I figure it's appropriate to end my first week of guest blogging for MASNsports.com in the traditional manner I end each week on my blog. It's a nod to Orioles history that I call "Flashback Fridays." This week's Flashback Friday relates to the Orioles' next opponent, the Cleveland Indians, and Orioles legend Brooks Robinson, who has been released from Greater Baltimore Medical Center after recovering from an infection. Facing the Indians around this time of year, on April 19, 1977,...

"If you have played a game and lost it, you cannot erase that loss; but if you have not played a game, there is still an opportunity to win it. A loss is as loss is a loss. Only a game not yet played can become a victory," the late New York-based Hall of Fame baseball scribe Jack Lang once wrote. The Nationals lost their first 2011 series to the Philadelphia Phillies after starting strong Tuesday night by beating right-hander Joe Blanton 7-4. It stings a little extra for the team and for...

So is the honeymoon period over for manager Buck Showalter? I've never seen him second-guessed to this extent since he was named manager Aug. 2. It was bound to happen. Earl Weaver would have been questioned and criticized during the blog and Twitter era. That's all part of the game. I don't think anyone is jumping off the Showalter bandwagon, but he made two decisions last night that clearly irked readers of this blog. (And I'm trying to remember the last time I used the word...

For his first act, Zach Britton beat the defending American League East champions on the road in his major league debut. For his second act, he beat the Texas Rangers, who were 6-0 at the time and had scored 42 runs in those six contests. Britton calmly pitched 7 2/3 scoreless against that tough Texas lineup at Camden Yards in an impressive home debut. For his third act, Britton will try to stop an Orioles' losing streak. Another challenge for the kid. Somehow I suspect he will hold up just...

I guess back on opening day, we would have been pleased with an Orioles' 6-5 start. But it doesn't seem as promising when it follows a 6-1 start and your team just suffered a blown lead at Yankee Stadium. Last night on my postgame radio show, "Baltimore Baseball Tonight" on 105.7 the Fan in Baltimore, it was pretty much a two-hour vent session. By the end, the fans got some things off their chests, but the O's had still blown the game in New York. It was disappointing because Jake...

Some losses are tougher to swallow than others. This one should stick in the Orioles' throats. They led, 5-0, and their starter hadn't allowed a hit through four innings. They hit for power, they advanced runners, they had quality pitching and at-bats, which should have been a recipe for success. The back end of the bullpen is supposed to be a strength, but Jason Berken gave up a run in the seventh, Jim Johnson put two runners on base in the eighth before escaping the jam, and Kevin Gregg...

So much for my foot-on-their-throats suggestion. The Yankees scored once in the fifth, twice in the sixth and once in the seventh to reduce the Orioles' lead to 5-4. You had to know what was coming next. Kevin Gregg entered in the bottom of the ninth and lost the lead on one pitch. Jorge Posada, an all-or-nothing guy in the first two weeks of the season, homered to tied the game, 5-5. Kevin Gregg talks about blowing his first safe of the season in a loss to the Yankees A lost lead in...

I fired up my laptop after the top of the fifth inning - just in time for Jake Arrieta to give up a run on his first two hits. I blame myself. Again. Alex Rodriguez broke up the no-hit bid with a leadoff double. Tears were shed, but I quickly pulled myself together. The Orioles need a quality start from Arrieta after Chris Tillman lasted only 1 2/3 innings last night. Manager Buck Showalter has talked about the risks involved with having young starters go back-to-back. When I mentioned it...

There is a new reliever in town. If you have missed him, you haven't really been paying attention. Remember the big redhead barreling in from the bullpen in Florida? That's him. He is right-hander Todd Coffey, who has been a groundout inducing machine with the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds since 2005. He is known for being a workhorse. Three times in that span he led those clubs in appearances. With the Nationals, the Forest City, N.C., native notched his first win in Miami on...

A few early observations as the Orioles lead the Yankees 2-0 in the 4th tonight. Jake Arrieta needed just 33 pitches to get the first nine outs. *Nick Markakis picked a good time for his second home run. His two-run shot gives the O's a 2-0 lead at New York as they look to break a 3-game losing streak. Markakis' blast to right snapped a 2-for-23 drought for the O's right fielder. He turned on a Phil Hughes fastball. Hughes had jammed several hitters early on with his fastball, but that one...