Season in seven words: "Shouldn't the resurgence have started by now?" ... Hero: Brian Roberts is a nice guy who goes about his business every day in a professional manner. On this team, that makes him a golden God ... Loserhead: The Orioles were everyone's pick for "team you don't want to play in September," then they proceeded to notch a 24-50 second-half record. How, precisely, does manager Dave Trembley escape responsibility for this? ... Key need: For Matusz, Tillman and the rest to approximate the Smoltz/Glavine/Avery learning curve ... Prognosis: There's reason to be optimistic for the first time in a long time.
09/29/2009
28
26
Congrats to the Orioles for claiming gold at the Indifference Olympics by managing to get swept by the equally unmotivated Indians. God bless 'em, the O's just wanted it less.
09/22/2009
26
25
For those who ask, "Is Dave Trembley safe?" I reply with the following question: "Is anybody truly safe in this topsy-turvy world of terror cells, industrial emissions and Kyle Farnsworth?" ... Nobody noticed except for Oriole diehards, but Matt Wieters had his Neo moment last Tuesday against the Rays and has been whomping the ball ever since. ... Perhaps I'm naïve or underestimating the competitive mountain the Orioles have to climb (that'd be the AL East), but I see the turnaround happening sooner rather than later. They'll be everybody's deep-sleeper pick heading into 2010.
09/15/2009
25
27
Let's be honest: they'd still suck outside the AL East. They'd suck in the NL Central and in the AFC North and in the Premiership. They'd suck in mixed doubles and on the shuffleboard pitch. They just suck. This is as immutable a truth as the oceans and sky above.
09/08/2009
27
26
Did you hear? They're still playing baseball in Baltimore. No, really, they are. Ask anyone. It was totally in the papers this morning.
09/01/2009
26
27
This stat has been reported all over the place, but it's worth mentioning again: Until Cla Meredith appeared in the Orioles' rout of the Indians on Friday night, the team for which he played had lost 33 straight games in which he appeared. That could give a fella a complex. ... Brian Matusz's curve sure lived up to its advance billing on Sunday. Separately, his last name looks weird when you attach an apostrophe-S to it.
08/25/2009
27
26
It felt like Brian Roberts was on base all week, but it turns out he was a mere 13 for 36 with five homers and five walks. Appearances can deceive. ... So now some people are slapping the "injury-prone" tag on Adam Jones, with soon-to-be-departing manager Dave Trembley blaming all the bumps and bruises on his all-out style of play. Aren't we supposed to be encouraging this, especially when we throw a conniption every time B.J. Upton doesn't bother to run out a grounder? You go, guy.
08/18/2009
26
26
The O's keep tapping the built-in excuse that they play in the AL East, even though the legitimacy of that mea culpa doesn't hold up to scrutiny. They're worse against the logy AL West (10-22, which amounts to a .313 winning percentage) than against the formidable spenders of the East (15-29, .341). ... Sometimes, the sports pages should come with either an interpreter or handy annotations. For instance, "Dave Trembley's job is safe for the rest of the regular season" means "we already have a conference room booked for his post-firing news conference on Oct. 5." I wonder if I can get an online degree in this.
08/11/2009
26
26
I'm getting impatient, frankly. The Orioles are supposed to be joltingly athletic and fun to watch by now, and instead they slog through games with the intensity of a 7-11 clerk. This team needs a Dallas Green-type skipper to bust some heads, minus the tough-love, pitch-or-perish approach to young arms like Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz.
08/04/2009
26
26
Now it's Brian Matusz's turn. Be patient, Orioles fans. Only a few more months of scrapping before you approach the promised land ... Plus the O's further stocked their prospect cache by adding Josh Bell in the Sherrill trade, a fine return for 120 innings (over two seasons) of an eminently replaceable lefty-killing reliever ... Here's my solution to defusing the Melvin Mora/Dave Trembley contretemps: Get rid of them both. See? Conflict resolution is easy.
Preseason Power Rankings
Date
Ranking
Previous
02/16/2009
20
-
I see two big obstacles: the 55-odd games they'll play against the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays, and the absence of anything vaguely resembling starting pitching. ... If all goes as planned, they'll exit 2009 with three bona fide young stars (Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and the supercalifragilisticexpialidociously hyped Matt Wieters) in the everyday lineup. ... Kudos to team prez Andy MacPhail for righting the ship, even as he continues to field 18 "say, let's trade for Johnny Damon!" calls a day from owner/baseball dilettante Peter Angelos.
