who's on first? (the 2006 orioles thread)

The O's are like Cinci, their starting pitching has been a black hole for many seasons. It will be interesting to see if Leo M. can find some talent out of the scrap heap. Ray Miller was once the top dog pitching coach in baseball and he couldn't turn the O's around, so it will be interesting to see if Mazzone has more luck. The O's from the late 60s to early 80s were a bit like Mazzone's Braves, they always had a high quality, deep pitching staff.

angelos gets super-spooked about players w/ sketchy injury histories, so they were scared off by durazo, not that he would've required a huge investment.

Some teams, such as the Orioles, will field depleted squads for much of the spring because so many players -- including Ramon Hernandez, Javy Lopez, Daniel Cabrera, Tejada, Erik Bedard, Luis Matos and Bruce Chen -- will be at the WBC.

At least miffed Melvin Mora may decide to stay home. "I'm a third baseman. I'm not an outfielder any more. I'd just like to have a little respect," Mora said after he learned he might be asked to play center field so that young slugger Miguel Cabrera could enjoy the comforts of third base. "I know the Venezuelan people are going to understand. . . . I am apologizing."

fact.

matos & mora homer in consecutive ab!

http://oriolesthinktank.wordpress.com/

the writer has good perspective on o's stuff present and past, and i've seen no other o's fan site that incorporates more statistical analyis.

Sal, 2005:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/images/headshot_17017.jpg

Sal, 2006: http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_114031.jpg

oh wait

oh, wait...it's probably val majewski or eddy garabito.

http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/bal/images/promos/y2006/plush_cow.jpg

so i was at the nats phils game last night and there is a group of folks wearing outrageous fasanonian staches that call themselves sal's pals. truly bizarre.

re: other stuff

o's have now already improved on last year's win totals v. cleveland and los angeles de los angeles.

corey patterson has started two straight games and come up w/ two hits and no k.

5 ip & 11 k in most recent outing, era stands at 1.80

o's 18 for 18 in steals thus far.

-millar's out a few days
-javy lopez is out a few days
-tejada's relegated to dh duty
-roberts to the dl

Is there some question of Miguel Tejada's age? I hadn't heard this before.

it could just be speaking in general terms about the dodgy nature of pegging the ages of dominicans (are there players from other nations w/ whom this issue has cropped up?).

Let me google it.

Age controversy
When Furcal was in the minors, his listed birth year varied by as many as four years. Some sources report his date of birth in 1977, 1978 and 1980, among other dates. This stems from the fact that many Dominican players acquired forged birth certificates with the aim of appearing younger, and thus enhancing their status as prospects.

It has been alleged that Furcal was under 16 when he was signed. After September 11, 2001, Furcal and many other Dominican players came under increased scrutiny due to heightened security concerns, and were forced to update their immigration information. Furcal's status as a top prospect was not damaged by this, but many other players whose information was revealed as fraudulent were released.

+ circa 9/11 Furcal was in his 2nd full season as starting SS on the Braves, not really a top prospect anymore.

+ absolute bullshit because his age dispute came about due to a DUI conviction. he was in deep shit because he was busted for underage drinking and driving, so out comes his real birth certificate in court and his age instantly jumps up 3 years and thus his penalty reduced.

on another note, latest radhames liz update:

6 gs/32 ip/14 bb/50 k/0 hr/16 h

.291/.336/.507/7hr/18sb/1cs

irresistable force v. immoveable object?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060101968.html

Patterson will keep it up long enough to get a big money three year deal, then he will tank. That seems to be an Orioles style curse.

...and he took a walk his first up last night.

They were saying the reliever being a side arm pitcher was real afraid of throwing a wild pitch on the intentional walk.

bedard's stats over last 5 starts (not including tonight where his mowing down the chisox)

32.0 ip, 24 H, 8 R, 1 HR, 37 K, 9 BB, 2.25 ERA

nick markakis, ops by month:

.558, .667, .803 and for shits and giggles, he’s at 1.022 for the young july

corey patterson leads the al or majors (?) in bunt hits w/ 12 (mel mora is second w/ 7) and the al or majors w/ 31 steals.

brandon fahey is a very small man.

i have a sneaking suspicion that matos was not the last dfa for this season.

6 Games (5 Starts):

0-3, 12.57 ERA, 2.59 WHIP, 11BB:5K, .490 OBA, .815 SLGA

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Nearly a thousand disgruntled Orioles fans walked out of Baltimore's game against Detroit en masse on Thursday, culminating a demonstration aimed at team owner Peter Angelos.

A majority of the protesters wore black T-shirts that read "FREE THE BIRDS," and many carried signs that had "For Pete's Sake" on one side and "Free the Birds" on the other.

They filled parts of six sections in the upper deck, then walked out in the middle of the fourth inning at precisely 5:08 p.m. -- in honor of former Oriole stars Brooks Robinson (No. 5) and Cal Ripken (No. 8).

The group walked in line through the lower deck before departing.

Baltimore is in the midst of its club-record ninth consecutive losing season, all of them under the leadership of Angelos, who gained control of the franchise in 1993.

"We are here to show our dissatisfaction with his role, and some of the stupid decisions he has made," said 43-year-old fan Eric Hunter. "We want someone in there who will spend the money to do the things that will bring the fans back."

Angelos defended the fashion in which he runs the team, which last reached the playoffs in 1997.

"Whoever joins that protest has no comprehension of what it costs to run a baseball team," Angelos said in a telephone interview from his law office in Baltimore. "When you get down to facts, putting together a team that can compete in the AL East means having a payroll between $100-$110 million. That money comes from the consumer, and I have chosen to keep ticket prices to a minimum.

"Our payroll is $75 million, and our ticket prices average $22. Some of the teams we compete against charge an average of $45," Angelos said. "We're going to have to match the competition. How to do that is a decision I will make in the future."

The rally was organized by Nestor Aparicio, owner of radio station WNST-AM and the nephew of former Oriole shortstop Luis Aparicio.

"We have a chance to make a memorable civic statement about how we, as fans, are fed up with the embarrassment that the Orioles have become," Aparicio said.

"He is a very unimportant person who has delusions of grandeur," Angelos said. "To begin with, to leave in the middle of the game is an abuse of the players who have worked hard and played their hearts out."

Aparicio spoke beforehand of bringing in between 3,000 fans and 10,000 fans, but the group fell far short of that amount. Still, they made their presence known by chanting and rooting for the Orioles from well before the game started.

Raymond Burke, 54, wore a dark suit over his black "FREE THE BIRDS" shirt.

"This is all part of my kids having the experience that I had as a kid coming to the games -- of experiencing the great teams and teams that meant something to the community," he said.

After the game, Orioles vice president of baseball operations Mike Flanagan said, "They showed a lot of passion and exuberance. They want to win and we want to win. Hopefully, we're headed in that direction in the offseason."

By DAVID GINSBURG, AP Sports Writer

Monday, September 25, 2006

The odds of such an occurrence seem insurmountable, yet Jay Gibbons pulled off the unimaginable feat: He hit a foul ball that injured his wife.

The scene occurred in the ninth inning of the Baltimore Orioles' game against Minnesota on Saturday. Gibbons fouled a ball straight back over the screen and into the rib cage of his wife, Laura.

"She's just a little bruised up. She's going to be OK," Gibbons said Sunday.

Long before the matter became personal, Gibbons had asked team officials to do something about making it safer to sit in the seats behind the plate. He contended that the 20-foot screen just doesn't offer enough protection from hard-hit foul balls.

"It's something you think about every day here. Obviously, it's something I've talked about (to) deaf ears," said Gibbons, Baltimore's designated hitter and player representative. "I've got players coming to me every day saying that one of their family members got hit or almost got hit. I had an usher take one for my wife the other day."

Gibbons has suggested that the screen be raised or that the team insert an overhead screen that would extend to the back of the lower deck.

"If they're worried about the sight line, which I've heard, all they have to do is throw a net straight back. One of these days, somebody's going to get hurt really bad. That's all I've got to say," Gibbons said. "I'm confused on what's going on (and) why it's so hard just to make an adjustment. It's just a matter of time where a kid's going to get hit."

Gibbons has also inquired about the possibility of a day care center, so the players' wives don't have to put their kids at risk.

"It's either come to the game and play Russian Roulette with your 3-year-old or stay home," Gibbons said. "That's what we're dealing with. Or move the family section, but then you've got other fans that are endangered."

...man, i'm getting tired of saying that wrt the o's.

since being recalled:

10 starts/5-3/62.1 ip/28bb/67k/4hr/4.06era