A pair of aces? (updated)
For the first six innings of tonight's game, we learned that the Blue Jays are only human.
They can't walk on Chris Waters.
Back-to-back stellar performances from Radhames Liz and Waters. What's going on here? Has the world been turned upside down?
Pretty soon, Kevin Millar will anchor a 4-by-400 relay team, Luke Scott will become an advocate of gun control, and Ramon Hernandez will acquire the nickname "Charlie Hustle."
Melvin Mora might be facing a suspension after chucking a bat onto the field following his third-inning ejection for arguing balls and strikes. Major League Baseball tends to frown upon such actions.
A magnetic resonance imaging test confirmed the fractured clavicle that reliever Dennis Sarfate revealed to me after Sunday's game. At least it isn't a shoulder impingement. I hear those things are contagious.
Manager Dave Trembley isn't ready to shut down Jeremy Guthrie, whose DL assignment is retroactive to Sept. 6. It seems pointless to run Guthrie back out there after he's eligible to return, but if it's that important to him and he's not at risk, the club might do it - perhaps for one game of next Tuesday's doubleheader against Tampa Bay.
Then again, with Liz and Waters in the rotation, who needs him?
Update: Garrett Olson is now slated to pitch on Thursday. The starters for the Yankees series, beginning Friday, are Daniel Cabrera, Liz and Waters.
Bravo on letting Waters stay in the game to finish it.
For some of us...beating the Jays is not unlike a win over the Red Sox or yankees. Better , actually.The announcer up here referred to Baltimore as "the lowly Orioles".
Great game by Waters...Go O's!
Roch,
As far as you know, when Gary Thorne says this is the first complete game shutout for the O's since Guthrie on Aug. 2 of last year - then corrects it to say no, it was Aug. 2 of THIS year - then corrects it again to say no, that wasn't a shutout, this will be the FIRST complete game shutout for the O's this year ... is that Thorne getting wrong information in his earpiece, or just getting it wrong?
Just now Jim Hunter is saying correctly when the last complete game shutout was.
As far as the actual game, I can only say wow.
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Hard to say. Could have gotten wrong info or misunderstood it. Can't be sure without asking him. He's probably been given 1,000 bits of info over the course of the night, some of it coming through his earpierce while he's in mid-sentence. I'd be losing my mind by the 4th inning. - Roch
After watching Chris Waters pitch a beautiful, 2-0 shutout, I hear the voice of Baltimore's own John Waters shout in celebration "The egg man! The egg man!"
"Then again, with Liz and Waters in the rotation, who needs him?"
Be careful. That sentence may never be written again...
Roch:
This farm system never stops working. It's going 24/7/365. One word: organizational depth.
The trend began in the Thrift years and it has rolled on and on throughout the Angelos Era. The hallmark of this era has been a commitment to excellence.
We've seen that Waters and Liz can go 2-3 or 3-2 in any projected rotation.
Unreal... we seem to have the worst starting pitching in the history of baseball and then we get back to back gems from Liz and Waters. Go figure! Maybe that will inspire the others to at least stay focused until the end of the season. Tremblay should be saying, "Who wants a job in the big leagues next season... step right up."
If Guthrie is up to it, he deserves to get the final start in Yankee Stadium. That's how I'd try to line things up.
Insane that Waters has the 2 best-pitched games of the season. Good work, rook!
As a reward, you get to close out Yankee stadium. Quite an assignment, eh?
Awesome stuff from Waters tonight -- especially against a team playing as well as the Blue Jays.
First Liz, now Waters? What's next? Garrett Olson goes 1-2-3 in the first inning? Daniel Cabrera...you know what, I'm not even going to bother with him.
The poster above said: "Just now Jim Hunter is saying correctly when the last complete game shutout was."
I've always considered Jim Hunter the most authoritative person on the O's scene. He's been rock-solid since he hit this town. He epitomizes the commitment to excellence that has been the theme of the Angelos years.
His hot stove show on WBAL in its heyday was the best thing in this town or any other town for off-season baseball buzz.
Waters is starting the final game at yankee stadium? That's a high profile game! We'll see how he handles the pressure of ESPN sunday night baseball and a very loud, boisterous, new york crowd.
Pettitte starts for the yankees.
Roch - This might be off topic but have you heard anything about who or what type of player we may be getting from Tampa in the Bradford deal?
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It's never a problem going off topic. And all we know about the PTBNL is it's a low-level minor leaguer. Unfortunately, that's it. - Roch
"Ramon Hernandez will acquire the nickname "Charlie Hustle."....be careful saying that...he will never be Charlie Hustle or Flash...
but what a game for Waters!!
Let's keep it up boys
what is the deal with the necklaces that I've seen so many pitchers wearing? Tonight, I saw that Waters had one on, and it appeared to have the O's color scheme.
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The players buy them in Seattle. I'm not hip enough to know why they're so popular. - Roch
I saw someone ask about the necklace Waters was wearing, it's a Titanium Necklace by PHITEN. You can find them on the Orioles mlb.com shop for $39.99. They're so popular because supposedly they feature "Phiten's Phild processed Aqua-Titanium, which has the ability to regulate the body's natural electric currents through cell ionization" and "promotes muscle relaxation, pain and stress relief, fatigue reduction, blood circulation improvement thus helping prevent injury." :o)
Those necklaces are titanium and are used kind of like the braclets you see golfers with. They have something that is supposed to help with blood flow and muscle recovery. They have small magnaetic disks that you will see the playsers where as well. They place these in trouble areas for help with pain relief! Both work as well as strange as it may sound!