More Comparisons Between This Team & '89

The Orioles continue to do well and exceed expectations. You cannot count them out. There was another year they were expected to compete and they did that until the very last day. When that happened it was 1989 and it looks like it is happening again. Behind another amazing extra inning victory in which the Orioles won in 14 innings they shrunk the division lead to 4 1/2 games. Baltimore is now tied with Oakland for a wild card spot as well. However, nothing matches up to the 1989 team like a familiar face. One of the faces of that team, was Dave Johnson the pitcher. Yesterday, the Orioles called up Dave's son Steve to make his 1st major league start tomorrow! Now this team is really looking like 1989.

I have long been saying that Steve Johnson should join the rotation as the 5th starter. Showalter and Duquette finally agreed with me. This is very exciting to a lot of Orioles fans. Steve Johnson was not the most hyped prospect. However, he was most deserving of the opportunity, he is on normal rest, and he is a good local kid. The Orioles faithful loves Steve Johnson. I expect a hug crowd @ Camden Yards tonight.

How did Johnson finally join the rotation? Zach Britton got shelled. Britton has not been effective since his return other than the one start. Tonight, he gave up 7 runs in 5 innings to really put the Orioles in a hole. Britton's loss is Johnson's game. Because of the fact that he had to warm in the bullpen to go in, Tommy Hunter is unavailable to start tomorrow night now. Hunter looks like he would have entered in the 15th if the game had continued. Showalter said they were getting close to Chris Davis time though so maybe he was coming not far behind.

Let's start with the craziest news first and go from there. The Orioles have played in the most games this season lasting 13 innings or more. This is their 5th game past 13 and they are 5-0 in those games! Amazing. After Britton left the game, the score was 7-2. The bullpen pitched 9 scoreless innings to lead the comeback effort. 6 pitchers led to that scoreless performance. Surprisingly, Kevin Gregg was the 1st pitcher in that unit and he pitched 2 scoreless. Patton, Ayala, Strop, Lindstrom, and O'Day also pitched in the game. With O'Day picking up the win. The win moved O'Day to 6-0 on the season. Everyone besides Gregg in that groups has a sub 3 ERA. Obviously, the best one in that group is Pedro Strop @ 1.27. Strop was huge once again.

The comeback started in the 6th inning. The Orioles scored 1 in the 6th and 4 in the 7th to help push it to extras. They won the game on an Adam Jones single with the bases loaded in the 14th. The Mariners intentionally walked Davis to get to Jones. I don't know why anyone would want to pitch to Jones in a walkoff situation, but Go Mariners. I will gladly take it. Guess which Oriole scored the winning run? Omar Quintanilla.

Making the decision to walk Davis more strange was the fact that he was the only Oriole not hitting last night. Davis was 0-6 for the game. Adam Jones and Omar Quintanilla each had 2 hits in the game. Btw, if you need more reason to love Robert Andino, look at that smile in the picture above. I absolutely love the passion and fun he plays the game with.

Other key contributors last night were Markakis and Hardy. Nick Markakis was 4-7 from his leadoff spot. He is now hitting .294. JJ Hardy was 1-4, but hit a very crucial 3 run homer. It was Hardy's 16th homer of the season. Great job by JJ!

There was only one guy more impressive than Markakis, Hardy, and Jones. That man is Matt Wieters. Not only did Wieters catch 14 innings like a boss, but he played it amazingly defensively. Oh, and he hit 2 home runs! Now Wieters is up to 15 on the season. Terrific job last night by Wieters. There is a strong chance that he gets a night off or is the DH tonight.

Ok, now the other ugly part of the game. Wilson Betemit made his 15th error last night. The guy is horrible at 3rd. Just play Andino!

All that being said, WHY NOT?!?!

-Noland

Make That 3 In A Row

Three straight quality starts, three straight wins. Left for dead not to long ago, the Orioles remain a half game out of the wild card race, and dare I say it, Miguel Gonzalez looks in the rotation to stay. Gonzalez had another terrific performance last night. Gonzalez pitched 6 2/3 and only gave up 2 runs to the Indians. He improved to (2-1) with the 10-2 victory. Now that is how I like to win the game. For once the O's hammered somebody. Miguel also had 5 strikeouts in his terrific performance. His ERA now sits at 2.61.

Gonzalez was replaced by Lindstrom. Matt Lindstrom was dealing, but unfortunately ran into some bad luck. Lindstrom got through a full inning and lowered his ERA to 2.42. The unfortunate part was that Johnny Damon hit a shot off of Lindstrom and injured the pitcher. I must say though that Damon checked on Lindstrom in a very classy move. Nice job by Damon there. All of us Orioles fans hope Lindstrom is ok. We definitely missed him the 1st time he got hurt.

Lindstrom was replaced by Kevin Gregg. I have to say that Gregg has certainly increased his trade value recently. Perhaps somebody actually wants this guy now. He finished the game pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings. His ERA now sits at 3.72. To top it off, he had 2 strikeouts and didn't allow a baserunner. I sure hope we trade him now that his value is at an all-time high.

As for our hitters, everyone pretty much was on point because we scored 10 runs. However, three of them stood out from the rest in my opinion. First, Chris Davis went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Davis improved his batting average to .264. The next person is Ryan Flaherty. No joke. Flaherty was awesome with the bat last night and has started improving of late. It will be interesting to see who stays up with a new 2nd baseman coming to town. Flaherty certainly has a stronger case after hitting a huge home run last night. He also had 3 RBIs. However, Flaherty is still just hitting .196. I still prefer Tolleson to Flaherty.

Finally, Jim Thome had an awesome night. Thome was 3-5 raising his batting average to .277 and his OBP to .370. Thome now has the highest on base percentage on the team. He also managed to pick up his 1st Oriole HR last night. That homer moved him past Sammy Sosa for sole possession of 7th place on the all time list. Great job by Thome hitting the shot. I still think we have too many 1B/DH types, but Thome is my favorite of that group. Great job last night Jim!

-Noland

Now That's How You Make A Debut

Many Orioles fans including many of my friends hated the Teagarden trade this offseason. They said I told you so when Teagarden got hurt. Who is laughing now? Teagarden, didn't start the game (his 1st as an Oriole), but man did he ever finish it. The backup catcher launched a walk off homer in his 2nd at bat for the birds. Now, it is my turn to say I told you so. I was pumped when Teagarden replaced Paulino. Turns out I was justified. Actually, I was watching the at bat with my wife and I said "come on Teagarden you have to hit a homer because Mark Reynolds is up next and Kevin Gregg is pitching." Next thing you know, he does. I then leaped for joy. There have been few times as an Oriole fan I was more excited than tonight. Feel so good for Teagarden.

Speaking of Oriole debuts, another Oriole made his regular season debut. Actually for Miguel Socolovich, it was his major league debut. Socolovich looked great in an extremely high pressure situation. He retired the Tigers 1, 2, 3 in the 10th inning. One of the batters he retired was Miguel Cabrera. Socolovich did give up a run in the 10th, but it was just a guy he left on, Patton was the guy who actually gave up the run.

Wei Yin Chen actually pitched 6 brilliant innings and only gave up 1 run. It should have been an easy win, but Ryan Flaherty had a huge error in the 9th (some defensive replacement) and Jim Johnson blew the save. It's a shame Chen couldn't get the victory, but that's just how it goes sometimes.

Kevin Gregg picked up the victory for the Orioles. Gregg pitched 1/3 inning and lowered his ERA to 3.86. Gregg improved to 3-2 on the season. Seems like a perfect time to trade him! I mean he picked up the win and lowered his ERA, it isn't going to get better than this. Offer to pay his entire salary and see if we can get a prospect or two or a spare part. Gregg and Reynolds for Rickie Weeks?

While we are on topic of getting rid of guys, I must bring up Ryan Flaherty. Do we have to keep this guy? He is dead weight on a team trying to make the playoffs. I hate to give him up for free too, but he offers nothing at this point. A defensive replacement cannot be making huge errors that turn the game.

In other news, JJ Hardy also hit a 13th inning home run to break out of a huge slump. As a huge Hardy fan that thinks some fans have been way too hard on him, this was an awesome sight. Very happy for JJ.

Finally, Nick Markakis had 3 doubles! 3 of them. What an awesome performance. If I ever said Nick wasn't my favorite baseball player, I sincerely apologize. I apologize to Nick and Orioles fans everywhere. This guy has been the heart and soul of our team in recent years. He has been all we had on many nights. Thank God that he is back in an Orioles uniform. The guy can play baseball.

Also Robert Andino had a homer tonight. More Andino!

Finally, it was Jim Palmer night at the Yard. Great to see the O's honoring their best pitcher ever. Palmer is a class act.

-Noland

Orioles Beat Nationals

The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Washington Nationals last night in game one of the beltway series. The Orioles were lead by a tremendous pitching effort as they gave up only one run in 11 innings. Jake Arrieta had his best start in a while as he only gave up 1 run over 7. Arrieta keeps the quality start streak going for the O's. If they can have quality starts every game, they will win the overwhelming majority of them.

The bullpen was absolutely flawless. Darren O'Day went 1 1/3 innings and was perfect as he didn't allow a baserunner. O'Day now has an ERA of 1.37. Troy Patton finished an inning going 2/3 of an inning and was also perfect. Then came Kevin Gregg...Gregg pitched a perfect inning as well. He lowered his ERA to 3.46 and has been perfect for several outings in a row now. What happened here? Kevin Gregg also won the game and now has 2 victories on the year. You know what they say, "every game there's a different star that's the magic of Orioles baseball." Finally, Pedro Strop came in for the final inning and picked up his 3rd save of the season. Strop did give up a hit, but it didn't matter as he preserved the 2-1 victory.

The offense came through for the birds also. Nick Markakis had one of his best games of the year as he had two extra base hits. Markakis had his 9th double of the season and his 7th home run. His power numbers have definitely come up, although his average has dipped. He now is hitting .258 for the season when he is usually around .300. This guy still has plenty of time to bring it up though. The other Oriole outfielders both had 2 hits. Xavier Avery went 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, and a run scored. This guy continues to impress. Avery is now hitting .280. Adam Jones went 2 for 5 with an RBI. Game 2 will feature

-Noland

Orioles Win in 15

Adam Jones homered in the 15th inning to give the Orioles a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals last night. Jones' 12th homer on the season leads the team and keeps the Orioles in 1st place. It is amazing how much Jones is mashing this year. With 12 homers in 38 games, Adam Jones is currently on pace to hit 51 home runs on the season. That would be the most home runs by an Oriole since Brady Anderson had the magical 50 home run season in 1996. It would also make the price to extend Jones skyrocket. Let's see if they get some sort of extension done soon.

The pitching staff was the big story today as they only gave up three runs over 15 innings. Starter Tommy Hunter, only gave up 2 runs in 7 innings. Now the Orioles have 4 quality starts in 11 days and look to be rebounding from the stretch of poor pitching. Back to back quality starts is a good thing. Hunter obviously was not alone in his brilliance on the mound. Dana Eveland threw three scoreless innings for the birds, in the 10-12 innings to keep the score tied. The performance from Eveland was huge. After Eveland was the winning pitcher....Kevin Gregg. Yes, Kevin Gregg got the win last night. Gregg pitched well in one of his first appearances since the 17 inning marathon against Boston. The save went to the great Jim Johnson. Johnson recorded his 13th save of the year and looks to be headed to the all star game. Ironically, the all star game is going to be in Kansas City where the O's were last night. I will have my all star ballot posted sometime in the next week.

There were other Oriole hitters that came through last night. JJ Hardy went 3-6 with a double, raising his average to .261. Nick Markakis went 2-7 and also had a double. Wilson Betemit went 2-7 with a home run and a double. Chris Davis also had multiple hits as he went 2-4. This is the most notable Davis news since he got the win last week. Finally, Xavier Avery was 2-6 last night. Avery had two singles and also had a sacrifice bunt. Seeing how poor the Orioles have been at bunting lately, it was nice to see Avery lay one down. This guy can play.

-Noland

Nats Sign Mike Gonzalez

The Washington Nationals have signed my least favorite Oriole of all time (other than Kevin Gregg). Mike Gonzalez is the king of the blown save. The guy blew three straight saves in his first three appearances against the Rays after signing a $6 million a year contract. Man, I dislike this guy. At least he did get the birds Pedro Strop though. One smart thing the Nationals did was offer him a minor league contract, but I wouldn't touch this guy with a ten foot pole. I want him nowhere near the Baltimore organization again. This guy did not live up to his contract with the Orioles. It will be interesting to see if the Nationals bring him up.

-Noland

Orioles Win 17 Inning Thriller

Chris Davis picked up the most bizarre stat line ever in the Orioles win. Davis went 0-8 in this game, but he managed to be the hero. How is that? Davis picked up the win throwing two scoreless innings for the Orioles. Yes, Chris Davis pitched in this game and threw two scoreless innings. He has not pitched since High School, but managed to come through in the clutch. You got to give it up to Chris for coming through in a tough spot. The guy was a stud out there on the mound. Where did this come from?

Baltimore ran out of pitchers because Tommy Hunter had a horrible outing and couldn't get through the 5th. It did not help that the game went 17, but it all worked out in the end. I'd be ok with Hunter going down for a reliever for a few days. If someone in AAA took his turn in the Baltimore rotation, that would be ok. For now the bullpen needs an arm. We should be able to expect some sort of roster move in the next 24 hours.

The bullpen did a terrific job tonight. Even Kevin Gregg threw two scoreless innings. That was absolutely huge. Jim Johnson, Pedro Strop, and Matt Lindstrom also pitched two scoreless. Lindstrom and Johnson still are perfect on the year. These guys have been lights out, and Orioles fans hope it continues. Jim Johnson should be in line for an all-star appearance if he keeps this up.

This game was not only won by pitching. JJ Hardy had an absolutely huge game. Hardy was 5 for 8 with two home runs. He had 12 total bases in this game! Yes, 12! Hopefully, this is the beginning of a hot streak from Hardy.

Adam Jones also had an amazing game. Jones was 3 for 8 including his 8th home run on the season. That home run put the Orioles up for good in the 17th. Can't get much more clutch than a 3 run homer in the 17th. Once again, Jones is having a monster season for the Orioles. Robert Andino also homered for the Orioles. Andino continues to impress me with his effort and attitude.

What a game! Go O's!

-Noland

Jason Hammel Picks Up 4th Win

Jason Hammel was fantastic again as the Orioles beat the Red Sox this afternoon. Hammel won his 4th start out of 5 and now has an ERA of 2.09. The starter picked up 8 more strikeouts this afternoon. This guy has to be the most pleasant surprise of the year thus far.

Hammel was not the only pitcher throwing bullets today. The other pitchers did not give up a single run. Even Kevin Gregg pitched well today. Gregg threw a scoreless inning (trade him quick). Darren O'Day didn't give up a run once again and now has an ERA of .68. Matt Lindstrom only pitched 1/3 of an inning, but he didn't give up anything. Lindstrom still hasn't given up a run on the season.

The Orioles' hitters also had a big day. Baltimore had 7 runs in the 3rd inning and 8 for the game. That 3rd inning explosion allowed Hammel to pitch with a huge lead. The explosion was led in part by Adam Jones who continues to dominate offensively. Jones had his 7th home run of the season and 2 RBIs. Wilson Betemit did amazing again as DH and went 2 for 3. I really like this pickup that the Orioles had in the off-season. Chris Davis again had multiple hits and is now hitting .326. Mark Reynolds had his second homer tonight and multiple hits today. Reynolds finished with 3 RBIs today and certainly increased his trade value.

Great job all around by the birds.

-Noland

Anyone Looking Good @ Norfolk?

With a few Orioles struggling, the question usually goes to who do we bring up? In order to look at that we have to look at how each person is doing at Norfolk. Unfortunately, the Tides look bad and are in last place, but that doesn't mean they are all bad.

Here is a look at some of the people we may be seeing in Baltimore this year.

Xavier Avery is hitting .276 with a .364 OBP. This certainly has to be encouraging for the Orioles with Avery showing some plate discipline. The odds of seeing him this year aren't too great with the money tied into Chavez, but it is a possibility. The outfield will probably stay as is though unless Reimold moves to DH if Johnson is sent out.

Everyone else is under a .250 average other than the catchers. Not much chance of seeing any of them with those kinds of stats. The two catchers aren't likely to come up either with what we got in the system.

Ryan Adams has been especially awful hitting .179. Many fans wanted to see him as our everyday second baseman so I am thrilled Buck didn't listen to the fans. Andino is proving Buck to be right and Adams is as well.

The pitchers have been much better other than perhaps the three most important ones. Brad Bergessen is 0-1 with a 8.33 ERA. Not good for someone that thought he was back in form. And the sad thing is Bergessen hasn't been the worst one.

Tsuyoshi Wada has been awful on his rehab assignment. Wada lost his start and has a 20.25 ERA. That is not a misprint, Wada's ERA actually is 20.25. Let's hope Wada gets a lot better before he heads up north.

Chris Tillman has been slightly better than the other two, but not good. Tillman is 1-2 with a 4.73 ERA. He has been the best from that group, but he is far from the best so far in Norfolk.

Pat Neshak who didn't give up a run in spring training, still hasn't given up a run. You have got to think Neshak heads north soon. I'd replace Kevin Gregg with Neshak today.

Miguel Gonzalez has also not given up a run. Heck, Gonzalez hasn't given up a hit. He seems to be a guy that came out of nowhere. Are the Orioles really ready for an M.Gonzalez though? If it gets rid of Kevin Gregg, I say heck yes!

Who replaces Matusz if he struggles tonight? Dana Eveland and Jason Berken look like solid choices. Berken hasn't given up a run yet in 9 innings, but has not really been stretched out enough to start in the big leagues. Considering his past success, Berken might be a likely candidate to take over for Gregg as well. Eveland is 1-1 with a 2.41 ERA and seems to be the guy to be next in line if Wada isn't ready.

What about Zach Phillips? Phillips has a 2.25 ERA and is still one of the next guys in line.

Here is where I think everyone stands.
Starter who replaces someone for ineffectiveness in order. If Matusz is bad tonight he's in AAA
Eveland
Wada
Tillman
S.Johnson
Berken

Bullpen replacements, hopefully for Gregg
Neshak
Berken
Phillips
Eveland
Gonzalez

I'd expect some type of move after this road trip.

-Noland

Today's Orioles Pitchers

Matusz
Gregg
Patton
Sounds like a loss.
Well it was a loss. At least we got all the bad pitchers done all at once. I assume Matusz is gonna hop on the AAA bus soon. Patton and Gregg are out of options so they are a little more tricky. As I have said many times, you just got to cut your losses with Gregg. The sooner we realize that the better.

The good news is that Adam Jones hit his 3rd home run. The good news ends there.

There will be a post about Larry Doby by the end of the night.
-Noland

Why The Orioles Won Tonight

The Orioles beat the Blue Jays 7-5! Here are ten reasons why it happened.

1) Mark Reynolds was the DH and didn't put a glove on
2) Kevin Gregg didn't pitch
3) Because Kevin Gregg didn't pitch the bullpen was filthy
4) Pedro Strop and Jim Johnson are really effective pitchers
5) Robert Andino is the man! If Andino hits bombs the Orioles are in a good spot. He remains tied for the team lead in RBIs
6) Nick Markakis didn't waste an opportunity early, didn't try to do too much and helped his TEAM. You learn a lot from a sacrifice fly. Markakis is tied for the team lead with 5 RBIs
7) 3 RBIs with 2 outs (Betemit 2, Reimold 1)
8) Reimold mashed tonight by going 3 for 5 with a bomb
9) So did Jones, he went 3 for 4 with his second home run
10) The Orioles saw 142 pitches while the Jays only saw 122. If you make the other team's starter work it will increase your chances of winning

Some bad happened though because Reynolds and Hardy continue to struggle at the plate. I will take what happened in this game any day of the week though. O'Day gets the win and Jim Johnson gets his third save. Let's hope this happens again tomorrow. Go O's!

-Noland

Orioles Update

The Orioles of course were swept by the Yankees in the past series. They did not look too good that entire series. Two extra inning losses and then there was the 1st game. We learned that Mark Reynolds has not improved much if all at third base and that Kevin Gregg is still capable of blowing games. We also learned that the Orioles are still not good with runners in scoring position. There is some good news though.

Adam Jones has extended his hitting streak to 9 games which dates back to last season.
The Orioles face Brandon Morrow tonight and Nolan Reimold is 3 for 6 and a homer lifetime against him. JJ Hardy is even better at 2 for 3 with two home runs. Leaving Reimold and Hardy at the top of the order might be a good idea against the Jays tonight.
Robert Andino is tied for the team lead in RBIs with 4 (well that one could be bad too depending on how you look at it). I look at Andino's bat as a positive because if Andino is hitting I like our chances a lot more this year. Andino is a solid baseball player with a lot of fire.
The last bit of good news is that we got Matt Wieters, the best catcher in baseball.
Keep smiling O's fans!

-Noland

2 runs 13 Hits

Well it was a good thing that the MLB Extra Innings Free Preview ended. I could have wasted a lot of time seeing the Orioles get their tails kicked. How do you get 2 runs on 13 hits? Seriously 19 guys left on base, my two favorite players Markakis and Reimold ground into double plays and the rest is just as ugly. Nick Markakis was off tonight going 0-4. What a shame.

The good: Matt Wieters went 4-4 and hit a bomb! Well that is about it. Actually, Kevin Gregg increased his trade value by pitching 1.1 scoreless. Let's hope he continues to increase that trade value and we actually get rid of the guy. If we could flip him in a similar fashion to Mike Gonzalez that would be awesome. Getting a Pedro Strop type arm for that guy would be fantastic. Strop btw also threw a scoreless inning tonight.

The bad: Everything else. It was really bad. Darren O' Day did not have the best day out of the pen, but I wouldn't characterize his performance as ugly.

The ugly: 19 guys left on base, well 9 by the team, but if you add up individual totals it was 19 guys. Absolutely terrible at situational hitting. You cannot win games if you only score 2 runs on 13 hits. You have to take advantage of the hit parade. Troy Patton continues to stink out of the pen. Let's hope he gets it right or we may want to see Zach Phillips soon. Perhaps the worst of all is that Brian Matusz looked horrible. 4 walks and 4 earned runs in less than 5 innings. Very difficult with those types of pitching performances as well. Matusz will soon be back in Triple A like the picture shows if he does not get it together. Very bad news for all Orioles fans right now.

-Noland