My Thoughts on the Nelson Cruz Signing

As a Christian man, I want everyone to move on from their mistakes and do the best they can with their current situations. As a Baltimore Oriole fan, I want what is best for the baseball team. As a father and a coach, I want those that cheat to be treated as such to set an example for the youth. As an American, I want anyone who cheats to be dealt with appropriately, but I also think people should get a new chance. So how do I possibly treat the signing of a drug user by one of my favorite teams?

There is no simple answer because it is not a simple question. I am not happy with the signing of Nelson Cruz by the Baltimore Orioles. The way I see it, Cruz is a known cheater and there is no way to verify when and for how long he cheated. My hope is that it was a one-time deal and he regrets his mistakes. My fear is that he reached that level of performance solely by performance enhancing drugs and he just robbed my favorite professional sports team. My belief is that the Nelson Cruz lies somewhere in between those two levels and that can be ok.

Cruz has been a really good baseball player for his career. Every year he puts up all-star type numbers at the plate. However, he took steroids and nobody really knows for how long and what affect they had. In my opinion, you don't give that kind of money to a 30+ yr old former drug user, who doesn't field well. Unfortunately though I do not run the Orioles. Good thing for me is that they are in capable hands. Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter are great baseball minds. While I personally disagree with this use of funds, it likely will end well because of the track record recently. These guys have brought in quality players and changed the outlook for this organization.

The Cruz signing is not something I am happy with. However, it was 8 million and is a bargain if he can keep his production. While I do not have to agree with everything they do (and don't in this circumstance) I do believe in the Orioles brain trust. Things are looking promising in 2014 in birdland. Even if this goes south with Cruz though, we got Ubaldo! Go O's!

-Noland

MLB All-Star Balloting Through 6/5

Here are the All-Star balloting totals through 6/5. It is an absolute crime that Adam Jones is not in the top 3. There are some other noticeable omissions. However, the AL OF is stacked and the leading vote getter definitely deserves it. Looks like the fans love the Rangers. In a couple days, I will vote for the all-star game and disclose my ballot. Voting is currently open on mlb.com

AMERICAN LEAGUE
FIRST BASE
Prince Fielder, Tigers: 1,027,070
Mark Teixeira, Yankees: 697,602
Paul Konerko, White Sox: 671,430
Mitch Moreland, Rangers: 618,226
Albert Pujols, Angels: 478,020

SECOND BASE
Ian Kinsler, Rangers: 1,447,171
Robinson Cano, Yankees: 1,164,448
Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: 699,422
Robert Andino, Orioles: 317,434
Chris Getz, Royals: 278,585

THIRD BASE
Adrian Beltre, Rangers: 1,179,864
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: 886,365
Evan Longoria, Rays: 789,434
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: 657,315
Mike Moustakas, Royals: 432,379

SHORTSTOP
Derek Jeter, Yankees: 1,698,777
Elvis Andrus, Rangers: 1,033,986
J.J. Hardy, Orioles: 489,941
Alcides Escobar, Royals: 392,195
Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians: 344,065

CATCHER
Mike Napoli, Rangers: 1,224,565
Matt Wieters, Orioles: 713,469
Joe Mauer, Twins: 637,364
Russell Martin, Yankees: 431,435
A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox: 424,646

DESIGNATED HITTER
David Ortiz, Red Sox: 1,204,904
Michael Young, Rangers: 1,049,170
Raul Ibanez, Yankees: 492,183
Billy Butler, Royals: 477,257
Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays: 391,131

OUTFIELDERS
Josh Hamilton, Rangers: 2,587,991
Curtis Granderson, Yankees: 1,406,128
Nelson Cruz, Rangers: 992,992
Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: 930,814
Adam Jones, Orioles: 857,543
David Murphy, Rangers: 652,379
Nick Swisher, Yankees: 624,215
Brett Gardner, Yankees: 437,126
Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners: 433,899
Jeff Francoeur, Royals: 422,304
Austin Jackson, Tigers: 389,664
Nick Markakis, Orioles: 384,390
Alex Gordon, Royals: 378,459
Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: 346,774
B.J. Upton, Rays: 277,173

NATIONAL LEAGUE
FIRST BASE
Joey Votto, Reds: 1,314,516
Lance Berkman, Cardinals: 634,473
Freddie Freeman, Braves: 576,255
Bryan LaHair, Cubs: 391,497
Adam LaRoche, Nationals: 331,772

SECOND BASE
Dan Uggla, Braves: 872,136
Brandon Phillips, Reds: 586,835
Omar Infante, Marlins: 512,049
Rickie Weeks, Brewers: 512,021
Jose Altuve, Astros: 472,292

THIRD BASE
David Wright, Mets: 856,887
David Freese, Cardinals: 824,801
Chipper Jones, Braves: 727,719
Pablo Sandoval, Giants: 648,303
Aramis Ramirez, Brewers: 386,013

SHORTSTOP
Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies: 823,708
Rafael Furcal, Cardinals: 803,254
Starlin Castro, Cubs: 526,811
Jose Reyes, Marlins: 425,682
Alex Gonzalez, Brewers: 399,218

CATCHERS
Yadier Molina, Cardinals: 1,100,048
Buster Posey, Giants: 1,072,464
Brian McCann, Braves: 707,508
Carlos Ruiz, Phillies: 562,021
Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers: 457,590

OUTFIELDERS
Matt Kemp, Dodgers: 1,952,910
Carlos Beltran, Cardinals: 1,212,030
Ryan Braun, Brewers: 1,112,971
Andre Ethier, Dodgers: 827,262
Melky Cabrera, Giants: 714,642
Matt Holliday, Cardinals: 667,544
Jason Heyward, Braves: 515,340
Michael Bourn, Braves: 498,070
Jay Bruce, Reds: 460,853
Andrew McCutchen, Pirates: 457,223
Hunter Pence, Phillies: 446,460
Corey Hart, Brewers: 417,929
Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies: 386,860
Jon Jay, Cardinals: 373,833
Shane Victorino, Phillies: 373,034

-Noland

Josh Hamilton: I Am Second

Earlier today, I posted a video about I Am Second. Because of that video I posted, I wanted to post my favorite video from the website. This one is from Josh Hamilton the best player in baseball. The guy who has overcome more than any other I can think of. This guy's story is amazing. Everyone should get a chance to learn something from how he did this. Absolutely amazing. The video can be found by clicking the link.
Seconds - I Am Second
-Noland

Orioles Go Back to Back to Back

The Baltimore Orioles have finally decided to play baseball against the Texas Rangers. During Game 1 of the double header, the Orioles started off with a bang. They went back to back to back. Ryan Flaherty started the party with his first major league home run onto Eutaw Street. Flaherty was followed by JJ Hardy who was followed by Nick Markakis. Ironically the last time a team went back to back to back to start a game was the 2007 Brewers. Why is that ironic? JJ Hardy batted 2nd for that during that game as well. For the Brewers Rickie Weeks led off that game and Ryan Braun hit 3rd. However, the Orioles are the 1st AL team to accomplish that feat.

Back to today's double header, the Orioles were obviously off to a good start with the homers. Even better than the start, was the starter. Wei Yin Chen pitched 7 2/3 against the potent Ranger lineup today. He was only charged with 2 runs and one of them came when Ayala took over for him in the 8th. Anybody that can pitch like this against the Rangers deserves an award. This is the biggest reason the Orioles were able to beat the Rangers 6-5 today.

Jim Johnson gave up a three run homer to David Murphy in the 9th, but held on for the win. Beating Texas is a big step for this ballclub. Johnson picked up his 9th save on the season. His ERA now sits at 0.66. Not too shabby. Johnson is the man.

The Orioles are currently down 4-3 in game 2 of the double header. Tommy Hunter will possibly be sent back down after the game, especially with Dana Eveland the starter tomorrow night. Eveland deserves the chance to start. The guy has been quite good in Norfolk and had a solid spring. Meanwhile Hunter and Matusz have been struggling. Give the guy a chance.

Josh Hamilton has hit another home run against Baltimore. Some things never change. This one landed on Eutaw Street.

-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

Ian Kinsler Signs Extension

The Texas Rangers have locked up 2nd basemen Ian Kinsler. Kinsler will now be a Ranger through at least 2017 with a club option for 2018. This is good news for the Rangers as long as Kinsler's skills do not start to decline. He scored 121 runs last year while hitting 32 home runs and playing gold glove caliber 2nd base. The extension is for $75 million over 5 years or $15 million per. The small market teams can't afford to give this contract to their players, but the Rangers fresh off two world series appearances can easily make this payment. Enjoy being a Ranger Ian Kinsler.

-Noland