In his final post-game media session for 2010, manager Buck Showalter was asked when he'd start getting itchy for spring training.
"Probably a couple hours," he replied.
Spring training tends to make me itchy, but I digress...
Showalter met briefly with his players before heading to the interview room.
"Like I told the players, you need to get away from it," he said. "We're so close to it every day. It's right there in your face every day. Sometimes, you've got to back off and take...
Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts will likely undergo a CT scan tomorrow to determine the cause of the headaches and dizziness that prevented him from playing in the last six games of the season.
Roberts noticed that the symptoms began after he hit his helmet with his bat in frustration after striking out in the ninth inning of Monday's game. Bad idea when you're still wearing the helmet.
"It's something I've done a million times," he said. "I still can't tell you for sure if...
Today's attendance: 23,914.
The season total of 1,733,019 in 80 dates is the lowest in Camden Yards history.
The Orioles just gave up a critical run with two outs in the ninth inning when Brandon Snyder, inserted into the game at first base, failed to catch Robert Andino's throw, increasing the Tigers' lead to 4-2. Andino moved to shortstop after Corey Patterson pinch-hit for Cesar Izturis in the bottom of the eighth, and Ty Wigginton moved to second.
I expected Julio Lugo to replace...
Cesar Izturis committed his ninth error today, bobbling Austin Jackson's ground ball leading off the top of the fourth inning. Jackson stole second, but held as Brad Bergesen retired the next two batters.
Ryan Raburn followed with a grounder up the middle that looked like it would produce the Tigers' first run, but Izturis ranged far to his left to make the pickup, and his throw narrowly beat Raburn for the final out.
Raburn is the only Detroit baserunner. Bergesen has thrown 42 pitches, 27...
My favorite Kangaroo-brand pita chips, homemade chocolate chip cookies...
Many thanks.
Now I'm really sad that the season is ending.
Too bad Peter Schmuck isn't here today. I usually rely on him to eat the crumbs off my shirt.
Third base umpire Jerry Crawford is working his last regular season game. He's retiring after the playoffs.
Manager Buck Showalter took the lineup card to home plate, which is unusual after the first game of a series, because he wanted to honor...
Robert Andino 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Luke Scott DH
Ty Wigginton 1B
Felix Pie LF
Matt Wieters C
Josh Bell 3B
Cesar Izturis SS
Brad Bergesen RHP
Longtime umpires attendant Ernie Tyler is resting comfortably at University of Maryland Medical Center after being diagnosed yesterday with a benign brain tumor. Tyler's son, Jimmy, the home clubhouse manager, joked that his father is "still running the place."
Surgery is pending, but an exact date hasn't been set.
Brian Matusz fell behind, 1-0, on Brandon Inge's home run in the second inning before clamping down on the Tigers and turning over the game to the bullpen after the sixth.
Matusz went 6-0 with a 1.57 ERA in his last eight starts, allowing eight earned runs and 29 hits in 46 innings.
"We've had two games in a row where a young starter gave up a home run early to go down and came back and pitched effectively, and that's impressive," manager Buck Showalter said. "I thought he was as crisp...
Jim Johnson retired the Tigers in order in the eighth inning - with a lot of help from his friends.
The Orioles put on an amazing defensive display, beginning with Cesar Izturis' diving backhanded stop and throw to retire leadoff hitter Will Rhymes.
Nick Markakis followed with a diving catch near the right field line to rob Austin Jackson and again bring the crowd to its feet.
Johnson struck out Alex Avila to end the inning and preserve a 2-1 lead.
The teams have combined for five hits,...
Tigers starter Armando Galarraga retired the first 10 batters he faced and checked to make sure umpire Jim Joyce wasn't working the bases tonight.
His bid for perfection ended with one Nick Markakis swing in the fourth inning.
Markakis drove a Galarraga fastball an estimated 344 feet to the flag court in right field to tie the game.
Markakis, who placed third in the MVO voting, has 12 homers and 59 RBIs.
Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz surrendered a bases-empty shot to Brandon Inge in the...
Luke Scott received a nice ovation before the game while accepting his award as Most Valuable Oriole. And it was obvious from the way he smiled and thanked reporters at his locker that the honor meant a great deal to him.
"Good choice," manager Buck Showalter said. "And there are some other people you could make a case for, too, but Luke, I think he's starting to grasp that he doesn't have to defend a foul ball and he's OK with passing the baton a little bit. He gives us a lot of...
Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said the club's vast improvement over the last two months hasn't changed his approach to the offseason.
"It really hasn't had that huge an impact over those issues we think we need to address," MacPhail said. "There isn't anything that's, 'Oh gee, we don't need to address that now.' I think we're still trying to take as realistic a six-month view of this as we can.
"We made no secret of the fact that the first thing we'd...
Brian Roberts remains out of the lineup tonight and he isn't expected to play tomorrow, ending his season after 59 games.
Roberts has been bothered by headaches since the Tampa Bay trip. He's missed the last four games.
Manager Buck Showalter has been vague when pressed for details about Roberts' condition, suggesting that reporters talk to the second baseman or a team physician. Roberts declined to meet with reporters today, but apparently will do so tomorrow afternoon. The medical staff...
Corey Patterson LF
Nick Markakis RF
Jake Fox DH
Luke Scott 1B
Felix Pie CF
Ty Wigginton 3B
Matt Wieters C
Robert Andino 2B
Cesar Izturis SS
Brian Matusz LHP
Still no Brian Roberts, who might end up being shut down this weekend.
Luke Scott has been voted the winner of the Most Valuable Oriole award for 2010 by members of the local media who cover the team on a regular basis.
Nick Markakis and Ty Wigginton also received first-place votes. Jeremy Guthrie placed second and Markakis finished third.
Adam Jones was the only other player to receive votes on the ballot.
Scott ranks sixth in the American League with a .538 slugging percentage and a .904 OPS, and is 14th in home runs with a team-leading and career-high...
I'm not posing a question with the title of this entry, though I'm also interested in your lives. Just wanted to check in during a commercial break on Wall To Wall Baseball with Tom Davis and Dave Johnson.
We just finished 90 minutes on MASN, leaving the last 90 minutes exclusively on ESPN Radio 1300 AM. I'll head to Camden Yards after 2 p.m. and prepare for O's Xtra and the game that follows.
I'll post the lineup, hopefully, around 3:35 p.m. I need the Orioles to post it first, and...
With the doubleheader sweep, the Orioles are 33-22 under manager Buck Showalter after beginning the season 32-73. According to Elias, this marks the first time since 1900 that a manager took over a team in August or later and won more games than the team had won when he arrived.
Also, the Orioles have surpassed last year's victory total of 64.
Oh happy days...and nights.
"You're always looking for improvement," Showalter said. "When you step back at the end of the year, you want to feel...
Three starters taking their final turns in the rotation this season have posted a 0.41 ERA.
Never can say goodbye.
Kevin Millwood tossed seven scoreless innings on Wednesday. Chris Tillman allowed one run over seven innings tonight in Game 1. Jeremy Guthrie has shut out the Tigers over eight innings in Game 2.
They're proving to be a tough act to follow for left-hander Brian Matusz and Brad Bergesen, but these guys love the competition.
Koji Uehara has replaced Guthrie, with a shot at his...
Nick Markakis just hit his 11th home run to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the third inning. He drove an 0-2 pitch an estimated 382 feet to right field.
That's five hits for the Orioles, and we don't have any outs in the third.
Me: "When's the last time Robert Andino has played both ends of a doubleheader?"
Guy next to me: "When he was 12."
Josh Bell is appearing at an Elkridge Wendy's tomorrow at noon.
That frosty machine is going to get a workout. He might be scratched from the...
Starter Chris Tillman was the obvious topic of conversation after the Orioles' 10-6 victory in Game 1.
"Chris was outstanding," manager Buck Showalter said. "I'll tell you, the cutter was a really good pitch for him. Liked the way he gave up the home run early and responded. You really like to see shutdown innings after the runs we scored, too. That's a sign of maturity as he goes forward."
How important was this outing for Tillman going forward?
"Him or me?" Showalter replied,...
Chris Tillman's final start turned out to be an outstanding one.
Also, good call by manager Buck Showalter to allow the right-hander to take the mound again, and pitch him in Game 1 so he wouldn't have to wait.
Tillman held the Tigers to one run - Don Kelly's homer - and three hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out a season-high seven.
Tillman threw 102 pitches, 70 for strikes.
After walking 12 batters over two starts, Tillman issued only three in his final two outings....
