On Language

Main Entry: un·ex·pect·edly
Definition: again
Usage: Jobless claims rise, unexpectedly.

Main Entry: mostly peaceful
Definition: violent
Usage: Protesters were mostly peaceful.

On Second Firsts

Cla Meredith and Alfredo Simon recorded their first career Major League saves in back to back games this past Sunday and Tuesday, respectively.

The last time two Orioles recorded their first career saves in back to back games was May 7th and 8th, 1977 by Mike Flanagan and Scott McGregor.

On Government

You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too. - John Kenneth Galbraith

On Respite

The O's get a much needed day off today (needed for me, anyway) before starting Boston's turnaround tomorrow in Fenway Park.

While the pitching is much improved over last year, the snakebitten O's have 4 blown saves, the closer they traded for in the offseason is on the DL and their best pitcher from 2009 has been demoted to AAA Norfolk.

The defense started well, committing one error in the first 7 games, however, they've committed 9 more in the last 9 games.

The offense is horrible. With no sign of improvement. Leadoff hitter Brian Roberts is on the DL. Felix Pie replaced Roberts at the top of the lineup and hit .400 til he went on the DL. No one is hitting. No one advances runners. No one can bunt. No one takes pitches. Everyone makes outs. Quickly. The O's offense is painful to watch, but at least it's over quickly.

On Nostalgia

My nephew took me to the O's game last night for Matt Wieters T-shirt night. Brian Matusz took the hill for Baltimore and for 7 1/3 innings he was masterful, twirling a 2 hitter (both were bunt singles), striking out 8 and generally mystifying Rays hitters.

I even went so far as to advise my nephew to appreciate the pitching performance he was witnessing and remarked on how I use to see this kind of thing twice a week back in the McGregor/Flanagan days.

But, with one out in the 8th, the Rays abruptly solved the rookie and strung together 4 consecutive hits, 3 of them on first pitches, plating one run and loading the bases. Two more hits off of Orioles relief pitching turned a 3-0 O's lead into a 5-3 deficit. The O's eventually lost 8-6 in 10 innings.

Oh well, at least I got to see Julio Lugo on the O's bench:-)

ORIOLES: Sick & Tired

As a lifelong Oriole fan, I am sick and tired of the BS emanating from The Warehouse and Front Office.

Under the "leadership" of Andy MacPhail, the Orioles have finished in last place two consecutive years, with the worst records in franchise history. Essentially, he "threw away" two seasons, then declared that in 2010, the team would be "judged by wins and losses."

So what's he do to UPGRADE the team in the offseason? Nothing.

Aside from the Kevin Millwood trade, no improvements were made to the Last Place team. We replaced Melvin Mora with Miguel Tejada, and told Tejada that he was moving positions (from shortstop to third base). We replaced Aubrey Huff with Garrett Atkins and told him (as well) that he was moving positions (from third base to first base).

So, we're stuck with the same team...and they're off to an un-inspiring 1-5 start.

Expected? Yes. This team was simply not constructed to win.

It's obvious that Peter Angelos doees not care. Since purchasing the franchise in 1992-93, Angelos has presided over three winning seasons in 17 years of ownership.

Three winning seasons. His track record speaks for itself.

And someone please show me, exactly, what MacPhail has accomplished here.

Two trades (Bedard and Tejada) netting Adam Jones, with little to show for the Tejada deal. Otherwise, most of the "core" players on Baltimore's current roster were drafted or cultivated by former Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Flanagan, or even Jim Beattie.

Andy MacPhailure and Peter Angeloser. It's time to run these bozo's out of town.

On Favorites

Julio Lugo is the newest Oriole. He's owed 9 million dollars for this season. And the Red Sox have to pay all of it. $9M of Red Sox money will, most days, be sitting on the Orioles bench. I love this guy!

On Congress

Update: This guy claims it's a joke.