I'm not a fan particularly--I'll always be bitter re: the O's for 1. Jim Palmer winning the Cy Young over Nolan Ryan in 1973 and 2. their pathetic bumping out of the Angels in the 1979 playoffs--but this story makes me think that they might have turned the corner from being losers to being contenders. I'd love to see the O's and Jays throw a wrench in the Yankees/Sox hegemony in the East.

Still holding a grudge over the '79 playoff loss 25 years later, huh Jim? ....if Brian Downing and Bobby Grich had come through in the clutch then maybe your Halos would have given the 'ol Cowboy a World Championship while he was still around.

Getting back to the topic of this thread, I'm not nearly as optimistic about the fate of this years O's team as some "experts" seem to be....while their offense will likely be among the best in the A.L. (a lineup that includes Tejada, Raffy, Javy, Gibbons and Bigbie is going to score a TON of runs) sadly I think their starting pitching will be their MAJOR downfall....after Ponson and perhaps Rodrigo Lopez (assuming he returns to 2002 form and not the "batting practice pitcher" he was in 2003 and in winter ball this past offseason) the rest of the rotation will come from Omar Daal (he of the 4-11, 6.34 ERA last season who "only" gave up 7 hits and 4 ER in 2 IP in his spring training debut against the Marlins yesterday), Kurt Ainsworth (who has a lot of promise and is still only 25 but is coming off arm surgery last year that limited him to 68 IP combined between SF and Bal.) and a bunch of young unproven arms with a lot of POTENTIAL including Rick Bauer, Eric Dubose, Matt Riley and Erik Bedard.

This team may be a legitimate contender for a postseason berth in 2005 (although playing in the toughest division in baseball, which is not likely to change anytime soon, certainly doesn't help their chances) assuming they add some pitching depth to balance out their young hurlers, who will likely "pay the price" for their inexperience at the big league level in 2004....the rumor mill had the O's trading either Jerry Hairston or Brian Roberts (whoever lost the second base battle this spring) for a starter but now that Hairston broke his finger on Thursday and is out until mid-April that is obviously no longer an immediate option.

I hope I'm proven wrong but I think the Orioles are destined for their 7th consecutive 4th place finish in 2004....however, at least we should see a lot of high scoring 11-10 games this summer so if you're planning a trip to Camden Yards don't plan on the games lasting only 2 1/2 hours.

You bet! I went to Game 4 at Anaheim Stadium. Angels were down 3-0 (I think) early on but they had bases loaded, one out, bottom of the order up, Carew on deck. This was the year of the "Yes We Can!" Angels and the fans were insane, making a ton of noise. So, Jimmy Anderson hits a bullet down the 3rd base line, the crowd roars and....f**king Doug DeCinces grabs it, steps on the bag and throws to first for the inning ending doubleplay. The crowd went deadly silent--we knew the dream was over right then and there. And if they'd won, the Angels had Nolan Ryan pitching the final Game 5 in the twilight. *SIGH*

Good opening day for the O's. Bullpen looks a little shakey, But the lineup got some good hits in against Boston's pitching. Happy that Maz got a W in his managerial debut.

And way to go, Javy!

FeverDog, Javy certainly did get off to an impressive start -- if hitting a HR on the first pitch he sees in an Oriole uniform to go along with 3 hits and 3 RBI qualify, that is wink ....Tejada and Raffy were the other two O's to enjoy multi-hit games....even though my cute "boyfriend" Brian Roberts went 0 for 4 (plus a walk) it was still nice to see us knock around the "immortal" Pedro for a change.

Unfortunately, I still think the lack of experience among Lee Mazzilli's starting staff (as Jon Miller and Joe Morgan pointed once you get past Ponson the other four Baltimore starters have a grand total of 10 victories COMBINED at the big league level) will be their ultimate downfall but at least with that lineup the fans at Camden Yards should get to see a lot of exciting, high scoring games this summer.

The O's can now say that they are in sole possession of first place in the A.L. East -- I know, but we might as well enjoy the spotlight while we can, even if it is only for one day.

Way to go, O's. SHUT DOWN PEDRO!
...and better yet, I have Sidney Ponson (win) and B.J. Ryan (save) on my OutSports Fantasy League team (Northern Virginia Wolves), and they got me major points last night.

It was nice to see the Orioles fans get a buzz and excitement for their team with the new additions, especially Javy Lopez (way to hit that first pitch!). I'm also glad they shook Martinez up during the first two innings and gave him a big fat L for the start of his season.

But hey, what happened to B.J. Shurhoff? He's one of my favorite Orioles. I didn't see him in the outfield (but it was nice seeing Kapler in the outfield for the Red Sox and doing some good hitting as well).

At tonight's Blue Jays-Orioles game in Baltimore, they were filming a scene from The West Wing where Martin Sheen (as the president) throws out the ceremonial first pitch... to Javy Lopez.

The Washington Post is reporting that Lee Mazzilli is in danger of losing his managerial job at season's end, if not sooner....despite the fact that an inexperienced pitching staff (which has given up a league-leading 387 walks to go along with a starting rotation that has the third-worst ERA in the majors at 5.51) and Peter Angelos' notorious meddling are largely to blame, I was never in favor of Maz being named manager, which I said at the time of his hiring.

One of the most revealing points that Dave Sheinin mentions in his column was:

While Mazzilli is only halfway into his first season, already one critical component of a manager's security -- his hold over his players' faith -- is in question, as two veteran Orioles, neither of whom would agree to be identified, said last week that Mazzilli has lost the clubhouse.

"There's been some high school stuff that's gone on around here," one Orioles veteran said. Of Mazzilli, the player said, "He's gotten a free ride [from the media], and it's been noticed [in the clubhouse]."

Perhaps if Angelos spent less time whining and complaining about the Expos probable move to DC/NoVa infringing upon his "territorial rights" and more time focusing upon ways to improve his OWN organization then the Orioles would not be destined for their 7th consecutive losing season -- which is the REAL cause for the declining attendance at Camden Yards, not an apathetic public that would rather drive or take the subway to RFK solely because it is more geographically convenient.

~Joe

[ July 15, 2004, 08:32 AM: Message edited by: gamecock ]

Gamecock wrote:

Related to this, I was listening to a sports radio interview a few weeks ago, and someone from a magazine said the word 'Baltimore' has essentially been banned from Camden Yards and from the Orioles' vocabulary. Apparently by omitting the city's name, residents of the entire DC region, not just Baltimore, will identify with the Orioles as 'their team' and will be less likely to support another nearby team. But I doubt if the ploy is working.