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I'm not touching the Ravens or the Saints/G-men games...oops, I lied I just took the Giants +3 1/2.

I do like the Eagles to cover the 2 TDs, Carolina -3, Arizona +3 and Pitt -14.

A lot of big spreads this week, I'm also unsure of Bob's Chargers "gimme". I like them a bit but you have to admit the Broncos have been on a roll.

Good point about DeCinces, except - they traded him because a certain 3rd baseman at Rochester was ready to come up. He was slotted to play third and Bob Bonner shortstop, but Weaver moved that certain 3rd baseman to short in June of '82. Just sayin'. So, the Orioles ended up having one shortstop for the next 16 years. I mean sometimes you can't have your cake and eat it, too, or have it both ways ... or, um, something like that.
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Yeah, I'm aware of the history. Was just saying that we heard for years how many 3B the Orioles used after that trade. Was quite a list. But hey, they might not win the World Series without Disco Dan Ford. - Roch

If the yankees or red sox signed matt holliday you know there should be a salary cap it just is not far. I hate this broken league, point in case the yanks would not make the playoffs if they only had 1 of the top 5 highest paid players not all of them

Hey Roch,

mlbtraderumors.com just posted a story from joel sherman of the new york post about the Mets going after Guthrie. The package he proposed started with Bobby Parnell and Ruben Tejada, their young SS in very low level minor league ball. What do you think of that scenerio and do you see the O's listening to offers for Guthrie at all?
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Just to be clear, he's suggesting that the Mets go after Guthrie. Not reporting that they're actually doing it. I don't know enough about those players to have an opinion, but yes, the Orioles would certainly listen. Guthrie isn't untouchable. But they already could use a veteran starter for the rotation, so someone would have to take Guthrie's place. - Roch

ok so I was bored and since 1857 the champions are...a couple ways of doing this so I got it so the old Orioles and the new Orioles are the same team. Philadelphia Athletics and Oakland Athletics different teams ect.
*= current
1) New York Yankees--------26*
2) Boston Red Sox----------10*
20 St. Louis Cardinels-----10*
4) New York Giants----------9
5) Brooklyn Atlantics-------8
6) Pittsburgh Pirates-------7*
7) Philadelphia Athletics---6
8) Boston Bean Eators-------5
8) BALTIMORE ORIOLES--------5*
8) Cincinnati Reds----------5*
8) Los Angeles Dodgers------5*
12) Chicago White Stockings-4
12) Detroit Tigers----------4*
12) Oakland Athletics-------4*
15) Chicago White Sox-------3*
16) 13 tied w/ 2
29)14 tied w/ 1

so... the Giants are still 4th and they haven't won one in 55 yrs.
the Atlantics are still 5th and they have not won one in 140 yrs. lol
the Philadelphis Athletics and the Boston Bean Eators are still in the top 10 and I think it has been a while for them also.

Like I said I was bored.

Yes, but signing Ohman would have sent the right message to the fans, and that's what's important.

This Ravens game is going to be PAINFUL!

6-8 wins this season. Their schedule is brutal.

RichD: When I worked in England, I paid UK taxes. But since moving back to the US, I have paid US taxes. When I go down under next month, I will pay Aussie taxes. Follow my drift? You pay taxes in the country you work in!

The only real question is, what will the Ravens and their fans be crying about come tomorrow morning?

"And don't tell me you've already forgotten about Sean Henn."

No, but I'm trying to................

overrated Minnesota defense? whaaaaaaa?
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Not their run defense. Teams have been throwing on them for years. - Roch

OOOps

If I am going to seperate the White Stockings from the White Sox then I must seperate the Red Stockings from the Red Sox...of course.
*=current
The list is more like...
1) New York Yankees--------26*
2) St. Louis Cardinels-----10*
3) New York Giants----------9
4) Brooklyn Atlantics-------8
5) Pittsburgh Pirates-------7*
6) Philadelphia Athletics---6
6) Boston Red Sox-----------6*
8) Boston Bean Eators-------5
8) Baltimore Orioles--------5*
8) Cincinatti Reds----------5*
8) Los Angeles Dodgers------5*
12) Chicago White Stockings--4
12) Boston Red Stockings-----4
12) Detroit Tigers-----------4*
12) Oakland Athletics--------4*
16) Chicago White Sox--------3*
17) 13 tied w/2
30) 14 tied w/ 1

See B_O/Jack we are top 10 all time...Tied w/ the Bean Eators !
See how I just got us 2 more titles

Sorry for all the confusion every1 can get back to stablity now...

Oh this just in from the overreactionary Dept. Brian Billick is looking smarter and smarter....

The Red Sox have used 19 different shortstops since trading Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs

reminds me of the orioles in 2008

Joe G,

You need to combine the Philadelphia, Oakland and the Kansas City Athletics. All the same franchise, they just migrated west.

Roch you need to take the Ravens and 20 at this point.
Where is Heap in the play calling scheme?

How long will it take the Ravens to figure out you cant run against the Vikings.

Steve D.
If signing a player who will not help the team win now or in the future is what the fans want then that says something (and not something good) about those fans. Seems to me that's what got us into this mess...

Have the O's ever shown any interest in Chris Davis?

And Brummie...your post are PAINFUL! This is a baseball blog not and H&R Block chat room. No one cares about your financial status. Just drop it.
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I'm not aware of any interest in Davis. Has some power, but not sure if he offers much else. - Roch

THINKING OUT LOUD ... about the NFL adopting the college rule governing the penalty for pass interference; which means that there no longer would be ”unfair" gains of 20-50+ yards after very questionable calls by the officials.

I’m all for the change, and I invite everyone to opinionate on this topic.

Schoolman …

Hey Roch,

Watching the game yesterday, I was wondering... who did we get for Freddie Guzman?

Joey Gathright?

Chad Bradford? (ok, I'm kidding about that one :D )

Matt Holliday is going to play where he has a chance to get a big pay day and a chance to win. Neither is going to occur here!

If you were a Grade A free agent, would you come to Baltimore after the GM just wrote off an entire season? Would you play for a team that finished with 98 losses and has a losing mindset? Not to mention ANDREW continues to be defensive and timid on the hot stove and low ball free agents.

Don't worry though, Dandy Andy will make a timid move for Holliday. He'll tell the press he "made some calls to Holliday's agent." And after Matt signs somewhere else, ANDREW will tell the press ( via a cream puff statement from Mr Bader's office) that "We really wanted Matt but his agent never got back to us."

Realists like Jack and me will know the truth: Holliday's salary demands were bad for the Profit/Loss so OLE PETE vetoed the pursuit.

Joe,
I’m trying to keep up with you on your list of WS Champions. Did you expect to confirm a theory; why did you do the research - - the same reason I post – - to defeat boredom and Alzheimers?

You meant to list the early Boston team as the Beaneaters, and why separate the three incarnations of the Athletics; from Philadelphia to K.C. to Oakland it was the same corporate franchise?

The Boston Red Stockings started as a National Association franchise, then joined the National League as the Red Caps; the franchise changed it's name often until it relocated for the second time, landing in Atlanta as the Braves.

Brummie,
Isn’t it true that, even though you pay taxes in the U.K. and Australia, your Social Security taxes are deducted and remitted to Maryland under treaty committing several nations to withhold and remit?

UNBELIEVABLE!

What a comeback!
What a game!

I'm so glad to be wrong for once!

Why didn't I take Rice over Peterson in my fantasy team?

Which is worse- the Orioles' middle relief or the Ravens' secondary?

Flacco and Rice were pretty fantastic in the second half but that Ravens' D is long gone. They are a fantasy must-start AGAINST! Carr, F. Washington, and Foxworth are atrocious. Small and questionable ball-tracking skills. Big receivers are just getting their bodies inside the ball and waiting for pass interference (though they usually catch it anyway despite being abused). How much faith did you have that after taking the lead that the defense could make a stop. I didn't see it happening either. What I did see was us making a 44 yard field goal.

Anyone miss Mr. Automatic at the end of the game?

Joe G.,

P.S. I'm not certain about one more thing. You said Coach Billick was looking smarter and smarter -- I was hoping that you would want to retract that observation, but Steve Hauschka just missed the field goal, which would have won the game for the Ravens.

Joe G., I was interrupted by the field goal attempt ... I'm not certain about one more thing. You said Coach Billick was looking smarter and smarter; but, your assumption that Coach Billick could get smarter is most certainly flawed.

There is a small group of condescending, long-talkers that believes that BB is the present-day punchline to President Kennedy's quip at a White House dinner honoring Nobel Prize Winners "...probably the greatest concentration of talent and genius in this house except for perhaps those times when Thomas Jefferson/Brian Billick dined alone."

Schoolman,
Talking about Nobel Winners, as I watch the CBS game being played in snowy Boston, I would like to use this opportunity to, in the manner of BrummieO, gratuitously take another cheap-shot at someone:

If the WS returns to NY and temperatures are hovering in the low 40s, former Vice President Gore should be invited to throw out the "first pitch."

"I'm taking the Ravens +3 over the Vikings,"--great call.

Nice to see Brummie screamin' 'bout the Ravens now, lol.

Despite the final score, it was a great game. If they can get their nickel defense in order, they still have a shot at the S-B, peaking at the right time, and their guys learning from early season lapses.

We'll see.

Hey Dummie,
Why is it that when I work overseas I don't pay any taxes? As long as your are there for at least one year. You, being an American would not be subject to a foreign countries taxes.

"Meanwhile, it's 4 ½ hours before kickoff and the Eagles already have a two-touchdown lead on Oakland."

Blew that one all to hell, didn't you. LOL But all in all, you had a good day.
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Yeah, could someone please explain to me how the Eagles lose to the Raiders? Ah, that nutty NFL. But right now I'm 8-4 vs. the spread (but currently losing the Falcons-Bears game). - Roch

I had to laugh at the post game interview with Harbaugh.
He said now is the time to go back to work and fix what was wrong or bring the right people in. When it was over, I couldnt help trying to imagine Trembley saying the same thing. Andrew would have had him hung up by his you know whats.

The Ravens see a problem, will work on it and if need be, bring the people in to make the difference. Can you see the Orioles using that same approach to the game....NOTTA

It would cost money

We have DT as a manager when we could have possibly have someone like Don Mattingly. I read and article where he has been saying he is ready to become a manager.

Put the entire "Yankee" thing behind you for a second and think. A person of his professionalism, integrity and respectability walking into the clubhouse and trying to light a fire under this group of under achievers. A player who knows how to win, a coach who has won and most of all, wants to win! Can you imagine what next season could be like....

And then I realize we are stuck with Trembley and what next year will be like.....more of the same old same. Excuses and losing!
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A guy who has never managed in his life. A guy who, if I'm not mistaken, had to quit his coaching job because of personal issues at home. Not exactly a sure thing there, Jack. - Roch

Roch, I was going to say something crazy this morning about the O's going after Will Ohman, but then I didn't want to bother you with senseless posting. Then you write about Ohman. I'd steer away from his 5.84 era.

JDB: No social security payments for me while abroad. It's a reciprocal thing at least Britain-US. When Brits work here they pay SS, while when I worked in Britain I paid "National Insurance"- their version of SS.

West Coast: Depends what company you work for and where you had residency. I was a full blown "British resident" so I had to pay UK taxes.

Brutal brutal loss today. To come all the way back and have a chance to win...the Ravens deserved it, but they stunk up the 1st quarter and that was the difference.

Jack said:
We have DT as a manager when we could have possibly have someone like Don Mattingly. I read and article where he has been saying he is ready to become a manager.

Jack,

Wait, it sounds to me as though you're suggesting that Andy MacPhail has put the correct pieces in place? Is that what you're saying here?

And Brummie, having a live journal with a British flag in the background doesn't make you an international journalist, give it up.

It's stat time again folks..........

As always, these are real stats that the Orioles did not exactly "promote."

2008 home runs: 172
2009 home runs: 160

Runs scored 2008: 782
2009: 741

2008 ERA: 5.15
2009 ERA: 5.16

2008 strikeouts by our lineup: 990
2009: 1013

Complete games 2008: 4
Complete games 2009; 2

Home Runs allowed 2008: 184
2009: 218

Just one question: WHERE IS THE PROGRESS MR ANDREW AND DAVE???

Rusty and jdb...I was bored mostly, the weather had me inside and I did spend Sat.night reading about the orgins of Baseball and Rounders and such. I know I know...

I was also trying to look at it from a hypothetical 165 yr. old fans perspective. ( work w/ me ).ex; If your an Oakland Athletics fan you are not stoked about anything that the Philadelphia Athletics would have done. If you had been a Baltimore Orioles fan all that time you would be stoked about those 5 championships. You would not be excited about anything that that 1st Orioles franchise would have done when they left. ( How did that work out ? ) Just as most of us don't care about the Indianapolis Colts. Can you dig it ?

Intersesting about the Boston franchise jdb... that would change the #'s a bit. I'm sure there are some other factors that would skew it even more. ( Maybe you could help me with my list JDB ! )

As far as the Billick thing. I didn't say he was getting smarter only looking smarter. I just get a kick out of people w/ the knee jerk reactions. I was being sarcastic.{sarcasm aside} The Ravens have a slightly new identity. They need to discover exactly what it is. They can beat anyone and I see them in the playoff hunt as usual.

Roch--Any idea where I can buy a Frank Walker #41 jersey? I figure if I get one, I'll also have the jersey of every opponent clutched oh so closely to it.

What a wonderful comeback, and what a waste by having a guy on the roster--Walker--whose presence there continues to spur the question--"Are you kidding me?"

Hey amarie... tonight there has been a Kerry Ligtenberg sighting. While perusing the year-end statistics of players throughout various independent leagues (it's an illness, but I think you can relate), his name jumped out at me. Ligtenberg pitched for the St. Paul Saints in the American Association in 2009. He made 30 relief appearances as the team's closer going 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA and 15 saves. He held opponents to a .199 average and walked only six guys in 36 innings... not half bad.

Then again, you may already have known this, seeing that he's your pretend boyfriend and all.

JDB: "THINKING OUT LOUD ... about the NFL adopting the college rule governing the penalty for pass interference; which means that there no longer would be ”unfair" gains of 20-50+ yards after very questionable calls by the officials.

I’m all for the change, and I invite everyone to opinionate on this topic."

I think the current rule the NFL uses is better. The college rule means that the defense gains value on any pass that would gain 16 or more yards. There would be no reason for a defender to haul down, trip, or otherwise interfere with a receiver who had burned him if the penalty were only 15 yards. Making it at the spot of the foul doesn't penalize the offense for being aggressive and throwing down the field.

The second pass interference call on Frank Talker was actually a good penalty, since that would have been a TD. Bad coverage (and WTF is Frank Talker doing in single coverage against anyone with two functioning legs?), but a good penalty.

The defensive rule I would like to see changed is the automatic first down on illegal contact. It's fine on defensive holding, but some illegal contact penalties come from incidental contact or are ticky-tack calls, not defenders deliberately mauling receivers past five yards.

About the Ravens: I know a lot of people who blamed Hauschka for the loss. There is no guarantee that Stover makes that kick, either. ANY FG of 40+ yards, especially on the road in a tough place to play, is a risky proposition. Personally, I think the Ravens should have tried to get closer and shorten the kick as much as possible. They had moved the ball well on the Vikings for the entire second half. Why let off the gas at the end?

Roch,

Andino for Youkilis?!? Get real. I think Andino and Henn would do it...but the Sox might need to throw back a low-level pitching prospect.

Let us not forget that Mazilli was suppose to be our Yankee savior and we all know how that turned out.

Not a DT fan but Mattingly wouldn't be a good choice either.

If Mattingly were here last year, he could have thrown a little love towards Teix and... well if I continue that thought it wouldn't be approved.

=0)

Roch-
Let me ask you this. They say the days of Pujols in St. Louis is almost over.
Also, that the Mets and Red Sox will be the ones going after him, although the Sox might not have the money. "They say" that he is going to probably get even money with A-Roid because thats where the economics are.

At 29, and the best player in baseball, if you are the Orioles, would that be the one and only case in which you could package Tillman and Arietta together to land him?
I personally think Matusz is the best of the 3, and compare him to Kershaw, but even better, and we would hold onto him.

With Erbe and Britton coming down the pike, would it be worth it?
There would obviously be 3 more probably going as well, but assume they are position or relief arms.
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I don't know. Only MacPhail can answer that question. - Roch

Roch,
Who wouldnt want Mattingly over Trembley. Has Trembley ever won at ANY level as a player or manager? He could take some tips on his in game strategy from playing some X-Box.

He has proven to be nothing more then a liability to his team thru his in game decisions. Give me an example of where he has exceeded expectations besides being a puppet for Andrew?
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Give me one example where Mattingly has won as a manager at any level. Trembley has been named manager of the year in the minors. Go back and check his bio. I'll ask again: What level has Mattingly won as a manager, at any level? Yes, he was a very good player. So was Mazzilli, and then he coached with the Yankees. Where is he now? Maybe Mattingly will have a great career as a manager, but you don't know that for certain, no matter how badly you want to slam Trembley and "Andrew" again. - Roch

If Mark Clayton holds a pass that hits him in the chest, the Ravens beat the Patriots. If the defense doesn't commit three penalties in the final drive against the Bengals, they win that one. If Hauschka kicks straight, the Ravens beat Minnesota. All of these losses are due to fixable mistakes. If they can get these things resolved, this is still a playoff and possible Super Bowl team. Three losses does not ruin a season. If they were getting blown out, that would be another story. And it's certainly better than being a Titans fan.

The "winning coach" Mattingly as our manager??? I didn't think jack@$$ could get any dumber. I was wrong.

I ask you this jack, what has Donnie baseball ever won? Oh that's right nothing.

Hi Roch...i thought i was the only one left who used the term "Disco Dan Ford"...good one!!! also your first three picks were AWESOME