Homeward bound
The Orioles finally return home after going 4-3 on their latest road trip, and I'll be blogging from the press box every night. I also hope to be the 50 millionth sports writer to ask manager Dave Trembley about his rotation.
I'd be surprised if the Orioles made a decision on Garrett Olson's status today, though it could happen. I'm expecting to hear, "As of right now, he's still scheduled to make his next start." And then we can continue to speculate about it.
I wonder how many of you will be attending tonight's game, with the chance of being the 50 millionth fan and taking home $50,000 and season tickets for the next five years. The Orioles are 43,290 short of the magical mark, so the winner might not be determined until tomorrow night.
Either way, it's not going to be a Red Sox fan. That much is apparent in various interviews given by Greg Bader, the Orioles' director of communications.
Because fans will be entering gates simultaneously, there's no exact way to determine the winner. In baseball, a tie goes to the runner. In this promotion, a tie goes to the person wearing Orioles apparel.
"The club does have some flexibility," Bader said last week, noting that it's not technically a contest.
In a recent interview that appeared on www.thelosscolumn.com (which has been very supportive of my blogging efforts), Bader said:
"In answer to your question, the fact that this is not a sweepstakes or contest is helpful in giving the club some flexibility in designating the 50 millionth fan. There are no guarantees that this person is literally going to be the 50 millionth fan ever to walk through the gates, but we will be monitoring the tickets as they are scanned and will know when we have surpassed 50 million fans and at what entrance the milestone was achieved. At that time, we will have our staff, who will be monitoring each gate, designate a fan as the 50 millionth fan from the appropriate gate. It gives us some flexibility to avoid the scenario you have laid out below.
"While part of the story is clearly the draw of Oriole Park and its benefit to the tourism industry in Baltimore, we certainly want to make sure the person who will serve as the 50 millionth fan is someone Orioles fans will be excited to see represent them. In outlining the details, I don't want to lose site of what I think the promotion represents... that Oriole Park at Camden Yards was an experiment at the time which paid off immeasurably economically for the citizens of Baltimore and the people of Maryland. In just its 17th season, the park will reach 50 million fans faster than any other ballpark in the history of baseball. Oriole Park has attracted people from all over the world to Baltimore, helping to build up the area, particularly the west side of Baltimore (convention center expansion, Hippodrome, etc.). Oriole Park is truly a treasure for the city, state and region."
At times, I'm guilty of taking Camden Yards for granted because it's been my workplace since 1997 (and I assisted in The Sun's coverage in 1995 and 1996 during special occasions, such as 2,131 and the postseason).
It isn't until an outsider starts raving about it that I step back, take another look around and agree that it's the best ballpark in the majors.
Do you still feel that way, or has another ballpark won you over?
Down on the farm, left-hander Brian Burres made his first start at Triple-A Norfolk and overcame a shaky first inning to retire 14 batters in a row. Burres allowed a run on two hits and a walk in the opening inning before getting on a roll.
Fredy Deza picked up the win with a scoreless inning in his Triple-A debut, and Scott Chiassom earned the save after relieving Jim Miller with two outs in the ninth, after Miller surrendered two runs to reduce Norfolk's lead to 4-3.
Double-A Bowie's Jon Tucker is hitting .500 with six doubles, seven RBIs and nine runs scored in 12 games since Lou Montanez left the team.
"I'm not trying to take Lou's place," Tucker said. "It's not like now that Lou's gone, the pressure is on me to step up. It's just one of those things. I started feeling comfortable and I'm being more aggressive than I was in the middle of the season. I'm just looking for good pitches to hit at any point in the at-bat."
David Hernandez (8-4, 2.59 ERA) starts tonight.
Single-A Delmarva's Anthony Martinez stroked a two-run double in support of starter Chris Salberg, who won his first game. Salberg survived a rough second inning, when he allowed three runs and walked three batters, and pitched through the seventh. He retired 14 of the final 15 batters he faced.
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Wally Crancer went 2-5 with three RBIs, including a two-run double in the first inning.
Well... I do LOVE OPCY, but there really isn't anything quite like watching a game from the left fierld upper deck at Shea. Really... there isn't. For a good reason...
I've been to quite a few, though not all of the post-OPACY ballparks. The only ones that really stand out as challenging our own, are the Giants park, because of the bay in right field and the Padres park, because the left field wall, with the overhanging balcony seating is really, really cool. So, that makes two parks that tie for a close second!
Now that you have settled the O's MVP question how about comeback player or the year. Mora or Huff? If it is to include anyone in an O's uniform you can throw in Terry Crowley's name. As hot as Mel-Mo has been I give it to Huff. His consistency has been one of the few things to keep me in every game.
ROY has to go to Adam Jones, with JJ a close second. The O's Cy Young is another no brainer, with Arlo Guthrie the clear winner. Sherril and JJ tied way down the chart for second.
Roch, of the parks I’ve been to, I have to put Wrigley at the top with Camden Yards a close second. I went to Wrigley before Camden Yards existed, and it was the first park I went to that was an experience even before you’re inside. The outside is just humming with baseball life, and the field is iconic. Of course, there’s a lot of mystique built into Wrigley before you go there, and I haven’t been there since Camden Yards opened, so perhaps that affects my opinion coupled with perhaps taking Camden Yards for granted.
Anyway, Camden Yards is a park to be proud of. It’s a great place to see a game—I’ll leave out any comments about Yankees and Red Sox fans—and it’s the standard for all parks that followed (and it ended the “cookie cutter” era of stadiums, something else to be proud of). It can rightly be considered a new Wrigley and it should be around for a long, long time. It’s a shame that this relatively new park has been home to bad teams the last decade. At least we have had a couple years of postseason there.
I’ll never forget the first time I went to Camden Yards. I got there slightly late to an April 1992 game (not my fault—it was the people I was with!), sat down in seats near the right field scoreboard, and about two minutes later, it started pouring and the game was delayed. I didn’t have an umbrella, so I ran for cover. I wanted to take in the brand new park, but it had to wait.
Sorry for all the v's in my last post, don't know where they came from but it looks like H**L. Anyway, one other point that was mentioned by another post is the 40 man roster. The team should not even consider bringing up anyone that is not on there with maybe one exception, that being Kam who has a good shot at making the team next year. And why is Freddy Deza even on the 40 man roster?
Oh, I still like OPACY but they need to tear down that hotel so I can see the Bromo Seltzer clock.
The 50 million fan thing doesn't affect me because its about 450 miles away from me, but if I'm a Red Sox fan I might be tempted to wear Orioles gear. Tell Greg Bader to check ID's. Or have a Baltimore trivia questionaire.
1. How do you feel about Robert Irsay?
2. How many bars are in Fells Point?
3. Who is the only pitcher to win World Series games in 3 different decades?
4. Who is Blaze Starr?
5. What switch hitter holds the record for most doubles in a season?
Something along those lines. Miss more than 1 and you get flogged in center field during the seventh inning stretch.
It’s hard to believe that, comparing the stats of Olson and Guthrie, Olson is 8-6 and Guthrie is 10-8. If you went by records alone, you’d assume Olson was just as effective as Guthrie. Hardly. Wins are important but are by no means a measure of a pitcher’s effectiveness. Olson just isn’t effective. It’s disappointing. As Roch says, putting together multiple ineffective starters isn’t good, not even for a rebuilding team. No one’s asking for Cy Young caliber stuff but it would be helpful if these guys could at least make it to the 5th inning on a somewhat regular basis. It’s one thing to be inconsistent since you expect that from inexperience, but it’s another to just be consistently bad.
Melvin Mora is hot and is putting together a solid season. That’s great, but I still say trade him if you can. He should not be untouchable. Of course, it’s difficult now because of both the approaching Aug. 31 deadline and waivers along with his no-trade clause (which complicates trading him during the offseason too). Mora is having a great year, but you have to consider his age (36 now, 37 before the start of next season) and recent seasons before this one. Looking at that, I can’t help but be concerned that next year he puts up 2007-type numbers. In the end, though, I think the O’s will not trade Mora (the no-trade clause together with not getting more than some low level prospects in return) so it’s a moot discussion.
Here's some Excel based work time-killing good news on the O's:
Our current home winning % of .564 would predict a record of 15-11 in our 26 remaining home games. Our .426 away % would result in a 6-7 record in our remaining 13 away games. That's a pick up of 3 games vs. .500 which would result in an 81-81 record. Nobody has a problem with an even .500, right?
Of course the down side is 19 games remain against the Red Sox, Rays, and Jays. We are 12-23 against those 3 teams.
Let's focus on the first part and pray for rain when Guthrie isn't on the mound.
I hope the Orioles use binoculars way out into the parking lot, to keep the winner from being someone putting an Orioles shirt on and hiding their RedSox paraphernalia in a backpack.
Braving the Red Sox fans tonight and then again tomorrow night if 50 million isn't reached -- I want the season tickets! The $50,000 doesn't hurt, either. Glad to hear they have the flexibility to make sure a Red Sox fan doesn't win.
They won, so that calmed me down some, but ML pitchers have to throw strikes. Hell, Little League pitchers hit the plate more often. Has anyone told these guys that even the best hitters only get hits 3 out of ten times? I'm a geezer and I could throw more strikes. Cheaper too. Rick Vaughn has better control.
This message was sponsored by the Hit the Broad Side of a Barn Committee.
Brian Burres gave up a run in the first? If he did that with the Orioles, that would probably be the 60th time a pitcher has given up a run in the first inning.
I wonder how many first inning runs the Bowie rotation has given up? Can you check on that, Roch? That would be interesting.
I love Camden Yards, but I'm not sure that it's truly the best ballpark in baseball. I've seen PNC in Pittsburgh and whatever they're calling the park in San Fran and those are both on par with Camden Yards. The only complaint I have is that you can't watch the game from the lower concourse while you're getting food the way you can at a lot of the more recent parks. Other than that, it's pretty much perfect.
Roch,
Ok, so we all want Bergeson to start Friday instead of GO. But how do you get him or one of the other minor league pitchers on the 40 man roster? It's filled and there doesnt seem to be any canidates to move to the 60 day DL except maybe Adam Jones (can you do it with Ray since he's actually pitching in the minors or maybe Penn?)
Seems like very little pitching help other than maybe Liz is coming Sept 1. Only Buress, McCrory, and possibly Aquino and Albers (if they're healthy) are on the 40 man.
I'll be there...hoping that I get my seats on the house for the next five years! The fifty grand wouldn't exactly hurt either. Of course with MY luck I'll be the actuall 50 millionth fan who sets the wheels in motion so that the guy two people behind me in line gets the title and all the hoopla!
I'm torn on this whole Garrett Olson deal. I really believe that you have to be patient with young pitchers and realize they are going to have their ups and downs. What concerns me about Garrett is that he seems to be regressing, getting a little worse with each start, instead of the other way around. The problem is in his head not his arm... and I'm not sure where the best place is for him to get it figured out. Thank goodness I don't have to be the one to make that call.
3 more wins and it becomes impossible for the Orioles to lose 100 games this season. Ha ha, take THAT sports "experts"!
finally found you. I missed reading your blogs. Wasn't just last season that people were screaming for the Orioles to get rid of Terry Crowley? I wonder where they all are now.
Roch,
Here’s a scenario for the starting rotation until September recalls. Olson is sent downvtoday and replaced by McCrory. They need a fresh arm in the bullpen for this seriesvagainst the Red Sox. On Friday Burres is recalled and McCrory is sent down, this wouldvhave been Olson’s next turn. When Burres went down he was to work in the bullpen, butvsuddenly he is starting yesterday. Is it coincidence or planned? Surfate goes back to thevpen and his spot on Tuesday the 26th is taken by Liz who replaces somebody from thevbullpen who has options left. That person would only be down for a week since
Norfolk’s last game is on Labor day. After that a whole bunch of arms will be availablevfor recall.
All of this is a little crazy but I feel Olson needs to work out his problems at Norfolk andvif he pitches on turn would get three starts. It also keeps Bergesen at Bowie for the rest of their season and the playoffs. It would be a mistake to recall him at all this season.
This year has been better than we all expected thanks to the offense. There will be no playoffs for the birds so lets not rush anybody up for the hope of a few more wins. The other choice is the status quo, try to get by for the next two weeks and hope the
bullpen holds up until recalls happen.
There are some very nice post-Camden Yards ballparks -- the Jake (or whatever it's called now) in Cleveland, PNC in Pittsburgh, AT&T Park in SF -- but Camden Yards takes a back seat to none of them, even with the architectural monstrosity peering over left field and blocking out the Bromo Seltzer tower. Camden Yards is not only beautiful but it also has character and charm, and it can be difficult to create those things in a ballpark. Indeed, one merely has to venture 50 minutes down the road to DC and visit Nationals Park. Although it has good legroom in the seats and great food (e.g., Ben's Chili Bowl), that park has all the character and charm of a double-wide trailer. (My apologies to all the readers who live in double-wides.)
You're up awfully early, Roch.
I find it amazing that so many of the ballparks built since OPCY (and there have been quite a few) use our ballpark as a conceptual blueprint, and yet not one has been able to capture all of the elements that make OPCY so special. At least not in my opinion.
I'm from Baltimore originally, but currently live in northern Virginia, so I have been to the new National's stadium a few times already this season--most of those times when the Orioles were there in June. It's a great ballpark with many modern amenities that simply weren't heard of when Camden Yards was built, but even so, it just lacks that "something" that really gives it character. The design is great, the concessions are great, even the sightlines (at least from the seats I've been too) are pretty good too--but in the end, my friends and I all agreed...it just isn't Camden yards.
I'd love to head up to catch a game this week, but I've gotten to the point where I really can't stand going to the Red Sox games anymore...eh, maybe I'll make an exception.