Looking back on an amazing night, Jimenez on his start and more

For an Orioles fan, does it get much better than last night? The Orioles hit six homers, routed a good team, started a homestand off big and capped the night with an amazing show linking their proud past with their promising present. It ends with the O's Hall of Famers and the current Orioles on the field together as their adoring fans cheer until they can't anymore. Perfect. That is what it was. I don't know if they'll be able to top that for a while. Maybe with something in October. But back to the games as the season is charging forward and the Orioles have a five-game lead over the Yankees and a six-game lead over Toronto with 47 games to play. Ubaldo Jimenez returns to a big league mound today for the first time since July 5. Some of the good vibes surrounding this season have been missing at times during Jimenez's inconsistent performances. He has made 18 starts and the Orioles are just 6-12 in those games. But the right-hander is determined to make up for lost time - and lost games - as he rejoins the rotation today. He said his right ankle, which sent him to the disabled list, is completely healed. "The most important thing is to be on the mound with my teammates. That is the No. 1 thing. I want to try and get a win for the guys," Jimenez said Friday. The Orioles have been pitching well without him and now he wants to join the party. Will he have some nerves out there today? "Probably not nervous, but I'll be anxious to be out there," he said. "I am going to be thinking about it like another game, but definitely it's not because it's been a while since I pitched here. Very excited about it. "They've been good, it's great to see. The guys were doing great, but it was tough for me. Not used to being on the DL, it was hard. "It's frustrating. You see you're team doing good, but you're not a part of it. You have to prepare yourself mentally and physically for when you come back to be there for the team." Jimenez went 6-5 with a 1.82 ERA after the All-Star break last year. He said that strong second half gives him confidence now. He looks at his teammates and he sees a solid playoff contender. "This team is great," he said. "We are on the right path, but the first thing is we have to win the division and keep going from there. We have a good chance of doing that." Wanting badly to help this team, Jimenez said he faces some challenges today pitching for the Orioles for the first time in over a month. "Probably need to try not to do too much. Probably will rush too much," he said. "I have to tell myself to slow down, not try to do too much and make my pitches. Go a pitch at a time." Finally, here are two quotes not published yesterday from Frank and Brooks Robinson. Frank was asked about the comment from Brooks that when the O's acquired him in a trade with the Reds in December 1965, it put the O's over the top. They swept the favored Dodgers in the 1966 World Series to bring Baltimore the championship. "That is just Brooks being nice," Frank said. "No one person wins championships. I was probably the missing ingredient for that team to get over the top. They had a good ballclub before I got here." Meanwhile, I asked Brooks what he remembered about working in the broadcast booth all those years with Chuck Thompson. "He had the right words for the right situation," he said. "We played a game in New York right after (Thurman) Munson died. Chuck gave a little eulogy before the game and I sat there and was amazed at what came out of his mouth. The words and how wonderful it was. I had a wonderful time with Chuck and Bill O'Donnell, they were just the best. It was terrific." Terrific. That describes Frank and Brooks and all the former Orioles that returned yesterday. That describes a great day that was a celebration of the history of the Orioles. We can't top that, but we move on to a new day as the playoff chase continues.