Camden Chat

Garrett Olson joined a very small group of pitchers tonight. He allowed a home run to Tony Pena. ...

duck — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:51:20 -0000

Garrett Olson joined a very small group of pitchers tonight. He allowed a home run to Tony Pena. Shawn Chacon, Jose Contreras and Jamie Moyer accomplished the feat in the past. Since the start of the 2006 season, Pena has the fourth lowest slugging percentage of any player with at least 700 plate appearances, .321. I'm actually surprised it's that high. Baseball Musings

Zrebiec/Roch: O's looking at Eckstein

SC — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:58:57 -0000

Seeking to fill what has become the team's most glaring deficiency, the Orioles have engaged in talks with the Toronto Blue Jays regarding shortstop David Eckstein, according to industry sources. Eckstein, 33, is hitting .273 with one home run and 18 RBIs in 198 at-bats. However, he has become expendable on a roster that includes infielders Marco Scutaro, John McDonald and Joe Inglett, who has seen his role increase with regular second baseman Aaron Hill injured. Because of the glut of middle infielders, the Blue Jays' asking price for Eckstein isn't expected to be too high. I WILL FIGHT YOU IN PUBLIC, ANDY MACPHAIL http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-osnotes703,0,7700004.story

Austin Surhoff Makes Semis in Men's 200 IM Ryan Lochte was back in the pool aga...

duck — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:42:59 -0000

Austin Surhoff Makes Semis in Men's 200 IM Ryan Lochte was back in the pool again to capture the top spot in 1:59.49..... in 16th is Austin Surhoff (2:02.60), son of B.J., of baseball's Baltimore Orioles among others. SWIMNEWS ONLINE - B.J. Surhoff's kid makes the semis in U.S. Olympic Trials for 200 IM Good for Austin, B.J. and the Surhoff family. Swim fast in the semis, Austin!

PECOTA added all of this up, coupled it with the fact that the Rays' talent core was young and st...

duck — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:04:35 -0000

PECOTA added all of this up, coupled it with the fact that the Rays' talent core was young and still on the upswing, and concluded that the club was liable to win somewhere between 88 and 90 ballgames in 2008. Not even the Rays themselves were entirely convinced by this forecast. The team executives I spoke with this winter expected -- or hoped -- to go .500 this year, perhaps making a serious run at the playoffs in 2009. But a quick run through their offseason checklist reveals that sometimes the best-laid plans go even better than expected: BP: Unconventional Wisdom: The Rays Flip the Switch Nate Silver, at it again.

Daniel Cabrera Is the New Sidney Ponson Both guys are evil temptresses, registe...

duck — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:13:04 -0000

Daniel Cabrera Is the New Sidney Ponson Both guys are evil temptresses, registering in the high 90s and hurling the odd brilliant game in which they go the distance, exhibit control and stalk off the mound looking like the pitcher you believe they can be. Their shared problem, of course, is what’s between the ears. As a result, they get hit too hard, walk too many guys and repeatedly fail to live up to expectations. Take a peak at their five-year numbers, and you can see that the results are similar (Cabrera’s are career to-date, Ponson’s his first five years) from Mr. Irrelevant

If you're looking for an explanation for Baltimore's surprising start, the bullpen is a pretty go...

duck — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:04:31 -0000

If you're looking for an explanation for Baltimore's surprising start, the bullpen is a pretty good place to focus. Orioles relievers are 15-13 with a 3.28 ERA, compared to 24-35 and 5.71 last season. After going 13-31 in one-run games a year ago, the O's are 17-12 this season. ESPN - Highlighting the biggest overachievers of '08 We're #2! We're #2!

Highlights of the Orioles 5-2 win over the Kansas City Royals Wednesday.

IHeartMASN — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:15:11 -0000

7208OriolesRoyalsHighlightsUploaded by gatecitycanes Highlights of the Orioles 5-2 win over the Kansas City Royals Wednesday.

Brian Matusz pitching breakdown

jobe — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:47:34 -0000

Pretty thorough breakdown of our first round draft pick, Brian Matusz from Drivelinemechanics.com. Now lets just hope we can sign him to a contract before August 15th. http://drivelinemechanics.com/2008/06/28/draftee-report-brian-matusz-orioles-4th-overall/#more-68

Danny C and Diamond Dave sharing a moment.

Stacey — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:59:49 -0000

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-07/40649071.jpg Danny C and Diamond Dave sharing a moment.

A man claiming to be a Red Sox fan called a Tampa area radio station yesterday morning, complaini...

drj — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:28:57 -0000

A man claiming to be a Red Sox fan called a Tampa area radio station yesterday morning, complaining about the rude behavior he'd encountered the night before at Tropicana Field. Rays fans took one look at the Dustin Pedroia jersey he was wearing, the man said, and taunted him when the Sox lost. Sting Rays If only this could be Baltimore....

The "Venditte Rule"

zknower — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:52:37 -0000

Well, that didn't take long. See my earlier post for some context. the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation (PBUC) released its official rules for dealing with ambidextrous pitchers on Wednesday.... At the heart of the new guidelines is the following provision: The pitcher must visually indicate to the umpire, batter and runner(s) which way he will begin pitching to the batter. Engaging the rubber with the glove on a particular hand is considered a definitive commitment to which arm he will throw with. The batter will then choose which side of the plate he will bat from. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080702&content_id=3051858&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

No matter what you think of Bonds, this strikes me as just stupid. Let history judge what Bonds did or did not do.

duck — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:55:48 -0000

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/images/07/02/tx_bonds_ball_done.jpg No matter what you think of Bonds, this strikes me as just stupid. Let history judge what Bonds did or did not do.

ESPN the Magazine: Biggest Screwjobs

SC — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:30:23 -0000

Guess who's No. 3? http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3470913

Sherrill said he was trying to hit the dugout fence, not drive the (bumble gum) bucket through th...

duck — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:09:25 -0000

Sherrill said he was trying to hit the dugout fence, not drive the (bumble gum) bucket through the gap. "Bad location," Sherrill said. "I missed my spot again." Roch Around the Clock: Saving Sherrill

Interesting read on Tim Lincecum

Reddrummer9187 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:07:09 -0000

It hurts that we passed on him for Rowell... http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/tom_verducci/07/01/lincecum0707/index.html?eref=writers

Don't look now, but it appears Jay Payton is finally goin' FLAT BREEZY.

zknower — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:05:05 -0000

http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/images/2008/07/01/FlTMfkSk.jpg Don't look now, but it appears Jay Payton is finally goin' FLAT BREEZY.

Highlights of the Orioles 7-5 win over the Kansas City Royals Tuesday night.

IHeartMASN — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:23:43 -0000

7108OriolesRoyalsHighlightsUploaded by gatecitycanes Highlights of the Orioles 7-5 win over the Kansas City Royals Tuesday night.

The next time you stop at a downtown intersection, take a close look at the homeless guy holding ...

duck — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:54:51 -0000

The next time you stop at a downtown intersection, take a close look at the homeless guy holding the cardboard sign. That No. 46 Orioles jersey isn't a replica. And he's not asking for a handout. A second glance at the sign reveals its message: "Will Work For Runs." And then you fully understand. Boy, that Jeremy Guthrie really is becoming desperate. What's more cruel than sending him to the mound, knowing that the offense won't support him? Doing it on a Sunday. Buddy, can you spare a run? -- baltimoresun.com

NEW YORK -- The players' association filed a grievance Tuesday over the release of pitcher Shawn ...

duck — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:54:34 -0000

NEW YORK -- The players' association filed a grievance Tuesday over the release of pitcher Shawn Chacon, saying the team's decision to terminate his contract was without just cause. Chacon cleared waivers and was released Monday, five days after a physical altercation with Houston Astros general manager Ed Wade in the clubhouse. Chacon had a $2 million salary this year, and the decision to terminate the contract meant $983,607 won't be paid. He also lost the chance to make up to $1 million in performance bonuses based on innings. 'Cause chokeslamming your boss isn't just cause for a firing in MLB. Just real life.

BP's Christina Kahrl on Roberts trade (potential)

SC — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:14:13 -0000

Corkedbat (Dallas): I know the Orioles want to break .500 in the win column this year, but, in your opinion, is that worth keeping on to Brian Roberts for? Are they shopping anyone? Christina Kahrl: I think it makes sense for the O's to shop him, but it's also equally clear that they should want a shortstop prospect in return, and there aren't a ton of those close to ready and readily available among the contending teams. Baseball Prospectus Chat with Christina Kahrl