While watching the New York Yankees season end against the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS, I noticed something in particular.

It had nothing to do with the fact the Yankees payroll this year was $206.6 million compared to $111.4 million to that of the Tigers.

It had nothing to do with the Yankees’ best hitter this postseason being named NOT Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, or Mark Teixeira, but Brett Gardner.

And no, it had nothing to do with A-Rod standing there at home plate after striking out to end the season (let’s be honest, who didn’t see that one coming?).

The main thing that really bugged me was the fact that the sellout crowd of 50,960 Yankee fans were just that: Sellouts.

The Yankees were only trailing by one run in the bottom of the ninth inning with the “heart” of their order coming up (and yes, they could have used some heart). One might expect the “fans” at that game to perhaps make a little noise. Not at Yankee Stadium apparently. During the ninth inning which saw Detroit closer Jose Valverde start the Yankees’ offseason, you could hear a pin drop at the stadium.

If we Orioles fans learn anything from that series, we need to support our O’s. Even during rough times with an owner who has no idea what he is doing. Even when our star players get hurt. Even when were down by one run in the ninth inning. As we saw during Baltimore’s season finale against the Red Sox, every pitch matters and we need to support them through thick and thin.

One other thing I learned was that you don’t need big names to win. A-Rod, Teixeira, and Jeter hit a combined .183 for the series with no home runs and six runs batted in. Good pitching and playing flawless situational baseball is the key to winning in October as well as [Read more...]

Does anyone (in Baltimore, at least) think the Orioles celebrated too much after sending the Red Sox home with no playoff checks?

Me either.

Besides, yo Sox–if you don’t want them celebrating, don’t let them beat you!

Sending the Beantown Bombers home was the Orioles’ equivalent of winning the wild card themselves—especially since they’ve been out of the wild card hunt since, oh, the All-Star break.

Last Wednesday’s game was a very big game for both teams, and the Orioles went behind, then rallied, and then won in spectacular fashion. They refused to lose. It’s the only game, since Peter Angelos and his merry marketers exhumed the old “Orioles Magic” slogan, that works with it.

Let’s recap:

Orioles start Alfredo Simon, who to say the least has had an up-and-down season. Red Sox start their ace, Jon Lester. Advantage: Sox.

Sox get a 1-0 lead in the third, but then JJ Hardy knocked his 30th home run into the left-center seats for a 2-1 lead.

Simon balks home a run to tie the game, and then the Sox go ahead in the fifth. Advantage, Sox. Lester is still looking strong.

Then, in the seventh, with the score 3-2, the heavens open and the hour-and-a-half rain delay washes Lester out of the game.

In the top of the eighth, Red Sock Marco Scutaro singles and tries to score on Carl Crawford’s double. But a sparkling relay from Reimold to Hardy to Wieters cut Scutaro down at the plate. If the momentum hasn’t actually begun to shift, it’s [Read more...]

Last Friday in Baltimore, a special guest threw out the first pitch: Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. Even though he missed high (ok, very high), his control would fit right in with the Orioles bullpen. Hey, if the O’s can give Mike Gonzalez and Kevin Gregg a shot as closer, why not Ovie?

There was a bit of noise being made over the fact that Ovechkin wore the number 8, a number worn by some shortstop who played for the Orioles for a game or 3,001.

Something tells me Cal Ripken Jr. would be OK with that. Early in the year Ripken actually presented Ovechkin with the “Advocate For Youth Award” on behalf of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, so something tells me he would be glad to share his number 8 with another great athlete and person.

Ovechkin, one of the best players in the National Hockey League, gets ready to lead his Caps into the 2011-2012 season with lofty goals tempered by cautious optimism.

Ovie, as he if affectionately known, helped lead the Caps to the Southeast Division title last season, a title they have won each year since the 2007-2008 season, but their performances in the playoffs have curbed any enthusiasm. With a first round exits in 2008 and 2010 and second round exits in 2009 and 2011, this Washington team has yet to fulfill its potential.

It’s tough to blame Ovie for their playoff failures, as he has put up 50 points in 37 playoff games.

Not too shabby.

Ovechkin was drafted number one overall during the 2004 draft and has more than lived up to his billing. During his six seasons in the NHL he has been named MVP twice, led the league in goals twice, led the league in points once, and has been named to the All Star squad four times. Although he scored a career-low 32 goals last year, he did lead the league with 11 game winners, making most of his goals count.

Helping Ovechkin out are linemates Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin. Last year Backstrom put up 65 points and Semin put [Read more...]

With the way things have been going down in Baltimore this baseball season, it’s tough to find any bright spots with a team whose 58-88 record is worst in the American League. But don’t worry, there is one glaring bright spot down in Baltimore. Hey, at least they didn’t sign Manny Ramirez this offseason!

It was nearly impossible for Matt Wieters to live up to all of the hype surrounding his call-up two seasons ago, but he has been improving steadily. So far this year, he is hitting .260 with 18 home runs and 59 runs batted in. The 25-year-old catcher from South Carolina has already surpassed his numbers from 2010, and his batting average is .011 points better, but those numbers are only half of the story.

Defensively, Wieters has actually been better than advertised. The lone Oriole All-Star this season, Wieters has made only four errors behind the plate and has allowed only one passed ball. With the pitchers he has been working with, that’s pretty impressive. Wieters has caught 31 would be base stealers this year out of 83 attempts, good for 37 percent, also a career best so far.

One other note that goes unnoticed is that Baltimore pitchers have thrown an American League low 27 wild pitches. Thanks to Wieters behind the plate, many of those balls in the dirt that would be wild pitches were stopped. That number is even more impressive when you realize how many pitchers Wieters has had to deal with this season. With all of that in mind, I think you can say Wieters is most deserving of his first Gold Glove this year.

Wieters just finished up a nice August, as he hit .302 for the month with five home runs and 15

RBI, but that pales in comparison to this next stat. Where Wieters really excels is hitting with runners in scoring position. This year, he is hitting .337 in his 98 at bats with runners in scoring position.

Another scary number is his .967 OPS with runners in scoring position. If some of that would rub off on the other [Read more...]

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Charles Dickens wrote in his Tale of Two Cities back in 1859. Even though only 40 miles separates Washington, DC from Baltimore, MD, they are definitely a tale of two cities. Two different cities.

The Orioles have not had a winning season since they went 98-64 way back in 1997. Since moving to DC in 2005, the Nationals have finished in last place every year except 2007, although back in 2005, they were 81-81, which is better than the Orioles have done in a while.

These teams, long the doormats in their respective Eastern divisions, are heading in opposite directions, which is not good news for the Orioles. Currently, the Orioles sit in last place with an American League worst 55-84 record, while the Nationals are next to last in the National League East, but with a respectable 65-74 record. There is one other category where Washington seems to be doing much better than Baltimore: Hope.

The Nationals will get back Stephen Strasburg this week, lifting spirits for that organization. They also have another young star, although hurt currently, but Bryce Harper looks to be a big star upon his arrival in the majors.

When you look at their current rosters, Washington has several quality players that are performing at the major league level, unlike the majority of the Orioles “prospects”. Sure starting pitcher Jodran Zimmermann has an 8-11 record, but his 3.18 ERA isn’t too shabby, neither are his 124 strikeouts compared to only 31 walks, which is a nice ratio of 4 to 1, a concept Baltimore pitchers seem to be unable to grasp. All in all, Washington has three starting pitchers with [Read more...]

The Baltimore Orioles family lost a dear friend last week, as Mike Flanagan died of a self-inflicted gun shot wound.

Flanagan spent 15 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles with four years in Toronto sandwiched in-between. Over the course of his career, which spanned from 1975 until 1992, Flanagan compiled a record of 167-143 and an ERA of 3.90.

Flanny’s best season came in 1979 when he posted a 23-9 record with a 3.08 ERA and won the American League Cy Young award. He helped the Orioles reach the World Series, which they lost in seven games to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Flanagan also had a great season in 1983, as he went 12-4 with a 3.30 ERA and helped the Orioles defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.

After retiring, Flanagan served as pitching coach with the Orioles and served as half of the Orioles’ “tag team” general manager with Jim Beattie. Most recently, Flanagan was the color commentator on the Orioles’ broadcast network.

Rest in peace, Flanny. You were an Oriole through and through.

Trying to end this on somewhat of a positive note, the Orioles have actually been playing well lately. After losing five games in [Read more...]

Someone better tell Mike Gonzalez to stop, drop, and roll, because he is on fire! He is really earning that two year / $12 million contract the Orioles inked him to before last season. Kidding. We all know Gonzalez is about as easy on the eyes as that ugly Kardashian sister. Sorry Lamar…

Since Gonzo got shelled by the Boston Red Sox on July 18th, where he gave up three earned runs in one inning during a 15-10 loss, he has not allowed a single earned run. His ERA has “plummeted” from 5.82 to a very respectable 4.57 during this stretch. Another point worth noting is his strikeout to walk ratio.

Obviously he read my column on August 10 where I brought up the Orioles horrible strikeout to walk ratio, and their need to improve upon that. Well, I’m assuming Gonzalez read it top to bottom, because since that edition of the Baltimore Guide, Gonzo has struck out 11 batters in six innings and has not walked one.

As a matter of fact, during their win Monday night against the Minnesota Twins and their starter Carl Pavano, Gonzo struck out all four batters he faced. (God help me if Pavano ever becomes an Oriole. He would make Tommy Hunter look like Mike Mussina).

So why the sudden interest in being a productive player? Most likely it is due to the fact his contract is up at the end of this year (37 more days, but who’s counting?), and I‘m assuming the Orioles’ front office isn‘t stupid and suicidal enough to bring him back. His tenure at Camden Yards will be another waste of a signing, much like the Vladimir Guerrero joke of 2011.

Gonzo was paid closer’s money before the start of the 2010 season as he came off a somewhat decent year with the Atlanta Braves, but let’s be honest, everyone always seems to pitch well once they go to Atlanta (see Jaret Wright). Gonzalez sported a nifty 2.42 ERA during his 2009 season with Atlanta and saved ten games. He did have seven blown saves that year, but all in all, his numbers weren’t horrific.

In need of bullpen help, general manager Andy MacPhail brought in Gonzalez. Gonzo quickly let us know he had no idea how to close a game out during the Orioles opening series against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010. He then blew [Read more...]

Remember that time you went on a date with that really cute girl? The nice restaurant, the great club, the big dent in your wallet, and then when you walk to the car you move in for the kiss. And you get cheek. Oof, that hurt! Well, that is where you and the Baltimore Orioles have something in common, because the Orioles got a whole lot of cheek for Vladimir Guerrero.

Last winter general manager Andy MacPhail was ecstatic to announce the signing of Guerrero, a right-handed slugger who is a career .318 hitter. Well, Andy, pucker up bud, because here comes the cheek. You paid $8 million for a 36 year old cleanup hitter who is hitting .276 with ten home runs and 41 runs batted in.

Yes, Vlad, who is a clean up hitter, has 41 RBI. If you want to do the math on that one, Vlad is earning roughly $195,121 per RBI. Comparatively speaking, Johnny Damon, who is earning $5.25 million this year with the Rays, has 51 RBI, which equates to an RBI per every $102,941. Heck, even Hideki Matsui ($4.25 million) has 59 RBI in 20 fewer at bats than Vlad.

OK, so with the bad, you get the good (at least hopefully you do). This week we choose the player of the month, and thankfully there are some Orioles who can show Vlad how to hit. Both Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy have had excellent starts to their second half of the season. But I had to choose one, so I decided to go with Mr. Jones.

Before I get to Jonesy, let’s take a look at what Hardy has done so far since the All Star break. Hardy has paid huge dividends so far since coming to the Inner Harbor. Since the break, Hardy is tied for third in the majors [Read more...]

They say defense and pitching wins championships. I guess that explains why Baltimore is in last place.

Besides Mark Reynolds at third base, the Orioles’ defense isn’t really that horrible, but their pitching has been hit more than a joint at a 311 concert.

After watching the San Francisco Giants win the World Series last year with dominant pitching, you might expect the Orioles to get more pitching in the offseason. The Philadelphia Phillies already had a decent rotation, but still went out and added Cliff Lee last winter and haven’t looked back.

What did Baltimore do? They added a 36-year-old designated hitter who can’t play the field to their roster.
Injuries to the young rotation have plagued the O’s all year. Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, and most recently Zach Britton have all spent time on the DL this year.

Oddly enough—and this is a scary stat—the bullpen has been better than the starters this year. Baltimore ranks dead last in ERA during the first six innings, posting a 5.19 ERA. From the seventh inning on, their ERA is 4.11, which isn’t that good, but still a whole run better than the earlier innings.

The main cause of this is control. One stat I love is the strikeout-to-walk ratio. What this number tells you is how much control your pitcher has over his pitches. One player who was amazing in the department was former Oriole Koji Uehara. Not only did he have a great K/9 rate, but he had one of the best strikeout-per-walk ratios in the history of the game.

Right now, the league average is around 2.26, which is just to say that for every 2.26 strikeouts you get, you will walk 1 hitter. The Orioles are fifth-to-last in this department with a rate of 1.98.

“Wait, didn’t you say Koji excelled in this area?” you ask? He sure did. His strikeout-per-walk ratio while in Baltimore was 7.75. He was so good in fact, that if you remove his numbers from Baltimore’s totals this season, the Orioles post a ratio of 1.85, which is good for dead last.

This number is important because when you walk hitters, you’re just making things more difficult on yourself, and when you don’t have the ability to strike hitters out at will, that runner you walked will most likely come around to score.

Baltimore’s pitchers are not looking like they know how to pitch. A good pitcher will live on the corner, a la Greg Maddux. None of the Orioles’ starters throw exceptionally hard, most hanging around the low 90’s, so if they miss over the middle of the plate with a fastball, hitters will tear them up, which they have all year.

The Orioles’ pitchers need to hit their spots on the corners and change speeds more effectively. Don’t miss over the heart of the plate. This is basic pitching 101, something I learned while playing in Babe Ruth while I was 15.
Some other categories Baltimore pitching ranks dead last in: Home runs allowed, ERA, hits allowed, earned runs and total runs allowed, and WHIP (Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched). This is discouraging news indeed.

by Andrew Mindzak

If anyone had any concerns about Nick Markakis this season, he has been working hard to erase those thoughts. You can think of his 2011 starting out like Khloe, then turning into Kim. He started off ugly, but he’s looking much better now! On the season, Markakis is currently hitting .297 with nine home runs and 40 RBI.

One number that is of interest would be his strikeout totals. So far this year, Markakis has struck out only 38 times, or once every 10.02 at bats. Last year he struck out at a rate of once every 6.76 at bats, so he has clearly worked at that—not that he really needed to. One thing I noticed was that he does appear to choke up a bit, giving him more bat control. His power numbers have been on a decline every year since 2007, but I think he will hit more than 18 homers this season, more than he hit in 2009.

For those reasons, along with his usual stellar play in right field, Markakis is July’s Player of the Month!

Some other news and notes are this week, the Orioles inked shortstop J.J. Hardy to a three year deal worth $22 million. Hardy has been playing exceptionally well this year, and was an All Star snub in my opinion. Hopefully Hardy can stay healthy over this contract, and he should build a nice bridge from the present to the future, as the Orioles are awaiting their top 2010 draft pick (third overall) Manny Machado to mature into the starting role.

Hardy has done well at the plate as well as in the field, and will help solidify the left side of the infield along with hard hitting third baseman [Read more...]

Thank goodness for the All Star break, because it was beginning to look like the Orioles wouldn’t win another game all year. After getting swept by the Texas Rangers they were then swept by the Boston Red Sox—but at least in Boston they didn’t go down without a fight. Literally.

I’m not going to dwell on the negative, because even though this team is 36-52, it’s an improvement over last year. Here are the grades for the first half of the season.

Nick Markakis—B Markakis started the season off about as slowly as anyone could, hitting .204 in April but currently leading the O’s with a .292 average. And he plays a mean right field. Just ask Tampa Bay.

Adam Jones—Jonesy gets an A for his first half. He is hitting .285 with 13 HR and 49 RBI, but standout number is his .385 average with runners in scoring position and two outs. Jones also made one of the best catches the world has ever seen against the Seattle Mariners. Amazing.

Luke Scott—C The Luke Scott experiment in left field has been average thus far. He is hitting only .223 for the season with nine home runs and 22 RBI.

Mark Reynolds—B- Reynolds would get a B+ if not for his horrid defense this season. Reynolds leads the team in home runs with 20 and runs batted in with 49, tied with Jones.

J.J. Hardy—A- Hardy was robbed of an All Star spot this year. He is hitting .278 with 13 HR and 33 RBI. His 13 home runs are second among American League shortstops with [Read more...]