Baltimore With A Huge Close Win

One day after an extremely controversial loss and some heated statements from 1st baseman Mark Reynolds, the Orioles got a huge win yesterday. Baltimore won behind a spectacular pitching performance from Zach Britton. That's right, Britton recalled before the game because Steve Johnson had to be used in relief a few nights back, was dominant. Britton threw 7 strong scoreless innings on 103 pitches. We all know Britton has this in him, but it is impressive considering it was against the Detroit Tigers. It was also impressive because Britton has been dreadful this year. Even after last night, his ERA sits at 6.23. Opponents are hitting .301 against him. His numbers have been poor and pitches straight. Last night he had movement and picked up 5 strikeouts. He also improved to (2-1). Most important, he helped the Orioles beat a wild card contender.

The last two innings were handled by the usual suspects. However, the Orioles won 3-2 and not 3-0. It did not go over as smooth as usual. Pedro Strop's scoreless inning streak ended as he gave up 2 in the 8th. Strop though was able to recover and get the hold. His 21st on the season. After last night's mishap, Strop's ERA is now 1.51. After Strop came the great Jim Johnson. Johnson pitched a scoreless ninth for save #36! Johnson is moving awfully close to that club record.

All of the RBIs came from Chris Davis. Davis hit a 3 run homer in the 7th inning off of Rick Porcello. It was his 19th on the season. It also could not have come at a better time. The Orioles needed this win to keep pace, and they got it. Taking the series against Detroit tomorrow would be huge.

-Noland

Seminoles Drafted So Far

Yesterday, I posted about FSU OF James Ramsey being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, today several more players were picked for the greatest university around.

This included my cousin's Washington Nationals selecting FSU closer Robert Benincasa. This is an awesome pick for the Nasty Nats who desperately need a closer. Benincasa should quickly rise through the system and help the Nats in the near future.

The New York Mets selected FSU 1B Jayce Boyd. I selfishly want Boyd to return next year and be a difficult sign for the Mets. However, I am very happy for Jayce and his selection and wish him well with the Mets if that is what he chooses.

The Los Angeles Angels selected 3B Sherman Johnson. Johnson is my favorite Seminole, but he has no more eligibility left. He should be an easy sign for the Angels and hopefully will contribute a great deal. He was drafted as a 2B for the Angels, which is where he started originally. I think Johnson will exceed his pick and end up with the big team one day.

The Detroit Tigers selected 2B Devon Travis. Travis is my wife's favorite Nole and really brings it every time out. He can come back and may likely come back, but will do well in their organization should he go to Detroit.

-Noland

Pudge to Retire

When I was just getting into baseball, I had three favorite non Oriole baseball players. Those players were Ken Griffey Jr., Kirby Puckett, and Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez. I just loved the way that those three guys played. They gave such great effort and they were so good. I would dream that one day they would come to the Orioles. We actually had a deal in place to bring Pudge to Baltimore, but Captain Angelos didn't want to give up Jeffrey Hammonds. What can you do though? Unfortunately, Mr. Puckett is no longer with us, having passed away in 2006. Mr. Griffey I have talked about several times before and he recently retired and then there was Pudge.

Rodriguez has now spent 21 seasons in the bigs. Most of his pro seasons were with the Texas Rangers and he will retire as a Ranger Monday, but he also spent time with the Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and Washington Nationals. Rodriguez won the World Series in 2003 in his only season with the Marlins and also played in the World Series in 2006 with Detroit.

Pudge also has several records and accolades. He holds the records for most games caught. Rodriguez has 13 gold gloves and 14 all star games to his credit. He was the 1999 American League MVP and the 2003 NLCS MVP. Though he is best known for his defense, Pudge also has 7 silver sluggers. He is a surefire Hall of Famer.

In addition to all of his awards, are all of the impressive stats. Rodriguez was highest amoung active players in career caught stealing percentage and is even higher than my boy Matt Wieters there. He has 2,844 hits and while that is short of the magical 3,000 it isn't short by much and it is good for 44th best all time. In his long career the man has hit 311 home runs and 572 doubles (21st). Pudge has 1332 RBI, and 4,451 total bases, while also having 934 extra base hits.

This man is a living legend and we all got to see him play for a long time.

-Noland