyway. He surely has more than $600 in the bank, for instance.)

Kevin Millar has always been really big on "Faith," plus he wore very George Michael-ish jeans when he threw out that controversial first pitch. Sometimes I hear the Limp Bizkit cover of "Faith" and hate it, and sometimes I see Red Sox Millar and hate him. But then I hear George sing the song, and it rules. And I watch Kevin be Kevin as an Oriole, and I forget all that B.S. and remember that I love the guy. Faith-a-faith-a-faith-ah! Baaaaaaa-beh!

New closer George Sherrill gets Semisonic's "Closing Time," which I admit is hardly creative. I don't believe in "guilty pleasures," because you either like something or you don't and you should own the fact either way, but this song would be a "guilty pleasure" for me if I did believe in the concept. I especially enjoy the "ba-chicka-chick-BOW BOW" guitar that is just so absolutely 1990s. We miss you, Everclear, but never come back.

Every time I think of Randor Bierd, I think of that story of him going out and buying a new suit to get on the plane before he even got official word that he'd made the team out of spring training. And every time I listen to Dean Martin, I want to put on a suit, myself, and have a Dewar's on the rocks or fifteen. So Randor gets "Ain't That a Kick in the Head," arguably the swinginest of all Dino's truly swingin' numbers.

Matt Albers and Brian Burres get to share a song, the Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard version of Townes Van Zandt's "Pancho & Lefty," one of my absolute favorite songs. Long story short, Lefty caps Pancho. He only did what he had to do.

I know Brandon Fahey really has no business in the Major Leagues, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't get kind of a happy feeling every time I see him in the field or on the bench, in his uniform that still looks too big for him and his NASCAR sunglasses. At the plate is a different story. I try not to focus on him batting. Brandon always looks so hopeful and happy in the field. "Here Comes the Sun" is for him.

Nick Markakis gets Dire Straits' "Walk of Life." Something about the song just makes me happy. I don't know what it is. It can turn a frown upside down. Make grey skies blue-ah. And oh yeah, the boy can play.

As hard as I tried, I couldn't think of anything too appropriate for Jeremy Guthrie, the staff ace. "Ace of Spades"? Too aggressive, doesn't fit his nature. Nelly's "Number One"? Too braggadocios. So he dedicates a song to Markakis.

Queen's "You're My Best Friend."

Guillermo Quiroz gets Wu-Tang Clan's "Wolves." That's just a good song. You think of a song for Guillermo Quiroz, genius.

Cracker's "Low" represents Adam Loewen, partly because that's part of his last name, and partly because that's where he should try to keep the damn ball, for the love of God. Cracker was a really good band lost in the shuffle thanks to bands like Seven Mary Three and Toadies. That has nothing to do with Adam Loewen.

I hate The Vines, but the manic and sloppy energy of "Outtathaway!" fits Dennis Sarfate's pitching style. He seems like a guy who would be uncomfortable to bat against with that mid-90s heat that comes in like a rocket, and the Vines are rather uncomfortable to listen to.

The skipper, Dave Trembley, gets his own tune, too. He's a native New Yorker. He's also an outsider in the managerial ranks, as he's the only manager in the bigs that never played pro ball. "Outsider" was a good Ramones song, but doesn't fit Diamond Dave's personality. Joey Ramone's cover of "What a Wonderful World" does, though -- Dave is genuinely optimistic all the time, always looking for the best thing to say. And he seems like he actually means it. He doesn't sugarcoat garbage like Perlozzo, Mazzilli and even Leo Mazzone used to. No stuff about "puttin' it all together" in a bullpen session. Just pure hope. He's just happy to be here, and doing his best.

From the Sun:

With his team in the midst of a stretch of 37 games in 38 days, Orioles manager Dave Trembley acknowledged that he's still considering adding a 13th pitcher to his roster and demoting a position player.

"I thought about it in spring training and I'm still thinking about it now because I don't want to overburden the guys in the bullpen," Trembley said. "Really, that question will be answered depending on how your starting pitchers do."

Trembley said that as long as two or three starters are consistently getting deep into games, he won't have to make any changes. And even if he does, he expects it to be temporary.

Who would he send down? Fahey? What if you need to pinch-hit for Luis? Who plays short then? Moore? That guy is flexible as a lefty bat that can play three positions -- maybe the OF, too. Does he risk fielding Moore at shortstop?

I don't like 13 pitchers, period. There should be no reason to need an eighth reliever. Seven guys should be plenty, particularly when you have two decent long men like Bierd and Albers.

I like this idea about as much as adding a third catcher, though to be fair having one effective catcher would be nice right now. Razor is ice cold and Quiroz is Quiroz.

Hopefully the starters respond and this won't be "necessary."

Happy 27th birthday, Brian Burres.

Our fifth starter gave us a six strong innings today, pulled in the seventh after allowing a leadoff walk, throwing just 81 pitches and allowing one earned (an inherited runner that Matt Albers allowed to score) with three strikeouts and two walks.

Burres was really sharp today, including one ridiculous 74mph curveball that got a clutch bases loaded strikeout. He worked out of a couple of jams, pitched efficiently, and really, really looked good. I'd even say that this was the best an O's starter has looked this season.

This wasn't a come-from-behind win; this was just an ass-kicking. The Birds were up 4-0 after three innings. Scott Moore homered in his first at-bat of the day, a lazy fly ball that carried over the right field wall at The Ballpark, and Brian Roberts drove in Adam Jones in the same inning. In the fourth, Aubrey Huff scored on a two-run homer from Luuuuuuuke Scott, Scott's first jack as an Oriole.

Huff had a killer day, going 4-for-4 with 4 RBI, including a two-run double in the sixth that was originally called a three-run homer. Yellow lines can cram it. (It was a good call.)

Texas' lone run came in the bottom of the seventh, when Ian Kinsler singled off of Albers, bringing David Murphy home. Albers pitched two innings in relief of Burres, striking out four and walking no one, allowing two hits and no earned runs. He gave the ball to Greg Aquino, and even Aquino proved to be worthwhile today, striking out two of the three batters he faced.

Scott was 2-for-4 with a walk, Markakis 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored, Luis Luis was 1-for-2 with a walk.

Everything is breaking our way right now. Which is nice because there have been plenty of times in recent years, even with a bad team, where things have just broken way against us.

This team rules. 6-1, y'all!

The O's went to 2-1 tonight with a 7-4 victory over the Mariners, which was good news and all, but still, erm, some issues.

Yeah, Millar and Razor and Mora all went yard and Luis Hernandez even had two RBI (both sac flies), but...

Bullet points!

• Dave Trembley's bullpen management is positively Perlozzoian.
• Nick Markakis does not look great against left handed pitching.
• Greg Aquino is AWFUL.

Sarfate, Walker and Bradford did their jobs, but why were the latter two even pitching? It was a five-run game before Aquino crapped the bed and gave up a two-run homer to Richie Sexson in the ninth inning, which led to Sherrill coming in following a Mike Morse double after the Sexson home run. Adrian Beltre also homered for the Mariners earlier in the game.

A fine win in many ways, and it's good to see this team playing so hard. The fielding was excellent, as Luis Hernandez made some really nice plays and Mora had a couple highlights, too. But Trembley is worrying me. Walker and Bradford don't need to be throwing 80 games apiece again.

How about a play of the game? OK.

Play of the Game: Raul Ibanez, with a 3-0 count, swings away and grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. What a boner.

Aquino will be the first guy in the 'pen to lose his job. And there was no reason to use Walker when Randor Bierd and Matt Albers are out there. It's a five-run game. That's why you have those guys.

But, we won. Let's take it where we can get it.