On the O's

The Baltimore Orioles squared off against the Tampa Bay Rays last night in an unlikely showdown; a battle for sole possession of first place in the AL East between the perennial 4th and 5th place teams.

The O's called up Garrett Olsen from AAA Norfolk to make the start and something entirely unforeseeable happened; he pitched effectively. 6 2/3 IP allowing 2 runs in an eventual 7-4 O's victory. The last time I can recall an Orioles pitcher being called up from the minors during the season for a start, and that pitcher subsequently pitching well, would be Mike Mussina.

A number of things are happening to/for the O's this April that haven't happened for years (haven't really checked that, it may just seem like years). O's pitchers do not lead the AL in walks. The O's are 7-2 in one run games. They are 7-0 in games in which they have 10 hits or more. The bullpen is 4th in ERA in the AL. Daniel Cabrera has 4 consecutive quality starts. Aubrey Huff is hitting with power. I've gotten a second chance to post a blog entry with the O's in first place.

While I harbor no suspicions that the O's will continue to win, they've posted a winning mark in April, which is one more winning month than I suspected in March. They've played well. The defense has been outstanding. The pitching has been effective. The offense has been timely.

It's been thoroughly enjoyable watching Orioles baseball this April.

Reporters Notebook (Gettysburg Times - 050308): "Speeding, Vandalism & Rumors"

I read a recent USA Today poll about actions that Americans consider to be extremely sinful.
Murder, adultery, and crime — as expected — all made the list.
Other sinful deeds?
Driving over the speed limit (yeah, I may have a lead foot, but it was passed down to me by Grandma Pitzer...and I mean Great-Grandma Pitzer).
Being late to work (I had perfect attendance this past quarter).
Being inattentive at work (glad B.J. Small doesn’t walk by my cubicle too much).
Foul smells (umm?).
Getting back too much change from a cashier, and not giving the money back (the way I look at it is: if they can’t count back correct change, they must be from Bermudian Springs...so I’m keeping the money).
Saying disparaging words about others (I have spoken very highly of Bermudian Springs in this column).
Vandalism (I was once locked in the Biglerville High School bathroom, and had to bust the vent just to climb out).
And my favorite: spreading rumors.
Does covering the National Park Service and Gettysburg Borough government for the local newspaper count?
~ Scot Andrew Pitzer

On Poll Results

Orioles 2008 Victory Poll

Poll Ended	Question	More than 69 Games	Less than 69 Games	69 Games
April 26, 2008	O's on pace to win 99. How many wins?	25%	75%	0%
April 19, 2008	O's on pace to win 96. How many wins?	50%	50%	0%
April 12, 2008	O's are 2-1. How many wins?	20%	80%	0%
April 5, 2008	O's won 69 in '07. How many in '08?	25%	75%	0%

On the Future

...have proven all the Chicken Littles wrong - most famously, Stanford economist Paul Ehrlich's 1968 book "The Population Bomb," which opined that, "The battle to feed humanity is over. In the 1970s...hundreds of millions of people (including Americans) are going to starve to death."

Scary stuff.

Pass the cheeseburger.

Read the whole thing.

Benny The Bull gets sued for high-five gone awry

An Illinois dentist called a flagrant foul on Chicago Bulls' mascot Benny the Bull on Monday, suing the team over a high-five gone awry. Dr. Don Kalant Sr. alleged he was sitting near courtside on Feb. 12 when he raised his arm to get a high-five from Barry Anderson, who portrays the exuberant mascot in a bright red fuzzy costume.
But Kalant, an oral surgeon, may now wish he had settled for a fist-bump instead. Instead of merely slapping Kalant's palm, Anderson grabbed his arm as he fell forward, hyperextending Kalant's arm and rupturing his biceps muscle, according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
Kalant stayed for the rest of the game but later had surgery and could miss as much as four months of work, Kasserman said. Kalant is seeking unspecified damages for medical bills, physical pain and lost earnings. The lawsuit claims Anderson was negligent in either "falling forward while grabbing a fan's hand" or "running out of control" through the crowd according to the Chicago Tribune.

On Happiness

To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.
- Gustave Flaubert

the Baltimore Orioles: a tough road stretch looms

The Orioles (11-8) play 17 of their next 20 games on the road. How will they fare during that stretch?

On How It's Done

The Baltimore Orioles are 11-7 through 18 games, on pace to win 99 , in 2nd place and a mere 1/2 game out of first in the AL East.

I have seen the games.

I have analyzed the numbers.

It is impossible to discern how they've done it.

On Poll Results

It would appear that the 6-4 start has swayed some voters!

Orioles 2008 Victory Poll

Poll Ended	Question	More than 69 Games	Less than 69 Games	69 Games
April 5, 2008	O's won 69 in '07. How many in '08?	25%	75%	0%
April 12, 2008	O's are 2-1. How many wins?	20%	80%	0%
April 19, 2008	O's on pace to win 96. How many wins?	50%	50%	0%

"COMEBACK" - Orioles rally past White Sox

O's tie game in 9th, down Chicago in 10th

By Roch Kubatko Sun reporter

The Orioles had no intention of being anyone's homecoming opponent last night.

Held without a base runner through four innings by Severna Park native Gavin Floyd, the Orioles rallied to tie the game in the ninth, and Adam Jones lined a single to left in the 10th to score Kevin Millar and provide a 6-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox before an announced 13,676 at Camden Yards.

Millar drew a leadoff walk against left-hander Boone Logan. Luke Scott concluded a nine-pitch at-bat with another walk and, after Aubrey Huff flied to deep left, Jones pulled a ball down the line to set off a wild celebration.

"I thought Aubrey had the hit right before that. He smoked that ball," Jones said. "Right man, right time."

For most of the game, the Orioles were on the wrong side.

The White Sox took a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning on Carlos Quentin's second home run, but the Orioles kept chipping away.

They scored an unearned run in the eighth on Scott's double after Millar struck out and reached first base on catcher A.J. Pierzynski's error, and they pulled even against closer Bobby Jenks in the ninth when Brian Roberts doubled with two outs to score Guillermo Quiroz, and Melvin Mora singled.

"When we tied the game," manager Dave Trembley said, "we knew we were going to win."

By the 10th inning, the Orioles (9-7) had run out of bench players and were forced to move Mora to shortstop and Huff to third. They no longer had a designated hitter, so the pitcher would have batted. But it wouldn't have been closer George Sherrill, whose turn was coming up. Steve Trachsel and Adam Loewen were preparing in the indoor cage.

"You do what you've got to do to win the game," Trembley said.

It wasn't enough for Floyd to go home again. He also wanted to own the place. And he did for a while, until Millar reached on an infield single leading off the fifth. Nick Markakis hit a two-run homer in the sixth to tie the game - both runs were unearned - but Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie surrendered back-to-back shots to begin the seventh.

Floyd, a Mount St. Joseph graduate, took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning Saturday, and he flirted with perfection last night before Joe Crede failed to handle Millar's hard one-hopper. Floyd walked Scott and planted a 92-mph fastball in Jones' back, but he escaped the jam.

"I was excited to be here," said Floyd, who allowed two hits and struck out four in six innings. "But once you get that ball in your hand and you start getting out on the field, it doesn't matter. It's my game and I want to go out there and win."

He was in position to do so after Quentin and Crede homered in succession off Guthrie, who left the game after the second ball touched down in the left-field seats. Quentin also connected off reliever Dennis Sarfate in the eighth.Guthrie allowed two runs in the second inning, only one of them earned because of Roberts' error. He retired 13 of 15 batters heading into the seventh, but didn't get another out.

Meanwhile, Floyd began by striking out Roberts with a 91-mph fastball, did the same to Scott in the second and breezed through the third by striking out Jones on a 79-mph slider and retiring Quiroz with a 92-mph fastball and Luis Hernandez with an 82-mph changeup. The Orioles couldn't sit on one pitch, and they sure couldn't hit any of them.

They went down quietly again in the fourth. The real noise didn't come until much later.

"It shows we're not going to give up and we're not going to give in," Trembley said. "You've got to find a way to get it done."

On Morals

Three worms placed, one each, into separate jars containing alchohol, cigarette smoke and soil.

1 hour later -

The worm in the alchohol is dead.
The worm in the cigarette smoke is dead.
The worm in the soil is alive.

Moral - If you drink and smoke, you won't have worms!

Baltimore 4, Toronto 3

Millar's three RBIs help lift O's
Struggling Jones gets three hits; Albers gives up one run
By Jeff Seidel / Special to MLB.com

BALTIMORE -- Kevin Millar got an RBI single in the first and added a tie-breaking two-run homer in the fifth to help the Orioles to a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night before 11,510 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The Orioles had lost four of their last five games and were struggling at the plate, especially in clutch situations. But the offense caused problems in this game as the Orioles banged out 13 hits and added four steals for good measure.
Millar (2-for-4) led the way. His RBI single in the first inning tied the game at 1, and he blasted a two-run homer to left off starter Dustin McGowan (0-1) to snap a 1-1 tie in the fifth. Ramon Hernandez added a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Slumping outfielder Adam Jones went 3-for-3. The Orioles also had two runners thrown out at the plate.
Matt Albers (2-0) threw five strong innings in his first Orioles start, giving up one run on five hits. The right-hander settled down after allowing a run on three hits in the first inning and retired seven in a row at one point.
The Orioles' bullpen took over from there. Jim Johnson followed with 2 1/3 scoreless innings before Jamie Walker and Chad Bradford each got an out to finish the eighth. George Sherrill gave up a two-run homer to Alex Rios in the ninth but hung on for his sixth save

today's Dick Cheney quote of the day

041408: "Someone asked me one time: 'Vice-President Cheney, are you an athlete?'" I replied yes. They asked: 'What sport do you play?' I replied, I'm a hunter."

On Poll Results

Orioles 2008 Victory Poll

Poll Ended	More than 69 Games	Less than 69 Games	69 Games
April 5, 2008	25%	75%	0%
April 12, 2008	20%	80%	0%

Reporters Notebook (Gettysburg Times: 041208) - "Pappy & Grandma, sitting in a tree"

I attended an afternoon ballgame earlier this week at Camden Yards in Baltimore with my Grandma and Pappy Mentzer and cousin Meagan.
In the late innings, on the jumbo screen in centerfield, the monitor displayed happy couples in a “Kiss Cam” segment.
The camera zoomed in upon several lovebirds in the crowd, and when they appeared on screen, couples liplocked.
Guess who the camera found...Grandma and Pappy Mentzer.
After being informed that they were on the big screen, Pappy laid a whopper of a smooch on Grandma, bringing the crowd of 11,000 fans to its feet.
When they kept smooching through the next inning, an usher had to break them up and tell them to get a room - - - just kidding.
I think they like each other.
~ Scot Andrew Pitzer

today's Bill Clinton quote of the day

041008: "I believe I am qualified to be the First Lady."

today's Hillary Clinton quote of the day

040808: "My husband was an honest man."

SIX IN A ROW

Ummm...the Baltimore Orioles are officially H-O-T-T-!





********************************


O's 8, Rangers 1



"BALTIMORE'S WINNING STREAK EQUALS SIX"


ARLINGTON, Texas - Orioles pitcher Brian Burres usually watches tape of his previous performances against the team he is about to oppose, but he decided not to before today's game, and for good reason.
The only other time Burres faced the Texas Rangers, he allowed eight earned runs in two-thirds of an inning in the Orioles' historic loss last August.
Reviewing that tape would serve only to conjure up memories from a past that Burres and the Orioles are trying to distance themselves from every day.They're both off to a quite a start.
Getting six quality innings from Burres and four RBIs from the resurgent Aubrey Huff, the Orioles turned Texas' home opener into an 8-1 rout in front of an announced crowd of 48,808 today at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
The Orioles' sixth straight win extended their league-best record to 6-1, their best start since they started the 1998 season with a 7-1 mark.
In winning six straight, the Orioles have accomplished something in the season's first week that they did just once all last year.
"We had six [straight] last year? It didn't feel like it," said Huff, who followed up his game-winning home run Monday against the Seattle Mariners by going 4-for-4 with a walk today. "We're playing good baseball right now. We're having a great time. This is, hands down, more fun than any time last year for sure."
The only difference from today's victory to the previous five was the Orioles didn't need to stage any comeback.
With the help of home runs from Scott Moore and Luke Scott, they jumped on Rangers starter Jason Jennings for two runs in each of the second and third innings.
Then, they essentially put the game out of reach with two more in the sixth on Huff's two-run double, which was initially ruled a home run.
That gave the Orioles a 6-0 lead, plenty of cushion for Burres, who celebrated his 27th birthday with one of the finest starts of his Orioles career.
It was quite the contrast to his last outing against the Rangers in the Orioles' 30-3 loss last season, a performance that still sticks with Burres.
"Yeah, [this] makes me feel a little better about facing [the Rangers]," said Burres, who hadn't pitched since the Orioles' season opener eight days earlier.
Burres, who won the fifth starter spot this spring, gave up seven hits, walked two and hit a batter.
But he spent the majority of his six-plus innings making clutch pitches or getting key defensive plays behind him to avoid trouble.
The Rangers had runners on first and third with one out in the second inning, but Milton Bradley was thrown out at home trying to score on a ball that only got a couple of yards behind catcher Ramon Hernandez.
Burres induced Ian Kinsler to hit into a double play in the third inning and struck out David Murphy on a curveball with the bases loaded to end the fourth.
He also got another double play in the fifth and struck out Marlon Byrd with a man on to end the sixth.
"He changed his pattern of pitching the second and third time around with their lineup," said Orioles manager Dave Trembley. "I thought he was predominantly using the fastball the first time around and then after that his curveball really came into play for him. He got big outs with the curveball."
Trembley yanked Burres after he surrendered a leadoff single to Murphy in the seventh. Matt Albers came on and yielded an RBI single to Kinsler that thwarted the shutout bid.
"This has been great," said second baseman Brian Roberts, who had an RBI single. "Winning is always fun."

S-W-E-E-E-E-E-E-P!

Orioles 5, Mariners 4
Huff's 8th-inning HR breaks tie; 'pen hurls three scoreless innings to close game

BALTIMORE HEADS TO TEXAS WINNING FIVE STRAIGHT - - - - AINT IT GREAT?

On the Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are 4-1 and stand atop the AL after Week 1 of regular season competition. How can this be?

The O's had the fewest At Bats (158) and the fewest Hits (43) in the AL in Week 1. They also struck out the least (26), drew the 5th most walks (21) , stole the most bases (7) and scored the 6th most runs (27). They clearly squeezed all the blood out of that stone.

O's pitching walked 3.4 per 9 IP in Week 1 compared with 4.4 per 9 IP in 2007. The bullpen allowed 2 runs in 18 1/3 IP and those 2 runs were given up when the O's had a 5 run lead.

The O's have come from behind to win 3 games.

Lastly, it appears that right now may be the best time all season to be playing Seattle. The Mariners are in a funk. J.J. Putz is out. Erik Bedard missed his turn in the rotation with an inflamed hip. The defense played awful and the Mariner bullpen has started fires and then thrown gas on them.

Daniel Cabrera starts on the mound for the Orioles today. The enigmatic flame thrower had what has become a typical performance in his season debut going 4 innings and surrendering 5 walks, 6 hits and 6 runs. He is tough when he throws strikes. Maybe he'll throw strikes today and the 2008 Week 1 fantasy can continue.

On the Orioles

The Orioles are 2-1 and stand atop the AL East (albeit merely alphabetically). As this is my last chance to post whilst the O's are in 1st place, I strike while the iron is hot.

Starting pitching has thrown 15 of 27 innings and surrendered 13 runs. The bullpen has surrendered 2 runs in 12 innings. The Orioles pitching staff does NOT lead the AL in walks.

The O's have homered 4 times in the first 3 games. They've stolen 4 bases in 5 attempts.

The defense has played well. While they've committed two errors, they've also made excellent defensive plays to nullify the ill effects of said miscues.

Alas, the starting pitching may be the only performance thus far that the O's can sustain.

Reporters Notebook (Gettysburg Times - 040508): "Peter Cottontail"

During the annual Easter celebration at Grandma Mentzer’s house, the upper-level grandkids — four cousins who are above 20-years of age — were instructed to hunt eggs with the youth out in Grandma’s yard.
“There are two eggs for each of you,” Uncle Stan, director of Easter activities, told the four of us, “and your names are on them.”
Meanwhile, our dozen or so younger cousins scattered in every direction, hunting for their Easter treasures.
I hunted in vain — with sister Jamie, cousin Davey and cousin Meagan — for nearly 60 minutes, and neither of us found the so-called hidden eggs that were emblazoned with our names.
“It’s too cold for this,” said Jamie. “I’m going inside.”
The three of us followed, giving up on our search for the eight missing eggs.
As the family convened once again around the dining room table, and the four of us explained to Grandma that we were unable to find our eggs, Uncle Stan motioned for me to follow him.
He took me into a spare room, and pointed toward a sink that our eight eggs: two with each of our names. They were never hidden in the yard.
Uncle Stan held his finger up to his lips, signalling me to keep the shenanigan a secret.
The Easter Bunny sure pulled some cotton over our eyes.
~ Scot Andrew Pitzer

On Jury Duty

The phrase "a jury of one's peers" is a part of the American lexicon, yet surprisingly it nowhere appears in the Constitution. The Sixth Amendment simply guarantees the right to "a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed." Some of the most significant decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court controlling jury composition, moreover, have been based not on the Sixth Amendment but on the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of "equal protection of the laws. "

Monkeys are impartial!

We don't even need to amend the constitution!

On Free Advice

Recent Free Advice poll results:

83% of respondents correctly predicted Jeremy Guthrie as the Orioles opening day starting pitcher.

75% of respondents predict the Orioles will win less than 69 games in 2008.
25% of respondents predict the Orioles will win more than 69 games in 2008.
0% of respondents predict the Orioles will win exactly 69 games in 2008.

a Biglerville-Bermudian joke

Q: What did the Bermudian alum ask the Biglerville graduate?
A: "Do you want fries with that?"
:)