A Few Things

Chris Ray stood up to the biggest test an AL closer has to deal with on Friday night: a pressure packed game at Yankee Stadium. With the tying run on third and the winning run standing on second, Ray froze Yankee slugger Hideki Matsui with a 3-2 slider. I don't think Ray will face a more imposing situation all season, and for him to come out of it without allowing a run and earn a save, it provides a huge boost for him.

Losing David Newhan will hurt, but it's hard to say how much at this point, because we don't know how well his replacements will play. Pretty much everyone will get more playing time because of his injury, so at least it will give the front office to gauge who to keep around, especially in terms of Corey Patterson and Luis Matos. Also, this means more at bats for Javy Lopez, who the Orioles desperately need to get in some sort of groove. The more at bats he gets, the more likely it is that he'll get hot.

The Orioles need to get Todd Williams back as soon as possible, considering the injury to Tim Byrdak, one of the few veterans in the bullpen. Williams has been a consistent performer the past two years for the birds, and they can't afford for him to come back at anything less than full strength.

Right now the Orioles sit at 11-8. Bruce Chen goes today against Randy Johnson in a Sunday matinee. Chen has been a disappointment this season. Expected to be one of the most dependable starters, he has had several horrid starts this year, and has not performed up to potential. If the Orioles can pull out a win today, they'll take a series from the Yankees in New York, which would obviously be a huge boost. In order to be the best, you've got to beat the best. The Orioles still have a long, long way to go before they can be the best, but if they can pull out more big time wins like they did on Friday night, perhaps they will be up top sooner than you think.

The O's Don't Need Patterson

We're still early in the season, I know, but I've already come to a conclusion. The Orioles do not need Corey Patterson. He does not help the ballclub. Basically, on days when Ramon Hernandez catches, the Orioles have 2 spots in which 5 players are vying for. Obviously, space is limited. I do not envy Sam Perlozzo in trying to find space for everyone. It's not an easy job, and from the likes of it, most of the players involved are pretty evenly matched, which makes it even harder. But one decision is clear: Of everyone on the major league roster right now, play Corey Patterson the least, and don't be afraid to send him down.

Patterson averages 152 strikeouts in a full season. He is obviously not going to get on base enough to use his strongest weapon, his base-stealing ability. I'm of the opinion that base-stealing is extremly overrated, and you have to be superhumanly efficient to make it work at all, but even granting Patterson speed, he doesn't bring enough to the table. He was the 3rd overall pick in the 1998 amateur draft, but since then, he's had everything handed to him on a silver platter, and failed miserably.

Patterson's primary position is center field. Luis Matos is currently the starter there, and Nick Markakis can play there as well. Matos and Patterson were supposed to battle for the job, but Markakis's blazing hot spring tangled up the plan. Matos still needs to prove that he can get the job done offensively, but so far, he has demonstrated never before seen power and is a solid defender. Markakis has way more plate discpline than either Matos or Patterson will ever have, and he's used it on the way to a .364 on base percentage. Markakis is not a natural center fielder, but he is suitable there, and his bat more than makes up for any rookie mistakes he may make in the field.

Markakis can also play left, where Jeff Conine is the primary starter, but he probably won't get 500 at bats. Conine still needs to prove he hasn't lost it, and in the meantime, will likely see his share of the bench, even if starts more often than not. It looks like a Markakis-Matos-Conine combo in center and left at this point. Of course, seeing as all 3 of them have serious question marks, there are still at bats to be had. Here, it comes down to Patterson vs. David Newhan.

There is a stark difference between these two Orioles. Patterson and his .293 career OBP are below Newhan's. Newhan is well-respected around the clubhouse; Patterson has been denounced as uncoachable. Newhan has played 7 different positions in his career, Patterson has spent only 14 games away from center field. Especially when armed with the knowledge that neither will be a consistent starter, I think the choice is clear when deciding who to give significant playing time to.

Of course, this can all go down in flames if Conine proves to be burned out, if Markakis cools off, and if Matos, again, doesn't put it together. It would not surprise me at all to turn on the Orioles game on August 1 and see Newhan in left, Patterson in center, and Javy Lopez at first base. But as things stand now, I just cannot see how Corey Patterson deserves significant playing time.

National Champions

Tuesday, being a loyal fan of Maryland sports, I sat down to watch a Maryland-Duke basketball game. Although the Duke coach had a long, impossible to pronounce last name, I did not watch men running up and down the court. Rather, I watched a women's basketball game, start to finish. I have seen snipets of past title games, and some of the Terps games earlier in the tournament, but I've never sat in front of my television for two hours straight watching women's basketball before. It was a truly enlightening experience.

1) Although the game certainly isn't the same without high flying dunks, you don't miss them when you're actually watching the game. All the critics of women's basketball go on about how the game isn't as interesting because there are no dunks. Now, I don't mean to disclude people, but if you watch basketball just for the dunks, you aren't a true basketball fan. The beauty of the game is in the intensity, the strategy, the flops, the 3 point daggers, the old-fashioned 3 point play, and superb athleticism. Ok, the women's game isn't as explosive as the men's game. But when Kristi Toliver made a 3 over the tallest player on the court to force overtime, I guarantee you no one in the arena or watching on ESPN was complaining.

2) After I defended the women's game, I now need to attack it. A lot of proponents of the game have said it's better fundamentally than the men's game; I did not see that at all. Duke missed 3 lay-ups in the first five minutes of action. There were just as many sloppy passes and bonehead plays as there were in any men's game I watched this season. The shooting was probably worse than the men. The game itself is certainly worse than the version the men put out, but, hey, it's a national championship game involving a team I like. I'm there.

3) Bandwagoners: It's just not worth it. To be fair, I'm a bandwagoner here. I'm not going to watch the Terps women any other time if it's not a Final Four game. Was I happy when the Terps won the title? Hell yeah. But it didn't really mean anything to me. I've been lucky enough to see 2 of my 3 core teams win championships, the Ravens and the Maryland men's Basketball team. In both cases, I had lived and died with the team from day one, I watched every game I could. So when they won their respective titles, I really felt ecstatic. Now that I've, looking back on it, jumped on several bandwagons over the last five years (Patriots, Red Sox, Maryland men's Soccer) , I realize that it doesn't measure up to the real ecstasy you feel when the team you actually care about wins the title. In retrospect, it wasn't as good for me as it was for older folks with the Terps and Ravens, because I didn't have to wait very long to get the ultimate prize. If this national title gives rise to an entire generation of women's basketball fans at Maryland, that'll be good. I won't be among them, however. I can't watch the sport 25 times a year. And when they play in the Final Four again next year, I'll watch, I'll be happy when they win, but as I won't have devoted any of my time to them, it won't measure up to what it was like when a team I actually love won.

4) Why is Mike Patrick allowed in the broadcast booth?

In conclusion, I watched a great game: Maryland 78, Duke 75, in overtime. I saw a dramatic, overtime forcing 3 pointer to cap off an amazing second half comeback. Am I suddenly a women's basketball fan? No, but that doesn't really matter. You can enjoy the game without being a fanatic, (A new experience for me, actually), but just don't expect a wave of emotion when your team wins.

Opening Day

I did team previews of over half the teams in baseball, which should be enough fodder for those who actually read this. The Orioles won their opener today, defeating Tampa Bay 9-6. The offense was sparkling, and although Rodrigo Lopez wasn't his best, allowing 6 runs in 7 innings, the bullpen came through. It's just 1 out of 162, but it's a good start. Several encouraging signs:

1) Sam Perlozzo, unlike Lee Mazzili before him, isn't afraid to use his bench. Today, he made defensive changes at 4 positions, including every outfield spot. Keeping everyone fresh will be important this season, because the O's don't want to give 500 at bats to Luis Matos if they can help it, and by keeping a flexible rotation, they can use every player at his strength.

2) I know it's the first game, but it was nice to see Chris Ray get a major league save. It was the cheapest save in the book, leading by 3 against Tampa Bay at home, but at least it gets the monkey off his back. There's still a long way to go, and he hasn't pitched to Gary Sheffield with runners on 2nd and 3rd in Yankee Stadium yet, but it's a good start for a youngster who needs to start from scratch. (Note I used Sheffield as the Yankee example. I would much rather face A-Rod with the game on the line than Sheffield)

I still don't think we're going to win more than 75 games this season unless both Bedard and Cabrera have breakout seasons, but as far as Opening Day's go, this could have been a lot worse.